Expectations of a new season

This last Winter must have been the worst cold and flu season I have ever experienced in my entire life. Bad enough to get it yourself, but when you live with five males who come down with it, it is sheer hell.

I was hoping that now Spring is finally here, it would signal the end of all the dreaded lurgies. Unfortunately this is not the case. Luckily I found some meds that might help alleviate the situation for the short term.

Dad

Father's Day is always a little bittersweet for me. This year, it will be eight years since my dad - Milan passed away. I was 33 years old and had recently given birth to my first son.

Shortly before he died, I remember him breaking into tears (something he never did) and saying that he wished Jack was a bit older so that he could remember him. It broke my heart.

Happy Father's Day Dad....

I miss you xx

20.9.33 - 12.11.04

Queenslander Houses - would you buy a renovator?

What is it about Queenslanders? They're cold in winter, hot in summer, prone to white ant attack and are in constant need of work, but thousands of people, me included, wouldn't live in any other kind of house.

Perhaps it's their simplistic structure or the natural materials they are constructed from that harks back to a time when life was simple and carefree. It seems that as you get older sometimes you just want to wind the clock back to the good old days.

When I'm out walking around the streets where I live and see an "old girl" in need of some love, it's almost like walking past the kennels at the RSPCA - these houses are looking at me screaming "please save me!" I just can't help myself - if I had more money I would buy them all and do them up, one by one.

I'm still extremely keen to continue with our renovations, but there have been quite a few good houses that have come onto the market of late (probably has something to do with Spring.) I'm just checking all  other options, before we actually start.

I arranged for an inspection of a house the other day - it has a good floor plan and sits on an elevated 650 m2 block (which is pretty good for around here.) Sadly it has suffered from neglect and lack of maintenance over the years. Most people wouldn't look twice at it. But I can see past the rusty old roof, termite damage and awful colour scheme.

Water damage

White ant damage

Rusted out roof and gutters

When I saw the enclosed front verandah:

Current

This is what I imagined it could look like:

My vision

And this old sleep out:

With that wall knocked out could become this:

So I did a crazy thing - I put in an offer!

Have you ever missed out on THE house of your dreams?

Anxiety has set in, and I'm feeling like a bit of a traitor because for the last 48 hours I turned my back on our cottage and it's impending transformation.

The other day, I spotted a house for sale in a neighbouring suburb. Considering it's size and proximity to the city, I felt it was very reasonably priced. I drove past it 4 or 5 times, and called the agent to arrange an inspection.

You see, this house is much, much bigger than our worker's cottage. In fact it's more than twice the size. It also sits on a larger parcel of land, it has some beautiful traditional features and appears to have very good bones. Although it is in need of a spit and polish, it really doesn't have to be extended to cater for our large family. All it needs is a re-arrangement of the existing rooms in order for it to flow better.

In these troubled financial times, it's all a matter of good economics. I decided I was prepared to buy this house and let the other one go. That was it - I had talked myself into selling our cottage.

I sat up until midnight mulling over the current floor plan, sketching my little heart out until I came up with the perfect design solution. (I think I used a ream of paper in the process and sharpened my pencil until it had almost disappeared.) I made sure that I could incorporate some of our current design features, and it all fit in perfectly under the existing roofline. We could make these alterations for half the cost of the renovation at West End, have a substantial backyard for the kids and still end up with a really great house  -  although the cottage is in a far superior location as far as I'm concerned.

My dream for our cottage in West End was about to end - along with this blog which I have only just started.

However in the course of trying to arrange an inspection with the agent (who didn't return my call), the house went under offer. And I'm now finding myself feeling a little pissed off. Perhaps it's just the universe - what will be will be. So it looks like our renovation in West End is still proceeding.

Have you ever missed out on THE house?

Free Shipping?

Today I received the quote to have a bicycle shipped from Sweden to Australia - and the charges are more than the bike itself. Question is do I want the bike that bad or should I be looking for a cheaper alternative?

Sommer in Black (top) and Maya (bottom) by Papillionaire

I saw a lady riding this bike at the West End Markets last Saturday. It's from Papillionaire, an Australian based company who design affordable, Euro-style bicycles. Papillionaire have an on-line store where you can customise your bicycle and have it delivered to your door. It will cost half the price of the other one.

On another subject - we received a second cost estimate for the house. It was still a little high, but much more reasonable than the first one, so based on that we can now move forward onto design development.