New House - Thoughts

We have just built a new house. Planning the decor is fun, but so far it seems very bland and monochromatic. I think this will improve when the paintings, etchings, drawings etc are up and floor rugs are down. The art works are a mixed lot - by local artists in the main - landscapes, portraits, still life, some of my own, photographs by my husband, and family snaps.

The frustrating thing is that the main floor area is waiting for the concrete to dry out enough for the cork to be laid. It needs to be under 5% moisture and is still above 6 - 7%. According to the carpet laying people it could take weeks to dry to the required level. It has been almost 6 weeks now! Rainy weather does not help and also the fact that we don't live there - the place is shut up most of the time and only open when we are there. Today was a good one.

The driveway was poured this morning. The workers mix sugar with the top layer of cement to prevent it setting really hard!! Then, when it is, hard enough they jet the top layer off to reveal the aggregate surface below. A magic process. Tomorrow they return to put on the sealer that gives it a shiny, wet look and enhances the colours of the stones - a mix of 85% pale with 15% dark. The front yard is a mess but the bones of the shape is now visible.

The best part of today, though, was a visit from an old friend. She came to town with her daughter who addressed the Women in Business seminar at USQ. We spent many years very close to this family as our daughters were similar ages and they played the same sports. We also camped with them for several years on Fraser Island. Then her husband retired and they moved to Brisbane, right on the bay at Cleveland. He loves to fish.

She is well although still troubled by asthma, and her daughter is very successful. She started a mobile physio practice and now employs 50 part-time physiotherapist who visit their clients, and therefore, have no 'rooms'.
We served her lunch and talked until the daughter came to pick her up. Being near all facilities is great. I walked down to the library, returned some books, selected some magazines, bought the lunch ingredients - all in about half an hour. Must make a couple of roomy bags that will take all requirements to do the shopping.

This afternoon after our friend has left we fixed the curtain rod in the bedroom, and have hung one curtain. The other needs a bit of repair. I pulled the gathering strings too vigorously and now have to reattach them - a bummer. This morning the bed we bought on Saturday arrived and we put it together. It is really comfortable - nice and firm. We went for an inner spring with boxed springs on a slatted base. No more skirts that get twisted and now have space for some storage bins under the bed. I will make a new bed-spread - a simple throw using the material I made the chair covers from, and then get/make cushions to match the paintings I will put in this room. The Chinese one I bought in Xian of ladies drumming. A chair cover too and maybe a small table with a cloth. The room is big enough and we need to use the big chest of drawers, too. The walk-in robe has adequate hanging but little shelf space for both of us. Sorting out my clothes will be a good exercise, as I have stuff that is years old, and not wearable or worth keeping. A bad habit of mine, at least an odd one, is that I quite like old clothes, or I did. Lately I have started to like new ones.