On Leaving The City

Over the last year, Dan and I have had a lot of people ask us whether we miss Brisbane. Both of us have been a little confused by the question.

The thing is - we don't have to miss Brisbane. The CBD is an hour from our front door (that highway is FANTASTIC, by the way). 

We go in often, for all sorts of reasons. I've had many days where I've woken up, desperately craved a coffee and chat with an old friend, and driven in just for that.

But, while there's a lot about Brisbane I really love, I'm always so happy to come back here after. We feel like we get the best of both worlds now. 

So, no. We don't have regrets about moving out of town. We wish our place had been in better condition when we stumbled upon it and our task here had been a little less taxing, perhaps. 

But we still don't regret buying it, because we love its location and we love its potential. I don't think either of us has ever really lost faith in the vision for any great length of time, despite the hard days. In fact, the more energy and elbow grease we've sunk in, the more we've both been heartened by the results. I think it's the vision that's got us through.

After all, it's hard to stay mad with a lifestyle that so clearly gives your child so much.

Our hope is that, some time early next year, we can move into our almost-renovated Queenslander, the hard yards behind us, and actually relax and enjoy it.

Then, we'll know for sure it's all been worthwhile.

A Year In - Then and Now

It's finally time to show some of the fruits of a year's worth of blood, sweat and tears.

As you'll see, we have come a long way - but still have a long road ahead.

Again, for Little House interior before and afters, click here or here.

So, starting off with perhaps our least impressive progress, Little House from the exterior.

Then...

And now...

And Little House's garden, now.

Big House Exterior Then:

And now:

Big House lounge and dining room:

And now. It's not easy to tell but the photo above was taken from the doorway... of a wall that is no longer there (it stood where the floorboards change colour, below). 

Big house kitchen then:

And now:

Big House pantry then.

And now...

The yards then...

Still then...

And now...

Then:

Now:

It's taken a whole lot of work to get as far as we've come, but the hard yards are just beginning. Thanks to everyone who's come along on this journey with us over the last year, your advice and support has helped us get through the tough days. 

What We've Got Planned For Christmas

I decided to do this in video form to give you a better idea of what we're tackling over the next month or so...

Sodablasting Pressed Metal Ceilings

I recently had an email from a reader, Bridget, sharing some photos of the restoration of the pressed metal ceilings in her Queenslander and I've just fallen in love with them.

The ceilings come complete with a cornice and are in fantastic condition (they possibly didn't sit under a leaky roof for years). They're also done in the most beautiful patterns.

Bridget introduced me to the idea of sodablasting, which is how they had their ceilings stripped ready for painting. It's similar to sandblasting but uses bicarb of soda. Neither Dan or I had ever heard of it before. 

We'd love to try the soda blasting on our ceilings and I rang a few providers to get some insights. Unfortunately, because ours are painted in lead paint, I was advised it wasn't an ideal approach as it would spread the lead dust everywhere. The costs were also high and I couldn't find anyone willing to take the job on over Christmas, which is when we need it done.  

So, we're back to Plan A for now.

You may remember we initially did the Kitchen Ceiling with Peel Away and, while it was time consuming, we think that's the way we'll go again in the rest of the ceilings.

It does involve bringing water inside - Dan had to use a high pressure hose last time to get it all off. That wasn't ideal then and it's even less so now that the floors are polished.

So, Dan's planning to build a bund wall out of framing and a large membrane to contain the mess as best as possible. I'll be standing by with the wet dry vac to try and keep on top of it too. Luckily, none of the area is wired yet making this approach possible (although not ideal).

For the lack of a better option though, we'll have to make it work!

Winner of Dremel Moto-Saw

I've just drawn the winner of the Dremel Moto-Saw competition. Drumroll... Congratulations Chris (another Lockyer Valley blogger) from Living at Gully Grove.

Enjoy your new Christmas toy!

Christmas Is Coming

There's just something about this time of year. Summer, Christmas - happiness is in the air! Look at this kid on the bike track at Laidley. 

HAPPY!

Speaking of Laidley, it's looking quite lovely at the moment with all its Christmas finery in place.

The official Light Up Laidley party happens this Saturday evening in town, when the Christmas tree lights get turned on. Laidley loves an excuse for a party.

Meanwhile, somewhere not terribly far from Laidley, the Christmas decorating at our place has also got into full swing. We've been hanging and tweaking and moving our Christmas fairy lights around, then going out for regular nightly inspections.

=

Admiring the sweet fragrance of LED lights (I know, I know).

And rearranging the baubles on the Christmas tree...

This year, Christmas will be in Little House. Big House, however, is getting a very special Christmas present as we prepare to strip the pressed metal ceilings in a week or two, and sand as much of the VJ walls as we can possibly bear to sand...

Also, if you haven't entered the Christmas giveaway, there's only a couple of days left to do so before it's drawn on Saturday.  

Adventures in Little House Living

It's about five months now since we moved into the newly renovated interior of Little House. 

To relive the before and afters, click here (As you may remember, we had a tenant move in for three months, then we moved in ourselves).

This is what Little House looks like today, perfectly functional but, well, a little too snug some days. It's at this kind of time of the year, when suddenly you're trying to find party dresses and high heels and luggage and Christmas decorations that, suddenly, you become really anxious for more space. 

A bit less vinyl wood grain wall cladding wouldn't hurt, either. (Our renovations didn't make it this far, we ran out of time)

Now, I realise this is technically a perfectly ample space for a small family like ours. I would just love to be able to store more things in my house for the simple reason that our shed, which is where everything gets stored now, is snake paradise. 

I've seen countless snake skins in there and a couple of weeks ago, Dan came back minutes after saying he was going to sort some things out to declare he'd changed his mind after seeing a large snake slithering into a storage box.

That's what worries me. Going in there and opening a box marked 'shoes' or 'books' and finding a nest of baby brown snakes or something. 

I bought new Christmas decorations this year, knowing the old baubles were buried somewhere at the back of the snake zone.

We live on 11 acres with two houses and a large shed. I know I can't legitimately whinge about space constrictions, but I'll be looking forward to getting back up into the big house and actually being able to unpack most of our things for the first time in a year.

I'll be getting someone to check all those boxes out before they leave the shed, though.