fiveandtwo

Grade 4-5-6 Disco

A disco, didn't they disappear in the 1980's? But no, the twins' primary school had a disco. With a DJ, fully supervised, sign in/sign out and all that. Clare and Al were very keen to go. They tried on clothes, "outfits", I gave them permission to look in Leah's cupboard (she was at work = what she doesn't know can't hurt her). After a bit of time the came up with outfits that were good. Flattering and not skanky.

They had a good time. I asked, "Did you dance?". Clare answered the she "shuffled" and Ally just mumbled.

In other news : I bought a new stove. Ten centimetres wider than I intended. All gas, but this one has a fan, which will make the juggling of quiche and roast veg. a bit more even, as well as all cooking on two shelves. Baking can be no fan but a bit more rotating of pans. This stuff I'll be working out and getting used to after Tuesday when the gas fitter comes to disconnect/reconnect.

This is "old trusty". A keeper except for the expired oven door hinges. Mr 5&2 has plans to turn this stove into a barbeque. "Don't let that gas fitter take it, it's mine!". I will post the finished project. The process of making a BBQ from a gas stove is achievable, according to Mr 5&2. And it is, if you dispose of  preconceptions regarding how a barbeque should look. However, I foresee much swearing and trips back and forth to the hardware shop. This is the way of the Mr's handyman projects.

He vowed never to do any plumbing again. So when the shower hot tap stripped (wouldn't turn off completely) I called a plumber. And asked, while he was here, to change all the tap washers which were on their way out. Cost money but saved my ears from burning and other stressy stuff.

I wanted to employ someone to put the benchtop and cupboard back in and do the 10cm docking. Because I want it to be straight. I don't want gaps. I don't want it to be bodgey. Cross your fingers for me because the Mr insists on doing it.

Fingers crossed.

The Kitchen Over Fourteen Years

A couple of comments admiring my kitchen from the post-before-the-last (I am too lazy to do a link) led me to get out the photo album that records the various renovations we've done in this house.

This is how it was when we bought the place in March 1996.

I re-painted the cupboards (I liked the colours but the paint was very sad). I kept the fab black handles. We got a different wood stove.

The sweet little 3yo boy in this photo is 18 in a couple of weeks. I lashed out and got a removalist to transport the piano and the kitchen cabinet in the picture. Piano = very heavy, cabinet = fragile curved glass.

I did the conveyancing on the buying of this house and the sale of the old house (using a kit that doesn't seem to be available now). Stressful, but worth it because I got to buy a gas stove of my choice with the money saved. I developed a tic in my right eye while I was stressing over whether or not I'd "got everything right". Still worth it. Still using the stove - but need to save for another now - the oven door has a disturbing tendency to fall off when least expected.

Above. This is how it was before renovation. After we'd been here for a year or so my husband and his brother get together and made the mobile kitchen bench. Using stud timber from old houses (the top), oregon offcuts from a mill, perforated stainless steel from the scrap yard, square section steel for the frame bought new and welded by DH, wheels from an old wheelchair (from the scrapyard). Still "ideal for the job" today.

Then, we'd saved enough. In 2001 the kitchen took on the appearance of recent photos.

This one of my most favourite reno. photos. Ratbaggy Clare and Ally assisting their Dad plumbing the kitchen sink. We didn't touch anything. Truly we didn't. Really, truly - we are innocent.

In 2006 the kitchen floor was replaced. The floorboards had holes that got bigger and bigger. Random parts of the floor crumbled away. There was a big hole between the kitchen and the back hallway that had a bit of metal temporarily tacked over it.

The most disruptive renovation project to date.

Yeah, well, it remains ongoing, the fixing up of the house. The rusty roof was going to be next, but DH rather fancies solar power. Both would be good.

Giles wants access to the computer. I was going rave on about reno's, materials, design, second-hand materials etc etc.

Nah, sorry, bye.

 

Map Toilet

In the Christmas holidays...I wallpapered the back toilet with old maps.

In hindsight I  was procrastinating about making the fitted, removable covers for the couches. Something that actually needed doing but I lacked enthusiasm for (I did get the covers done in the end). Had great fun doing this, however.

The Australian maps are pretty accurate but city maps have changed, of course. There is a Melbourne map that has Tullamarine Airport "under construction". The world maps are just plain old. There's the USSR, for example. Palestine hasn't had Israel created within it. Sri Lanka is Ceylon. Pakistan and Bangladesh aren't on the old maps etc, etc. So much shrinking, expanding and renaming. So much conflict as a result.

The maps are more decorative than educational. It was like doing a giant jigsaw. I wanted some sort of meaning to the jigsaw, though. The Australian portions of maps include places I've lived, places my husband has lived and places where we've both lived. So NT, Qld, WA, NSW and Vic. are there. Places we've enjoyed travelling through, and to, are included (SA comes in here). Tasmania is included because Linsey went to Falls Festival there at the beginning of this year and she loves Tassie - thinking of doing further study at UTAS when she finishes her diploma. I really want to visit Tassie too, but at the moment our holidays mean a trip to Sunshine Coast Qld to catch up with my parents (in a retirement village in Buderim). A Sunshine Coast holiday is no hardship, however!

As for the world maps...big ones of UK and one of Ireland on it's own. Germany as well. These are for Linsey. The countries she stayed in last year (she loved Ireland). Spain and Portugal feature, I'd love to go to the UK, but also these Mediterranean countries. I want to visit Turkey too, and maybe Greece, for the ruins of ancient civilisations. All this travel is but a pipe dream: my money is spoken for and I'm not sure about alone travel. My husband isn't interested and, frankly, I'd rather go without him.

We put the grab rail in about nine years ago now, for a visit from my parents. There's another on the opposite wall. See how neatly I cut the maps around the rail attachments. That was the last time my oldies were able to travel. I do think the grab rails will be very handy when I become rickety and decrepit. It was easier to leave the rails there than remove them.

I used old maps and pages from old atlases collected from op-shops over maybe ten years. Initially, I wanted to make art work from the maps, and I may still do so. I used an adhesive for glueing on wallpaper borders. It was very easy to use, no mixing and didn't make the maps "soggy", but not cheap. I reckon I used four containers of this adhesive, cost about $60. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

Paintings and House Renovation

Some artwork from TAFE.

 

Photo a bit skewed. Set work - make a collage appropriating bits and pieces from other artist's work, photocopy it B&W, do colour studies, tonal drawing using charcoal and then a painting on canvas (which this is). A very interesting process which I'll return to in due course.

 

A portrait (next set work) of Linsey, Giles and Leah from a photo taken about eleven years ago. Hmm...it's quite a good likeness...doesn't capture anything of their personalities, except maybe Leah's cheekiness...paint handling is too heavy for a portrait of children...the colours are wrong...they look rather sinister. As you can tell I'm not happy with this one!

So, I tried another.

 

This one's of Leah. The poor girl is only fourteen, but in this painting she looks so  much older! I was using a technique that I used with good effect many years ago, borrowed from American painter Alice Neel. Sketch in the outline using thinned ultramarine blue paint. It's a very good likeness, however.

 

A lousy photo of the most recent set work - landscape. It's been something of a breakthrough for me, at long last. It's the change of palette, the colours I used. It's a view from the top of Mt Blowhard, near Omeo. I took loads of photos from there on the Sunday of Queen's Birthday weekend. We stayed in Omeo that weekend. Clare and Ally were mightily disappointed it started snowing the day after we came home.

You know, everyone should have immediate family with holiday houses. We stayed in my hubby's brother's house at Omeo.

Major works in progress on the house: recladding. Rotten weatherboards going. Insulation followed by corrugated iron happening.

 

 Back of house (south).

 

Western side.

 

 

Back and forth views of Eastern side of the house.

Not yet done: the Northern side, the front of the house. Architraves around the windows and doors are yet to happen. I think the husband is hoping I'll forget about this detail. Noo-oo-oo. Architraves are a "finishing off" thing. The difference between a shed and a house.

I must also add that insulating the walls has made a significant difference to household comfort. Really and truly. The cold, howling wind of the last few days, which once penetrated every crack and crevice of weatherboard walls, made minimal impact with an insulated wall. I think we could've clad with anything, it's the insulation that's made the difference.

If you're re-cladding, building an extension or building a new house - wall insulation is well worth it.