Meanwhile, back at the ranch

For those of you who have returned to some type of normality either by retuning to work or being able to move around without too many restrictions I say hurrah!

For the rest of us (mainly Victorians) we are enduring a potential second wave of you-know-what and are looking for alternate and safe ways of amusing ourselves!

I guess the MOTH (man of the house) and I are pretty lucky as we have a very large project right in front of us, namely setting up our home.

For us this is quite a novelty as being in our 60's and having lived several other lives, we have moved house and reconfigured our lives many times over.

This is very different as this is a promise we made to each other back in 1977 when we were young, in love and thought ourselves invincible.

This home represents all the dreams that went awry, as well as all the years we had apart. As a teenager in love, there is only here and now and consequences don't exist. The mere whisper of them could make all your dreams evaporate into thin air.

So here we are in Central Victoria, in the middle of a pandemic and nothing but time on our hands. Uh huh...

We are both collectors and lovers of anything vintage (including ourselves) and so our biggest task has been finding homes for all our beloved possessions.

The MOTH prides himself on having a keen eye for a bargain and so every trip to an op shop results in a boot full of treasures. Let me list some of his penchants (in no particular order):

uranium glass (it glows under a black light) and depression or vaseline glass

bud vases and other glassware

bar ware, including cocktail glasses, shot glasses etc

19th century china

Antique French anything, including lace

Tiki mugs and indeed anything tiki related

Some of my most sought after items include:

Crystal vases and bowls

Ice buckets

Lacquer ware

Poker ware

Glass dishes with panoramic photos in the base

Antique fabric 

Antique clothes

Vinyl records

We both collect West German Pottery as well.

Now this became a thing when we first started putting our collections together. I had bought my Mother a West German vase back in 1979 and when she passed away, I took ownership and care of it and loved it. The MOTH owned a very similar vase and we discovered it was from the same batch! 

Definitely a sign from the universe!

We also love old furniture and restoring and giving new life to old pieces is giving us plenty to do. We tend to go looking in the second hand shops when we can and gather up possible projects to keep us occupied.

We have recently refurbished an old 1980's buffet and hutch for the kitchen. It has gone from a darkly stained, dreary piece, to a chalk painted beauty. The leadlights in the doors really pop now and the MOTH had some beautiful old ivory looking knobs that he had kept in a box for years and  I just loved them, so they are now proudly adorning the buffet.

I recently recovered 6 old dining chairs that belonged to the MOTH's Nan. I had a quote to have them done for $660, however I found a scrap of beautiful fabric in an op shop, got some new foam cut from Clark Rubber and redid them all for $60! They were a lot of work, but totally worth doing. 

As we spend pretty much 24/7 together, we are finally able to relax and do the simple things and as it is pretty cold down here, a sleep in followed by a leisurely breakfast and conversation is the norm. 

We have even gotten into the garden (what?? I hear you say?) and pruned all the standard roses and have started planning out how we want the yard to look, come spring and summer.

It may sound a little mundane, but after working hard for the last 40+ years, and searching for each other I reckon we deserve a little down time and a chance to 'smell the roses' so to speak.

I finish with a little thought that has been rolling around in my head for the last little while.

Happiness comes from within us. All the pretty things around us are great, but are possibly superfluous when you sit and hold the hand of the person you love.

Have a fabulous week and as always

Please consider my virtual arms around you all xx

Surviving the Lockdown

I am writing this from my newly appointed study/sewing room. Ok, so its basically a multi-tasking room. The MOTH has an equally well equipped study at the other end of the house.

All this new found space is proving to be very handy as living in Victoria means more stringent social restrictions.

Which leads me to the topic of this ramble: surviving the lockdown!

For the most part, most of us have been relatively homebound since March this year and we are all dealing with restrictions, changes and frustrations that would test even the best of us.

Personally, Ive been quite restricted since May 2019 when I broke my arm and shoulder so I had no choice in the matter when it came to being housebound and curtailed, however the MOTH was used to getting up at ten to five every morning in Sydney and driving an hour and a half to get to work.

All that changed when covid19 made its unwanted entrance and the world as we know it, has changed so much.

As all our plans of travel fell through, we bought a big house in country Victoria and that has meant big changes to our normal routines.

I am not working and the MOTH is working less due to less work around and he is working from home which means the getting up time is more like 9:30, followed by a leisurely breakfast before the computer fires up.

It also means that the never ending list of jobs around the house is getting some attention and what was a cold, beige expanse of living areas etc, now resembles something far more desirable and the choice of comfy, inviting lounging areas and cocktail sipping corners abounds!

Added to that, we have some awesome neighbours who love nothing better than to down garden rakes and head over for a cuppa and cake!

For many people, these past few months have been hard. So many businesses have been closed and the small country town we live in, resembles a bit of a ghost town from Monday to Thursday as most of the shops are only open for the back end of the week. Even then, there are still some tight restrictions on how many can be in a shop and let me tell you, queuing outside a shop in 10 degree weather is frustrating!

Anyone who knows me, knows I do a lot of cooking, however the MOTH and I do love our breakfasts out, or coffee and cake, so having a lovely big walk in pantry, I decided to stock up on staples. There are still restrictions on quantity buying though as people still panic buy!

In order to survive in this new order world, we have all been compelled to make changes in our lives. Terms like 'social distancing' didn't exist until now and it can be a challenge, especially when queuing or not going in for the hug when seeing old friends.

Buying more things online has been a bit of a challenge for me as i am tactile and I much prefer the interaction with humans as part of the buying experience. Although, I must say, I do enjoy getting parcels delivered! 

I do think we have managed the whole thing reasonably well, all things considered. For those who are socially awkward, introverted or shy, its been a bit of a godsend as their behaviour is now considered normal and acceptable, while those extroverted souls really have to hold back at times!

For me, I am quite happy to sleep a bit more, move a bit more slowly and take stock of what we have and how lucky we are to be in a safe place. I love spending extra time with the MOTH  and although the waistlines are suffering, cooking comfort food has never felt so good.

Lets enjoy our 'time out' from the crazy and revel a bit more in our own backyards for a while longer.

As always, consider my virtual arms around you all