Quick update

It seems like a long time ago that we were out building the fence - let me tell you, the privacy has been great! No more fear of people wandering around our house - now they would have to jump a fence.

The weather has been so hot, and we have had a few decent downpours so the fence has been able to weather nicely. The green colour is mostly gone now and it has lightened to a golden hue.

I am in the process of planting, and I decided that we really needed to wash down and stain the fence... so after dinner while it was still light we got out with the 'revive', the broom and the hose and washed it down. Goodness knows what the people walking their dogs thought (with water restrictions and all). We will have to see if the weather is favourable to us tomorrow (it's supposed to be pretty hot) as to whether we can stain it or we have to wait... the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned - then I can finish planting in the beds to either side!

On the plant front, the 10 camellias and 10 gardenias that I planted down the east side (which get no morning sun, and only afternoon sun until about 5pm) are doing well for the most part. One gardenia wasn't looking too healthy after it was planted but it has recovered and has 2 new leaves. 2 camellias have carked it - one in the garden bed and one next to the hot water service (which wasn't that surprising because of the huge amount of sand that was dumped there while building even though we did try to dig it up and mix it through). The rest of the camellias are looking very healthy with most having new buds (I'm guessing new leaves forming because it's a bit late for them to be flowering). Not bad for $1.50ea for the tubes off ebay!

I had planted 5 small grevilleas (Grevillea 'gold rush') out the front at the start of summer but they all turned brown and collapsed (and a few were stood on). The dietes are flourishing - even the ones we planted at the same time as the grevilleas that died off have resprouted. The ones we planted last autumn are still flowering and some have seed pods from early flowers being pollinated. The purple ones (grandiflora) are definitely hardier than the yellow (bicolor). They were looking a little lonely out there with the grevilleas dying, so I have started planting a border of alternating Liriope muscari and Dianella revoluta which will continue across to the end of the fence.

I have just got 2 beautiful specimens of Grevillea 'moonlight' to go in front of the fence. These can grow quite tall so we may have to stunt their growth by continued pruning to maintain a small size - but they should grow to a nice size to help screen the backyard, and they have a gorgeous white-yellow flower. I am now looking at replacing the other 3 spots (where they ones that died were) with a different yellow variety - that will not grow quite so large - more like 1.5-2m. I have seen the Grevillea 'poorinda diadem' which I can get at a reasonable price that look quite pretty. I also have one remaining cycad (that was a baby of my parent's large cycad) that has survived my neglect in a pot for about 2 years (despite the nursery bought equivalent turning brown about 3 months after I brought it home) and my parents also have a couple more for me to plant in the front between the larger shrubs and the grasses.

In the backyard I have planted out the 20 tubes of Lomandra longifolia and one pot from the nursery that I divided into 2, and these are evenly spaced in the area out the glass doors (approx 1400mm apart). Between every second Lomandra I have planted kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos 'coral queen' cultivar) which I picked up 2 pots at Bunnings for $5ea and then broke into 6 each - giving me 12 plants for $10 - so they are a bit of a trial run to see if they survive and are suitable for our weather/climate.

I discovered some beautiful grevilleas in my online searches called 'peaches and cream'. I obtained 2 medium pots from Bunnings and got our local nursery to order me 3 (they could only get 8" pots, not 6") so I have planted one of these every second gap, with 6 remaining gaps where I would like to put some banksias (my favourites are either Banksia meisneri or Banksia occidentalis but I will have to check availability). Lastly I am looking at some small growing Eucalypts - one for each corner furthest from the house. I would like something striking with preferably a white or yellow flower. I have found one called "Little Spotty" which looks like it would go very nicely with the colours already in the backyard. Another option is a dwarf ghost gum but I can't find much information about them.

I will take some photos once all the plants are in and the fence is stained. I guess it will be interesting to look back at them in years to come and see how much it has grown and changed

... lets just hope I don't kill them!

Seasol - check. Powerfeed - check. Sprinklers (spray heads) - mostly check. Watering days Tuesday and Saturday - check.

Did I say this was a quick update?

The building of our fence

Saturday 26th December, Matt and family set to work to build the fence. The dad's helped with the labour, the mum's helped with the babysitting and food, and I was site supervisor ;)

We made a quick trip to Bunnings to buy some last minute supplies - like the circular saw.
We were underway with construction by 10am.
After measuring the boards which were supposed to be 90mm wide, they were more like 94mm wide, so we decided to keep the board + gap at 100mm, so our gap reduced from 10mm to 6mm.
We also measured down from our finished height to determine where the first board should start.


Just by chance we discovered that the rod of the Stanley screwdrivers were 6mm, so with 3 screwdrivers as our spacers (plus a 6mm drill bit) the boys assembled the first few boards.


Because the boards were 4.8m long, and the front portion of the fence was just under 4.8m long it made it quick work for the main section - just a matter of picking over the boards for the best looking ones (no knot holes, no cracks or splits).


When the boys were one board from the top they sawed off the posts level so that they wouldn't be seen from the front. The circular saw was just short of going right through the posts (185mm blade?) so it was finished with the hack saw.
Here is the front portion finished.


Australia was doing well in the cricket, we'd had our lunch break - even if it was almost 2pm, so then it was on to the alcove part, which required the cleat to be dynabolted to the bricks - with the cleat needing a notch out of it for the tap on the backyard side of the house.


So at stumps on day 1, we had the front section complete, with 3 boards high in the alcove.


And here is the view out the double sliding doors in our dining area. From inside the yard looks quite small (which it really is - approx 10m from new fence to back boundary fence and approx 8m from house to boundary fence) but it seems a lot bigger when you are standing outside.


Sunday 27th December, another 3 hours of measuring, cutting and screwing meant our fence was complete.
This is the view from the backyard.


View from the front.

So now we will wait approx 3-4 weeks before cleaning and staining with a Merbau stain. We purchased Intergrain Merbau stain which is waterbased, and according to the man at Bunnings, the waterbased stains outlast the oil based ones 2 to 1 - meaning the stain we will be putting on should last about 2 years before reapplication is necessary instead of 12 months. I also like the sample a lot more than the Cabots stain - which seemed too solid to me, whereas the Intergrain showed the grain in the timber.

Lots more planting to do - mostly natives including grevillea, banksia, possibly kangaroo paw and some lomandra in the backyard. Trying to keep it simple, low maintenance, low water and similar colours (purples, yellows and white) but aiming to have a pretty garden in 12 months - 2 years time.

Around the Ground

Things came to a bit of a standstill here for a while, and eventually in June (after having our gas booster stolen off our hot water service) we put up fences. We had to end up paying the full costs because council would not pay half for the end of the court as they deemed it frontage, behind us Vic Roads wouldn't pay because apparently it is a road (yet there is no access) and the neighbour didn't respond (for the second time) and has since refused to pay because "we didn't consult him prior to putting it up". I mean seriously, his share was $500 - it's not like we were asking him to pay the full cost like we did (rolls eyes).

So, here is a pic after we put up the fences:

Since then we had a lot of weeds, a bit of mud and not much else... but we had some privacy, although it was still open to the street.

Fast Forward to December and everything is happening. We have decided to fence the backyard (with the help of the parents) and as a result we decided it was best to plan out the backyard before limiting the access.

Saturday December 12th, we hired a post hole digger and set Matty to work...

6 hours and 5 post holes later we had 5 posts set in rapid set concrete to a depth of 600mm.

Saturday December 19th, we had 91m of treated pine edging, 75 hardwood pegs, 3 cubic metres of Lawn Mix soil and 2 cubic metres of Tuscan Rocks (half 20mm, half 40mm) delivered and set to work installing the garden edging.

I had sprayed the ground where the garden beds were to go using the chalk spray, but decided that 600mm wide was too narrow, so we decided on 800mm wide for the backyard around the perimeter. This will allow us to grow shrubs close to the fence and grassy plants in front.

Matt pegged and screwed the boards on. Who knew that driving wooden pegs into the ground would be such a hard job? No matter what poor Matt did, they would twist so he ended up driving a metal stake in, then replacing it with the wooden peg so it was already started a bit - which did help to an extent, but doubled the workload.

Sunday December 20th, back at it again. Lots more shovelling and barrowing soil, but still not finished...

Monday December 21st, and again... I spent most of the day digging out the front garden beds and filling them with the rocks. They were very dusty but after a light sprinkle with some water the true colours came through. Dinner time the boys (Matt and Brian) set to work to finish the last of the edging - all 86m of it.

Tuesday December 22nd - more rocks... scraped some soil out of another garden bed and filled with rocks... which is where we are up to now. The wood has been delivered for the fence this afternoon (240LM).

Plans are to put up the fence Saturday (Boxing Day/long weekend) and finish the garden beds to the front and back of the fence.

Hopefully more to come soon :)

Some more photos

Well, I did promise that I would work my way through the house and I have done this - well as much as has been possible of late.

The next room - opposite the Sitting room is our Master bedroom.

Nothing particularly special in here - we bought the bed when we first got married over 5 years ago, and was the cheapest one we could find. The bedsides were about $40ea raw pine that we stained ourselves. The doona cover was also a wedding present, and the cushions I made myself. Well, it may not be 'trendy' but it's cosy.

The next room adjoins the master - and has been the first time we have had an ensuite in the many houses we have lived in.

I absolutely LOVE the spa, although we rarely put the jets on. It's lovely to relax in there after a long day (What, we have water restrictions? No one told me!). Having 2 basins is good too - especially when we're getting ready at the same time... although how come I end up cleaning both? If it's his basin, shouldn't he clean it?

The next room that you come across as you move through the house is the Dining room.

After putting our old dining table in the space, it looked sooo tiny! It was a 6 seater, but it was not overly big and could have fit sideways in the space! Bear in mind that this 'room' is only approx 3x4m, so it is not a huge space. So, after a couple of months we decided that we needed something that was more suited to the space (and I inherited the old dining table as my scrapbooking desk). I love this table and chairs set, which was 8 seater but we purchased 2 extra chairs because they could fit without being too cramped. No problem fitting the whole family around it now!

Next, I will share the pantry.

We have a walk-through pantry (butlers pantry), which goes from the kitchen to the garage door, and has become the main traffic area when we come into and leave the house. The other side I will share with the kitchen, as it's the continuation of the kitchen bench with matching cupboards (and also the spot where everything gets dumped). Again, of all the houses we've lived in, this is the first that has a proper food pantry - all the rest have had a space less than 1/2 of what is shown in the pic. I'm not sure that the organisation of the goods in the pantry is right - I might end up re-arranging it, but at least we can now see where everything is!

Next is the spare room, which has become my scrapbooking room/Emily's play room.

It is NEVER this clean, and took about 5 minutes to become a disaster zone again - but it's all good. The only problem is when the baby arrives and I have to clear it all out :( I'm trying to come up with a place that I can put my space... Or alternatively, where to store the baby - LOL.

Last but not least - for the moment, Miss Emily's room (who is almost 4 years old).

I decided to tackle her room today, and finally stuck the decor stickers on her wall. They are really good - they are 'decofun' brand and stick to the wall without being sticky. I was a bit reluctant to stick things on the wall - but they don't leave any traces (I tested it!) and can be pulled off and reapplied if you stick them in the wrong spot or Jr outgrows them. They come in lots of themes but DD is a bit "princess" mad.

Well, that's it for now - the kitchen and lounge are still to come.

Sitting Room

Ok, so I'll do it one room at a time - that's about all I can keep clean (insert embarrassed face here).

The first room of the house that greets you as you come in the front door is the sitting room to the left.

The main purpose to this room is for guests when they pop over, so it is clean, comfortable and toy free.

We found the lounge suite at Harvey Norman's and loved it because the huge ottoman is actually a sofa bed (lid comes off and out folds the frame and base) which we thought may come in handy considering we don't have a dedicated "guest room". Now all I need to complete this room is a square chocolate coloured coffee/lamp table to either go in the corner near the window or where the lamp is at the moment. I also wouldn't mind getting a large free-standing screen, so that if ever there were guests staying they could shut the room off cos there are no doors.

Please note the big print on the wall on the right (which faces the street) - this is our first 'hole in the wall'. After renting for 5 years we sort of got used to the fact that we couldn't put up pictures and photos... so much so that this is the one and only picture hanging in our house. I do have plans for more though... I have even bought them, but some need framing... and we need to decide where/how they will hang - rooms, heights, frame style, etc.

More to come soon.

Wow, it has been a long time since posting!

Well, for those still following, we are still alive!
The time has just FLOWN since moving in, yet at the same time it feels like we have been here forever - which is probably a good sign that we have settled in.
The inside is complete - or as complete as it's going to get. All boxes are unpacked and everything is put away.
The outside is almost the same as the day we moved in! We have had the concrete done for the path to the front door and driveway. We are really happy with how it has come up.
We still have no fences - owner of the adjoining block has not responded (since before we moved in!) so we will look at taking things further in the next few months because enough is enough.
We would also like to get an excavator in and take the top 10cm of soil off to get rid of all the building crud leftover from the builders, eg. broken bits of bricks, roof tiles, concrete, plaster, nails, etc, etc. We have had a quote of approx $600 for the excavation, skip and removal, but we will need to investigate further because we only want to pay about 1/2 that. Especially since we will also need to buy in top soil to fill back in.
When we have fences and the soil is good then we will consider planting out our garden. I have rough plans and a good idea about what I would like as far as design and plants.
Until then we have our lonely little cycad at the front door... and the multitude of weeds that continually pop up after the slightest hint of rain.
I will consider what I have not shown and post some current pics of our house soon - complete with furniture!

3 Days Til Settlement - 5 Til The Big Move!

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! It's finally approaching! We have organised to have settlement on Thursday 15th at 4pm. The big move is on for Saturday.
The good news or the bad news? Ok, bad first so we can end on a positive note.
Our carpet layers - the wonderful Western Distributers is fully booked until next Wednesday! This means we will be moving in with no carpet. No big deal, we will just sleep in the family room until the carpets are in so that we don't have to assemble then dis-assembling then re-assemble the bed frame. A few nights on the mattress on the floor won't hurt us and with a bit of luck we will be that exhausted that we won't care! Another possible bad thing could be the fact that we only received the final invoice today - which we can lodge with the bank first thing tomorrow but I hope that is enough time! Please, please, please!
And somewhat bad news is that our Site Manager/Supervisor has left Metricon for a smaller local builder after 9 years service. We wish him all the best at his new job and thank him for his patience and help over the last 6 months or so. We will have handover with a replacement SM.
Now for the good news - we have the certificate of occupancy - despite being rejected last week for cracked roof tiles (rolls eyes at them), so it is all green lights for Thursday's handover.
We contacted a local blind company and they quoted the whole house - windows in hollands, sliding doors in verticals - for $1580. We were so wrapped with this quote! I met with the guy today at the house and he quickly double checked the measurements while I pondered over the colour selection and finally come to the conclusion that the best colour was "pewter" which is not the colour that the name suggests but was closest to the wall colour in a complimentary tone. The blinds will be installed Friday - how's that for service!
We have sent off our fencing quotes to the relevant neighbours but are yet to hear back - so it is just as well we will be moving in with blinds on the windows... is a bit of privacy too much to ask?
Oh, and the moving van is booked for first thing Saturday so we better get cracking with the last of the packing (he, he, that rhymes!).
WOOOOHOOOO!