ferrousland.com - diary archives
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
beautiful new house - 09:49 PM
we're still unpacking boxes. it's going to take a while to get everything put away. mum came around yesterday & we did just over half a day's work cleaning & unpacking. mostly we did kitchen stuff & still didn't get through all of it (we did maybe half to three quarters) but i'm glad i took the time to clean the cupboards & shelves properly before putting things away. it would have bugged me for ages if i kept seeing other people's grot amongst our things. as everyone knows, other people's dirt is dirtier than our own dirt. 
.. besides, it would have meant taking all the stuff out again, so may as well do it before i put it in there in the first place.
even though we only got through what seemed a relatively small amount of stuff, we emptied nine boxes, which is almost a quarter of the total number of boxes, & partly emptied perhaps five more, so we didn't too badly in the whole scheme of things.
the kitchen is still a bit gross. it's not absolutely disgusting, it's just not totally clean, especially things like the stove area & particularly the rangehood. i did some of that tonight, such as the tiles behind & around the stove & part of the rangehood which i reckon might not have had a cloth put to it for quite a long time.
i haven't touched any of the high cupboards yet because i'm not sure what to put in there. they're too high for me to reach unless i stand on a chair or a stool, so it's got to be things which i won't need very often. since i've been using my enjo gloves to clean everything (which have been doing a fabulous job, as usual) perhaps i can put chemicals in one of the cupboards up there. i don't actually have that many chemicals left anyway, since most times i have no use for them, but it's a good place to keep them anyway, out of the reach of any kids. we won't have to worry about our own kid for a year or so yet, but hey, it's a good habit to get into.
my plan is to do a little bit each day, since i still have things to do at the old house before we can hand back the keys. i'd prefer to get stuck into it a bit quicker, but hey, i'm just lucky that i'm not working or i'd be having to juggle new house, old house & work as well!
i also haven't done much in the bathroom. the bath is still full of sawdust from when the painters came through & a lot of the floor space is filled with a few baskets & buckets of this & that. there are no towel rails so we've been hanging our towels over the clothes airers which are still taped together. i plan to buy an electric cordless drill next week at some stage, so when i do, i might buy some nice towel rails & various hook devices at the same time & install those. even though i'd prefer that we had some place to hang/put stuff right away it's nice to have the choice as to what goes in there rather than be stuck with some cheap & crappy plastic garbage. since everything is so beautifully newly painted, i can put things where i want them too, not having to use old holes in the walls. i'm looking forward to getting it all sorted out.
speaking of painting, we're really happy with the job that the painters did. if more than one painter had actually called me back after i left messages, i doubt they would have been the cheapest quote, but i'm really gald that we used them. not only have the big things been done well (such as colouring within the lines, so to speak) but they've done well on the little things too. all the knobs & fitting had to come off, of course, to paint properly. one of the ceramic knobs had a crack in it, so when they removed it, it broke into two pieces. this didn't bother me at all, i mean, these things happen. so i bought a set of knobs to replace it.
now, the original door & cupboard knobs are older ones which they don't make anymore. they have a kind of flower/wheat design on them. wouldn't have been my first choice, but they're still quite nice. since i couldn't match the pattern, i matched the base colour, a kind of light, creamy, beigey thing. i asked the painters if they could then put one of the plain knobs on the back of a door & keep the patterns all facing toward the inside, since they all match, throughout the whole house. they didn't have a problem doing this for me.
the replacement set of knobs i'd bought were the type with a vanity lock on them. previously, the only door knobs with locks had been on the bathroom & toilet doors. the painters then used their brains & put the extra knob with the vanity lock on it on our bedroom door, since it didn't have one before. nice thinking. not only that, but i've found that every single knob has been put back facing up the same way. they're round knobs you see, & it's actually not that obvious which way is up on the pattern, but they made sure they all faced the right way. very nice. i'm rather impressed. 
mcgarnicle seems to be settling in nicely. today i left him on his own here for the longest time yet. previously it had been for only half an hour or so at a time & i'd left the front door locked, but access for him via the back door, so that if anyone came around, it would not only look like someone was home, but they'd hopefully not be really keen to take on a fiercly barking black dog.
i was planning to be gone from the house for about five to six hours today though, so leaving the house open wasn't an option. i was a bit worried about leaving the dog here by himself. there are some fences which he could get under easily & some which he could also jump over easily if he was really keen. the front fenced off section is mostly secure, but the front double gate has a rather large gap underneath. i was tempted to leave him locked up in the front section, but then i thought he might be happier to stay put if he had access to his bed & food bowl, even with the temptation of the gap under the fence.
when i arrived home at about 5:30pm, with shroom right behind me in his car when he happened to arrive at the same time as me, mcgarnicle was still there. he must like it here enough to want to stay. he's seemed very comfortable from day one, actually. he'd disappear for ten to fifteen minutes at a time, wandering around, exploring & probably sniffing everything within reach of his nose. when he wasn't outside he was in here with us resting or sleeping or hassling us with his toys.
the only thing he doesn't seem too sure about is the new 'no bedrooms' rule. he's not allowed in any of the bedrooms. this is the new rule in preparation for when the bub comes. just a safety & health thing.
as i've been putting things away i've made mental notes of things which need to be made to suit us. just before, i mentioned to shroom that i'd like to get some attractive hook/hanging things up in the hall beside the front door to hang things like coats or umbrellas, or more likely, stuff which i want to remember to take with me the next time i leave the house. the door knob on the back of the front door can only take so many items.
it's so great to be able to do exactly what we want. if i want something nailed or screwed into the wall right there, then i can put it right there. i don't have to ask anyone's permission. well, i check with shroom to make sure he's happy about it too, but you know what i mean.
little by little our wonderful new house is turning into our house.
Hi
why keep the pup out of the
bedrooms. If he is given a bath
regularly and is fairly well behaved it shouldn't be a problem. He will be in the other parts of the house. he will be happier and less of a problem for you. The baby won't be harmed by the dogs company either.Just watch to make sure the pup is not jelous
over the the little one
pictures, pictures!! did you find your camera yet?
gmail
com
Welcome to the world of home ownership