NOT SO FULL ON TODAY

Today we are not going to be unpacking all day.

-First up, Stew is taking a load to the dump.

-Brylee and Griffin are home as it's a 'Teacher Only Day'.

-After the dump run, we are going into Hamilton.

-Coco is booked in to the groomers at Animates in the city.

-While she is there, we will be having lunch.

-We will also get Griffin a haircut.

-After that, it will be time to finally do a grocery shop.  Now that we have both fridge/freezers going, we have room for frozen/fresh food.

-Hopefully by the time we have finished the grocery shopping, Coco will be ready for pick up.

-Then we will come home and get back into it.

-I will take photos of the new bed and other stuff when we get home.

ONWARD...

4.00 pm:  Well we have been flat out all day... doing all we needed to in Hamilton.
Then it was home, put the groceries away, and now I'm sorting out the laundry area in the garage so I can actually do the washing!

Stew's gone down to Bunnings to get another shelving unit to put beside the sink in the garage for me to use.

We are hugely impressed with the Victoria Street Pak 'n' Save!   Amazing meat section.  Love that shop.

Right I shall get back to the laundry!

And it's pretty much done in there now.
So on to the next place... finishing as much as possible in the lounge.

Sorry I've not had time to take any photos today.

Coco looks GORGEOUS after her groom!
I will take a photo of her tomorrow as she's fast asleep right now. 

ABOVE:  My new laundry.  Everything in it's place, and a place for everything.  I'm very happy how it's come together.

Coro Street is nearly over, and then I am off to bed.  Stew and I both wanted to fall asleep at 6.30 pm!  I only stayed up cos of Coro Street!

NEW BED AND LOUNGE SUITE

Dragged myself out of bed this morning... feel like I've run a marathon!
But of course I haven't... just unpacking, unpacking.... moving stuff from one place to the other... such fun.

But we are making good progress.

This morning we are expecting the new spare bed and lounge suite to arrive... then we will be set for visitors.

We have Steve, Bex and the boys coming this weekend.  Staying over Saturday night all going well.
We have a few jobs lined up for our builder son!  Like set up my computer!  lol
Yeah, nothing to do with building.

But there are a couple of jobs he can do ... like put shelves in the spare bedroom wardrobe so we can use it for linen.

 ABOVE:  Tallulah found a new chew toy.  A baby's dummy (pacifier).  It was almost impossible to get a photo of it in her mouth, but I managed to get one slightly blurry one!

ABOVE:  This is my job/mission today.  Start on the ornaments/china boxes.  So much of it is going to Hospice!

We are being REALLY RUTHLESS and getting rid of heaps!  We have already taken two car loads down to the local Hospice shop, and my car is already loaded up to the roof with the 3rd load!

I expect Stew will continue to work in the garage today, and assemble the new bed when it gets here.

So... that's all for now... I will be back later.

ONWARD...

1.25 pm:  Stew and I have been working since around 8 am this morning.  We are kinda breaking the back of it now.

 ABOVE:  I think I've got all of the china and ornaments out of the sewing room now.

ABOVE:  Most of what I'm keeping is on the floor... and there are two more huge boxes full going to Hospice.  But they will have to wait cos me car is full to the roof with stuff we are taking down there in a minute.

We will take time out for some lunch while in town, then come back and put the lounge suite together...

ABOVE:  It's in it's place, won't take long to put it together.

ABOVE:  When the lounge suite arrived the guys brought in the big Ottoman too.

I was like.. WHOOPS!  We didn't pay for that!
So I quickly rang the shop and was told that it did indeed come with the suite!

The saleslady who sold us the suite told us the Ottoman was an 'extra' $300.  Seems she was wrong.

I'm really happy about that, cos I did want the Ottoman, but thought it was an added expense we didn't need.

 ABOVE: Stew has literally finished in the garage!  On the side where my car will go is all the stuff that will be going up in the attic or in a garden shed.  

Off for lunch now!

9.22 pm:  Well, we got a huge amount done this afternoon.  Stew made the new lift up spare bed.  I put heaps of ornaments into display cabinets... not in their final places, but they are IN for now.

We are again both exhausted, and will be going to bed fairly early.

SLOWLY SETTLING IN

No photos yet today.

We are very slowly settling in.... a process that will take a few months I think.

Today's mission is to finish sorting out the lounge and actually MAKE MY BED!  

Virtually every ornament, painting and the non essential bits 'n' bobs are still in boxes, waiting for me to find time to unpack them.

I'm not in any hurry to do that either.  It can all wait till all the pressing stuff is done.

Stew wants to get into the garage and try and make some sense of everything that's in there!
It's a shambles... you can't even walk through it now.

Yesterday Stew ordered two garden sheds, to put down the side of the house.  We will keep all the garden tools, lawn mower and so on in it.

He also ordered a drop down ladder for the garage ceiling.  Then we can use the attic space for storage.  All of that should happen in the next month or so, as the sheds and ladder won't be here for about a fortnight.

Even if we can get everything in the garage onto just one side it would be good.  Then we can set up the laundry and gym equipment.

The dogs are enjoying the extra long hallway, they race up and down at full speed!  Then they stop and sniff like crazy!  It will take a while for the previous owner's smells to abate, and for our's to take over.  Until then, the dogs go crazy sniffing everywhere!

We need to get a path through the clutter in the garage so they can get outside for bathroom needs on their own.  That would be wonderful.

Right, there's not much else to yabber on about right now, so I'll go.

ONWARD...

Clearly we have been busy!  No update all day... *smiles*
I got all the boxes in our bedroom unpacked and Stew has working in the garage all day.

We took a break at midday and took a load to the Hospice Shop, then had lunch.
When we got home I literally crashed and had to take a nap!
I'm so, so exhausted... and I ache all over!

This moving lark is a killer.

I've just woken up and still feel like death warmed up.  But, I will carry on, cos it won't all get done on it's own eh?

ABOVE:  It may not look like he's done much today, but he HAS!  You can see the floor... and actually walk through the garage now.

 ABOVE:  On this side of the garage is the laundry... Stew cut down a shelving unit so the dryer would fit in it. The table will be my washing sorting area, once it's cleared.  *smiles*

ABOVE:  This corner of the lounge will have the sofa bed lounge suit in it by lunchtime tomorrow.  

I have hung a few pictures, simply to get them out of the way!  Though that flower one will be staying there. 

Ummm.... where is everyone today? Are ya all sick of our unpacking?  😊

Another day winding down... so ready for bed!  Another day of doing over 10,000 steps!

BOXES... BOXES EVERYWHERE

I have been going... not-so-quietly... insane with all the damn boxes littering this house.
Everywhere I turn I run into boxes.

Sealed boxes, open boxes, squashed boxes... bits of bloody boxes!  You name it, we got it.

The idea was that a box would be emptied, then deconstructed, flattened and piled up in the lounge, ready for pick up by the movers at some point.

That got done for the first day... but now?  Nah.

So I'm constantly running into, climbing over or half falling over bloody boxes.

GOING. CRAZY.

I. HATE. BOXES. I will be happy to see the back of them.

 ABOVE:  Can I be excited about new pots?  Well hell yes!  I had been using really heavy cast iron pots, but they were just too heavy for me.
So... I passed them on to another family member and got some new, lighter ones.

ABOVE:  Yesterday afternoon these flowers arrived.  The card said "Welcome to your new home".  No name from who sent them.  
Hmmmm....  Stew said it was probably from my Mum... and he was right.
Thanks MUM ♥ Spoilt... much.

We plan on keeping the dogs outside more often during the day... so they are not cooped up inside... so we decided to get them a nice, cosy kennel to sleep in.
I found one on TradeMe yesterday afternoon, so we went and looked at it last night.
We ended up buying it on the spot...

ABOVE: Isn't it cute!  I will put some warm wool blankets in there so they are comfy.
They won't be sleeping in it at night of course.  It's far too cold here in the Waikato!

Last night on our way back from Hamilton the temperature was 8 degrees, way colder than we are used to!  Brrrrr... we haven't even had our first frost yet!

Something else I did yesterday worth noting.  I went back to Weight Watchers.
And I have pre-paid for 6 months, so no backing out.  I'm committed to losing weight and getting fit again.  No more excuses.

Today?  Stew is going to finish getting the dog's area fenced off, and I am going to work on our walk in wardrobe some more, hoping to get it finished today.
Then I will tackle the lounge, so it's got room in there for the new lounge suite that arrives on Thursday.

Right, that's all for now... catch ya later.

ONWARD...

I can see the floor in some places!
Amazing.

We have been busy working all day, time to relax for a minute.

I have almost finished in our walk in wardrobe.
And the lounge is almost ready for the new lounge suite.

 ABOVE:  I have tried to put all the boxes to be unpacked in just two places, the sewing room and our bedroom.
That's my sewing room!

 ABOVE:  Stew worked on getting the fencing done, which he did.  He's put a temporary fence down the far end so they are confined to this area.

ABOVE:  The girls in their new kennel... they will only be using it during the day when we are not home.  Otherwise they will be inside.

Griffin has been home all day, he wasn't feeling well this morning.  He seems to be OK now though.
Stew has gone to pick up Brylee from school... making sure she doesn't get lost on her way home.  *smiles*

Then he is going to Bunnings to order a couple of smallish garden sheds, so we have somewhere to put all our outside stuff.

Sheesh moving house can be bloody expensive!

SCHOOL!

Today the kids start at their new school.
They are both excited!
Keen to get there and start making friends.

While they are at school, Stew and I are going to keep on working on unpacking.

The only finished rooms are Brylee and Griffin's, and the kitchen:

 ABOVE:  The pantry, all sorted!

 ABOVE:  the kitchen and dining areas are DONE.
It is one of the hardest rooms in the house to unpack and get all sorted, so we have done really well getting it done in two days.

 ABOVE:  a new clock for the kitchen/family room.  I got it from a local gift shop.

ABOVE:  Finally getting to use the new jug and toaster. 

The kitchen photos were taken at night, so not the best lighting.  If I can I'll take better ones today some time.

At some point today we need to go into Hamilton to check out the new bed for the spare bedroom.  And get a few more bits 'n' bobs.

ONWARD...

Right... some better photos of the kitchen:

ABOVE:  Stew is 6 foot 2 inches tall... so you can see how long our bench is!  HUGE.  Totally LOVE IT!

 ABOVE:  Two happy kids, about to leave for the first day at their new school.
Brylee got on the chair cos she's tired of being 'the short one'.  lol

ABOVE:  it's not often she gets to look down on Griffin. 

4.10 pm:  utterly exhausted AGAIN.  We did jobs all morning, then went into 'town' (Hamilton) to check out the bed for the spare bedroom.   It looks good, so bought it, paid for it and the lounge suite and expect them to be delivered on Thursday.

We also bought rubbish bins for the kitchen, drawer divider thingees for the utensil drawers, plastic boxes for storage in our walk in wardrobe, shoe racks, etc.  Somehow managed to spend freakin' heaps of money!

We got home just as the kids were almost home, so very good timing there.
Now?  Stew's going out for shelving for the 'linen' wardrobe and other stuff.
I'm sitting here thinking I can't move, I'm that tired!

It will all still be here tomorrow, so I think I'll have a break for an hour or so.

How did the kids go at school?
They LOVED IT.
Brylee kept texting me saying how much she was enjoying her day, how many new friends she had made, how it was so tiring going from 3 lessons a day to 5, and so on.
Griffin said he had enjoyed his day too.

So all good there.  I think they liked the 'Tuck Shop' heaps too!  I have decided to give them lunch money, so they can buy their lunch each day.

WHY?  Because I used to supply sandwich makings (bread, cheese, ham, salad stuff etc), but we always ended up with a lot of wasted food.  This way there is no waste.  

So much more happened today... but I will tell you/show you tomorrow.

Dinner time!

MORE OF THE SAME

Well of course we will be doing more unpacking and sorting today!

There is just so much to do.

 ABOVE:  The very first painting to be hung.  I had worried about it getting damaged during the move, but luckily it's fine.

 ABOVE:  Steve is like me, he dislikes anything being uneven!  If I had a level like he has, I would do that too.  *smiles*

 ABOVE:  It just gets more congested in here!  Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday we will actually be able to use the kitchen bench!
Oh, and eat off plates.  I've still not found the dinner set.

 ABOVE: The garage... Something tells me my car won't be parked in there for quite some time.

 ABOVE:  Ummm... this is the lounge.  Yep.  Got heaps to do in here.

 ABOVE:  Steve fixing my pantry shelving.

ABOVE: Done.  No more sagging and now it has 'compartments' for differing types of food items.

I think it's neat.  THANKS STEVE.

This morning we are expecting our son Russell to pop in.  We are giving him our green lounge suite.  It's being replaced with a corner lounge suite, one that incorporates a sofa bed.
So, we will have plenty of room if we have visitors staying overnight.

Once he's been we are going to take a break from all the unpacking and go into Hamilton.
We want to view the Queen Bed we have ordered from Harvey Norman's, and if it's as good as it looked online, we will buy it.
Hopefully we will get it, and the lounge suite, delivered in the next few days.

We also have a small list of other things we want to get, so will work on that while in Hamilton too. 

Catch ya later...

ONWARD...

12.08 pm:  We decided to dedicate today to getting all the kitchen boxes unpacked and put away.  We have done probably 70% of it.

 ABOVE:  You can ALMOST see the bench tops now!

ABOVE:  I think we have too many glasses!  Lots will be going to the Hospice shop.

Russ and Ange called in and picked up the green lounge suite, and a few other bits 'n' bobs.

We are now taking a break for lunch.

Harvey Norman's have not assembled the bed we want yet, so we won't be looking at it today.
But we have heaps of other things to get ... so we are going out later on.

EXHAUSTED.  We went out and bought a new clothes line, a heat gun to melt plastic bottles so they take up less room in the recycling bin, white thermals for Brylee so she can wear them under her white uniform shirt, I got some winter tops, an alarm clock for Griffin, a roller blind for Griffin's room and a few other little things.

Got home utterly spent.  I've been on my feet all day!  Both Stew and I have really aching legs from being on them all day... something we are not used to!

Stew cooked our first meal in the kitchen tonight... sausaged and spagetti/baked beans on toast.  Nothing fancy tonight!   
I am almost ready to take a photo of the kitchen with nothing on the benches!!!

But for now... I'm signing off and taking a break.

UNPACKING....

Well... as you can guess... today is going to be all about unpacking.

Stew, Griffin and Steve will be getting all our stuff out of the storage units in Hamilton today.

I have NO idea where we will put it all! This house is already bursting at the seams!

Right... I better go... 

RANDOM FACT: This house is 54 steps long 😊😁😊😁😊 I just walked from one end to the other.... it's a LONG house! Who needs to go out for a walk? Not me... I can just walk the length of the house several times a day and...BOOM! Exercise done. Ha ha ha.

I DID IT!!!

I GOT THE INTERNET GOING!!!

I thought I'd give all those freakin' cables another switch around... and it worked.
We have COLOUR again.

AND I can put up some photos later on.  

ABOVE:  And it began.   We were SO lucky that the trucks were 2 and a half hours LATE.
Because we didn't get the house keys till 3 pm, and the trucks arrived at the same time.  So we didn't have to pay any 'time penalty fees' to the moving company.  SCORE!

AND, we had TORRENTIAL RAIN for the two hours BEFORE the trucks arrived!  How lucky can ya get?

ABOVE:  See the girl squatting down there?  She was one of the unpackers... and I was concerned for her  because she looked pregnant.  So I asked her if she was OK doing such heavy work?  She said yes, cos NO, she wasn't pregnant... but...

She had given birth to her 2nd baby just TWO WEEKS AGO, and it was a surprise baby because they didn't think they could have any more babies after their first child 6 years ago.   

So, while we were talking, I asked her if she had a pushchair for baby yet, and she said "NO"... so I gave her the pushchair I'd bought for Keera.

She was thrilled to bits, as was her husband.  Most of the movers were related in some way... a true family business.

 ABOVE:  When I picked up the keys from the Estate Office, they gave us this huge gift basket!  I've not had much of a chance to look in it yet, but it's chokka with all sorts of stuff.  Even Gift Vouchers!

ABOVE:  If you are wondering what my house looks like right now... imagine every room looking like this!

ABOVE:  Here's the guys back with the first load from our Storage units in Hamilton.  They didn't get my fabric yet... boo hoo!

This is so much fun... in a weird way.  I do a bit, then I sit down for a bit.  My back is aching, and funnily enough, so are the muscles of my abdomen!  Shit, they ain't been used/sore in FOREVER!

RANDOM FACT #2:  It feels like CHRISTMAS when you open a box and see shit you ain't seen in almost a year!  I'm getting excited over TUPPERWARE!   BOWLS!   CUTLERY!   SERVING DISHES!   EVEN POTS.

Oh this is so much FUN FUN FUN.  I'm so friggin happy right now... even though my back is killing me.  I just took 2 Tramadol to make my back shut the hell up. 

ABOVE:  Woo hoo... I just hung up the key holder and keys.  I almost left the key holder in our Auckland home, but changed my mind at the last minute.

 ABOVE:  Kitchen/dining rooms a huge mess right now. I'm slowly working out where to put things.

ABOVE:  This is the food pantry.  When we looked at the house we sure didn't notice the blocks of wood holding up the shelves.  Steve is going to work on a solution so we can get rid of the blocks of wood.

Winding down for the day now.  It doesn't look like we got much done today, but in reality we did.  From now on we will take our time and slowly go through it all, putting stuff away and getting rid of other stuff.

The local Hospice shop is going to LOVE us!  *smiles*