Empty?

The last few days have been consumed in gathering up the remnants of my parents' lives, emptying out the unit they have lived in since 2007.

Early in this whole process my sister had told me which pieces of furniture she wanted, so those have remained until now. They consisted of two large armchairs, and a kitchen dresser. She had also put aside a couple of boxes of books and other stuff which she might want. On Wednesday, after prompting from me that very few days were left to us to empty the unit, she and her husband came and took away one of the chairs. Her husband decided that they didn't want the dresser because it was a "piece of junk".

Yesterday I met up with the manager of a local op-shop who had helped me clear out all the kitchen cupboards back in June. She took away a large car-load of saleable items, such as clothing, blankets, and unwanted ornaments.

We loaded all the remaining larger bits and pieces into the ute and brought them to our place:

Including the unwanted kitchen dresser:

This morning I washed it all down, then it came inside to live:

I haven't decided yet what I will put in the top section behind the glass doors, but some of my houseplants can call it home, and the cupboards and drawers are useful storage spaces.

 

This afternoon I took (what I would like to be) my last trip to the unit. I packed my car up with the very last of the kipple, and threw into the rubbish bin various things which could not be disposed of otherwise.

I would like to say that the unit is now empty, but there is an armchair and a couple of boxes of books and other stuff that my sister "might want" still inside!

I left her a note which said, "If there are things here that you don't want, could you please dispose of them yourself? I feel like I have done enough."

More Curtains!

It is a while since the first of the curtains I was given by a friend were installed, but today it was the turn of the big window in the loungeroom.

Some measuring

and then some drilling.

One side up:

I will need to find some nice tie-backs or hold-backs now.

Both sides up:

Hooray! Of course we don't want them shut on a sunny day like today, but I think they will make the room feel more cosy at night. We will find out tonight!

Curtains

Back in November I mentioned visiting a friend and coming home with a car load of curtains. She had had new drapes made, but when they arrived some of them were not correct for her order - the lining had been left out. The manufacturer remade new drapes for her, and told her to "dispose" of the incorrect ones. She disposed of them to me!

Since then I have been busy with other stuff, but a few days ago I bought a track, and today we hung a couple of the drapes in the bedroom:

They are a perfect length, and the colour is so close to our wall paint that it is amazing. You would never imagine that they were actually made for a completely different house.

I do need to do some sewing to change the widths of the drapes, but that can wait. For now I have a window with curtains, and I am happy! A new house is about to be built on the block directly across the road from this window, and I will be glad to not have builders looking into our bedroom when they start work before I've even woken up.

Thank you Jenni, for thinking of me when considering how to dispose of your incorrect drapes!

Painted Stuff

Yesterday this happened:

Painted bookshelves! Since we moved in, all our books have remained in boxes because the shelves needed painting. Now the shelves are painted and back in the house. They'll need a little time to ensure the paint is completely dry before the books are unpacked, but this extended summer we are having should help with that.

And today, this:

Sewing room door, also painted!

Autumn

Nearly a week late hanging the autumn quilt in the hall:

Surprise Table

This morning I was presented with this lovely thing:

I was given the rusty base last February. That linked post shows the rust removal process. Since then the parts have been in the garage, but I had no idea that in fact they had been painted and reassembled. And had this beautiful red ironbark top made!

Potential Gates

One of our neighbours works at a metal-cutting factory, and he told us that they sell some of the off-cut sheets to the public. Today we went to have a look and came home with two panels like this:

It's a little bit bigger than the opening, so will need to be trimmed down. But it is quite a groovy pattern!

70s House Plants

These ceramic pot covers which match our kitchen tiles were marked down to less than half price:

So then I needed some house plants to put in them. Here are a couple of plants I last owned in the 70s. Above, an aluminium plant, Pilea cadierei, and a spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, below.