It's been quite the whirlwind of a month! After drifting along quite peacefully for months at a time, our bucolic existence punctuated by the odd exclamation point, but nothing taxing or worrying, all of a sudden we're in the middle of a destruction/construction maelstrom!

We've been transported into some kind of parallel universe where decisions we make will have long lasting ramifications: and we're making multiple decisions on multiple topics each and every day. Now, don't get us wrong: we're acutely aware that this is the ultimate first world problem. God forbid the privileged have to make a couple of calls on choosing materials and types of hardware on their new kitchen and bathrooms!

As threatened on these pages previously, we have indeed gone ahead with kitchen, main bathroom and laundry renovations, along with lighting upgrades, blind replacement, new internal doors and ultimately, painting. The kitchen and laundry and bathroom have been occurring concurrently with different builders, so the logistics have been more than tricky. Tradesmen and builders have been performing a less than dainty dance around each other in our tiny unit, bulging tool belts swaying and pirouetting around each other and narrow passageways, duelling hammers tapping out a rhythm to wake the dead and electrical tools screaming in sync at deafening volume. The whole building has been shaking at times and we're actively avoiding our long suffering neighbours.

When John, the bathroom builder, suggested we might be ready for a bathroom demolition with half a day's notice, we immediately accepted and started planning accordingly. We'd already been operating out of our little emergency camp kitchen for a couple of weeks as the new kitchen took shape, so our minor privations could easily be added to. We've fashioned breakfasts and lunches from there quite successfully for a month now, so we're becoming quite expert. Luckily, we have an ensuite, so the little basin in there is supplying all the water we are using for all purposes!

The bathroom destruction was quite shocking as the jackhammer pounded away at the subfloor and whole sheets of wall were cut down still clad in tiles. It was all done in a day.....wow, these guys can work! The rebuilding of the bathroom has been occurring ever since with niches being cut and nib walls fashioned to hide toilet cisterns and display fancy stone coverings. It's currently tacky with waterproofing compound awaiting next steps.

The kitchen was destructed in similar fashion but was mercifully without the thick clouds of building dust that drifted through the apartment constantly during the bathroom demolition. The skeletal framework of the kitchen morphed into being quite quickly, with days of discordant, buzzing drills and whining bench saws interspersed by the ubiquitous beat of the jungle hammer!

We've been making decisions about cupboards and shelf holes, tiles and tapware, appliances and accessories, lighting options and power points, light switches and dimmers, toilets and cisterns, stone and paint colours....you name it, we've been deciding it. It's all a bit of a shock to our delicate little systems.

If you can bear it, stay tuned. When things take shape a little more, I'll provide an update. In the meantime, here's an album or two that will be added to! Kitchen/Laundry Reno and Bathroom Reno.

 I must have been lulled into a state of semi-consciousness lately: my unforgiving companion of nearly twenty years, this blog, has not sent her siren call for me, or if it has, I haven't heard her!

Lots has happened in the world and Australia since the last entry about eight weeks ago and the general pall that was blanketing our activities and mood has lifted somewhat thank goodness. Australia is posting new milestones in vaccination rates as the days and weeks roll by: astounding numbers and percentages are announced quite breathlessly on TV and social media every day and it's indeed a wondrous thing, considering the scramble for vaccines just a couple of months ago. The second tranche of freedoms has been activated this week, and further lifting of restrictions will be undertaken soon with almost all prior freedoms in place by December, notwithstanding the perennial mask wearing and checking in.

We've been suitably occupied with our previous daily activities and the coastal path has been well worn. We start the day earlier in Spring to avoid the harsher sun, so all exercise is squared away before breakfast these days apart from my near daily ritual of walking back up to Dixon Park to swim out the back and bodysurf some waves until I'm exhausted as well as euphoric: it's been fairly blissful in the mornings most days!

The afternoons have been generally occupied by a different and less carefree master, however. Cass, in particular, has been totally occupied in the occasionally exciting, yet more often frustrating, world of appliance and hardware finding, comparing, evaluating, choosing and buying...what a whirlwind it has been! I've chipped in some "valuable advice" (!) along the way, but she has done the lion's share of the vast amount of work. As I stated, there are fun points along the way, but mostly it's hard slog through endless websites.

Readers no doubt have gleaned from the aforementioned that we are indeed going ahead with major renovations to our apartment. We'd decided to live through the seasons, see how things worked and what we wanted to change. Apart from the kitchen and two bathrooms, we're also getting new blinds, doors, some flooring and complete re-painting...hopefully all done by early to mid next year (says us in a wildly optimistic voice!)

The wheels are in motion. Kitchen contractors will be here within two weeks to rip out the present kitchen and begin installing the new one. I say begin, because the stone installations will be staggered over the next month and more. Come the following month we're hoping to get some action on the main bathroom after engaging a separate builder to oversee the bathroom work. He'll stagger the work on each, so we've got a functioning bathroom throughout, but the second one is not slated to be completed until sometime next year.

So, fun times! We're luxuriating in our freedom as time ticks by, because very soon we'll be camping out in our own home. We're going to set up a camp kitchen in our bedroom and keep a fridge in the hallway till we can use the new kitchen. We'll also be eating out a lot!

The new freedoms have meant we're finally able to visit our parents in their homes so we've done that a couple of times already. We've continued to enjoy the postcard vistas from our unit, seek out natural beauty each day and take advantage of our great spot in the world. I know I threatened to list some reading on here on the next instalment, but I'll just need to wait again. We've been reading voraciously, more than ever before, so you can imagine the list: I'll list something on here next time and prepare for an avalanche of before and after pics from the big renos!

It's a very strange and somewhat frightening world at the moment. Australia blissfully continued on with a relatively normal life in the main, as virus case numbers hovered around manageable levels and tepid restrictions seemed to keep the genie in the bottle. Until now.

The full horror of the rampant march of the delta variant is not totally unleashed, but it's certainly leaking around the seals. For a variety of reasons, including a mind-blowing lack of urgency in securing vaccines, along with penny pinching which led to the purchase of a cheaper but flawed version of a vaccine, and a piss-poor advertising campaign to alleviate hesitancy, Australia is wallowing at the bottom end of the world league tables of vaccine rollout and take-up.

This has seen a belated scramble to source vaccinations and a chaotic rollout of vaccines in a rushed and ill considered manner. This has bitten close to home, as Cassy eventually sourced an appropriate vaccine booking, only to have it cruelly plucked from her grasp at the 11th hour. This re-allocation of vaccines to higher priority groups and areas can be squarely laid back at the feet of the guilty party yet again: the federal government and their inertia and poor decision making due to complacency. After much angst and endless attempts to seek redress, she eventually secure another appointment, weeks after her original appointment was scheduled and leaving her vulnerable and unprotected in the meantime.

In saying that, we do still fully understand that these are incredibly minor problems compared to the hardship experienced elsewhere around the world. They truly are first world problems. The latest lockdown restrictions have, in fact, for me, been almost indistinguishable from my former recent life! My slow recuperation and rehabilitation has ensured a largely hermitic existence, one delineated by some in-house exercises and a long daily walk in the local area. Current lockdown rules allow just that! Admittedly, we aren't permitted to visit family members like we did before, nor visit restaurants, cinemas or shops which we'd do every now and then, but, essentially, it's business as usual!

Our afore-mentioned walk is not mammoth or unduly arduous, but it is reasonably long and quite challenging. We're lulled into blissful states in the opening stanza on the wide, flat pathways from our house on Merewether Beach to Dixon Park before getting a heart-starter up a sharp, puffing hill at The Cliff then a stroll to Bar Beach. The path rises slowly in gradient and difficulty through the carpark and up Memorial Drive before we sidestep right up a set of stairs to the foot of the Anzac Memorial Walk. We steel ourselves before advancing rhythmically and rapidly up these well-spaced flights which transport us ever upwards before arriving, slightly breathlessly, on the flat walkway which flies over the cliff on the way to Shepherd's Hill. A pause at the pillboxes by Chud's Chair, some pullups on the conveniently located handrail, then a journey back via the same route. Job done for the day!

In some type of "law" that seems ultimately to concoct events in the universal order in direct relationship to our ability to cope with them, we've experienced many deaths in our small circle lately, eerily timed to when restrictions on gatherings kicked in. So, to our dear family members and friends, vale, and we hope we get a chance to reminisce in some form when we're again able to gather.

Before the lockdown, we had some limited ability to host in homes, so we had a modified celebration for Mum's birthday with only five guest allowed. Sue wasn't able to join us due to work commitments, but luckily Helen and Jen could sneak away. We feasted on oysters and prawns before Cassy's delicious strawberry sponge for dessert, all washed down with champagne: little did we realise it would be the last time we could see one another for a while and into the foreseeable future!

We've continued to read countless titles: highlights have been further tales of Cato Kwong in Alan Carter's books along with the frustrating adventures of Quirke in Benjamin Black's series of books on the Irish pathologist. Lots of "one offs" in-between before we gravitate back to a series or two....

Oh, and how about those Olympics?! ( I'll leave this till next time, I think!)

The tiny rivulet of readers that once checked in on this blog has evaporated to a few isolated and cracking puddles in a river system beset by drought! This is with very good reason: the scintillating tales of adventure have dried up of late as I recover from recent medical interventions, and we're thwarted from doing a whole lot more anyway due to Covid restrictions and common-sense precautions.

Sydney is currently in the grip of a developing monster problem and family members stuck in the middle of the lockdown cluster suburbs are feeling the brunt. It all stems, of course, from the glacier like rollout of vaccines and the mixed messages from health and government authorities. We have been caught out in this mixed messaging personally and we despair for those less enthusiastic than us to go and get vaccinated: what must they be thinking?!

I selflessly and heroically (!) volunteered myself for vaccination as soon as I was eligible, and although we had some misgiving about possible side effects and the efficacy of the Astra Zenica vaccine, I dutifully got my first dose. It was difficult to book and I was lucky to get in. Cassy's hesitancy to get AZ was warranted and ultimately rewarded as the rules changed after I'd had my first shot and now Pfizer was the preferred option for people our age...what?! Ultimately, this will work out fine with both of us fully vaccinated come early September. We wonder how less relentless seekers of the vaccine will fare, however. It was difficult for us at every turn with booking availability scarcity, mixed messages, back-flips and impediments in our path: the less motivated may well give up! Oh well, as I often refer to in these pages, that's a classic first world problem!

We've managed our daily walk most of the time, only denied by occasional rainy days or inclement weather of other types. We do also take the odd "recovery day" if the legs are leaden instead of the skies! Our regime does yield us tallies of between 30-40 km each week, however, and our bodies and spirits feel all the better for it. Cass and I both do weight bearing exercises as well on a regular schedule: no wonder we're exhausted in the evenings (!). This idyll is punctuated by all sorts of small diversions: lunches out, shopping trips, visits to our parents and other frivolous activities that we eventually get around to after lunch on pleasant days. We've both been reading voraciously and I'll try to list a selection of titles below that hint at the extensive menu from which we've been feasting!

The Knights have been a constant source of entertainment and in a season of mixed results there have been a few highlights. While I've been in recovery mode, Sue and Duncan have made full use of the spare tickets, Sue even braving atrocious stormy and wet conditions recently to cheer on the team. We were tossing up whether to attend the forthcoming State of Origin final game of the series slated for a start in Newcastle, but the decision was taken out of our hands as the state government canned it from occurring here. We were wavering about how wise it would have been to attend, so, luckily, the decision was made for us!

We were involved in some skulduggery to convince Jen to come out suitably dressed for a surprise birthday party in King Edward Park recently. I felt very strange lying through my teeth to invent a doctor's appointment for her actual birthday and to invite her and Vince to a restaurant on the party day. Vince needed me to do this to deflect any suspicion. Ellen did the bulk of the planning and organization, but alas, due to the lockdown, she was unable to attend. Lily ably filled the breech and did a fantastic job and Jen seemed to thoroughly enjoy the gathering of friends and family.

We went out for a cruise around the harbour on the historic restored and beautifully maintained William the IV paddle steamer after an invitation from Chris and Val. We had a sublime day for the cruise and the dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers gave us an interesting commentary, an old fashioned and delicious morning tea and best of all, the greatest perspective of our working harbour one could possibly hope for. What a great job they all do and what great entertainment: we all loved it!

Cass and I hope that the state restrictions and virus controls don't interfere with some of our upcoming plans. We hope to visit both Brisbane and Melbourne in the next few months (when we have our second shots) for a couple of standout art exhibitions. We've also booked another trip to Brisbane for later in the year, this time a VIP travel package to the first Ashes test. Anyway, if any or all of them materialise, you can be sure they'll be reported on in this space!

Just a tiny tasting plate of our recently read books: there are actually far too many to mention! Cass and I have been tag-teaming on many books lately with either she or I reading first depending on the time and the title or author. All five Alan Carter books, the NZ series as well as the Cato series. We've read a few of the Quirke series by Benjamin Black with more to come, a new one by Maria Adolfsson called "Fatal Isles", the start of the Washington Poe series by M. W. Craven, "The Puppet Show", "Take Me Apart" by Sara Sligar and Cass has even begun taking tiny bites at a back catalogue of classics with George Eliot's "Middlemarch". These are just a few morsels from our grazing!

I'll endeavour to be a little more timely in my updates, but won't promise anything I can't deliver: stay safe!