More Project Ago-Go

It might be the summer or the short holiday before work or the absence of the Big Fella but I am on a mission to get a few big jobs done. It may also be a need to avoid Christmas duties as we have yet to dig out the tree or decorate anything at all. We seem to be wagging Christmas. 

The chief tree retriever is Fishy and he is horizontal with a mini man flu. Tradition demands that he and Lala extricate the tree and its associated chattels from the abyss of the Underhouse.

Until he improves there is always a bit of rejigging to be done. 

You may remember the battered gooseneck lamp from the roadside collection. I found it in the trailer destined for the dump so I squirrelled it away until there was time to give it a serious workover. Lala and her friend scrubbed the peeling orange paint, then I rubbed it down with sandpaper, primed it with a gripping undercoat and sprayed it turquoise. The brass came up a treat with a bit of elbow grease and detergent and steel wool.

It is in situ now but I won't show you until I find some shades for it. If anyone knows where to get the original slanty shape please do let me know!

Before further projects could be attempted, small people needed to be placed in a holding bath with laundry deities to keep her busy. I can get a good hour out of this.

Next was the attack on this old dear of a kitchen/art  cabinet. Every time I watch ABC's Kitchen Cabinet, I see that nicely painted one in her promo shot and think about giving mine a face lift too. I bought this one at Patty's for $30 when we first came back to live in Australia pre marriage and babies when we had cartons for tables and a bed base on bricks. Ah! The simple days.

The interior was always yellow and after I scraped and stripped her exterior back last time, I couldn't be bothered to paint her innards. However this strange nesting frenzy saw her finally getting the full treatment this time round.

Soon she was all white and shiny thanks to Sonya's ongoing stash of paints from last year. The blue at the side is the original colour under all the first stripping job in the nineties. I never could paint over it until now. There is still a small tribute to the original colour on the side for historical accuracy or sentimental foolishness.

A tower of linen seemed to appear teetering on the stools and I felt a wave of culling wash over me and it was good. This stuff all came out of the meat safe in the kitchen (domestica). The two cabinets  were about to swap places.

This other stuff came out of the art cabinet (artistica).  Cull till there is no tomorrow!

Delegation is key to successful rejigging without a Big Fella. Lala paints very tidily and B2 and his friend had to down pi- pods and move the furniture around. (Ironically the game they were playing was called Order and Chaos! Here's a bit of real life for you, boys!) For several hours there was disruption and stuff everywhere. Shorty played in the middle of it and the others hid in corners of other rooms. 

Here she is all painted and repacked with the good bits instead of the art junk. Luckily with the breeze and heat the paint was dry in no time.

It is nice to see my pretties behind glass. Maybe I'll remember to use them more now and enjoy seeing them as  as well.

Those Ittala glasses finally got pulled out to drink some rather smashing pear cider a friend dropped in with this afternoon at beer o'clock. Little green leaf plates, how I have missed you. Where have you been languishing?

 Now there's just this tiny bit of finishing off. 

If the Big Fella has access to a computer and is reading this....not to worry. It's all under control. Really!