House Of Webb: Cooking with Reg, outdoor style.

Cheef and pig in barrow

I'm guessing you are over the 'hole' conversation as much as we are, however I believe there are still a few more deep ones to dig.

Reg has been chipping away at the holes on his day off to cut down on labouring costs and I tell you what, I'm glad I'm pregnant as digging through grey clay and rock looks a wee bit hard in the heat of summer.

Of an evening, we are trying to adjust to living out of two rooms, cooking tea without a kitchen and doing everything outside (thank Christ we are doing these renos during summer).
We have found a laundromat round the corner on Somerville Road which does a maxi load (4 washing baskets worth according to the picture) for just $8 and all in 23 mins. I reckon it's cheaper going there than doing the four loads at home. Plus the milk bar next door has a lolly cabinet circa 1988 where you get to make YOUR OWN SELECTION. I was hoping to find a bigger display of Kirks in the fridge, but it was made clear that Coca-cola had made it's way into this little flashback den.

We have also started being super inventive with our outdoor kitchen options. It has become somewhat of a competition of who can create the best dish, using minimal dishes and only a bbq or camping stove (or both). All our cooking is done out the front of the house, next to the portables. We wave to our neighbours with tongs in hand.

Reggie's chilli balls

Last night Reg smashed together the most outstanding chilli meatballs and cous cous that made Cobb high kick in my belly and tonight I got all inventive with fried brown rice and Chinese pork sausage.

Ripper. Apparently pork belly is on the menu one night this week. I bet ya the neighbours will be hanging over our fence!

We are also doing our best with the whole logistical situation of portables. Reg had to shave using a small hand mirror the other day and I ran out of hot water during a hair wash the other morning and had to do a quick stumble in a wet dressing gown to the front tap to check its status. Awkward.

The little Webb family is a little tired. There is always lots to do, toilet paper to purchase (currently going through 8 rolls a week on average), beers to drink, lunges to do, holes to dig, spreadsheets to update, floorboards to select, ebay monitoring to do, taps to select and on top of all that Cheef has asked for a tool belt (he's been a great help with the hole digging).

Me cooking pork snags out the front

This week same massive things are happening. A huge steel beam is being delivered to hold up our heavy roof. Apparently Dougie has arranged for most of his men to bring the beam in down the side of the house and somehow lift and hold the beam in place while it gets attached. A crane can't reach into the rear of our house because of power lines etc.

I won't be able to sleep on beam-eve.

So this week, stay tuned for less hole digging and more beam wedging and re-stumping. If we are well behaved we might even see some joists and bearers start to appear. Wowee.

In the meantime, here's a little hello to Todd's mum. He's doing a great job. Thanks for reading. xx

With love, Ali