progress report



TV lounge


There is progress.  It's quite painful and very dirty but the metamorphosis is happening. 

• The TV lounge is almost bricked up
• We're about to get a new kitchen door
• The entrance hall has a floor and door frame 
• The new windows for the living areas are on schedule to arrive next week
• I can hear the front arches being hammered out
• The original front door is about to be bricked up
• You can just see the first signs of the new entry to the lounge as the bricks are being removed
• The boys' blinds have been installed





Kitchen Door

Entrance Hall

Am I happy?  Not yet.

Is the end in sight?  Not yet.

Am I excited?  Very.

Am I tired of the mess?  Very.

I'm OK. Really.

I'm OK until...

• the Proteas choke
• we sing "Because You're with me, I have no fear" in church
• Rob has a wobbly
• my boys sing Advance Australia Fair
• I think about my parents moving to Cape Town
• I get photos emailed of our CT mates camping without us
• I focus on the dust cloud I am living in
• I crave samp and beans or biltong
• Adam sobs in the middle of the night
• someone celebrates without me
• I skype with my girlfriends/sister

But I'm OK.  Really.

treasured memories

This was our church...



And this is the view!

We have just had an amazing weekend in Yanchep, an hour north of Perth.  We joined 19 other Christian families for our church's family weekend away.  The time was spent building new friendships, swimming in the very warm and rough sea and playing lots of games.  The theme of the weekend was Treasure and the children delighted in hunting for treasure, making treasure chests and learning more about the treasure we store in heaven. 

Sadly our weekend also included a trip to Emergency, half an hour away because Russell had a bad bike accident.  He flew right over his handle bars while descending a very steep hill and cut his chin open quite badly.  He is all stitched up and feeling a bit sorry for himself.  It was an exact repeat of Adam's accident two years ago!

For the rest, all the children had a great time together and Hugo and Adam enjoyed being part of the kids' worship team singing and praising God with all the actions.

We came back rested and ready to tackle another week.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Luke 12:34

for the sake of art

Adam absolutely loved this bronze half man half jug sculpture at the annual sculpture by the sea at Cottesloe Beach.  Last night was the end of the exhibition so we seized the moment and rushed to the beach straight from swimming lessons.  We walked between the incredible sculptures and crazy interpretations of art.  Rob met us there for fish 'n chips and the most beautiful sunset. 

It was a balmy summer evening with swimmers taking to the waves until after dark.  Many enthusiastic art critics roamed on the sand and every brand and size of camera was out on display. 

These fantastic outings make Perth the great family city that it is.  The boys came home covered in sand and relaxed and happy from lots of fish and fresh air.  They couldn't thank us enough, they had had such fun.

illuminated bins!



true desert ships



rubble and mess

It has to get worse to get better.  The builders are back and our house is upside down.  We don't have a living area.  ALL our belongings are squashed into three bedrooms and there is dust and mess EVERYWHERE.  There is an Aussie called Bruce (snigger! snigger!) with a jack hammer who is milling through floor tiles that used to be our entrance hall.  There is Simon the builder who is plastering (or as they say over here:  rendering) the TV lounge walls.   There is Mark, Simon's helper, who is digging foundations for the new entrance hall and there is Travis the plumber restoring gas and water to my kitchen.

I am hiding out in Adam's/our bedroom sourcing doors and windows online and contemplating adding a shot of whiskey to my third, yes third, cup of coffee. 

I think I may go and lie on Hugo's bed for a while and look at his wall and dream about an exotic holiday somewhere far away...

One day we will watch TV

The new entrance hall

Lunch is out of the question today

karate kid

He has done it again!  Russell was put through his paces on Saturday for his karate yellow belt.  The gradings are really getting quite tough now.  There is the physical challenge of crunches, push ups and repeated kicking and punching.  They are also required to hold a 4kg weight in front of their bodies while in the squat position for a very long time.  At one point he had to lie on his back with his feet slightly off the ground without dropping down while the other boys were tested on their routines.  Then there is the mental test of remembering the "kata" as well as a random unknown routine that the Sempai rattles off for you to demonstrate. The pressure is huge for these young boys but they seem to handle so well.  Karate has turned out to be great mental training and the physical benefits are starting to show in Russell's lean strong little body.  It was a proud moment when he graded up to yellow and performed to such a high standard.

 

On Friday Russell competed in the inter house gala at school.  He swam beautifully, placing in all four of his events and winning his backstroke by 20 metres!  He was awarded the silver medal for runner up in the Year 4's.  So he is really on a high.

world view

Hugo's room is complete and the boys now have a very special view on the world.  It looks really spectacular and we hope some of the facts on the wall will seep into their sleeping minds.

love thy neighbour



Sashia and Wendy



I have often been blessed with fabulous neighbours.  I suppose if you move homes as often as I have, you stand a good chance of landing alongside some great people!  Everytime we move house I find it hard to give up the place that I have called home, the feel of the garden, the flow of the rooms.  After we have moved, it's the neighbours that I miss.  Some of our greatest friendships have formed "over the wall" and this last move was no different.  Blond, vivacious Wendy breezed into my new Aussie life within hours of moving to St Michaels Road.  She filled our empty house with excess toys from her son, Sebastian's, vast collection and filled my life with laughter and great Aussie wit.  She always welcomed us in or stopped to chat on the verge.  We used to have long 'girl talks' in our pj's over the wall and the boys ran between the two houses on the weekends.  Wendy is full of great shopping tips for the uninitiated and was willing to share her wardrobe and her iron in those early days.  One night our spontaneous drink next door resulted in my fetching our dinner from our oven to share like loaves and fish between our families. On another occasion Wendy was collected for a Girls' Night Out party in a stretch limousine to the delight of our three boys who peered in the door.  Sebastian came over for movies and dinner and willingly shared his toys when Hugo wanted to bring something home.  Sebastian would often look longingly over the wall at us filling up the car for an outing and ask to join in the fun.  He liked having temporary brothers for a while.  Sashia, Wendy and Sebastian were fantastic neighbours and shall remain our great friends. 



Sebastian



 A friendship with this proximity is so easy and natural.  Great bonds are formed and while we will have to make more effort now that we have moved, the foundations are in place and we can build from there.



Today I salute all the neighbours who have been so good to us across the way or over the fence.  They have made our homes so special and are what we miss the most every time we move.

This time our neighbours are an older Afrkaans couple on one side and a "digs" with three young people on the other.  I am thinking dogsitters and babysitters respectively!

beautiful bench tops

I am pleased as can be with our new beautiful kitchen bench tops.  The granite has been installed and it looks fabulous.  There is lots of counter space to cook or eat or spread out the homework.  The kitchen is a great centre piece of the living area now where we can congregate as a family or with friends.  The appliances and sink mixer haven't arrived from the East Coast so it isn't actually functional yet but the potential is great!  This afternoon we met friends at the river for dinner at the communal gas barbeques to alleviate the pressure of cooking without a real kitchen.  The children ran wild and fished for guppies off the jetty while we watched the sunset and sipped wine from our deck chairs.  The temperature has dropped at dawn and dusk now and the change of season is evident.  We are out of the really hot weather as autumn approaches. 

Today Russell and Adam signed up to play rugby for Palmyra Rugby Club.  The setting for practices is magnificent.  The oval is situated on the river's edge and the boys will run around from 5-6pm every Thursday evening.  Thereafter we can have dinner or drinks in the clubhouse.  There is a great family vibe and I am looking forward to being back in my Wellies alongside the field again.

But for now, it's late, it's bed time.

Camping trip



Wilsons and Jordans



Last weekend we took a break from the rubble and headed South (with most of Perth judging by the traffic!) for a relaxing long weekend of camping.  We arrived at the site around 8.30pm and had to put up a borrowed tent without instructions by torch light!  Yes, we still haven't committed to a tent!  Rob, once again, flexed his engineering muscles and had all our neighbours gob-smacked by his ability to whip up accommodation in record time.  It was truly glorious to be sleeping under canvas again.  The boys had the freedom of the site on their bikes from dawn to late and only showed their grubby faces for meals.  The campsite was full of young families and we had tagged on to Ivan and Debbie's crowd (Lara's brother).  It was really weird to be camping with Kyle and Luke's cousins and to watch the budding friendships develop.  I kept expecting to run into Lara.

We explored Augusta lighthouse which is the most South Westerly tip of Australia.  The boys loved going to the top and looking out to sea.





ocean dip



The gorgeous beaches were close by and we nipped out of the site for swims and even snatched lunch at a brewery - very civilized for a camping weekend.

I am going to start researching more spots and hope we'll have our own tent to pitch really soon.

Boy fun at the beach

progress

We are slowly making progress.  Most of the boxes have been unpacked and sorted.  Fortunately, thanks to Rob's great skills, we have lots of cupboard space.  Rob whipped up IKEA cupboards for the boys' rooms in record time and didn't even utter one swear word which the installation manual assures you is quite acceptable given the severity of the task.  Once our walk-in-robes are built we will have plenty of good storage.

We have chosen most of our finishes and now have to wait for it all to roll out. I am in the process of deciding between blinds and our existing curtains for the boys' rooms but Russell's room looks quite good so far. Here is a sneak in...

from the door

 

from the bunks

 

looking back out

The South African flag hangs proudly at his door and there is plenty of good playing space for all the lego constructions that consume all their time.  But for now, I am going back to sorting out my clothes...