Monday 25 November 2013

Slowly but surely

Every weekend is spent outside trying to get the yard looking good.  Whoever wanted a 1/2 acre block I will never know ha ha..  We laid the turf, well 2/3 of what we need which took all day 350sqm 4 weeks ago and we watered it for two weeks twice a day which took forever, we had soaker hoses to start with 35m long, they work well but are a total pain in the bum to get them sitting up the right way, then my mum gave me a wobbler sprinkler and its wonderful, so powerful and saturated a huge area so saved us a lot of time.  Now after the wonderful rain we have had the turf looks great, even up the back where we have left the original grass/weeds is green.  

Standing on the alfresco looking out
From the back corner and the mulberry tree
From the back corner looking to the front
Looking from side fence, still more turf to get

We have been planting a lot of trees, when we purchased the block about 20 saplings were planted a long the side fence in 3 rows. I have removed 1 entire row as it was just ridiculous, too many gum trees and once they grew would be too many for our block. I have been replacing the other 2 rows with deciduous trees and fruit trees.. Up in the back corner I have planted 2 apple trees, a lemon tree and what I thought was a cherry tree that I transplanted from my mums house but there is one round thing growing and its way to big to be a cherry so it will be a surprise ha ha.  We planted a Golden Elm on the front corner of our block, once it gets bigger it should give us a bit of shade to the western side of the house and hopefully be a bit of protection if anyone misses the corner, fingers crossed that never happens. I'm really enjoying the planting of trees and spending a whole day outside fiddling about.

The Cherry Tree that isn't!!! 

One of the Apple Trees

Lemon Tree

Golden Elm 

My mum brought me this tree it has pink pom pom flowers

Our fence - I love it

I look forward to when we finish the turf and I have a huge garden on the side of the driveway to be completed, I had the dirt delivered weeks ago but just haven't had a chance to level it all out, it's 6 cubic meters for one garden!!!!!  I need some boy muscles to help me, we are going to give it a go of an afternoon after work I want it finished before my daughters 18th in 2 weeks time, fingers crossed.



Tuesday 22 October 2013

Pantry = Amazing

I forgot to put this in earlier but I finally found the time to organise the pantry, I absolutely love it.  I think they call it a step in pantry, anyway it's huge I can't reach the top 2 shelves so I have a step ladder for that 

And it continues to the right behind the wall. 


This is our junk drawer after I tidied it up today, wonder how long it will look like that. 


Oh and our brand new bar stools.  I was given the heads up by someone else building in our estate about HN having 70% off bar stools so we went straight away. We bought 2 wooden stools but they didn't look right and the boys couldn't get their legs under the bench so we went back and got 4 of these, turns out they are the same as what was in the display home, now everyone is happy, thanks B&K :). 

Back at work

We are back at work and I'm struggling I just want to be home to do my house stuff.

I put my first garden in between the front path and driveway it's not the best garden as its too skinny but its going ok.  I mowed all the grass and planted some of my trees I brought with me like my bay leaf tree and a crab apple I brought.  We went to a wholesale nursery and we had a ball. We brought a Lemon Tree, Mulberry Tree, 2 Apple Trees a Granny Smith and Pink Lady, Crab Apple, Jacaranda and a Golden Elm. It was so much fun but of course we didn't have the trailer so we had to do 40 min round trip to get it..  It ended up being too windy to plant any of them so they are still under the alfresco waiting for a good day.


We were tossing up between a deck out the back or concrete, I was so over the dirt and not being able to open the back stacker doors so the concrete won being a third of the price. It looks brilliant same colour as our driveway and done by the same concreter, Fords Concreting. 





Last weekend we got  32 tonnes of top soil delivered, so much fun watching the huge truck drive up and around our block, I really should of been a boy. 



So out came the shovels, wheelbarrows and rakes and off we went. We started on the little mound first about 10 ton..



We did that in a day and my god were we exhausted!!!!!! Bags not doing the big mound, I'm begging the excavator to come back ha ha. 

As you can see the smoke in those pictures, our little town was under high alert yesterday, scared the hell out of us, thank god for the RFS, NSW Fire Brigade, SES, Police they poured into Wilton yesterday through our estate it was very reassuring I tell you..  The better thing was watching them leave when the threat of fires was scaled down.  We will see what tomorrow brings, I will be thinking of all the people in the Blue Mountains tomorrow.

Last Thursday


Friday


The glow








Friday 4 October 2013

Kitchen pictures


I love love my kitchen








We still need barstools but haven't found any we all like.

See my lovely porcelain tiles, cleaned!!!! Took me ages to vaccum and mop the whole house and the water marks stay on the tiles arrrhhhh..  I went a brought a steam mop this afternoon, one that does not leave water behind, I will test it out tomorrow..  

Tomorrow I start on the garden, can't wait!!!!  This is what I've been looking forward to, and why we got 1/2 acre so I can have my veggie gardens and fruit trees. 




Wednesday 2 October 2013

Clean up

This afternoon we cleaned up the backyard. We had a skip delivered yesterday as we had so much stuff from the tiling, the driveway and rubbish from the old house oh and boxes, big boxes!!!  We filled it to the top and tied it down seen as its so windy. We tidied the left over bricks onto one pallet, the brickie pulled down one of the walls when he started because he wasn't happy with it but instead of throwing them they were restacked so we had to throw them out, my advise would be go around your block before the final cleanup and throw everything otherwise you will get stuck doing it and paying for it.  We moved our shed as it was just dumped all over the back of the block from the removalist. It looks a lot better, I will get out the mower in next few days and clean it up even more.  We purchased ourselves a Stihl whipper snipper yesterday, so exciting, they are so easy to start.  

The next task is the garage!!!!! Arrrhhhhh it's full of stuff. We are going to tackle it tomorrow and hopefully get some order to it...  Wish us luck. 

I'm dying to start on the gardens and getting plants but I'm trying to be patient, I hope to start in the next week or two. 

The Driveway





The driveway is huge, there's a 3m pad on the side and it continues around the back of the workshop. We are getting another slab poured out the back instead of decking as its way too expensive.  Hopefully we will get that next week sometime and the dirt is driving me crazy.



Monday 30 September 2013

We finally moved!!!!

I'm way behind in my blog but this is the first time I have sat down for more than 5 minutes.  I will pick up from where I left off.

The tiling and carpet were finished last Tuesday and I'm really happy with the colour of the carpet, the installers were so quick they finished by 1pm.

Media room


Then it was moving day, DISASTER!!!!!

They removal truck turned up on time and out jumped a old bloke 85 yrs old in the shade and a younger guy.  They were nice enough but so rough.  Anyway off they started and we were going well for first 3 hrs and then another truck came and they were still loading the first one 5 hrs later.  My daughter and I utilised the time to clean the house.  They then started to load the smaller truck 6 hrs later so we kept cleaning, then finally both trucks left and it took them 1 and half hours to make it to our new house where my husband and son were waiting since 11am (it's a 20 min drive down the highway).  Once they got there they dumped and I mean dumped the stuff half inside and the rest in the backyard and not near the doors but up the back of the block. The little truck then had to return back for another load meanwhile we had finished cleaning and that took over an hour for him to find his way back because he had to pick up another bloke.  By that time I had lost it, my husband came back and helped them and I went to the new house.  By 7.30 they still hadn't returned back and it was because the newest guy hadn't eaten!!!!  By 830 they turned up and unloaded the truck into the garage and had the hide to ask for a cold beer, our bloody fridge was still in the back of the big truck!!! DISASTER OF A MOVE!!!!!

On a positive note the blinds were installed that day and they are beautiful, I love them.  

The next day my husband and son went to pick up the dining table and chairs, absolutely beautiful and huge!!


Late that afternoon we had the fridge, dishwasher and TV delivered



One happy hubby!!!!!  Gotta love LG!!!

Friday was a home day unpacking and the driveway got poured, I haven't taken a pic I will tomorrow and more excavating was done.

Saturday we went out to where else but Ikea!!!!!!  We had a ball. We ended up with 4 trolleys and 2 more trolleys from the pickup bay ha ha



Sunday the kids chilled out most of the day and then in the afternoon we started assembling the smaller things from Ikea.

And today we finished, all the lounges were put together and the house is 95% unpacked, just the kids stuff to go

Lounge in a box


Finished!!!


Hallway

So that's it, we are in and I walk around and can't believe it's our house.  Tomorrow will be an outside day and I'm looking forward to playing in the dirt ha ha.. 


Sunday 22 September 2013

Patiently waiting to move

Our tiler has been working away everyday since handover and doing a wonderful job, the tiles are beautiful.  He told us this morning he will be finished late tomorrow and then he should start on the alfresco and porch. The carpet is booked for Tuesday so the flooring is going to plan.

But then there is the concreter debacle.............  Our concreter isn't a very good communicator, we used his excavator man who is an absolute gem and a local, well thru him we found out the formwork would be done on Friday and the pour done this coming Thursday, so that fitted in with our plans sort of as we are moving on Wednesday, it would make moving things into the garage difficult but we would manage.  When we got to the house on Friday night, in the dark, we had a good look at the formwork and were basically happy with the size and shape of the drive except where it goes past the corner of the house and up the side to a 3m wide slab for my camper trailer.  My husband gave him a call to tell him on Saturday that it was a bit too skinny and he said they were pouring on Wednesday!!!! Arrrhhhh no way that would be disastrous, having them pouring concrete us trying to move in and the blinds man installing the blinds!  That's another story I thought it would be great for the blinds to be installed on moving in day yayyyyy I'm so clever, not!!! because they won't start till 10am and the removal isn't should get to that house to unload at 12 noon....  Anyway I'm sure it will all work out, I'm past stressing now, once we got those keys I have felt so much better.....

Today we went on a little shopping trip to break up the cleaning and packing.  Off we went to Bing Lee  we have never shopped there before but they had our TV for a great price, we met the salesman who my hubby had been talking to during the week, we picked out the TV, LG smart 3D TV, next was the dishwasher LG and then we were on a roll and I said to have a quick look at the fridges ha ha, next thing we bought a ? Guess what?? LG fridge!!!!!! Yes we are a family of LG!!!!! Cause Life is Good!!!!!!!!!!!


I have had 2 sleep overs in the house over the weekend and I feel like Alice in Wonderland, it's so big and everything is so high, and I'm sooooo short.  We have just been living in the main bedroom, bed, TV, 2 camping chairs and our camping fridge, it's like glamping ha ha. 3 more sleeps!!!!!  

Thursday 19 September 2013

KEYS!!!!!!!

We now come from Wollondilly Shire!!! 


The day finally arrived, we got our keys!!!!  The house is ours and now it's our home!! 



So much happened today, it was absolutely hectic but the best day!

Firstly we did our final inspection to check the things had been fixed from PCI, then we did paperwork, handed over the cheque, got the air conditioning working, priorities!  Oh and we got a gift



The water heater was being installed when we got there, but once they turned it on water was spurting from the solar panels on the roof as we have gas boosted hot water, so no hot water until tomorrow which is no big deal, that's why our supervisor hands over before a Friday so things can be fixed..  Next the electricians came and fitted the oven and range hood, ohhhh so nice.


Next the tiler was there waiting for handover to finish and then he was straight into it, he tiled all day and should finish the inside by Tuesday.


Our excavator man and his son came with his digger thingy and bobcat and off he went digging out the tree and replanting it, so quick and easy


Then they dug out the driveway and continued around the house levelling it all off, it looks brilliant and only one broken pipe ha ha!!!  They still need to come back and finish off the yard but I'm over the moon with what they have done today. 



 Next person to arrive was Telstra, don't faint everyone but they were only booked on Monday and we were able to get them today, yes miracles do happen, lucky as we are in a Telstra Smart Community and nothing and I mean nothing works without the hooking all the cables up hanging outside our house, including the TV.  

Finally the last person to arrive at 5pm was the delivery guy with the new spare room bed that my husband is now sleeping on till we all move in next week, he is being a bachelor for a week, he has a bed, a kettle and toaster and our camping fridge with the necessities (beer) he's in his element!!!! Oh and my TV.........

Once we set up the bed and mounted the TV to the wall it was time for our first dinner in our house.  Pizza and champagne standing around the kitchen bench, happy days!!!


What a huge day, we left my hubby there and we are back to the little house full of boxes and cleaning, arrrhhhh can't wait till its over.........