Of building and Christmas

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 26 October 2006 06:14:13

My parents house is being extended/renovated.

This process started earlier this year, plans were ready, and workmen turned up ready to go. The plan was to alter a granny flat (2 storey, combining flat + garage) and add it properly to the house and make it one large house with 5 bedrooms, so when all kids + grandkids come to stay we can all fit.

Slight problem.

Termites.

End result? No flat. Gooonnnneeeee, pulled down, razed to the ground (or at least the slab), it became, in fact, an ex-parrot ooops ex-flat.

Anyhoo .... many long weeks after submitting revised plans to the slowest council in the world (or at least NSW) they received planning approval for newer, better, not two storey plans.

The framework arrived today. The builders arrive Saturday. The roof trusses arrive Tuesday.

So hopefully, by the time the wedding comes around, they will have what we're calling a wooden tent - walls, windows, roof, floors - in which to park various children, grandchildren, caterers, etc, in comfort.

It will also make a big difference to Christmas which, of course, is at the parents place this year :) ... was going to be a very outdoors Christmas for a while! I know most people have an idea of an Aussie Christmas being prawns on the barbie, sunburn, and backyard cricket - which is great (except for the prawn part - yerch!) but not all Oz has sunny weather in December.

The last two Christmas's at the parents farm have been as follows:
C1 - hot hot hot hot hooooooottttttttt - 35C!!! - also known as the year of the ever-burning pudding (mum got a bit excited with the brandy)
C2 - why are we outside in the cold! 15C and it started out warm so we set up outside and were too stubborn to give in to mere weather.

Ah well, it's entertaining at least! Like a Christmas lucky dip :)

Anyway - yay, my parents house is being built, about time, they deserve it, they've worked hard and it needs to be finished so they relax and enjoy some time to themselves!!!