Renovation: halfway there!

So our renovations started beginning of August and is scheduled to end 30 November. I want to share some pics of the chaos, and hopefully give you a sense of the progress.

Here is what I came home to after the olympics trip:

Front garden (there used to be a wall, and large bushes and palm trees)

Front wall of the house, they removed a large window and half of the old kitchen.

View of the old kitchen through the hole in the outside wall. Two internal walls were removed, the window that you see in the back was in the domestic quarters which we're removing and replacing with a flatlet.

This shows you from another angle the removal of the internal walls. To the left of this picture is the other side of the old kitchen's back wall, and you can see the window from the previous pic on the left in the one below. This was take standing in the lounge, looking at the space for the new kitchen. Remember this picture, I'll refer back to it below:

Then slightly to the right, the existing patio. There used to be a bar counter with a mirror in the opening behind it, fridge and sink in that recess. The recess will get bricked up and turned into a storeroom at the back.

Same view of the patio, from a different angle:

 

On to a week later. More breaking at the front:

Foundations dug for the extention of the patio (since about half of the old patio will become the new kitchen):

Bricking up the bar recess:

New bay in the old kitchen (new playroom), and the room is split in 2 with a new interior wall to create a pantry:

Then chaos struck. The roof over the old patio, dining room and domestic quarters was horrid and not to code, so we had to remove it. Massive extra cost but no choice, so there you have it. The risk of renovating an older house, I suppose.

So here is the same view that I showed you before of the new kitchen space, but without a roof:

To the right of that, the patio space with bricked up recess and existing gas braai, but no roof. See the old extention that was done on this wall? The clay bricks are the originals, grey bricks done on top of that. This caused more problems which I'll tell you about in a moment.

Oh, I haven't yet showed you the new flatlet. Here it is, or at least the walls. At the left of the pic you see the back of the wall in the previous picture:

From the front of the house, flatlet to the left, looking through the open door to the kitchen/patio.

 

And of course the more chaos struck. The extention that was previously done (when the faulty roof was put over the old patio) was really poorly built, so much that the walls can't carry the new roof. So the patio now looks like this:

We are about 25% over budget, so the surprises have to stop soon or we'll be in deep trouble! Hopefully my next post will be about progress, not chaos.

 

Posted with Blogsy

International conference: Check!

So one item from my new year's resolutions list is done: I presented a paper at an international conference! I want to share some pics from the trip with you, and will soon - but in the meantime this is a heads-up that there is one official tick on my list of new year's resolutions.

The conference was the 2012 Johns Hopkins ACG risk adjustment in healthcare conference - a mouthful, I know. And phenomenally interesting. It was my first visit to the States, I loved every minute and would love to go back for a proper holiday at some point.

So tell me in the comments if you're still sticking to your new year's resolutions?

March update

Yes, this year is hectic. My last post was a quick update, supposed to be followed by more details, and yet it's a month later and I'm back to post another quick update.

And it's not just me. Everywhere I go people are complaining that the year is more hectic than they thought possible, that time is flying by too quickly. Maybe the Mayans were right about how time speeds up until the end of 2012.

So let me get right into it. On my new year's resolutions I'm doing OK, actually.

The ones that are going well are:
Weight loss: I've lost 4 kg so far, not a whole lot but it's going well and I'm still on track.
Be up to date on the news: My new iPhone helps a whole lot here, and do know what's going on much more than last year.
Write a paper for a professional conference: There's a decent chance that I'm going to an international conference in May to present 3 papers (one of which I'll have to write myself) - so this is on track.
Bake more: I've had to revise this resolution. For my weight loss goal I've been tracking calories and now I realise how many calories baked goods have! So I haven't done great on baking. What I've done instead is to take up 2 new hobbies: Sewing and crocheting. I absolutely love both, I'm not really good at it but I've made a few dresses for each of my girls and I've crocheted baby hats for my pregnant friends. It's fun and relaxing and not very expensive, and as a bonus I don't gain weight when I do it. So watch this space for some pics of my creations (although don't hold your breath, it might be a week or 4 before I get around to it).

Then the ones that I still need to improve on:
Exercise: This has been tricky, just to find the time. I have done one 10k race in February, but I had to walk basically all of it so clearly I've lost some momentum since 2011. I know I just need to get back in the habit but somehow tomorrow always seems like a better day to start than today. So that one is still up in the air.
Take more pictures: I have done a bit more than usual, my new phone helps but I'm not really in the new habit yet.
Advanced driving course: I've actually forgotten about this. But it's still a good plan.

In other news: Our building plans are making progress. We spoke to 5 builders in the last few weeks and they're all supposed to get their quotes to us by this time next week, so we're hoping for a few good ones. The builders all come highly recommended, and I would actually be happy to work with any of them. I just hope we can afford it!

So there you have it. I'm going to try to be back soon, I want to show you the dresses I've made!

How can it be February already?!?

Wow. We're a month into 2012, and I haven't gotten used to the idea of 2012 yet. That was quick.

Anyway - a quick update (I'll try to write more over the weekend).

Things that are new in my life:
1. I have a new boss.

This bomb was dropped on me in my first week back after Christmas holidays, and hard to deal with because my old boss is such an awesome person. I learnt so much from her, she's a wonderful person and a fantastic manager and leader. We had awesome discussions about pretty much anything, and she's one of very few outspoken Christians in my area so that was very special.

She's not leaving the company, but she's moving on to doing things that she absolutely loves and I'm happy for her. She's also agreed to remain my mentor so that's FANTASTIC.

And as it turns out, my new boss is also awesome. We had a fantastic chat earlier in the week about my plans for the year and his ideas and thoughts for the area and we're very much in sync. So work-wise, I'm in a really good place, unexpectedly.

2. I am on a diet

Can you believe it? I'm actually (for the moment) following through on that resolution. What makes it really easy right now is the Myfitnesspal app - I'm logging everything I eat and it makes it much easier to make good food choices. I'm also exercising, and it's going well.

And the myfitnesspal app comment leads me right to:

3. I have a new phone

Finally! My previous phone was stolen 8 months ago and I've been making do with a very old borrowed phone from a friend. I'm grateful for the loan, because buying a new phone off the rack would have been very expensive, but WOW it's great to finally have a new one! It's the iPhone 4S and I love it! My first non-Nokia phone, and I'm never going back.

4. I started a new hobby: I'm sewing!

I used to sew my own clothes way back before I started working, but life kinda got in the way. Right now though I've realised that I need to have a creative hobby of some sort, and if I stick to baking the diet will never work out. So I've started making clothes for the kids again - will post a picture or two in a future post. It's great, I'm saving money and the kids feel spoilt so it's all good.

That's it in a nutshell, I think. Happy February, everyone!

Quick update

It's been a while since I've had a chance to write, and right now I'm pretty swamped too, but here's a quick update.

Johannesburg is in the middle of a heatwave, so I have no energy, and our swimming pool isn't ready for swimming yet. Sigh. At least it's much, much better - it's now a cloudy blue instead of deep green, so all Hanno's efforts have at least paid off. Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be able to take a swim (of course by then the heatwave will probably be over too).

Most of my free time is going into preparations for Jana's party over the weekend. Watch this space for pictures! The very very very bad news is that we're expecting rain, and the party is at our home which doesn't have that many options for indoor play. How do you entertain 20 kids under 7 without letting them play outside?! We rented a jumping castle and we have a trampoline and jungle gym in the back yard, which was supposed to be enough to keep the little ones entertained. Now it looks like we need to find a plan B. Any suggestions?

Of course Hanno is out of town again - I almost want to say "as usual" by now. It's been every second week for the last decade (at least that's what it feels like). Plus the moment he is physically more than 100 km from Johannesburg, the kids fall ill. It's amazing - it's like he's the immune system equivalent of an amber necklace, and just by being here he keeps them healthy. Then he leaves, and the kids fall ill. Today it's Jana's turn, with a tummy ache and headache and mild fever. I just hope she shakes it off before the party, otherwise it's REALLY going to be a disaster.

So in between arranging doctors visits and creating sugarpaste flowers in a Tinkerbell colour scheme, I'm trying to finish off some urgent work so that I can go on leave for Thursday and Friday. The fun never stops!