Back Yard Action

The rear yard of the new house has been a mess for a while waiting for the house surroundings to be sealed.  Today saw the concreters preparing for the exposed aggregate surround to be installed tomorrow.  Even in this state it looks better than it has for months!

Onto the Market

Unit 2 is now empty, clean and ready for rental.  It has been advertised and is on the market from Saturday.

On The Road

Mark has spent quite a while bringing the (once) unroadworthy BMW back to mint condition.  It is now all sorted and registered so he is on the road again.

Update - In a dramatic turn of events today, Lisa was seen driving the new car.  There seems to be a remote possibility it could lure her away from her beloved Prado!!

Intensive Study

Pat was deep into his studies last week. This time it was hydrology at a Canoe Camp on Lake Eildon.

Shelving Gets a Second Life

The shelving from the garage in Unit 2 has found its way to Donvale and has found new purpose in Adam's barn.  All the gear in the barn is now much more accessible.

Getting Ready For Rental

Now that Unit 2 is empty, the next task is clean and fix those little items ready for viewing as a rental.  Mark was over today to seal up some of the gaps in the bathrooms.

Unit 2 Cleaned Out

It has been an interesting few days taking photos of furniture that was not required and advertising it on Gumtree.  The first adverts were posted around mid day Monday and by Wednesday evening virtually everything had gone. In fact everything went to people that were intending to use the items. Last out the door was the old Noblett buffet hutch that had served us well for many years.

NPS Transformation

The old Nunawading Primary School site has been very busy over the past weeks and the Community Centre continues to grow.  The biggest impact on us has been that tradies now park all around the streets.  It was supposed to be finished at the end of the year so there seems to be plenty of weekend work at present.

Our First Family Dinner

Having got the new house into some semblance of order, it was time to have a crack at a family dinner.  We had missed both Brett and Adam's birthdays so it was time to start the cycle again.  Would we all fit?  The answer was 'Only just!'

 With a little bit of judicious squishing, we all managed to fit.

 Star drink of the night was a port that started life the year after Brett was born and the year before Adam was born.  It seemed appropriate for the evening.

 With all the dishes cleaned away, the trial was complete.  We now know what lives in what cupboard and we are ready to have another go.

Cleaning Out Unit 2

The clean out of Unit 2 is almost complete with an amazing amount of assistance from the family, all the furniture is now out with the exception of a couple of items to be sold off.

 On top of that Adam delivered a number of trailer loads of soil to help renovate the garden along the new driveway.

Birthday Lunch

It has been a while in the making, but we finally managed to have a meal with Brett, Cathy and family in celebration of Brett's birthday.  Meletos in the Yarra Valley was the venue and the meal was delightful.  The entree was almost a meal in itself!

 The restaurant overlooks the valley and the vineyard and the weather was ideal.  A very snoozy afternoon ensued.

Settling In

We are now dealing with all the little details related to living in the new house.  We have been sustained in this arduous process by some brilliant meals!

Excitement Builds.

Patrick's birds are looking forward to his return next week as is evident in the photos!

Dinners Resume

Having got the house into some semblance of order Claire was eager to start having a few family dinners.  Lisa and Mark were the guinea pigs for a first roast.  Everything seemed to go well although a few organisational tweaks may be needed.

Photo Time

As Holly is now twelve we needed to update Granny's Gallery. The new photo is now being installed.

Lunch With Holly

Being school holidays we had a chance to catch up with Holly (and Ebony) for lunch.  Dumplings are always a firm favourite with us and luckily, Holly feels the same way.  She took us to a dumpling restaurant in Forest Hill for a delicious meal.

 Strangely, they do not appear to do specialist ice cream at Forest Hill so we ducked into Coles for some Gaytimes.  It proved an excellent alternative.