Fixing Up Our House The Slow Way.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Once you learn to stop the need to impress your neighbours, friends and dare I say " countrymen " life gets so much more fun and simpler. The only person you need to impress is yourself.

We love our house. It is old but solid. The first year we were here, we worked off kilo after kilo redoing the inside. Oh yes, we really put our backs into it. Taking up old floors and digging down 60 cm is fun only on the first room ! Chiselling off old plaster on all the walls can only be described as a labour of love...

Bob and I are as snug as a bugs in our home. The outside though still needs plenty of TLC. But all in good time. Yes, our outside walls are chipped, the old pigsty ( the real one, an outbuilding ) needs a new roof, and what we eloquently call our summer kitchen needs one of those Ty Pennington specials.

Whereas the majority of folk would take a loan from their bank to do all those improvements, we are doing them a bit at a time and only as we can afford them. No need to pay hefty interest payments to appease the neighbours et al. ( A must read website:Mr Money Mustache-just read one entry ).

Yesterday was supposedly the only sunny day of this week. Never one to miss an opportunity, I announced my plans to Bob early in the morning." I want to paint the garden wall today. " to which his reply was " Why, it looks like rain and we can always do it some other time "...famous last words.

When you're married for more than a year ( or however long the honeymoon phase lasts ) you learn to read between the lines. Bob clearly did not feel like painting. Through trial and error I have learned to ignore his protests and just go ahead and do it.

Once I start a task, Bob is there within minutes helping me with only the odd mumble to be heard. But once we've finished whatever " outrageous " task I suggested, Bob is chuffed to bits with it ! In fact sometimes he makes out like it was his idea all along....

Biggi

This is the kitchen and back bedroom in its raw phase ! Ah, the memories...

A case of one shovel at a time...

Our bedroom with the new concrete floor. Those days when a new floor was put in were always the best...we had to wait a few days before we could do anything else. Rest days !

It was all worth it in the end. Yet while doing the work, it seemed so far off and at times unreachable. We didn't do too bad, did we ?