Getting there !

Hello All

Just another update and a few photos of the building site. The top floor is coming along nicely. As you can see they have painted and the old wooden beams are looking great.


Peter has also been carving again and has created the following masterpiece to go up on the roof. Its two kiwis looking at each other with the silver fern and our initials - great eh !


The second floor still looks like a disaster area but it will get better. The sparkies (electricians) are working overtime to get everything finished and the painting dude is doing great too. They keep on drilling holes all over the place for all sorts of cables but hey they will get filled in.


They started putting in the new wooden flooring on the top floor today and it looks great.

Mum and Dad arrive on Friday at 10.45am in Munich and so we are all looking forward to that. Charly is all excited - "two more sleeps and two more getting ups and then we have to go to the airport to get Omi and Opi - right Mama" - cute huh !

It's pouring with rain at the moment and they have forecasted snow to 2000m for Sunday - yahoo !! And on Sunday (just this last weekend) we were swimming at the outdoor pool in a nearby village - oh fun !

That's all for now. Take care xxxooo

Italy Holiday

Hello people !

Well the holiday to Lake Garda was great except for the weather ! The first day we drove down and then had a swim in the afternoon. That evening we had the biggest thunder and lightening storm out which was really cool except for the rain on the top of the van woke Charly up so the wine drinking and olive eating under the rain/sun sail was interrupted numerous times - oh well. We strung the rain/sun sail up between two trees and the van which proved to work pretty well actually.


The next day was overcast so we checked out a nearby village for lunch and a huge ice cream. The day after it poured with rain all day and so we took a ferry trip with the van over the lake to the town of Garda. Kitted the kids out with umbrellas and basically let them go wild in the puddles which was a laugh.


It basically rained every evening and one night we sat ourselves under the neighbour's awning as they had left - good idea ! The last night it rained so much that it started dripping through the sail and our sitting area began to shrink drastically. The last day though was a good one and we were able to swim all day - a positive ending.


The kids had a good time - there were a few squabbles but nothing too serious. Niklas, Marie and Lily are used to having each other around but for Charly it was something new having 3 other kids 24/7.


Love and kisses - Lara, Mike & Charly xxxooo

The Latest

Hey People

Peter (Mike's Dad) has just finished hand carving the family crest for the new house and it looks great. It was awarded in 1602 to the family at the time there was a King (Kaiser) in Austria. Somehow ages ago the family was a bit blue blooded but it didn't seem to be such a big thing to them. They just hung it on the wall and that was it. Here tis:


Nice bit of handwork eh ! They have also started on the new roof and the gib board:



All moving along quite nicely and the painter is coming on Monday to stop up the gib board (can't remember what you call it in English) and give it the first coat of paint.

Charly and I are driving to Italy on Sunday with a girlfriend of mine and her three kids so that should be fun. We are staying four nights in a camping ground. Charly and I are sleeping in the van and they are in a tent. They have never been camping before and Michi has never been on holiday with all three so it should be interesting to say the least.

Charly was at a birthday party on Saturday and they had ponies - so cute ! You can see her on the left hand side of the photo in a pink fleece waiting for her turn on the pony. Also just another photo of madam on her bike.



Ok gotta go as Mike has to show me something with the new apple so I can organise all my photos. Take care and keep in touch.

Love us 3 xxxooo

Computerless !!!

Hey People

Just a note to you all out there at the moment. I have no computer - well not one of my own anymore.

We are in the process of changing the complete office into Apple and yesterday they unplugged my old and dying baby (without telling me) and hooked up this great new super dooper Apple thingie. I love it but all my e-mail address and favourites and all that jazz were on the other hard drive. I now will have to go through the long winded process of somehow getting all my goodies off the other hard drive - oh what fun. I can still receive e-mails at the same address and am just waiting on a new laptop which will be all mine. See how long that takes.

Please don't get too hassled if I don't reply to some old e-mails as they are now a bit lost ... OK ?

The house is moving along really well as well and just when I thought they had finished sledgehammering away they started again - talk about loud.

Ok that's all for now. Take care and keep in touch.

Love me xxxooo

Jahrmarkt

Hello All !!

Just thought I should post a photo of Charly ready for the yearly festival here in Kitz. She is all dressed up in her "lederhosen" with her edelweiss bandana. The bandana didn't last long though unfortunately. She tried the cherry spitting, sling shot stand, face painting and had a go on the paraglider - so all in all a good bit of fun.


This little boy is called Loric and he has an Austrian Dad called Lidl and a French Mum called Christine. Friends of ours from Graz who were here for the opening of the Private Bank that Mike did (Lidl was responsible for the Interior Design side). They also came to Jahrmarkt with us.


Not bad face paint huh ! She ordered princess makeup !


All go on the house as well as they are doing the roof at the moment.

Gotta run and do some real work ! Love us 3 xxxooo

Insulation and Wiring

Just to update on the building site.

Most of the insulation is in upstairs and in the stairwell including the start of all the electrical wiring. Mike has come up with some cool things in the way of lighting so I am all excited to see the finished ideas. The insulation is 100% wool (unfortunately not kiwi sheep but austrian mountain climbing sheep) which is environmentally friendly and nice to work with. Natural old fashioned goodies.


From this view you can see where the walk-in pantry (left side) and extra stuff cupboard (right side) will be situated on either side of my painting studio/room.


They are going to start on the roof soon too as it needs to be re-done. Here's hoping we don't get any rain ...

That's all for now folks xxxooo

Charly's Magnadoodle Artwork

Just a cool pikkie of Charly's artwork on the Magnadoodle - had to take a photo as it was so cool and she did it all herself. Within 2 mins it was erased - hence the photo.



Including Magnadoodle dance !

xxx