I started out tonight sitting down for the ritual cup of tea (oh and sinful cinnamon sticks) deciding to clean the wheels of the sewing chair – an old office chair that was already in the place.

Not content with that, the next hour while watching Sons of Anarchy, I proceeded to pull it apart and recover it as well. Restoring it somewhat to a better looking and operable chair.

I wondered what fabric I had in my very small stash that I have here at the moment and found that I still had some of what I used on my pin board. So voila! Now the sewing bench is complete with matching chair.

I am ready to create!

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We are finally, for the most part, done with getting the loading room ready to be operational.

It's been quite an effort this past 2 weeks to get it done but we got there in the end, only a couple of adjustments to do and then Jack can get the loaders set up and running!

You will see in the pictures that we have decided to change the shelf set up. Well not change it so much but stop the glare from the lights shining directly into your eyes. Might help you think? So we added a front edge trim – yet to be stained and varnished.

So – the judges say – for execution, an 8, for delivery, a 9, for customer satisfaction, a 10!!! And of course style points – well, what do you think? Give us some feedback! 🙂

Night! Kat xo

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My hands feel like the sandpaper I've been using, probably a 120 grit, the house is full of hideous dust but we are almost there.

Another full day of Jack cutting and fitting skirting and door trim, me sanding or painting. We managed to cut, glue and fit vinyl flooring as well and we are so close.

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow will see the end and just ready for Jack to make the loading room finish looking like one once the loaders arrive to be installed.

Time for a beer! 6.46pm Tuesday 15th. Kat xo

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Well I let all our Canberrans friends know on Facebook last night that the weather would be doing some strange things like it does there. However! We haven't had a day there with such a change like this in a very long time!

As I mentioned we have up to 30C the past few days and today it's expected to only reach 11C. Now I know I've slept in a little this morning and it's now 9.25am and it's snowing!!!!

Opened up the blind to this!

I know it doesn't look much – soft big flakes blowing in – settle for a little and then melt.

1C feels like -6C (34F feels like 22F) – today will be an inside day, well working in the garage at least but rugged up!

Monday Morning 14th April, have a great day wherever you are.

Kat xo

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We fiiiiinally got to shoot this weekend at the club match where Saturday saw a roll up of 72 cowboys n cowgirls itching for some, fun, practice and laughs! The weather was perfect although a little windy towards the end, we made it through 6 stages.

Anywhere you go, cowboys are so friendly, can't do enough for each other and very different to other sports whether you choose to take the competitive route or just in there for the fun of it. Well after all it IS fun, if you're not having fun then there is something wrong!

We had a good mix of new shooters and old, new friends and some that we have shot with before.

That's 'Missouri Mae' shooting above (top left), very fast! 'Hey You' counting (top right) and we got to meet the lovely little miss 'Paisley' this weekend, who at 12 has decided she might have a go.

With 'Waterloo' and 'Hey You' as her Dad and Mom (yes for the Aussies I know it should be Mum but trying to do the right thing by the subjects) then she won't have any problems at all getting up to speed quick smart!!

She was already thinking about hats, clothes and guns after shooting just the hand guns and rifle! I'm sure we will be seeing much more of her now.

Today, Sunday, saw a gathering (for the second round) of 26 go through another 6 stages! What a weekend! 'Tacky Jackie' (bottom left) and 'Flat Top Okie' (bottom right) playing at the adobe wall stage.

Windy today and bit over cast but any rain forecast held out until we were home this afternoon. Me having a go above and Jackaroo below.

Tomorrow it's back into the loading room again, we are getting there. Oh and the mysterious part that fell out of my sewing machine in transit?! Fixed, serviced and now I'm almost ready for sewing action. Yee haa!

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It's been a very busy couple of days again, the weather has warmed up – for now – and the loading room project is moving on.

Now, never one to sit idly by, as most of you may know, Kathouse has been busy staining the benches, china rail and antiquing the panelling to go into the loading room, giving it that rustic cowboy feel.

He even found in Home Depot a nifty little light set up, that by changing the bayonet fitting to having like a double adaptor attachment fitting screwed into it, he could wire in – well plug in a new light – an easy fix to the solution.Jackaroo has been busy, cutting, fixing, (cursing) with his lovely assistant at times, the panelling and gyprock (called drywall here) and hanging 2 new doors to the alcove and loading room area. His walls are in perfect alignment!!!

I got to plastering the joins as Jack continued on with other measuring and cutting. Also cleaned the walls with the magic eraser sponges (love them) so they look brand new again.

We still have a little of the outside gyprock and plastering to do before we can get to painting. Well that will be me too as Jackaroo doesn't fancy painting all that much.

Soon it will be time to paint, move the benches in and he can get set up! Yay!!

Jack n Kat xo

April 10

PS and we know the panelling should normally run vertical, it's called cost savings man and still looks pretty good!

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Moving onto the garage here is what's happening. So the before shots show your usual double garage but not for very much longer…(hmm in my head that came out a bit Rocky Horror picture show like. Lol!) Sorry I digress. 🙂

Now you remember from the part 1 post we have spent a fair bit of time at Home Depot and so the weekend has been full of sawdust, discussions, task allocation and the like but we are getting there!!

So Stage 1, clear garage and make saw horses, get timber etc and rest of tools, exchange a few things and hire pickup to drop all home.

Stage 2 get to cuttin'! Measure twice, cut once!

Stage 3 assemble, which gets us to something like this!

Ta dah!

One very proud Jackaroo having done a great job, with the assistance of the lovely Kathouse Kelli of course, has managed a very squared up little project for the loading room.

More to come in the coming few days!

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Okay so it's been a few days since the last update as we have been busy making acquisitions and sorting out what needs to be done in the place. After several trips to Home Depot (like Bunnings or Masters for those in Aus) we have become regulars and assistance is great!

Walmart and AT&T (Steven) have been the other regular haunts as we progressively get things set up properly. Yay!! We finally got internet on Saturday arvo!

In the meantime there are a couple of major projects in the works such as the sewing bench in the joint study and the loading room.

So let's start with some before shots of the study and where we are at right now.

Before, just remembered in time before I started marking up for brackets! Well two were up already by time I remembered.

Okay, and progress as at yesterday….

Bench top custom cut by Jack n Kat and ready for edging done below. I do believe my time at North Coast Kitchens has come in handy all these years later. Although it would have been a damn sight easier with a proper edging machine!! The iron did well though.

Kat xo

April 6th here in OK.

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A couple of days of extreme shopping and unpacking. Got to unpack the purchases from October, spend some and make the place start to look like home……and maybe a bit more of a cowboy home (could it get much more than it was before????)

Some pics up, some sticks in a vase (well slightly better arranged than that but you get my drift), few rearrangements of existing lamps and cupboards and whola!! Looking a bit more 'lived' in!

Hmmm smells liked a house now, first home cooked meal tonight, nothing flash but good just the same!

Gotta love Hobby Lobby 50% off just about everything today (never get that much discount at Spotlight) frames, lamps, hooks, flower stick things the lot!

Lamps finished off the bedroom now despite it still requiring a change of paint from mauve to beige and get rid of the purple and white pics off wall. Our setting is looking good and more like us. Got to work out them big square pillows though, still doesn't look quite right.

AND got a nice surprise late this afternoon when my sewing machine turned up with 2 boxes of patterns and a bit more fabric, YAY!! Now just to build a bench which we measured up tonight. Currently looks like below, with rubbish still to be gotten rid of as well from down the hallway.

Bags are all unpacked though and still to get internet on and a TV. Lucky we can visit across the way and use TV and guest internet at the moment.

Love to you all, see some of you soon! Xo Jack n Kat

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