♥ Silver Sister 银姐2010

D-Day came last Sunday and went very quickly.

It came so quickly that my father and brother did not have time for breakfast nor last-minute packing. Five men came and loaded all the stuff onto their two lorries. Then, my father had to go to the new house to supervise the shifting while my brother stayed back at the old house to do some last-minute packing.
I also went to the new house after an early lunch.

It worked out well that we planned exactly where we wanted to put each piece of furniture and the boxes. In the end, my father had to pay the movers an additional $50 because of the amount of stuff.

After that, I mopped the floor and my father and I went to buy the ironing board.

The next day, we went to the shop where we bought the TV to get the technician to fix the cables for us in the evening. That costs my father $25.

We went back to the old house to do further packing (and throwing).

On the third day, the cleaners from the Town Council came in the afternoon to dispose of:

- old marble table (that had been around since my brother was a baby)
- old chest of drawers with mirror (which had been around since I could remember)
- old shoe rack (which my father built and which had been around for as long as I could remember).

- old wardrobe (that had been bought when we moved into the old house in 1970)

- old washing machine (which had started to make strange noises when washing)

On Wednesday, my father left for a holiday.

Phew! That had been a lot of planning and doing for at least 3 months.

silver sister 银姐2010 ~ ! <3

8:33 PM

Today (18 April 2008, Friday), the washing machine was delivered in the morning.

As I had to wait for my daughter to be dismissed from school, I reached my father's place at 12 noon. By that time, the washing machine was in already.

My father went for lunch. I pottered around to mop the floor and my daughter also affixed all the necessary e.g. hook for hanging the broom, hook for hanging my brother's clothes, hangers for hand towel, sponge for wash basin, etc. All the hooks and sponges which I got from Daiso on Tuesday, cost $8. The two hand towels, which I got from Toa Payoh Lorong 7 yesterday, cost $5. The four face towels, which I got from Carrefour cost $1-90.

When my father came back, my daughter and I went to nearby NTUC to buy a packet of house brand moth balls, a packet of house brand toilet rolls, 2 bottles of dish-washing liquid, and 2 bottles of toilet-cleaning liquid. All these cost $15.

Then we came back. Later, at around three o'clock, three men delivered the bed and mattresses. After that, my daughter and I proceeded to put on the mattress/pillow/bolster protectors, before we put on bed-linen. (By the way, the bolster and bolster protector, which my daughter and I got from John Little last Sunday, cost a total of $35-80).

Now, count down to D-Day: 2, 1.

silver sister 银姐2010 ~ ! <3

2:07 AM

Today (13 April 2008), my father and I had lunch together. Next, we proceed to the furniture mall to instruct them to deliver my brother's wardrobe tomorrow. (His bed and the washing machine will be delivered this Friday).

After that, we went to Toyogo at Blk 11 Lorong 8 Industrial Park. We bought a broom, a mop, a toilet brush and a pedal bin. We took the feeder service 238 to Toa Payoh Central, before walking to my father's new place.

While there, I fixed the little racks in the bathroom accessory cabinet. I must say that after this, I have become quite a handywoman ... I figured out how to fix the shoe rack and now this cabinet racks!

The gameplan as discussed last night with my brother and father is this: on Sunday, we will split into 2 camps - my brother at the old place; my father and I, new place. My brother will instruct the movers what to move and what not to move. Those furniture that are to be discarded are to be placed at the corridor for the town council personnel to collect the next day. Meanwhile, my father and I will instruct the movers where to place the furniture at the new place. My brother would clean up the old place and discard the smaller items because he would have to surrender the flat to HDB for inspection on a mutually-agreed day.

silver sister 银姐2010 ~ ! <3

4:35 AM

On Tuesday, my Manager bought me a dim-sum lunch for my birthday.

On Thursday, my colleagues got me the American Cheesecake from Hotel Hilton (no joke!) to celebrate my birthday. And who did I get to help me cut the cake? My Silver Sister, of course! (If you are curious about what the cake looks like, refer to Page 26 of Lifestyle section in today's [6 April 2008] Sunday Times). It is ranked one of 50 yummiest cakes in Singapore! We all had a licking good time.

In the afternoon, my Managing Director learnt of my birthday and remarked, "You have survived another year!" (Indeed, I have. I count myself lucky that I did not die on the operating table in January, haha!) Then, he asked why the noticeboard (whiteboard) was not updated. I said, "Ask the Organising Committee." LOL. That is the way my company works.

silver sister 银姐2010 ~ ! <3

8:28 PM

The following guarantees came with purchase:

3 month guarantee for ceiling fan
1 year guarantee for general renovation
2 years guarantee for 'Philips' electric kettle
3 years guarantee for washing machine

3 years guarantee for roller blinds

This morning, I met my father at the market. He was looking at some kettles at a shop. I suggested that he bought an electric kettle. He came back to my house to look at ours ('Philips'). We moved one plastic box from my place to his. Next, we brought the mattress protector, pillow protector and 2 soap dishes to his new place.

This is punctuated by a neighbour coming to our place to visit and vice versa. He will be staying at Level 22. Currently, his flat is into the first week of renovations. The flooring for the living room is done. The kitchen tiles are being topped with another layer of bigger, smoother tiles! What wastage!

Then we went to Courts and another shop at Toa Payoh Central. Finally, he bought a 1-litre 'Philips' electric kettle at the latter shop for $47. We saved about $3. That is the satisfaction we get from shopping around and negotiating. Ha ha!

On the way, we also bought 3 floor mats for a total of $10. I was surprised that my father settled for the brighter colours. For myself, I would have chosen the one-colour pieces. Anyway, it is his house - so he has his say.

Then, we brought the kettle and mats to the new house. I put in the 2 soap dishes and we set up the shoe rack together.

Later, at about 3pm, the serviceman came to fix the gas supply. He was pretty quick about it and finished in about 15 minutes time! We were all very pleased that we could go home earlier.

silver sister 银姐2010 ~ ! <3

5:24 AM