The House is Now Warm

I suppose the internet is probably sick of me writing posts about our house. But we are still excited about it! We recently had a causal street gathering to use the deck for the first time, and then last week had a bigger official Extension Warming party with a wider circle of friends and family.

It was so lovely to have everyone here, and have everyone fit! Wade again took amazing photos for us of our ribbon cutting ceremony and even just looking at them now, I'm so happy. Yes, we did make everyone stand in the old section before we cut the ribbon. It was very squishy.

We want our house to be a place where we can invite people in, foster community and care for people comfortably. It's always been that, if a bit squishy, but now it has so much more potential for it. This house warming was the first moment of realizing that dream.

So we are thankful to all the people who made it happen, our neighbors for putting up with the noise and damage to the bitumen on our street, our family and friends who let us have showers and stay the night when we needed it, anyone who met up with us at a park or their own house because ours was under construction for a good while. Mostly to God, who so graciously provides everything we need and abundantly overflows the blessing time and time again.

May the community we build here in our new extended house continue to be grounded on the same extravagant love that God has for us.

P.S. I did not make any new bunting for this party. Missed opportunity.

K.I.D.S. .... Well, Kinda...

So you might be wondering what on earth the title of this post is all about. Well, I didn't realize quite how long it must have been until I was searching for the original idea for this post, but a while ago, I stumbled across the Kids Inspiration and Design Series (K.I.D.S) in the land of sewing bloggers. 

It was something brought to life by a sewing mum who wanted to create one of her daughters drawings, and you can read about that initial excitement here. The idea was that you had your children design something and you would make it into reality for them. Cool for everyone because it was a challenge for the mums and delighting for the kids.  

That initial idea grew and the blogger subsequently challenged other sewing bloggers to join her, and ran a series for three years. Somewhere along the line I saw it and also loved it. My girls were too  young at the time to even think of participating (Rachel wasn't even born actually!) but I tucked the idea away in my mind for later. 

This Easter holidays, I decided to give it a whirl. I actually managed to get photos of their drawings before they were recycled. To be honest, their drawings are not really very detailed, but they do give you an idea. The girls both talked more about what they wanted than they drew. Maybe next time I'll give a bit more design coaching. 

Anyway! Rachel was the first to take up the challenge, and immediately started drawing dresses (of course) that were covered in lady bugs (of course) and had pockets (of course) for collecting things in. She also wanted a shirt with a lady bug (and pockets) and a skirt with lady bugs (and pockets) and shorts underneath. Sophie jumped on this bandwagon with a similar request of a shirt with pockets and a bunny on it (because it's Easter and she was in bunny heaven). 

I quizzed them on what kind of shirts (fitted or loose) and we did a hunt through my material stash for fabric. Sophie loved this pale blue fabric with the white floral detail, which I've used before in her unicorn shorts here and here. It was free from Aunty Sue in Sydney and is so beautiful. She also loved this other floral print which I picked up from a fabric swap at the local sewing studio, Sewing Adventures, early in the year. There was not enough for anything else but this bodice lining, but it's still beautiful. 

There was no ladybug fabric in my stash (sorry Rachel), but we did find a white with blue floral butterflies that was nearly as good. Also a pick up from the fabric swap, with the intention of making something for Rachel with it, so I felt like it was a win. I ask again: free fabric, is there anything better? I wanted to make the girls something for Easter, so given the time constraints, I told them I would just be making them a shirt each (to start with), but that it would have their desired pockets.  

The pattern I used was the Izzy Top which I've used before (here), but can't seem to find the original pattern anywhere on the internet now. Thankfully it's still safe on my desktop, but sad for all the internet who probably can't find it. Anyway, before I made the tops, I stitched on some felt applique which also doubled as the pockets.

Sophie's is a bunny, as requested, and Rachel's is a lady bug, to try to bring some of her lady bug dreams come true. Rachel's is also lined with the same fabric that Sophie's is made out of (the blue and white floral).

Rachel was so delighted with hers that she wore it before I could get photos of it and what you see here is post-wash. Sophie's turned out a little big, and even though I offered to pin it in, she was content to grow into it and wear it next year.

So that's my first attempt at Kids Inspiration and Design Series. I do hope to do it again (or make a ladybug dress for Rachel to climb trees and catch bugs in at least). Aside from the design aspect, I think I did a good job of taking something that the kids inspired and made it into a reality.

More Reading

I have found a friend at church who is steadily supplying me with books to read each week. Hallelujah! I can not explain how wonderful this is. I think she was surprised when I read the first two in a week and returned them to her promptly, but now she knows. I can do it. I am a reader. Not all of the following books are from her, some are still from the library, but it's good to have a supplement.

So I've read:

Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The Power of Three by Diana Wynn Jones
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Master of the Grove by Victor Kelleher
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
All the Wrong Questions (Book 1) by Lemony Snicket
The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende
The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene
Daughter of Nomads by Rosanne Hawke
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Goldenhand by Garth Nix

And that takes us to the end of April. I hope I can keep reading through out this next term, though Steve is off to Seattle again (for a two day conference) and we have two Bundy trips planned, so maybe not. Even so the more reading the better. It really makes a big difference to my life overall to pick up a book and not be wasting time scrolling through absolutely nothing on my phone.

Here is an older photo (from either late January or early February), of these four just hanging out on the couch "reading". I love it so much that they do this spontaneously and are excited by books and engaged in reading together. May this continue for the rest of their lives.

For an update on what we are reading together with the girls, we've started The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I've actually never read it, and to be honest, the girls are struggling a little again with the language, but we are getting there. As with The Hobbit, it does help to have an illustrated copy on hand. I would so love to read some Redwall next, but I think the girls are still just a little too young, so I might go back to Roald Dahl again; we shall see.

One of Those Cakes

It's been a while since I have made one of these cakes. Possibly because I've made a lot of biscuits instead, and didn't bother blogging about them. Oh well. For whatever reason, yesterday morning called for another of these cakes.

By these cakes, I refer to the kind of cake I make when things just seem a little bit too much; the holidays are finished, work has begun, the kids are driving me nuts and testing my patience like mad. You can read about two other cakes just like this one here and here, if you are really bored and have nothing more to do than check out backstory in my little blog-land. None of these cakes look the same, but they all have the same feeling.

And they all taste delicious and even if it's a grim rainy day and the Chrome Cast is not working; this kind of cake helps you remember things are going to be alright in the end.

Before and After

Just for real closure.

The backyard before:

And after:

The front before:

And after:

Thanks for coming on the journey with us people of the internet. 

Shorts: The Sewing Nook's First Produce

A sudden turn in temperature at the start of Autumn prompted me to clean out the girls wardrobes again. Having done so, there were obvious gaps that needed filling. Sophie had gone through a major growth spurt and suddenly only had one skirt that fitted her any more, and no shorts.

Needs must, so I got out some fabric and started to sew.

The sewing nook worked admirably, and having the shelf above meant I could easily store the work in progress during the day and knew exactly where it was when it came time to sew again.

I used the Clover Shorts pattern, because the material was so pretty it deserved to be a really nice pair of shorts. Dinosaurs are so awesome right?

Those unicorn shorts are almost identical to the pair I made last year for Rachel. Too bad I accidentally sewed the waist band on upside down this time.

It's in the Details

We added a little something to the new toilet.

With the sliding doors, it was a little hard to see where the light switch was from the door way. I drew the idea on a paper and then copied it to the wall in pencil before I painted it.

Everything is oh, so clear now, and it glows in the dark, which is extra helpful.

Renovation Update: Epilogue

So I realized after my last post, that there were a few things missing of our final renovation that I didn't get to share with the world at large. And that I really should redo the video walk through so that people get a better idea of what happened and where everything is.

So I did, and here it is:

The most notable thing that I missed talking about was my sewing nook. Probably because it is insanely hard to get good photos of, because sewing nook, is an extremely adequate name for it. But I am super excited about it.

We weren't originally sure what to do with the space. It was across from the laundry, next to a linen cupboard. We floated the idea of a bench with storage underneath, and then a vague notion of giving Steve an easily accessible space to store tools inside. About two and a half months into the renovation, I realized, as I walked around the sewing cabinet that had been stored in our bedroom, that it was just the right size for that little area.

It grew to be even more perfect when I realized that during the week, I could use it as a change table, thus removing the need for a change table in our bedroom. Hallelujah! The final moment of perfection came when I realized that being next to the ironing cupboard and a linen storage cupboard meant that I could store my material close at hand (again, out of the bedroom) and I would have no excuse not to press seams given the location of the iron.

Almost too good to be true.

But it is true. It's small and will take some juggling if I'm working on a bigger project (like a quilt), but it's an area that is all for me and for sewing; and I love it. What an unexpected bonus of renovating a house.

Renovation Update: The Forth and Final Chapter

This is it people. The builders officially left last Friday. We are done.

I spent Friday, in between looking after children, painting these windows. Luckily I got them done (two coats!) and back in before the big storm hit in the afternoon. Otherwise we might have seen a lot of water damage in the laundry area. These were the only existing windows that we didn't repaint in the window project of 2014.

When the builders cleared off the deck of all their stuff, it suddenly seemed a lot bigger. So great to have it done!

On the weekend, Steve mattocked up all the bare ground that had been compacted by the excavator at the start and weeks of builders walking on it. Thankfully the rain made it a little easier, if also a lot muddier. At last the grass as something to grow into again.

We still need to oil the deck. The list of things we need to do seems to get bigger before it gets smaller. Inside the house we keep finding extra things that need seeing to, and I'm still unpacking the kitchen. There are cupboards in there that I haven't even touched, even though they are full of who knows what. But slowly, we are working it out.

It's hard to fit the whole house into a photo from the back yard now, but we still feel like we've got enough lawn.

I am also spending lots of time making the house "officially safe" again for work. I'll have to put a gate on the bottom of those steps, because of, you know, danger and stuff. I also wonder if the powers at be will ask us to cover up under the stairs there because of entrapment issues, but fingers crossed they don't.

Look, an outdoor setting we can actually use! We've only had it for, I don't know, six years maybe? It's been under the house, waiting. We've used the chairs before, but the table was too big to get out often. Here is it's time to shine!

The bay window cushion was the last thing we got. I love the purple colour adding some fun to the room. I feel like I could have taken better photos and made everything look super swish and professional, but it was enough trouble to keep the kids out of an area for just one photo that I didn't feel like I had the energy for any more.

This is the only photo I have of the bathroom. I wonder if people want more? Should I, for example, take photos of the laundry cupboard too? I don't know! I did take a walk through video, but I got a little rambly in my explanation in it and think I need to redo it. Do people even want to see that? I have no idea.

The bathroom is shiny and clean, and the girls love the bath. The faucet swivels out of the way, which is also super cool.

Anyway, that's a wrap! House renovation complete. We are looking forward to having people around and making use of our space to welcome people.

Nailed it

Today's Bento were so good.

Except that Rachel ate all of hers by 11:00 at Playgroup.

I wonder how quickly Sophie ate hers?

Renovation Update Three

The painting begins! 

This is the inside of our house, standing from the corner near the new bay window. The painters got in here and painted all the walls and ceiling before the floors got sanded and polished. The second day of painting, the painter asked me what I thought. My response was a little uninspiring, so he thought I didn't like the color now that it was on the walls. 

It wasn't that; the new part of the house just seemed so classy, modern and shiny. We had been living in the older part of the house, that, despite the paint lift we gave it when we moved in initially, still had molding on the walls to hide the joins, and shiny ceilings because we'd never bothered to paint those at all. I was used to that old house, with it's old style and where I didn't mind if the children got paint on the walls, it was comfortable. I was not used to this shiny new part of the house and I am still not sure we will ever belong there. Maybe after the kids have made it dirty though, it will start to feel a bit more like home.

Anyway, here is a night time shot post floor polishing. We weren't walking on it, so we weren't home much during the day, but it was too exciting not to have a night time visit and photo. You can see the bay window seat had been put in, with spaces for drawers too!

While the floor got sanded and polished, the painters moved outside and began work on the exterior of the house. Here is a progress shot.

And another, given that the side window there still has an unpainted windowsill, but mostly everything else is done. I'm so looking forward to when the scaffolding is gone and the sides of our house feel large and spacious again.

Round the back, the deck was getting built and the roof put on. Every time we opened the bifold doors, we could feel the breeze coming through and longed more and more for the day when we could just walk out onto the deck. I think we will be spending a lot of time out there when all is done.

Here is a panorama shot of the inside out onto the deck. You can see the kitchen is back together, but not quite, as our dishwasher isn't in yet, and the microwave is still on the bench. Actually, that wall that moved out to make space for the dishwasher was without power for about two weeks, so we used a camping stove to cook on and an extension cord for the microwave.

Moving around, there is a linen cupboard on the other side of the kitchen, and the laundry. Down that hallway behind the living room wall is our second toilet and bathroom. The holes in the walls were waiting for the electrician to come along and join up the wires with power points. Leaning up against the bay window are the laundry doors that were painted too.

Coming round onto the deck you can see the old toilet (about to be thrown in the bin) and our deck! The roof posts were up, but they didn't put the roof on until the next week.

Tada!

Such a change, but so exciting. Inside I was using all the baby gates ever to remind the children about where they could and couldn't be. The regulars were good, but my one-day-a-week kids definitely needed the reminding. That said, I never had any explorers try to investigate any dangerous building equipment, so I'm really thankful for that.

While the outside was being painted, the inside got electricity and plumbing. The bathroom/toilet/laundry were all tiled and the other bits went in. We ordered our new couch (first one we'eve ever bought) and put the old one out for curbside clean up (such handy timing). When the dishwasher got put in, I really started unpacking kitchen things and putting stuff away. And cleaning. So much cleaning.

Shout out to anyone using Norwex. Such great cleaning products, I don't know where I would be with out the enviro cloth and my container of cleaning paste. Ask if you want to know more, but I've had a really dirty house and I've cleaned it all with just Norwex: no chemicals or paper towel. Amazing.

Yesterday, Steve and I hung this indoor plant in our kitchen. It's so full of life, I really hope I don't kill it. We got the hanging pot from my friend Katie who works with Lorraine Lea. So pretty.

Today as I type this, the builders are finishing the deck balustrade, and mounting the dryer in the laundry. Nearly there (just two more weeks?) Even if the builders finish by Friday, I know there is still a to-do list for us to tackle when they are gone. For now though, I hope you've enjoyed the update; I thought there would only be three, but stick around for a forth and let's hope that's it!

Renovation Update Two

When we left off last time, the outside of the house was built, and things were starting to look very different. At this point, we were pretty excited by what we could see on the inside of the house, so I took a video to help other people visualize what was going on and even see what was happening. 

It is pretty cool to be able to look back at that and compare it to where we started and where we are now, so I'm glad I did take it. The next thing to go in was the windows and doors, and then the floors! 

Here are the girls and I on a lovely new floor! That bay window area that we are standing in will eventually have a seat in it. You can see the inside of the house walls are not yet covered, and the ceiling isn't in yet either.

We  had to move out for the next bit, because we were at the point where the old back wall of our house had to come out. For that to happen, the kitchen had to be taken apart too, because, as you saw in the video, the kitchen wall was moving out so that we could fit a dishwasher in. Here is a photo of Steve with his dishwasher.

He was very excited about this, and still is.

A week or two later, and this was our house! The lovely new floor was covered up with cardboard to protect it while the tradies did their work, putting pipes and cables in all over the place. You can see on the floor next to Sophie in the picture below where our old kitchen used to be in that un-polished area of floor (that was were the old stove stood when we initially bought the house and had the floors done. When we had the new kitchen put in, the cupboards went straight over it).

Everything felt roomy and spacious in the house now, and the outside was finished cladding all the way around, so it was beginning to look pretty spiffy.

We were out of the house for about three weeks, which was pretty tough, even with the sweet accommodation my parents graciously provided for us. That in-between state is hard to live in for an extended period, so I'm glad it was only three weeks.

Our neighbors remarked on the house a lot too, and we had a lot of compliments about the new color, which was literally just the unpainted cladding. I guess we could have saved a bunch of money and not painted it, but it didn't seem worth it.

Here is a final inside shot now that the walls are all covered up and plastered. The cornices were yet to be done and the kitchen cupboards were still all over our front living room, but it was really beginning to feel like it was almost there.

I commented to Steve that the renovation was similar to having a baby who was crying. Bear with me, I'll explain. Sometimes when you put a kid to bed, they have a grumble, and if you go in straight away, it's actually not going to help them sort it out themselves. They need to learn to do it themselves.

So you say to yourself; "I'll just give them two minutes, and then I'll go in." And sometimes that's all it takes, but other times, the two minutes is a little bit perpetual. After the first two minutes, you say "I'll just give it two more minutes", and twenty minutes later when they have finally gone to sleep, you feel fine because you only gave it "two minutes".

Now, to the renovation. As we got closer and closer to the end, if felt like we were saying "just two more weeks", and after those two weeks, we would say, "Oh, yep, just two more weeks." So there are only "two more weeks" to go, but it's been at least six weeks thus far. 

I wonder when it will really be done, and I think it will be actually long after the builders have left, because there are still things to sort out, and put away, and find new homes for, and clean, and clean and clean. So much cleaning. Hopefully we will get there though. Stick around if you are keen to see the final installments of our renovation.