I am writing this from...
...home! Not a holiday apartment, but home!
We moved in on Wednesday; however it wasn't without it's share of drama. More on that later...
...home! Not a holiday apartment, but home!
We moved in on Wednesday; however it wasn't without it's share of drama. More on that later...
So, apart from the main mission that was finding a place to live, we seem to have been out and about quite a bit (and poor T is trying to work as well - cue some late nights from him.)
Our new place was unfurnished; therefore buying furniture was high on the cards, mainly a bed and something to sit on; the rest we could sort out later. We also needed to buy a fridge. Seeing one we liked, we nearly ordered it but then remembered the cove in the kitchen had looked pretty small, so we asked the agent if we could return to the apartment and measure up. It was a good job we did this as the fridge we liked was 70cm wide...and the gap was...70cm wide. Rethink the fridge strategy. But we found one, in the end, after many more hours of searching of fridges on the internet. I can safely say fridge searching is as exciting as it sounds...
In addition to the fridge, we were looking for a bed which we could use for the next few months until our belongings arrive from Montreal, and which could then go into the spare room as a bed for guests.
We thought about a futon, but it proved to be pretty hard to find a place in Sydney; they all seemed to be based in Melbourne. We found a couple of suppliers but one didn't have the bed we wanted in stock, and on further enquiry wouldn't be getting anymore in. The other futon supplier wouldn't be able to ship one out for a couple of weeks.
In one of the many furniture stores we went to we thought we had found an ideal sofa bed but then discovered it wouldn't be delivered until mid August!
Our new place was unfurnished; therefore buying furniture was high on the cards, mainly a bed and something to sit on; the rest we could sort out later. We also needed to buy a fridge. Seeing one we liked, we nearly ordered it but then remembered the cove in the kitchen had looked pretty small, so we asked the agent if we could return to the apartment and measure up. It was a good job we did this as the fridge we liked was 70cm wide...and the gap was...70cm wide. Rethink the fridge strategy. But we found one, in the end, after many more hours of searching of fridges on the internet. I can safely say fridge searching is as exciting as it sounds...
In addition to the fridge, we were looking for a bed which we could use for the next few months until our belongings arrive from Montreal, and which could then go into the spare room as a bed for guests.
We thought about a futon, but it proved to be pretty hard to find a place in Sydney; they all seemed to be based in Melbourne. We found a couple of suppliers but one didn't have the bed we wanted in stock, and on further enquiry wouldn't be getting anymore in. The other futon supplier wouldn't be able to ship one out for a couple of weeks.
In one of the many furniture stores we went to we thought we had found an ideal sofa bed but then discovered it wouldn't be delivered until mid August!
It helped us that the winter (pah!) sales were on, and the price of items were reduced; although it didn't mean there were necessarily things we liked in the sales.
It has mostly been day after day, chock-a-block full with more of the same old getting set up.
We did manage to sneak away from all the mayhem and take some public transport to the city:
We did manage to sneak away from all the mayhem and take some public transport to the city:
It was one of those weeks where we seemed to spend a whole lot of time looking at things, hour upon hour searching on the internet for the best price, afternoons walking around furniture stores; but had nothing to show for it: no furniture bought. By Monday lunchtime I was starting to wonder if we would have anything to put in our new place.
On Tuesday however, it all came together nicely. The fridge and TV were bought and booked to be delivered the following day. The bed (we finally found a solution in a single bed with a pull out single bed underneath it, making either a double or two single beds) would be delivered Wednesday (which seemed to be the day for delivery in our suburb). The sofa, we had resigned ourselves to buy at a later stage, but we called back into a shop where we had seen one in the window...and bought it there and then! As it was in the sale and was the one on the shop floor, we could get it delivered the following day - result!
Whilst this buying/searching was going on, we had a little panic on Monday: two days before our move date, when the letting agent phoned.
"There's a slight problem about Wednesday."
Our new apartment is on the top floor of a two story building. You walk down some steps from the road and then across a kind of walk-way path to reach our door. Not sure I am describing this the best way, hopefully a picture will help:
"There's a slight problem about Wednesday."
Our new apartment is on the top floor of a two story building. You walk down some steps from the road and then across a kind of walk-way path to reach our door. Not sure I am describing this the best way, hopefully a picture will help:
The builders are in the middle of re-tiling this walkway; and said they were waterproofing the path on Wednesday and therefore no one could walk on it...
Darn, to say it mildly:
The holiday apartment we were in was only available until Wednesday.
We wanted to get Albie out of the cattery as soon as possible.
The fridge was being delivered - on Wednesday.
The bed was being delivered - on Wednesday.
The sofa was being delivered - on Wednesday.
The internet/phone was being set up - on Wednesday.
We knew for a fact the next delivery day for the bed was Saturday, and weren't sure of the other things, but still, it was less than convenient; it would be more expensive for an extra night accommodation for both us and Albie, especially annoying as we were paying for the apartment from the Wednesday...
All in all it wasn't possible. We needed to be in on Wednesday.
The agent gave us the key on Monday so we could move some of our stuff over whilst the path was still in it's dry state; thinking the less people needed to walk on the pathway on Wednesday the better. We returned with a car load of belongings on Tuesday evening only to find the path roped off and a soft and sticky coated path.
Our stomachs lurched with panic - would it be dry by the following morning?!! (That was if the builder gave in, too.)
Bless the letting agent, she fought hard over the phone with the builder, even threatening to go and stand at the path opening at 7am and prevent the builders from starting the work; and at 5:10pm on the Tuesday evening he finally relented and agrees to put off the waterproofing work until Thursday.
Phew!
We had an itinerary worked out for Wednesday:
Go and collect Albie from cattery (an hours drive away). Be back by 9.30-10am. Bed delivered after 11am. Internet and phone installed in the afternoon. Fridge we would get a call at 6.30am to say when and bed...well who knew, sometime on Wednesday.
We got a call at 6.30am on Wednesday.
"We'll be delivering the fridge at 9am."
Aargh. that messed up the plan more than a little! They had no room for manoeuvre for that day, but they could deliver it the following day. Tempting, we could live without a fridge for 24 hours, but then we remembered our deal with the builder - no walking on the path on Thursday, which meant no deliveries, which meant rethinking our plan of action.
So we moved a car load of things from the holiday apartment to our new apartment (our belongings had expanded somewhat...), had a check over of the apartment, then the fridge came.
As soon as the deliver men were out of the door, we hopped in the car and went to the cattery. Halfway there and we got a call from the sofa people.
"We'll be there at 11am."
Seeing as we were 20 mins from the cattery, and it was 10;10am there was no way we could be back for them.
After some deliberation, they said they could make 11.30am.
It would be a close call, but 11.30am it had to be.
A few minutes later we got another call.
"We're standing outside your front door with the bed."
Oh.
Unlike the sofa people, we didn't have to pay them the delivery charge in person, so we were able to tell them to leave the bed outside against the front door.
Go and collect Albie from cattery (an hours drive away). Be back by 9.30-10am. Bed delivered after 11am. Internet and phone installed in the afternoon. Fridge we would get a call at 6.30am to say when and bed...well who knew, sometime on Wednesday.
We got a call at 6.30am on Wednesday.
"We'll be delivering the fridge at 9am."
Aargh. that messed up the plan more than a little! They had no room for manoeuvre for that day, but they could deliver it the following day. Tempting, we could live without a fridge for 24 hours, but then we remembered our deal with the builder - no walking on the path on Thursday, which meant no deliveries, which meant rethinking our plan of action.
So we moved a car load of things from the holiday apartment to our new apartment (our belongings had expanded somewhat...), had a check over of the apartment, then the fridge came.
As soon as the deliver men were out of the door, we hopped in the car and went to the cattery. Halfway there and we got a call from the sofa people.
"We'll be there at 11am."
Seeing as we were 20 mins from the cattery, and it was 10;10am there was no way we could be back for them.
After some deliberation, they said they could make 11.30am.
It would be a close call, but 11.30am it had to be.
A few minutes later we got another call.
"We're standing outside your front door with the bed."
Oh.
Unlike the sofa people, we didn't have to pay them the delivery charge in person, so we were able to tell them to leave the bed outside against the front door.
We arrived at the cattery and picked up Albie. After a month apart, it was so good to have him back! He seemed pretty pleased to see us too - I had feared he would either be so fuming about us leaving him he would choose not to acknowledge us, or his ordeal would have meant he just didn't remember us.
But as soon as he heard our voices he was out of his bed, loudly expressing his delight (well, I will tell myself it was delight, and not a string of expletives...)
But as soon as he heard our voices he was out of his bed, loudly expressing his delight (well, I will tell myself it was delight, and not a string of expletives...)
On the journey home from the cattery, very pushed for time, a light suddenly came on on the dashboard. Not sure what it meant but assuming it was something to do with tyre pressure, we pulled over and checked the tyres but they all looked OK. We carried on home but it was a slow and careful journey back, just when we could have done with it not being slow.
We arrived at the apartment less than five minutes before the sofa was delivered, and with a bed waiting for us, blocking the doorway.
The phone and internet were set up that afternoon, and T went to collect an office desk and chair we had found on Gumtree (like Kijiji/Craigslist etc).
Later that evening, after a clean of the apartment and the essential items unpacked (i.e. kettle!) we sat down on our comfy new sofa, exhausted but pleased to be in our own place at long last.
Time to sit and relax and enjoy a glass of champagne.
However it was not to be a relaxing evening...
Time to sit and relax and enjoy a glass of champagne.
However it was not to be a relaxing evening...