Snaps ‘n’ Crackles #9 – Coffee Catch Up

I had planned on posting Part 3 of my Kitchen Renovation posts for today, but it’s not to be.  As you read this (if on Thursday 16 August 2018) my house is once again in a bit of chaos as painters paint the kitchen and dining rooms (all one big space).  The kitchen has brand new bulkheads and cornicing that need painting and the existing walls and ceiling needed a refresh so we called in the professionals.  The rest of the house will be painted by us (unless there is a Lotto win)!  The good thing about doing it this way, is that we can watch and learn.  Watch how they do it, listen to what they recommend, and learn some tips and tricks!

So instead of a Kitchen Renovation post you’re getting a bit of a last-minute quick brain dump and update of what’s been happening around here.  Let’s call it a coffee catch up!

I’d been waiting to hear from the painter as to what days he could do our paint job.  When I did hear, it was to be Tuesday, then Tuesday afternoon, and then Wednesday.  They’ve had a big job prior to ours and it took longer than they expected.  So, not wanting to live in chaos any longer than needed, I left it until Tuesday to pack everything up.  Let’s just say that Tuesday was a very big day and evening!!

It’s now Wednesday 16 August as I begin to draft this. I’m sitting crossed legged on my bed with the laptop on a stable table on my lap.  Ava (my dog) is lying on the end of the bed snoring.  I can hear the painter out there doing his thing and the kids next door squealing and playing.  It’s a public holiday here today for the Brisbane Ekka – ‘People’s Day’.

This morning I woke and got up before my 5:30am alarm and went off to Pilates at 6:15am.  I saw the most glorious sunrise at the waterfront this morning. It was beautiful … but no time to snap some photos.  When I got home the painters were here.  There were two but one has gone to finish off a few things at the previous job and the other is here to start ours.  Both will be here tomorrow (Thursday, when this is published).  Since I’ve been home I’ve basically been holed up in my bedroom, on the bed crocheting and now typing this on my laptop.  The kitchen and dining room are at the very centre of the house (the heart) and access through them is required to get to most places. It’s quite difficult with them being no go zones at the moment!

Now, it is Wednesday evening and I’m freaking out because I haven’t got a blog post ready for tomorrow morning, so here I am again.  This is the most ad hoc, unplanned, brain dump kind of post that I’ve done in a long time, if ever!  I’m now sitting at the iMac at my desk, far more comfortable for me than typing on my laptop (not used to it), and once again Ava is nearby snoring!

Since I was typing earlier, I decided I needed to get out of the house.  I was feeling housebound, so Ava and I went to the waterfront for a walk.  We walked about 5km’s.  It was a bit blowy but warm!  I was wearing a t-shirt (in August!) and wasn’t cold at all.   We’ve all had dinner here and it’s now just after 7pm.  The painters will be back at 7am in the morning.  The drop sheets are over all the floor areas and the dining room table which is the only piece of furniture that has been left in the room.  The drop sheets over the kitchen itself have been let down so that we can have access.  They’ll be put back up in the morning.  The sound is loud and echoey in the house without the furniture and all my pretty things around to absorb the sound.  The space in the garage where my car normally lives is filled with cans of paint and toolboxes.  My poor car has to spend the night out in the driveway.  Lucky it’s not a real winter in Brisbane! lol

Apparently the painting job will be finished by the end of tomorrow.  They will do the ceilings, the walls (undercoat + two coats) and another couple of coats on all the architraves and doors from this central area (four in total).  It’s going to look so fresh and clean and lovely!  The rest of the house is going to look so tired and blah in comparison.  One step at a time!  It’s incredible isn’t it how you can start one thing and it leads to more … and more … and more!!

So now I’m tired (packing up all day yesterday and early start today) and my brain can’t think of anything else of interest to say.  ‘The Block‘ is due to start and lying down, zoning out, and watching that sounds very appealing!  So I’ll wrap this up now and hope that next week I will be better prepared and have the Kitchen Renovation Part 3 post ready to publish fingers crossed

So enough about me.  How are you?  Have you been through a renovation so understand how chaotic it feels?  I’m not whinging though – I’m so loving the improvements, so I know it’ll all be totally worth it!

Oh!  Before I go, are you aware of Jo Castro of Lifestyle Fifty’s series on ‘Women Over 50 Who Blog’?  It’s a wonderful series and I’m discovering so many new over 50 women bloggers through it.   I’m lucky enough to be one of the bloggers featured in Part 5 – which you can see HERE.

Thanks for the coffee catch up!  Next time, hopefully I won’t be so tired and brain depleted! haha

Ciao for now,

Link up here at WOTM or with another of us in the Lovin’ Life Linky team:
Leanne of Deep Fried Fruit  |  Kathy of 50 Shades of Age  |
Deborah of Debbish  |  Jo of The Hungry Writer – Joanne Tracey.
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