Day 138 - Theories of comfort

Learning the ins and outs of each component of the house often involves getting my head around lots of theories and finding the one that suits best. None more so than the air conditioning, as I had arranged three meetings to go through the house and get assessments on how to solve the problem of comfort. The theories range from unit size to the ducting configurations and where the outlets and return is situated. I think I have my head around it all now and am comfortable enough to proceed!

Day 137 - Personally tailored

I wear the normal business attire or uniform depending on your point of view, a suit. It gets quite a work out as I fill my pockets with all sorts of things including my wallet, phone, sunglasses, stylus, door pass and shrapnel. So when the buttons of my jacket worked loose I attribute it to the stuff in the pockets rather than an expanding waistline. Tonight I decided it was finally time for a long delayed repair. As we were at my parents place for dinner, I took advantage of my mother's extensive range of threads and needles and set to work.

Day 136 - Measuring lateness

I have concocted a theory for predicting what time my colleagues arrive at work. Here's how it works: the office has an underground car park that consists of three levels. Level one fills up pretty early, it is usually full by 8:30am. The next option, level two fills its quota by 9:00am, which leaves level three to pick up the late comers. So when going home in the afternoon observing who gets out of the lift at each floor is a key indicator of how late or early they were. Completely useless information I know, but I have to pass the time in the lifts somehow.

Day 135 - Work by night

With unresolved design issues at work, my day turned out to go for a little longer than I had anticipated. This isn't the first time this has occurred, however this is the first time I decided to stop the car and get out for a photo opportunity. I think as a rule of thumb, interesting photos often contain repetition. I guess the is because it provides an easy way to observe depth and also a break in repetition can provide a point of interest. What do you think?

Day 134 - An arty mum

Today is Mother's Day so to celebrate Dani, dad and I took mum to see the Archibalds. Dad provided his expert critical assessment of each entrant much to mum and Dani's amusement. It was the ideal venue as mum is also very arty too, she has talents that shine through in much of her arts and crafts. But generally mum likes getting out and about with her family, which means a lot to her. Dani, dad and I were happy to oblige.

Day 133 - DIY stairs Part 2

Today was the practise to my theory of Day 110.  The timber was delivered on Friday so we were ready for Saturday morning... well not really as we first realised we didn't have all the tools we needed, so after a couple of trips to Bunnings we were actually ready.  The aim of the day was to cut out the three stringers for the staircase and install them.  We cut the first one, making templates as we went.  After lunch we had it completed and could move on to the second.  We measured both the remaining planks at the same time, we cut out the second to only be beaten by daylight before the third.  I can see this becoming a serial post, but so far stairs are not as hard to make as one would think ;-)

Day 132 - We ate

Another week and yet another photo of my dinner.  I've decided to challenge myself for next week and no photos will be taken from home.  So the usual procedure of taking a photo of something after I realised I've failed in my mission to take a photo during the day's activities will be banned ... this may require some forethought and planning. For the record the basil and lemon baked chicken on a bed of gonzola and polenta wasn't too bad either :-)

Day 130 - Choice of options

We had two options. After a very long search last week I thought I had our tap selection sorted by a minor compromise on design. Dani and I drove to Camperdown to check out their wares. We looked and decided to discuss our options over lunch. When we got back ready to buy the busyness of the store hadn't subsided, so when we ran out of time, we decided to come back another day. This proved fortuitous as a latter discussion with my plumber revealed a better supplier allowing us to go with the better option with all the design details. Today they were delivered and look great and will look even better assembled... trust me :-)

Day 129 - Dreams for sale

I'm not really a gambler by nature, my lotto entries are sporadic at best. But what I do like about buying lottery tickets is the harmless dreams that I attach to them. It's never an obsession, but thinking about what to do with such fortune is well worth the cost of four games. Did we win? No, of course not; I'll console myself in the thought that thinking about an experience can often be more rewarding than the actual event.

Day 128 - Hording vindicated

When time eventually came to upgrade my computer I kept the old parts, thinking I couldn't possibly throw this away. They occupied a place in the study wardrobe gathering dust and rarely seeing daylight. When a colleague described to me his computer's woes I had the solution. The parts were a bit dodgy as the PC in its final days, but they were free. After implantation into a new system, it brought another PC back to life and my decision for keeping old outdated stuff was vindicated!

Day 127 - Falling leaves

With autumn now upon us, the trees are starting to turn into brilliant reds and yellows as the leaves transform before they fall to the surrounding ground. Driving past these trees adds some colour to my usual route, in this case to my folks place. Now I need to work out what species they are for our garden, although on second thoughts I'm not sure I'm so keen on raking all those leaves up.

Day 126 - Energetic thoughts

The weekend was dedicated to energy of the electrical kind. I've been poring through information for photovoltaic panels, power sockets, light switches and downlights. The results was a electrical circuit plan for the house which features almost 100 LED lights (downlights operate in gangs) and a way forward to ensure that we don't end up paying for their usage in the long term by using solar panels. The photo is of the desk lamp where I was sitting for most of the day compiling the information and a reminder of how dependent on electrons we all are.

Day 125 - An evening in

No we're not out every night, but we're often busy either surfing the net, reading, house planning or keeping up with our weekly television series or sports viewing. So when I refer to an evening in, I am writing about being at home in the body and mind sense. With a cup of tea in hand, relaxing together is the ideal way to finish the working week.

Day 124 - Low flying

Whenever I've seen these little helicopters in shopping centres, being flown past my head maneuvering for a sale, I've held back. While at my desk a couple of weeks ago I succumbed and ordered this unit on eBay. It is controlled by my iPhone, however the word control is over estimating its capabilities or my skill. My garage became my flying field and I proceeded to acclimatise to the aircraft when the first blade shattered. After fitting the replacement blade, I did some further low level flying along the floor until the battery ran dry - it had survived its first outing. I don't envisage this device lasting long :-)

Day 123 - A shattering conundrum

The glass on an iPad is the perfect surface for touch interaction, but not always the best to handle shock.  No, this is not my iPad, but my mother's.  On a trip up the north coast when unpacking in the rain it slipped, hit the tarmac and shattered.  Despite its rather broken look, it still works.  This leads to a conundrum: when to get it fixed?  To the non-iPad owner the answer may seem rather simple.  Before I joined the fold I was initially skeptical on how useful it would be, but to those who own one, being without it for an extended period of time is not a very appealing prospect.  I'm not sure what the withdrawal symptoms would be, involuntary hand motions on glass surfaces or computer monitors?  Who knows, but I will be observing ;-)

Day 122 - List writing

Early in my working career I was the list king.  At every meeting I would add my action items to my spiral-bound notepad so they could wait their turn to be completed.  I found that when something was written down, feelings of confidence and relief would be present in the air.  I don't write lists quite as enthusiastically or often as I use to, but discovered that they were a great tool for our home construction.  My project management time is pretty limited to my 7am site visit and a series of texts and phone calls throughout the day.  With a list I like to think I have a more full time presence.

Day 121 - Leftovers

With Dani and I both working, in an effort to save time we often cook four plates at a time, leaving the leftovers for the following night.  Tonight's leftovers were Japanese in origin and contained lots of good things like beef, shiitake mushrooms and tofu in a mirin and soy broth - just the thing for these cold nights we're now experiencing. 

Day 120 - Colours

Even though I've now been to more than my fair share of football matches and as was the case today, I am constantly intrigued by the supporters around me in the stand. It doesn't seem to matter if their team is winning or losing - they shout out their unqualified advice and generally get upset. This is all instantly forgotten when their team gains a try and then recalled at their next inevitable mistake. They proudly wear their colours, but I'm not sure how much they actually enjoy watching their team play. However they do exude passion, which can't be a bad thing.

Day 119 - Undercover

It had been too long since the last time Dani and I caught up with our friends Mark and Carol. Aware we were in the midst of building our new home, he suggested we meet at the building site as he was curious as to how it was coming together. They visited at an opportune time too, as the photo shows, the roof is now fully covered with the exception of the entry. Made up of a total of seven surfaces they are all the same colour of shale grey. But in the light the different angles and directions reflect the different shadows and shades, a result of the complex shape.

Day 118 - On set

While I occasionally drop Dani to work of a morning, I never get to see her in action.  This afternoon was a bit different as her work wasn't in its usual location of Parramatta, she was on set at Newington which is just up the road from where I work at Sydney Olympic Park.  Anyway enough about Sydney's geography, as Dani was calling the shots at a photo shoot at the Smart Home.  The house was set up by government agencies to promote environmental construction and was the perfect venue to top up the photo library at her work.  Dani was smart enough to let others volunteer as the talent in front of the camera as holding the positions demanded by the photographer looked painful!

Day 117 - Inside information

Since the end of the Easter school holidays, traffic has increased to new levels.  In a bid to combat the snail pace start-stop routine, I decided I would subscribe to the traffic service on my TomTom iPhone app.  I set off from work and the news was grim, delays along the M4 - nothing new.  I was then asked if I'd like to reroute to save 6 minutes, I thought who wouldn't?  So I followed the new directions through some vaguely familiar streets and rather than the wildly optimistic indicative destination time getting away, it was holding steady.  So far I was impressed - until I was told to turn onto the M2 and M7!  I usually avoid toll roads on my daily grind, but I decided to use them for the purposes of the experiment and I made it home in record time.  Now the next test is for TomTom traffic without the toll road cheats!

Day 116 - Housing around

As one might imagine and probably observe, I spend a lot of time at the construction site of our new home.  To the casual observer this photo probably looks the same as the last, so today's photo is all about the detail of change.  For those who failed to pick it, we now have a completed entry roof frame.  Unlike project homes where you can see what you're going to get, we've been waiting a while to see the house look like the drawings and today the small detail of the last roof line completed the outline of the design.  More spot-the-difference challenges next week!

Day 115 - In the deep

In a growing line-up of deep fried dishes Dani and I have served up in the last couple of weeks was this one: Chicken and Mushroom Crepes.  My brother-in-law Dale was visiting after a track day at Eastern Creek Raceway on his motorcycle, so I thought this offering would fit the bill well.  Unusually this time the early ones worked out better than the latter ones as my attention became diverted among the three-way conversation with Dani and Dale, this resulted in the crepes taking a dip in the deep for marginally too long :-)

Day 114 - A golden city

Not working in the city has the distinct advantage of being able to view it from a distance. This afternoon there was a spectacular sunset from the office window, the low lying sun was reflecting on the glass buildings of the CBD giving them a golden glow. On my way out of Sydney Olympic Park there were many other spectacular sunsets against the stadium's scaffold-like arches, which will be perfect blog fodder for another day.

Day 113 - Grounded

For those who have strayed from the post in the centre of this page and read my profile, might have noticed I've had some experience flying planes. As much fun as flying planes is, their downside is the financial burden they inflict on those at the controls. With other priorities, the flying is temporarily shelved until a future date. But I can rekindle the memories when I reach for my beverage from these cool flight instrument coasters which keeps the dream alive.

Day 112 - By candlelight

No we didn't have a blackout and our power bills are paid. Over the last couple of nights, Dani has had her candles out for some softer light and their fragrances. A closer look at the candle revealed an amazing formation of the melted wax which I thought would be a great subject matter and flex my camera's macro capabilities. The results are pretty good, but not so good for my new digital SLR camera campaign ;-)

Day 111 - Solving problems made easy

Without any previous experience, designing our home required some blind faith that problems would be solved and everything would work out. This photo is a case in point. All of these green-blue planks of wood go together to form a union between the lower floor and the upper floor. The hallway and linen cupboard didn't align to the upper floor suspended wall and I always knew this was the case and also a problem. With some thinking and some great carpentry from Glen, we found the perfectly integrated solution by creating deep reveals to the upstairs windows. There you go - not so hard after all!

Day 110 - DIY stairs

There's nothing you can't build with the aid of an instructional book. When the need for stairs in our new home came up, combined with this book and a helping hand from my dad, the solution was at hand. This is not the first DIY book I've had, many years ago I begun building a car which never reached completion. However this time the task is much simpler and therefore I hope much more achievable!

Day 109 - Garden fresh

Tonight we had our good friends Jason and Kelly over for dinner before they fly to Malta. For the starters we made a variation of the Black olive crostini with roasted capsicum and persian feta in Taste (I used bruschetta instead of Turkish bread). The garnish for this dish was basil which for the first time I was able to pick from our own garden fresh basil supplies from the backyard. Unfortunately I can't lay claim to having grown or cultivated this plant as it was liberated from my parents-in-law's garden. But what I can lay claim to is that I have managed to keep it alive for over a week!

Day 108 - Stuff

Okay I'll admit today's photo is one of those photos taken when there was nothing particularly photo worthy during the day's activities. It is of ornamental string balls which sit in a plate from Vietnam, a gift from my sister Belinda. The plate didn't quite make it back in one piece, but with some glue it was restored to its proper form. The balls have a much less interesting provenance, bought at a cheap shop while shopping with Dani. Together they sit on a shelving system my dad and I constructed which is likened to a Tetris shape and contains all sorts of ornamental items each with their own story.

Day 107 - A book report

When I was in high school, very few of my essays on the books we 'read' were not really based on having read the book. Since then I've grown into a much more eager reader - I guess the result of being able to pick the material myself. The latest book I've read is the biography of Eddie Jordan, the founder of the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team. In short, the bits about his entry into motorsport and starting his own team were extremely interesting. He revealed his and others many deals, including his roadside carpet selling days to fund his racing. The book loses its interest as he loses his team, eventually selling it to a Russian. He talks of his life after motor racing which consisted of two things: golf and an almost narcissistic account of his charity work; I found myself skimming those chapters. For the F1 fan, worth the read: 3.5 stars!

Day 106 - On show

With my mother-in-law, Sue down from Nabiac, Dani and I decided to take our mums to the Royal Sydney Easter Show. Starting early, the food halls which had all kinds of sample foods to try and others to browse was first. The adjoining hall containing the arts and crafts had us fascinated with the cake decorating - with some entries I struggled to see whether there was any cake underneath the layers or icing or not. The dogs were next, with my mum on the lookout for dachshunds and Sue seeking border collies. What we found were these huge deer hounds that made friends with Sue. Dani had prepared lunch for us which was delish and gave us energy for the last journey to the sheep barns for the fashion shows. Well almost last, we needed to checkout the show bags!

Day 105 - Dani gets a tattoo

A little more than a month ago Dani and I saw the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. We both walked out very impressed with the screen version which lead Dani to read the book. Dani is an avid reader and when she gets going the book doesn't last long, so much so that her pile of books to read is much less towering than mine.

Day 104 - Snack stash

As dinner is often served at around 8pm, to take the edge off my hunger when I arrive home and to satisfy my chocolate addiction, I have this stash in the cupboard. When picking from the box, I always cherry pick my favorites, which leaves the bottom of the barrel filled with those slightly less desirable varieties waiting for for their turn when supplies become dwindled.

Day 103 - A side view

Another morning and another visit to the house. Pre-house I used to rise at 7am, the building industry on the other hand start at 7am. This has made me an early riser to get onsite when their work begins and before my work starts. This morning when I arrived I was earlier than my carpenter, so took the opportunity to capture this photo. As we are building on a corner, we have two frontages. This is the secondary front of our home which shows the more 'conventional' side of our design, a kind-of pitched roof (with the previously posted butterfly roof in between) visible on the left. It is starting to look less warehouse-like and more home-like.

Day 102 - Wanting cake and eating it too

When we visit my parents for dinner, my dad often makes provisions for dessert. While Dani and my mother try and limit my serving with my health in mind, he always encourages me to indulge. In the face of these two opposing views, I decided to side with him :-) Tonight he had cake. Expecting his more common offering of a Woolies sponge with jam and cream, I was pleasantly surprised to discover he had baked a cake for us. It was so good that it was looking like for once I wouldn't be alone for seconds!

Day 101 - There are instructions?

I used to lug around an SLR camera, but as it got older the resolution became less impressive. Its replacement was this, a Panasonic Lumix LX5. It's hardly in the same category but my requirements had changed too, it was for our honeymoon so I didn't want the mass therefore a manual compact camera was the answer. The problem is that I have never read the instructions so when the flash wouldn't function I was stuck. So after having downloaded the manuals and deciding they were too long, I did a google and found the answer :-)

Day 100 - My Colorbond moment

The television commercial where the guy runs out to get the paper in his undies and then gets stuck standing outside, mesmerised by his Colorbond roof makes complete sense to me. Often when I visit our building site on my way home from work, I take great pleasure just standing there gazing at the progress of our new home. It allows me to take it all in and forget the trials that go with it and appreciate why we are taking this path to build. Fortunately I am far more appropriately dressed so it doesn't end with an embarrassing moment like the ad.

Day 99 - Easter food groups

I have no idea what the cultural significance of hot cross buns are, but fortunately ignorance does not matter when eating them. This Easter we are visiting Dani's parents, Bob and Sue and they have generously provided all the vital Easter food groups of chocolate and buns. At this stage as I write this I am behind on my chocolate intake for the day - fortunately the day is young!

Day 98 - A following friend

At Nabiac for the Easter break without my usual Lumix LX-5 camera, I ventured down the gully with the aim to capture my photo for the day with my iPhone. As usual, an inquisitive Tiffany followed me down. She must think that she is very photogenic as she pushes herself into most of the photographic shots. Her persistence has finally paid dividends as she is the subject of today's photo.

Day 97 - A road well travelled

Today was a return visit to Nabiac and as it was good Friday we expected a slow day with lots of traffic. I've slowed in my driving on public roads in recent years although it was clear that not all had. We had a proliferation of P Plate drivers performing lane change dodgems, one coming very close to removing the left front quarter panel off my car. In complete contrast to the Pacific Highway, the turnoff into Nabiac was a complete contrast and a welcomed change.

Day 96 - Unassuming design

Today was the last day of work before the Easter break and to mark the occasion, we were treated to a lunch at the Armory Wharf Cafe. Nestled not far from Silverwater Prison, one is surprised by the oasis that has been created at the former Army base. The cafe's architecture has so many fascinating details that all work. The most prominent one is the use of camouflage netting as a shade cloth for the outdoor patrons. Inside the roof is made from a really cool zig-zag shape and uses sash windows to allow the breeze from Parramatta river to waft through the premises. For such a cohesive and unassuming design there is much to appreciate in addition to the food.

Day 95 - Procrastinating

Tonight was our weekly dinner at the folks and when I was in the kitchen I noticed the sample jar was still in the same place as the week before. Last week was Minnie's annual visit to the vet, for a dog of 14 she has slowed in recent years but her enthusiasm for her walks and her rejection of the cat Oscar's existance hasn't changed. The vet gave her the all clear, but to be sure requested that my parents collect a sample. We joked about how this would be achieved, sticking it on the end of a stick or pursuing her with a pot in hand around the backyard. But a week later there has still been no progress.

Day 94 - Egg hunting

As we'll be spending this Easter in Nabiac, this evening we ventured to the local shops to get our Easter egg stash for our families before we go. I reckon these little rodents have been in the shops since January, Easter obviously starts earlier for some. To avoid dashed expectations, many families have different inter-gift-giving policies such as prohibition, tokens and the open choice. Families should do what's right for them, as not everyone's the same. I think in today's often individualistic world, Easter is a good excuse to put in a small effort and be a little generous. With a basket full of chocolate eggs, rabbits and cartons we were set.

Day 93 - Recipe of the week

A highlight on this week's menu was tonight's Crisp noodles with pork. Watching the dried bean vermicelli puff up within seconds in the hot oil is quite fun and in keeping with the high temperature and rapid cooking methods used in stir fries. With Dani in charge of the food prep and my efforts at the wok, we did some great team work and kept good pace. To further the asian food theme, I also got some coconut juice to go with the dish - the perfect complement.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27137/crisp+noodles+with+pork

Day 92 - Not so flash

With around the clock house construction project management, I have become very reliant on these little USB drives to store all house related files. My weapon of choice is the 4Gb USB 3.0 Corsair Flash Voyager. It has worked great having files with me wherever I am for referencing and distribution to the various trades, that is until today. When I plugged it in, I found that it was corrupted and my files were trapped. Like most people my backups have been sporadic at best, last December to be more precise. Fortunately all is not lost as I have the house budget file on my work PC and should be able to recover most files with some trick software - but it is a lesson learnt!

Day 91 - Being cultured

I must admit I had some reservations about going to an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Let's say that I read and thought there was a certain taint of formula to his productions, but not having seen them I thought an open mind was required. Dani gave some hints of her interest in the production as she loved Phantom of the Opera. Our recent anniversary was the first and therefore paper, so I gave her some tickets in paper. I've been to the Capitol Theatre once before and it has beautiful details of another era which was the ideal setting for this performance. As for the opera itself? I came away pretty impressed - I'll have to listen to Dani more often :-)

Day 90 - Butterflies for shelter

Our roof design is a complicated beast. The roofs are called skillion roofs which sounds better and more sophisticated than their other alias, a shed roof. So this afternoon when visiting the house to see the progress for the week, our roof trusses were now in place. This roof (which is the only non-skillion) covers the kitchen, bathroom and laundry and as the name implies, the large V shape is also likened to butterfly wings - hence the roof shape name is a butterfly roof. With the first floor and garage roof also completed things are moving along nicely.

Day 89 - Healthy eating

While away on the northern NSW coast we expected to find vast choices at a seafood restaurant. The meager offerings of a whole snapper didn't appeal so much.  The day after we returned home, we bought some ling fillets for this roast vegetable and baked fish dish. We had shopped, cooked and were eating by 8pm - I think that's a new efficiency record!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/4308/baked+fish+on+vegetables+low+fat

Day 88 - One for the road

Our last day of our journey is upon us and we are to head back home. After what has been a relaxing and enjoyable weekend away we decided to take one last walk up to the lighthouse after breakfast. As one would expect being on the top of a peninsula, the views are spectacular so today's photo is of the northern beaches. From this height you can see the schools of fish sheltering in the bay and the waves which look much more gentle to what they are from the ground. With this photo captured we headed back to our room to assemble our luggage and headed down the hill to the car. After heading back up the hill to fetch the car keys we were packed and on our way.