Twas the day before handover, and all through the house...

...there was plastering and painting, and a fireplace in - GROUSE!


Settlement / handover / what ever you want to call it is 100% confirmed for tomorrow morning.  They may still be throwing that final coat of paint on the fireplace wall in between inspection and key exchange, but who cares?  It'll be ours.  OURS.  Muhahahahahahahahahahahaha.  How many sleeps???

(no pics - sorry - desk bound)

On the 3rd day til handover...

...our furkids completely lost the plot.

We've got 2 incredibly spoilt puppies that sleep on our bed (I know - it's naughty but they're sooo cute). Coz we're like minutes away from the big move, we've dismantled the beds and we're now sleeping on our mattress on the floor.

We literally had a ROFL moment when Ramsay, the very quirky Spoodle tried to get under the bed last night...for 20 minutes.  Clearly male!  Bella (my girl), the little fluff ball, has twigged that something's up and has taken to providing us 24/7 security by way of annoying, piercing, yapping bark. The neighbours will be VERY happy to be rid of us if this keeps up all week.

TWO MORE SLEEPS.  Woot woot :)

On the 4th day til handover...

Old Mother Hubbard paid a visit;

But I've got a damn Board meeting tomorrow night - rude - so nothing more will happen after work!

On the 5th day til handover...

...our house is a total mess.

The fireplace wall is being re-built to accommodate the flue.  Has to be re-plastered, re-painted.

If Carlisle can get this done by Thursday I'll be fairly impressed. Stunned, shocked, but impressed. But the move will go ahead regardless...???

Bank cheque check

I know we don't hand over until NEXT Thursday, but we've had such ridiculous dramas with the bank that I thought I'd just stick with the original plan and collect our bank cheque as scheduled...yesterday.

Would you believe that they hadn't done it, couldn't find the instructions and sent me away empty handed?

Back to the office, call the bank, completely lose my s**t, and today I have collected...

Woohoo.  Just need the house to be finished now :)

Our house has the flue

We've been waiting, waiting, waiting to see our yummy double-sided fireplace perched in it's cantilever wall.  It's been a bit of a saga.  First, the wrong fireplace was delivered. Then, when the right one came, it was a new model that was slightly larger. Our SS solved the problem by altering the frame, BUT, it looks as though the wall has been made incorrectly, and there now isn't sufficient clearance inside the cavity for the flue to operate safely.

So this week the most part of the wall has to come down and be rebuilt around the fireplace, re-plastered, re-painted.  It's just not going to get done by Thursday...so...we're just going to have to wait an extra week before getting our hands on those keys.

It's been a dream build, so if this is the worst that happens to us we're pretty lucky. By the time its re-built, it should look more like the display version...

Compared to our wall which looks like this...

Carlisle have been fantastic in trying to find a suitable solution.  We've even had the Construction Manager on the phone explaining the situation and apologising profusely, and promising to pull trades from other jobs to meet our revised hand over date.  Sorry if we're stealing your guys!!!

Practically completed

Today was "presentation", "PCI", the big check over for final touch-ups to be agreed upon before setting a date for the big key transfer ceremony.

Our SS, Luke, who I've previously raved about (and will again here) has been so on top of the build that we only had a hand full of really minor little adjustments and touch-ups.  He's built this home as though it's his own and he was so proud showing us around today.

Coz there's so little to be done, he's set a date for hand over.  And I have to add that I did a really good job holding back the emotions until these words came from Luke's mouth... "How's next Thursday, July 21 work for you?". I would have loved to have been composed enough to say "Why thank you very much, that would be simply delightful".  But since I'm not actually an upper class pom and more like a crazy woman whose emotionally strung out from this whole build thing, some noise came from me that sounded more like an actual sea elephant signaling it's mate than an affirmation of acceptance.

Piccie time;

 

I'm all out of words :)

The Avenue at Casey

Check out the difference in our estate from when we bought the land to now......

It's been quite a journey, not that it's over yet.  And in roughly 3 weeks, our moving truck will be driving on into the estate.  How lucky are we all to have watched this little community develop from the ground up?

A surprising day

Thank you to all of my bloggy and Avenue friends for your birthday wishes.  I did indeed have a great day with some lovely surprises.

My Dad, who's a big, burly, blokey bloke left me a voicemail message - he sang me happy birthday.  I've never heard him sing before. Touched me pretty deeply.  Love you Dad.

I didn't work yesterday (Thursday is my weekend) so I had lunch with my Mum - at her work.  She packed a little winter-like picnic for us to share in her tea room.  Gorgeous.

My beautiful daughter cooked Loz and I a lovely meal last night.  We shared a bottle of champers while the boys talked all things supercoach.  She even baked me some of her scrummy cup cakes :)

And the man of my dreams (yes thats you Loz) showed just how well he knows me and my routines.  He wrote me about 20 little notes and placed them in the order of my morning housely travels.

Need I say more?

And for those who don't know...

...today is Raels Birthday.

Happy (I was going to say what birthday it is but discretion, or cowardice, is much the better part of valour) Birthday my gorgeous woman.

Thanks for putting up with a grey haired, slightly cantankerous, sometimes untidy, hoarder like me.   May we share many more together.

XXX

Our house is stoned, man!

Rock 'n Stone, Delhi Bronze fine stack.  The rust toning will be more prominent after it's sealed.

We're nearly there...

Carpet is in.

 

Shower screen is fitted, ceiling dumper is in and the mirrors have been replaced.

 Look at all of that sun streaming in.  Mmmmmm.  Rangehood is in now too.

Now that we're in July, the fact that we'll be in this beautiful house THIS MONTH has completely smacked me in the face.  One of you lovely Avenue ladies mentioned having spare boxes.....  Could we please, please, please borrow them? :)