Finished - well....

It was hard work but we got the room habitable just before the kids got back from Arrowtown. There is still the small matter of the skirting boards and the rest of the wallpaper and a heap of sorting of 'junk'. I ran out of wallpaper so I hung my largest hanging on the wall and will use the scraps of wallpaper round the edge - just don't look underneath! Someday I may have the money to do it all properly but in the mean time it will be ok.

We put the remains of an old picket fence along the edge of the upstairs piece so that William feel safer. He helped to paint them white to match the rest of the woodwork. They don't look too bad in their new home :)

The 13th birthday party was the same day as the jaffa race so I didn't bother to organize anything special. With about 30,000 jaffas racing past who needs anything organized! So we now have two teenagers!!! I let him have a friend to stay the night so the sleeping platform has been trialled good and proper and has been a great success. Even the cat thinks it is a bit of all right :)

Its back to school tomorrow. The fortnight holiday seems to have just vanished. Probably due to working so hard on that bedroom! William gets to take a look at his new school for next year at the end of the week. James is already there of course but I imagine won't own up to having a little brother anytime soon :) Although you never can tell....

Sorry about the lack of relevant photos - I will get some up soon - promise :)

viv in nz

These are from above Abbotsford in Dunedin

viv in nz

DIY

The boys are away skiing with Grandma this week so I decided, in my wisdom, to do over Williams room. At present it is a corridor between the kitchen and toilet on one side and the rest of the house on the other. Sort of an en suite kitchen :) It is his birthday at the end of the week so I thought we could get it done easily in the time. Ha! Fat chance. First Matt got a really super bad cold and couldn't do anything for several days and then, just as we put in the outside door with access to the other rooms minus the handy little porch yet to come, it snowed! We could see it through the huge hole in the wall left from the removal of the window. And feel it of course. The only saving grace is that it opens into a hallway which we don't heat anyway. Having a shower was rather 'interesting' as the back door is now in what remains of the bathroom. The shower is scheduled for relocation sometime soon (I hope).

I had rallied the family in to help but, due to the snow, they had to go almost before we got started. They did help get the main bed frame into place but that was about it and now it is weekdays and they all have jobs.

The frame for the upstairs bunk is almost done and I have spent most of today filling cracks in the ceiling which seems a mile high (I'm not that keen on heights and I need to be one step off the top of the tall ladder!!!!!!). I need to paint the ceiling (two coats) wall paper the walls (mostly to cover imperfections as I can't afford new wall board yet) and set up the room again with all its bits and pieces like bedding, drawers etc.

The boys are due back midday tomorrow.........I get the strange feeling that William will end up helping to wallpaper his own room!

viv in nz

These were taken a few years back but the view is just the same only snowier!

viv