My Kitchen

Not neat this morning, since we're all still in holiday mode ... but I'm always struck by how pretty this space is.
I love our dear little country cottage ... I don't think I'll ever get over how lucky we are to live here. There are bits and pieces I'd like to change of course, and one of my plans for the new year is to spend some time painting and rearranging furniture, and getting rid of junk!
We also have big plans afoot to extend two of the bedrooms out onto the verandah ... just by pushing the windows out and adding a few side windows and new walls. We've been thinking of doing this for ages ... although we all fit nicely at the moment, it would be luxurious to have a nice, big, sunny main bedroom, and the boys would enjoy having a play space in their room. One of the rooms will also feature a sliding door out onto the deck, which will be wonderful when the boys are older and able to access to that large play space easily, too. In essence, we'll end up with two long thin rooms, double the size they are now.
When the carpenter came in to look, however, his high quote seemed to put an end to any plans, at least for now. Then Geoff spoke to a handyman friend of his, and while we enjoyed dinner and a swim with all the kids, the men talked about the extensions. The upshot is that it seems we have enough wood leftover in the shed to complete the entire job, and Greg is confident that he can do the work over a period of three weeks or so ... at one third of the price the carpenter quoted! Of course, there will be extras (like the electrician, carpet and painting), but it's still affordable ... and very exciting!