Lawns, garden on the go, and happy cats

Today is Thursday, November 20, and everything is lovely in the garden. Well, it will be. We have a thin sheen of green where the lawn was sown, in what seems like record time. Daily waterings and helpful growing weather have helped the seed to strike, so we should be able to get it rolled and ready for Christmas. Thanks to the underground irrigation with the Biolytix septic tank system, there's a crop circles effect in the tender greensward - no doubt that'll disappear as the lawn gets established and a more completely natural appearance takes over.

We've also been busy planting hedges, magnolia trees and the odd other shrub and bush as we get more confident with how the section looks, and how we use it. So far, very happy with what we've achieved, and I certainly had no idea how much fun getting a garden sorted, from scratch, actually is. Not having been a mad gardener, I'm delighted with how much fun it is, and although it's certainly hard physical work, it's also very rewarding and enjoyable. Another unexpected bonus in the great Woodbury move.

The cats are in seventh heaven - have all taken to country life and the boys are out roaming far and wide on a daily basis. Blossom prefers to follow the sun around the upstairs rooms, but most importantly for us, they are all, obviously, extremely happy animals. Spike has so far been chased back home (ie out of other people's properties) by tiny dogs, big cats, deer, and the odd sheep (who only wants a playmate, I'm quite sure). He's also taken to hunting for skinks, the tiny lizards that live in the long grassy verges, and bringing them into the house for approval.

The fire works a treat. We've had a couple of pretty cool nights, so in goes a bit of wood and we light up the Lady Kitchener for a long, slow burn. Also tops up the hot water, thanks to the wetback, so we still haven't had to turn the power on to the hot water cylinder.

Finishing touches only as far as the house itself goes: paint touchups, lights, electronic data and other bits and pieces for the electrician, and the layer of bluestone on the front porch. So far, so very good - and best of all, we really are enjoying living here. It's a great life.

And now for something completely different - landscaping

We've been here for about two-and-a-half weeks (today is Tuesday 11 November) and things have been moving fast. Carpets are down, fireplace is going in today, and pictures are propped against walls ready for hanging day. But also, and amazingly rapidly, the section has been levelled, cleared, topsoiled and readied for lawn planting. Between them, two hard-working men have given us a driveway and sown a lawn, in just two days. Fantastic. I just love watching men at work - one of my favourite past-times.

Living here is even better than we'd dared hope, which is saying something. The days are just packed, and even though there are still a couple of tiny teething problems (a loo that over-runs, no matter what anyone does, and a leaking seal on the water tank, being replaced today) the house functions very well. Keith has been alternating happily between office/head work, and physical exertion, carting rocks, chopping wood, continuing work on the garage, putting up a real clothesline, and so on. I've been running thither and yon, helping, hindering, overseeing, feeding, washing, providing smoko and generally trying not to get in the way ... too much. But so much to decide! We're both fitter than before, not least because of all the running up and down the stairs we do - haven't lived in a house with stairs for a very long time.

The cats came home four days ago and have settled in beautifully. Blossom all but wept when she recognised me and has stayed close and purring ever since. George instantly flounced and rolled around house and section, and goes off exploring the entire neighbourhood, returning when he's had enough, through the deer paddock. Spike is now being just as brave, doing lots of local noseying around but definitely not sure about the sheep ... lots of checking them out from odd angles around the house. It's a joy to have them again and they help make the house a home.

We'll still have tradesmen around for a week or two as finishing touches get seen to - final paving and sealing of bluestone, bathroom fixtures to be finalised, electricians to do end jobs, all joinery to be checked and adjusted, and so on. But all good, and cannot believe how much has been done in such a seemingly short time. Roll on Christmas.

We're in! We finally made it, Labour Weekend 2008

We did it - we're living in our new house, and loving it! On Friday October 24, we finally, actually, left Christchurch for good and moved lock, stock and barrel into 589 Woodbury Road. Having brought the cats down to the local cattery on the previous Wednesday, we returned to Christchurch for the final push. House was full of packing crates and cartons, chaos everywhere, but between us and the movers, we got the house cleared and the show on the road by lunchtime on Friday. Left the cleaners doing the final once-over, then simply drove away, and by that time, neither of us had a problem saying goodbye to Trafalgar Street. We were ready.

Again, beautiful weather helped the process, and as the long day wore on, and we all congregated at various times in Woodbury, we reversed the process and dumped all our worldlies in the Woodbury house. No flooring down (apart from bathrooms), but all appliances in place, plenty of hot water, and enough room to swing all 3 cats, if only we could have them here now. Slept at Beauly that night (total exhaustion doesn't cover it, we'd been running on adrenalin and euphoria), but the next day, made a solid start in unpacking what we could and have been installed ever since. Kind of camping, but bed, showers and functioning kitchen helped.

And now, it's Thursday and we've been living here properly since Saturday. In that time the place has been crawling with builders, plumbers, electricians, tilers, and, occasionally, carpet layers, as everyone gets involved to get this place signed, sealed and delivered. All that's really left is the floor coverings (tomorrow, and again next week), and some plumbing bits and pieces. Living in plaster and concrete dust is a bit messy (I don't know why I cleaned the rugs or sofas - pointless) but that will soon be sorted.

The really good news is that the place is brilliant - we absolutely adore it and spend hours just looking out the kitchen windows at the 2 new sets of lamb triplets grazing next door, and the running of the young deer in the paddock in front of us. Views to die for. And we have a temporary office set-up, so lucky Keith has been able to do some serious work since Tuesday. A few technical hitches to begin with, and data outlets to double-check, but minor teething problems and now very much OK.

As are we - everything is lovely in the garden, or at least, it will be once we get hold of someone to clear, scrape, level and dump heaps of topsoil in the paddock we will one day call a lawn. And next week, I can get my cats back and then the house really will be a home.

October and the joinery begin together

And so it's October, finally - and as September ticked over into the new month, the kitchen started to actually look like a kitchen as the joiners and builders began the big installation. It's been all go in Woodbury for the past few weeks - Keith's been busy with the garage/workshop and has made amazing progress, with the help of wonderful neighbour Paul. The kitchen is underway, the kitchen appliances have been trucked out of Christchurch (after nearly 2 years in a warehouse), we've finalised the flooring and have made tentative bookings for getting laid. Sorry about that. Getting it laid.

And tomorrow, the 4th, is auction day for selling our Christchurch house. In spite of the dreadful property market, and worrying international financial situation, we're optimistic about a respectable sale and will be able to confirm all sorts of tentative arrangements and booking next week, once we have a settlement date. Exciting - every day brings new decisions, new information and an amendment to plan x, y and z.

The cats have been to the vet for their shots, so they're ready for a week in the country cattery; the movers have quoted and been accepted; and I've realised we don't have any spare bedroom furniture, apart from a bed. I'm planning to poke around the sales and the second-hand shops for the odd bargain, but don't hold your breath - there's a front garden to plant first.

A man and his handiwork are never parted

Keith is one tired but happy chappy - his week in Woodbury building the garage/workshop has been enormously successful and the result is quite lovely. Helped by a couple of local builders, Keith has managed to get the big stuff done and can now complete the interiors in relative comfort. Apart from a couple of minor compliance things. the building inspector gave it a pre-wrap pass mark and so next step is to nail up the plywood cladding. This now means we can store stuff for the house under cover, and start moving the contents from his current workshop down in manageable stages. The building looks sweet (not a guy word, I admit) beside the big house, and in the big picture, you can see how they complement each other. He returned home early on Thursday evening, very tired but in excellent spirits - he couldn't lift his arms above his shoulders and still can't close his right hand properly (a couple of days of the hammer and staple gun) - and has also lost 5kg! He looks, however, in fine form and can't wait for the next visit. Neither can I.

A place for the cars, and a real blokes' shed

Today is the first of September, so it's officially spring, and there's plenty of action in Woodbury. We now have an established tree, a Himalayan chestnut, sitting happily in the nor/west corner of the section, thanks to Belinda, who decided we needed an established tree to give us shade and shelter in the summer months. Something to mow around, and a place to have lunch outdoors, were her words. We're very grateful and the tree looks as if it's always been there.

Also, Keith has made an excellent start on building the garage/workshop. With the help of a couple of local builder mates, he's well underway with the basic construction and has been much helped by the beautiful spring weather. Muddy gateway notwithstanding, the weather has been mild and kind and progress is excitingly fast. He wanted to get his hands dirty by doing something practical and grounding, and has managed this in spades by also leaving traces of blood on various bits of timber, shirt fronts, hats and passing dogs and children. So a success all round.

Upstairs, the rooms are painted (stunning, couldn't be happier) and doors throughout the house are also painted, a terrific shade best described as a muddy green - it's strong and very attractive. We also have a front door now, but no handle or key yet, so we're all still traipsing in through the back door.

This week should see the garage-workshop up if not quite running, and we're also expecting kitchen and bathroom joinery to start arriving for installation. Watch this space.

Stairway to heaven (but battens are a bother)

Sunday, 17 August and The Old Forgery is nearly there now. Inside we now have a staircase, which makes going to view the bedrooms and mid-house sunroom a whole lot easier, and what lovely wide stairs they are. As you get to the top, the snowy mountain view is perfectly framed in the mid-gable window to welcome you. The main bedroom has its wall of louvre-doored wardrobes, which looks fantastic (and is something I asked for a couple of years ago when this whole project started, so many thanks, Desmond, for remembering that) and now that the gib-stoppers and plasterers are in residence too, the whole upstairs is taking its final shape. The spare bedroom is a delight - sunny, welcoming, great views and like the main bedroom, seems to have a lot of character. Hard to explain, but all of you who will be coming to stay with us will no doubt see what I mean!

Downstairs, the study and living room are being finished, while the final adjustments to kitchen and laundry joinery have been made and installation work should start very soon now. We had another highly productive meeting with Desmond and made final decisions on colours and finishes in the kitchen, laundry and bathroom, and had a stab or two at the other rooms, but time yet for that. We also inspected and OK'd the bluestone from Timaru Bluestone Quarry people for front porch, hall entrance and hearth surround - the effect should be just right.

Outside, the house is looking as handsome as ever, and the hebel block has been finished and painted, so is now 'done'. And the board and batten, which helps give the house its character and suits the village location so well, is in the process of being protector oil and colour coated. Trouble is, different colours and batches were delivered to the painter, so we now have about three discernible different finishes on various parts of the house ... the more middling colour is the intended effect (the others are too light, or too dark - shades of Goldilocks) but we've decided that as long as it's all the same in the end - consistency please! - we don't much care if the final colour is a little darker than we envisaged.

Everyone is still reassuring us that the building part of the house will be completed by the end of September (or thereabout) so we're going along with that timeline and will start thinking about carpets and other flooring to be organised some time in October, before we can actually move in. Up here, at the Christchurch end of things, we're still waiting for our signed-up buyers to sell their townhouse before they can satisfy that final condition on our sale (still a bit of time, and spring is definitely in the air). But we're ready to get the movers in - another couple of months to go, fingers crossed. We're really excited now and have worked out where our furniture, pictures and books will go (and shuddered at how much stuff we really should chuck). Lots of lovely storage we may have, but it shouldn't be taken up with cartons of crap lugged from one hidey-hole to another ... surely? On that note, really will keep you posted.