Hi all,
Boy, it
has been wet here. October is usually a rainy spring month, but 2009 is doing
us proud. It has rained so much that the build is already ten days to a couple
of weeks behind. We have footings dug (which will hopefully be concreted today,
weather permitting), and some volclay - waterproofing membrane - down in the
garage, and the garage pad poured, but the builder hasn't started the garage
blockwork yet (rain delays).
We have
put the lights and power sockets into the shed, so have actual power, which was
quite exciting. Jan has also hooked up the header tank system so that the water
from the 25,000 litre rainwater tank gets pumped up the hill into our thousand
litre header tank so give us some water pressure. While it isn't the equivalent
of mains pressure, it will be fine.
I think
we have come to a date that we can both live with to move out to the land - the
third week of November. I am really conscious of not trying to get too stressed
or make my workload too heavy at the moment, and I think Jan will manage to
live with the later date. If all other things go very smoothly, we might be OK
to move in the second week.
We have
come back to our original decision to rent the house out as a summer holiday
rental. That means we can leave most of our furniture, some of our pictures,
some books and half our equipment at Montrose Drive, lock up the rest of our
gear down in the garage, and only have to take our clothes & personal items
with us to the land. That means we don't have to buy a container & pack it
to store at the land - our gear will be a lot safer from rodents, damp and
other un-natural catastrophes at Montrose Drive.
Then we
can move our gear more or less straight into the new house at the end of
summer, which will make our lives a lot easier - and a LOT less stressful.
I have
managed to source some tiles for the house, and am currently trying to get
samples of all our handles - door, window, drawer, cupboard - to check that our
chosen options look consistent throughout the house (and feel good to use). I
put together the design for the shelving unit for the end of the lounge with
Jan & Merrill (see attached). We are just waiting for a quote for that from
the joiners. The bank has given us a magnificent floating rate mortgage (!!!).
We have ordered nearly all the bathroom gear, but I am still to sort out
getting quotes for the showers, and am thinking about all the finer details and
making a list to advise the builder.
We are
both relatively well - Jan has had a bit of a cough, but at last it is going.
He bought some sour cherry juice and is taking that once a day. It is supposed
to be intensely good for you - these things are always worth a try.
After the
stroke I was getting a lot of migraines, but they have tapered off, which is a
relief. I have managed to get an appointment with the neurologist tomorrow; I
started ringing up his office at the hospital last week and leaving messages
asking for an appointment. I figured if I was polite and persistent they would
want to get rid of me - and this strategy has apparently worked. I have had my
cholesterol tests back (slightly higher than my last tests - was 4.5 now 5; LDL
was 2.7 now 3.2), clear echocardiogram & carotid arteries. So that's all
good.
The
Nelson Art Festival started on Friday night, and we have been to two events so
far; we went to see The Butler (a piece inspired by The Cook, The Thief, His
Wife and Her Lover, played by acting / acrobatic troupe from Lyttleton) again,
which was fantastic, and Le Sud (a 'what if' play presuming that the French had
colonised the South Island, the English the North Island; and the negotiation
of power - aka electricity - between the two). Both excellent performances. We
paid for our tickets for the festival way back in July when we felt flush. I am
glad of that, because now we feel poor, but still get to have a 'last splurge'!
Magda has
been away in Holland for five weeks, but got back last week. We had a really
good catch up last night - she had a great time. I am glad to have my tennis
partner back again though :-)
Happy
birthday, Trace - we still haven't managed to get to talk to you in person, but
hopefully will catch up with you, Warren, Erica and Jen L this weekend (all
things being equal).
We will
also be having a 'painting party' in February-ish (whenever as the plastering
is completed), if there are any volunteers who want to come & wield a
roller or cutting brush for a day or two or three to help us out. We have a LOT
of area to paint, but will crank up the BBQ and open the wine cellar.
Everything will be matt white too - and the floor, kitchen, skirtings won't be
in yet - so it will be relatively easy. And as previously mentioned, we are
aiming for a housewarming in April; exact date to be advised.
Take care
& alles liebe!
Sam & Jan
