Dust

It’s amazing how quickly our mudpit has turned into a dust bowl.

I am growing weary.  The progress at our house is tiny, baby steps.  Well, not really…because baby steps implies a sense of excitement and pride.  So, I think it’s a better comparison to say our house is moving along at the pace of a snail.  A snail who is feeling tired.

I am trying hard to be patient, and I really do think I do an ok job of that.  Yet, my patience occurs simultaneously beside impatience.  I’m an enigma like that through and through.  I have to keep telling myself not to compare our situation with our neighbours who have a cool, calm, stylish abode and can sit on their back deck with their outdoor tv & luxury outdoor kitchen entertaining friends in an oasis of relaxation.  It’s lucky they are such great neighbours.  But, they are at the end of the process.  Whereas we are at the beginning.  We are about a quarter of the way through, and that’s probably even being optimistic.  Like the tired snail, when I lift my head to try to see the end point, I can’t actually see anything except for more hard work and sweat and mess.

Yet, I know that my neighbours went through this too, and not without pain.  And I really should mention that I don’t actually do any of the work.  Oh no, it’s all Pauly P with some help from Mick aka Pop.  What I do is hold things (string, tape measure, survey stick) for them at random times, and bring out a few refreshments sporadically, and try to keep an inquisitive toddler out of the trenches or from the path of a swinging maddock and away from the heavy moving machinery.  Sometimes I think doing the hard labour would be preferable…!

But, I know we will get there eventually.  After all, even if it feels like a lifetime has passed, not so long ago this….

was transformed into this.

Money Pit

There’s no easier way to spend money than on an extension.  Just dig some holes & bury about ten grand in the ground.  Then open your wallet continuously for months on end.  Hopefully you’ll see some results before your hair goes grey.  We are not at that point yet.  No grey hair (thankfully!) & not much to show for all the $$$ we have forked out.

Our new extension- In Progress

Enjoying January

I know that January is already over, but thought I’d recap on what’s been going on.

We have been very busy but not much has actually been accomplished on the house yet!  So far, we have- painted, polished floorboards, replaced window glass in entry way, installed window locks, installed airconditioner, installed ceiling fans & lights, installed fire alarm, erected garden shed, picked tiles out for our bathroom, termite system installed around house, some trees have been cut down, & we’ve received development approval from the council for our extension.  The things that are currently in progress are: arborist coming tomorrow for advice regarding significant willow tree, green home assessment happening Wednesday, waiting back to hear on price for a new roof, & Paul is finishing building drawings to send to our engineer.  Phew.  Actually, now that I’ve written it down, it seems that we have accomplished some things!

Some friends visited last weekend, & luckily they know a lot more about the plants & trees growing in our garden than we do!  We discovered that we have lilac, jasmine, and pomegranate & heaps of other stuff that I now forget!  We were also shocked to find out that there was an oleander tree by the side of the house.  I’ve been told a story about army reservists who were camping in the bush & used a branch from an oleander tree to stir their baked beans.  They all died.  You can imagine how sick to the stomach I felt knowing that an oleander was growing so close to where we live.  Paul has now cut it down.  I am so grateful that our friends could pass on their knowledge on this!

We also have fabulous grapes!  We’ve been informed they are probably muscat.  They are lovely to eat on the inside, but the skins are really tough & chewy.  Needless to say- Ash is loving them!

 

We have also been going for lots of bike rides since moving- it is much easier to ride on the flat!  Last weekend, we rode out to Glenelg for a morning tea picnic of popcorn and apples.  Today, we rode our bikes to the Farmer’s Market.  I think we might try to go to the market most weekends- the fruit & veg is delicious & so cheap! 

Speaking of food, this is the first time that I’ve had an electric oven, & not a gas one.  I was actually really worried about cooking with electricity.  Also, it took me a while to work up the courage to use the oven, as our kitchen is really pretty gross.  However, I am pleased to share that the electric oven rocks!  I have made some really great dishes in it, & in fact, I think it works a lot better than my old oven, which was a brand new gas one!   Things seem to cook in the exact time that recipes say they should!  So far, my successes have included- a tunisian honey cake, Paul’s bday cake (butter cake with a few spoons of milo) & a gorgeous banana tart.  And tonight, I did a superb roast beef, complete with yorkshire pudding.  Nom nom nom.

New year in a new house

We are very happy in our new home!  I think I’ve only just realised- it really does make a difference where you live.  I never actually believed that.  I used to think that you could/ should be happy no matter where you are.  But now I am a true believer that where you live, must be your home.  Not just a house that you live in.

So, anyway, we are really enjoying our new lifestyle in our new location. 

Of course, this house needs plenty of work, which does seem to be slow in happening.  But that actually doesn’t matter.  When I open the front door & see the gorgeous wide hallway (with freshly polished floors), I feel happy!

Heat relief

It’s what we all needed & it’s finally here.
Just in time for my birthday. Hooray!

We are going away for the weekend to Wirrabara. Bushfires have been in that area, so we have been wondering if we would actually be able to get there, but thankfully the cool change has meant it is safe for us to go. We are staying at an organic stonefruit orchard. Yummy!!!!!

I have also been spoilt in advance of my birthday by my lovely hubby. Last Sunday, he surprised me with breakfast at Henley Beach, where we met a friend (who is a jeweller). She is making me an eternity ring. How lucky am I?

The whole buying a new house saga is still moving slooooowly. We have our fingers crossed that it will settle on time. Fingers crossed, but not holding my breath! I have a feeling it might not get done & we will have to delay by a few days or even a week. No big deal really, although I am getting super excited about not having to live out of a suitcase.

What’s happening……

Sorry for the delay in posting. I actually think everyday- do I have anything interesting to post? And generally I don’t. But who cares, I should post anyway!!!!

In relation to our housing…it’s taking a much longer time as it’s a private sale- but we are purchasing that house! It needs a lot of work. But it is in a fantastic location- only 10 mins to the city, & 10 mins to the beach. It’s on “the flat”, as Paul & I call it- meaning that it is far from the hilly north eastern suburbs of our last house. The house was built in 1925. It is a symmetrical bungalow. It has really really high ceilings & fireplaces in some of the rooms. It is on 700m2, but as it’s so old, it’s located really close to the street, meaning that the back yard is huge! And did I mention FLAT!? It backs onto a soccer field, a rugby field, a bowling green, cricket nets & a lovely big park with bbqs. I am looking forward to doing laps around the oval. The house really needs much TLC, but thankfully this time we have the budget to pay for other people to do the work!!!! The house settles on December 10th, & we need to have it painted, the carpet ripped up & the floorboards polished, before we move in. It also needs a new bathroom asap, but it may be too hard to get that done before Xmas- we’ll have to see what we can arrange. Other urgent jobs on the list include a whole new roof, new window coverings, demolition of an outdoor toilet & shed, heating & cooling for the house, & lots of trees to be cut down. We will also need to put in a new kitchen, but we really want to extend the family room out by about 2m so we’ll do both at the same time, as well as a pergola & a carport. Let’s hope the $$$$$ lasts that far!!!!! I feel exhausted just reading that list : )

Moved

Well, I’ve just got back from our “old” house where the removalists have packed up all the big stuff & taken it to our storage unit. Ash was fascinated with the truck, & then spent the rest of the morning pulling a trolley around the house, moving random things, like empty boxes, cuishons and dirty old socks which had been trapped under the washing machine gathering dust & grime.

I can’t believe all our stuff fit into a 6 x 4 storage unit- I was sure we would need a bigger one.

The house inspection for our possible new house is tomorrow morning at 9am. It has been painful waiting so long but this was the soonest time that suited the tenants who are currently in the house.

Fingers crossed for us please!

Change of plans…again…

Ok, this is getting ridiculous but we have changed plans yet again.
Ended up cooling off on the land. We are lucky in South Australia in that when you put in a formal offer on property, & it’s accepted, you then have 2 business days to change your mind, without penalty.
For those 2 days, Paul was drawing, designing, & I was researching & calling people like builders, council, fire service etc. Basically, we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t be sure we could build in our absolute maximum budget (which we had raised by an extra $100K!). I was also starting to get very concerned about bushfire risk. That issue obviously impacts on both building costs & design. There was also a huge significant tree on the site which was making waste & effluent systems quite tricky.
We made the right decision, but Paul was really gutted- understandably. His dream won’t come to fruition just yet.
Anyway, we’ve now decided that if we can’t build what we want, then we will have to buy existing.
We have actually found a property through private sale, but I am trying really hard to not get too excited about it until it passes a building inspection, which we’ve booked for Wednesday or Friday.
We’ve started packing up some boxes. I’ve organised a removalist & storage. We shall be staying with Paul’s parents in the short term.

The only good thing about winter…

is when it’s over!!!!
After a long, grey, miserable, cold & wet winter, there is nothing better than a beautiful spring day to make you feel that life is grand.
Some of you who visited in some freakish warm weather in August may think that the weather was like that for most of the winter. I can assure you that this winter was just as unbearable as all the others that we’ve had before. I really do feel my spirits lift when the temperature rises by a few degrees, & the sun comes out to play.

Funny that, given my disagreement with cold weather, it looks like we may be moving to the coldest part of Adelaide- the Adelaide Hills! A block of land that we love & thought we had missed out on, came back onto the market. We put in an offer & it has been accepted. Another very interesting thing is that it is a sloping block of land, does not have main sewerage connection, & it has plenty of trees. Effectively it is quite similar to our current block of land, which you may remember I’ve actually complained about quite a few times. Well……the difference with this block is that it has amazing, lovely views over the gorgeous hillside (think green rolling hills, and sheep, & country paths & ahhhh it’s just beautiful). And Paul will be able to design a much more user friendly house, ensuring that we have safe, useable areas for the kiddies to play, & most importantly, it will be termite proof. It’s a bit closer to town, has good public transport links, & excellent schools in the area. I am so excited.

Our next mission is to find somewhere to live in the meantime. Hopefully I’ll be able to update you on that in the not too distant future!

Homeless…….

At this point in time, we shall be homeless on the 8th of October.  Our house has definitely sold.  But I’m finding it a bit challenging to find a rental.  I know there is still plenty of time before the moving day, so I’m trying not to be too concerned, but I really would like it sorted!

I’ve been feeling a little down about the whole thing though.  Not about selling the house though- I am really very happy to have sold our house & to be moving on.  It’s just that we have now missed out on 2 blocks of land & I’m starting to wonder where on earth we will build?????

We have narrowed down our ideal future area, so I suppose we just have to wait & see.  We have decided we would really like to live close to the beach, or in Adelaide Hills.  My current desire is to build an underground house!!!!!

Other happenings include the fact that I am still quite dizzy a fair bit of the time. I think my monumental snowboard stack has really stuffed up my neck.