SATURDAY - FIRST FULL DAY HERE

 

Well here we are.

Just the two of us, here in our new home.

Our first full day living here ahead of us.

And just MASSES of things to get done.

ONE STEP AT A TIME.  One box at a time. One job at a time.

There is so much to do, I don't really know where to start.

We have a glazier coming this morning to install the dog door in the garage door, so Coco can go outside for potty.  Last week we had a builder install a gate so Coco is confined to the back patio area as well.

ABOVE:  Once upon a time I would have been worried that Coco could actually climb over a gate like this.  Now?  Nah.  She's too old.

We also have an internet technician due at 8 am to work out why the internet isn't working.  AND A SKY Guy to connect that up.

Lots going on!

ABOVE: Our cute little home. She may be tiny, but she's all we need.  More photos once we have settled in a bit.

ABOVE: Sonia C from Lodge, our Real Estate Agent, with a lovely bottle of bubbly for us to toast our new home with.  Might crack that open tonight.  She has been such a fantastic person to work with, I can't recommend her enough.

Next week we have a plumber/gasfitter coming to suss out removing the gas heater and hot water cylinder.  

8.10 am: And we have the internet back!  Thank god, it is such a nightmare trying to work on ya phone.

Next up should be the SKY GUY, and the Dog door guy.  TICKEY TICK.

ABOVE: Stew removing the shitty 'shell' shaped lights off the wall in the lounge.    

Most of the lighting in the house WILL be replaced soon, but not those shitty things.

ABOVE: Another BIG TICK... we now have a dog door for Coco.  

ABOVE:  I went out and bought new curtains for the lounge and our bedroom.  The bedroom did not have any at all, so we slept with virtually no privacy last night!

I went for the same colour as in our last two homes, Sea Foam.  

While I was out getting the curtains, Steve arrived, and he and Stew have been busy in the garage..

ABOVE: There was a dividing wall down the far end of the garage.  It is now gone.

ABOVE: Steve put the new shelving on the wall, it's for all my fabric.  It fitted on a fairly tricky wall PERFECTLY.

ABOVE:  Now they are working on assembling the new garden shed.  It's a fairly big job.  Once that is done we will have somewhere to put a lot of the garden/workshop stuff.  And boxes of things we need to unpack over time.

I am taking a break, as my back was so f*#ked by the end of yesterday,  I could hardly move.  I don't want that to happen again.  My leg is holding up though!  That's a blessing.

FRIDAY - MOVING DAY

 

SIX MONTHS of marketing, Open Homes every weekend, masses of private viewings... and then FINALLY, a sale.

Followed by THREE AND A HALF MONTHS of waiting for Settlement Day.

And it's finally here.

I have organised this move to within an inch of it's life, so I don't expect any hiccups.  But ya just never know what could happen.

It is going to get SUPER BUSY here soon, so I probably won't be able to post much between now, and much later on today.

BARE WITH... 😂

ABOVE... the tortuous countdown IS OVER.

Neither of us slept well last night, to be expected. Already tired. 😵🥴🥱

ABOVE: That's Stew... taking our trailer load out to the house. He'll come back in time for when the moving company gets here.

ABOVE: They arrived bang on time and have been working hard ...

ABOVE: Our first,  and hopefully ONLY GLITCH of the day. The treadmill won't fit through the side gate! We built the side fence and gate AFTER the treadmill was inside the house. Steve is going to pop over and see if he can find a solution.... 

ABOVE: Steve saved the day! He dismantled it and is now putting it back together. Yaaaaa!!!

ABOVE: Under our bed. 🤣😅😂

ABOVE: And off they go. To sit and wait for us to get the keys to the new house. 

And we are just waiting....

ABOVE: We got the keys at 1.30 pm. Straight over to the house.

Now unpacking the truck and cars. That is the first garden pot to be placed in its forever home. 

ABOVE:  The movers said I was the first person they had come across who moved massive rocks from house to house.  😂🤣😅

We are utterly knackered. We are going out for dinner. Then home to do nothing until tomorrow.  

I've not had a chance to take photos... that will happen once things are more organised. 

ABOVE: I think I'm looking as tired as I feel. 

Dinner was nice. Nicer still to get home and put our feet up. No TV ... Stew hasn't tried connecting it yet.

Gotta go. So, so tired. 

Catch ya tomorrow. 

THURSDAY - THE DAY BEFORE

 

Our last day living here, sleeping here... and I will certainly miss this gorgeous home.

There's a bit to do today, probably the biggest job will be loading the trailer with all the smaller garden pots, bench seat, etc.   

Lacy is coming over to help with some cleaning.

I want to pull all the furniture out from the walls and vacuum behind it.  And clean the skirting boards, window sills etc.

We just want to get as much done today that we can, so there is less to do tomorrow.

Luckily, there's NOT TOO MUCH 'last minute' packing to get done today.

How the hell did I do all this, so many times before?  And with kids in tow?  At least we only had to work around ourselves this time.

Coco is going to have a sleep over at Steve and Bex's tonight.  We will get her back either tomorrow night, or Saturday morning, once the madness is over.

Well, it won't be 'over' as such, as there will be heaps to do once we are in the new house.

Not least, unpacking, then bringing back everything that is in storage.  OMG I'm not looking forward to that.

I think we will be shuffling around boxes and out of place shit for weeks/months. 😖😕  

I do not know how the HELL we are going to fit all our stuff in the house, it has kept me awake for months.

Something tells me more is going to the Hospice shop. 

It is 10.25.  And Stew and I have finished the packing.  The trailer will be loaded later on this afternoon.

We are now sitting 'twiddling our thumbs'!

ABOVE:  So many empty rooms/areas!  

ABOVE:  All ready to go in the moving truck tomorrow morning.

ABOVE:  Lacy just picked up her lawnmower... and she's off to mow her lawns.  She's thrilled to have a lawn mower now.  She will be back tomorrow morning to do the final cleaning jobs for me.

Thank goodness for Lacy, Steve and Bex, we can always count on them.

ABOVE:  Coco's last day basking in the sun in this home.  Next for her is a little vacation with Steve 'n' Bex, then she's coming home to a new house.  I wonder how long it will take her to find the prime sunny spots to sit in?  😊

ABOVE: Seemed appropriate.

ABOVE:  We had lunch at FERGUS, and now... time to pack the trailer and fill the gaps in our cars.  TICK TICK TICK

I just ordered the new dining area light... and we shall go up to Auckland sometime next week to pick it up.  It will give us a timely break from unpacking, which we will need by then.

ABOVE:  Steve you will be pleased to see it's not another 'butt plug' shaped light fitting!  It's much more modern, and will give the room a lift into the 21st century.  lol  

ABOVE: The trailer is full and ready to go... tomorrow.  My car has gaps for the last minute kitchen and bathroom stuff.  Taking another break now.

OMG I'm getting so cross. I keep losing what I've written... so for the third time... we just got home from the pub. Usual routine.. him to the pub, me to the kids. 

I've finished packing everything except our toiletries and bedding. 

That will obviously happen in the morning. 

Catch ya tomorrow. 

WEDNESDAY - NOT LONG NOW

 

Today I am taking all the fridge and frozen food over to Lacy's.

We will get it all back once we have moved. NOT that there's much left!  I have been running supplies down for weeks.

Man am I going to have fun restocking the fridge, freezer and pantry after we have moved.

That means we will be living on meatloaf from the freezer, and 'healthy' takeaways, like club sandwiches, cooked chooks and so on.

I do not want to be worrying about having to cook/prepare meals in these last couple of days.

And it means I can clean the oven, and get the microwave out of it's space, and clean that area too.

SO MANY TICKS!

I've got a head cold.  Just what I didn't need. 😖😕

12.07 pm. 

We are slowly plodding through the odd jobs, packing stuff in cars... and now we are out buying a little 'Welcome to your new home"  gift for our buyers.   And relaxing for a little while. 

All food is now at Lacy's... and for the first time in like EVER..we have run out of cheese!!!   It's a big thing  cos we love our cheese. I usually have between 4 - 6 big blocks in the fridge. 

That will be top of the grocery list next week.

5.56 pm:  Not a crazy afternoon here.  There is so little to do now until the last minute... like TOMORROW.

I simply cannot pack another single thing!

I am going to sign off for the day now, as we will just be taking it easy tonight.

Tomorrow is going to be MUCH BUSIER.

TUESDAY - PRE-SETTLEMENT VIEWINGS

 

Today we have two important things to do.

1.  We go to have the final, pre-settlement viewing of our new home.

That's when we get to make sure nothing has been taken out of the house that is supposed to stay.  Like curtains/oven etc.

And to make sure everything works, like lighting, garage door opener etc.

THEN: 

2.  We have the purchasers of our current home coming this afternoon to do their pre-settlement viewing.  Same thing goes, they get to make sure everything is as it should be.  

Thank God the carpet is dry now! 

So, it's going to be a fun day I'm sure. 

ABOVE: I completely forgot to tell you, THE PSYCHO SCRAPPY DOLL was one of the three sold on Saturday.  😂😜😏  I might just make another couple like that! lol

I'm starting to miss sewing... like I know I need to make more Scrappy's and I want to do them NOW.  But of course, all my sewing stuff is packed.  *sigh*

10.30 am, and we just took the rest of our house plants over to Steve 'n' Bex's.  They will stay there till early next week no doubt.

I ordered some glass domes off Trade Me a week ago, and they got delivered to our new address this morning.  So we drove out there and picked it up.

ABOVE:  The first piece of mail with our new address on it.  Might just keep it.

ABOVE: The little glass domes.  They are way smaller than I anticipated, but I will use them on a mosaic project at some point.

We are now taking a break, as there's bugger all to do now.

I'm looking at the kitchen, thinking OMG it's naked!  So weird.

We are gunna have lunch at Chartwell Square today, after we have viewed the new house again.  I'm looking forward to a chicken filo with salad. 

I have one piece of meatloaf left in the freezer, it is coming out tonight.  We will be eating it over the next couple of days... because after tonight, I'm not cooking anything else in the kitchen.

2 pm:  The viewing at our new home went just fine, no issues to worry about.

Our agent knew all the things to check, so we didn't have to try and remember everything.

After the viewing, we had lunch.  

Then I tracked down a book I have already read, but wanted to buy.  Cos it's THAT GOOD!

ABOVE:  Such a good read, well worth buying and reading again one day.  Stew has even said he will try reading it.  *snort*... he's not much of a reader.  

ABOVE:  I then went to Farmers, and they had managed to restock my lippy!  So when she said 'Buy TWO, get the Third one FREE' ... of course I bought three.  lol

Home now, and about to do a few last minute things before our buyers come for their last inspection.

4.15 pm and the final inspection is over.  And it went very well.  Our buyer is DELIGHTFUL, such a lovely young woman.  We have exchanged phone numbers, so if she has any problems or wants a pool tutorial etc, we can come and help her.  Only too happy to do that for her.

NOW we can relax.

I'm making dinner, air fried rissoles and some little potato gems.  I do believe that will be the final time I turn our oven on.

7.14 pm, and I'm done for the day.  So tired I'm going to lie in bed and just watch a You Tube video, scroll Instagram etc.   It is getting really cold ... expecting 2 degrees in the morning.  Brrrr.

Catch ya tomorrow.

MONDAY: BLOODY HELL

 

4 days until this house no longer belongs to us.

And what's the one thing you don't need to happen?

Besides the house burning down... is a leak.

I was walking down the hallway last night and saw a dark area in front of the linen/hot water cupboard. 

I immediately KNEW what it was.

ABOVE:  Yep.  A leak from the hot water cylinder, or pipe work.

Stew immediately went to get Steve, who would know what to do.

Meanwhile, I lay on the floor and listened and watched.

And found where the leak was coming from.

A pipe connection.  It was hot water dripping out.

ABOVE: Steve did a temporary 'tighten' of the joint that was leaking.  Today I hope our plumber can come and fix it permanently.

OMG the last thing we needed.  Another bloody leak, in the space of two weeks.

First the one out by the footpath, and now this one.  SHIT... things go in 3's eh?  

Back to the rest of today:  

Stew is taking our trailer down for a new WOF.

Then he's dropping the lawn mower off for a service, before it gets given to Lacy.

While he's doing that, I will potter around here, doing odd jobs.  And waiting for the plumber. 🤞

After lunch Stew and I are heading into town to sign the final paperwork pertaining to the sale and purchase of our home(s).  

My leg:  It is 7 weeks since I injured it, and I am happy to say we are at about 95% better.  Probably a week or two to go until it is 100% again.  I hope I never do it again.  

OK, time to get a move on...

Catch ya later.

7.30 am, and Steve has organised a plumber... who will be here soon.  What a relief.... I tossed and turned all night long, worried it would burst overnight, and I'd wake up to a totally flooded house!

Thank God that hasn't happened.

9.52 am: Plumber has been, seen, and gone to get a new washer.  Seems it's happened a lot with this particular connection joint.  A 'faulty washer'.  *sigh*   A simple fix, and he'll be back to do it soon.

Meanwhile, I went out and bought a small fan heater to dry the floor fast.  I do not want it wet when the purchasers come for their pre-settlement viewing TOMORROW.

IT.  IS.  FIXED.... and the little heater is now drying out the carpet.

Lacy has been and picked up some seafood chowder, and one of my houseplants.  She is just looking after the plant until next week.

ABOVE: Stew is busy dismantling the garage shelving, and packing up all his shit, I mean garage stuff.

ABOVE:  I may still need to burn down the house!  Ikkkk.

A couple of times this morning I said to Stew "Let's not forget our 1.30 pm appointment with the lawyer today"..... and the final time I said it to him, I glanced at the time on me computer.

1.28 PM!  Oh shit a brick.  I quickly rang the lawyers advising them we would be late, SO SORRY!

All the legal shit is done now.  Bring on Friday and hopefully everything goes like clockwork.

7.01 pm:  Feeling decidedly jaded.  But happy with what we got done today.  Lots of little jobs.

Tomorrow will be the same I'm sure.

Just getting all the last ducks in a row.

Stew's gone out to get us something for dinner.  I'm almost ready to stop cooking in this kitchen.

8.14 pm:  And today is done and dusted.  I'm already wanting to go to bed!  Another hour or so and I reckon I will be.  

Catch ya tomorrow.