I'm Back & the House is Becoming a Home!

I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted and, not only that, but the house is still being worked on!! Since we moved in we've had tradies here pretty much the whole time - whether it's working in the garage, making gates, putting in mozzie screens, touching up paintwork, putting in glass balustrades, handrails ... the list goes on.

Right now the landscapers are finishing up and although I still don't have a washing line (!) the garden is starting to come together. Even just having some grass helps make the place look less like a building site. But I can tell you I'll be very glad when they've all gone. I'm sick of looking at builder's cracks, finding cigarette butts in the garden, listening to power tools, having issues with sub-contractors and just trying to get stuff done without being interrupted.

Having said all that, the house has turned out fab and I don't regret a minute of it. It may have been a long and, at times, frustrating journey (sorry to use that word!) but it's been worth it and may I never have to move house again for a very long time!!

So, finally I've taken some updated shots to show the house being turned into a home. These are views from around the deck ...

The pool was finally completed two weeks ago much to the girls' delight! For those who are interested, we used a metallic blue mosaic tile for the top trim and seat and a product call Gemtex - which is a mix of coloured glass and concrete - for the inside.

View showing roof pebbles, a feature Yucca and the louvre screening.

A bit of my own gardening - succulents on the table and six different herbs on the railing. Star jasmine will eventually climb up the back fence.

Another view of the herbs and the rebuilt rockery, where the barbecue is (just out of shot to the left), and the transplanted tree ferns which amazingly survived.

We've got cream cliveas and cycads, star jasmine along both fence lines and on the top part is my mini vege garden which has a tomato plant, strawberries, a perpetual lettuce, rosemary and rocket which is still to sprout.

So now that I've finally got my blogging groove back, I'll return with shots of inside!

Take care
Jx

Holidays and all that carry on

Howdy folks! Am back from my blogging hiatus after an amazing two weeks in Japan. Now I won't bore you with a  load of holiday snaps (phew, I hear you say) but I will show you two, if I may. Not only did we go from 30-something degrees celsius to around minus 8 in the snow, but hubby decided to show off a Christmas present I gave him and in light of the current trend in homewares for all things with the British wartime slogan (or something similar) 'Keep Calm and Carry On', I feel the need to show you the result. I'm sure he won't mind ...

Image by the girl in the brick house taken at Hakuba in beer-freezing temperatures.

I found this little gem (the T-shirt not the husband) at http://www.drinkbeerandcarryon.co.uk/ - a typically British male website if ever there was one. When I saw it, I knew just who would love it!

Says the site: In these rather trying times we simply can't allow the backbone of Britain, its pubs, to wither away and die. It's time to get a grip, gird our loins, dig for victory and stiffen those upper lips (around a pint of fine British ale, of course). So, show your support for mine host on the frontline and don one of these rather dashing undershirts.

Apart from taking silly photos, skiing and trying to speak Japanese, we also made a visit to the snow mt the Jigokudani Wild Monkey Park near Nagano who love to wallow in hot springs in the wild and don't mind human company. I just have to show you one I photographed only centimetres away from us. So cute I could have taken him home!

Image by the girl in the brick house taken on her little old digital camera.  

P.S. A quick update re the house: there was a delay with the roofing steel because of the application of zinc spraying which protects the steel from corrosion so it didn't go in pre-Christmas. But tomorrow it does, as well as the timber rafters and then the roof sheeting. Yay! Still waiting to hear official confirmation that the privacy screening is all a-go but it's looking good. And we have a site meeting on Friday so will hopefully be able to show you the new roof then!

Privacy Screens

I'm very pleased to have to say that the debacle with the kerosene in the pool has ended peacefully and no-one was hurt!

The kerosene eventually evaporated and we were able to drain away the water without incurring any extra expenses or damage (apart from mental stress!).

Our next neighbourly hurdle, however, is getting the same neighbour to agree to the details of the privacy screening we're putting on the eastern side of the deck (a condition he requested when we applied for the DA). Our builder has made and erected a mock screen so we can all see what it will look like and what we will be able to see - or more importantly not see - through it. It will be a silver metal louvre screen a little like this timber one ...

The slats will be fixed horizontally so that we cannot look down through them and will only be able to close up (giving us total privacy and protection from any wind) and if we fix the bottom three at the angle they are shown here, there is no way we'll be able to look down.

But we still get a wonderful view of the bush.

Cross fingers everyone will be happy with it!