Not a spectacular picture. Bear had to be in on the act but there are no Bearmines in it.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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.
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