Wow! Ages since I have updated this blog.
The blocks were finally titled on 5 February 2010. There was a rush to get transfer of ownership of Troy and Zoe's block and get their house started. They had to start by a specific date for the first home owner's grant and Foxy was at the ready with diggers waiting for the call that sign over had been completed. Their house and pool are now well and truly finished a year down the track.
We were going to build houses on two of the remaining blocks but the accountant advised against it - not only a crappy time for selling but GST would then kick in and cost us MORE money; as if the CGT won't be enough. We should have consulted him before we had plans drawn and colours choices made lol. They were sold at end 2011. The remaining block has been kept and will be Big G's. It is a huge relief to no longer have that huge debt hanging over us . Well, I still have a debt; consequence of building a house, buying furniture etc.
April 2010 - a 3.15kW solar system was added to my house; affectionately known as Son of HAL. I have paid no electricity bills for over a year now and, in fact, have been getting paid by AGL for what I export.
Still trying to get yard and gardens into some semblence of order. Money money money - it all costs!
I must try to put up some pics of the trees I had planted. They have grown so much!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Don't fence me in
Well, yeah, do fence me in!
Much hard work from Stephen and Graham doing the fencing over the past week or so - I was just the Gofer. Amazing the difference that having machines makes to the whole thing. Stephen dug the 27 postholes in about half an hour with his Huski and auger. Then the rest of the day was spent filling the hole with concrete; dump the post in; make sure it's level & upright; move on to the next one. Much easier than the old way we used to do it!
Couple of days later they did the rails - butt joined straight onto post, none of this checking the post out stuff! Then the palings. The fence down driveway is just normal paling against paling. The one in front of house is paling on top of paling so there will be no gaps - it's What Neighbour? fencing. A nail gun makes things a lot easier too! So that's about 50 or so metres of fencing done.
Stephen then used the Huski to dump loads of soil over the fences for Zoe and I to spread out in the gardens. There is now 3 metres of bark to put down too - at least it is light!
Easy to spend a couple of hundred on plants and they cover hardly anything.
The east side of the backyard - the bushes have grown a bit. Well except for the two deaduns - bloody lilly pillies! The back fence is now going to have Pittosporum 'Emerald Lustre' along it (the shiney leafed plant). The side garden has a Fiji Fire, couple of murrayas, a native rosemary, miniature lavender, geraniums and marigolds.
The west side - the new side fence and gates. The 'sticks' are dracaenas that I rescued from old yard and pushed into the dirt to root. They are now growing new shoots and can be moved to wherever. The one lonely planted tree is a native gardenia Randia Fitzalani. In the foreground is the Corona tree (a lime) and a couple of pots of grassy plants.
Services alley the girls call it. The path to the front door. I should have thought this one out a bit more and moved entry to side of house like Zoe and Troy will have. Ah well, maybe next time ;)
The other end of the alley. The new side fence and gate is on the left of the car. Plants so far to go in are Bird of Paradise Strelitzia Reginae, Tibouchina Jules, Angelonia Serena, large size of agapanthus and small size of agapathus, and some white flowered ground cover thingy. The front part of this area gets full sun most of the day. The alley is in shade during the mornings. I would love gardenias there but I think it will be too hot.
Driveway - 28 metres which I am NOT going to reverse down. And all that space that I have to fill with plants as well. Definitely roadside type plants - grasses - for this hot area.
The adventure continues ....................
Much hard work from Stephen and Graham doing the fencing over the past week or so - I was just the Gofer. Amazing the difference that having machines makes to the whole thing. Stephen dug the 27 postholes in about half an hour with his Huski and auger. Then the rest of the day was spent filling the hole with concrete; dump the post in; make sure it's level & upright; move on to the next one. Much easier than the old way we used to do it!
Couple of days later they did the rails - butt joined straight onto post, none of this checking the post out stuff! Then the palings. The fence down driveway is just normal paling against paling. The one in front of house is paling on top of paling so there will be no gaps - it's What Neighbour? fencing. A nail gun makes things a lot easier too! So that's about 50 or so metres of fencing done.
Stephen then used the Huski to dump loads of soil over the fences for Zoe and I to spread out in the gardens. There is now 3 metres of bark to put down too - at least it is light!
Easy to spend a couple of hundred on plants and they cover hardly anything.
The east side of the backyard - the bushes have grown a bit. Well except for the two deaduns - bloody lilly pillies! The back fence is now going to have Pittosporum 'Emerald Lustre' along it (the shiney leafed plant). The side garden has a Fiji Fire, couple of murrayas, a native rosemary, miniature lavender, geraniums and marigolds.
The west side - the new side fence and gates. The 'sticks' are dracaenas that I rescued from old yard and pushed into the dirt to root. They are now growing new shoots and can be moved to wherever. The one lonely planted tree is a native gardenia Randia Fitzalani. In the foreground is the Corona tree (a lime) and a couple of pots of grassy plants.
Services alley the girls call it. The path to the front door. I should have thought this one out a bit more and moved entry to side of house like Zoe and Troy will have. Ah well, maybe next time ;)
The other end of the alley. The new side fence and gate is on the left of the car. Plants so far to go in are Bird of Paradise Strelitzia Reginae, Tibouchina Jules, Angelonia Serena, large size of agapanthus and small size of agapathus, and some white flowered ground cover thingy. The front part of this area gets full sun most of the day. The alley is in shade during the mornings. I would love gardenias there but I think it will be too hot.
Driveway - 28 metres which I am NOT going to reverse down. And all that space that I have to fill with plants as well. Definitely roadside type plants - grasses - for this hot area.The adventure continues ....................
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
End of the year
And almost the end of this part of the journey.
The council now has cashed all the final cheques, including the monstrous amount for infrastructure (an almost $80,000 "donation"). So now I just sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting for the sealed plans to come back. Then it's off to the solicitor to have them lodged with Titles Office or whatever it's called these days, and we will have 5 instead of 1.
Zoe can then build her house after the long long looooooong time waiting.
It's been a stressful year. The house build wasn't too bad - colour choices are stressful! In retrospect, a lot of things that got forgotten at last minute, or could have been changed; but nothing major. Certainly no complaints against the builder, who must have had his patience stretched to the limit with the stuff ups caused by the sub division part. My walls are straight, nothing leaks and nothing has broken.
The sub division on the other hand - arrrghghh!! horrible horrible horrible. I don't think there has been one step where there wasn't a hold up or problem, and most of the problems were caused by Project Services. damn them to hell.
The next stage can begin soon .. Zoe and Troy's house. And the building of 3 houses on the front blocks ... sigh ... I am a sucker for punishment I think lol. But rather that, than pay around $100k in CGT.
A happy new year for us all :)
The council now has cashed all the final cheques, including the monstrous amount for infrastructure (an almost $80,000 "donation"). So now I just sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting for the sealed plans to come back. Then it's off to the solicitor to have them lodged with Titles Office or whatever it's called these days, and we will have 5 instead of 1.
Zoe can then build her house after the long long looooooong time waiting.
It's been a stressful year. The house build wasn't too bad - colour choices are stressful! In retrospect, a lot of things that got forgotten at last minute, or could have been changed; but nothing major. Certainly no complaints against the builder, who must have had his patience stretched to the limit with the stuff ups caused by the sub division part. My walls are straight, nothing leaks and nothing has broken.
The sub division on the other hand - arrrghghh!! horrible horrible horrible. I don't think there has been one step where there wasn't a hold up or problem, and most of the problems were caused by Project Services. damn them to hell.
The next stage can begin soon .. Zoe and Troy's house. And the building of 3 houses on the front blocks ... sigh ... I am a sucker for punishment I think lol. But rather that, than pay around $100k in CGT.
A happy new year for us all :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Demolition - Day 9
Gone! Almost. Today the orange machine ate the rest of the 'walls' and removed the stumps. The last thing standing was the old downstairs dunny - a small weatherboard room on it's own. Looked funny but I didn't get pics cos the demolition dudes were in the way all the time.
They have also removed the old septic - gingerly - even though I told them it hadn't actually been used for about 20 years.
As I stood chatting to them, one reached down and said " look at this!" . He had pulled out of the dirt, a fully tied noose! Zoe and I were a bit dubious about the contents of the septic after that.
So tomorrow they complete the clean up and take up the last of the stuff they are keeping.
They have also removed the old septic - gingerly - even though I told them it hadn't actually been used for about 20 years.
As I stood chatting to them, one reached down and said " look at this!" . He had pulled out of the dirt, a fully tied noose! Zoe and I were a bit dubious about the contents of the septic after that.
So tomorrow they complete the clean up and take up the last of the stuff they are keeping.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Demolition - Day 8
Well they had left an orange machine yesterday and today it gone on with its munching of the house. Now it looks really forlorn. A shock as you drive up and there's no house!
Some of the posts have been removed. A remaining walls just tumbled. A lot of mess to be cleaned up.
So one more day, maybe two, and its gone.
South side of house
Some of the posts have been removed. A remaining walls just tumbled. A lot of mess to be cleaned up.
So one more day, maybe two, and its gone.
South side of house
Demolition - day 7
Not much difference to see today. A few walls missing and all the 6 inch pine floorboards were removed. You could only see that if you stood underneath.
Finally they took the old front door. It had been standing there, without windows, walls or roof around it, complete with its lace curtain. Long as no one got in !
Finally they took the old front door. It had been standing there, without windows, walls or roof around it, complete with its lace curtain. Long as no one got in !
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Demolition - Day 6
The skeleton is slowly disappearing. The pile of timber to be taken away, in one form or another, grows steadily.
South side of house where bedrooms used to be.
The back verandah once had railings too.
South side of house where bedrooms used to be.
The back verandah once had railings too.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Demolition - Day 5
Well as Megan and Dave's house gets a roof, the old house lost hers. The zincalume has been removed. It looks very forlorn now.
It was too dark by the time I got home to take pics, but I will do so in the morning.
Bit of panic stations when BCC trucks turned up at 7am and started drilling on the newly laid road surface (of course). I went and spoke to the Stop/Go Man to make sure it wasn't the water pipes being dug. It wasn't. Phew! That probably involves actually having the plumber lined up ready to connect new house to new meter and is supposed to happen on 30th October.
It was too dark by the time I got home to take pics, but I will do so in the morning.
Bit of panic stations when BCC trucks turned up at 7am and started drilling on the newly laid road surface (of course). I went and spoke to the Stop/Go Man to make sure it wasn't the water pipes being dug. It wasn't. Phew! That probably involves actually having the plumber lined up ready to connect new house to new meter and is supposed to happen on 30th October.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Demolition - Day 4
Changes weren't very noticeable from outside on Friday. More removal of VJ inside and all the ceilings and cornices were down and stacked ready to move. One of the demolition men said that he thought it would be another week before it's finished!
Today they removed the weatherboards and most of the windows. There are still some VJ walls inside and I can only assume they have left them for strength.
Southside of the house where the bedrooms used to be.
Today they removed the weatherboards and most of the windows. There are still some VJ walls inside and I can only assume they have left them for strength.
Southside of the house where the bedrooms used to be.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Demolition - Day 2
It doesn't look very different from outside today. Inside they have removed some of the VJ walls in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. They have also taken down most of the pressed metal ceilings. They hose in the roof to settle the dust, so the floors now have a coating of dust and/or sludge. It smells awful. I blame the possums for that!
The 'attic' - wonder if there were any flowers up there? It doesn't look as high as it really is. You can easily stand up; it's like a whole other storey.
Floor pic for Darryl
The 'attic' - wonder if there were any flowers up there? It doesn't look as high as it really is. You can easily stand up; it's like a whole other storey.
Floor pic for Darryl
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Going, going ....
Today is Demolition Day ... the demolition man looks nothing like Sly Stallone, which could be a good thing, and he is coherent.
Early this morning .....
End of the day .......
The old house is being demolished because it has to be either moved onto its own block (currently straddles two) or demolished before finalisation of sub division. We tried to sell it for removal but the company reneged at the last minute. I now have no choice but to get it demolished. At least the 'bits' will be used for fixing other old Queenslanders.
Early this morning .....
End of the day .......
The old house is being demolished because it has to be either moved onto its own block (currently straddles two) or demolished before finalisation of sub division. We tried to sell it for removal but the company reneged at the last minute. I now have no choice but to get it demolished. At least the 'bits' will be used for fixing other old Queenslanders.
Empire Zoysia
This was a year ago.
Not a spectacular picture. Bear had to be in on the act but there are no Bearmines in it.
Not a spectacular picture. Bear had to be in on the act but there are no Bearmines in it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
As the wheel turns ...
Wow! It's been ages since I updated.
As it turned out, I wasn't sole turfer (thanks the gods for that). I had sprinkled lawn starter and raked it in. The Empire Zoysia came on two pallets - 40 metres on each. I had only laid a few rows, when Stephen dropped in after helping Richard lay his turf, complete with the lil machine. He did a quick run around with it and flattened it all out better than we had been able to do; course the lawn starter all ended up where my driveway is gonna go - and doesn't the nutgrass love it! It took a couple of hours to do the lot. I was extremely grateful for his help. I slept well that night!
So a month or so on, the lawn is settled in and had it's first mow awwwwwww. We could also take down the fence keeping Bear off and he can now happily crap on it.
The sub division crawls on. The sewer and storm water are finally done, and all blood money paid to the Qld Govt via Dept Housing. $10,000 bond for a year, $2,000 to step foot on their property and an insurance policy costing $1,250 for a day's work - and the tenants don't see a cent of it. The electrical work was completed last week and I now have 3 green boxes out the front. Water is scheduled for 30 October.
And tomorrow ... they start to demolish the old house.
Sometimes the Kanga couldn't cope ....
Oops!
As it turned out, I wasn't sole turfer (thanks the gods for that). I had sprinkled lawn starter and raked it in. The Empire Zoysia came on two pallets - 40 metres on each. I had only laid a few rows, when Stephen dropped in after helping Richard lay his turf, complete with the lil machine. He did a quick run around with it and flattened it all out better than we had been able to do; course the lawn starter all ended up where my driveway is gonna go - and doesn't the nutgrass love it! It took a couple of hours to do the lot. I was extremely grateful for his help. I slept well that night!
So a month or so on, the lawn is settled in and had it's first mow awwwwwww. We could also take down the fence keeping Bear off and he can now happily crap on it.
The sub division crawls on. The sewer and storm water are finally done, and all blood money paid to the Qld Govt via Dept Housing. $10,000 bond for a year, $2,000 to step foot on their property and an insurance policy costing $1,250 for a day's work - and the tenants don't see a cent of it. The electrical work was completed last week and I now have 3 green boxes out the front. Water is scheduled for 30 October.
And tomorrow ... they start to demolish the old house.
Sometimes the Kanga couldn't cope ....
Oops!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The internet can do that???
iinet, after saying it would take 5 -10 working days to hook me up, are not to be outdone by Telstra..... and on the 4th day, there was net! My comworld is complete :)
Troy, cos 'only boys can use the Kanga', had a ball moving stuff around .. until it became work. The lil machine was worth every cent of its hire money .. the pile of rocks became smaller piles in more appropriate places, the crusher dust got dispensed around the house perimeter and 8 cubic metres of top soil was spread around my lil back yard .. with a bit of help from me and Zoe and Megan, and a board and some rakes. Bear was supervising until we got sick of him barking orders and confined him to the laundry. We also put in a few sleepers for garden edges and naturally I had to go buy a few bushes and flowers :) Gotta have some of the fun part .. some pansies, and marigolds, and a mini lavender.
Tomorrow the zoysia arrives ... I am sole turfer .. I will be there forever except I have to go to work on Thursday to recuperate.
I will put up some piccies when I get the camera back .. especially the OOPS one.
Troy, cos 'only boys can use the Kanga', had a ball moving stuff around .. until it became work. The lil machine was worth every cent of its hire money .. the pile of rocks became smaller piles in more appropriate places, the crusher dust got dispensed around the house perimeter and 8 cubic metres of top soil was spread around my lil back yard .. with a bit of help from me and Zoe and Megan, and a board and some rakes. Bear was supervising until we got sick of him barking orders and confined him to the laundry. We also put in a few sleepers for garden edges and naturally I had to go buy a few bushes and flowers :) Gotta have some of the fun part .. some pansies, and marigolds, and a mini lavender.
Tomorrow the zoysia arrives ... I am sole turfer .. I will be there forever except I have to go to work on Thursday to recuperate.
I will put up some piccies when I get the camera back .. especially the OOPS one.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Why don't you give me a call?
Well .. full marks to Telstra!
They ported the phone from Optus on Monday 5 August (and sent me a letter last week telling when they were doing it!) .
I rang yesterday to sort out the 'lines on which house' problem and got an operator (they've all been Aussies for Telstra) who had a brain. He decided the best thing to do was cancel my 7407 number (the old house one) and then change the 2541 (new house, temp line) to 7407. Easy as. No physical unhookings and it would be completed by Friday 7th, he said. Gave me the Seibel reference number (just in case).
Well it was completed before midday today, a day ahead of schedule!
I already put my net application in as, of lunchtime. Let's see if iiNet can do as well.
Much fun to be had this weekend with a skip for all those things we thought we needed all these years but didn't really. And a Kanga! with attachments. The boys have baggsed it already. Looks like I'm in the hayfever brigade, throwing out rubbish.
They ported the phone from Optus on Monday 5 August (and sent me a letter last week telling when they were doing it!) .
I rang yesterday to sort out the 'lines on which house' problem and got an operator (they've all been Aussies for Telstra) who had a brain. He decided the best thing to do was cancel my 7407 number (the old house one) and then change the 2541 (new house, temp line) to 7407. Easy as. No physical unhookings and it would be completed by Friday 7th, he said. Gave me the Seibel reference number (just in case).
Well it was completed before midday today, a day ahead of schedule!
I already put my net application in as, of lunchtime. Let's see if iiNet can do as well.
Much fun to be had this weekend with a skip for all those things we thought we needed all these years but didn't really. And a Kanga! with attachments. The boys have baggsed it already. Looks like I'm in the hayfever brigade, throwing out rubbish.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Ring Ring
I am slowly going mad (madder?) and I am being driven there by telecommunications companies at an ever increasing rate of knots.
The first problem was that the phone box (pit?) out the front had to be upgraded - which took weeks and weeks.
The next problem: move the phone line (and number) from the old house to the new house.
Simple, you think? Apparently not.
Optus: We can't do it. Our systems can't handle two houses (lines) on the same address.
WTF? what if I had two phone lines? or had to replace a line?
Optus: You have to get Telstra to port it back to them; they install a new line to new house then they can move the old number onto the new line (we also can't install new lines) ; then you can re-sign with us.
Can I keep my old plans eg. the internet one cos your new ones suck
Optus: Nope. New plans all round - and more money for less. And it will all take weeks. Months. Possibly years!
Needless to say, the complaint I lodged has not been answered after a month.
Telstra: Can't understand why Optus can't do it. Sure we can do a new line into the house.
and they did - within a week. Told me exactly what I had to do. Port back number, cancel temporary number, move old number onto new line. Easy peasy!
Telstra: Port it back? not a problem!
except it has been a month - and as of this morning, I'm onto my third application cos they keep losing the others or the system cancels them accidently. (They are using Seibel - so does ATO, so I fully understand how this happens)
This is the quick version without the long phone conversations, back and forth, and forth and back. And the cold dark trips up to the old house to check emails, submit assignments or check the answering machine.
I have resorted to a 30 metre extension line (well, 2 x 15 metre with an adaptor) patched into the Starserve, which I hooked up yesterday. It is working well so far; hope it doesn't rain. Or someone trips over it.
I keep asking myself how much I want to keep the phone number I have had for the past 20 years. VOIP is looking good. So are carrier pigeons or smoke signals.
Fox wasn't much better until Troy got a supervisor. We could have had satellite the following day but opted for the few days wait for the cables to be installed. So we are Foxed if not Phoned.
And I thought the dramas finished when the house was finished. *cue maniacal laughter*
The first problem was that the phone box (pit?) out the front had to be upgraded - which took weeks and weeks.
The next problem: move the phone line (and number) from the old house to the new house.
Simple, you think? Apparently not.
Optus: We can't do it. Our systems can't handle two houses (lines) on the same address.
WTF? what if I had two phone lines? or had to replace a line?
Optus: You have to get Telstra to port it back to them; they install a new line to new house then they can move the old number onto the new line (we also can't install new lines) ; then you can re-sign with us.
Can I keep my old plans eg. the internet one cos your new ones suck
Optus: Nope. New plans all round - and more money for less. And it will all take weeks. Months. Possibly years!
Needless to say, the complaint I lodged has not been answered after a month.
Telstra: Can't understand why Optus can't do it. Sure we can do a new line into the house.
and they did - within a week. Told me exactly what I had to do. Port back number, cancel temporary number, move old number onto new line. Easy peasy!
Telstra: Port it back? not a problem!
except it has been a month - and as of this morning, I'm onto my third application cos they keep losing the others or the system cancels them accidently. (They are using Seibel - so does ATO, so I fully understand how this happens)
This is the quick version without the long phone conversations, back and forth, and forth and back. And the cold dark trips up to the old house to check emails, submit assignments or check the answering machine.
I have resorted to a 30 metre extension line (well, 2 x 15 metre with an adaptor) patched into the Starserve, which I hooked up yesterday. It is working well so far; hope it doesn't rain. Or someone trips over it.
I keep asking myself how much I want to keep the phone number I have had for the past 20 years. VOIP is looking good. So are carrier pigeons or smoke signals.
Fox wasn't much better until Troy got a supervisor. We could have had satellite the following day but opted for the few days wait for the cables to be installed. So we are Foxed if not Phoned.
And I thought the dramas finished when the house was finished. *cue maniacal laughter*
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Moving in very slowly
After getting the keys on Friday 17th, it has been a slow haul with moving in. At least we can take our time unlike most people who have to do it all in one day and then spend months unable to find anything. Not that I can find anything lol.
Dramas with tanks, pumps and pipes last weekend. The concreting in entry, laundry entry and al fresco was done on Saturday 18th which makes a huge difference to the amount of dirt getting tracked in. I'm glad I don't have carpet in the living areas!
We will eventually have phone and Foxtel in the new house - they're just very slow. So at the moment, the old house is the entertainment area.
My favourite toy is the dishwasher. The kids are loving having a nice kitchen and a real oven instead of the old OffNBurn. I haven't cooked anything so far! Troy was first off the rank on Saturday night with a roast leg of lamb; this was the first night we all had moved into new house. Andrew followed up on Sunday with devilled sausages and potato bake. Apparently my new Scanpans are 'okay' too.
A few quick pics of the chaos:
My walk in robe with the Elfa system. I think I need to get a few more colours in clothes! Everything seems to be black or red. Actually most of my t shirts are blue (or black) but they are in my chest of drawers.
My new bed with Mr Squishy. I need to get a new quilt cover. The rest of my room is total chaos.
Looking back to front door. That's my new lounges in foreground. Comfy and much bigger than I'd thought they would be! And heavier!!
Dining area with Megan's table and chairs. Admire the extremely expensive screen doors please - they cost as much as security screen on rest of house!
Kitchen. Troy put the pantry shelves up last weekend. Microwave and toaster live in the pantry.
Al fresco. It's amazing how much sun comes in there during the morning at the moment - it will be nice in winter.
Bear smiling for the camera. He's not a happy dog since he isn't allowed in the new house except for the laundry where he sleeps at night.
Dramas with tanks, pumps and pipes last weekend. The concreting in entry, laundry entry and al fresco was done on Saturday 18th which makes a huge difference to the amount of dirt getting tracked in. I'm glad I don't have carpet in the living areas!
We will eventually have phone and Foxtel in the new house - they're just very slow. So at the moment, the old house is the entertainment area.
My favourite toy is the dishwasher. The kids are loving having a nice kitchen and a real oven instead of the old OffNBurn. I haven't cooked anything so far! Troy was first off the rank on Saturday night with a roast leg of lamb; this was the first night we all had moved into new house. Andrew followed up on Sunday with devilled sausages and potato bake. Apparently my new Scanpans are 'okay' too.
A few quick pics of the chaos:
My walk in robe with the Elfa system. I think I need to get a few more colours in clothes! Everything seems to be black or red. Actually most of my t shirts are blue (or black) but they are in my chest of drawers.
My new bed with Mr Squishy. I need to get a new quilt cover. The rest of my room is total chaos.
Looking back to front door. That's my new lounges in foreground. Comfy and much bigger than I'd thought they would be! And heavier!! 
Dining area with Megan's table and chairs. Admire the extremely expensive screen doors please - they cost as much as security screen on rest of house!
Kitchen. Troy put the pantry shelves up last weekend. Microwave and toaster live in the pantry.
Al fresco. It's amazing how much sun comes in there during the morning at the moment - it will be nice in winter.
Bear smiling for the camera. He's not a happy dog since he isn't allowed in the new house except for the laundry where he sleeps at night.
Friday, April 17, 2009
I've got a brand new key
This afternoon I became the proud (and much poorer) owner of My House.
There should be drumrolls and fanfares and marching girls (or boys) with pom poms, when you get Handover. Instead it was sort of tame. Foxy came. Changed the front door lock. Handed over the remotes for the garage. Went through every guarantee and piece of paper he had. And that was it. Done. Dusted. Finito.
And I resumed moving stuff into the house - which I had been doing anyway. Tonight I get to sleep there on Mr Squishy. ahhhhhhh! Tomorrow I will be woken at the crack of dawn by cement trucks. Finally it has stopped raining long enough to get the concreting done.
There should be drumrolls and fanfares and marching girls (or boys) with pom poms, when you get Handover. Instead it was sort of tame. Foxy came. Changed the front door lock. Handed over the remotes for the garage. Went through every guarantee and piece of paper he had. And that was it. Done. Dusted. Finito.
And I resumed moving stuff into the house - which I had been doing anyway. Tonight I get to sleep there on Mr Squishy. ahhhhhhh! Tomorrow I will be woken at the crack of dawn by cement trucks. Finally it has stopped raining long enough to get the concreting done.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Let there be lights!
After spending most of the Easter weekend twiddling my thumbs because it was raining raining raining and inside the house was quite dark, FINALLY on Tuesday morning Sir Energex rode up in his trusty white steed and connected various things, and I had power.
I am also the proud owner of two electricity accounts .. blah. I think Lucinda has a photo somewhere of me actually flipping the main switch and letting the juice flow - well it flowed after a couple of false starts with the surge protectors or fuses or whatever the hell those switches are. We turned on all the lights and fans (not all at once) and everything worked except one bulb in the main bathroom's heat lamp thing; it's not burnt out so probably just needs a wiggle.
What a difference being able to go in there at night! Luckily I have put blinds on most of the windows because in the living area it's a bit like being in a goldfish bowl at night. Those dark tinted doors no longer protect us from the curious eyes of the neighbours. The dining area has a blind too, as of tonight. I am still trying to decide what to put on the big glass doors - everything is so expensive and I have already spent Mr Rudd's money a few times over. Unfortunately the Lotto fairy hasn't visited me.
I probably owe Stephen about a tanker of rum by now - he has put the rangehood up and installed my dishwasher after I was having problems.
The pump for the tank is having a few problems with its solanoid but should be fixed tomorrow or next day. I am still waiting for Foxy to do his thing. I assume he wants his money and I want my house!! My new bed arrives tomorrow for Mr Squishy to lie on and I am tempted to just sleep there tomorrow night, whether I have had handover or not. Which could be a big surprise if any tradies turn up early the next morning - poor dears. :)
Zoe has vacuumed and dusted the three bedrooms, the bathrooms but wasn't touching the toilet after The Incident. So she has all that ready for them to move into their rooms. My room still needs to be done after the bed arrival. I also still haven't put up the Elfa. Or done the Starserve. Was a bit reluctant to drill holes into walls when I didn't officially own it all but that is wearing off very quickly.
The kitchen has mostly been prepared - the drawers have that rubbery stuff that stops things slipping as liners. Fridge in and on; dishwasher installed. I have pantry shelves to do.
Some kitchen piccies with my pretty glass splashback ....... the metallic doesn't show up as much as I thought it would, just makes it sort of changeable in the various lights.
Sink and the Asko dishwasher beside it - can't wait to have that to use every night!
Looking straight through to pantry door - I haven't done the shelves in there yet. They're on The ToDoList.
View from other side showing my nice new fridge. Freaky thing it is - I plugged it in and the clock inside had the right time on it. dododododododo! Rangehood needs cleaning of Stephen's paw prints.
I also have 10 metres of crusher dust to spread out which got added to The Todolist this arvo.
Six weeks ago I fell off the garage slab and buggered my ankle. It's still 'not right' - stairs aren't fun and running is out of the question. Tonight I fell over some left over mesh and made bleedy bits on my shins and hurt the toe I broke a few years ago. This is the other leg to the ankle. I'll need a bloody wheelchair soon!
I am also the proud owner of two electricity accounts .. blah. I think Lucinda has a photo somewhere of me actually flipping the main switch and letting the juice flow - well it flowed after a couple of false starts with the surge protectors or fuses or whatever the hell those switches are. We turned on all the lights and fans (not all at once) and everything worked except one bulb in the main bathroom's heat lamp thing; it's not burnt out so probably just needs a wiggle.
What a difference being able to go in there at night! Luckily I have put blinds on most of the windows because in the living area it's a bit like being in a goldfish bowl at night. Those dark tinted doors no longer protect us from the curious eyes of the neighbours. The dining area has a blind too, as of tonight. I am still trying to decide what to put on the big glass doors - everything is so expensive and I have already spent Mr Rudd's money a few times over. Unfortunately the Lotto fairy hasn't visited me.
I probably owe Stephen about a tanker of rum by now - he has put the rangehood up and installed my dishwasher after I was having problems.
The pump for the tank is having a few problems with its solanoid but should be fixed tomorrow or next day. I am still waiting for Foxy to do his thing. I assume he wants his money and I want my house!! My new bed arrives tomorrow for Mr Squishy to lie on and I am tempted to just sleep there tomorrow night, whether I have had handover or not. Which could be a big surprise if any tradies turn up early the next morning - poor dears. :)
Zoe has vacuumed and dusted the three bedrooms, the bathrooms but wasn't touching the toilet after The Incident. So she has all that ready for them to move into their rooms. My room still needs to be done after the bed arrival. I also still haven't put up the Elfa. Or done the Starserve. Was a bit reluctant to drill holes into walls when I didn't officially own it all but that is wearing off very quickly.
The kitchen has mostly been prepared - the drawers have that rubbery stuff that stops things slipping as liners. Fridge in and on; dishwasher installed. I have pantry shelves to do.
Some kitchen piccies with my pretty glass splashback ....... the metallic doesn't show up as much as I thought it would, just makes it sort of changeable in the various lights.
Sink and the Asko dishwasher beside it - can't wait to have that to use every night!
Looking straight through to pantry door - I haven't done the shelves in there yet. They're on The ToDoList.
View from other side showing my nice new fridge. Freaky thing it is - I plugged it in and the clock inside had the right time on it. dododododododo! Rangehood needs cleaning of Stephen's paw prints.
I also have 10 metres of crusher dust to spread out which got added to The Todolist this arvo.
Six weeks ago I fell off the garage slab and buggered my ankle. It's still 'not right' - stairs aren't fun and running is out of the question. Tonight I fell over some left over mesh and made bleedy bits on my shins and hurt the toe I broke a few years ago. This is the other leg to the ankle. I'll need a bloody wheelchair soon!
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