The Next Stage

The weather here has been dismal - wet, misty and foggy, yet the tradesmen continue to progress to the stage where the concrete slab is poured. We are impressed. It hasn't always been so with a 6 month period from the day that we paid our first deposit. There has been miscommunication over that period that has caused delays. We met up with our supervisor last week and he seems to be really organized and sympathetic to our needs to be in before Christmas.

Today the Screw Piers were driven into the soil and during the week we expect that the Plumbers and Electricians will have weaved their magic to allow the slab to be poured. In preparation we have had to employ our Bobcat man to grade and deposit gravel and stone for the big truck's access. We'll post a few photos of that soon.

I thought we might bring you some of the features of the house starting with the kitchen and living areas. (Sue's domain)

For those of you that know Sue, the kitchen is her Man-Cave. It's where she designs, creates and serves her magical meals (that's my opinion, possibly shared by others). The kitchen, dining and family area is designed for family, friends and guests to enjoy the experience of food, wine, conversation and overall friendship. You'll note that there is a butler's pantry. It's like a room of its own where I do the clean-up.  It measures approx 3m x 3.5m and all the appliances sit on the benches. Rather than having two sinks in the island bench, Sue decided to move them into the Butler's Pantry along with the dishwasher and retain a single sink so that allowed for more serving area and less mess in the kitchen. We will replace the dishwasher with a wine chiller under the island bench.

The dining area takes up a space of 4.2m wide and flows into the family area with a width of 4.5m. The family area will have a wood burner on one wall however there will be two walls with double glaze glass sliding doors opening up to the L-shaped alfresco area. This is where in summer we will do most of our entertaining. It looks out over the government reserve that banks onto our property. The reserve is frequented by all species of local birds and animals. Kangaroos, Kookaburras, Parrots and Cockatoos.

The alfresco is fitted with cold and hot water taps to a sink so "I" can wash up outside. The alfresco was actually smaller however since we were "downsizing" (Ha!!!) we deleted the fourth bedroom to give us the extended alfresco.

Be tuned for the next instalment of our journey.

Sue and I would like to extend best wishes to our friends in the Loire, France with the recent floods. We know of some dear friends that had some dramas with water entering their home. Other's were more fortunate but still experiencing some inconvenience.