it's beginning to look like home...

[it's beginning to look like home].. one of the first things I did was set up an altar.. this is my Sacred space.. a place where I will be able to meditate, journal and do other such soul searching stuff...[the walls will eventually be painted, not sure what colour yet.. the curtains are mine that i bought from Inglewood, they are vintage linen and I sewed black pompoms along the top]

John the gyproc king.. working hard to get it finished for us to move into... just patching for the time being.. the walls will all be painted in due course.. I am not rushing, i want to live there for a time before deciding on what colour I wish to paint..

the art room is finished.. well one more coat to do on the window frame..

dutch husband is painting that last coat, it as we speak... [the colours are more vibrant than this.. taking pictures at night is difficult]

and if you ever come visit, we will take tea on this old iron seat, under the old rhododendron tree. i wonder if faeries live here? [behind you can see the neighbours drive.. we plan on putting a fence around the whole front yard, enclosing it & making it much like the french courtyard that I yearn for]
oh and at Villa Maria ~ there are snow drops... !! I found a clump in the garden.. so very much like it was when we first moved to Inglewood.

at Villa Maria ~ it seems like all systems go right now!

another weekend spent at Villa Maria.. pulling up more carpet. On Sunday morning I shooed dutch husband off for a ride... he is working so hard and he needed a break so off to breakfast he went on the Harley with a few friends, while I packed my picnic basket and went to wash walls and floors..

the bathroom is just about complete. we were short two rows of the black feature tiles ~ they should be in Wednesday then Anthony the tiler will be finished. on the left is where the shower will go and you can see where the taps will go for the bath.. not sure what colour to paint the walls any suggestions?

during last week, the brick dividing wall was taken down

first of all the bricks & gyprock were knocked out and supporting braces put in until the builder put a new supporting beam in. it has certainly opened up the space.

[Neil the builder is a laid back kind of guy].. he will be finished today or tomorrow.

dutch husband and I spent much of Saturday pulling the brick fireplace out..

he knocked it down and I was the carry all.. wheeling rubble outside. no need for they gym.. I am building muscle at Villa Maria.

[I was not going to put this photo in & there is no need for two fireplace photos.. but look at the orbs. They are orbs as I used the camera time and again all that day, here and there.. and this is the only photo that the orbs are in...] Villa Maria is enchanted. I do believe so.

and then dutch husband began painting my art studio, while I pulled up yet more carpet

dutch husband : [tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor] builder, painter....

all he wants to do is make me happy... what a lucky girl I am.. today, he is putting the final green coat on the walls..

working hard

it is the Queens birthday weekend here & dutch husband and I have spent most of our time at Villa Maria ~ doing as much as we can ..
since having the trees cut down last week, the orange tree has bounced back already [I actually harvested the oranges from the tree yesterday.. the possums were destroying all the fruit.. dutch husband and I shared oranges for morning tea this morning.. still alot of cleaning up to do in the garden after the tree fellers came..

[a path in the back garden that goes along by the citrus trees..] I am going to put an old gate at the beginning of the path and it will be known as 'the Alice path'.. welcome to Wonderland..

[the white rabbit is the first you will meet.. don't be late!.. ] any ideas of what I can put near him?.. I have old tea cups hanging near the Mad Hatter.. and mirrors near Alice.. still working out the Queen of Hearts [pictures will come in the next few days]

[dutch husband has spent the past 3 days constructing Villa Eggplant.. the new home for our chooks.. ]

[a few weeks ago, I planted garlic at Villa Maria. it is now sprouting!]

[the is taken from the backyard, looking at the back of the house.]
it is not very attractive and has alot of work to be done. our plan is to bag & paint all the brick work.. roughly, like an old italian villa. the colours that I have chosen are earthy colours. the front door is going to be either red or aubergine.. still not sure

tomorrow, we go back again. the last day of our long weekend. and start painting my art studio.. pink walls with a feature wall of lime green & window sill is purple..
odd you think? wait for pictures! i have bought the most brilliant handles for the doors..

and the tree fellas came.....

[bright and early the tree fellers came - this is a family owned business and has been run by Leon & his wife for many, many years.. the children have now joined the team]
it is all systems go at Villa Maria.. the tree fellers came to remove a few trees and many shrubs. the garden has been overplanted and the citrus were struggling. we have inherited two angophoras in our back yard. huge native trees and they were being threatened too, with the overgrowth of shrubbery & weeds that had been allowed to rampage all over the backyard.

[the trusty chain-saw]
the neighbour hood of Villa Maria was abuzz with the noise of chain saws and mulchers for quite a few hours. what took these guys 4 hours would have taken dutch husband and I many days.

[off to be mulched] bundle, after bundle of twiggy scraps were taken out to the mulcher

[and off course, dutch husband is never idle.. he just has to jump in and give a hand]

this is the daughter who has taken over the business from Leon.. she is a grade four arborist and is the 'boss'.. yes.. women can be tree-fellers too. she is not afraid of jumping in and giving a hand either.

into the hungry mouth goes tree after tree, shrub after shrub, reminding me of a hungry baby bird, never satisfied or full when it's mother feeds it worms.. always chirping loudly..only this time it is a mulcher roaring away.. chewing at the trees and shrubs being feed into it

and now... Villa Maria.. looking very bare & exposed after all the shrubs have gone. after the ivy was taken down from climbing the brick walls. a blank canvas

something for Daisy

a few more things taken to Villa Maria to make the house our home..little by little bit by bit ~ today we had an inspection of Inglewood so we loaded up the trusty ute with garden bits and went to work on Villa Maria for a few hours while some people wandered around Inglewood.

I took my potted bay tree down and put it in a corner of the garden. funny how things just fit & look like they belong...

and I took something for Daisy ~ my GreenMan.. I bought him the day after Daisy died and he has been watching the garden at Inglewood ever since [along with the blackbird].. but now it is time to move on to Villa Maria and he is guarding over my garden there now.. [along with the black bird]
we met a neighbour while we were there & had a chat.. she told us that down in the little creek there are endangered frogs.. that is good. that they are there means the water quality must be fine & that the land care group know about them means they are safe.. I cannot wait to move so that I can hear them of a night ... I did some gardening, planting comfrey under the citrus which will bring nutrients up to the roots & Dutch husband planned the new chook pen... I put my Alice in Wonderland statues along the Citrus Walk and all I need to do now is hang some tea cups in the citrus tree where the Mad Hatter now lives....

slow progress at Villa Maria

[dutch husband the brilliant builder.. he is definately a keeper I think! - I love that man!]

the bathroom has taken longer than expected.. the plumber extraordinaire [read, Miss Sophie's boyfriend who is a plumber] has been working on our bathroom after work and on Saturdays.. he has finished all the rough-in and now it is time for the tiler to do his bit. Our tiles are sitting all boxed up just waiting. then our bath, shower and vanity will go in & then the final plumbing will be done and finished !!

[as dutch husband tore the walls down in the bathroom, we thought we had discovered asbestos so had to wrap it all in thick plastic and will have to pay to have it dumped safely.. but it turned out that it wasn't the dreaded substance.. oh well better safe than very sorry...]

during this past week, I have been going down at night to pull up some more of the stinking carpet and underlay.. I have only two more rooms to do & they will be done after a few walls have been knocked down.. this renovation has turned into something bigger than we expected but we are having fun and enjoying the process.. I take dinner down at night and we sit among the rubble with a glass of red for Joe & green leaf tea for me. [with me dressed very elegantly in a pair of grey tracksuit pants, an old skivvy & a flannelette shirt & sometimes even beanie on my head - it is winter here and Villa Maria does not have any heating.. which brings back memories of Inglewood when we were renovating - it was middle of June and it started to snow.. no heating and holes in the walls.. brrr.. but a lovely hot soup simmering on the stove]

[this wall above is going sometime this week.. we have a retired builder coming in and doing it for us.. that will open up the dining room alot and will let so much more light into the space]

[and here is the art desk.. we also put some huge storage cupboards in - they are a mauve colour and for the walls I have chosen bright pink and turquoise.. very much the same as I have at Inglewood..although my choice might change once I go to the paint shop to choose!]

the tree-feller is booked in for next week to remove some cypress & other shrubby weeds.. this will open up the garden a little and allow more sunlight in to the citrus trees. The oranges are ripening along however the damn possums are feasting on the fruit. My garlic is in and has now sprouted and I am ordering the potato tubers this week.. the gardenias are settling in very well and a lovely rainy week has helped them along. and I found a worm!!!!