Patra's Other Place

I started out with Patra's Place, primarily dedicated to my linen collection and stitching projects. But I kept getting side-tracked, so I decided to create Patra's Other Place for anything not related to embroidery topics. So you now have a choice. If you are interested in me, read this. If you only want to see my linen and stitching, visit Patra's (original) Place! (Please note that by clicking on any of the photos, they will be enlarged to fill your computer screen.)

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Location: Melbourne, Vic., Australia

I was married to Ken for 43 years, but he died in October 2022. So I am now alone with two cats, eight hens, and a few finches and parrots in one aviary.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

IT'S FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our kitchen is finally all finished - thank goodness, no more dust, paint fumes, stuff piled up around the house, not being able to cook!   We found a painter who lives not far from us, and has a painting business in Preston.  His quote was more expensive than the other three we got, but he was very professional - the three page quote was very detailed, and I said to Ken I don't mind paying more if the job is going to be done properly.
Alan and one of his employees Abdul (we learned they are both from Iran) started work in our kitchen on Monday.  Ken and I had taken everything off the walls and benchtops, and taken down the curtains.  The chook cafe curtains were carefully put aside, but the 40 year old scrim curtains were thrown in a heap out in the yard along with the curtain rods and sun block drapes that were behind the scrim.  I liked them when we first moved into the house, but ended up hating them because they were impossible to wash and very expensive to get dry cleaned!   We have two curtain shops in Eltham, so we will be going there in the next day or two to select some nice curtains in a fabric that I can toss in the washing machine when need be.

Getting back to Alan and Abdul, the whole of  Monday morning was taken up in preparing to paint.  They put plastic over everything - walls and cabinets - everywhere that didn't need painting.  Dropsheets on the floor of course.  Then they started sanding the window frames, which were stained with dark brown, and were to be painted cream.  So the brown had to come off.  One of them did that, and the other stood on a ladder and sanded the ceiling.   The dust and noise was worse than when the old kitchen was being ripped out!   Once they'd done that, they put the first undercoat on the ceiling, and started patching up the walls with plaster.  The walls were in a real mess, with holes in from shelves that had been removed, and years of nail holes from me hanging calendars etc. up.  Ken said NO MORE NAILS!  but I just smiled at him and said "This is MY space, butt out".  LOL!
Here is Alan waving at me among all the mess!  He and Abdul were great - very cheerful, and very hard workers.  See what I mean about the plastic??

Abdul on his knees painting window frames.

Alan had originally stated in his quote that it would take five days, but by Tuesday night, the ceiling, walls and window frames all had two coats of paint.  On Wednesday, Abdul spent the day on finishing touches and cleaning up.  The ceiling is flat white, the walls are "China White" and the window frames were to be white, but Alan showed us a lovely creamy colour that matched the cabinets, so we decided on that instead.  The following are all the photos I took tonight after Abdul had finished for the day and shook hands with us.




 In the above photo you can see the glass splashback.


 Table set for tea with chook placemats.  Our first meal at home in three days!  It was impossible to cook or eat in the kitchen with all the mess before they'd finished, so we went out to dinner with friends on Monday, and down to the Eltham Hotel on Tuesday on our own.




This is the pantry with the doors open to show the adjustable spice racks that I hunted all over for, and finally found in Bunnings in Box Hill.

Sigh....I think I'll just set up a camp bed in the kitchen and spend the rest of my life in here.  Why did I ever think I would regret this renovation?   We are already talking about the bathrooms now!

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Kitchen soon to be finished.

The splashback and kickplates are in, the painter is coming next week to paint the ceiling, walls and window frames, and after that we'll choose the curtains, and that will be IT! I'm not taking any more photos until it is completely finished. Ken is already talking about getting the bathrooms fixed up but I begged him to give us a break. Between the kitchen, fences, and solar panels, I am so tired of spending every day at home waiting for tradesmen. These three things aren't finished yet! We need a quote on the fence on the other side of the house, and the same tradie has promised to build a chook run for us. Apart from the painter, the kitchen plumbing still has to be inspected by a government person before they can issue the compliance certificate. The solar panels have been inspected, and now we wait for SPAustnet to install a new meter to measure the solar energy generated, then that will be switched on. In the meantime I've been sewing various items which are on my other blog. I went to the Craft and Quilt show last Sunday and bought some nice fabric. We've had a few friends drop by to check out the kitchen, and we've been out shopping for odds and ends. New chairs for the kitchen, and techno. stuff for the t.v. Don't even ask - I don't go there, it is Ken's baby. I haven't used my Samsung tablet much - just to check emails sometimes in the morning while I'm having breakfast, and if I don't feel like doing anything in particular, I will play Spider Solitaire or Sudoku on it. I had my car serviced today and that cost $300, which included a new tyre. I always feel relieved when the car has been given a clean bill of health by the workshop we use - they are very reliable and honest, and the car really does feel better to drive when it is done. That's my week.

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