Still Unpacking

Many thanks go out to Murphy Kaire for moving us from our old rental and into our new one.  Now that he has moved us into our new rental, he can look forward to building our house on the water and then help us with our FINAL move!  Thanks Murphy you are the greatest.

There is a still lot of unpacking to do and I guess I need a raining day so the ever so gorgeous swimming pool does not tempt me to go for a swim.  I have never been known for my organizational skills and I love to procrastinate so who knows when it will be done!  Oh well, as the one and only Scarlett O’Hara would say, “After all ... tomorrow is another day.” Therefore, I will wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Our Outdoor Christmas Tree

A Slice of Heaven

Moving, Moving, Moving

Oh yes, we are on the move again.  This Friday, November 4^th, we will be moving to a larger rental that has air conditioning, a pool and room for visitors.  My sister, Haven, will be visiting from mid-December to mid-January then Gran arrives for yearly visit sometime early February in time for her darling granddaughter’s birthday!

This move is the work of the Lord, so for those out there that think He cannot find the right house for you well you are soooo wrong!  One Friday at school, one of the Intervention Teachers walked up to me and we started talking.  She mentioned that she has been slowly moving out of one house and into another one.  I told her that I felt for her and how I was not looking forward to moving again and how we needed to find a place to move into before the summer sets upon us.  She smiled and said her house that she just moved out of was for rent.  I stated I need a house with air conditioning, pool and space and she smiled and stated her house did.  She then proceeds to tell me the house is in the same area.  We both looked at each other and I reached over to her and stated how the good Lord works in mysterious ways.  She then tells me that she knows that and that she was not even supposed to be at school that day!  We both had major goose bumps and tingling heads. 

Praise the Lord.

Redesigning

As you can see I have been busy trying to redesign my Blog and I am having trouble trying to get some things aligned the way I want them.  Therefore, I think I am going to have to get a web designer to help me!

Since our house is at a standstill, I have decided to branch out and just start blogging about whatever comes to mind, so stay tuned!

Guess What? We are still waiting!

We are at the point now where we are going to have to move to another house while we build.  We need more space, a pool, and air conditioning.  Cannot go a summer without those thing, plus I am ready for my mother to come over for her 3 to 6 month stay.  In addition, my sister, Haven, is coming over for Christmas; well I hope she is coming.

This wonderful little house we call the “Tree house” has served its purpose but Kate needs a place where she can play with her toys, I need air-conditioning and Jake’s needs a place he can hide from us!  However, most of all we want to get off this extremely busy road.  The noise from the cars hooning up and down the street is preventing us from having a good night sleep.  

Thanks to the good Lord, I am hoping to secure a rental house by next week.  If so, I will share with you a story on how He works in the most mysterious way!

Word on the Street!

Believe it or not, we may finally get approval next week. Best I get myself organized and make a decision on windows.  Think I may need to schedule an appointment with Hayley and Tracee from Porchlight Interiors, www.porchlightinteriors.com.au.

A Wonderful Week Away

We have just returned home from a wonderful week in New Zealand celebrating Jake's Uncle Simon's birthday!  We were staying in the ever so gorgeous town of Devonport where there just happens to be a few fabulous clothes and shoe shops! 

Kate had the most amazing time playing with her cousins.  So much so, we extend our stay for an extra three nights.   Which meant we were able to attend a Rugby World Cup Game, Jake got another flight with Dom and we got to see Bassie, who flew in just hours before we headed to the airport.

This week we will be enjoying our last week of school holidays before Term 4 starts.  We are hoping to go roller-skating today and maybe the movies later in the week.  This will all depend on whether Kate has the chickenpox or just a multitude of bug bites!  Therefore, need I say we will start our week off at the doctor’s office this morning and then off to spend the day with the ever so delightful Wigan Family! 

Still Waiting

Nothing to report on the actual site but the down time has allowed me the opportunity to sit back and contemplate some things that I have been putting off.  I needed to decide whether to have windows in the kitchen on the Eastern side of the house.  Well, thanks to Aunty Disy and Jan Randall there will be windows in the kitchen on the Eastern side!  Now, I just need to decide whether to go all wood or wood interior and aluminium exterior.  If I go the combination, I will have to order them from a company in NSW who is the international supplier for Marvin Windows and Doors in the States.  The problem here is the time in which it would take to get the windows, and I am still waiting on a quote.


I have made Jake a very happy man by agreeing to be practical and use James Hardie Linear fiber cement siding and a tin roof.  I came to this decision after reading several articles in Coastal Living regarding how to storm proof your house and this was around the time Irene was barrelling towards the States!  In addition, while admiring the pictures of the houses in East Beach, Norfolk, Virginia, I noticed that many of the houses have tin roofs!  Therefore, I emailed Jake a photo of the roof and he was able to locate the same roof here in Australia. 


That is all I have to report for now.  I will try and post the house plans later this week.

Irene turns, aims fury toward N.C. - Home Page - NewsObserver.com

Irene turns, aims fury toward N.C. - Home Page - NewsObserver.com

Sending prayers to all my family and friends on the East Coast.

Shake, Rattle and Hold On East Coast of United States

I am sending prayers to my family and friends in the States, especially, those on the East Coast who felt the 5.8 magnitude earthquake today and are preparing themselves for Hurricane Irene, which could possibly hit land this weekend.

The Waiting Game

We have come to a stand still until we get plumbing approval from Council! Therefore, the only activity today was Jake's meeting with John Dillon from Unique Landscaping http://www.ulc.net.au/.

Brisbane Show Day- 17 August 2011

On Monday, Graham and Jake dug the footings for the porch. Yesterday the guys poured the concrete for the porch and remaining footings. Today they are doing the prep work for the suspended concrete floor.

I'm waiting for a quote for doors and windows from Woodworkers and trying to decide on a color for the exterior. I'm thinking a light grey or blue. Anybody out there have and suggestions? I also need to start thinking about tiles for bathrooms and laundry!

The following pictures were taken around 11:00am.

View from Lounge

View from Kitchen

Footing for the Porch

View from Ground Level

Friday's Adventure

The day was spent digging out the driveway and that afternoon Jake had help from his favourite worker!  Can't wait to see how much that will cost him!

Porchlight Interiors

The wonderful Hayley and Tracee from Porchlight Interiors are mentioned in the latest issue on Ivy & Piper (page 108), which is an online home fashion magazine www.ivyandpiper.com.au.

Thursday Morning

Early Thursday morning photos!

The left side is the kitchen area and the right is the loung.

Long Day

I do believe two young men left the property extremely tired! These two spent the entire day shovelling rocks into the drainage behind the retaining wall.  When I stopped by to take photos they did not appear to be happy chappies!

The Drop!

Rob from Rob Watkins Builders is working on the structural steel and floor structure for the suspended concrete slab to the kitchen, lounge and dinning area.

Week Four

We are heading into week four and I have no idea what is being done today!  On Friday concrete was poured into the retaining walls and Jake set sail on MONDO for the 5th Annual Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race. 

I spent the morning with Hayley and Tracee from Porchlight Interiors (www.porchlightinteriors.com.au). I look forward to going over everything with Jake when he returns today.

Have a great day and may the Lord keep you safe!

TGIF

The retaining walls are up and concrete will be poured into them today.  Pictures to come.

I'm off to meet Hayley and Tracee from Porchlight Interiors www.porchlightinteriors.com.au/.  Lots of questions on my agenda and most of the questions are from Jake, who at first was hesitant about hiring Interior Decorators!  I think he might just realize that I was right on this one!

The annual Brisbane to Keppel Yacht starts today. This is its 5th year and we are praying MONDO will win! Be safe boys and have lots of fun.

Day 10 and Day 11

It has been a busy two days on the property for the brick layers. They have been laying the brick wall for the bottom section of house. Actually, it's the section that will house the water tanks etc and will not be closed in.

Day Nine

It is going to be an excited day! The first lot of concrete is being poured.  Photos to come later.

Day Eight

The day started with Kate visiting the Tooth Fairy at TFI Dentistry, http://www.dentistthornlandsbrisbane.com.au/. Then she and I went to the property to see what Rob and Graham were working on. Then back home to clean and wait for Nana and Papa Mike to arrive. They have flown over from NZ to help celebrate Jake's 40th Birthday!

Happy to report that we past our first inspection - the steel reinforcement inspection!

Graham and Rob hard at work

Day Seven

Woke up to another beautiful morning, which was good for those working on the property! While they were soaking up some Vitamin D I went to Woodworkers, www.woodworkers.com.au, to choose windows and doors. Thank the good Lord Hayley from Porchlight Interiors, http://www.porchlightinteriors.com.au, was with me. 

Below are pictures from todays work!

A true sign that work has begun!

Garage and Gran's area

Getting ready for the concrete

You got to love this view!

Day Six

Activity for the day consisted of Graham digging the footings/foundation.  Late afternoon Jake met with the plumber!

Day Five

It was busy day on the property.  The digging of the footings/foundation started and the electrician erected the power pole.  Now we wait for Energex to connect the electricity. 


Jake went on an adventure down into the sewage pipes.  Thankfully, it was after a large amount of waste went flowing by!

The Unknown!

What beautiful red dirt

The Great Debate

The 1st beer in 25 days!

Day Four

No action on the property today. Jake went with Bob to get  MONDO ready for the Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race.  Kate and I spent the day with Lee, Will and Ben! Thanks Lee for a great day - Kate finally found the courage to ride her bike (thanks Lee), Will rode Kate's bike, and Lee baked her first lot of cupcakes and brownies from a box.

Day Three

Returned from a fabulous trip to Melbourne.  Lots of laughs, walking and fabulous margaritas!  Oh yes, I cannot forget the gorgeous room at the Crown Towers.  I fell in love with the room's decor and wish I could have packed the room and bathroom into my bag and brought them home with me. Instead, I took lots of pictures so I can try and duplicate them!

I will head down to the property this morning to take some pictures and will post them later today.

Boo, many thanks for a wonderful trip. My bags are already packed for our Sydney trip!

Day Two

I'm off to Melbourne for the DECORATION + DESIGN & FURNITEX show.  This will be the first time I'm away from the family since Kate was born.  It's going to be hard but I'm sure Boo (a.k.a. The Might B) will soon have me laughing so hard the pain will ease! Prayers are welcome if you have the urge to pray!

Jake is meeting with his company's Landscape Architect today and the huge pile of dirt from yesterday will be transferred by Quad Transport to another property.

I pray everyone has a day full of the good Lord's blessings!

Day One

It was a beautiful day to get the digger digging!  Even our wonderful neighbour was out to watch Quad Transport cut into our property.

Our Wonderful Neighbour

 

Our Girls freaking out

Our View at low tide

Look at all the red dirt

View from Rob's yard

Close call

View as tide is coming in

View from road

View of the drop!

One more sleep...

I'm getting ever so excited for there is just one more sleep before it all begins! Quad Transport, which is owned by Janice and Anthony Vanderreyden, will get an early start tomorrow morning as they will be the ones breaking ground on our property.

I've got my steel capped boots and camera ready!

PORCHLIGHT INTERIORS

Thanks to the power of prayer, I found the most wonderful interior decorators, Tracee and Hayley from Porchlight Interiors. I got to see first hand some of their work and I was totally blown away.  There is no doubt these two remarkable ladies will be able to deliver the atmosphere we're after.  Please take a look at their website www.porchlightinteriors.com.au or their blog at http://porchlightinteriors.blogspot.com/.

Time Flies

It has been a year since I last posted anything and boy has a lot changed.  We sold our "Beach House" and are renting a little house on stumps/stilts.  We call it the Tree House and have been here for about 6 months.  This is home until we finish building our home on the water.

This blog will be for those of you who are interested in keeping up to date with our building process.  It will also be a great way for my to seek advice.

If you decide to follow us as we build A Sailor's Haven then take a seat and enjoy the sail!

And so it begins...

Much to our surprise the water meter was connected to our property on Wednesday. A very big thank you to Rob Lovett for helping me decide where to have the guys place it.