Progressing into Winter

This year's Winter is by far the coldest I've felt. Even in Autumn, I already felt like I was in Winter and Summer, it left no warmth in my memory. Apart from shuttling the kids, grocery shopping and visiting the construction site, I have been pretty much keeping warm at home. Even that I'm finding hard without turning on the heater and wearing a few layers of clothes. Arrgh, the inconvenience of Winter. Each time we dress/undress, we got to do that standing in front of a fan-force heater. And each change would entail at least 4 pieces of clothing to be either washed or sorted. Some days, getting out of bed is a challenge.


On a positive side, the winter chill has not hampered the progress of our house. There were pockets of good sunny days that allowed all the necessary foundation and structure to be set up. Now that the weather is more rainy, they are doing the interior jobs. So far, we're rather happy with Simonds on the progress. There were small hiccups like we had to re-select our bricks (due to nil availability) and front door (due to discontinued model) but it's been ironed out and we're happy they waived the upgrade cost for us after we had to select a brick from a higher category. Other small issues include pilferage of materials from our house. We found the two knobs for turning the awning windows missing after the long weekend. Also, the brick layers from the construction next door have been stealing our water. And phantom people have been using the construction bin outside our house to dump their household waste. It seems theft is quite common (the site supervisor barely raised his eyebrow when he saw the missing knobs on the window and just jotted it down) and apparently worse can happen.


I've recently got a friend to teach me knitting and got started working on two scarves and probably a beanie next. Due to the frosty weather, such accessories have now become a necessity. I had a pair of woolly gloves that I've never had to use over the last few years but this year, it's been especially handy in the mornings. I bet the sale of wool and fleece clothing have gone up over the last month! 


It seemed to us an amazing change compared to the year we first arrived. In 2008, I heard my friend telling us there was no need for umbrellas in Melbourne. The rain were just drizzles that passed in 5 mins. The Winters were mild and the Summers, hot and dry. Remember the forest fires of Black Saturday in 2009? But these last 2 years, things have turned around so much. The dams are now filled and we've started to get a mosquito problem during Summer, something that's not happened before for a long time. The terrain is now looking lushier and greener, the creeks are flowing with water and life again. This was how it was 10 years ago, before the drought set in. In a way, if this is Nature's way of finding a balance for itself, I'm glad. I just have to re-adjust my body thermostat and be more tolerant of the cold.