To all those who have been following our blog, I'm SOOOOO SORRY I haven't blogged for ages. Things got so hectic and since we haven't even got proper internet connection, my visit to the site has been non-existent.
Just a quick one, especially for you, Kathleen (I do hate stories without an ending)!
Yes, the last entry did get resolved - we just had to move the handover date. Clarendon also managed to secure for us the Occupancy Certificate even if some items were pending.
We got our keys on the 17th of June and from then, it was mayhem as we had other things to do like:
Flooring - 18th-24th of June...We absolutely LOVE our bamboo flooring that is practically seamless from room to room and from the ground floor, to the stairs, to the top floor!
Driveway and other concreting - 29th of June to 3rd of July but it wasn't sealed until TWO weeks after because of weather and our concreter's schedule...We went gunmetal grey, just coloured concrete with coving, plain borders. I think it's quite modern. It should be easier maintenance, too - well, that was the plan. NOTE: we've just discovered that one of the pipes that were broken during the excavation must be leaking as water is sprouting from the junction where the garage meets the driveway - concreter admits they'll have to dig it up and fix it - that was about two weeks ago now, I think. Still no word from them. No biggie. I know it will get sorted out.
Fencing - 6th-9th of July...We replaced all our fences at our cost since the old one wasn't too bad. We have great neighbours who didn't complain about the extra retaining we did under the fence. Well, it served all of us well as it meant we all got privace. We were looking in on each other's property because of the way our land was cut and filled. Very happy with our new fence. We chose Merino which is like the paperbark colour we have for our fascia. This was Von's fabulous idea as I wanted just brown to match the garage door type-of-thing. The light coloured fence lifted the whole look of the house. Would highly recommend the people who did it...B-Smart Fencing...except they haven't returned to do our gate and I've left a phone message about 3 weeks now...hmmmm. Maybe I screw these people down in price that they're reluctant to come back - LOL!!!
Electricals and lighting - This went on for about a month and the electrician we contracted had a full-time job and a part-time job. So, he fitted us in when he could. Beacon Lighting in Penrith became one of my favourite places as not only did they have a fabulous sale on, they were also relocating, so I scored quite a lot of floor stock at 30-40% off! Spent another $3,500 on fittings but managed to spend under $1,000 for actual installation. Our electrician was VERY nice to us. Well, we didn't complain about how long it took, after all. We went warm lighting everywhere except the study. Got a lot of pendant lights for mood lighting. We're happy to report that all the extra light points paid off and we were very proud that we only had to move 1 light point because it was poorly placed. Our lighting is something we're very proud of and we're glad we got done as it adds soooo much to the ambience of the house.
Retaining wall in the front garden - can't even remember when this was done but we're very happy with it :D Just need to wait for council to finish the footpath (we were going to re-do all of it but our concreter was told that it was going to be repaired by the various people who damaged it - TELSTRA, gas people, water board, etc). That was really good because right at the beginning, I already had a heated discussion with someone from council regarding our footpath. Quite a few had cracks before excavation even started and we took pics, but they said the damage was acceptable then, not enough for them to repair it. So if it gets more damaged, that would be our responsibility. Now that they're going to fix it, I just have to be patient so that we can turf the garden after they finish.
We've had numerous visits from things that needed fixing: plumbing, water filter, windows.
But now, I've got to go again as I need to pick up the kids....
We're very, very happy with our new home - things now have a place and it's much easier to keep clean although it is so much bigger! My husband is an expert at cleaning the house! We're also excited to report that we're not having a spare bedroom after all, as we are now filling up the 5th bedroom with our latest addition due in March - yes, the baby was a moving in gift - hahaha!!!
More later...when I can fit it in between decorating the house, unpacking boxes (that haven't been touched for 1.5yrs and which probably just need to be binned and donated), and of course, when I am not feeling nausea - I think it's true what they say...morning sickness does get worse with each pregnancy. Hopefully, it won't last as long as the last one (which was right until the birth, pretty much). With it's fiery intensity, I don't know how I could last 30 more weeks of this horrible feeling :D
Anyway, we have too many things to be thankful for. I'll just concentrate on our growing family, on lots of wonderful family and friends that will fill our new home which we absolutely love and are proud of (it's great to see months of visualisation and planning come together as well as we had hoped).
Until next time....
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