Racing the clock

Well it’s getting very close to midnight so I’m racing the clock to get this post in today.

We’ve had a very busy New Year’s Eve. I started by visiting two stores – the 1st to purchase a replacement couch cover for the one that was damaged, and the 2nd to return said cover. I scored on that one as the first store only charged $10 for the $100 item out of pure laziness, and perhaps a touch of stupidity. So both covers are now on.

MotH and I then went furniture shopping for a new coffee table and TV unit. We started one, quickly moved to another – where we were truly horrified at the prices. Incredible mark-ups to make up for their ‘interest-free’ deals. So on to shop three and we scored again – both coffee table and TV unit for $600. They’ll be delivered Tuesday.

Tonight was dinner in the CBD at our fav Chinese restaurant, with lots of over-eating. This was followed by a walk to the Yarra to watch the family fireworks. The fireworks were unfortunately underwhelming. Having secured a fabulous position in Birrarung Marr, the fireworks exploded over the MCG – truly a bummer. We could watch, but the real effects were lost by the distance.

We are now home awaiting the new year – ready to watch the Sydney/Melbourne fireworks on TV.

Night all – & I hope next year is good to you.

We’re there!

This post is a bit belated (should have been written yesterday) but I was just too tired at the end of the day to write. But we have finished. Sort of.

The room itself is now complete, with painted walls and trim and new flooring.

And it looks fabulous! MotH has had a complete turn-around and now loves the colours I chose – which makes me immensely happy.

Having finished all this, it’s now time to put furniture back in. I will honestly admit that MotH did most of the painting and the flooring, but it was my task to empty the room (thus providing motivation). And it’s my job to fill it back up.

Not everything is going back in. The big bookshelf and toycupboard will be replaced – but that’s another day so for the moment that stays where it is now, against the kitchen dining room wall.

The couches I aimed to overhaul with covers – which I attempted to do last night. 1 win, 1 fail. I started with the 2-seater cover I had bought – now I should have know better: the only navy 2-seater cover at Spotlight was in plastic bag rather than proper packaging, obviously returned by another customer. On unpacking the bloody thing was ripped and stained. How can someone do that? How dishonest? And what a waste of time for me, as now I will have to return it and probably have to order another because I know they didn’t have any others in stock.

The 3-seater turned out fine though.

Today we will we buying a new coffee table and TV unit. But last night, to keep the kids happy, I set up the TV, Wii, DVD player and Foxtel so they could once again be absorbed by things digital. Last of all I set the kitchen dining area back to normal, as it had stored the excess furniture.

As a result of our overhauling, we are getting rid of theold TV unit, table and chairs and the coffee table. I am hoping my niece will take them. Otherwise I may ring Diabetes Australia who take old furniture (if in reasonable condition) to resell for charity.

So, it’s a late post – as I said I was exhausted. But it has been a very busy few days.

Are we there yet?

The short answer is no. However, we are getting closer. Today was filled with floor-fitting fidgeting – cutting bits and pieces out to accommodate doors, doorways and door jams. I will admit upfront I didn’t help a great deal here – this was man’s work. And the man did great!

The flooring is almost completely in – we had to stop as we thought the neighbours would be miffed by the powersaw after 9pm. Tomorrow morning should see it finished thouhg – with skirting boards and architraves back on, and quad to trim the door ways.

Then comes the furniture. I am changing the look of our lounge suite, which is red & green, with navy sofa covers. Now I am hoping (fingers and toes are crossed) that the covers fit, and I have made 4 new cushions today to trim the couches. Originally I had planned to just cover the old ones, but after a closer inspection I declared them unfit for reuse. So new fillers it was.

Tomorrow we shop for a new TV unit and coffee table *cartwheels with excitement*, and slightly later down the track we will fit out the short wall with benches, cupboards and shelves. For that lot we’ll make a date with Ikea. I really wanted to hit Ikea tomorrow as well, but MotH is having extreme reactions to the opening of wallet so I guess I should allow his some recovery time.

(P.S. no meltdowns today – I stayed away from the soy sauce.)

Keeping busy

Well the overhauling continues. Today’s focus was painting. Firstly the skirting boards and the architrave around the windows and doorways:

Then the walls. MotH hadn’t been real sure about my choice of colour – but he is pleased now with the result. I wanted a fresh colour to liven the room up. We’ve only painted two walls – on purpose (no we didn’t run out of paint). I wanted to keep 2 walls in the original ‘Hominy’ to even out the blueness.

Now we’re ready to put the flooring down tomorrow:

On a complete different note, I got totally waylaid by little things going wrong today. And I snapped. And whinged. And was truly grumpy. The first was a visit to Spotlight for 1.8m of fabric to recover the cushions on the couch,  to be stuck behind the customer at the cutting counter who had 25+ types of fabric in her trolley. By the time I got served the ‘cutting’ lady looked so apologetic – especially as I wanted to so little fabric. I did get some other lovely treasures but was astounded the fabric took a 25 min wait.

The next wasn’t till I started dinner – shaking the soy sauce bottle to find the lid not on properly, shaking salt into the mash potato to find someone had left the shaker at the pour setting, finding we have no margarine just after I have been to Woolies….. By the time dinner was cooked I was ready to throw it out the window.

I am at peace now but my family is still a bit wary of the monster lurking. Best go to bed soon and trust I will be a happier person tomorrow.

Overhauling

We got a start on the familyroom today, now that the festivities are done. Apologies for bad photos (blackberry takes crap shots – yes I blame the tools). Here’s what we started with – an uninspired room:

First step was clearing out the furniture. As I aim to get some new furniture I am hoping my niece will take the TV unit and a round table and chairs. She has just moved out into a share house and none of them own furniture! I remember that stage of life well The next step was ripping up the carpet:

Then the underlay:

The room is huge and echos now. Again, as MotH’s brother-in-law is looking to soundproof his garage (read loud band rehearsals), he has promised to take both carpet and the underlay. Score! If we are as lucky as we hope, there will be no furniture or carpet of which we have to dispose.

Having cleaning up the mess – ripping up carpet tacking strips, taking off the skirting board and sweeping things clean – MotH got a fabulous reward. We went to Bunnings! Dropping both kids off at the local shopping centre (xmas money burning holes in their pockets), I braved the wild frontier with Moth. This is not a place we usually choose to go together (I do not have the staying power of a male) but we had a common mission.

Armed with paint tins, rollers, trays, brushes and various odd bits we are prepared for tomorrow. I am very excited!

Round 2

This year there has just been the 2 rounds of Christmas – MotH’s family last night and then my family today on Boxing Day. Usually it’s three, with Dad  joining us for Christmas Day lunch but he’s ill this time around and sitting things out.

Last night was fabulous fun, as per usual. The hail storms and torrential rain added a somewhat surreal atmosphere but for the most part we stayed dry. Our garage sadly cannot claim the same. We arrived home from my mother-in-law’s about 11.30pm to find that water levels had raised enough to completely flood the garage, through to the courtyard – washing a garden full of tanbark with it. Not any real damage, just mess. The watermark on the bricks at the front of the house indicate the water was about 10cm high, so it’s probably best we weren’t there as we would have been slightly freaked and there’s not a lot we could do anyway.

Today my older brother’s family joined us for lunch, as well as my late brother’s partner. We had a lovely day, though with both my father and brother not present there were some quiet pauses of thoughtfulness and sorrow. As mentioned above my father is ill at the moment - not serious, just a tragic cold. But I trust his call – if he says he’s not up to it I know he’s not mucking around. I was a bit surprised though that he hadn’t warned the others, who were all taken aback when he wasn’t there. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps in his slightly frail condition (read blocked nose, raging throat, thumping headache) he may not have been up to the first Christmas without Geoff which is why he stayed away. He has a great deal of respect and real fondness for my brother’s partner Gabrielle, but I don’t think he copes well with her public grief. This is not to say her grief is all consuming, but I think she may be the constant reminder that Geoff is gone.

We did nothing special today to mark that Geoff was not there. We talked of him but briefly and occasional, his name entering the conversation no more than usual. Yet it was usually followed by a pause. We focused today on the kids, which is what we do each Christmas as they add that true joy to the occasion.

All together it was an enjoyable day. I know it was hardest on Gabrielle who put on a very brave face to come. I do think she enjoyed it though. In some ways today was Round 2 for getting on with life without him. His birthday was Round 1, Christmas – Round 2. I hope for her the ensuing rounds are easier to bear.

I didn’t mean to end on a sad note, but most have someone they miss at this time of the year. For me it’s my mum, and now my brother. I am so lucky though to have others I love around me to remind me to enjoy the memories and not miss out on the great times by dwelling elsewhere. I hope others are as lucky as I.

Many merries to you all

‘Tis Christmas Day, and all through the house children are ripping presents open! We love Christmas! There is the preparation for the big day, including the house.

And the tree. This is just after Santa visited.

MotH is a bit of a ‘bah humbug’ sort of guy when it comes to the lights, and I think he believes I’m just embracing my inner bogan – but I can’t help myself. Next year I really want to add reindeer on the front yard.

Today, of course, the kids are up early – but are not allowed to harrass us until 7am. And then the frenzy of presents begins. I did take a photo but I know they’d all be horrified if I posted it. All are in their PJs. Kid1 has her hair in curlers (not realising she would be getting the curling wand she asked for). I figure today is not the day to offend family.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you and your loved ones are safe, healthy and happy.