MY KITCHEN OR HOW TO GO INSANE IN ONE EASY STEP.

My kitchen is a nightmare. Yes, it is. Most people say that about their kitchens on blogs I look at. But MINE really is a nightmare! I have a laundry in mine. I have no storage in mine. Mine faces West so you only get scorching hot sun in Summer and bugger all sun in Winter. The other window faces South so not much good light there to help chop up your vegies either. You think I am kidding? Take a look at the picture and tell me you aren't reaching for the Scotch and Valium as we speak!

The disaster of a kitchen!

 

 

   I am NOT an untidy person but this always makes me feel I ought to lock the front door and keep everyone away for fear they think I should be one of those shows,  My House is a Pig Sty, or Save my Soul, redo my house! The main problem is lack of storage and work area. I recently moved all the saucepans closer to the stove as I was getting tired of climbing a ladder to reach for them. It just makes that bench look like a jumble sale! Clothes dryer, dishwasher and washing machine take up valuable floor space. There is a laundry trough right next to the ridiculously small floor oven so you have no where to put your hot pans if you need to mash up some spuddies.
  The colours? You don't like them? The lilac is called Moon Flower and was EVERYWHERE in this house. More like 'Puke, at Grandma's house' colour. We tried the yellow when it was in fashion, then I hated it. Last neutral colour is really the colour I would prefer but the manufacturer no longer makes that colour and of course, SOMEBODY who shall remain nameless...(DAVID!) lost the card which had the name of it! 
 I HATE HATE HATE working in here. Especially since if you were to turn around in the kitchen my 'office' space is right there. We are forever playing the Tetris game of shoving stuff from one flat surface to another to only have it all fall down. My pantry is only 23cms deep with all the shelves being 29cms tall from each other. (I'm not doing the Imperial measurements, about time you Americans caught up with Metric!) Sounds good but seriously how can you put a box of cereal in there let alone large jars or cans? Pfffffft!!!!!
 The thing I hate most is the kitty litter box! No where else in this house to put it and to me it is totally unhygenic.
 I really would love a Magic Fairy to come in and go POOOOOF! with the wand and give me something like this....

via Pinterest

     Or maybe even this..........

via Biedermeir Berlin

Or perchance this little lovely.......

via Pinterest

Aaaaaaaah.....One day......one day...........
 What's YOUR kitchen looking like today? Sleek and tidy? Like a bomb went off? Or just plain functional?
Maria

IS THERE A CURSE ON US OR WHAT?

I just can't believe it. My dear friend David has slashed his ring finger on his right  hand to the bone and had surgery a week ago today. His ability to work is now 10%. He's also right handed! What else? The great timing of being worse than ever with a gastro type illness and my thyroid woes, and I can barely lift a finger let alone drive him here, there and everywhere, and make him cups of tea! So our reno has been put on hold.....sigh.........

 GOOD news though! We managed to find some interesting things in the hard rubbish collection!  A sliding aluminum window perfect for the front end of the side storage/deck area! I found a sweet little chest of drawers needing some magic, and a lovely old wardrobe which I will paint and put in my bedroom. No pics of those sadly, as we stashed them into the storage containers then realised later, "Oh, NO! We forgot photos!" We weren't up to pulling out all the crap stuff all over again. Took us hours to do the Tetris game of adjusting to get them in in the first place!
  Here are some pics to keep you entertained till next time!

David looking quite jaded. Oscar hoping for some tuna from David's baked potato.

 

Unusually wet summer we have had creates some interesting cloud cover. Mt St Leonard's looking from the side of my house.

Cheerio for now!
Maria

GETTING ON......Slowly......

Well, been a while since I last put something noteworthy on this blog. Unfortunately my thyroid issues have flared up again and I crashed..big time....Sleeping most of the days away is not a fun thing when you are a type A personality like me! I have Hashimoto's (an autoimmune disease) and my thyroid medication which works fine for fifty mazillion other people doesn't work for me. So, there I was going ok for a few months, then Ker-PLUNK! Just ran out of gas and konked out in the middle of the freeway of life....No fun at all!

 SO anyhooooooos......my friend David decided to try to finish the sideway storage area and deck so we can move the tools and machinery and equipment out of my under the house work area. This, you have to understand would give me enourmous pleasure at being able to walk from Rolladoor to craft/work room without losing a limb or any  important organs.  Been a big contentious issue. Me screeching, MOVE THE FREAKING STUFF! With David humbly saying, I can't, there's no where to put it! So, to give him his (ahem) meagre credit, he tried to work and bash and drill and saw and grind and weld in between my snores. He'd come in at lunchtime and say, 'You ready for a snooze?' I'd say, 'I'm fading and will pass out in around 10 minutes.' You have never seen anyone work so fast to achieve so much in 10 minutes. You see, my bedhead is directly where he is working. Well, he's outside and I am inside but you get the point. 

Hopefully my new upped dose from 125mcgs to 150mcgs will kick in soon. It takes roughly 6 weeks for thyroxine (that's the thyroid hormone) to do its thing. In my case and knowing my luck it won't be enough and I will be in Slumberville a tad longer than I want to be.  
        Unfortunately none of the timber or steel or roofing steel is recycled/or reused. We did get offered tons of free building materials but sadly it was not treated timber. In a high termite infested area you MUST have treated timber. The previous owner did a shoddy job on structural timbers and we ended up with a McDonald's drivethrough for termites in the lower part of the house! We couldn't find any roofing material that had not rusted or full of holes or was not expensive. So all new it was, just for this project!                  Here are some pics of the latest installment of the Reno on a shoestring!

Oscar in his run keeping an eye on David, making sure he does the  job right.

 

The over engineered welded steels to support both the lower and upper structures. David learned to weld so that saved us heaps of money!

 

 

Partially covered roof! Woohoo! There will be a gutter attached soon. The open window is where my bed is.

Opposite end view. You get a better perspective of the storage area.The dodgy louvred window area is my craft/work room. The acrow prop is holding up the back end of the house! Eventually there will be a large window and a little decking out the front of that area.

Wherever you are, I hope your day is full of love and happiness and a few good belly laughs!
Cheers!
Maria

Some plans.

Well, still recovering from surgery and the weather yet again has been too lousy to really do much. So I shall show you the plans I have for the east side of the house.

The super cheap 2nd hand aluminum large sliding window will replace the old rotting and broken window which is my teen son's room. It will allow lots of light and more importantly, some decent cross ventilation in the warmer months.The sink, which is from the old caravan, will be used under the tap to wash hands, or soak pot plants or let a few stray birds take a bath.

Lots going on here! We will move the outdoor power point toward the front of the house, near my son's room. The old steel pool fencing is going to be my cat's fixed but temporary outdoor chill out room. You can see we have started the actual run from the deck. The paint at the moment is left over from my friend's house. I can't afford to clad the house yet so covering up that vile fibro is a great way to reuse the paint and protect the house from the weather. Wasn't sure I liked the War Ship Grey but it has grown on me and it changes colour from deep blue to light grey depending on the time of day.You can just make out the steel metal hangars for the deck on the far end. There will be a covered lockable area where the tractor is sitting, for storage of our machines, and then above that a deck/walkway. Right now there is no escape route out the back. I figure a deck would be a sensible thing to have and also utilises an otherwise dead space below.

 

Misseewer Oscaaaaar!This darling chap is driving me nuts! He wants to go outside all the time but unfortunately he would put an Olympic high jumper to shame with his prowess at leaping. He leaps to kill birds and where I live there are many beautiful native parrots, and teeny tiny blue fairy wrens. I have designed a cat run for him, and as you can see we are making a start on it. He is not impressed at having to be on a lead when I take him outside for his daily nibble on the long grass. His look is typical Sylvester the cat's, "Sufferin' succotash, what's a cat to do? I know! I'll pee on her bed, THAT'LL learn her!" ....and so he does, if he hasn't been outside for a while. Hence forth the cat run shall be made! Ok, for now at least some place he can lick his bits in private. 

 

 

  Well, that's all for now! 
Enjoy your week!
Maria

Missing in Action

Hello all!   
  Again I have been missing in action! This time due to some medical issues which have been going on for some time. I had surgery 3 days ago and feel crud. Had urgent ultrasounds and doctor appointments these past few weeks. There was a scare with Ovarian Cancer but so far so good. Had some bits taken out and soon I shall be rocking and rolling again!   Stick with me and I will be back real soon with more excitement on the home front. This time it will be Reno stuff not medical stuff. (I ought to start a blog about my health issues!)  
Cheers!  
Maria