Renovations - Progress

Studio space - then...

Studio space - now

Downstairs Back of House - then

Downstairs Back of House - now

Rear of House - then

Rear of House - now

New Studio Space

Well, I am glad to say that things have been moving along

with the downstairs part of our renovations.

My studio is now clad, along with a new storage room,

old laundry and garage area.  

It makes such a difference, and it's not even finished yet.

Now deciding on light fixtures/placement, studio flooring options and exterior paint colours 

(The building crew favour the same colour as the top half of the house but

I am seriously considering the grey of the hand rails.  My thinking is that this will connect it

to the top half but give it weight and differentiate the new build from the old .

Any opinions?

PS:  On a totally different note -

I hope all the artist book makers who read this little blog of mine

will visit the Personal Histories blog from time to time and

hopefully consider being part of the exhibition.

If any one has any suggestions on how I can promote

participation in the event I'd be most grateful of suggestions.

PABLO

I know dogs aren't everybody's thing.

But I just really liked this photo I took of our

kelpie/bluex, Pablo.

A dog is not something I'd ever envisaged

ever having in my life, BUT 

a few years ago this little guy needed help so 

he came to live with us and, thus far,

we have all got along pretty well.

He seems pretty happy here anyway.

Renovations continue................

The long process of renovation continues:

The upstairs deck is pretty much complete now

and has made a great difference to how we live in our house.

Downstairs has gone from muddy quagmire to lovely solid concrete

underfoot.  Soon we'll have the new walls and windows up

to utilise some of this space for storage and studio.

Shaping Up

The deck is coming along

with the roof going on in sweltering 45 deg heat through the week.

Just a good paint and a few trims and she should

look like she's always been part of the house.

Now we just need a reliable concreter to move on with the next stage

of building underneath the house.

We thought we had that all sorted, but the world of tradespeople is a fickle place.

Renovation/Extension - Progress

Work is progressing.

 As you can see we still have a long way to go

(including a lot of painting! - 

half old colours/half new at the moment

and the shed needs painting).

The biggest bonus of putting on the deck is

that we get as much space again underneath

to play with.

Home Extensions

The backyard is currently in a state of dishevel

due to the beginning of our first stage of extensions/renovations 

- after 8 years of thinking about it!

The first part of our grand plan is

 extending the deck which runs along the back of the house

and repositioning the stairs. 

Being mindful of tragedies that have occurred due to deck

collapses, it's all extremely well engineered and certified.

The middle photo shows where phase 2 of the plan begins -

my studio under the house.  How excited am I!?!??!?!?! 

Pablo (the dog) meanwhile is becoming very practiced in the art of photo-bombing!

Front Yard - Progress

Today, we have grass.

Instant green.

Some rocks have been laid on the path,

but it is a while away off being complete

and serviceable.

The wallabies, however, are finding it soft underfoot!

Changes in my front garden

 This was how my front garden looked this morning.

When we moved in almost 8 years ago there was a small

hedge of murraya creating a circular garden.

The hedge has grown exponentially and

since murraya is a noxious weed in our part of the world,

we decided it needed to leave.

 So:

This is how my front garden looked this afternoon.

Soon to have a path and lots of grass for the

wallabies to graze and laze upon.

 I am quite excited that I now have the beginnings of

a path to my letterbox.

I am also quite excited that you can see a little bit

of my lovely house now, which feels a lot more welcoming,

as we have always felt a bit hidden away behind all the shrubs.

Love Seat

Wasn't looking for new furniture, but this was

such a bargain I couldn't leave it behind.

I absolutely love it - nice and quirky.

The guy in the delivery dock couldn't believe 

anyone would choose to live with something this hideous!

Lucky he's not a salesman!!!

It's little feet protectors are still on as it won't have a

proper place to sit until we have finished our renovations,

which have only just begun!

So for now it will sit in front of my overstuffed bookshelves,

in my already overflowing work area

where I can enjoy it's company.

SOAKING WET

Everyone and everything is wet here today.

We have had continuous heavy showers 

throughout the night and it has rained all morning.

Unlike the unfortunate creatures in our garden,

we are all nice and cosy (although the wallabies

are all now taking shelter under the verandahs).

We are all extremely lucky here

that we are not expected anywhere

today, so we are taking full advantage

and doing rainy day things like sleeping in,

reading books, tidying and creating.

Magnolia

My Magnificent Magnolia tree is still flowering away in the front yard providing beauty to a dry winter landscape.

Winter Flowers

 

The magnolia tree has once again burst into flower in my front yard.  

The tree is now as tall as the roof and about 2-3 metres across, bearing these beautiful, lightly scented flowers, white with the slightest hint of a blush.

Birds

 

More backyard bird photo's: Scaley Breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus), Sulphur Crested Cocaktoo (Cacatua galerita) and Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus).  

All taken with my trusty little Canon Powershot S2IS.  Best little compact zoom lens ever!

Backyard Happy Snaps

 

Three images from my backyard.  The kookaburra and butcher bird are regular visitors.

Winter Mornings

Early crisp winter morning had me out searching for the elusive sun , but it's hard to find here early in the day because of all the trees surrounding us on our side of the hill. 
Well worth the wait on a quiet Saturday morning.
Looks like my friend, Scamp, the wallaby was out searching for sun this morning as wel!