2013 already...

I really can't believe where the years are going. I must admit reading a friend's blog earlier tonight made me realise how remiss I have been in neglecting my own blog and how much time had slipped away.
It has been a really busy time for us these last 2 years, a lot of hard work in renovating and restoring this house. Something that I really don't think I would ever do again but I do know that the end result will be well worth all the headaches and setbacks.

This is an older picture as I can't seem to locate a more recent one at the moment. We have completed the outside of the house and are currently finishing off painting the interior and a few other smaller things.

House being cut in half ready to go on truck at original location.

Second half on the truck ready to leave in the morning.

 

I never realised how big this house actually was until we saw it on the truck moving. The truck left at 6am on a Sunday morning with an escort as it was so big and they thought this would be the quietest time on the road for its 3/4 hour journey. It was amazing and nerve wrecking to watch it travelling along, it only just cleared the signs on the sides of the roads and only met a couple of cars and trucks and also a cyclist who thought he didn't need to move off the road and nearly got wiped out by the house.

Second half of house being put into place before being taken off the truck.

 

Roof going back on

 

 

old original kitchen minus the chimney.

New kitchen all complete, designed and built by my son.

Original bathroom transformed to a new one.





We had to add another bathroom

 along with another toilet, this was originally a bedroom but the council said we had to have another bathroom and toilet so we cut this bedroom in half and added a laundry in as well. Photos to come of finished bathrooms and laundry when I find them.

Sadly this ceiling didn't survive the moving and had water damage to it so had to be replaced. I was devastated as this was the only ceiling roses I really wanted saved as they were all handmade on site and have so much detail in each of the panels. But I have kept all four smaller corner panels and the large central panel, hoping one day I can have them fully restored and possibly put to some use..

This is what we replaced the above ceiling with, not quiet as detailed as the original but still works ok with the rest of the house.

 loungeroom - fireplace just needs painting and a few finishing touches. Walls have all been painted since this photo was taken.

hallway floors all polished and ceilings replaced and painted, walls painted and lights installed.

underfloor insulation all completely installed.

this little girl even had time to mow the lawns the old fashioned way.

 

  Finally found a more recent photo of our almost complete house. The roundabout and garden need some plants and work done on them still.

   even the wildlife visits us. We quite often get visits from kangaroos, wallabies, emus and lizards but thankfully to date no snakes.

 

So our little project is nearing completion but it has sure kept us out of mischief over the last 2 years or so. It will be great to have all the furniture we have stored in our home here removed and back into its rightful house. My passageway here has 14 large plastic tubs full of kitchen stuff blocking our front door, lucky we haven't used that door in years.

  In the meantime, the kids have all grown, some have left home and moved on with their adult lives. One son has built his own home whilst working on ours and is currently on vacation overseas. I think he has earnt his holiday well and truly. We have celebrated 18ths and 21sts, one has got her motor vehicle licence, found a traineeship and completed it and is now finishing a diploma.

We only have 3 kids left at home now, and when I say it is nice I get some weird looks from others, but I do mean it in a nice way. It is a lot less work and it took me ages to learn not to cook too much food at meal times I was so used to feeding a large family. Our youngest has began school and is now in grade 1, even our granddaughter has started school. I am still sewing and crafting in my "spare" time when ever I can grab a few precious moments which are now becoming more frequent. We have done dance exams and dance concerts, cricket and football and all the usual in between. It is never a dull moment around here.

And surprise we also managed a holiday to Queensland last year, the first we have had in nearly 20 years and it was heaven. We took with us 5 of the kids, one couldn't get time off work and the other one already lives in Queensland so she visited us up there. We had a fantastic relaxing time and caught up with other family members, but it was still nice to get home and back into normality.

We have had family illnesses, family deaths. That dreaded C word has invaded our family again but this time my mum has proven them all wrong and fought it so stubbornly that she has amazed all the doctors and specialists and now 3 years on is getting back into life with the help of maintenance chemo fortnightly.

So really nothing much has changed in my life, just as busy as what we were 2 years ago but hopefully as time goes by it will start to ease off and I can get back into my sewing and crafting seriously again.

Till next time.