Hi Judy and Charlie. Our tarp is waiting eagerly for your next visit. It will be getting a workout for the next couple of days with assorted visitors. Hope you can come next year!

In the last hour, water's been pouring off the tarp in all directions cos we've just had a very lively thunderstorm. It's good though, because the garden has had a good watering, and it's supposed to clear by tomorrow. The weather tomorrow sounds perfect - not too hot, which suits me fine.

Meanwhile, while John was trying to attach a pole to the laundry building a couple of hours ago, he accidentally drilled through a water pipe, and water was gushing out sideways. We had to call an emergency plumber and turn the water off. We were bemoaning the fact of no water to make a cup of tea, until I went outside in the rain with a jug and collected some rainwater for the kettle. Very nice cuppa it was too. I've done that lots of times when I was camping.

So it's been exciting, to say the least, and expensive - $250 just for the plumber to call out on a Sunday. If he takes more than an hour, it will be another $165, which we don't really have - but I don't think it will take too long. He's out there now with his welding gear under another tarp which John rigged up for him to work under.

Well as they say, it never rains but it pours.......