The big Monday morning conference

And so it came to pass that on Monday May 5, we all met at the house in Woodbury. Present if not correct were Jane and Keith, Ken and Shane (the boss builders), Desmond (the architect), Toby, Wayne and Barry (all hammering and building busily), and Jamie the electrician. What a great group. To celebrate the roof being nearly finished, we shouted morning tea and left a couple of dozen beers for the boys.

The work is going very well indeed and the house looks amazing. It's a beauty. We had a most productive 'meeting', which lasted about four hours and left us a little dazed, but very satisfied with decisions made so far. Colours, power points, dormer access and window heights were just some of the points covered. And yes, the house is big - whoops, how did that happen? However, it's beautifully proportioned and feels balanced, so we're in no doubt that we won't regret one square metre of it. The pix scarcely do it justice, but they're all we've got right now, so unless or until you can come and see it in person, feast your eyes on the latest.

More after this weekend, as we're going down again to celebrate Dad's 80th birthday (Happy Birthday, Binks) followed by a Mother's Day brunch. She's all go in Wooders.

Dormer view, or my space?

And another eventful weekend has come and gone. We went back to Woodbury on Anzac Day, Friday 25 April, and again, what a difference after just a week or so. The Old Forgery now has an upstairs to explore, and what big bedrooms we've got! Amazing spaces, which needed a lot of quiet attention to detail as we explored the upstairs for the first time. Funny how things on a plan can sometimes look a bit different in reality ... take our bedroom dormer windows. They are seriously large, luxurious alcoves, rather than the smallish window-seat push-outs I'd imagined - more than capable of taking a comfy sofa and table. And another interesting development is the large roof spaces that will be available between the dormers ... large enough for another walk-in wardrobe, it seems, rather than a little attic 'junk' room. So, plans are underway to take advantage of the sheer space available under the roof, with the possibility of access through the bedrooms and more potential storage than we thought. Good stuff.

Half the roof is on, too, and the skylights over the stairwell and single loo look to be doing their job well. Still deciding about access to the loo - from the stair landing, so readily available to all in the house, or a door from our bedroom only, so it becomes a really private privy, just for Keith and me, especially useful when we have guests? Still pondering. With these and other construction issues in mind, we've asked for an on-site meeting with architect and builders asap, so we can make decisions before further interior work makes these options more difficult to actually do.

We had guests this weekend, too, but not, obviously, in the house - friends Kenn and Kayo stayed at Wee Beauly for the night after a holiday weekend jaunt in the district, and joined us for a large, highly successful curry night dinner for 12 at Fi and Steve's house. We were tired but happy as we all visited our Woodbury house the next morning. Lots of developments, plenty to talk and think about, and yes, we were all rather reflective as we said our goodbyes and left for Christchurch on Saturday pm. But Woodbury put on its best autumn clothes for us all, and was looking lovely, as usual, as we walked and explored and talked.

No doubt the roof will be fully on soon. We've had a revised timeline for completion from the builders and it now seems as if the house won't be finished until the end of August, which is a relief in some ways as it takes winter right out of the picture in terms of selling in Christchurch, moving and generally going through the inevitable major upheavals. So, on we go ...

Ahoy there! Up where the air is clear

It's a beautiful autumn evening, April 13, and it's been another absolutely stunning day in Woodbury. All framed up and glowing very sweetly in the sunshine, the house is looking more like a - well, house really - than ever. Now that the upper floor has its shape, and the dormers are holding everything together, the whole project is fast becoming a reality. Interestingly, the size seems to have settled into something more modest and manageable than it appeared earlier without the 'outlining' effect provided by the builders' recent work. And once the roof goes on, I'm sure it will all seem even more nestled and picture perfect.

Pictures from the upper floor are courtesy of Steve, who clambered aloft for a bird's eye view, while I handled the tamer but safer job of shooting from the ground. The fireplace has also begun, and we can now see where the stairs are going. Once again, excellent proportions and can't wait for the next exciting episode.

Going up in the world

Monday April 7 ... and as we can see, the upper floor is well and truly on its way. This photo was taken by Fi on Sunday evening (the weekend of daylight saving changes and the clocks going back). Today is predictably wet and very autumnal, but with luck, the builders will be able to press on regardless and when we go down next weekend, we expect to see even more progress. More pix next time.

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...