Things are looking up.

Things are certainly looking up. I completed the sale of my new property at the Hub on 28 May in the presence of the agents and the seller Alfred.

I was pleased, that Alfred told me he can hand over the keys to me by 8 June, instead of 15 June. He had asked me to give him an extension of two weeks to enable him to move out. Nice man Alfred, and we have now become good friends. He has suggested that we have a farewell lunch or dinner with our wives and the agents, when I take over the keys. I find Alfred and his wife to be very pleasant and friendly.

Taking over the keys one week earlier, will enable renovations to start earlier. This is expected to take two months. I am targeting to move by end of August avoiding the September rush when everyone will want to move. All the more so, because August is the Hungry Ghost month, when people avoid moving house. Since I am a Christian and not superstitious, this suits me fine.

At our meeting with the interior designer last weekend, we trashed out many things and agreed to many suggestions. The invoice was a whopper. I will leave that to my son to negotiate with Gary to bring it more down to earth. As mentioned in my previous posting, we have modified many items and Gary has clarified his ideas. The living room will now have timber floor instead of tiles. The kitchen and dining will have homogenised tiles. The downstairs toilet will have a bit more space and will cover the ugly pipes. The final drawing has been done subject to final approval by us. All is set except for the final costing.

The bank has very kindly sent me a stack of cash vouchers worth more than a thousand dollars. These together with the vouchers I received and won previously, will help us shop for the kitchen and other items like bedsheets, curtains and other utility items. I feel like I am starting a new home for the first time. To cut cost, we are also looking around our home, salvaging what we have, and using them again. (See my previous posting on 'Rosewood furniture'.)

Till then....