Helter Shelter

We have a roof!  The very best thing is that it was put up the day before we had torrential rain so I feel even more elated than expected over this milestone.

That means tomorrow is the actual roof shout, so I have the kiwi dip in the fridge chilling and the white bread (I didn't think builders would be down with grainy bread?) and sausages thawing.  I just need therefore to pick up ice tomorrow to make sure the Heinekens are icy cold.

Here are our current worries to get straight down to business:

1)  That our kitchen bench is too big.  It is really long, it's true, and Steve is very worried it will dominate the whole space too much.  I have tried reassuring Steve.  As in, yes it is really long but it will be worth it because we will spend so much of our time in and around the kitchen.  Eating, computing, working, talking, drawing, baking, serving.  He's not convinced.

2)  That it's too dark!  We don't have windows in the fireplace wall and I am beginning to wonder if that was a mistake..... eek.  See picture below for reference:

A bit much wall, not enough light?

3) That the funny bit of roof above our main bathroom looks weird externally.  I don't think I like it because our tall bathroom window now looks cut off and bitsy and definitely not original.  It was always going to be a tricky bit, and I expect this is the best solution so I will get used to it.

The funny bit is at right of the tall window.  This is looking towards the back entrance to our wee boot room.

 

That's all the list of worries for now.  Now here are a few highlights:

The roof and it's not on fire! 

 

The old dining room window, now in the NEW dining area.  How cool is that.

 

Sofia asking me what I was worried about

 

Max checking out the electrical work.  The powerpoints are in the correct place.  Phew.

 

The kids are all practicing to be building apprentices.  The cleaning up is part of this role.

 

A near miss.  Max is a bit dangerous with that broom.

 

Although he looks very cute with it.

 

Sofia's meticulous cleaning.  Tomorrow I shall tell the apprentice he is out of a job.  My three will be just as good and much cheaper.



 

I must go and do my nails!  I have a job interview tomorrow morning so they need to look beautiful.

 

Anna x



Re-creating Woody

Woody the wall, not Woody the bourbon and cola drink.

Woody the blank wall was crying, just wailing out for some love and colour.  That and I also needed a project with the girls one afternoon when Max was in bed.  I have many photos to share with you today, so sit back and let me tell you a story.




What could Olivia and Sofia be painting? It all looks quite tidy at this stage don't you think?

And what am I painting?  Well, a sun at this stage. This is because we can't see a real one.

This picture is mischief personified.  If you have seen 'The Cat in The Hat' movie and recall Thing 1 and Thing 2, then you will see there is a distinct resemblance (if you discount outfit differences).  Not so tidy after the girls painted hands and feet.

This is actually Sofia and Olivia in costume.

The final artwork.  'Franew Island' is Sofia's name for it.  We are counting the days we are walled in! Note I am optimistic and have not left much room for the count.  This is the wall the kids can draw on, though Max has difficulty understanding that he not allowed to go around willy nilly drawing on other walls and furniture.

 

OK, onto building-type stuff.  The roof hasn't been started yet.  However the plan is for Wednesday now... we are crossing our fingers we don't get the torrential rain forecast for later in the week. 

 

What you will see next is that we have some new weatherboards!  Yippee.  Also some pictures of the kids on the building site, due to lack of other building content. 

 

Look!  Weatherboards.  That sticking out bit is the back of the fireplace.

 

Don't you think he looks a bit thin after his illness? Hee hee.  See his new gumboots?  He is very happy with these.

 

The girls' new game is jumping off the old floor onto the new one.  Look at that technique!

 

Flying pink gumboots

 

Olivia, no.  I won't let you use me as a step to get up to the roof.

Other interested parties include the kindy the girls go to over the road.  The teachers particularly enjoyed Tree Fellas presence, and openly admired the physique of the lead tree fella.  Hopeful of further eye candy, sausages left over from the kindy lunch BBQs were delivered to our builders one afternoon.  These builders have got it made! 

The kids pile outside sometimes to watch when the big trucks come.  The kindy sent me these pictures:

Yes the boy on the left does indeed have a tutu on.  The boys were definitely more interested than the girls.

 Sofia and Olivia watching the goings on at their house from across the road.

 

Keeping an eye on proceedings from the kindy gate.



And today's random picture - here are the girls getting into building mode at kindy. I love that they get to do this.

 

In anticipation of the official roof shout this Friday afternoon, I have purchased sausages, chips, The Original Kiwi Dip (old jobs leave their mark) and Heineken.  Now I just need to get the bourbon and cola.  Bleurrgh.  I am going to have one too, just to prove a point.  I don't know which point.

 

I have lost Steve to Pandora.  Fortunately not a girl, but a music website.  He walked around all day Sunday carrying our laptop listening to music.  I had a play with it today and it is pretty awesome - you go on some really cool musical journeys and get to create your own radio stations.  Have a play if you haven't already:  www.pandora.com

 

There is a purpose:  Steve's trying to figure out what we are going to do audio-wise in the new bit.  Fortunately Steve's Dad is a great help with electrical things and has sent through an email full of good advice.  It's exciting to think we'll have some kind of audio without a) carrying a laptop around or b)listening to radio stations with ads.  I know you're probably like, but why don't you have iTunes or an iPad or any other iThing.   We do, and the problem with it is that you have to buy the content - which works if you know what you like, but if you don't or want to try some new stuff - where do you start?  That is why I think Pandora is so much fun.

In another news bulletin from the technology sector, we bought a new 55 inch TV with internet capability and 3D, so Steve is just about bursting thinking about all the possibilities - especially because he bought a camera for the TV so we can Skype on that rather than on the computer.

 

Have a wonderful few days until I write again.

 

Anna x



Pre-roof shout roof shout

Tonight I wasn't invited to the builder's pre-roof shout roof shout.  Instead I was behind my little wooden plank wall listening to the clink of bottles and laughing while I tended to some crazy little people, called children.  One of whom had been throwing up all day - Max nearly lost some weight.  Somebody call the dietician!

Not one to miss out on a party, I went to visit anyway at about 6pm - with a groggy, half-awake Max.  Pretty soon the girls came around the back too, Olivia in her knickers and Sofia trailing behind her (thankfully fully clothed).  All of the builders were there having a few drinks; about eight in total.  They are nice guys and I have met most of them in their comings and goings and the boss had done a shout for them.  In case you wondered, they drink Woodstock bourbon and cola and Heineken, and they eat chips.  So that makes it easy when ordering stuff for our roof shout next week.  I was waiting for a Woody to be proffered, but sadly it didn't come!  I am really glad that they had a team building session which - as everyone knows - is great for team morale, but it's still our house (hear me get all pre-historic and territorial) and I would have loved it if they'd let me know/invited me.

In the end, it was great to have more than a passing chat with them.  The boss had brought his wee son who is 22 months to Max's 19 months, so the two of them looked like a cute pair with their blonde heads together sharing (sort of) the building tools, and possibly germs (sorry little Brooklyn).  Learning how to plug things in to an electrical circuit, things like that.  It turns out that one of the builders who is so shy and quiet, has a voice! 

Time for pictures?  I think so.

Where Livvy is walking is where the festivities occurred this evening.

Sofia is climbing up onto what was the old dining area.  You can see the door to our main bathroom where Livvy is standing.

This is the view from the old dining room back into the extension.  Pretty cool to see some of the heights.

This is the main bathroom's new roofline.  It's only slightly different, and will look fantastic when done.

Sofia is practicing her say cheeses.  I don't know what Olivia is doing.

This will be the study!  Look at that beautiful dead Jasmine out the window!

This is the view towards the new kitchen.  This door will be in between the kitchen benches - I felt like we needed an opening/exit with a long galley design and I think it will be fantastic.

This is the new back entrance - family and friends entrance.  It goes into the new boot room.

Final pic - this is the fireplace.  You can't tell much from this about how it will look, but this part will protrude out into the lounge by 15cm.

This is the look we are going for, except we don't want the TV so high up, hence our lower setting.  The plan is also to paint the wall a shade of grey - our fireplace is black as is the TV so this will help to ''hide' the TV a bit more.  Plus I am loving grey at the moment.

 

That's it from me for now, it is time to wash the remnants of today away. 

Oh, before I go - our place doesn't need re-wiring!  We are very happy with that.  Next week, the roof is on, and our beautiful big stacker doors are coming on Thursday or Friday.  Over the weekend, Steve and I need to put our order in for our electrical supplies and switches.  We have decided halogen and dimmable for our lighting.

 

Oh, and another note - our very special glass lights from Australia are in customs, waiting for us to pay NZ GST on them.  Pinged double-time.  That's a trick for young players!

 

Anna x



 

Our new apartment

It's been a while since I last wrote, but here it is! It's been really nice to have some time away from our beautiful building site this Easter.  We went to the Coromandel and we were able to step outside the front door onto a lawn peppered with kids toys rather than nails.  We had swims in the ocean and BBQs! 

This entry will be more like a picture book than a written piece, however I will say a few things: the first is that my title about our new apartment is in light of the fact we are now without our main bathroom and laundry (well, we do have outside laundry access underneath a tarpaulin) and without our main peeping windows!  How will I keep an eye on the builders now?  And will we wither and die without natural light?

The second comment is that there have been two dicey moments for us - number one is that the boxing for the fireplace means that there is no room for a flue and number two is that one of the purlins was not evenly spaced at the back of the house.  Cue a meeting between Steve and the main builder guy this morning re the two above issues.  Apparently the fireplace boxing is not structural and you can just whack it out and while Steve and I were not too upset about the uneven purlin, it is now in the correct place.  Breathe out - I know you were holding your breath but it will be OK!

Here is my pictorial essay of the last five days:

Relaxing at the beach with the beautiful people.

Steve and Mike with the BBQ that meant we enjoyed some choice chicken and luscious lamb.

Back at home:  Check out the artwork where the window once was.  They are holding a conference on where to place the next hand print.  Sofia just agrees that she loves hand prints.

 

Why is this big red bin full?

 

Because, says Max, the roof has gone!  Well, some of it.  This view is looking out towards where the old french doors were.

 

Check it out.  No peephole for me.

 

Our gorgeous new wall art instalment.  I call it "Woody".

 

The other side of the wall!  Accessible only from outside.

 

The missing roof above the old french doors/dining area.

 

Just in case it rains the roof is wearing its parka.

 

Sofia and Olivia play their favourite new game: climbing the frames!

 

And Max ponders where he will throw dirt from next.  Down his mothers top was not a good choice.

 

 

A roof shout is planned for 3pm on Friday afternoon!  Woohoo.  Steve wonders which beer the builders will drink and if we should cook some sausages on the BBQ for them.  I think they will drink anything, and eat anything if the rubbish out the back is anything to go by.

 

 

Over and out,

 

Anna x

 

 

 

Some things, all shiny and old but new!

I have a new light AND some new dining chairs.  I am so very excited about these purchases for three reasons:

1)  Because I like them a lot
2)  Because they are vintage!  Re-cycling, bring it on.
3)  Because they are New Zealand made and therefore as solid as.

I struggled to find chairs Steve and I both liked AND could afford.  All the chairs I desired were very, very expensive.  And the replica chairs were much cheaper but made in China and a bit flimsy or plastic looking.

The light was just there at the store (a brilliant little place, dealing solely in mid century Scandanavian-style furniture) waiting for me.  Glinting in the sunlight.  Actually there was no sunlight because it was in the back of the store but it was AS IF there was and it had a halo. 

I am also fantastically proud, because I asked for a discount for paying cash.  I am normally very timid about asking for money off.  But we got the light 'for free'.  Yippee!

Here they are!  It's OK if you don't like them because I love them enough for seven people (approximate number of people who read my blog).

Otto Larsen chairs x 8 in French Green. 

And my little ray of sunshine.

OK, now we cannot afford barstools but never mind.  A little over budget! 

The digger was here again today, and it filled in our soak pit so there is no longer a big hole, but now there is a channel in the ground where drainage will go. 

Here are our mini digger drivers:

 The joyful one.

 The coy one

The wistful one.

Max was absolutely overjoyed to be on the digger, and started pressing buttons and pulling levers.  I hope nothing is out of order tomorrow....  Olivia was quite chuffed just to sit up high, like a princess.  And Sofia was hesitant because she had other issues to deal with, such as her brother Max getting her special friend "Roady" all wet from the bath.

Here is the house from the back of the section.  You can't see too much progress but if you looked closely you'd see all the purlins and sarking is up and the concrete has been poured for our fireplace and for our doors.  Next week they will come through the back and the roofer is here on Thursday and Friday.  Roof shout?

Steve and Olivia with the little digger that could.

And, by the way.  I gave the builders some sweet things today and they thought that was great but wondered if I was trying to make them fat?  Hmm.  I don't think they will have an obesity problem.  But it may save me from one!

x