Another Sally day

No food in the house so Granny took Sally to Maccas for breakfast.

We then went to Bunnings and then signed the paperwork with the real estate agent and then off to Ikea where Sally got a cinnamon bun and Grumpy got a hot dog.

We bought a pair of curtains for the study, lights for the front room and study and Sally got an icecream and Grumpy got another hot dog.

Still no food in the house so Sally had a bowl of icecream with sprinkles for afternoon tea.

Grumpy replaced the lights in the two rooms and out the front of the house. The curtains have been taken down and I will hem the new ones over the weekend. We will paint before we rehang.

I have decided to pay $250 for a stylist's advice. If we need new furniture I will hire if it costs less than buying otherwise I will buy because we will need it down in Lakes.

I am now having a large gin and tonic. 

Maud

 Yes, she has been harvested. I gave her to Three because Sally wanted pumpkin soup. 

The other Ms will be following shortly as 

drum roll ....

the house will be going on the market mid-May and the pumpkin patch will be looking a bit sad so will need to be gone.

My head is spinning with all that needs to be done both between now and then but also beyond as we will need to find accommodation for two adults, two dogs and two cats.

The good thing? Not once have I questioned our decision.

Getting too old for this

We had Sally today. She is a good kid and a budding artist!

But she, rightly so, demands attention.

She did painting and drawing until the carpet guy had been and quoted on the three and a bit rooms. 

We then took a whole lot of stuff to Vinnies and she had a look around the shop. I don't think she's been in an op shop before.

When she was camping with her mother's side of the family and their friends over Easter she managed to make $7 by roasting marshmallows. Apparently she is an ace negotiator!

Somehow Granny managed to fork out $4 for a dolls' house and another $3 to take her $7 up to $10 if she didn't spend any today. Then we discovered that she had dropped a $2 coin in the store so I replaced that and explained that most people who shop there don't have a lot so that $2 could mean a big thing to them if they found it. Plus a gentle admonishment to be very careful with one's money. Macca's for lunch and Granny spent nearly $20 today!

We played some games on the computer. Her reading is so good now that we can play mystery games that provide a story and clues.

Tomorrow I am seeing Fave sis in law for the last time before they head back to Italy.

For now, a long gin and an early night.

Stuff

The spare bedrooms have been painted and the curtains rehung and YAY! it works. One less expense. While we were looking for extra curtain hanging thingies we found 6 curtains that we had bought for our bedroom and then changed our mind. They will go in the front room which just leaves the study which will be easy.

My back wasn't happy with the bending I did yesterday when I was painting so I have sorted through more craft stuff. I have two boxes of yarn to show to friends who have first pickings. Then I will put the remainder on a destash site. Amy is taking a large box of fabric and some overlocker threads, elastic, zips and other miscellaneous haberdashery. She doesn't know it yet but Three said she would!

I found a whole lot of quilting batting from a previous obsession that I am hoping will find a home. Seeing as the fabrics, batting and a whole lot of patterns for quilts and clothes haven't been touched since we moved here in 2017 I don't think I will cart them down to Lakes.

Tomorrow the carpet dude is coming to measure up. Himself has cardiac rehab in the afternoon and we have Sally. I might make a trip to Vinnies to drop off the bags of clothes and yarn I have winnowed (to use Boud's expression).

Now that there is a chance we might not have to sell straight away Himself suggested we hold off getting the carpet laid. I told him that I want the house market ready by the middle of May. That way, even if we do plan to hold off, if the agent gets an interested buyer who is willing to pay a good price with a suitable settlement we can sell off market.

Pie, peas and onion rings for dinner. Neither of us feel like cooking so something to pop in the oven ticks the boxes.

Destashing - it's a craft thing!

When you decide to go through your yarn and work out what to keep and what to sell/give away.

At least he had the sense to go into the "keep" box!

There is also a bag of stuff to toss, two bags for the op shop and a bag to give to Alice's day care for craft. I still have heaps to sort through. I think I might have a yarn compulsion.

I am unlikely to do any serious sewing again so need to get rid of a whole lot of fabric and patterns as well as my old Horn sewing cabinet. From the days I had a fabric compulsion.

Himself has finished painting the two spare bedrooms. They look much lighter and brighter and I am pretty sure with a bit of careful placement of pictures I can make the curtains blend in so one less thing to buy.

The chap we are dealing with in these initial stages of the house knows a dude who owns a company that handles financing. He and Himself had a chat this morning and we have more options. Now we need to work out whether it is cheaper to borrow, stay here til the house is built and sell just prior or sell sooner and rent. We also need to get a feel from the agent whether he thinks the market will go up or down. 

The upside of staying is only one move. The downside is keeping this place pristine once we have finished the tarting up which will be in a month or so.

I did my bit today and began painting the railings on the deck.

Then it started to rain, right on wine o'clock!

I wish I had a tape recorder in my brain. I had some great ideas for blog posts while I was painting. Sat down here and "poof" - gone! So you get house stuff.

On the pumpkin front - Maude looks like she isn't going to get any bigger which is good as there are only two of us! 5 or 6 others will be good to go soon (skin getting knobbly and tough - like me) but I have many that will only get to about the size of a grapefruit. I wonder if I can use an immature pumpkin for something.

Just remembered - Happy Easter to those who celebrate. I wonder how many kids out there think this is a long weekend for camping and eating chocolate.

A long day

We left home at 8.30. Got to Bairnsdale at 12.15. Left at 3.15 and got home at 6.30

Ominous clouds

They soon delivered

Then the sun came out for a bit but the clouds were still threatening.

And then they weren't!

And that was pretty much the pattern for the day both going down and coming back.

 At times it bucketed down. I was appalled at the atrocious driving exhibited on wet, slippery roads with poor visibility. 

Anyway. We went through the paperwork in great detail. Discussed lots of things. Signed on the dotted line and handed over $1500 deposit which will get things underway with soil testing and land survey.

Now we focus on this place. We will hear from the builders once things have started to move through the process. Not expecting anything for a few weeks as permits and tests happen and engineers do their thing.

I spent the best part of the day sitting down and I am knackered. My back/hip aren't happy with me but I did get a lot of sock knitted so there is an up side.

Good Friday

Tomorrow we drive to Bairnsdale (about 3 hours) to sign the initial contract and pay the deposit on the house. All very exciting.

It makes the chaos that is my home at the moment a bit more bearable.

Today I finished scraping paint off the windows where Himself had painted the woodwork (yes he could have taped but there is always a bit of scraping to do regardless and I like doing it). I planted the tubs at the front door with pansies and some other plant the name of which escapes me. We should have a burst of colour when the time comes. I also planted a few pots in the vege patch with the same plants for a splash of colour. 

Himself has painted the two spare bedrooms. They will need another coat but it won't take him long. Hopefully he will have all the interior painting done by the end of next week. 

I went to put a load of washing on this morning and I couldn't get the washing machine to turn on. The dryer wouldn't work either. I checked the fuse box. All good. Everything else was working fine.

I think they are under warranty so wasn't too concerned but annoyed at the inconvenience. 

I told Himself and he went into the laundry to have a look.

I heard the tell-tale chime that indicates the machine is on.

I had been pressing the stop start button. Not the on off button.

Shoot me now.

At least I enjoyed a couple of hot cross buns.