Plaster

It's all happening here...

Plaster was delivered this morning before 7am....and the plasterer was here a few minutes later...

...and this is the end result...

All the walls and ceiling were insulated to within an inch of their lives...

The plaster was hung and then fixed off...and all that we need to do now is wait for it all to dry and then it can be sanded and then I can PAINT!!

I think the cabinet maker's here on Friday...fingers crossed.

Devils Dust

This week is NATIONAL ASBESTOS AWARENESS WEEK... and for all of us renovators and DIY'ers...it's a timely reminder to make sure we take care when we come across this deadly stuff.

In fact taking care basically means NOT TOUCHING IT!

Last week I got an email reminding me about Asbestos Awareness Week...so thought I'd pass on the details...seeing many of us are renovating old places

You can check out the website here . It has some great advice....

Most homes built before 1987 had asbestos in them...Don't think yours does? Well all you have to do is look under your eaves and more often than not, that dimpled stuff up there is asbestos sheeting

I know the eaves at Number 10 are asbestos and we haven't touched them. No sir-ee

Don't drill it. Don't sand blast it. Don't sand it. Don't cut it.

That's what these guys are for.

All renovators should check out asbestosawareness.com.au 

It pays to be safe. Your life may depend on it

Nearly there....

This weekend was a big one as far as getting the studio ready for the plaster and floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboards

Come on in..... the door got fitted yesterday. I just have to paint it now, which will be pretty easy as the glass has a plastic coating over it...easy huh?

This is the wall where the cupboards will go

...and this is where I'll be sitting under the window......

MONT's been putting the weatherboards on and painting them as he goes.

Lookin' good

The plasterer is booked for Wednesday. Once it's all hung and finished off we just have to wait for it to dry so it can be sanded and i can start painting.

The cabinet maker said he'd be here late in the week...the cupboard shells are all made so they just have to be fitted into place.

CAN. NOT. WAIT!!!

Limoncello - Looking good- and a slight change

Lets finish off the Limoncello...and yes, I have modified the process a tiny bit.

Make the sugar syrup. I used a litre of water, 1kg of white sugar and the juice of 5 lemons.

Boil the syrup for about 5 minutes then let simmer for a few minutes until it thickens just a bit. Allow it to cool completely. In fact it would be good to put it in the fridge overnight.

Combine the lemon zest/vodka mix with the syrup in a large container and seal.

Place it in the back of a cupboard and let it stay there for the next 30 days.

The waiting is the worst bit.

The final process:  Now I know I said you only let this stand for another day before straining and putting the mix into bottles...but I'm changing it a bit. Let the entire mix stay in the container in the back of the cupboard for a month to let the flavour intensify.

Time now to drain the Limoncello into sterilised bottles. Use a funnel lined with cheesecloth to make sure you remove all the zest

Seal the bottles, put them in a dark place or fridge and let sit for a few days until ready to drink....on Christmas Day!! The night before Christmas, put the bottle in the fridge so it's nice and chilled for the big day

Farewell

I'm going to be missing for a few days....and there'll be no work done on the studio/sewing room for a little while..

Mont's Mum passed away at the weekend so, understandably, everything has ground to a halt here...

She was a lovely lady. Always looked nice and always had delicious smells coming from her kitchen. She loved baking and was sensational at it! Her sponges and scones were second to none!

She'll be missed a lot....by us, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren.

Fortunately, she didn't suffer or go through any pain.

R.I.P. Nanna

Studio exterior

One wall's been wrapped in insulation...

...and the weatherboards have been put on.

I got home yesterday and they'd even been painted!

..and then we put the window back in. It came out of a bathroom during an earlier reno here, so has frosted glass in it. We'll have someone put clear glass in it and it'll be perfect!

Nothing happening around here this weekend as MONT's heading off to Bonnie Doon... hopefully there'll be more progress next week.

MONT's talking about putting a little "hood" over the window so it looks a little more cottagey...and also to help keep rain off the window. There'll be river-rocks along the bottom here under the window to help with drainage  and MONT's also talking about a water feature on the grassy area here...not sure when all that will happen though. We'll see.

Studs and Noggins

Do I have your attention? Yes?

A little update on my studio, which is progressing nicely. Yesterday MONT put in extra noggins just in case I wanted to put shelves up on the walls. He also put extra timber around the windows so there's plenty of support for curtain brackets and rods.

It may not look too good as it is...but once all the plaster and weatherboards go on, you won't see it of course.

But apart from giving the walls extra support...

...it's a great way to put some timber, we had lying around, to good use

Here's the other end of the room. This is where there'll be a full wall of cupboards. On the other side, MONT's lined the walls with chip board so he can install a lot of shelves for all of his work things

That's what I like... a win-win