Bathroom update: complete!

And fancy!

Those bears are unaware of their fate

Day 1 - destructo

Dave roughing in the plumbing

The best waterproofing in town

Taking shape

Masterful tiling by Cory and Bryce

Almost there...

...and DONE! One day ahead of schedule, too!

Thank you a zillion times to Ash, Cory and Bryce from Davies Carpentry and Renovations. You guys are champions! Also Amanda and Rod at Beaumont Tiles Caringbah are pretty great too, if you ever need nice things for your bathroom.

Best Christmas present ever.

bathroom update

So it's been almost a week without a bathroom. Mum almost checked into a hotel under the strain. I haven't minded so much, except because my routine is now scattered from studio, to laundry, to kitchen sink I keep forgetting to do things like brush my teeth in the morning. *shrugs*

Everything became a lot easier once I installed the Separett Villa toilet on Thursday, and mum didn't feel the need to escape anymore. It was very easy to install and I felt so hardcore as I drilled holes through the cabin wall and all that. I've never been so excited about a toilet.

the most exciting photo of a toilet ever

And they're right, it actually doesn't smell!

I'm a bit annoyed about the floor in the bathroom. Well, annoyed is a bit strong; mildly irritated perhaps. I thought I'd just finish up using the floorboards from the main room but I didn't quite have enough. And I wasn't going to spend another $60 on a new packet. So there are little gaps and weird bits in the corners that I have to work out what to do with. *shrugs*

I have to say, even though I do a bit of a bodge job, it's very satisfying being able to DIY.

The main bathroom itself is coming along nicely. It doesn't look vastly different, as so far it's just been things like concreting and waterproofing. Those guys do not do a bodge job - they are very careful and thorough, which is what you want, really!

Can't wait to see the fancy bits go in!

Bathroom adventures

Hello people of the world!

A lot has been happening at Casa Jee lately (Casa Jee doesn't sound right. Chateau de Jee? Maison de Jee? The Jeepod? Jeepad? Hmm. I'll keep working on it). If you recall, we borrowed a little bit more money from our banking overlords to enable us to build me a working studio in the backyard, go on the creative retreat to Bali, re-concrete our driveway so we can drive frontways out into the 70km/hr traffic on our road instead of backing into it (not for the fainthearted). The last thing we are doing is renovating our bathroom.

To have a bathroom while the main bathroom was being worked on, I had hoped to put in a little ensuite in the studio, but the money didn't stretch that far. I investigated more of an 'off grid' solution in the form of waterless toilets - not the horrible hippie toilets with a giant pit underneath that made you feel like you were sitting on the edge of a noisome cavern. These ones are much more civilised and are a good green solution - they don't use any water but are odourless (apparently), they don't put anything into the sewer, they eventually turn everything into compost, and seem pretty easy to deal with in terms of maintenance and cleaning.

Mum wasn't too keen initially but came around to the idea, as long as I was the one who cleaned it, etc (she's always been happy for me to do my worm farming/composting as long as she didn't have to deal with it). It seemed like this would be a good solution while the main bathroom was getting done and I could install it myself, so we ordered the package. Unfortunately, the timing didn't quite work out (the shipment was delayed at customs) and it won't arrive til Friday. And the bathroom got ripped out on Monday. Hmm.

So it's our little bathroom adventure time at the moment. I've rigged up quite a good shower in our outdoor laundry, with this camp shower. We drop the pump into the half filled washing machine, and the flow is actually pretty decent, good enough to wash your hair with. Toileting is a little more indelicate and involves a bucket. And holding on til we get to work. But that's okay. Only a couple more days of that.

We've got the excellent Davies Carpentry and Renovations working on our bathroom. Ash is the boss (I work with Desleigh, his wife), and has a crew of very friendly and efficient guys working with him. It's so nice to have guys on a worksite who are pleasant, polite and don't swear their heads off. And I love being able to give business to people we know and trust, and who I know will do a good job. The whole thing is going to take 10 business days, so by the end of next week our brand new bathroom should be ready.

Day 1 - left: beginning of the day, right: 7 hours later

In layout, it will be the same as the old bathroom, except without a bath. The bath was too small to be worthwhile, and was awkward to climb in and out of (particularly for mum with her sore knees). We wanted to try and change the layout but after consulting with Ash realised that this was really the only way things could fit in a very small space.

It's also interesting listening to the guys as they look at the tiles and products we've bought, mutter an inevitable "hmmm" and then try and work out how to make it all work. Everything fits, it's just the finer details of what side is the power point on and what kind of tap mixer will work and discovering large floor tiles aren't as easy to work with in terms of working out where the water runs if the floor gets wet and things like that. We just picked things we liked the look of, not knowing about the logistics side of things! And that's why you hire people rather than doing it yourself - so they sort out all the details of how to make it work.

Renovating isn't the most relaxing thing to do, of course, but I'm still enjoying the novelty of being able to do stuff to a house. Being able to say "I want to change that" and changing it. I think that's the best part of owning a house (or owning whatever meagre percentage we've paid off).

Studio: the spruce

With the creative energy injection I got in Bali, I've spent most of my spare time since I got back sprucing up the studio, which has been great and a different kind of 'making' than the usual crafty stuff.

I love making spaces pleasing and comfortable. It makes me feel good, makes my mind clearer. It usually doesn't last all that long once I start using the space; the detritus of everyday life builds up like barnacles on the hull of a boat, and then I have to go through a big, refreshing clean up to get it back to feeling good.

But now I have the abundance of two spaces - my bedroom, which is now a lovely quiet space with a large bed and room to move, and my studio, which is big enough to house all my stuff without it looking like a cave of crap.

It's been so great to be able to set up a space to my requirements, the fulfilment of a long-held dream. There are three main areas in my 20 square metre studio: I have a desk for my computer-based work, a sewing table for my crafty work, an empty space in the middle of the floor for doing yoga / setting up my massage table. There's also now a guest bed which means we can now have people come and stay over if necessary. And best, there is storage along one wall for all my empty containers and oils and towels and fabrics and magazines and markers and coloured pencils and photography gear and recording gear and stuffed toys and...

Amazing what you can fit in 20 square metres! The luxuries of a) a spare room, b) a workspace that isn't my bedroom and c) empty floor space cannot be overstated. I am so so so grateful for it.

This past weekend I borrowed A's chainsaw and carved up some old railway sleepers that he had pulled out of his garden (he's building a pool). I made some steps up to the studio, and started on the garden path that will go around the side to the garden behind the studio, also making use of some big fat river stones A didn't want. I've got bruises on my leg from where I rested the chainsaw while trying to start it - I have never felt so puny as repeatedly yanking on that starter cord and nothing happening. And I was a bit frightened of the chainsaw at first, to be honest, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's surprisingly exhausting! My cuts are pretty, er, rustic, mainly because I couldn't be bothered to tidy them up. Oh well, just sanded the edges and put some pot plants along the sides.

Next for the studio - installing some sort of bathroomy bits.

But now I need some crafting time, making something a bit more delicate that requires scissors instead of chainsaws and thread instead of giant nails.

Dreaming

I have too many things buzzing around in my head. Like cicadas, all of them making a racket and none of them being able to be properly listened to.

Contributing factors:

• I bought the Designed to Sell Unconventional Guide and started working through it.
• Last weekend, I did the introductory massage course at the Australian College of Massage. It was a great weekend; I learned a lot about technique and posture, and got to give and receive about five massages. Verrrrry nice. Of course as soon as the first day finished, I wanted to enrol in the Cert IV, get accredited and start my own clinic.
• This coming Saturday, I'm working at Goodness Gracious Me gratitude lifeclass (which is being held at the Scripture Union building where I work, so my colleague Des and I volunteered to work it so we could get a free ticket to the class) and will no doubt give me a bit of a boost.
• And in May, I'm going to the Big Hearted Business conference to nourish my creativity and try to work out how to change the world with it.

Maybe, having stirred them up, eventually all of this will help the cicadas to quiet and allow me to try and make some sense of it all.

Okay, so here's the big dream of what I would love to be happening in a few years.

Let's assume that mum and I will stay in our little house for a few years yet. Despite the downsides of the main road, we love the house and the garden. Oh, the garden! It's like a tranquil little rainforesty paradise.

Come through the many gateways to my creative wilderness...one day...

Ever since we moved here I have had dreams of building a studio in the backyard, with windows facing into the greenery, where I could do my creative work and not be sleeping, working and creating all in my bedroom (not to mention storing all the copious amounts of fabric and paraphernalia that goes along with making anything).

I want to build a little multipurpose studio, with lots of light, good sound/temperature insulation, a bathroom, and storage space. It would have a work table for sewing, spot for writing and a space in the middle for a massage table without it feeling like when you get a massage at a beauty salon or something and it's basically the size of a closet and you spend the whole time feeling sorry for the therapist because they can't move around properly.

Something like this from Garden Studios (only with some sort of storage solution):

I would be able to sew and write and design there. I would be able to tidy things away into the excellent storage and set up the massage space and do regular massages to keep some regular cash flow coming in, while selling my creations (both sewn and written). I might have to go and work somewhere for a couple of days a week, also to keep regular cash flow coming in. But the rest of the time I would be concentrating on creating, on giving joy to people, on making positive, relaxing spaces where people would love to come, on filling up my creative/nourishment tank.

But, again, that costs lots of money of course! So it's a long-term dream. I don't know how I'll get there. But that's what's buzzing around in my head at the moment. I need to be patient and recognise that these things don't have to happen right now. Everything takes time. But it helps to have a direction to step in.

And this is at the forefront of my mind, always:

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:13-15