Belated update

[vilakins]

I suppose I should, you know, actually post instead of just reading and commenting. I've felt very blah lately for several reasons and though I have some cool photos, some of them taken on the 14 separate days of summer, the effort of posting just seems too much. I've been taking refuge in reading, knitting, and painting what I can. Re the last, the downstairs sunroom looks amazing.

The weather

We never got a summer this year, and many places have had over a month's rain in a day for several days running causing terrible floods. I'm taking vitamin D3 and K2 pills because the lack of sunshine really gets me down. It's normally dry and sunny here. OK, we get isolated nice days but that's it. I'm hoping the weather comes right in winter; the last one was lovely. At least the frequent rain is light, not like the cary subtropical stuff in Auckland.

And now the central country is about to get battered and flooded by Cyclone Debbie. A friend just posted that she had a scary drive through landslides, worrying that one would hit her as she dodged rocks, so it must have arrived up there.

The house

My friend zoefruitcake said about her house that "I'm starting to hate living here as I just can't stand this constant living in limbo, waiting for one thing to happen before the next and then the next. I want it all done now and I'm losing patience," and that expresses how I feel so well.

We can't paint the bedrooms and upstairs sunroom till the holes in the walls are fixed (and one huge one made by Greg's brother trying to get at the wiring requires a carpenter), we can't fix the downstairs bathroom and loo till we have a shower upstairs, and we can't have that put in till we pull up the toxic old lino. Greg's too busy to do that and I won't. Also the so-called study is full of boxes we can't unpack till we load the stuff in the storage room into the high cupboards that need ladders to get to and I hate ladders.

We've only managed to do up one room in the 9 months we've been here, and that was a filled-in porch (downstairs sunroom) made of limestone so it was easy to patch damage and repaint. It looks amazing now. I want the rest of the place done up in those light colours, but first a lot of the walls downstairs need replastering, and that can't be done till the rewiring is completed, and Greg's brother hasn't been here for weeks so we'll have to get someone local in. It feels neverending. Right now we're fixing holes in the guest room so I can seal and paint. That will be something, especially with more guests coming.

I also want my computer with all its files and apps instead of this work laptop, and a proper desk instead of a tiny sewing table. :-(

Comments

[watervole]

Sounds like an endless pile of work on the house.

[vilakins]

It does. I knew all the wet areas had to be taken out and redone eventually, but not the extent of all the rest. At least we had the carpets taken up and the wooden floors sanded and polished, and a new hotwater cylinder put in before we arrived. It certainly seems endless right now, and even the "one room at a time" idea has hold-ups like the rewiring.

[gwendraith]

No summer sucks. We get bad ones occasionally but they have been better in recent years. In fact seasons seem to be melding into each other far more than they used to.

I hope you can make some headway on the house soon. I understand the frustration of feeling in limbo and just waiting for things to happen :/

[vilakins]

It's been so wet (for here which is usually dry and sunny) with three times the usual rain since November that our garden (along with everyone else's) turned into a jungle which had to be hacked back to get down the paths. We've started to rip out self-seeded plants (especially agapanthus) to let the suffocated ones we want some room to breathe. The tree people will come in next month and drastically prune and in some cases remove so it's all less oppressive.

I just about cried when I heard about the old lino as that's yet another holdup and I so want to have decent bathrooms ASAP, esp for guests.

[kerravonsen]

*hugs*

And I'm afraid I'm not likely to be one of the new guests in the near future... it sucks, but you know my financial situation has changed drastically; I can't afford to come. (big sad frown)

Very useful motto for both me and you: one step at a time.
Otherwise it's too overwhelming and one falls into a heap.

[vilakins]

Agreed!

We said "one room at a time" but that only works for the ones which don't need professional work (bedrooms and sunroom). At least we've made a start on the guest room.

And maybe one day you can come and stay in it. Things may change. We haven't had a holiday for 6 years, so I know the feeling. Maybe one day for us too.

[pebblerocker]

You moved to where the weather is supposed to be dry and lovely and you get THIS your first summer? Unfair!

We're getting flooding here, it's up over the road in places. I must say I like the cooler autumn mornings better than the constant swampy heat of the whole summer; it may still be raining but it's at least not so sticky.

[vilakins]

I hope the flooding doesn't get any worse.

At least we don't get that horrible humidity. On the 10-14 or so summer days we got, it was dry and around 27C; just lovely. But two weeks of summer isn't enough, esp when interspersed with rain, fog, and greyness.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, there are few things worse than the old "everything needs to be done, and nothing can be, because everything is waiting on everything else do be done first" problem. I'm sure you'll get things sorted with the house eventually, and end up with something you can be happy with, but I know that doesn't help with the frustration right now! Especially if "eventually" keeps seeming further and further off.

And my condolences on your brother, albeit belatedly.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, once I see some real progress, I'll feel much happier. The builder says the kitchen ought to be taken out before they reline the walls, but I'm going to refuse as that's just too much disruption and possibly destruction. The kitchen people left gaps so they can work with that. As it is, we'll probably have to move out while they're doing that. I'm so sick of living with crappy bathrooms and ugly kitchen (what remains of the original walls is deep mustard). We have cool plans for a big garage down the hill with a patio on top that we can walk out onto from the dining room; old houses like this never had garages. Greg's at least motivated to get this one going as we'll need cover and charging for the Tesla next year.

I so wish we'd bought a place needing minimum renovation, despite the great location and character. There's a lot to be said for mod cons.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

My sympathies. *offers chocolate* I hope it all gets resolved soon.

There's light rain at the moment in Auckland, but it's really muggy. Tomorrow it's supposed to be wetter. :(

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! [scoffs Lindor chocolate eggs]

It looked horrible on the news. I hope the really heavy stuff misses you after the bad storms you already had.

[imhilien.livejournal.com]

There was a landslide in Kohimarama with an apartment building in its path. :( No casualties, though.

Not so bad where I am, just light to medium rain.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I remember that one on Shore Road.

That's lucky. It's light here too, but there've only been two lots of Auckland-type rain since we came here.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I hadn't realised that when you moved you'd taken on such a major project. As someone who's put off something as relatively straightforward as redecorating because he can't face the chaos of moving everything out and then back again, I can imagine how you feel.

After Cyclone Debbie is out of the way, may you have a glorious sunny autumn.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

We knew there was a lot of work needed in the wet areas, but not the extent elsewhere, most of it hidden by the previous owner's furniture and ludicrous numbers of curtains, and in the walls (old scary wiring).

I really hope the weather gets back to the dry sunny norm for here. Our garden (like everyone else's) was out of control with all the unusual rain, and we've lost our sea view from one room, but pruning the fast-growing pittosprorums will help. Pittosprorum can be useful for quick cover but it gets to be a pain and at least it's so common no one will miss it when it's cut back - or out.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

It's oddly draining when you have all this stuff you want and need to do and for various reasons can't...

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yep. It's always niggling at the back of my mind.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I hope we both make progress on our homes and feel better about them

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

First goal: finish fixing the holes in the guest room walls, seal, and paint (it's currently bright yellow) before the next lot of visitors. Actually I should take a before photo; I forgot with the sunroom which was a sort of mustard and is now a restful and bright pale grey with white trim.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

Little steps and you'll get there. I've been trying to think of what I can do, maybe get someone to repair the kitchen ceiling after the leak last year

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, I didn't even mention the ceilings. The living room has awful "Michelangelo" tiles on it (think oblong pinex tiles; he'd spin in his grave) and I want it redone to match the dining room which was fancy scotias and a lovely ceiling rose. And there's the saggy hall ceiling. They're probably both due to last leaks.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I've been putting off getting the electrics in the house up to code (it was built in 1966 and and upgrade should have happened years ago). And have put off other minor repairs till I get this disruptive chore done. Which is probably silly. But I understand your frustration! It sounds like it'll be gorgeous when you're done though.

I told Peter that if we ever move again, it's going to be to a newly built condo. Except most of them really are ugly, aren't they. I do like our house.

Knitting is a great refuge, your work is beautiful.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It will be elegant and full of character: all pale grey and white trim with the lead-light windows and wooden floors. We're also planning a garage - they didn't have them in 1928 - with a patio on top which we'll walk out onto from the dining room. It will be gorgeous one day, and the views are great: mountains, countryside, and sea. It's just so hard getting there...

I'd have preferred a house with at the most some repainting to do, but the location is so good. In fact we'll get everything back and more than we spend on it, but at this point all I want is some comfort and no more eye-hurting colour choices of previous owners.

Knitting is very restful and relaxing. Are you on Ravelry too? I've been slack and not posted my finished projects here for a while. I can now sell knitted scarves and cowls at a local tourist shop so I've been using up stash on those, but I just started my first jacket (for me) which will be a marathon.

[katriona-s.livejournal.com]

My sympathies. There are always ups and downs in our lives, so please take it easy now and don't feel stressed.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It must have been stressful when you were building, but one day I'll have a nice place to be comfortable in and enjoy, as you do. :-)