As the renovations continued, I have bought all the major purchases except for the splashback and floor coverings. What with the wet weather and the builder having so many projects on the go at the same time things started to slow down. This gave me time to weed the garden, which is quite a large area which I have planted with mostly native plants which can tolerate the sandy soil and hot, dry summer weather. While Jen was down she showed me how to take small cuttings from plants I liked, dip them into plant hormone solution before planting them in pots so that I could later plant them in my garden. I had lots of fun taking little cuttings from various places including from a local park and from branches overhanding the foot paths. I also took cuttings from the lovely scented roses in Mum’s garden, these have already budded. I also bought about eight small plants including Kangaroo Paws which are the WA’s national flower.
I had also decided that the small back garden, which has a narrow stretch of earth was perfect for espaliering fruit trees. My friend Corinne had given me a lime tree which she wanted to replace. This rather sorry little lime sprung to life and within weeks was covered with new growth. I then cemented in three star pickets which would enable me to thread wire in rows to which the young branches could be tied so that they grow flat against the back wall. I have been thinking once the posts are up and all work has been finished I could buy two other fruit trees. My decision, one based on the prolific sweet fruit on Mum’s mandarin this would be one of the second trees the other, because I love Asia would be a mango. I now have a bit of research to see which species best grow in the Perth climate.
During the renovations I also wanted to fix the carport which had previously had a problem with the ceiling and light. We had just had a storm and the water had soaked into the light fitting, causing the light to fuse. The ceiling was also very damaged as was my neighbours and two of the other units. With permission from all owners we put in a claim. The assessor who came also checked the ceilings in my unit which were showing signs of blist
ering due to water damage. On receiving the assessors report the insurance company asked us first to put in drainpipes or something similar to prevent the rain water from entering the ceiling cavity. My builder said he could help out with that. We had decided to put a pipe in the gutter and a chain anchored into a berried bucket of gravel. I then thought of making this a garden feature with a terracotta pot on top of the bucket. I took a trip to Bunnings and found just what I needed. Glenn, my builder, cut a hole in the terracotta pot. I dug in an old bucket of Mum’s with the bottom cut to fit the pot. After Glenn had worked on the gutter fixture with the chain, he silicaned the terracotta pot into the bucket, this was to prevent the sand filling the bucket. The bucket and the pot were filled with gravel to assist the speedy draining of the rain water. I then used leftover pavers and gravel around the base to help keep the sand from washing away around the pot Later I hope to plant Mondo grass around it to help it blend in. It will eventually look very fancy.
During this time I also barricaded the area to prevent the traidies falling down the hole or tripping over the pot. I had two sticks and a piece of jagged steal from the old back door frame. When trying to hammer in the steal it slipped and nearly severed off the top of my little finger. Lots of blood but plenty of people around to give me a hand to clean and bandage it. Praise the Lord no stitches needed.
The new north window eventually arrived and was put in, bringing so much more light into the, now open living room. All this time Nezka and I were putting cabinets together.
The oven tower which had been a challenge, Glenn convinced me it really didn’t need altering, saving us a heap of calculations to change it. He pointed out that the height was ok for me and if the tenants were short they could put the microwave on the bench. True. This saved us time too.
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e finished the big corner cabinet so that Glenn could start to attach it to the wall. That night while he was working on it he realised there was a slight problem. He contacted me early the next morning to say with my plan the way it was the corner pantry door would not open very wide. A fridge of any size would limit how wide the door would open not only this but the door would also bang against the fridge which would eventually loosen the hinges and mark the back of the door! Oh dear! Why wasn’t this picked up while we were at Masters going over the plan? Glenn, told me that one of his clients had had the same problem and obviously Masters hadn’t warned people about this.
After a lot of thought and some discussions with Masters (my consultant was off for two weeks having an operation). The first woman I had spoken to on the phone was adamant that I had signed off on the project. I explained that I was not a cabinet maker nor did I have any idea of planning a kitchen and this mistake could not just be passed on to the client. She said she would have someone call me as many of the workers in this area were off sick. I waited 4 days before someone contacted me. It was worth the wait as I eventually had a lovely cooperative lady help me out. It also gave us time to work out how to make the changes. Thanks to Nezka’s ideas, we moved a few things around, exchanged one cabinet (already constructed by us) and purchased another tall cabinet till we were all happy.
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t was a great relief when Nezka and I finally assembled our last cabinet. We carried them to their position in the kitchen to see what it would look like. It looked great even with the changes. I could see the Lord had His hand in all of this as I much prefer the new changes. This corner of the kitchen now looks complete, more symmetrical and I feel will be more functional.
It didn’t take Glenn long to fit all the cabinets. He asked if I had the cooktop so that he could cut the hole for it in the benchtop. I said sure, and went into the master bedroom where I has stored it away for safety. Well that’s where I thought I had left it! We both searched the whole house (it’s only a two bedroom unit) and then searched a second time. It wasn’t there! I suspected one of the tradies had taken it. They were the only ones who knew where the key was kept and the house was definitely not broken into! The other challenge was that the electrician was going on a six week holiday in Europe so I needed to get a replacement before he left!
It was a Saturday so nothing much I could do. On Monday I reported it to the police and then to the insurance company hoping I can claim it back. I didn’t have much time to wait for their response as I needed an immediate replacement! The excess on my claim was $250. I would have liked to have replaced with the same model but it was too expensive now with the extra building costs so I went onto Gumtree (our free online sales sight), firstly to see if I could find a replacement at a lower price and also check to see if someone was selling mine.
There were three I was interested in, none were the same brand as mine. Two were new. One was a shop display which was very cheap the other a new Westinghouse both I was unable to contact by phone so I left messages on Gumtree. The owners of the year old cooktop lived in Kelmscott, an hour’s drive south. I planned to see them at 4:30pm on Tuesday.
Having done as much of my homework on Monday, and Tuesday morning, I exchanged the old jackhammer, which had been a little faulty for a new one and with Mum, I set off 
south. I planned to first take Pastor Ken his new jackhammer then take a look at the cooktop in Kelmscott. It was lovely to see Ken and Trish again. They were interested in how the unit reno was going. Mum also enjoyed the visit but the cooktop was very disappointing. It has been very badly scratched. I wanted something a little better for my new kitchen. On route home Mum and I stopped and enjoyed dinner out at a Chinese restaurant. Not exactly what I call Chinese food as many of the Asian restaurants here adapt their recipes for the western palette! I prefer the real thing having lived in Asia.
Wednesday I sought the Lord. My time was running out. I really needed the cooktop today at the latest. Glenn needed to cut and fit it into the benchtop before the electrician came on Thursday. Praise the Lord, the couple who had Westinghouse cooktop had left me a message to call them, they were holidaying in Queensland! I called them 7am Perth time, QLD being 2 hrs ahead of us, to so see if someone in Perth could help me. They called their son who rang me to say he would be free in an hour to go with me. Hallelujah! Thank you Lord! We set off early and caught the peak hour traffic! It took us a little longer to get there but when I saw the cooktop I knew it was my last resort. The Lord had once again come through with a blessings. It was a wet day but I was in a very bright mood. Although not my first choice this cooktop was at least new and would look lovely in my kitchen. Secondly I was able to bring them down $50 as they had been trying to sell it since February. They had wanted convection and their builder had bought a regular 4 ringed electric. Thank you Lord for keeping it for me.
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had taken us four hours to collect. I dropped the cooktop at the unit for Glenn who had finished fitted all the cabinets with their doors and draw fronts. They still had their protective blue plastic which made them look very bright. The cooktop and sink went in late Wednesday. That night I checked my emails and saw the insurance had covered my loss minus the excess cost so I was slightly ahead.
Thursday the electrician and his apprentice arrived by 9:30am to finish off fitting the appliances, bathroom, kitchen and carport lights. Since the theft I was reluctant to leaving tradesman alone at the unit. Only the builder, who I trusted, had a spare key as he occasionally did work in the evening. I wanted to remain on site to lock up after anyone else.
Having cemented the star pickets on Saturday they were now set. I fastened three lines of wire between them these would support and shape the fruit tree branches horizontally. Espaliering is a long process of many years but I’m hope and pray it will eventually pay off with a lovely green fruit bearing wall.
So what else other than the renovations has been happening? Mum and I continue to take the dog, Suzie, for walks either to the beach, sports oval or bush near where we live. One visit to Trigg beach we noticed some people standing near the rocks watching something. It was a seal basking in the sun. He was quite a large adult loan seal but very relaxed and unperturbed by the bystanders.
Photos: 1. Native plant I took cutting from 2. Cut of tea with Nezka 3. New north facing window, unfinished kitchen 4. Measurements for corner cabinet door opening into the fridge 5. New cabinets roughly put into place 6. Tradie working on ceiling architraves in new kitchen, cabinets with protective blue plastic covering 7. Stove, replaced cooktop and sink now in 8. Terracotta pot soak well 9. Espaliering supports 10. Spot the seal on the rocks!
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for His provision, leading, guidance through all the challenges I have faced during this renovation. I have also been challenged to lean on Him and trust His Love for me to provide for all my needs.
Praise Him for my two wonderful helpers, Lorna and her wisdom with purchases and Nezka with her experience with putting cabinets together.
Praise the Lord for all my supportive friends and prayer partners. I really do appreciate you all.
Please pray for the person or persons who walked off with my cooktop. I’m believing the Lord will bring him to repentance and draw him to Himself.
Please continue to praise the Lord for His protection, provision and Mum’s and my general good health. Mum has had an infection in her hand but after antibiotics is on the mend.
Thank you for your continual prayers for Mum especially with accepting some of the things that come with age especially with the loss of memory. She is finding this very challenging and is often feeling down because of it.
Please also continue to pray she stays safe on the road.