A long day

We left home at 8.30. Got to Bairnsdale at 12.15. Left at 3.15 and got home at 6.30

Ominous clouds

They soon delivered

Then the sun came out for a bit but the clouds were still threatening.

And then they weren't!

And that was pretty much the pattern for the day both going down and coming back.

 At times it bucketed down. I was appalled at the atrocious driving exhibited on wet, slippery roads with poor visibility. 

Anyway. We went through the paperwork in great detail. Discussed lots of things. Signed on the dotted line and handed over $1500 deposit which will get things underway with soil testing and land survey.

Now we focus on this place. We will hear from the builders once things have started to move through the process. Not expecting anything for a few weeks as permits and tests happen and engineers do their thing.

I spent the best part of the day sitting down and I am knackered. My back/hip aren't happy with me but I did get a lot of sock knitted so there is an up side.

Good Friday

Tomorrow we drive to Bairnsdale (about 3 hours) to sign the initial contract and pay the deposit on the house. All very exciting.

It makes the chaos that is my home at the moment a bit more bearable.

Today I finished scraping paint off the windows where Himself had painted the woodwork (yes he could have taped but there is always a bit of scraping to do regardless and I like doing it). I planted the tubs at the front door with pansies and some other plant the name of which escapes me. We should have a burst of colour when the time comes. I also planted a few pots in the vege patch with the same plants for a splash of colour. 

Himself has painted the two spare bedrooms. They will need another coat but it won't take him long. Hopefully he will have all the interior painting done by the end of next week. 

I went to put a load of washing on this morning and I couldn't get the washing machine to turn on. The dryer wouldn't work either. I checked the fuse box. All good. Everything else was working fine.

I think they are under warranty so wasn't too concerned but annoyed at the inconvenience. 

I told Himself and he went into the laundry to have a look.

I heard the tell-tale chime that indicates the machine is on.

I had been pressing the stop start button. Not the on off button.

Shoot me now.

At least I enjoyed a couple of hot cross buns.

House biz

 A few things were mentioned in yesterday's comments and I thought I'd address them here.

Paint and carpet replacement - the agent suggested we do this and I completely agree as at the moment the house is half cream (previous owners) and half grey (us). The carpet is however many years old and is cream. 

The front porch has some sort of crappy finish that is chipping and lifting and looks terrible. AND can't be painted over. So we are looking at doing something (Himself spoke to someone at Bunnings and this is one of the areas where I nod and say yes dear!) that will cost around $700 but will greatly improve the first impression. If it was out the back I wouldn't bother but street appeal and first impressions are so important.

The curtain rails and light fittings in the front room are gold coloured so they have to go and they scream '80s. We will replace with Ikea products as they are inexpensive and the curtains will come from spotlight - again, inexpensive.

The Stalker suggested getting a stylist in. When we sold our house in East Bentleigh in 2008 we were given a complimentary style consult and I learned a lot from her about dressing a place and furniture placement etc. 

Initially I was in sell asap mode but now I know that we can get a mortgage on this place (cheaper than bridging finance) the pressure is off. I no longer have the end of April as my self-imposed deadline. We will need some new furniture for the new place so I am happy to buy now and use it in this place. 

The real estate agent has someone that comes and makes suggestions as well. Also, we only bought this place 6 years ago and very nearly didn't because of how it was styled. Not the furniture but how they had placed things which made it hard to see how it would work. I think what we have done makes more sense. 

The biggest immediate challenge is clearing out cupboards.

Yarn, anyone?

More house stuff - this will be a common theme - you have been warned

We signed the contract for the land today. We hadn't read it but our solicitor went through it with us and will send us a copy. She was happy for us to sign as it appears Himself knows stuff! He has been on all the govt sites and looked at all the overlays and conditions and stuff. Nothing that we didn't already know.

We then went to the other side of town to actually see the design we have chosen. We love it Phew. That could have been awkward. The house we looked at is 33 squares and ours is 28 but I actually prefer our layout and the main living area is larger in ours. 

Bunnings for paint. Easter is likely to be cold and wet so a good time to paint the interior. The exterior will only take a day or two.

We checked another carpet company. Prices are much the same so we will probably go with the ones coming to quote on Tuesday.

Himself and I had a very deep and emotional conversation last night. Red wine was involved. It wasn't pretty but it needed to happen and we understand where we both stand on this whole thing. Now we can look forward to the exciting future having cleared the air. 

He agrees that I am the stylist and when I talk all he needs to say is "yes dear" unless I specifically ask for input. Ditto the other way with the boring shit!

Life is looking bloody good.

 

One foot after the other.

I did it.

I got up and went for a walk. I didn't enjoy it. I don't like just pounding the pavement. Some people said good morning, a lovely kid gave me some story about Lennox's water bottle and most just walked past.

But I will do it again. And again. And again. I want to be fit(ter) by the time we move so I can really enjoy walking in a beautiful spot.

I haven't given up on the dream of an e-bike. I just need to gently nag nudge a certain person as they aren't cheap so not really a purchase I would make without consultation.

I went for the xray and ultrasound. The sonographer pressed a certain spot and asked if that was where the pain was. Hell yes. I think whatever the issue is will be soft tissue or bursitis. At least I won't need a replacement.

I came home and sent off the paperwork to drag money out of super to pay for the land. *gulp* shit is getting real.

Then I caught up with J and C for brunch and a natter.

Himself came home from cardiac rehab and we went and priced carpet, looked at these so we can get good use out of the 4th bedroom (2nd will have an ensuite and be a permanent guest room and 3rd will be permanent for kids with bunks and toys) and looked at recliners. 

Himself readily admits he finds it hard to imagine things. He questions my styling but then agrees I did good. But every bloody time I have to go through him "not sure" about my suggestions. We will get recliners. And we will get the ones I want. It will just take time!

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the solicitor to sign stuff about the land; an appointment with the real estate agent because someone wants to talk to him even though he won't tell us anything we don't already know and then we will go and look through a display of the house design we have chosen. Not the actual one (that would be too easy) but close enough.

I am going to try really hard to bite my tongue and just go with the flow as we get this place ready for market. Himself is so excited about this that I really don't want to piss on his parade. And it is his parade.

The pumpkins are doing well. Maude looks almost ready to harvest and her siblings are coming along nicely. There are so many wannabes that just won't make it because the stupid buggers left their run too late in the season. I wonder how well pumpkins grow in Lakes?

Things are a'changing

We are home.

The dogs were happy to see us

The cats were happy to see the dogs

I am going to focus on getting the house ready for market and me ready to move. This will mean less time on the interwebs. I really need to take my brain and body into the real world. 

The above will require commitment of both time and spirit. I spend way too much time doing stuff that achieves very little but ticks the boxes of being involved or being busy. I will still read my favourite blogs but will comment less and will probably blog less frequently but with more content. The less time I spend sitting at my desk the more likely I am to avoid getting sucked down the rabbit holes of facebook and the like. 

And the desk has to go anyway as I style the house! 

So much happening and it's all so exciting. 

Scary, but exciting. 

Day 4

The view while having coffee this morning 

Our beach!

The track from our street down the hill. If I was fit, I could walk into town!

Lake Tyers. Somewhere to drive the dogs for a change. About 10 minutes away.

We had lunch at the local pub.

The view from our table.

 We shared a plate of fresh (SO fresh) prawns and then he had whiting salad and I had locally made sausages. Delicious. He asked where they get their seafood. Either from the boats across the road or the local fish co-op where the trawlers sell their catch.

How cool is that?

I walked a lot this morning so am a bit sore. I will have a spa shortly and we will just get fish and chips for dinner. 

Tomorrow we see the builder to get an idea on costs. That will be scary as there are requirements we have to abide by under the terms of the contract ... like installing a water tank for the local Country Fire Authority as well as a rainwater tank for our usage.

Doesn't matter. Himself is fulfilling a long held dream he thought would never happen. I have not seen him this happy in a long time.