My working camping holiday in Sydney, February 2011.

Anna and Pedram have just bought a house in Sydney, so I went down for four days to see the house and help them get it ready to move in. The house has been empty for seven years, and needed a bit of work.  (Pat thought the dust and paint fumes wouldn’t do his asthma any good, so he’ll come on the next trip.)

When I arrived, they had taken out the carpets and had the floor polished, which had come out beautifully.  They had new carpets in two of the bedrooms, and were waiting for the third, which had been cut to the wrong size.  They had pulled out the kitchen, a wall and some of the bathroom, and begun painting.  Most of their furniture and other worldly goods were stacked in the garage and the carport.  The new toilet had been installed, but could not be used for another day, so creative alternative measures were required.  They were still staying with Pedram’s parents, so I was the first person to sleep there, on a mattress on the floor, being warned that the painter would arrive very early in the morning.

 

Here is the house. with the builder on a ladder fixing the guttering.

 

Here is the house, plus the house next door.

 

Here are the next two houses, at the end of the cul de sac. which are a bit fancier.

 

Here is the house over the road. where Pat and Graham live.

 

The painter was very generous with his advice and his praise, and soon had us all painting like pros (but not as fast as he was.)

 

Anna masking the new carpet, in preparation for painting.

 

This is where the old kitchen came out.  Anna was standing on this chair. painting the window, when one of the chair legs slipped down the sink drain hole in the floor, hidden by the drop sheet.  It was a very spectacular crash, but fortunately she survived, and was even able to hold a paintbrush again.  You can see how nicely the floor has come up.  The crossway strip is where the wall was removed, and this was later covered by an island bench when the new kitchen was installed.

At this point, the uninstalled dishwasher in the middle of the kitchen was one of the few horizontal surfaces in the house which wasn’t the floor, so lots of things were always being put on it. 

 

The Valentine’s Day flowers.                                                                                                               Pedram managed to find a vase for the tulips, but the roses had to go into a tennis ball container.  And they both had to go onto the floor.

 

This fridge in the garage was where we kept our food while I was there.  Anna had put the bananas on the bench, but one night a possum came in and ate them, so after that we kept everything in the fridge.

 

Back door.

 

Back yard.

 

Along the back fence is a tall camellia hedge, which is just coming into bud.  We will have to come down when the camellias are flowering.  There is also the potential for a flourishing vege garden along the side fence.

 

Laundry door and ramp, on the other side of the house.  There is some potential for Pat’s gardening skills here.  You can also see the new hot water system, which stopped working the day after I arrived, so Anna was beginning her work days very briskly.

 

  The suburb is very leafy and beautiful, abounding with kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets.  There was often a kookaburra sitting on the power line or clothesline, and you could hear them laughing all day long.

 

This is the first toilet suite in Australia to receive a 5 star water rating.  When you flush, water automatically comes out of the tap in the attached hand basin, letting you wash your hands very thoroughly before the same water fills the cistern.  The toilet was a great attraction for all the tradesman and anyone else who came to the house.  For more info about this toilet (developed in collaboration with Brisbane City Council!) please see

http://www.savewater.com.au/products/Caroma_Profile_Toilet_Suite_with_Integrated_Hand_Basin

 

My special project.                                                                                                                                 This built-in wardrobe was originally a dark stained wood, and my job was to paint it white.  Pedram bought some special European stain-killing undercoat, but although I sanded it thoroughly (very thoroughly – the clouds of varnish floating through the air could be seen up and down the street) as the undercoat dried, in places it  would shrink, leaving a crazy dark brown pattern showing through.  You can see this in the small top left door here.  It did look better after I applied the top coat, but I left before that had dried, so I hope the top coat hasn’t shrunk as well!

 

Drying the cupboard drawers in the carport.

 

Kitchen day!                                                                                                                                   Everything has been taken out of the old kitchen in readiness, and everything has even been taken off the dishwasher (and put on the floor some where.)  The Coke bottles belong to the workmen.  It must have given them energy, as they were still working when we went out at 7pm.

 

The specially designed corner unit coming in the front door.  It just fitted.

 

Kyle working on the kitchen, in the front yard.

 

The kitchen going in.

 

Between them, the painter and the kitchen boys had a lot of stuff.

 

The new kitchen is in!                                                                                                                                   Of course nothing is connected, tiled, painted or works yet, but this is really exciting progress!

 

Korean barbecue.

Anna and Pedram fed me magnificently while I was in Sydney.  This was a Korean barbecue; we also went to a sushi restaurant, the local bistro, and had an Iranian dinner at Pedram’s sister’s house.

 

Pat’s old flat, St Leonard’s.

One day, I went to Milson’s point where I met up with my Flickr friend Margaret, and we had a seriously splendid lunch at a very smart fish restaurant there.  (The liqueur dessert was magnificent and nearly ruined my afternoon painting session.)  To get to Milson’s Point, I took a bus to St Leonard’s, then a train.  Opposite St Leonard’s station is the flat where Pat lived in 1968 (I think), when he was working for the PMG at North Sydney.  It’s the one in the middle of the white building, with the two square windows.  That’s over 40 years ago!

 

Harbour Bridge from Milson’s Point train station.

 

Goodbye Sydney!  Can’t wait to see the changes to the house when we come back again.