:(
Miracle tree snapped in the wind yesterday and is now a thick trunk about 1m tall.
This is very sad news.
This is the only time I’ve ever been annoyed at the wind in Cape Town.
We shall see how it goes now.
Plan is to keep watering and feeding it and then make a protective cage thingy around it.
:(
Status update, easy as 1, 2, 3. And 4.
The solar heating is now operational.
They had to come back about six times to get it fixed – it kept sprouting leaks.
In the meantime, we renamed it the Solar Leaking System.
It heats the pool by pumping cold water up to roof and spraying it out there. That means there’s less cold water in the pool, and therefore it must be warmer. … ahem.
But now it’s actually fixed and doesn’t leak – yay!
And the pool is slowly heating up – now with less ice cold chill!
(First attempt was amusing.
Jo: Can you match this colour for me?
Assistant lady: Yes. *walks over to wall of paint swatches*
Jo: Um, never mind. *gets cardboard back, walks off*)
And, he’ll quite possible be turning up sometime next week to start doing deck related stuff – woo!
Expect another series of pics soon.
Well, charcoal.
The pool guys seem to be trying this crazy new thing called “working.”
They were at the house yesterday and did the MarbleMadness thing to the insides, so now it’s dark grey.
Today they’re supposed to be coming back and finishing up a bit, and filling it up.
With water.
Some inside shots, demonstrating the “natural, mountain look” on the disclaimer form:
So, this crazy trend of “doing stuff” seems to be continuing.
<sarcasm>I’m sure it can’t have anything to do with the fact that we’ve been dealing with sub-contractors rather than the actual pool company themselves. No. Nope.</sarcasm>
Pipes! White! For the solar heating of the pool.
Pipes! Black! On the roof, for the solar heating of the pool.
Well, the pool is progressing.
The sagging bits have been, um, un-sagged.
We have a pump now:
And a brand new pile o’ dirt:
Alas, Monday and Tuesday weather not looking good.
Ho hum.
just when you thought it was safe to go back to the internets…
ahem.
well, we’re moved in and bouncingly happy. :-)
we’re still shuffling things around a bit, but all is good.
there are a couple of projects on the go in terms of wrenschovationage.
Pool dudes arrive on Monday, so expect a series of photos of my hole, getting bigger every day.
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1 – the plans finallycame through. two and a half months at council. for two and half stamps and signatures. ho hum. but they’re through!
2 – waiting for pool dudes to be finished. insert your lingo here re “critical path.”
3 – some we are making (i.e. Jo is making. She Teh Skills to make stuff), some we’re speccing for the cheap wood stuff guys to build (the guys who made our bookshelves).
4 – front garden being done (one side of), back garden waiting for trampling feet builder people to be gone. i.e. after 1 and 2 above.
And also making it not so frelling cold.
So, Monday night was a bit odd.
Cold, boxy, slightly miserable, actually.
Tuesday day was better.
Much better.
We now have a shower*, a Garden Rhapsody** (thanks, Jeremy!).
We also have bookshelves full of books again, a little workstation with printer and stuff again, an entertainment stuff area*** and a painting or two up on the walls.
Everything is kind of temporary (wrong place, on the wrong thing, etc.) but it feels nice.
It’s looking like our house now, not like a house with all our boxes in.
Big Thing to do tonight is unpack the kitchen.
We’ve been waiting for the floors to dry before throwing heavy machinery and workbenches on it.
Yesterday it was almost ready, but not quite.
Given how important food is to our lives it’s been quite odd being without food making ability for so long…
Having the cooker back in place will make a big difference to our Life’s tyle.
Ahem.
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* – pics to follow. Installed by a classic German. He was horrified at the slant of bits of wall – millimetres out! also, we can’t use it until tonight – drying the sticky bits.
** – which we will obviously appreciate more in summer.
*** – so we can veg tonight. we needs it, precious.
So, we’re moving into the new house tonight.
Tonight.
!
:-)
We need to do a bit of drilling to put curtains up in the bedroom (so that we can sleep and walk around naked. and sleepwalk naked), and move lots of stuff around, but otherwise we’re pretty golden.
Wish us luck…
seems like it.
woo!
well, i’m saving my woos until we’re actually finally there, but…
looking good.
tiler bod finished up on friday.
tiles much, much, better.
to be honest, still not perfick, but definitely good enough to say “fuck it, that’ll do.”
and main boss bod and painter dude were there today and are back tomorrow to finish the floors.
yay!
then we just need to wait until Monday night (I think) and then we are Finished™.
(
Except for a few little bits and bobs, but let’s not talk about that…
And don’t mention the deck and the pool.
:-\
)
Ho hum.
So, work continues on the house with all our stuff in.
And, unfortunately, with every passing day I’m becoming less and less satisfied with our builder.
To be fair, he is trying hard, but his sub-contractors are letting him down a bit.
We should be living there right now. Our stuff and our pets are there: we should be too.
I want to feel like our house is now the top priority job (which I think they are treating it as) and that everything on it should be done as quickly as possible (which I don’t feel is happening).
Jo talked to the head builder dude this morning.
Tiling guy is coming in tomorrow, shower people a day or two later, and so that lot will be finished by Friday.
It is seeming likely that the floors won’t get done until next week.
I’m bitching and moaning a lot, but it’s not so bad, I guess.
Crashing at Doc and ELs is actually a lot of fun. It feels like a holiday.
I don’t like imposing though, and our house should be fucking finished, dammit!
Again I say ho hum.
:-(
