The move. Let's just say, I want to move out of here ASAP and never move again at the same time. Everything that could go wrong, did. The past two weeks have been so stressful and I'm glad they are over. Paul and I moved everything by ourselves. He couldn't get off of work, so that meant he brought me over with a trailer load before work and then we rushed after he got home to bring as many loads as we can. It took 3 days, and many, many trips. I've realized that I have no muscles. Next time we move, we are hiring someone. We got everything in just fine and the house is mostly set up. We are having a TV unit, coffee table, and crystal cabinet delivered on Friday and then we will be pretty much set up. There are a few more things we want to get (a new lounge suit, for one) but that is going to have to wait a little while.
The house was supposed to be ready August 6th. We had to be out of the old house by August 15th. We had to get an extension on the old house, because there was no way that we would be out on time. The new date that we had to be out was August 27th. The house was once again not going to be ready on time and we were asked to get another extension. We told them that we couldn't and were told that we could move in on Tuesday, the 25th instead of the previous Friday like we were supposed to. The house still had to have the stove and dishwasher installed, but as least we were able to start moving.
On Wednesday, we had an appointment for our phone to be reconnected at the new house between 10 and 2. By 3, when they still hadn't arrived, Paul called the company to see what's going on. They said that whoever Paul spoke to the previous Friday, never put the order in. We ended up having to get a whole new number because they, for some unknown reason, couldn't disconnect line from the old house and transfer it to the new one.
The bedroom suite was delivered on Thursday. We still had to bring some last minute stuff from the other house and clean it. We got home pretty late and still had to set up our bed so we had somewhere to sleep. The next day, after Paul got home from work, we unpacked the rest of the furniture. Everything was good, until we realized they sent us the wrong tall boy! We ordered one that has the top lift up with a mirror on the inside, and they sent us one that didn't lift up.
We also had our refrigerator, washing machine, and microwave delivered. They bring the fridge in and go work on the washing machine. I'm looking at the fridge, and realize it's not going to fit into the cavity! It would have fit perfectly, except for this huge power thing that was on TOP of the fridge, instead of the back like normal. So we called both companies, and scheduled a delivery for the following Thursday for the tall boy, and arranged to bring the fridge back to the store to get a new one. Getting this gigantic fridge back into its gigantic box and onto the trailer with just me, Paul and the kids, was not fun. We eventually got it on and were ready to drive to the store, when Paul notices a huge chunk of our front door gone. You can't see it when the door is closed, but it is really noticeable when it's open. The only thing we can think of is it was done when they delivered the fridge. I was watching them and it was a very, very tight squeeze. Nothing else was that close to the door frame to do it. I don't have a picture of this yet, but will take one and post it soon. We complained when we took the fridge back and are getting it fixed soon. We ended up getting a smaller fridge, but at least it fits.
The internet. The internet has been a horrible experience. Well, not the internet itself, but trying to get it hooked up. Paul called the company we has the internet through about a week before we moved. He was told to just call when we move and they will hook it up. So he calls and they say they will have to send out a modem thing to connect to the ADSL because the one we have won't work. He called on Friday and was told it would be here by the next week. Well the next Friday, he calls them since we hadn't heard from them. They tell us that it can't be connected here at all. We were not happy at all, mostly because they hadn't even bothered to call us, Paul had to call them! That is another long complicated story, but basically no one here can get internet unless they get wireless, which is extremely expensive. We ended up having to switch to Big Pond, which Paul had before and they were to expensive, but it was our only choice. He talked to someone who said they would send out and ADSL thing in 5 days. Paul asked if we could go to a local Telstra store and pick one up so we can get it sooner. The guy told us he called the store and had it arranged for us to pick one up. We go to the store, they tell us no. The guy never called. They are a licensed store and they couldn't have been able to give us one even if the guy did call because they are their own company. Paul ended up on the phone with Telstra for over an hour in the store trying to get things straightened out. That is when we had someone else tell us that it is not possible at all to get the ADSL here and we have to do wireless. It has been ridiculous. We got the wireless router in the mail today and were told to just plug it in and it would work. Of course, like everything else the past two weeks, it didn't work. Paul was on the phone with Telstra once again trying to get it to work and it didn't. They told us that the internet was connected, but something was wrong with the computer making it not open pages. They couldn't do anything but they gave us a number to call and they should be able to get it working, for a price of course. Paul called and set up an appointment for 3:30 and he ran down to work. I ended up playing around trying to get it to work and I somehow managed to! I played around with some settings, tried redoing the disc, and restarted the computer a few times and a box came up that we had seen earlier. I filled in our information and it said that it worked, when before it told us an error. I don't know if it was just one thing that I did, or a combo of everything, but at least we are online now.
Oh! And we still don't have our garbage bins. The real estate agent faxed the council to have them delivered the day we moved in. They didn't show up so she called them and they said they never received the fax. So, she put in another fax to have them delivered the next Tuesday. Once again, they didn't show up. So she called them and they said they want written approval from the home owners (we are just renting). Seriously? Do they really think that we wouldn't want our bins? That we really want to throw our garbage in the trailer and then pay $16 every few weeks to take it to the tip? I don't think so! They were supposed to be delivered again today, and they weren't.
There is one HUGE plus that is going to be coming soon. We were told that they are building a gym here that is free to use by those living here! We will definitely be using it!
Here are a few pictures of the house so far. I will take more of the living room and theater room once they are set up correctly.
The front. We are supposed to have some plants
and a fence, but of course we don't yet.
The living room from the kitchen.
The kitchen from the living room.
The sliding glass door in the meals area. The
view is supposed to be of the fence, that we still
don't have.
Andrew's room.
The laundry room, before the washing
machine was delivered.
The huge linen closet!
The kid's/guest bathroom.
Another view with the sink.
Chelsea's room.
The theater room/kid's play room.
Our bedroom.
Our bathroom.
Our closet. I've always wanted a
huge closet!
The front foyer area.
This is going to be the guest room/nursery
when it's time for that. Right now it's a storage
room.
The hallway from the front door.
At the far end is the kitchen.
Our new bedroom suite and sheets minus the
tall boy that wasn't delivered.
Another view.
The new washing machine! I love it. It plays
a little song when it's turned on/off and when
the load is done.
Paul's Makybe Diva picture. He loves horse
racing. She is the first Thoroughbred to win
the Melbourne Cup three times: in 2003,
2004, and 2005.
Our framed wedding photos. The computer
desk is also in this corner.
The kitchen cupboards. We bought some nice
vases the other day, three of which are up on
top of the cupboards. We also have some bottles
of Shane Warne wine.
Paul's horse that won in 1989.
Andrew's room almost furnished. I will be
painting an old bookshelf and putting it in his room.
Chelsea's room fully furnished. They were both
so excited to be able to set up their rooms
however they wanted!
Another view of Chelsea's room.
Our key ring holder that we bought at the
St. Kilda market, and the Western Bulldogs art.
These are the pins that we bought in Niagara
Falls after the wedding. They are the three
honeymoon pins featuring the falls. Paul had
the frame already and we bought some fabric
and cut out cardboard the size of the squares.
We put the fabric down, and pressed the card
board into the squares. We pressed the pins in
on the other side and this is the result! We
love how it turned out!
So this is how our move has been. I really hope that we don't ever have to relive this again. This experience has made us want to get far away from the house. Now that we are in though, we won't be moving for a few years. We have room if anyone wants to come visit! Just let us know first!
