Dipping my toes in the water

It feel good to be blogging again albeit this is only my second in 5 years! I have a morning routine - cuppa tea, read the headlines, check out a few blogs, checkout facebook, do a couple of puzzles then get on with my day. I think I can easily add an update here as part of that routine. We shall see.

Oooh - I can change colours. And size. And font.

And I can add stuff.

Now I just need to work out how to add photos from my phone. But that can be a job for another day.

When we bought this place back in 2017 it was beautifully presented. It only took a couple of days before we realised that it had been done up to sell. The couple that lived here before are lovely but the husband was not the handyman he thought he was! 

We did some fairly major renos (turned the ensuite and wardrobe into a decent ensuite and the fourth bedroom into a walkin wardrobe). Unfortunately that cost more than we thought and the building inspection which said the roof needed a $3,000 fix up was way off the mark and we ended up replacing said roof for a helluva lot more! But it improved the insulation which meant the house was more comfortable. We also installed a new split system to make the best room of the house (a rumpus room with a bar in it and a fabulous view) liveable. It hadn't been used for years because it would be unbearably hot in summer and freezing in winter. 

Now we have plastered the exposed brick and painted the timber cathedral ceiling (1980s anyone?) and replaced the ancient carpet with timber floors which match the rest of the house.

Within the first few months the dishwasher died, the range hood fan shat itself and the back of the wood heater sheared off. All more $$$.

You can understand why we have had a real love/hate relationship with this house. Especially as the house we moved from was new when we bought it so modern and airy, was close to the beach and had a lovely view. But it was a town house and our neighbours were close. Just before we moved a young family moved in next door with two small loud kids so I imagine the peace would be shattered. It was also body corporate which brings a whole lot of issues and lacked space for Himself to potter. This house is older, granted, but has a big block of land, a massive garage which Himself uses as his work area, is in a quiet leafy street and we are right on the outskirts of Melbourne close to the Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland. I am slowly learning to love it.

This is the entrance hall on the day we moved in. 

This is it now - 2020 decor!

The wood heater and my new hobby (crocheting not wine!). I'll talk about that another day.

What prompted that ramble was that Himself has gone to Bunnings to try to find a door kit so we can rehang the folding doors that the previous owners removed so we can make the house more dog proof. I have no idea why they moved them because the track was still there. As I said before, there is lot of stuff in this house that makes us shake our heads!

And on that note I shall go and continue working on a paint by numbers picture I'm doing for one of the grandkids. They will each get one for Christmas if I can get them done in time. This is another hobby I started in lockdown. It has helped keep me relatively sane (OK, it's stopped me going completely off the rails).