We are in direct competition with the squirrels and the birds of course but today Storm got up on the ladder to get some of the prime pickings and the plan is to make figgy jam.
With some help of course...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Harvest time
It's harvest time at Casa de Kulhan. Yes, our fig tree is in production mode and banging out the little pieces of fruit like there's no tomorrow. It's limbs are burdened and hanging further and further down with the weight of them each day.
We are in direct competition with the squirrels and the birds of course but today Storm got up on the ladder to get some of the prime pickings and the plan is to make figgy jam.
With some help of course...
Even the dogs wanted to help out.
While we were out the back our next door neighbours were too. Kady (their two year old) is up in Austin with her grandparents but they had Jax - their italian greyhound - and he wanted to come and visit a bit. Rudy and Oscar enjoy Jax a lot and he is a really friendly doggie to have around.
Part of the haul. And no, he's not that happy about the pickins', he was just looking into the sun. The very warm sun.
Jax's entryway into the backyard. We plan to put in a gate once Corey and Storm replace the fence. That way Oscar will be able to fit through. He so wants to go and check it all out.
Enjoying the haul...
Both girls have been unwell today so have been knocking back the flat sprite.
Poor Kendall felt a bit tuckered out at the end.
I'll have to let you in on how successful the figgy jam is in a couple of days.
We are in direct competition with the squirrels and the birds of course but today Storm got up on the ladder to get some of the prime pickings and the plan is to make figgy jam.
With some help of course...
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Shrimporee 2011
Today has been a great day.
Firstly, we went down to Sunset Lake, taking the kids, dogs and breakfast. Everyone played in the sand and enjoyed the calf high water. We were wet and covered in salt and sand and all thought it was a wonderful way to start the day.
Once we got home I saw that we were lucky enough to have two garage sales in the street. One was bad - I mean bad. They were selling broken junk that was unclean and stinky. The other (funnily enough held by the other Aussie in the street - yes we're not the first Aussies to live in E. Janin Cir. Go figure!) held a few treasures. I scored two side tables, 40 or so golden books for the girls, a window frame (for a craft project) and a copper kettle. Sweet! This combined with the 2 kiddie desks that a neighbour left out on the road on Friday made a wonderful haul and has definitely given me a few things to do for a while.
After a quick nap (all except for yours truly) we headed to Aransas Pass for the 63rd annual Shrimporee festival.(about 15 minutes away). What we were envisioning was a festival full of great, fresh eats focusing on the tasty crustacean which we absolutely adore. I had also been told of many vendors marketing local arts, crafts and skills and was looking forward to an afternoon filled with some casual browsing.
What we found was a field filled with many vendors marketing the afore-mentioned local arts, crafts and skills. We made a wonderful purchase of a hand hammered/cut piece of metal in the shape of an interesting fish painted in a stunning hue of turquoise. It's large and it's fantastic.
What we didn't find was a festival filled with fresh eats of that great crustacean. For a shrimporee festival there were only about 8 vendors selling anything remotely shrimpy. Such a shame. Very disappointing. We came home hungry. Luckily we took some stuff for the kids to eat as there was nothing fresh there that they would have enjoyed. Again...a real shame.
But in it's defense we did enjoy the afternoon out and we did have fun. Stormy won the girls some carnival toys and the kids got to see horses, ponies and donkeys close up and also saw some white tigers!
Shades? Check. Wheels? Check. Ready to check it out? Check.
Singing and grooving to "If you're happy and you know it!"
Daddy too!
The vendor tent. Smelt good but pickings were poor.
Kendall was fascinated by the tiger cubs.
Sydney was not as enthusiastic to see them at first...
But joined her sister in adoring the beautiful babies.
And soon wanted to get even closer to the daddy tiger...he was huge, his paws immense. One toe was the size of my palm. So insanely big.
This was when Kendall didn't feel as confident and was quite happy to be held while daddy tiger was getting fed.
Sideshow alley...
Kendall was fascinated by the rides too. She couldn't take her eyes off this one.
Such a happy girl.
A quick stop before going home.
An enjoyable day. Tiring but enjoyable.
Two weeks until my mum arrives. Woo hoo!
Firstly, we went down to Sunset Lake, taking the kids, dogs and breakfast. Everyone played in the sand and enjoyed the calf high water. We were wet and covered in salt and sand and all thought it was a wonderful way to start the day.
Once we got home I saw that we were lucky enough to have two garage sales in the street. One was bad - I mean bad. They were selling broken junk that was unclean and stinky. The other (funnily enough held by the other Aussie in the street - yes we're not the first Aussies to live in E. Janin Cir. Go figure!) held a few treasures. I scored two side tables, 40 or so golden books for the girls, a window frame (for a craft project) and a copper kettle. Sweet! This combined with the 2 kiddie desks that a neighbour left out on the road on Friday made a wonderful haul and has definitely given me a few things to do for a while.
After a quick nap (all except for yours truly) we headed to Aransas Pass for the 63rd annual Shrimporee festival.(about 15 minutes away). What we were envisioning was a festival full of great, fresh eats focusing on the tasty crustacean which we absolutely adore. I had also been told of many vendors marketing local arts, crafts and skills and was looking forward to an afternoon filled with some casual browsing.
What we found was a field filled with many vendors marketing the afore-mentioned local arts, crafts and skills. We made a wonderful purchase of a hand hammered/cut piece of metal in the shape of an interesting fish painted in a stunning hue of turquoise. It's large and it's fantastic.
What we didn't find was a festival filled with fresh eats of that great crustacean. For a shrimporee festival there were only about 8 vendors selling anything remotely shrimpy. Such a shame. Very disappointing. We came home hungry. Luckily we took some stuff for the kids to eat as there was nothing fresh there that they would have enjoyed. Again...a real shame.
But in it's defense we did enjoy the afternoon out and we did have fun. Stormy won the girls some carnival toys and the kids got to see horses, ponies and donkeys close up and also saw some white tigers!
Shades? Check. Wheels? Check. Ready to check it out? Check.
Two weeks until my mum arrives. Woo hoo!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The week in review
I cannot believe that it's June already. Crazy!
It's been absolutely great weather right now and as a result the garden is a'growin! Storm has had to mow the front and back twice this week and in this sunny heat you can bet he was sweating. I bought him a straw hat to replace the baseball cap so hopefully he has some protection now...
Now you may be wondering why the grass is red behind Storm's legs. Well, to tell you about that I must first tell you about my purchases of the week.
On the Memorial day holiday we hopped in the car and took a trip to Bayside (a very small town on the bay that was supposed to have a great seafood restaurant but didn't - or we just couldn't find it!) and found a fantastic tropical nursery. The minute we stepped into the nursery we were greeted with a warning about the mosquitoes and offered a can of mozzie repellent. It took about 5 seconds for us to realize she wasn't joking and we liberally sprayed ourselves before discovering a fantastic selection of plants. We found mega sorts of bamboo (even black!), the biggest selection of hibiscus (including a gorgeous mottled-pink leaf one), palms, vines and a greenhouse full of the largest elephant ears I have ever seen. I mean these were Jurassic Park leaves! Storm has a photo of me next to the leaves but it's on his phone and for some reason it's not coming to my email. Needless to say I should come to my whole point of the post. Storm spied these rocking beauties hiding in the back and they were $10 each!
So we snavelled them right up! Yes, they've seen better days and being out in the garden didn't help but they have potential.
Here is one of them primed and ready for the last coat. It looks good in white but I so want them to pop in the yard of green and you'll see how once I'm done. (That's of course, if you cannot figure it out by looking at the lawn!)
S-N-A-Z-Z-Y!
So how have we been coping with the heat? Well since the girls aren't too keen on sand (well mostly Syd!) we've been heading up to the club and using the facilities.
It's a real shame that the girls have lost their love of the water over the winter months. We're really going to have to keep pushing them into the water. It doesn't help that they're cutting their molars too of course! Yay teething.
There's also tennis courts (above) that we're dying to try out.
Storm has used the golf course several times now by himself and also with Corey from next door.
The girls are really into climbing right now which is a good and bad thing too. There's been a couple of spills but nothing serious...yet (touch wood!).
And when we don't get to the pool the girls get to cool off like this...
So much fun.
On a side note Friday marked the end of the third week of the girls going to daycare. And it was the first day that the girls actually separated and played with other kids. Yay! Progress.
We're really happy that we're down here. Yes, we left friends behind in Vegas and a life that we had built for ourselves but down here our life is truer to what we have always wanted for ourselves. Once we build we'll be really happy campers - until then we just have to settle for being just happy. So happy.
BTW-The house is almost painted. Ronald - our hippy next door neighbour (actually two doors down)- has almost finished and we're so excited. We're going to hang some shutters and then finish the front and back gardens and then restart inside. We've managed to finish our middle loungeroom and have done the first cost on the kitchen as well. We did rip down the yukky wallpaper in the office today and luckily it came off is pieces oh, so easily. They must have used a poor quality self adhesive wallpaper - lucky for us! Woo hoo!
It's been absolutely great weather right now and as a result the garden is a'growin! Storm has had to mow the front and back twice this week and in this sunny heat you can bet he was sweating. I bought him a straw hat to replace the baseball cap so hopefully he has some protection now...
On the Memorial day holiday we hopped in the car and took a trip to Bayside (a very small town on the bay that was supposed to have a great seafood restaurant but didn't - or we just couldn't find it!) and found a fantastic tropical nursery. The minute we stepped into the nursery we were greeted with a warning about the mosquitoes and offered a can of mozzie repellent. It took about 5 seconds for us to realize she wasn't joking and we liberally sprayed ourselves before discovering a fantastic selection of plants. We found mega sorts of bamboo (even black!), the biggest selection of hibiscus (including a gorgeous mottled-pink leaf one), palms, vines and a greenhouse full of the largest elephant ears I have ever seen. I mean these were Jurassic Park leaves! Storm has a photo of me next to the leaves but it's on his phone and for some reason it's not coming to my email. Needless to say I should come to my whole point of the post. Storm spied these rocking beauties hiding in the back and they were $10 each!
So how have we been coping with the heat? Well since the girls aren't too keen on sand (well mostly Syd!) we've been heading up to the club and using the facilities.
And when we don't get to the pool the girls get to cool off like this...
On a side note Friday marked the end of the third week of the girls going to daycare. And it was the first day that the girls actually separated and played with other kids. Yay! Progress.
We're really happy that we're down here. Yes, we left friends behind in Vegas and a life that we had built for ourselves but down here our life is truer to what we have always wanted for ourselves. Once we build we'll be really happy campers - until then we just have to settle for being just happy. So happy.
BTW-The house is almost painted. Ronald - our hippy next door neighbour (actually two doors down)- has almost finished and we're so excited. We're going to hang some shutters and then finish the front and back gardens and then restart inside. We've managed to finish our middle loungeroom and have done the first cost on the kitchen as well. We did rip down the yukky wallpaper in the office today and luckily it came off is pieces oh, so easily. They must have used a poor quality self adhesive wallpaper - lucky for us! Woo hoo!
Monday, May 23, 2011
A moment on the pier
With Mavis in tow we made a quick trip over to Port Aransas. (We had to hire a car due to the fact that Mavis was leaving soon, we were all going stir crazy and our feet were sore from walking everywhere! Our minivan took ages to get here - such a long story)
We were really lucky as there was minimal traffic to get the ferry across and got there in next to no time. We did a little touristy shopping and then a trip to the beach. Since we've arrived there has been a real onshore wind and even though it is quite nice, it is quite blowey (what the?) so the bay and the gulf/beach has been a little choppy.
So rather than risking Syd's fury at getting sand in her shoes (oh you should see the drama a bit of sand can cause!) we decided to take a small walk on the pier.
The other side of the pier was a place that you could camp on the beach. Several RVs and campers had set themselves up quite nicely and were fishing from their campsites. Quite cool.
How gray is my man? Hereditary, stress or me? Who knows?
The end of the pier. A little to the left was a young fella who caught his first catfish by himself. He was so proud and managed to pull it up (the pier is about 30 ft above the water) all by himself. His dad had one to get more bait so he was there all alone doing this with noone to share it with. So we made sure to give him a big clap. He was so cute with his big grin.
Speaking of cute grins...
We were really lucky as there was minimal traffic to get the ferry across and got there in next to no time. We did a little touristy shopping and then a trip to the beach. Since we've arrived there has been a real onshore wind and even though it is quite nice, it is quite blowey (what the?) so the bay and the gulf/beach has been a little choppy.
So rather than risking Syd's fury at getting sand in her shoes (oh you should see the drama a bit of sand can cause!) we decided to take a small walk on the pier.
Rain!
Ok, to some of you this may not be that interesting but a couple of weeks back we got rain.
So, let me set the scene for you. We had heard on the weather report that hail was a possibility so we thought that we could try and get the car into the garage. The very full, single garage that I hadn't quite gotten around to sorting out at that time. As I got in there it started to rain. Now remember, we've been living in Vegas for the last seven years where 4 inches of rain per year is the norm so it has been a while since it rained longer than 20 minutes at a spell.
It rained for 2 hours and we got three inches! We were stoked but also very surprised at how the house coped with rain (now remember we were told by our insurance company that we needed a new roof and when the quotes that came back were exorbitant - think $8,000-$10,000 we agreed to increase our premium total for the yar and stay with roof we had!). We learned a lot with several leaks at the join in the sunroom and how the water runs off the roof to sit in the backyard!
So much fun and oh so boring but we're not out of the drought just yet. At least we know what work we've got to do before hurricane season.
The collection receptacles at one point.
Yay - the lowest point of the backyard is on the paving. How lucky are we?
Ok, it's boring and I promise that I won't post anything more about rain until it's interesting. Perhaps a tropical storm?
So, let me set the scene for you. We had heard on the weather report that hail was a possibility so we thought that we could try and get the car into the garage. The very full, single garage that I hadn't quite gotten around to sorting out at that time. As I got in there it started to rain. Now remember, we've been living in Vegas for the last seven years where 4 inches of rain per year is the norm so it has been a while since it rained longer than 20 minutes at a spell.
It rained for 2 hours and we got three inches! We were stoked but also very surprised at how the house coped with rain (now remember we were told by our insurance company that we needed a new roof and when the quotes that came back were exorbitant - think $8,000-$10,000 we agreed to increase our premium total for the yar and stay with roof we had!). We learned a lot with several leaks at the join in the sunroom and how the water runs off the roof to sit in the backyard!
So much fun and oh so boring but we're not out of the drought just yet. At least we know what work we've got to do before hurricane season.
Catch up time!
I know it's been a while so rather than try and catch up chronologically I plan on just blogging on some random events etc and hopefully I'll catch up that way!
So...
Today marked the beginning of the second week at daycare. The girls do have quite a reaction to going to "school". On the one hand they are quite happy to go there, nodding when asked if they want to go to "school" and play with the girls and boys, even showing us the way to their classroom when we walk in. The flip side is that when they get into the classroom and realize what is next to happen (i.e. mummy and daddy leaving) then that is where the clingy tears hit. We try not to create a scene and disrupt the other kiddoes who are already there and say goodbye with a kiss but the tears are quite dramatic. Yes, it's nice to be loved so much (at least I hope it's love) but I've learned already not to turn around and get eye contact as the expression on their face is so heart wrenching. It's like they're accusing me of abandoning them!
So, have I managed to get much work done in the time that they are in "school"? It's three days a week (M/W/F) from 9.00am to 2.30pm. So yes, I am. It helps make up for this past weekend's complete lack of a daytime nap for Sydney! Yes, the kid went from 7am to 9.30pm, two days in a row and surprisingly had minimal meltdowns! Today she napped though - which I'm sure was most pleasant for Ms. Pam and Miss Ashley.
I've realized that I am not ready for no daytime nap just yet. Especially when it's only one child!
Anyway, here are some piccies of their first day - so cute!
Kendall is in the orangey top and Syd is in the turquoise one. Their hair has grown so much and both have really cute curly pony and pigtails!
Now you may be wondering about the splotchy background on the brick behind Syd. Well we want to paint the house and are testing colours in the different light. Since the piccie was taken we have actually painted several other colours up there. (Update: Final colour choice is a creamy colour for the main body of the house and a deep grayish blue for the trim. It should contrast nicely and with the green of the gardens at the front.)
Now I would like to point out the window boxes foliage. I am not a fake flower/plant fan but I have left the previous owners "decor" choice in the window boxes due to the fact that a) the house will be painted soon and b) we actually face west so the boxes will get quite hot and I'm trying to figure out a plant that can tolerate its roots to be housed in a shallow, hot box! Suggestions greatly appreciated please!
BTW - Both girls absolutely adore dogs and cats and Syd is pointing to next door's dogs as they are barking and she's getting a kick out of it! At least she's not rushing the fence!
So...
Today marked the beginning of the second week at daycare. The girls do have quite a reaction to going to "school". On the one hand they are quite happy to go there, nodding when asked if they want to go to "school" and play with the girls and boys, even showing us the way to their classroom when we walk in. The flip side is that when they get into the classroom and realize what is next to happen (i.e. mummy and daddy leaving) then that is where the clingy tears hit. We try not to create a scene and disrupt the other kiddoes who are already there and say goodbye with a kiss but the tears are quite dramatic. Yes, it's nice to be loved so much (at least I hope it's love) but I've learned already not to turn around and get eye contact as the expression on their face is so heart wrenching. It's like they're accusing me of abandoning them!
So, have I managed to get much work done in the time that they are in "school"? It's three days a week (M/W/F) from 9.00am to 2.30pm. So yes, I am. It helps make up for this past weekend's complete lack of a daytime nap for Sydney! Yes, the kid went from 7am to 9.30pm, two days in a row and surprisingly had minimal meltdowns! Today she napped though - which I'm sure was most pleasant for Ms. Pam and Miss Ashley.
I've realized that I am not ready for no daytime nap just yet. Especially when it's only one child!
Anyway, here are some piccies of their first day - so cute!
Kendall is in the orangey top and Syd is in the turquoise one. Their hair has grown so much and both have really cute curly pony and pigtails!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Still here!
I know it's been a while but obviously a lot has happened since my last post. It's late so I'm going to make this short and sweet.
First we had the conference in Long Beach which actually went quite well. The hotel was average and not really designed for kids but the trip out and back went really well. The actual conference responsibilities were shared by us both and where it could have been better (the conference hall was huge and had no "vibe") it was still successful for us. After returning to Las Vegas we got ready to move and it was very draining on both of us. Mavis was a great help and the dogs were really stressed, it seemed the only ones who were unaffected were the girls. It actually snowed on the day we were moving. Can you believe that? Hail sized snowflakes for 45 minutes. Crazy for April and even crazier when I've got boxes of things in my driveway ready to be packed. Things got wet and it generally was so messy. I wasn't happy with the chill that I got either. Yay, nothing beats sniffles and a temp when you're moving!
Anyway, back to the story - Storm pulled a "Storm" on me and decided that we were going to go a day earlier than planned which really put me into a place that I wasn't prepared for. I had mentally planned out the last days in Vegas and it's surprising how much I had planned for that last day. Oh well. I lost - we left on Wednesday.
Storm handled the RV really well and it liked him back. The girls were fantastic and really coped well with the environment they were stuck in for the 3 days. The dogs also seemed to do well (car sickness drugs really helped our spewy Oscar) and even though Rudy was troubled by the change in scenery as long as he was with us it was OK. We drove through fires, severe wind and deer and hopefully never have to do it again too soon.
The house and neighborhood.
We got to the place and I really have to commend the photographer that the real estate agent who sold the house had hired to take the piccies. Things looked really much longer in the photos - like the driveway for example. (The RV just fits onto the driveway now so it's not staying here at the house after the car arrives). Don't get me wrong the house is quite spacious - more so than the house in Vegas but it was smaller than what I had envisioned from the photos. (Maybe I should get the same photographer to take photos of me - the height/weight ratio may look better!)
Anyway, within 1/2 hour of arriving and unpacking the RV, some of the boards that Storm had stacked outside of the garage fell down in the wind. A huge spout of water erupted from the area and I thought that he had knocked off the top of one of the sprinkler heads (forgetting that we don;t need a sprinkler system down here). Well it wasn't a sprinkler (as previously explained it was the water main coming into the house. Yes, Storm managed to shatter the main water source to the house. Luckily enough three neighbors came to our assistance with phone numbers of plumbers (welcome to Hicksville we only work weekdays and certainly not Friday afternoons!) and after 4 hours of no luck with plumbers, two rides to the hardware store to get the products to fix it. Talk about 11th hour and we were able to wash our hands, feet and flush a toilet after it all. Hot showers would have to wait (remember Storm pushing up the leaving date? Well I had organized for the gas to be put on on Monday not Friday so we had to boil water in a tin kettle and small saucepan for kids, baths, face washing and washing up.)
Now I wasn't prepared for a couple of things when we moved in.
1) The colours and finishes on the walls. I'm not sure what was going through the previous owner's minds when they made the decisions they did but man we had some work ahead of us.
2) We had a 6-month settlement on the contract and I think they moved out once the contract went unconditional and as a result - the bugs took over where they left off. I couldn't let the girls touch anything inside for a good day and a half (it took me that long to boil water and clean it all off!). Crazy yukky.
3) A nice surprise was that the previous owners left their working fridge. I was expecting to have to buy a fridge and a washing machine straight away and not having to get the fridge certainly helped the budget (on the flipside was that we also had to buy a new dryer - go figure the washing wasn't drying well in the humidity and the dryer we brought with us - well it was a gas dryer not electric. I know - why didn't I think of that before I made Storm and DV carry it out and then pack it in the trailer? I don't know!)
4) The gloriousness of the sunroom. This was the reason that we bought the house and my gosh it is so worth it - a really lovely place to start the day, spend the day and finish the day. Can you tell I love it?
5) The roof. This is an update from news received today. Yes, before the insurance company will insure the roof we have to have it replaced! The quotes so far have been interesting to say the least and certainly not something that we expected to have to do so soon. (Must have killed a holy man in a previous life!)
6) The fact that we're in a small town in a dry community and having to get used to the fact that services are not as good or as plentiful (my landline telephone story is a learning experience), that we had power outages quite regularly (it ain't even hurricane season yet!) and the fact that we can only get tequila/vodka or anything liquor based at one shop in town. Welcome to Hicksville! I love it!
Apart from those few observations and not having the minivan (at least it's on its way now!) life has been pretty good. I have no regrets about moving and still have a few things to still get sorted so any real enjoyment still has to wait a bit but I cannot wait to get back into a groove.
P.S. - We had our first BBQ/dinner party last night. Our next door neighbours (golf playing CC copper and bartender wife with 2 yr old daughter) came over with their doggy (cute and surprisingly Rudy just loves him - even letting him sleep on him on the couch without flinching!). A good time was had by all. She sure knows how to make a good margarita!
P.S.S. - I have some piccies that I need to post and will do so very shortly.
First we had the conference in Long Beach which actually went quite well. The hotel was average and not really designed for kids but the trip out and back went really well. The actual conference responsibilities were shared by us both and where it could have been better (the conference hall was huge and had no "vibe") it was still successful for us. After returning to Las Vegas we got ready to move and it was very draining on both of us. Mavis was a great help and the dogs were really stressed, it seemed the only ones who were unaffected were the girls. It actually snowed on the day we were moving. Can you believe that? Hail sized snowflakes for 45 minutes. Crazy for April and even crazier when I've got boxes of things in my driveway ready to be packed. Things got wet and it generally was so messy. I wasn't happy with the chill that I got either. Yay, nothing beats sniffles and a temp when you're moving!
Anyway, back to the story - Storm pulled a "Storm" on me and decided that we were going to go a day earlier than planned which really put me into a place that I wasn't prepared for. I had mentally planned out the last days in Vegas and it's surprising how much I had planned for that last day. Oh well. I lost - we left on Wednesday.
Storm handled the RV really well and it liked him back. The girls were fantastic and really coped well with the environment they were stuck in for the 3 days. The dogs also seemed to do well (car sickness drugs really helped our spewy Oscar) and even though Rudy was troubled by the change in scenery as long as he was with us it was OK. We drove through fires, severe wind and deer and hopefully never have to do it again too soon.
The house and neighborhood.
We got to the place and I really have to commend the photographer that the real estate agent who sold the house had hired to take the piccies. Things looked really much longer in the photos - like the driveway for example. (The RV just fits onto the driveway now so it's not staying here at the house after the car arrives). Don't get me wrong the house is quite spacious - more so than the house in Vegas but it was smaller than what I had envisioned from the photos. (Maybe I should get the same photographer to take photos of me - the height/weight ratio may look better!)
Anyway, within 1/2 hour of arriving and unpacking the RV, some of the boards that Storm had stacked outside of the garage fell down in the wind. A huge spout of water erupted from the area and I thought that he had knocked off the top of one of the sprinkler heads (forgetting that we don;t need a sprinkler system down here). Well it wasn't a sprinkler (as previously explained it was the water main coming into the house. Yes, Storm managed to shatter the main water source to the house. Luckily enough three neighbors came to our assistance with phone numbers of plumbers (welcome to Hicksville we only work weekdays and certainly not Friday afternoons!) and after 4 hours of no luck with plumbers, two rides to the hardware store to get the products to fix it. Talk about 11th hour and we were able to wash our hands, feet and flush a toilet after it all. Hot showers would have to wait (remember Storm pushing up the leaving date? Well I had organized for the gas to be put on on Monday not Friday so we had to boil water in a tin kettle and small saucepan for kids, baths, face washing and washing up.)
Now I wasn't prepared for a couple of things when we moved in.
1) The colours and finishes on the walls. I'm not sure what was going through the previous owner's minds when they made the decisions they did but man we had some work ahead of us.
2) We had a 6-month settlement on the contract and I think they moved out once the contract went unconditional and as a result - the bugs took over where they left off. I couldn't let the girls touch anything inside for a good day and a half (it took me that long to boil water and clean it all off!). Crazy yukky.
3) A nice surprise was that the previous owners left their working fridge. I was expecting to have to buy a fridge and a washing machine straight away and not having to get the fridge certainly helped the budget (on the flipside was that we also had to buy a new dryer - go figure the washing wasn't drying well in the humidity and the dryer we brought with us - well it was a gas dryer not electric. I know - why didn't I think of that before I made Storm and DV carry it out and then pack it in the trailer? I don't know!)
4) The gloriousness of the sunroom. This was the reason that we bought the house and my gosh it is so worth it - a really lovely place to start the day, spend the day and finish the day. Can you tell I love it?
5) The roof. This is an update from news received today. Yes, before the insurance company will insure the roof we have to have it replaced! The quotes so far have been interesting to say the least and certainly not something that we expected to have to do so soon. (Must have killed a holy man in a previous life!)
6) The fact that we're in a small town in a dry community and having to get used to the fact that services are not as good or as plentiful (my landline telephone story is a learning experience), that we had power outages quite regularly (it ain't even hurricane season yet!) and the fact that we can only get tequila/vodka or anything liquor based at one shop in town. Welcome to Hicksville! I love it!
Apart from those few observations and not having the minivan (at least it's on its way now!) life has been pretty good. I have no regrets about moving and still have a few things to still get sorted so any real enjoyment still has to wait a bit but I cannot wait to get back into a groove.
P.S. - We had our first BBQ/dinner party last night. Our next door neighbours (golf playing CC copper and bartender wife with 2 yr old daughter) came over with their doggy (cute and surprisingly Rudy just loves him - even letting him sleep on him on the couch without flinching!). A good time was had by all. She sure knows how to make a good margarita!
P.S.S. - I have some piccies that I need to post and will do so very shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)