Sunday, December 9, 2012

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!


26 comments:

  1. Hi Annie, I was just thinking about the good old days when we were students and had nothing too...I remember when we finally bought our first kitchen table (60's laminate number) from an op-shop. We thought we were the King and Queen sitting at opposite ends of it to eat our dinner (it was only a 4 seater and a smallish one at that!) So funny. And sweet really.
    I always keep a tiny bit of original paint wherever I can too, I think it's a nice thing to do...Our houses are looking very similar chaos wise at the mo, but we'll both get there - as long as the tree is up before the big day I reckon we've got nothing to worry about x

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  2. Hello Annie

    So fun to read. The cabinet turned out great! I wish you lots of helpers to fight the chaos. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Ha! The problem Is that the helpers are part of the chaos!

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  3. We really are living parallel lives at the moment Annie. We have pieces of furniture strewn everywhere throughout the house at various stages of their painting process. The entire contents of the big girls' room is also dislocated, but amidst the chaos and against my advice they did manage to erect the tree yesterday, in all its weary glory. Show me a kid with a paintbrush in its hand, and I'll show you a happy kid (albeit standing next to a streaky dresser). Happy week Annie.

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    Replies
    1. That's funny because when we finish this we are onto the bedrooms! The horror! Girls are such hoarders!

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  4. Love seeing you back with gusto! The kitchen cabinet looks excellent filled with all that beautiful china. I'm thinking of having a garage sale and keep putting things in my 'garage sale' box. I find that soothing.

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    Replies
    1. This lot are despite to have a garage sale too. They think they will make their fortunes. I have a garage sale/ op shop pile on my kitchen bench as we speak and I can't even tell you what I put in the bin! Maybe I should have my first giveaway?

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  5. Good feeling, the moving and the throwing out and the rearranging....if feels like it is my head when I do this....a reshuffling of my head..........I be it all feels wonderful, just as it looks...

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    Replies
    1. Definitely. This is all about the clearing and cleansing of the whole horrible year!

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  6. Whoo.
    I'm exhausted watching order come from chaos.
    But how swish is the product!

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    Replies
    1. So far more chaos has come of chaos but there is some method in the madness.
      I just haven't found it yet in the mess.

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  7. Looks like your loaded with energy these days Miss Annie, good to see! Isn't it amazing how much extra stuff you can get done when Hubby is away, I am always at my most creative when I have no one looking over my shoulder!! Love the cabinet, I can imagine the chaos around you at the time, it's something you've really got to be prepared for, cause once you start..... :)

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    1. It only looks like energy. It is really the inability to be still and rest when my mind is still digesting this year.
      Call it therapy.

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  8. Looks like my place - and they ALL go away on Thursday! Unfortunately I'm working 7 of the 8 days they're gone, but ah, there are always the nights!

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    1. I cannot imagine the luxury of nobody to look after but yourself!!! The sheer, utter indulgence of it!

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  9. Your cupboard is lovely! It must be wonderful to have a hoard of under age employees around all the time.
    xo

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    1. It is good to have a hoard of sweat shop residents especially when one has become something of a hoarder!

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  10. Gorgeous cupboard!

    I started something like this six months ago. Then someone came to visit and I tidied up by shoving all the unsorted stuff out of the way into the spare bedroom. It's still there. And now we need the spare bedroom for a Christmas guest. Eek! (I hope yours is done quicker than mine!)

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    1. All done but I ran out of impetus for taping up and painting the doors so I suspect they will stay as they are.
      Now for the bedrooms. Eek back at you!

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  11. Thanks for the inspiration! I have a food safe that needs to be emptied of lots of "stuff" in order to (finally) move it out of the little one's bedroom that was previously the junk room (ok, half of it's still a junk room).

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    Replies
    1. Not so much inspiration as cautionary tale...

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  12. Well done, I am yet to tackle my nightmare cupboard, spare room and bottom drawer, then all the stuff in my mother-in-laws garage in Australia! Just got a headache. See you soon.

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  13. Goodness you have been super busy. The cabinet looks very happy chock full of goodies and a spot of turqoise paint never goes astray does it. The endless declutter goes on and on over here, we are selling things on gumtree each week it seems! mel x

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  14. I am not organised enough to do the Gumtree thing.
    Once in full swing I just need it gone so it may just be Ron and Brian's for a bit of overdue oppy karma.

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