Six months already!

Six months since last update.  And just over six months since we moved in.  We've done so much - and yes, there's still lots more on our to-do list.  

It's so nice to potter, without any condition report deadline or property inspection interruption.  We can fix issues promptly, another great bonus to being home owners!

I set up our sunroom first, so as to have one calm area to retreat to.  It was a pleasant spot to sit for our first few months, till summer really hit and it became far too hot to linger.

"New' furniture was necessary but there was no big spend-up at Harvey Norman.  

Two leather and wood chairs were $50.00 each, on sale at our local op-shop.  Leather conditioner worked wonders on their seat cushions and Nick was able to repair one leg, using wood glue.

The same opshop had a smaller dining table that was a much better fit for our dining room.  It extends from circle to oval, by using a nifty wind-out mechanism and two "leaves".  (Our much larger extension table was just too big for the room).

Our recliner lounge suite was sold off, also too big for this house.  We swapped it for a smaller, FaceBook marketplace suite - bought for just $200.00 (with a bit of a road-trip adventuring for Nick and I when we set off to collect it)!

Even with the smaller suite, it's taken lots of shuffling to get a workable arrangement for the lounge room.  We found a $15.00 corner TV unit that enabled us to trial a set-up that's working much better than anything else!

A stud finder (yes, lots of jokes were made about that gadget) helped with hanging my Innamincka print.  It's now more fully appreciated and while our Gladstone bags still live in our bedroom, I have vintage picnic cases, primus, kettle and kerosene lamp (a lovely gift from friends) that work well with the red dirt shots.

A cheffing mishap was the catalyst for a new induction cooktop (which meant some new cookware also), bought on sale from a retailer very close to home.  That purchase resulted in cashback funds that were then used toward a dishwasher, which feels very flash.  

It's been many years since we lived anywhere with a dishwasher - and even longer since we had one that actually worked properly!

Our Tea Cupboard of Good Fortune, (purchased soon after arrival in Queensland) became a huge feature of our previous kitchen.  It was one of the first things to be set up here.

While everyday kitchen storage was sorted soon after arrival, it's taken longer to find better systems for our corner pantry.  I'm so pleased with my very recent efforts!  Some tubs and baskets were used at our old house and I bought the green flexi-tubs and a few extra clear tubs at Bunnings for approx $50-60. Twas money well spent!

There's another corner cupboard in need of intervention but I'm still pondering that.  

All the pantry shuffling prompted some drawer organisation also.  The clear inserts are from Kmart, purchased with FlyBuy dollars.

We had a drawer unit in the front room of our old house.  It is now being used as an island bench here, to provide extra space.  It's working well, so was worth lugging upstairs - cos we didn't think of using it in the kitchen until after the removalists had left!

We've done quite a lot of other stuff, too - in between road-tripping, music-ing, Christmas-ing, celebrate-ing, Covid-ing and all other ings!  Nick's built a music studio downstairs (which will be a post of it's own) and I've dabbled with my vegie gardening.  We've given away boxes, sold excess furniture, started setting up a craft area and much more.  I reckon we're doing great work!