Challenges (2025)

Carcoar

• Turkish delight eaten

Leak in garage

• Discover leak in garage day of wood inspection when already low.
• My worry: Leak not just from hole, from flower beds. I'm at fault. Ed will blame trees. Will cost $100K at least to retile coutyard. 
• Have to take away all garden beds, remove tall plants and expose back wall flaws.
• 7 days.  3 awful days, one night of absolute hell.
• Day of moving the bed away, getting rid of soil.
• Afternoon with Sharon and Lydia gave me good night.
• Martin: The plants are over the garage slab. Turned out not.
• We do water test in corner garden bed and it seems to cause leak to worsen (mistaken).
• Made peace with all cash gone, selling house.
• Later seems to be a leak from the other side of the slab. Worry for one day, then rain, I check and it is dry.

Timber replacement

• Expense $10,000 each (But paid $5600)
• 1 awful day concerned about wood moving on back wall
• Take Gary round, place falling apart, then discover leak later
• Needing to organise and decide on supplier
• Let dog out and stepped on Greg's tiles
• Paddy gets Sean to do formal quote. Increase amount? Still cost and materials?  An awful day.
• Worried Hunnit will decide not to do it or not in March. Email asking when, no reply after weekend.
• Sean wants to come round and discuss scope. Will change price?
• Taking a long time. Will be overbudget ?
• I'm going overseas. Who will oversee ?
• Decision re the downstairs handrails. Will look haphazard. Call Sean. Next day, decide on edging.
• Timber project taking long time, will cost more that max budget
• Edging on handrail, will be on both sides? Will look ok?
• Handrail lip: Will pickets be able to be replaced?
• Days of no action at Greg's due to Joe's accident and rain
• Poor communication
• Back balcony rot: Both bottom beams and upper beam. Some pickets. Raining incessantly.
• Who will take over?  Greg? 
• Email from Sean wanting strata contact for invoice ?  Scared to look in emails.
• In Cape Town, work on back balcony? Scared to ask. Eventually Whatapp Martin who said no. Whatsapp Joe who said he had left.
• Sean said close to end. Panic. I send an email telling him about my rear balcony. Jo sees me seriously stressed, pill popping.
• I suggest Hunnit look at 41A ceiling leak. Worry I need to organise.

Tree

• Potential problems?

Martin's ceiling

• Balcony leak?

Leak in garage 2

• Leak not fixed. Coming from side?
• Discover looking at wrong unit

Wall causing leak?

• See leak test happening
• Wood beam cracks
• Wall cracks and sloping?  Checking.
• Rain on wood?

House

• Balconies need to be done (next door + Andrew)

Housemates

• Stress of two weeks to get one before South Africa
• Shra and Martin: Will they get on? They didn't.
• Doubts re Sha: Very intense.
• Arrive home. Kitchen dirty. Hairs in bathroom. Not working. Up till all hours. Angry tone on phone.
• Getting housemate after Shra - we are too old. Very low response.

Sell lenses

• Selling camera and 10-22 mm lens in Central.
• 300 mm lens repair > $450.  Actually $110.
• Will Bo's payment of $ 1850 come through?

Life Trove

• Redirect message for blogspot links.

Lost

• Spare spectacles
• Phone while hiking

Connection

• Xenia "Did you tell anyone about "12 step program?"  I phone Shushann that day.
• Xenia finds out Shushann knows. Profuse explaining & apologising.
• Shushann unhappy when I went camping, not walking with her.

Health

• Cold (two days)

Food

• Eat rotten yoghurt

Dex

• Cosgrove on leave on 15 Jul. Appointment on 12 June. 6 weeks early.
• Lots of worry re Cosgrove on 12 Jun. I only have dex till 11 Jul. Should have till mid Aug.

Market and investment

• Tarriffs tanks $Aus and Asx, then recover and I wish I'd invested.
• South Africans (Russell, Antony) and Rajesh invested in America.
• Jo's home increased as Cape Town influx.
• Elna: Got enough in super to retire. Invested in US.
• Everyone invested in US doing very well (Ant, Elna, Rajesh, Gav) with AI boom

Finances

• Will it last?
• Not able to travel
• Jo's car
• Tax: Need to make amendment

Andre canyoning

• Dex on Fri
• Sharon & Lydia upset
• All organising (wet suit, tent, sleep bag)
• Andre too old?  (76, actually 68)
• iPhone power bank cord not fitting

Beata

• Direct Whatsapp and my response.