House Progress and Garden Regress

So true Marlingardener
The little bit that is still growing out of harms way sure lifts my spirits.
The Strelitzia reginae is indeed the "Bird of Paradise"
The other Strelitzia that I have and is still growing is in direct danger. It is the one with the blue and white flowers. It grows huge and is called Strelitzia nicolai. IT is right next to the house shown in the picture gutters removed above.

 

This latest group of foto's look good. That palm is doing quite well with it's new growth.
Are you well pleased with the strawbs?

 

Oh yea
Strawberries are cool. 8)
That Cycas will have to carry me through - I love it.
A few piccies for the day:





Roof and ceilings totally out. ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



The builders are busy with the preparation work for fitting the slab - putting in reinforcements, lintels, etc, fitting more windows since I am changing all the windows to small panes.

LP had a long day watching the builders closely. See:


A tired Little Pan ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



and my poor parsley bolted to seed.



Parsley seeds ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



, I need a serious breakaway and I sure am glad that I will be camping with my family this weekend. YIPPEE.
Then come Monday --- back to the dust etc.
Stay well - no update tomorrow or Sunday - sorry.

 

Oké dan Palmpie...Have a good camping get-away...and try and not think of the building site while away.
I think that you will have made a few peeps very happy with this camping trip, ja? Have you gotten everything all arranged already?

Youe watchdog looks like he very alert today. Too bad about the peterselie--I can grow it one year without it shhoting...it will live through the winter, but then no matter what I do it shoots through the second year. I like having a big ball of that stuff to pick from and freeze-in. I have found that keeping it very well-watered through the warm and dry periods will keep its tendency to shoot minimalized. Ach, you will just plant some new won't you.

 

Palm Tree, I look at your photos and I am glad you can have pics of your house major transformation. This is one thing I regretted for not having more pics when I did mine At that time digital cameras were never heard off!!!

Strawberry .... lovely!! Have a great weekend camping, a change of scene should be good!! :-D

 

Ooh disaster - my getaway weekend was terrible.

Our tent blew away. THe wind was so strong it took some of our supplies too.
But that did not stop us from camping- We camped without a tent - in the open air and made do with the little bit the wind left behind for us.
Pity though - my cellphone also blew away and So did my fotos of the weekend...
However, all things aside - the camp was a much needed break - albeit it a hair-on-the-teeth camp.

Today they started delivering the bricks for the second storey. The poor truck driver had a breakdown and she only managed to get to me at around 17:00 hours. most of the workers are away - so I will try to help her and the sidekick with the traffic arrangements since it is the time that most people come home from work.
I will be back in a while with more news.

 

Sorry to hear of you losses, I guess the camping trip must be a great experience. Just hang on in there, I am sure it is all worth it.

 

Sorry you lost your camping supplies and the photos of your camping weekend. But, your bricks are on site, progress is being made, and you are being very brave and strong (and gritting your teeth, but we won't mention that!).
I do have one suggestion--you really must teach LP how to relax! That photo of LP upside down is priceless!

 

Hello guys and gals and all gardeners.

a little good news in between:
Someone on the camp could save a few piccies since they could save their phone here are some camp fotos.



Trying to pitch the tent ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

that is hubby and son pitching the tent on the Friday evening.






Still pitching?? ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

Still Pitching anyways we got the tent up and by about 23:00 that same night the tent was no more. Hehehehe - I can laugh about it now it was really 'traumatic' but what an experience.

I figured I will patch this part also into this thread and not a blog because it was therapy for me to cope with the house progress!/?

Hi there MG - I think she was telling me in her inimitable way that she will do the worrying for me. She is such a sweet dog.

You are right KK Ng - trauma and all it was worth it - good therapy!

Woah - Ouch - you also took the trauma trip! - I can truly say that I now know what it must have been like.

 

Here are some more photos of the bricks delivery and consequent building of the pillars with those very bricks.


After the breakdown, delivery of bricks ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

This was the girls with the truck when they delivered the bricks way after working hours. I must really take my hat off to them. They do have some awesome skills.




Brickies! ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

and yet more bricks






More bricks, but still not enough ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

I just hope that we ordered enough bricks to keep the builders occupied while the rest of the industry goes on annual leave.
Our builder and his crew decided not to take leave since we would like to move back into the bottom half of the house in about 4 weeks time.

 

Now I know, a refuge never grows
from a chin in the hand and a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose.
~Indigo Girls

 

WHile the huge cranes came here to hoist the precast floor slabs onto the existing structure, out bricklayer has to complete some columns. He managed quite well since we got the bricks late and he had to start 'gloriously' early to get this into place.



pillar column for staircase ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



and would you believe it - he did it with 2 hours to spare.
see: almost ready for the heavy load it has to take.


Our bricklayer at work. ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



Now it is the huge job of actually putting the floor for the second storey on since the company that manufactured the precast-floor first delivers the slabs onto site and then another crane must come in to lift and put them in place.
Another hectic day awaits...

 

Gôh Palmpie! What a tale. Life there sure is one with never a dull moment. The house seems to be progressing.
Did you folks have to off-load those bricks by hand? I have to say that when I think of brick transport, I don't think of girls doing it. Yes--hats off to them.

What a shame that there came a sort rukwind there on the campsite. It sounds like most everyone had problems as a result. Luckily no one was hurt. Could you borrow someone's cellfone to call to yours? If it was on it would ring and you would hear it and then find it.

 

O ja Sjoerd
We - or rather the girls- had an on board little crane that they use to pick up the bricks from the pallets.
A good thing because each pallet holds 1000 bricks. And there was 16 pallets.

On the phone part - I think the sea swallowed the phone.

 

Apologies - I have not kept you updated for a few days.
It has been quite hectic. THe poor builders worked right through a public holdiday here and said that that will keep on working until Christmas Eve and come back after Boxing day.



The floor slabs. ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

these are the floor slabs being delivered
the company that does the precast slab cam the Friday again with a different type of crane to hoist the slabs onto the groundfloor walls.
I must still take more piccies of those steps - (WIll have to borrow a camera.)






A hollow core floor slab. ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )



A close up of the actual slabs.



Stacking the floor slabs ( photo / image / picture from Palm Tree's Garden )

The stack of slabs is growing.