Author Archives: Sonia Hogan

Everything Else

The Great Kitchen Renovation: Day 2

Day 2 has come to an end and I must say, I’m pretty over living in a house that is being renovated! I’ve gotten a lot better at organising myself and my space since moving to Melbourne, so I really don’t like not knowing where anything is or having boxes full of stuff everywhere. My dad, on the other hand, remains unphased ;)

The electrician and plumber were in this morning to do the rough-in of power points and plumbing. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with the team that Harvey Norman Renovations have sent around so far – everyone has been polite, puntual and have communicated well.

Once they left, I popped over to Bunnings to hire a wallpaper steamer so that I could shed the kitchen of it’s cheesy 70s wallpaper. Bunnings Rockdale had two steamers – both of which were faulty! – so I ended up having to go to Bunnings Mascot instead. Obviously I should have called first. Oh well, c’est la vie!

So I’ve basically been removing wallpaper for the last eight hours. I have to admit, I’m an old hat when it comes to wallpaper removal. Our family home is covered in wallpaper from the last century, and I’ve already removed it from a couple of other rooms in the past (just call me ‘DIY Sonie’!)

Luckily, this room didn’t have multiple layers of wallpaper like the last two. It did, however, have a really cool paint job underneath. I actually thought it was wallpaper at first, but then my dad said he remembered my grandfather painting the room before I was born – so it looks like I unearthed a piece of family history!

Goodbye cheesy old wallpaper...

Goodbye cheesy old wallpaper…

...hello cool yellow & silver paint work!

…hello cool yellow & silver paint work!

It makes me wonder why on earth they covered it to begin with, because it’s really kinda cool and the bright, pastel yellow really freshens the room up and makes it so much brighter.

In other news, Alice has decided that she doesn’t want to come inside tonight, and I’m sick of trying to catch her (she’s a plump little thing but she sure can run!) so she’ll just have to sleep outside. I guess renovations and cats just don’t mix!

It’s now past midnight and I’m thoroughly exhausted and ready for sleep. Goodnight!

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Everything Else

The Great Kitchen Renovation: Day 1

It has been a long time in the planning, but the great kitchen renovation has finally begun.

We’ve spent what feels like forever researching and planning it all, but I’m most nervous about the actual execution. I’ve read more than enough negative customer reviews in the last couple of years to know all of the horror stories (it’s almost enough to make you never want to renovate, ever!) but I strongly believe that if you do enough research and know enough about what needs to be done, and then find yourself some reliable tradespeople who communicate well and do a good job, then you should be fine.

We spent all of yesterday emptying all of the cupboards and things. I cannot believe how much junk we have accumulated over the last thirty-odd years. Things just get shoved to the back, or into the deepest darkest reaches of the corner cabinets, and then you forget they even existed. It really is true what they say about out of sight, out of mind.

Even worse, it’s amazing how many multiples of the same thing you end up buying. We had three electric frying pan thingies. THREE! What the heck! I can’t even remember the last time we used one, let alone three of them? Crazy!

They’re stripping out the kitchen as I type. It’s quite loud and my poor cat Alice is freaking out behind the couch. I’m kind of scared to look, too. I grew up in this house, so even though the kitchen is old and has been dying a slow and painful death, it’s the kitchen I have known and loved (and, in more recent times, loathed) and I am sad to see it go. So many memories of watching my grandmother cook, having breakfast with my family, arguing and laughing with my dad over the best way to cook this or that meal… I’m just sad to see it go.

On the other hand, I’m also happy that we’re finally getting this new kitchen than we’ve been dreaming of for years. It’s a kitchen that I know my grandparents would have really liked, and it’s also going to make my dad’s life so much easier now as well. So while change is hard, and sometimes sad, it’s also a positive, happy thing.

I’ll also never have to see any more bloody woodchip ever again, so cheers to that!

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Global warming is man-made

(Image via Menzies House)

Politicking

Global warming is “man-made”

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loureed

(Image via NPR)

Everything Else

R.I.P. Lou Reed (1942 – 2013)

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On Writing

A sentence a day keeps the procrastination away

I think keeping a journal is really valuable, but I also find it really difficult. I love writing, but the thought of having to write a journal entry every single day (or at least fairly regularly) scares me enough to keep me from doing it.

sentence-journal

That’s why I love the kikki.K ‘A Sentence A Day’ Journal. The neat thing about it is that you only have to write one sentence a day (woo!) and there is a different prompt each day so that you have something specific to answer/write about. There are spots on each page for three years worth of sentences too, so you can see how your thinking has evolved over time.

I’ve been writing in mine for a week now (so far, so good!) It’s hard not to write in it, because there’s no excuse not to write one lousy sentence a day. Hopefully this will get me into a better writing habit, which may lead me to writing a more detailed journal entry per day… who knows! ;)

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