Still work to do............

I mentioned yesterday that we had started painting the house, this was before we even knew things were going to change. We'll carry on and get as much as we can done, then come back and finish it off. So far we have painted the two prominent sides, apart from the section under the gable end, because the planks sit vertically and are different to the rest of the boards. With Michael's help those will be changed to match the rest, so there was no point wasting paint as it's so bloody expensive!

 Also painted by the front door and laundry door side, still to do the back end, which will require a cherry picker as it's so high, then we'll do the garage.

The railings are also completely finished, boy are we glad that we don't have to do that again.

We headed out the other morning and as I was waiting to close the gate while Joe drove out, I looked back at the house and thought how pretty it was looking.

The Garden is very parched, although we did have some rain today.

The deck had a good clean, Michael came to help on Sunday, he screwed down raised boards and helped with the sanding, it was really dirty and boards had twisted, the New Zealand weather can be very harsh

On Monday Joe started coating it with a deck oil, by Resene called Driftwood.

He still needs to go around the outer and inner edges and it will need another coat.

It looks so much better and with the new paintwork it looks stunning

*******************************

For the last week or so I've been packing and all the boxes are being stacked in a spare room, in the past this room has been the office and my craft room, now it's storage.

I expect it will be full by the time I'm finished

It goes without saying that we are hugely excited and looking forward to the next chapter in our lives, we're very fortunate to be able to do this sooner than planned. I believe that you have to take chances in your life, things just don't happen, if you have goals or dreams then you work towards them and grab them with both hands, if we had waited around for our lives to change we wouldn't be living in New Zealand. Joe is doing very well in his job and this place was an excellent investment, because of that we are able to do what we are doing,and so happy that between us all we can help Michael and Natasha achieve theirs too. However if they don't start with the grandchildren soon I  might renege on the whole thing!! Only kidding, but when the grandies do come, what a life they will have.

And so I don't lose track, I have a countdown on my calendar!
Three weeks tomorrow

Before I go I will leave you with a few photos of Raglan, taken recently on some of the frequent trips there over the the past three weeks.

Lorenzen Bay is just stunning and just an 8 minute walk away

A small ramp, ideal for launching the kayaks

The woman on the floor was in the shade from the sun, she wasn't dead, I checked!!

A twenty minute walk and we can be at Bow Street wharf and the centre of town.

The Pohutukawa still blooming

Life is good right now

Another weekend come and gone

Only three more weeks to the big day, it'll be here before you know it. We've nearly ticked off the things we wanted to achieve before the day. 

At the moment Joe has only one day a week off and that's Sunday, he managed to get most of the windows cleaned inside and out, we have a lot of windows and it's a job he hates.

Before we started anything yesterday, it was really hard to get started, Joe made us some breakfast. While the smell of bacon wafted through the air and me in me nightie, I went outside and took some photos of the garden. It was raining and with a covered deck above me I was nice and sheltered. 

The plants in the garden looked rather pretty

Dublin Bay

 Mary Rose

 Sharifa Asma

 Pat Austin

 Alstromerias are bursting into bloom

 This Japanese maple was planted in remembrance to one of my best mates mum.I really like the variegated leaves

 Tulip tree The foliage is stunning

 Lavender going mad

 Hostas & ferns in the tiered garden by the front door

 Max and Clyde's silk tree had leaves opening

 Small succulents

 Drum roll please....Ta dah moment

 The chairs are finished, oh was I losing the will to live?!

Each chair needed twelves eyelets, there are eight chairs.

That's 96 little holes to cut out for the eyelets!!

Then I had to hammer all the eyelets !

I did two chairs this morning, took a sabbatical for a few hours(I'll come back to that) and then persevered with it, next time, if there's ever a next time, I'm bloody well paying the $80+GST!

Anyway they look great and because of all the effort that went into them, they're going to stay under the deck and out of the elements, they'll last longer that way I hope.

I got four finished yesterday, Michael helped Joe with some heavy lifting 

and the table was put in place.

 The last four chairs

That sabbatical 😜included having lunch and watching two episodes of ER,

then starting on some little projects, remember this photo?

I took the first three items, the wee shelf, the tray and the white stool

They all got sanded and had a coat of primer/undercoat

I then chose three colours, two from the baskets of tester pots and the chalk paint

 Hard to see but there are three different colours I promise you

The underside of the shelf

 The tray

 The stool

 I'll do the second coats tomorrow then decide how to tittivate

Right that's me for the day, Joe will be home soon and I'm ready for dinner

see ya

Sue

xxx

Two down, six to go.............

After spending five and a half hours making the new covers for two chairs today, I can now understand why the company I called quoted me $80 + GST per chair. It wasn't difficult to do but it was pretty long winded, it was also the first time I've done anything like this so working through the process took time. 

Hopefully it will be quicker doing the others.

I finished painting them yesterday, I may do another (3rd) coat on the table top yet.

Today I gathered all I needed to start the new covers, obviously I needed the material, I started with the green canvas on the left hand side of the picture.

I worked out how to use the eyelets, I'm going to need 3 more packs of these, each chair takes twelve eyelets.

What I hadn't banked on was some plastic strips that acted as a stiffener for the seat covers, the seat covers are laced underneath, there are five eyelet holes. The plastic strip is inserted into the seam where the eyelets go. 

Bugger, I thought I was scuppered before I even started. I had a search anyway and found my old art folder and it sacrificed itself for the greater good😋

I have to say that working out how to do the eyelets through 2 layers of fabric and the plastic proved challenging. After a bit of trial and error the best way, for me, was to mark and make the holes in the strips first, then insert into the seam, then make the holes in the fabric, fiddly and time consuming but it worked out okay.

I don't think I'm going to get more than two done in a day! 

*Other Stuff*

Before I even started the chair covers I was rummaging around in the shed looking for more projects, I'm in painting mode so thought what the heck, I don't really have time to do things like this but I think I need to do something other than wedding jobs to keep me sane.

I was still in me nightie and dressing gown, sane? Of course 😜

I seem to have quite a selection of small stools, a wooden tray, a round table and the thing to the left is a small shelf, the wooden shelf is set on a cast iron sconce which has a couple of candle holders either side. There are other things stashed away, they're for another day.

 Not entirely sure what I shall do to them yet but I know it will involve paint, I have a few tester pots, they're quite old but should be alright.

And on that note I shall go and get something to eat and drink, 

I was so engrossed I forgot lunch

Until next time

Sue

xxx