Another Milestone

Today we were pleased to be finally finished with the old house. On Monday we had handed in our keys and the cleaning certificates, and today, Wednesday, we got most of our security deposit back (minus a bit for cat-related "incidents" on the rugs! We are almost as pleased as the cockatoo who is playing "King of the Mountain" on our house!

Cockatoos at Play

The cockatoos are so funny, displaying their yellow crests to each other and hanging at odd angles in the trees. They are an absolute fixture at the house - we see them every day.

Bar & Music Room

We set up a "music and booze" room just off the kitchen, for entertaining. It's great to have all the bar stuff in one place! The 42 Below vodka is from New Zealand - I highly recommend the honey flavor...

Denali is an Action Cat!

Denali has been a lot of fun to have around. She makes the other cats all more playful (even the Angel of Death!)...

Before & After: Kitchen

The kitchen was good to get organised - there is plenty of space for things. The island has great pot drawers on the far side. The art on the wall on the left is by Sydney artist Fiona Cross.

Before & After: Living Room

Here are before and after shots of the living room. It is such a great open space. This day there were TONS of cockatoos on the railings on the porch, and the cats were going CRAZY! I just love the triangular windows near the ceiling.



Here is Denali, admiring the Chinese scroll poem Tim brought back from Beijing. The Four Seasons scrolls are on the far wall by the hallway, to the right of the small cabinet holding our Maori weapons, vases and other souvenirs from New Zealand.

Before & After: Guest Bedroom

Here we have the guest room all waiting to receive visitors! The view is into the backyard.

Before & After: Master Bedroom

Here is our master bedroom, with the great bed Rod designed and also the lovely marriage crane scroll Tim brought back from China.

Nancy is so pleased with it all she can't wait to go to sleep!

Boxes, boxes, boxes

Here we have lovely "before" and "after" shots of the move. Luckily within a few days almost all the boxes upstairs in the main floor of the house had been unpacked. The boxes in the basement, including 80 boxes of books (small red boxes pictured) will be unpacked last.

Moving Furniture - Professional

Today we had the MiniMovers removalist company come and move all the big stuff out of the old house into the new house. They work by the hour and are super-efficient. They were very careful and nothing got broken.

More Cockatoos!

The flock of cockatoos in the front yard keeps increasing! There are about 18 in this photo, including some in the trees...

More Birds in Yard!

Today we had more cockatoos on the main feeder and a great butcher bird on the porch!

Moving Furniture - Nonprofessional

Today we rented a truck, and with the help of Tim's friend Siri, we moved our bed and a few smaller bits of furniture over to the house. We also moved our new sofas over to the new house from downtown, and picked up coffee table to match! Here you see the cats on the new items...

Nancy Scoots to Karana Downs

Today I woke up at 5am to drive the scooter to Karana Downs in a minimum of traffic. It was great fun! The drive was really pretty, past lots of farms. My cool big retro sunglasses worked great for the drive. Next time we go to the scooter shop I'm going to pick up some gloves (is hard on hands, esp. on long drives...).

The cockatoos were amazingly fearless as I scooted down our rather steep driveway...

Many Birds in the Yard Already

One of the first things we did was buy some bird seed, so that we could start feeding the birds and see what kind of birds we'd get. These are King Parrots, usually a forest bird so a good bird for a backyard. The males have a red head, the females are all green.

Cats Arrive at the New House!

Here are the cats arriving at the new house. We picked up our new Maine Coon cat, Denali, at the breeders en route to the new house, so that all of the cats could be introduced to the new house at once (minus Zamboni, who is still in isolation for his radiation at the vet's).

Cats Find High Hiding Places

While Angel immediately strutted around like she owned the place, Gromit & Audubon kept an eye on things from a lofty position for the first few days...

Denali Settles In

Denali was fairly well accepted by the other cats, even Angel. Although she spent the first day pretty much holed up in this lovely cat tree, by the second day she was out and about and exploring her environment. She has a sweet personality and loves to bat around small mouse toys.

We buy a SCOOTER!

Today is settlement day for the new house, and while our lawyers are busy with the paperwork Tim and I were busy spending whatever money we had that didn't go towards the house! First, we bought a 50cc scooter, a retro version called "the Milan" in a cool two-tone pistachio green and tan combo. Don't you think Tim looks a bit like Audrey Hepburn?

We also bought a pair of Corbusier carmel leather 2 1/2 seater sofas - very chic!

Tim rides the scooter home

Tim rode the scooter home, in rush hour traffic - very brave!

Pre-Settlement Walk-through

Today was the presettlement walk-through of our new home! Tim and I, plus the real estate agent, checked everything out and were pleased. The cockatoos can't wait for us to move in and start feeding them!

Zamboni Goes for Radiation Treatment!

Today Zamboni went for his radiation treatment (radioactive iodine) for his hyperthyroid condition. He will spend 2 weeks in a concrete bunker under the vet clinic while he is radioactive, then spend the last week in semi-isolation. By the time he is ready to come home, we'll be in the new house!

Signing Mortgage

Today we went to the bank to sign the mortgage. Our bank is the UQ branch of the Australia-New Zealand Bank, and they have been very nice throughout, even taking nearly a point off the rates because we are UQ employees.

New Bar for the New House!

Today we went down to the Gold Coast to look for some furniture for the new house. We were particularly after a funky bar, and found this great 1960's bar with copper inserts in the front. Angel thinks it's very cool....

St. Kilda, Melbourne

Today I flew to Melbourne for a meeting in a seaside suburb called St. Kilda. There was great shopping and nice cafes. Luna Park, which is like the Australian version of Coney Island, is also there.

Unhelpful Cats!

Zamboni and Gromit have not been helpful at packing boxes...

New Cat Tree!

We bought those silly cats a new cat tree - I think it will enhance the decor of the new house!

Looking Very Stylish

Audubon looks very stylish on the new cat tree...

Tim's New Office!

Tim now has an official office in the UQ business school!

Ready for the New Semester

Tim already has one PhD student to help with, and is doing lectures in several courses in Semester 1. He will get two full courses to teach in Semester 2. This is good, because then in Semester 1 he can focus on getting papers from his PhD published.