The Pig Pen (..that HAD to happen)

...as much as I adore animals, as much as I respect their specific needs and what they represent, having them in your own (domesticated) environment certainly does change those rules a little.
Our latest addition, a little black pig named Kevin (named after Kevin Bacon, the actor - NOT for his acting abilities I can tell you...)arrived late on a Sunday afternoon. I grabbed him from Brendan's boot and rushed inside to show him off (as we were visiting friends just after we got him)... he was WAY cuter than I had expected!!! He was so tiny, so furry, so snorty and so very much a tiny 'Wilbur' - who doesn't love Wilbur from 'Charlottes Web'!!?? Or even 'Babe', from the (Australian) movie of the same title?
Kevin is sweet as! He follows me everywhere (we have an acre and a half...) even on my daily checks of our boundary (to check for fox scratchings or the like)He seems to trust me the most ( i am guessing because I mostly feed him, I am mostly home and I am the more 'nurturng' of the two adults who look after him)i have to admit that both Kevin and I enjoy our many moments when i give him a good scratch on the belly or back - wherever he can't reach.
Yes.. I have become a little attatched to this little grunting creature! And, YES, I may have to hide him from my husband in the near future when he plans to have a spit.... but that aside, Kevin has decided that our outdoor entertaining area is the perfect spot to mark his domain... OH the stench.
Brendan has, JUST TODAY, built a gorgeous pen for Kevin... it is AMAZING! I am not being biased, it is a gorgeous pen! No more pig poo under my outdoor table! No more pig poo and wee near the outside stereo.... he is now contained, yet sheltered and safe, away from the 'humans (and one very well behaved dog)area'. It will be finished tomorrow after the roof has been attatched (though he has a cardboard box, stuffed with a doona, that he has LOVED since he first arrived)

Kevin was only coaxed into his new pen by ME (LOL), though I admit, I had his favourite treat in my hand and he knew it (some nice biscuits from a famiy pack - i know he would prefer wafer biccies!!! LOL) and Has not made a sound since - instead, he curled up in his ( soon to be upgraded) box complete with doona, and has been silently sleeping away since hours ago. (Usually, he squeals at the back door for more fruit or milk....for however ong I stay up for..)
In conclucion, i think this little pack-type animal has become accustomed to 'Our way' and is dealiong well..... though this is only the first night... please, cross your fingers wit me that he leaens to love his new home and that all will continue smoothly... LOL

At the cost of $250 AD, Brendan has built this amazing (yet very strong) structure) in which we hope to contain a very strong pig, or two in the future.
This $250 covered the concrete powder, hiring of a drill-hole borer (machine), 3 x extra posts, screws plus 16 hours, all up, of labour..
the rest of the materials were already here on the property from old fencing, different jobs and other miscellaneous things.... so, in the end - this is a good price (if onoly he could quote me the same for the kids' cubby!!! )
So, my friends, I will leave tis blog at this.... so that I can fill yoy in on how the new pen holds up etc etc..... until next time, take care hey xo Tam

Room to move...(lots of things into hehehe)

Well... we began renovations on the place almost immediately upon deciding to move in here for good. First came Brendans office. This was an external addition joined to the house(kid-free zone...LOL) Secondly, came a much needed third bedroom. This, much anticipated, room has taken a while to be completely finished, due to finances, time and (perhaps more appropriate) the fact that we just couldn't decide exactly what we were going to do with the room.

At first, with it's raw gyprock sheets and white scrapings of base coat on the nail holes and taped joins, the girls had it as a bedroom, we figured they would use the room more than us.
All us parents needed was a bed and some drawers..or in Brendan's case, a couch... (LOL he likes the TV on while he sleeps.... i put up with this for a while... until home shopping elements became a strangely large part of my dreams....there's nothing quite like waking in a sweat after fighting with an asp only to be saved by Tim Shaw... give the asp back I say...)
Sorry, I got a little distracted there didn't I?

Ahem... as I was saying... long story short, we finally decided that it would be what it was originally built for and it is now... a GORGEOUS, new BIG main bedroom! Yes, it's 'just' a room, but we just couldn't fit all our things AND us in the rest of the house. We had piles of things in corners, in boxes, on draws and benches. This clutter has been a little suffocating in the past couple of months.To wake up to disorganisation is depressing, it's true waht they say about 'a cluttered house, a cluttered mind'..

I am one of those people that needs my most loved items out on shelves for me to see every day. They are probably rubbish to most others.... but they are mine and they are memories in the physical form. And other pieces just are what they are... like my Family Guy 'talking character' of Peter. Some of my Tea-pot collection. A framed quote given to me by a gorgeous friend of mine many years ago (she painted the frame herself). My Lord of the Rings Goblet.... gosh... and they are all still finding the right spots between all the books. And, as I draw and paint, I finally have room to REALLY get into my art. I can leave things on my desk and not pack them away from the dining table!!! Love it!!
I simply cannot upload pics tonight as it's way past my bedtime. I just wanted to blog tonight. And let you know I'm still here. Take care hey :)