Back to paradise in Australia!

So much has happened since I last updated my blog at the beginning of March.  After spending more time than anticipated in Oregon, I was happy with the outcome of my church updates and the selection of desirable and excited tenants to take over the space.  I ended up renting to a young woman working for Fish and Wildlife services who was thrilled to take the space after driving all the way from Astoria to view the old building.

 The final outcome after a few clear days without showers, I was able to spray the outside of the building, and put the intended colors back together.  The previous tenant worked for the coast guard and was too proud of the bright blue and white maritime scheme...I should have posted a photo after they painted the red, blue, and the fence white...err...kind of looked like a black and blue ghetto crack house.  It's back to it's gothic church stance and the neighbors seem to be happy about the quick renovation too!

 Proud to be done, and ready to roll south again!

 On the way up, still using the jet lag to propel me through time and space, I stopped off at my Aunt and Uncles for a yummy brunch and excellent conversation as always.  I always love seeing them, while hearing interesting stories about the myriad of creative gems they have in their art collection, many family made.

The morning after going to Charlie Hong Kong for dinner with my great friend Sam and Farhen in her cute two story garage apartment in Santa Cruz.  

 Upon returning, the unfinished portion of the palace needs attention!

 Since the other side is where the sleeping loft is, yet we need to move in sooner than later and building a spiral staircase, or sourcing one can take some time, we decided to finish out this side first for reasons I'll explain in photos below.

 I was able to source our screen materials sustainably since bamboo grows wild at rapid rates in these parts. In fact, it needs to be controlled before it suffocates other nearby species.  The clearing of the bamboo allowed for greater light, inspiring our hideaway space across the creek to resurface as well as provide adequate screening for privacy between dwellings.  The photo is shot from the front porch of the main dwelling.  We'll continue the screen the side, as well since we want to keep use of the wood shed, and woofer/guest cabin without too much exposure.  Tessa put in some long hours wire wrapping the bamboo stalks to the 3 horizontal members that span that length of screen.

These are the 45mm X 190mm loft floor joists we picked up the other day at The Old Mill in Mullum.  They were $10.60/meter and we bought 6 at 6 meters long.  On the left is a stack of VJ, as they call it here, otherwise known as 1X6 T and J in the states.  We use the VJ for paneling when a more finished look is preferred as shown in the photo below.  It goes on quick and looks very nice.

 Here is out Darth Vadar vintage warmaire wood heater.  It came with flue and has a blower in it to disperse warm air and we found it on ebay.  We liked the look with the copper metal and vintage flair.  You'll notice our high tech furniture dolly to the left which is a back saver when used in this mode despite all the signage around cities outlawing these beautiful inventions.

A chair Tessa found at the Tip for $5.  I dropped her at the Op shop while selecting our loft boards and she found some material and foam to create this welcoming bench for our new abode.  I always enjoy watching her sew this cushy creation on the front porch with needle and thread.

I couldn't resist this matching pair of storage cabinets found at the Tip.  They are quite unique in that they have pads riveted to the top of the units, (not shown) since they were used in a medical office possibly as examiners tables.  We'll likely stack them, so they'll only be used for storage and perhaps a room divider, but the condition was excellent and the price was not too shabby either.

 Tessa documented the process of building the corner of the palace where we'll have a back door.  We went to a garage sale and picked up 1 door and four windows, all with colored glass from the "good 'ol days".

Besides wanting to finish the walls and insulate the palace, we thought it would be quicker to build the office loft above where I'm working, while using our existing inventory of wood, providing a place to sleep that can be easily heated with walls or curtains since winter is on its way.

So the first step was to remove the roll up door...it was very heavy and was made to drop using a long board to avoid injury.

 Next, I framed in the hole in the building with whatever wood we had, using a pressure treated 2x4 on the floor, anchored in to the concrete.

 We only had 2x3's in pine, so we'll have to paint them after we frame in the door.

 We had some salvage hard wood siding I used for the inner door frame since it will provide a nice finished look, and hold up better to fasteners for hinges, latches, and the elements.

 I salvages two rusty hinges from an old door hanging in the rafters of the wood shop, oiled them, and installed the door.

 A look from the inside prior to wall showing some of the colored, textured glass.

 Another look with an exterior light.

 From the outside.  We like how these little changes add new dimensions to our home!  We'll have an outdoor lamp at night to illuminate the colored glass and light up our porch area, where the palace meets the wood shop.

Tonight we had a nice dinner at Gill and Phil's house.  Suze and Tessa made veggie lasagna for the family with salad and organic white wine.  Klim and Suze are setting up a 26' diameter Teepee on their beautiful property.  Phil just celebrated a big birthday and Gill just returned from visiting her new grandbaby, Thomas.  And... Tessa and I just got engaged!  We're all very happy!