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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

BBQ Day: a photo-essay

Yesterday was Canberra Day, a holiday we had and you didn't, to celebrate CANBERRA. I chose to spend the day taking piles of rubbish to the tip, which I thought was apt, and then I planned to build the rest of the outdoor setting gifted to us house-warmingly by Colonel & Lady Duck, and also the fancy-pants BBQ gifted to himself by Best Beloved.

After the tip trip, carrying old wardrobes that had been knocked apart and all the crap that comes with buying new things (which is why I hate buying new things), like masses of plastic and polystyrene

Polystyrene

and cardboard

cardboard

I got a phonecall from byrd, with a background of much high-energy squealing and similar noises. Could he and Owen (Zoe's partner) and all their respective kids come over to ours to get said kids from under the feet of respective partners? Absolutely, says I, if you help me build my BBQ. Righty-ho! They were over in a flash, with kids that emerged from their cars like a cork out of a bottle, amd a six-pack of BBQ-building beer.

So here's our afternoon:

Team BBQ
Team BBQ. byrd and Owen, finding all the bits.


Meanwhile, I am Team Chair. Best Beloved is Team Faff around the Kitchen.

Team DS
In the still quite bare loungeroom (around the corner from the tv-feet-up room) is Team Nintendo DS. To the left, out of shot, is our sandstone mantelpiece and open fire (not lit). Grand Days!

Team BBQ, later
A couple of beers later, Team BBQ haven't lost any tempers, but they're having trouble finding a couple of pieces.

Team Table
Team Chair becomes Team Table, which evolves into Team FAIL until Best Beloved surprises me by working out how to get three of the misaligned legs on a bit more easily, and Owen the Engineer works out the last one. You can see the coppiced paperbarks in the back yard. They're lovely, but they're getting taken out in favour of some fruit trees sometime in the nearish future.

Team Cook
Team Cook, standing around feeling justifiably satisfied, sucking on a beer each, discussing meat smoking and rotisserie strategies, but in the meantime whipping up some humble snags for the kids.

backyard
Our grass-free back yard, complete with new table and chairs. By the end of the evening, all chairs were occupied (although moved inside, because it started raining).

And finally, Padge, out the front on the silly front light pedestal (the light doesn't work so far) with a cheesy black cat statue I found once at a garage sale. It looks up adoringly at people entering, something Padge never does, although he is very welcoming in a dignified kind of way.

padge lamp

One of his nicknames is 'Dignity Puss'.

4 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Oh how lovely. Where to begin. Admire the cleverness in putting things together without losing of tempers. Love the look of the yard and the house. And Padge looks wonderful. Great golden eyes too. Jazz has golden eyes as well, whereas Jewel (in keeping with her name) is an aquaramine.

Mrs B said...

Team Belgium admires Team Chair's assembly skillz!

Cat Drawings said...

The place looks gorgeous and the cats seem to like it. Lovely.

Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen) said...

The handsome, regal Padge! As long as he and Pooter approve, nothing else matters, right?