Neglected Laundry and Cabinetry

Just a quick update - things are moving along with the house so I thought I would update everyone with a few pictures after our visit tonight.

The cabinetry has arrived and been positioned, ready for installation:

The cornices have been completed throughout the house; here you can see a finshed section, looking towards the front door:

And the laundry - not really very remarkable, except that it is quite large:

I have also forgotten the garage - which I will include in the blog next time.

Walls Up

The builders are moving fast now; they have only taken 3 days to put up the walls, ceilings and insulation.  Its amazing how quickly they do this.  I expect that the cornices and skirting will go on next.  The interior is looking more like a house.

This is the grand entrance

 Maddy's room on the ground floor with ensuite and walk-in-robe

Loungeroom:

 Looking towards the kitchen and walk-in pantry on the left

Dining area

Theatre room

The stairs will go here; the small doorway to the right of the photo will lead to a storage space under the stairs from the laundry

 Now we are upstairs in the family room, looking towards the spare bedroom and bathroom

The other side of the family room where the stairs will be

Study

The spare bedroom with walk in robe on the left

 Our bedroom

Looking at the ensuite from our bedroom

Our large walk-in-robe

Our ensuite

Ahhhh.... a lovely double shower

As you leave the master bedroom, we have more storage space - for the many jackets that Jos needed in Holland for the bitterly cold European Winters, but doesn't need in Australia

 

Christmas, New Year & Abraham

Shhhhhh!  Jos turned the big FIVE-0 on the 5th January!  Happy Birthday!

In Holland, there is an "Abraham & Sarah" tradition - when somebody turns 50, if its a man, then he has seen Abraham, and if its a woman, she has seen Sarah.  I can't say for certain if Jos has seen Abraham - maybe after a few drinks - who knows what he would look like today?

To celebrate your 50th birthday in Holland you would usually decorate the frontyard of the house with an Abraham or Sarah puppet. The lifelike puppet would usually represent something that the person does or enjoys - for example, you may dress up the Abraham puppet as a musician if they play an instrument.

Unfortunnaly I didn't find out about Abraham until the night before Jos' birthday - however, we will be celebrating Jos' birthday with family and friends together with a housewarming party later in the year, so I will have my chance then.

A shot of Jos with his cake last year (Maddy made this cake):

And this year:

They say that you start to degenerate after turning 50, as evidenced by this photo:

We had a small celebration for Jos' birthday - attended by 3 others - not enough people to celebrate a monumental occasion, but we will make up for this with a large party later in the year.  Jos received some wonderful gifts and wishes from family and friends from here and overseas, and there was only one thing missing on the day - his family in Holland, who were never far away from his thoughts.

Now for A few Christmas shots:

Oscar joining the presents under the Christmas tree:

Jasper wanting to hide from it all:

Christmas 2010 will be a little more exciting, with a few guests joining us from Holland (and maybe Queensland?).  They have even announced this at our local shopping centre, do you know who will be joining us?

And last but not least, more photos of our house.  Remember my blog last December?  The builder managed to complete the house to lock up as promissed.  This week they will be installing plaster.  He told us we will be in our house by April:

Guest bathroom:

Ensuite spa bath

Happy New Year to all of our family and friends, near and far....