To be sure, To be sure. Happy St Paddy's Day to you all.

This is a picture that makes me so happy. This steel will become the foundations of our new home. When we went out to the block this morning, we came across some workmen who were measuring up the dimensions of our home and I must say I had butterflies. It seems to have taken an eternity to get to this point and Im hoping that the next few months will fly by. 

It was reassuring to talk to the tradies who told us that with the amount of steel involved, our house will not be going anywhere in a hurry. So although Im in no hurry for a cyclone I feel safe knowing that it will be supported to take whatever Mother Nature throws at us.

These are my Passionfruit Vines I planted a few weeks ago. I was reading that its best to plant an animal liver or heart in the hole with it to help it thrive. Seems to be working so far as they are both going quite strongly. It usually takes about 18 mths to 2 years to fruit so hopefully they will provide us with an abundance of fruit when they do start to fruit.

These are our final drawings. The first picture is of the elevations. The major changes we have made are that we've added Dutch Gables to the roof and added an extra window to the front of the house as it only had 2 before and they weren't evenly spaced because there is a wardrobe where it would have been if it was symmetrical. All in all I think its going to look great. There will be some nice leafy plants in between the windows that will balance it all out.

The only other change that needs to be made is the basins in the bathrooms. There are 2 in the ensuite and only 1 in the main. 

Im looking forward to updating as much as possible in the next few months as it means the more updates the more progress, so please hang out with me and I hope you enjoy sharing our journey with us 

Its all happening!

 We are getting some of the boring mundane stuff out of the way. So this is the fence ready to have the palings put on. We also have leveled out the back section so that once the fence is up and locked we can start building planting the vegie garden.

Fences

My drawing of how the garden will look.

As you can see there will be a section for the vegies, some chooks, a pond with a nice shady tree to sit under. I want to plant some climbing roses over the fence to make a feature and then plant a passionfruit vine to cover the side fence between us and the neighbours.

If youve got this far Ive left the Best for last. We have decided on a final Plan and will be hoping to start building in the next 6 weeks. Apparently, the banks and Council are the biggest hold up and then once that all goes through things will happen pretty quickly.

Im starting to get excited again and can see where things will go. My kitchen will have a great walk in pantry, we've modified the bathroom in the kids area, theres a rumpus room off the main bedroom now that will be turned into a parents retreat/Pool Room. The section between the rumpus room family room and patio will have an inground pool in the next 12 months or so and there will be a big glass fixed window in the family room that will highlight the pool area when its all finished.

Once this all goes through we can start to pick colors, tiles, the kitchen, fittings etc and then the fun stuff will begin. I cant wait :)

A Family that fences together stays together!

The first turn of soil

 After having such a bad run with the actual house we decided that we would like to start the back garden so that when we finally move in we will have some fruit and vegies established. So I finally have a weekend off work and its off to the block we go to start working on our fence. The plan is that we will have about 8m x 22.5m sectioned off for the ugly things like vegie garden, chook shed, garden shed and compost heap.I would also like a passionfruit vine, some fruit trees and an ornate tree with a garden bench and a fairy garden.

Club Banks

The goal was to dig some holes, mix cement and put the posts up on Saturday, then come back Sunday to start putting the palings up. After having the soil classed as "E" one would think that it would be easy to dig a few holes or 10 but apparently that ground is rock solid and very compact. So after strapping his hands up and a lot of cursing Gav got 7 holes out of the way. The kids got a bit bored so they swam in the wheelbarrow, they rode their bikes and went for a ride to the Climbing spider.

The Poles

 Because it took so long to dig the holes, the poles went in today. So some time in the next few days we will go out and start the palings. Once that is done we will build up the garden beds and start building the chook shed. I want to put in my passionfruit vine as soon as possible and start working on making pavers to go around the garden beds and around the house.

Vegie patch

So although not as exciting as picking tiles and toilets, I will be updating on garden progress until we decide on a new plan for the house. All going well the garden will be completed by May June in time for us to move in to our house. We are speaking to 3 new builders, have some designs in mind and are waiting for the Industry to come back from Vacation to get on with it. We need to look at prices and inclusions and see what takes our fancy. I've added a short list of three plans that we are looking at and trying to visualise living in.

What do you think? A B or C

If only I had a brick wall to hit my head against

I have been absent for a few weeks as things aren't going according to plan. Last time I posted, I was very excited to be starting to get colors organised and we should have been very close to laying a slab if not having walls up and a roof on.

If you know much about building you'll know a soil test needs to be completed before starting any building so as to be able to lay the correct foundations. In Townsville most builders quote at a "H" class site so as to pass the savings back to the owners if it comes in at a lower rating. Ours however came back an "E" Class so that means its highly reactive to movement.

Now that isn't generally a problem except our builder has decided to do the dodgy on us and want to charge us an extra $25,000 + to upgrade the foundations. We have given our house plans to other builders and have had a few engineers look at it and they have all independently told us it should be up to $7500 to $10,000 as a very generous quote.

So we have now started to look at getting another house built by some other builders so it looks like we are back to square 1.

Who would have thought people would be so underhanded in business. You sure learn a lot about people when you enter this field. Its hard to walk away from something you really had your heart set on and loved but Im sure that the path that we are going down to find an honest, decent builder will teach us a lot along the way.

So look out in the next month or so as we will be looking at new house plans and opening ourselves up to new ideas that will lead us to the house of our dreams.

My Dream Kitchen

 The one thing I have always struggled with in every kitchen I've ever had in a home was finding stuff when Im in a hurry. From everyone throwing stuff in to cupboards and shutting the doors fast enough to keep everything contained to kids washing up and throwing stuff wherever they see fit. My plan for my kitchen is to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

This drawing is looking in to the Butlers Pantry with the walls removed. There are pot draws and cupboards, a microwave shelf, normal draws and open shelving.This wall is 5600mm long.

This drawing is an overview of the kitchen. Where the fridge ends, will be the glass sliding doors making the kitchen an Indoor/ Outdoor space. Under the Island bench will be the dishwasher one side and cupboards on the front side. Theres cupboards, draws and more pot drawers and a 900mm oven. The walls in to the butlers pantry we will be using to display all of our Holiday Pictures and maybe a chalk board.

This is another view with the walls taken down. There will be a window in the Pantry that will give it some light. Also it will have cavity sliders to close it off.

Looking in to the kitchen you will see the 2 windows on either side of the oven. Behind the oven will feature a splashback.

Aerial View of kitchen, its not so exciting but i thought id bore you with it anyway

 My big decision with the kitchen is where do we put the cavity sliders. I wanted them closer to the back wall and Gaven wants them where they are in the Pictures. They look okay there but I also think it will be easier to access the Pantry if the doors are closer to the cupboards. Has anyone had a Butlers Pantry and where have the doors been?

The Early Stages

This will be the view from our back patio.The bushland behind us belongs to Department of Main Roads and will more than likely never be built on as the Highway is a few K's the other side. There will be just over 20m from the back patio to the fence line and our plan will be to divide it with a fence and have a fruit and vegie patch behind it with chickens. We are hoping we will be able to be partly self sufficient. When it comes to starting the vegie patch, no doubt Ill be calling out for all sorts of tips from those of you that are in the know.

Here it is, Our new home. It looks a little flat on paper but after 6 months of looking at 100's of different  plans and designs Im starting to get my head around imagining what this will look like. We have actually been through a home which was the basic design of this house although it was flipped so that everything was on the opposite side to where it is now.

We have also made the bedrooms larger, added a Butlers Pantry, added a cathedral ceiling, put big glass sliding doors to the patio so it will be all open and made the main bathroom a big wet area with a rain shower coming out of the ceiling.

We hope to add a pool off the side of the patio and build an outdoor kitchen that features a wood fired Pizza oven. These will come but not next year.

Turning a Dream in to a Reality

So, I've decided to start another Blog. My first was about the lives and times of my family. My second Blog was a food blog used to store recipes that I've used and loved. This Blog is about the journey that Gaven and I are about to embark on. Im not sure if it will be of interest to any one else but It will be a diary that I can look back on and go WOW we built this home. We picked some bricks and mortar and turned it in to something that we can call our own. So a bit of background on how this all came about.If anyone knows me really well they will know that I've led a Gypsy lifestyle my whole life. I didn't just become an Army Wife and have to adjust to the prospect of moving at the drop of a hat.

 My first memories of the first house I lived in were from when we lived in Grafton NSW. I'd say I was maybe three or four.By then though I had already had my first move.It kind of sounds like a Slim Dusty song. I,ve been everywhere man I,ve been everywhere... Gosford, Grafton,Newcastle, Rockingham, Gosford, Newcastle,Taree, Paramatta, Hunters Hill, Chatswood, Crows Nest, Chatswood, Orange,Tamworth, Then there's Old Bar,Taree,Burrell Creek,Warana, Coonawarra,Palmerston, Toowoomba, and Finally Townsville.

 Within those towns, I've lived in 29 houses.Thats a lot of bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and yards.I cant recall living in a house that I hated. They all hold their place in my heart. I remember the Willow tree in our yard in Rockingham that my best friend and I used to play under.It was so big or we were so small, that we could make rooms out of the branches that fell to the ground. There I also remember the first time I had to go out and make friends, calling out to the girl across the road until we both got up the nerve to meet and be friends for many years through various moves. Ironically her parents still live in that same house.

 Our house in Gosford was where I first felt my heartbreak at the thought of leaving my next best friend, Debbie A. We had so much fun and lived in each others pockets every day. When either of us went on holidays it was like our other side was missing.If anyone has seen Puberty Blues this was Debbie and I...well not the Panel Van part but the first boy crushes and first kisses, holding hands, going to disco's and the start of the good ole rollerskating rink "Froggies" where I remember my brother and his mates sneaking out and getting drunk!!

 Newcastle, where I met my next best friend Alison, we were also inseparable and spent hours on end on the phone talking about boys and school.Its also where I left school and grew up pretty fast. Another time where I wished my life was the same as everyone else's. Where people only had memories of their house, they lived there their whole lives. I have put my kids through this same life, a life that only makes you stronger. I can stand in a room full of strangers and leave knowing that I have met someone who may or may not ever impact my life again but I know Ive made the effort to speak to someone new and maybe learn something that I may not of, if I was a shy wall flower.

 All I have to do is look at my Facebook and see my friends names and see how spread out across the land that they are, to know it doesnt matter where you are or how long its been, true friends are always there. So what brought Gaven and I to the decision that we needed to build/buy our own home??

 Scanpans of course. I got some beautiful new pots and pans for my birthday and at the moment they are sitting in my laundry cupboard. I have pots, pans,cake tins,platters, plates, cake stands,cupcake holders,cookie cutters etc etc in any spare cupboard shelf or crevice I can find. We had a bit of spare cash laying around and decided we had better do something with it.We made an appointment at the bank to see if they would give us a loan, got a figure, had a look at a few houses, found nothing we liked so went for a drive to some display homes where we found it might be easier to build something we want rather than buy something we dont even love.

 So the first step was to choose somewhere to buy and there was really only one place that stood out. Sanctum where the crocs/Lots are bigger. So we purchased our own piece of dirt, all 1031m2 of it. Our street will have 5 display homes in it.Three are by builders that we almost signed with but after many sleepless nights we chose to go with a completely different builder, so hoping our house wont get egged by them lol. So now we are up to the fun stuff. We have chosen a plan, put our own special touches to it and are now waiting to start the building process.