Celeste is now part of our family

Celeste came to us by putting out a post to members of a Club I was part of when it formed.

We were a breakaway group of the Citroen Car Club of Victoria. 

We were young bucks with older Citroens and an elder colleagues had newer Citroens. 

We wanted to preserve and maintain our Traction Avant. 

They saw it as a threat so we formed the Citroen Classic Owners Club of Australia - a very grand title. Well we still exist. I've been a member off and on as I have owned classic Citroens. That's now a smidge less than 50 years ago now.

I probably owned four before Sue and I met, and now Celeste is our second since then. Our first together was 20 years ago. Sue's father had a Family Nine Traction Avant which was a very long wheelbase limo. There seems to be a link here.

Celeste joins our family and we will lavish the love and care she deserves as a lady that has aged gracefully in her almost 70 years. She has a few wrinkles that we will iron out in the future but they are merely cosmetic as her engine still yearns for the rural country roads of Victoria's central highlands. She'll enjoy taking our friends to the local cafes, villages, wineries and spa country of our region.

I think she may feature in many future posts on "Our Country Life".

Although French in origin, she was dressed by the British with somewhat more refinement. The Brits gave her a little bling such as chrome jewellery. Note the headlights and parkers, not to mention the grille.
Also due to the British climate, she was given a sunroof. Why one would ask but it works for Australia.

I've always thought that the pre 1953 models always had a more attractive derriere and those lovely drooping bumpers give her sweeping curves sex appeal - don't you agree?

Another thing the Brits did was to offer a walnut dash in place of painted metal.  She still retained that long gearshift from the dash to stir her three speed front mounted gear box. Not many gears but her long stroke 1911cc heart has the power to climb the underrating terrain of our region with gusto.

The French gave their local Tractions fabric upholstery however, the Brits pulled out the Connelly hide and in Celeste's case she was pampered with a maroon hide for her black exterior.

Celeste took me to my Thursday Petanque game this week - I think she really just wanted to show off to my friends in Trentham. What do you think?

Kitchen, Dining and Family area

We do much of our entertaining in the kitchen, dining and family areas therefore our house entered around these points. This is the largest rooms of the house and also they lead out to the Al Fresco area via two sets of sliding doors on two walls. This opens up the dining and family areas to the garden - or what will be a garden one day!!!!
At Christmas time we expect that we will hopefully be settling in as we have my 95 year old father staying for two weeks, Sue's US relatives visiting, and other family members coming. We may need to pitch tents for the overflow.

Looking towards the back wall is where Sue's kitchen will be installed. Two electric ovens and a gas cook top. A small alcove is where our fridge fits and the opening to the right is the butler's pantry where I prepare and wash up. The dishwasher fits in here with a double sink and all the appliances go - kitchen aid, ice cream maker and whatever else she has........

Now we are on the other side of the room and looking across from the kitchen  to two sets of  sliding doors that open to the Al Fresco or outdoor entertaining area. It is L-shaped but more on that later.

Directly in front is the dining area - I took this pic from the living area where there will be a wood heater and to the right is the family area with TV, book shelves and couches. 

I think we are really going to love using this area with family and friends.

Taking Shape

Work on the house are actually are taking shape now. The brickwork is about completed and the plasterers have finished their work. The rooms are now making more sense to us and now we are putting thought into our furniture arrangement.

We'll begin with the master bedroom and follow up on a daily basis of the other rooms during this week as there has been so much progress in the last month.

The master bedroom actually has a walking foyer. Double doors will  be installed at the entrance. We'll probably have some form of side table and lamp here. At the end of the walk thru is the bedroom and off to the right is the en-suite and with a generous dressing room.

Looking back from the bedroom, to the left is the walking dressing room.

The bedroom has an aspect of morning light and Sue is considering what window furnishings would best suit.

The en-suite. To the right on the wall will be a double vanity and at the far end is the shower recess that will have just a large glass wall allowing for a walking/walk out access. Maybe down the track as we grow older, it will be much easier.

Tomorrow, we'll move to the other rooms - all very exciting for us. Almost forgot to tell you, Sue's kitchen arrives this week for installation.

Just a few Local Photos

I've posted a few pic in the past of Trentham Falls but every few weeks it takes on a different look.
These are taken with my iPhone and I play with an App that I downloaded to it. Yes, they are enhanced and played a bit with but why not? Its all art in away.

The walk from the car park takes us down a few winding paths to the viewing points

Due to the recent rains the falls are flowing with great gusto. There are some wonderful images of stones and moss covered trees in the area..

With the local environmentalists, the debris from the trees are to remain. When summer comes, they become very combustable. What do we know as city folk. Maybe our thoughts will change but bush fires are a danger.

We've had heaps of rain but on this day when we visited the falls, the sun was shining.
I have to admit that I'm looking forward to spring and summer. The daffodils are sprouting every where to remind us that spring is just around the corner.

Looking from the Inside Out!

We have moved on a few steps since our last post update on the progress of the house. These are steps which are not so evident from a drive by. In the last two weeks we have had the electricians, plumbers and the heating/cooling people weave their magic. The walls are now all wrapped up in insulation paper awaiting the brick layers and plasterers to start working next week.

Looking out from the double garage

The Chippys also arrive next week to fit the doors. This is the entrance looking down the hall to the family and kitchen areas.

Sue is pondering over the en-suite. This photo taken from the very front of the bedroom shows the shower to the very left behind the bedroom alcove. Double wash basins are just behind Sue.

In the roof space we discovered today that the heating/cooling apparatus and ducting had been installed.
Also all the wiring and plumbing have been roughed in awaiting the plasterers to start. I noted that the electrician had makes the floor in a bright pink paint so he could find where all the light fittings and power points were hidden.

In the left bottom corner of this photo is where the kitchen bench sink will be. Sue has opted for a double sink in the Butler's Pantry with only a single sink in the island bench - the ovens (2) and hotplates are behind the island bench.

Thought I might add a couple of exterior shots of the Al Fresco area. This is where I barbecue, entertain mates over a beer or three and enjoy the afternoon sun.

We are tossing up as to whether add a timber deck under the roofed area or add very large tiles to the concrete base that will be poured towards the end of the building process. The area is a huge L-shape, all undercover. You may like to offer some thoughts.

We expect that as August draws to a close, we will be at lock-up stage and the cabinet makers arrive, followed by painters and finally the floor coverings are installed. We still have our fingers crossed that we are in by late November - another 14 weeks away.