The silver lining

 Abridged version of what has happened this last month: Lots of progress.

My labourer Michael has been a godsend, working on whatever and whenever I need him to, including weekends.

I have started putting "the silver lining" around the outsides of the reconstructed walls.

Electricity is only 2 weeks away!! Just need one more safety inspection then we're back on the grid! What should I get my Vietnamese neighbours to say "thank you for your electricity"  other than the money I've been paying them? Chocolates? Would they even like that? Is this question racist?  I say this because I went quickly looking for chocolate in Footscray the other day and failed. None of the little Asian general stores had any. My closest supermarket is a medium sized independent store inside Footscray Market.  Even they didn't have any chocolate. In fact, it didn't have much of anything. The picture here depicts the "wartime" / "Communist Dictatorship" atmosphere. The supermarket should be called 'Slightly Better than Nothing'

My parents schedule has recently calmed down a little bit and they've been over to help some days which I have been very grateful for. As it is now midwinter, it is difficult to get a full day in before it gets dark.  Torches have to be used after  5:30pm.  My Dad has now built my bathrooms walls which means the bathroom can be progressed independently to the rest of the house :D

They have now finished working on a townhouse which has consumed them for the last 9 months or so.  You should buy it.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-townhouse-vic-surrey+hills-113945027

  My Mum did a superb job on restoring the front window and weatherboards. Since this photo, we have pulled the verandah down and are preparing to rebuild it. The front is looking quite smart.

I started sanding, filling and painting the back gable though I could hardly reach anything without a proper ladder and with a tree in my face.

We recently welcomed another new family member: my niece Anneliese. She is cute, sleepy and totally oblivious to all the renovations around her. Here she is in her tie dye onesie- do they come in adult sizes?

A lot of water is getting in the house - from the open sides and from the newly exposed ceiling.. hoping this won't cause too much of a problem....  I can hardly close the front door with all the swelling..  I need to rebuild the verandah/ shelter before I can put a new front door in.

Today I finished pulling down the LAST of the lath and plaster!!!! I will be so happy to see the back of it. Unfortunately the thick black 120yo dust covered absolutely everything in a 100km radius - including neighbours gardens

I;ve already spied my next renovation project. It's a double fronted 4 bedroom Victorian house with right of way in a wide leafy street. $560k - $590k. So cheap next to the city. I want it. Help.

 Footscray Milking Station staff now know me very well as I'm there every weekend before I start work. The coffee, the food and the busy atmosphere is just top notch. 2 new hipstery cafes are opening up also 5 mins from me - Cafe Cui and Guerilla Espresso  but they will have to be pretty good to drag me away from here.

For breakfast on this day, friends Nathan had a vegan panini, and Petey a ham panini. I had smashed avocado on multigrain toast with mint leaves, pomegranates, pine nuts and radish with a squeeze of lemon. Delicious.

I'm always on the lookout for design ideas. Quite liked these circular black coat racks at this trendy bar in Elwood.

A special thank you mention to MAIKI who came round to help me one Sunday and has since lent me his drop saw so we can keep on on site.  THANKS MAIKI!!!


Today a friendly middle aged couple asked if they could shoot up in my front room and promised they would clean up and be respectful. I said yes. I probably shouldn't have.