24th November

Today as I was on the way to the ferry to meet Greg on site to discuss details, I had a call from Bob who is doing the joinery. While he was drawing up the template for the bench top for the Caesarstone man, it became evident that the  pop-up exhaust would not work with the Neff cooktop which we had bought. We went through much discussion when we purchased these in Sydney several months ago. Bob was able to talk to the fellow who sold them to us and I thought the specifications would be sorted out. However, two hours later there was a call from the salesman. He was devastated and embarrassed as,  it turns out, Bob was correct and the salesman has sold us something which will not work. It took about thirty seconds to weigh up the options: send to America and get another pop-up down-draught exhaust in six months time, or buy a larger cooktop which would be on site in three days and cost "a bit more". Yes, I love cooking and a larger cooktop is not unattractive. But this is how the tab grows.
Kieran came over to see the place today while Greg was there. Our "certifier",  Norm  arrived and it was good to meet him after having formed an email connection over the past months. We solved a few small problems about storage and about uneven pillars. Greg is much more exact (anal?) about detail than I am. The most memorable thing he has done for us in the past was to organise our pantry. He had to paint the interior of the pantry and so removed the contents and then proceeded to organise the contents when he had finished. He is meticulous about things being arranged by shape and size and he is particularly concerned that some little walls in this place will not be quite plumb. I was thinking about why I don't care if things aren't straight and realised that "randomness" probably describes the state of my thinking quite well.

Together we decided that the side rail of the stairs needs to be made of glass too as it joins on the little balcony balustrade which will be made of glass. It might just cost "a little bit more". Ho hummm!

We also had discussion about the survival of the front windows. While we have agreed to retain the iron semi-circular sections at the tops of the arches, it seems that their condition is so dire, that they may fall out when the aluminium  beneath them is removed.

I didn't unpack any more books today but I did sell the car. The Scoobie drove off and its horn beeped. I must admit - even though I hate cars and driving - I felt a little twinge. More to do with things changing than a sense of loss about a car.