The Easter Sunday gang's (nearly) all here

Easter has just come and gone - it was early this year (March) - and brought stunning weather for gatherings, celebrations, chocolate hunts, good times and, of course, building inspections. After a large extended family lunch at Fi and Steve's place just around the corner, about a dozen of us walked, biked and drove down the road on Easter Sunday to check out developments at The Old Forgery.

Beautiful weather helps, of course, but the house is looking fantastic - the supporting RSJs (reinforced steel joists, so Keith informs me) are up and now support the second storey floor joists. Lurking on the garage pad, the flooring panels are just waiting to be laid (no, I can't rephrase that) on said joists. Want to know what a joist is? Great word, but apparently a joist is a joist is a joist and there's no substitute.

So the great frame-up continues ... this week, the upper floor should start to take shape, and it probably won't be long until the complete house outline becomes evident. We can also see evidence of where the log-burner is going, and how the downstairs rooms really work for size and proportion. Once again, thank you Desmond and builders for turning dreams into reality.

This Easter will be remembered for our visitors and guests as well: Mark and Cathy, Keith's brother and sister-in-law, from Canada; Harry and Gay, Steve's parents; Greta and Skye-the-wonder-dog, from Waihi Gorge; Chris and Vanessa, from over-the-road; as well as our usual family regulars - Patsy, Fi, Steve, Jasper and Claudia.

The walls are up downstairs

And so we come to the really good bit - walking through the downstairs, admiring the framework and seeing how beautiful and spacious the rooms really are. Terrific spaces and all with the right aspects - I'm mentally arranging furniture as I go.

It's Saturday March 15 and we've just returned from a great 2-day visit to Woodbury where we met the builders and admired their handiwork. Accompanied by Keith's brother and sister-in-law from Canada, Mark and Cathy, we gave the house its detailed tour of inspection and it came up trumps. Ken and Shane, the boss builders, were very welcoming to the tour party, and Wayne and Toby, busy nailing away in the clear morning air, were equally nice to their unexpected visitors. Thanks, guys, to all of you.

Again, the pictures speak for themselves - suffice it to say that we have good solid structure in place and are delighted with the way the house is literally shaping up. We're more-or-less on track timewise and it seems as if the roof-raising party will be some time in April. Not long now.

All framed up and somewhere to go

Oh. My. God. I'm so excited I can hardly believe it - before I became an 'interested party', ie, a house-builder, I never understood how damn exciting it is to see the growth of a project, in this case, the 'dream house'. Other people's homes, perhaps like other people's babies, are wondrous to the interested parties but less than enthralling to outsiders, no matter how close in family or friend terms. Therefore I completely understand if you are only mildly interested in how the house is going, but for me, and Keith, it's enthralling. Every day brings an advance, a new view, a mini-miracle. Yes, I know it's not fair to compare it with the development of a baby, but for us, it's watching a cherished dream unfold. Therefore, take a look at the latest pictures. They speak for themselves.

It's Saturday, March 8, and kind Fiona sent us the pictorial update of Woodbury progress (and kind Belinda lent her the camera). I think the views and general progress speak for themselves, so check out the latest. We are going down to Woodbury next Thursday with Canadian rellies Mark and Cathy, over here on a long-awaited visit, to see for ourselves, and meet the master builder himself for a bit of a chat. More pictures then, no doubt. For now, enjoy the lovely pix and sorry they're so - well - thumbnail...