Monday, October 31, 2011

Running out of energy

My energy levels have plummeted today - I think a week of solid work and little sleep has finally caught up.

So today, we were defeated by the floorboards - the final rows, were just too short and need some fiddling and I have a bay-window in my room, which requires, some awkward cutting - so we called it a day and will finish it off tomorrow.

I am so frustrated with myself - just wanted to get the floors finished today and then the painting tomorrow - never mind we have achieved miracles in a week.

Going great guns - on a roll

Nearly there

Defeated by this small strip . . .

. . . and the Bay window

Cleo enjoyed the company in the bathroom as we stripped wallpaper

Happy Halloween

Today is the last day of October 'Happy Hallow's Eve' or for the non-pagans "Happy Halloween"

Sarah (sick as she is - was determined to decorate the front even just a little and hand out some candy to our very small group of local 'Trick or Treaters" - Here are a few photos.

A 'sexy-little Vampire' - Dad get out the shotgun

Come and let me give you a bite!

Handing out the candy

They all looked so cute

Sunday, October 30, 2011

I have the biggest bedroom in the house

Tonight I am sleeping in the lounge -  in the biggest room of the house.

This morning after 'another' early wake-up call from Cleo (3.45am) - I didn't get up then. I was still up by 5am and by 5.40am had stripped most of the wallpaper from my bathroom - who puts wallpaper in a bathroom????

With wallper

Without wallpaper - needs cleaning and then painting
So by 8am I woke Elizabeth and suggested we have the morning off - maybe a movie or some shopping.  I knew if I continued, I would work all day - so we headed out for a few hours and a rest.  Well - it was lovely - although instead of working for a full day - we worked for half a day and achieved a full day's work.

When we got home at noon - we decided to put all the furniture back into the correct rooms.  First of all my study, then the dining room and finally the lounge - but the lounge ended up in the dining room; so that my bedroom could move into the lounge.
 Putting back the glasseware

 Study almost back in place - bedroom furniture moved to the lounge - so let's leave the carpet until tomorrow.
 No of course NOT!  So up came the carpet . . .
 Pull - tug - fold - push . . .


Now Matthew - don't lift until I tell you to - do you understand????

So let's leave the wooden nail beds until tomorrow . . . No let's do it now!

 And finally my bedroom in the lounge
 And at 5.40pm I am in bed - exhausted, tired, finished and ready for sleep - well blogging first and then to bed.
Tomorrow we do the floorboards in my bedroom and the rest of this week - it will all be painted.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Another day - 2 rooms this time!

Last night, although Elizabeth and I were tired - we decided to push on and prepare the dining room for painting this morning.  After a restless night and an early wake-up from Cleo - 4.30am - I fell back asleep and had horrible dreams, so at 7am when I awoke I wasn't in the best of moods.

Still it was a fresh day and a fresh start. 

Today's achievements have been nothing but remarkable - Elizabeth and I began in the Dining room and powered through it,  and while the first coat of paint dried in the dining room - we emptied the study - which I had only put back a couple of days ago.  When the dining room was finished - it was on to the study and by 6pm both rooms had the ceilings painted and two coats of paint on all the walls.

I also want to acknowledge my family - to my Sarah who has kept Elizabeth and I watered - cold drinks on tap, today she made us a fresh beautiful cake and tidied up with Granny.  To my Dad - thank you for working on the floorboards in Elizabeth and Sarah's cupboards - a left over chore from the last lot of laying. And to my Mom - thank you for supper - yummy mash potato and sausages - for the shopping, for the encouragement, for the tidying up and just for being you.  To Matthew, please get better sweetheart - I am worried about you. (Matt is sick with the flu & has been for over a week).

So here are some photos of the day's progress. 

Matthew out of bed for the first time in a week - pretending to help - a few hours later - he was back asleep

Oh my goodness - wish I was getting ready for the Opera - at least I looked a little smarter!

I think Elizabeth feels the same

Our beautiful girl - baking a 'perfect' cake for morning tea

Preparing the study for painting

Stripping off the border in the study

The lounge filled with furniture

What - huh!  - Not a great look - Sarah took this surprise photo of me - I love it

Half way painted

Looking like a skunk - smelling like one as well, after working in high humidity all day - great to be posting from bed - fresh and clean

Final act for the day - sitting in the driveway washing the brushes and rollers - it will be a few days before we paint our bedroom.

Thank you Elizabeth for your help: for the fun that we have had together: for the laughter we have shared: and for your hard work. You are an amazing young lady and I love you - you have a work ethic to be proud of, and you can achieve anything you dream or want - if these few days work are any indication of how you live your life.

Tomorrow we will put the house back together and then Elizabeth and I are heading to the movies. A deserved day of rest.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Sorry it is late

Today's post has turned into tonight's post and you will all soon see why - I have been a little BUSY!

Yesterday I was looking around my beautiful home - preparing to pick up the floorboards to finish my bedroom this weekend and then I noticed 'another' mark on the wall - I tried wiping it, washing it - to no avail.
 "Hmm - maybe if after I have finished laying the floorboards, while the house is all a mess - I could paint?"
Now I immediately, hit myself over the head, and dropped the thought, but it kept bugging me, so I put it out to Elizabeth - she said NO, NO, NO!  And then she said - Yes, I will help you Mom.  So we went and bought the paint yesterday afternoon, came home and moved all the furniture out of the lounge and this morning we began.

Well, it is now 8.26pm and I have a fully painted lounge room which is about 8m x 5m in size. It has 2 coats of paint on the walls, the ceiling is also painted and all the furniture that was out of the room is now back in it - as well as all the dining room furniture which is prepared for tomorrow's paint.
This includes stripping the border and emptying the buffet - again - preparing all the edges with painter's tape. So here are some photos of the day - don't look at the outfits.

This is what my lounge looked like this morning

7am - Cleo keeping me company while I stripped the wallpaper border - everyone else asleep

Floors covered and room prepared for painting

Shower cap to protect my hair and a really cool top - it was so hot & humid - the paint was drying before we got down the ladder

Come home Ivan - all is forgiven - this is usually your job

Not a great look - the wall & paint is lovely

The other member of the painting beauty team :)

5.50pm - furniture back in lounge

Including dining room furniture

Removing more of that bloody wallpaper

Look at that stunning ceiling - looks like magic
Tomorrow will be Day Eight since Ivan left - in that time I have stripped the carpets from 3 rooms, laid floorboards and painted one of them. Not too bad!
What did you do last week?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

OK - So who needs sleep?

With only the floors in my bedroom to go - I have decided that I am not busy enough - and am going to paint the walls & ceilings as well. Yes, I know should have done that first - but I wasn't even thinking about it until I tried washing the dirty marks off the walls as I put the furniture back.

So tomorrow morning, Elizabeth and I are going to begin in the lounge, which is still empty and then do the dining room & the study.  At that point we will strip up the carpets in my room and paint the celings and walls and lay the floorboards - I have 19 full days before Ivan comes home - so it should be a breeze.

Oh yes, I also forgot that I have a 50 000 novel to write, a book to edit, children to feed, etc. 

Oh well - as I said Who Needs Sleep?????

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A few 'Honourable Mention' photos

 Waiting for the beginning of the Awards night . . .
 This is a close-up of me - with my Honourable Mention Photo
 Another couple of my photos - thanks Mom for taking your little 'point & shoot' camera - great photos.
 The one above, shows a couple of my photos and Mom's lovely water dragon photo - D Weatherburn
 And here we are again - Mom, pointing to her photo and me to mine
 Sarah had a couple of great photos entered and these two are hers.