July 2010 Archives

Spent a very nice vacation in a rented caravan in Park Umag in the Istria region of Croatia. When we arrived on Saturday evening around 22h30 after a 19 hour trip (of which we drove over 17 hours, the rest was spent at stops to eat, toilet breaks, etc) we were still welcomed at the reception and were quickly told where our spot was. We were even able to still get a pizza, so even though we ate close to midnight, everything went rather fine. The trip however was really taxing and we got stuck in traffic jam after traffic jam, either caused by road works going on or general congestion, especially at the Tauren Tunnel and around Munchen. We lost loads of time there. But... enough of that, let's get on with the vacation itself.

When we woke up on Sunday - too early, due to rain pouring down - we looked at each other and the kids an wondered if it would be like this for the rest of the holiday. Luckily enough, the sky cleared up in the afternoon and after dinner we went out, exploring the camp site. Even though it is one of the larger camp sites, it is very well layed out, so that you never feel like fish in a barrel. Loads of open spaces, green grass and play fields for the kids to enjoy.

While we spent quite some time in or near the swimming pool - which sports a large pirate ship in the midst of it - we also took trips to nearby towns (Pula, Poreč, Pazin, Labin, Motovun, Novigrad, Umag, Rovinj, as well as a day long boat trip. We all caught loads of sun and the kids had the time of their life in and around the swimming pool.

The last couple of days though, we were greeted by dark clouds and thunderstorms coming in daily from around 18h00, which cut our days at the pool short, and forced us to visit Labin and Pazin in rainy conditions :(

When we got back to the camp site on Thursday, it turned out that we had escaped from the worst of the weather though, while city tripping : the camp site was flooded in places, electricity went out - and stayed out for 20 hours! - in the zone were we were and everyone scrambled to get rid of the water. Due to those conditions we decided to leave on Friday evening instead of Saturday morning, which - I must say - turns out to be a good if not great decision : instead of looking at a trip of over 19 hours, we got home in just under 13h and thirty minutes.

Photo's will be shared with those close to us later, once we have had the time to go over them, finished doing laundry, clean up and get some much needed sleep.

Over the weekend I have been fighting with my Mio Moov 370, Schattie's Tom Tom Go 300, and now I've just told my HTC Hero to get the latest update installed. The Mio Moov I spent 50 euro on to get the latest maps and an activation key, but it fails to install due to some error while communication with the Mio server. I already mailed support - to no avail, of course - so for the time being I'm 50 euro lighter and not the slightest map update further.

The Tom Tom Go claims to have all the latest updates installed, but I don't believe that for a bit.

Just hope the Hero update goes much smoother :)

May report once completed, if I don't forget, that is, lol.

It's only 31 degrees today, so I'd dare call it "not that hot" though it definitely doesn't feel like it. It's damn damn hot!

This morning I was informed that the rental contract has been completed and signed, so I think we're good to go. I'll be registering the contract soon and inform the bank that it has been signed and starts earning rent in September. I think they'll like it as well. Sure enough, that means loads and loads of work to be done before August 31st and preferably August 15th, but we'll see whether that is actually feasible.

Too hot work on the computer more, so off I go.

Had quite some people calling me about the apartment for rent, and today I saw the first couple. They immediately loved it and told me they'd take it. I'll be sending them a contract tomorrow for them to sign and then we can proceed. I've got another woman coming in to see it, but I'll tell her right away that it's probably gone, but that I'm willing to write down her details in case the first couple backs out again (one never knows).

After our trip to Croatia, I'll have tons of work here, but I might be able to get it all cleaned out before August 15th, which would make things easier on them, as well as allowing me to charge half a month rent earlier.

I sure hope they keep their word and sign and send the contract back to me, so we can get this issue out of the way for once and for ever. Off to play some WOW now - I did ponder about going out to see Iron Man 2, but I may do that one friday instead.

The time of looking at how-to papers is gone and on Tuesday I started digging where the elevated terrace is supposed to be created. If you frown right now, I don't blame you, even though I don't know why exactly you're frowning. Is it because you're not supposed to dig down when building an elevated construction, or is it because it was 28 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and only an idiot would spend close to 8 hours digging in that heat?

Yes, it was 28 degrees outside and I started digging around 9h30 and finished up around 10PM with a very much needed break every once in a while. As for the construction process.. in order to have some stability, I opted to dig out a 5.28sqm zone which now is ready to pour a concrete screed upon/in. Once that's done, we'll have to let if dry out and then attach the wooden tiles to it. The tiles we thought were definitely lost, but after taking them out of the deck that was in when we bought this house, they seem to be rather good after all. Schattie spent quite some time cleaning them up and if they get another good scrub and a new layer of paint or oil, they'll be as new.

Today it's about 33 degrees Celsius outside and I'm at it again, this time digging out the last corner of sand and rubbish the previous owners created. So far 6 wheelbarrows have been filled and emptied and I think I've got another 2 to go. Sweat is dripping off on every side of my body and if someone was to TP me right now, all the paper would stick to me like... stickiness, lol?

Just checking to see what offer the company has made me to deliver 3 cubic meters of concrete screed on Wednesday, and then we should have taken another very big step forward to making this house and yard look better.

Back out into the sun I go... sweat you later!