2012 plans

A lot was achieved on the Sow's Ear last year.

The master bedroom and sunroom were completely renovated,

Master bedroom finished earlier this year.
below are the sunroom shots

two new window hoods were reinstated on the side of the house,

this is the hood over the window of the back bedroom

a bookshelf was custom built in the study by Jason DIY Inc.,

Study bookshelves. This is one of the last rooms yet to be completed. It is like the study/junk room at the moment. Scary!

the deck was given a new insulated ceiling which has worked a treat on really hot days,

It is finally painted but I can't show you just yet as there are a few final things to be done

and the biggest achievement of all...the exterior of the Sow's Ear was painted...over the span of a year.
This of course has had the biggest impact in terms of the appearance of the Sow's Ear. She's emerging from the swine to the divine...ha! Corny puns are my forte!

(but believe it or not, there is still a lot of painting to do under the house like the deck joists etc. It seriously is never ending),

Jason finished painting the back stairs and oiled the treads. They look too good to use!

So, onwards and forward in 2012.

I've been given a list for timber supplies. Jason's getting jiggy with the circular saw this January. He's thinking decorative valances for around the deck. He loves his architectural bling!

2012 will also see the removal of the asbestos cladding under the house which will be replaced with weatherboards. A big undertaking...for the weekend warrior.

A new front fence is on the books too. I've selected the style which I like and which is in-keeping with 1920s era of the Sow's Ear. Jason is not keen to tackle this job by himself, so it will be outsourced early this year.

We also have the quandary of our side stairs which still need to be finished...Mr Rooney, our intrepid builder, if you care to have a working holiday in Queensland you are welcome to visit the Sow's Ear at your leisure.

The study is also on the hit list to be renovated. This means repairing the window frames, copious amounts of paint and a major cull of our junk!

Oh and the bathroom. The bathroom is on the wish list too.

That should keep us out of mischief. Gotta love a project to work on.

Happy Days for 2012!

Good riddance 2011

I was going to write something prosaic about 2011 and about the progress we've made on the renovations to the Sow's Ear...but I won't.

2011 sucked for quite a lot of people we know. We were fortunately spared from the floods, fires, sickness and relationship breakdowns which have been occurring around us.

However, the death of Jason's lovely Nana earlier this year had a profound effect on us and has tainted 2011 as a sad one...despite all the "fun and vjing" I natter on about in this space. You can't help but miss the people you know you will never see again.

Anyway, we've survived another year intact as a relatively happy and healthy family with a roof over our heads. And we will be toasting that good fortune tonight and wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2012.

Happy New Year!

P.S Umm...I wanted to post about the deck project but Jason decided he wanted to oil the decking boards, so it is still in disarray. I went back through my photo archives and found this shot that I had completely forgotten about. It is a deck image from when the Sow's Ear was on the market in 2009.

It doesn't even look like it is the same deck now! I'll show the photos to you soon. 

Deck  March 2009

Deck ceiling progress

We're still here, working away at the Sow's Ear.

Action Jason

 

Even when it looks like rain, Jason will push the envelope and paint in defiance of the stormy weather.

The other day we were at the bottle-o replenishing our alcohol supplies when I took this snap of the approaching storm cell.

I haven't taken any photos of it but the deck ceiling is now finished. It looks so good.

A close friend came over today and she paid us the ultimate renovating compliment: "It doesn't look like you've done anything out here. It looks like it was always meant to look like that."

Seamlessness is always the goal in our renovations to this old house.

partially painted deck ceiling

Anyway, I'll show the finished result in the next post. 

Christmas and Boxing Day 2011 project

Christmas was good. It always is. There is nothing I like better than spending it with my most favourite people.

the boys unwrapping their gifts bright and early

Duck with orange sauce
Now that the boys are older we have our main celebration on Christmas eve. 

The shirtless Santa was very thoughtful with his gifts

We have a very simple Christmas lunch. This year I made a whole fish. It was a last minute decision when I was lining up to be served at the fish shop. This particular fellow was so fresh and less than half the price of filleted fish.  I also bought some fresh oysters. It was all delicious.

Boxing day is traditionally a day that Jason starts a new project on the Sow's Ear. Last year it was painting our bedroom; this year it is painting the deck ceiling. It has been literally hanging over our heads for many, many months since Jason and Mr Rooney, our travelling builder, retro-fitted an insulated ceiling to our existing deck.

It is a big job as Jason needs to undercoat/primer the ceiling, fill the gaps with bog and No More Gaps, and sand all the rough patches. After that is done, he'll start on the final two coats of paint.

Here are the progress shots from today:

Early start for Jason as he undercoats the deck ceiling

Jason undertakes the task in manageable chunks. He'll completely paint one half of the ceiling before commencing the other half. Go Jason!

What Christmas Break?

Everyone seems to be winding down for Christmas. It's really great to see. However, Christmas time around here means Jason has time off until the New Year. And you know what that means? Lots of reno jobs to be completed with the luxury of time.

Not one to disappoint, Jason arrived home half way through the day yesterday to commence his holidays. So what does he do? He proceeds to strip to the waist and whips out his trusty belt sander. Yeah!

You have to love a man with such commitment to his home renovations!

Shirtless Jason sanding the back stairs. 

The stair treads are being sanded down and readied for a coat of decking oil. They get quite grey as they get the direct sun.

Shortly after the above photos were taken, it started to rain. Thwarted for the afternoon!

Jason in repose. I know. It is not often that we see him like this. I captured this image on the quiet.

Today, Jason finished oiling the stairs. He also made the obligatory trip to the hardware store to purchase drop sheets and other painting paraphernalia in readiness for painting the deck ceiling.

All the jobs to be done this holiday are smallish but they have big impact in terms of polishing off the Sow's Ear. So, if you are still around I'll still be here tracking all the progress.

Thanks so much for reading our story about our renovations this year. The fabulous comments and lovely emails that we receive are always greatly appreciated. It makes writing Fun and VJs so worthwhile. The renovation process is much more palatable and less lonely somehow...

We wish you a safe and happy Christmas. Cheers to you all!

Jason with a mullet and me as a blonde.
Goofy photos from a booth at a recent function.
Sadly, if we were to die tomorrow this would be the most current photo of Jason and I together since 2009!!
Merry Christmas!