Building site living

The camera is still AWOL, so apologies for crappy phone photos. There has been a bit of progress this week - the bathroom is now tiled...

The washing machine is plumbed in (yay!)...

The deck is finished, although not fenced and we have steps into the garden...

Our lemon tree is cranking lemons. Rob cut down the vine that was strangling it today and harvested a great big tub...

It is a pity we have no kitchen, so I can't do much with them. We have made a temporary sitting room/kitchen from what will be Freddie's room. I filled up the freezer with stuff before we moved and have been supplementing it with takeaway and pasta cooked at Libby's house.

This is the posh bathroom that was renovated by the previous owners. It has a double sink and double shower, which is handy as one is currently serving as our kitchen sink.

We are pretty much unpacked in the four rooms we can use and it is really quite comfortable. At least we all have our own bedrooms, although Freddie is currently sleeping in the building site in his tent. The kitchen people came to take measurements on Friday and I ordered my appliances, including my one splash out - a Neff double oven. This week should see the back of the plumber, electrician and gyprocker as well as finished deck fencing and shed roof. 

The building site

So, while we were away my builder, Gavin, and his team tore our new house apart. As you can see in these photos, he removed some internal walls, a shower room (see concrete floor area in bottom right of following photo) and some horrid aluminium windows.

All the external walls of the old 1960s extension were stripped as they were made from asbestos.

Then they knocked a larger doorway between the back room (which will be the kitchen/dining room) and the sitting room. You can just see this on the right of the next photo. The walls have been trued-up with plasterboard.

And the windows have been replaced with nice wooden ones:

The old kitchen has been ripped out and replaced with a bathroom (tiles still to be grouted):

New weatherboard replaces the sad old fibro:

Rob has a new shed (although no roof yet) and the frame for the decking is up:

 

This is our view now that we have chopped down some trees. It actually looks a bit more impressive than this in real life.

If we built up, it would look even better, but need some more money to fall off the tree first...

Taken by Rob standing on a ladder

I've got some good pictures of the bedrooms now they are painted but they are on the camera that has been mislaid in the move. When it reappears, I will do another post, including our make-do-and-mend kitchen. We are at least six weeks off eating any food that requires a saucepan to cook.

Bali and reflections on a journey

We recovered from our arduous journey from Dubai and had a lovely five days in Bali with Rob's mum and dad, Jenny and the cousins, Liam and Zara.

I had a pretty lazy time - sleeping in til almost midday the first couple of days as we overcame jet lag and hanging out by the hotel pool for much of the rest of the trip.

Rob was a bit more active, surfing every day. These pictures are representative of the surf and surfing ability; actual surfing/surf conditions may have differed.

Freddie was very at home in the cocktail lounge.

Flossie suddenly started to swim properly by herself (although admittedly looks about to drown here).

We did get to a fab beach club one afternoon, Potato Head, which despite the strange name is an uber-cool bar with pool, awesome cocktails and great food. The architect, Andra Matin, is one of Indonesia's best. I wonder if he fancies doing a Clovelly beach house in about 10 years time? Margaret kindly pushed Freddie round for much of the afternoon so we could enjoy a few drinks without baby wrestling. 

But the main thing was hanging out with the cousins. They oscillate between being super sweet and super horrid to each other, but I suppose that comes with being 4, 4.5 and 6!

So we arrived home yesterday afternoon after a reasonable overnight flight from Denpasar. Freddie slept in the bassinet, which he is really too big for now. Either a foot or an arm were hanging out, or his bum was stuck up in the air. 

I'd say both kids are delighted to be home. They slept like logs last night, as did Rob and I. Happiness, for me right now, is my own bed, a full fruit bowl and seeing both my children eat three decent meals today.

But I'm so pleased that we did this trip. It has really helped Flossie get to know her extended family. It has ensured that we have some photos of our second child. I got to Italy and remembered some French. Rob says our marriage has aged 10 years (and seems to think this is a good thing - I suppose if you can travel for 3 months with small kids without killing each other that's certainly saying something). We have had an amazing family experience and we have the confidence that we can do it again sometime when the time is right.

For now, though, I'm happy to be here, packing boxes and getting ready to move over the road, catching up with lovely friends and neighbours, getting Flossie ready to start school, picking up with Little Bird, choosing a new kitchen.

I'm going to carry on this blog to record renovations and kid development, mainly for the benefit of distant family. No offence taken if you wish to tune out now! But thanks for reading up until this point - I've had a lot of fun writing it.

Laura x

The only way is Dubai

Oh A380 business class, how I love you. Despite a spectacular vomiting session from Freddie part way through, I got to the end of the flight and wanted to stay on. I felt a bit cheated because we were so tired when we got on that we slept all the way (vomiting interlude excepted), so I never got to have any food or take advantage of the unlimited champagne. But having a flat bed more than made up for it and we arrived in Dubai feeling, if not perky, at least not at death's door. 

So our experience of Dubai was confined to the Atlantis Hotel, which sits at the centre of the Palm development (the palm leaf-shaped bit of reclaimed land that has double the size of the UAE coastline). We were only there for 48 hours, the hotel is enormous and we were jet lagged, so I'm not feeling too guilty about this, but does mean that my impressions of UAE might be a bit skewed.

ALOT of money has been spent on this hotel to get it so marvellously cheap looking. The ceilings soar, the gold glitters, the carved dolphins leap out at you from every surface. In fact, it is 4 year old girl heaven and Flossie absolutely loved it.

The whole thing was on steroids. You could go on a waterside in a tunnel that went through a shark- filled pool. You could go on a rubber ring around kilometres of man-made rapids. The children's splash pool was three times the size of the one at Waterworld. The buffet breakfast included indian, chinese, japanese, a whole bakery of croissants and...a chocolate fountain.

No crappy humous and taramasalata dips for the Atlantis...

 

And if, you know, you are out shopping and realise you have run out of gold bars, don't worry! Just head for the gold cash point...

Yes, this actually dispenses real gold. And you can return it in the original packaging if you are not totally satisfied.

As well as the mega pool complex we also visited the hotel's massive aquarium. No interpretive information here - just fish, the bigger and crazier the better, and lots of them.  Freddie quickly made new friends...

Flossie liked the pink jelly fish...

And that was it for Dubai. Apart from noting that the full burka, with nose and mouth covered, in black polyester seems close to torture in 40 degree heat, especially when you have to sit by the side of the pool and watch your husband and kids splash around.

We had to get up at 1am to catch a flight to Jakarta and from there to Bali. A380 business class it was not. I didn't realise that having a 12 kg baby sleep on top of you would significantly increase leg swelling, but I suppose it is not that surprising. Poor children and poor us - it took almost 24 hours to get to Bali by which point I was feeling somewhat crazed and the kids were completely past it.

Anyway, we are now here and enjoying the few final days of sunshine and time with Rob's family before we fly back on Thursday night. 

Scones in Shropshire, pasties in Penzance and a bit more chickenpox

We left Ipswich a week last Friday to drive to my Uncle's house in Shropshire. Conveniently, this took us almost directly through Northampton where my oldest friend Lottie lives with her lovely four children. We called in for coffee and a long overdue chat - we haven't seen each other for over four years. Whatever the joys of living in Australia, it is difficult to replace life-long friends who know you inside out.

Flossie and Freddie loved playing with big kids Mylo and Merrie. They were very hospitable and shared all their toys as well as giving Rob a guided tour of Northampton's Rock Bottom so he could buy an alien in an egg (don't ask) for his nephew, Liam.

Boys hanging on the stairs

Girls playing with Barbie pony

We arrived in Shropshire in time for the children to have some tea with their (second? once removed?) cousins, Poppy and Tomas, and for us to enjoy some of Sue's amazing scones with home made jam.

Rob and Sue have bought the most beautiful house in a tiny village surrounded by rolling (albeit rain soaked) hills.

It is just the place for a big family get together and we were very spoiled with food, wine, country walks, pub lunches, log fires, newspapers and plenty of help with the kids. Everything you need for a perfect English country weekend. Flossie and Freddie loved playing with their cousins and there were many tears when it was time for Flossie and Poppy to say goodbye.

Rob (aka Grandad Beard), Seth and Lorraine begin a walk

Napping in the backpack (no, we didn't suffocate him)

Yet another impressive cheese board

Sweet cousins

We packed up and left early on Monday morning for the long drive to Newlyn in Cornwall. We stayed in the little fisherman's cottage that Dad and Uncle Rob jointly own. You can't drive a car down the street, so you get a real sense of what it must have been like 100 years ago.

Unfortunately the Cornish weather did not turn on its charms for our visit. We enjoyed an initial sunny day when the kids were able to explore some rock pools on the beach but then the rain came and hung around on and off until our last day.

On one such rainy day, Jess made me do a five hour with limited waterproof clothing - we pretty much walked across Cornwall. We had to navigate an electric fence and a field of very large cows, so it was something of an adventure. Catching the train back from Carbis Bay, I have never been so pleased to see a station buffet and score a cup of tea in my life.

We had a windy walk across the causeway to St Michael's Mount. I hadn't been there since I was a child and I'd forgotten how impressive it was. Flossie loved the castle with its medieval banqueting chamber and state rooms.

We also enjoyed some Cornish culinary treats. Pasties, of course, but Dad and Caroline even impressed their French friends with the quality and quantity of great restaurants around Newlyn. Rob, Jess and I had a great meal at Jean Shrimpton's restaurant in Penzance and then Dad, Caroline, Jess and I enjoyed another feast in Mousehole.

Another highlight was the Golowan festival in Penzance - the traditional mid-summer celebration. School children create huge puppets out of wire and paper mache and parade them through the streets. Together with some traditional Cornish music (think accordion, fiddle and big bass drum), it was blood stirring stuff.

Unfortunately, the Golowan Festival also saw the return of our spotty friends. Flossie started feeling poorly while we were watching the festival and was feverish with little spots appearing by the time we got home. This meant a quiet last day resting for Flossie and I, mainly watching Cbeebies, although I did get her out for an ice-cream and a short drive to my beloved grandparents house in Treslothan. We picked some flowers from the hedgerows to place on their memorial stone and walked down to the cottage where I spent many happy summer holidays. A bit sentiment of me, but I loved doing this with Flossie, even though it prompted another long discussion about death.

Rob, Dad, Caroline and Freddie went a bit further afield, in search of Rob's ancestors. They managed to find evidence of one Boundy - Mary Ann - in the Perranzabuloe churchyard. You cannot imagine how pleased my dad is to have a son-in-law with Cornish heritage. 

Rob was also pleased because he had spent much of the week on a fruitless search for some surf, which was either flat or blown out. They luckily came upon a beach with great conditions, so he managed to get one Cornish surf in.

We left Rob in Cornwall to visit a mine in Plymouth and drove back to Dad and Caroline's in Surrey on Monday. Mum and Jo came up to have lunch on our last Wednesday before we flew out to Dubai in the evening.

It has been a great visit to the UK - for once not too rushed. I managed to see some very old and dear friends, including a wonderful last minute visit from Pooh on our last evening. The children have spent some quality time with their grandparents. So, all in all, a very special trip.