I’m slowly going through my long list of tasks around the house that need to be fixed, repaired, built, painted or replaced.

We have this old timber and iron bench on our verandah that has the timber splintered and weathered. Sitting on it you could be assured on a splinter on your legs. Andrew said I should ditch it but I figured rather than spend money to buy a new one, I could just replace the timber slats (it was only a couple at the front). Unfortunately the nuts and bolts on edges are rusted and I couldn’t figure out a way to remove them. I put WD40 on them. It to not avail. I got a couple of them loose but the others are still there. No matter I just screwed in the slat in the middle. Then I spray painted the entire bench and it looks new. I just hope the slats stay on for a couple more years. 🤣

It was an interesting experience to do this as I had to find a way to cut wood. I opened a garage cupboard and found some old tools which may have belonged to Andrew’s father. There was a hacksaw (still brand new and in its box from the 70s) along with never been used blades. Well, let’s just say they now have been used.

(I cleaned everything up and repacked everything in it’s box). However it did make me realise that I need to clean out the garage next and make it into my workable space. For now it’s very dusty, spider infested space that I want to keep away from.

Added on my list to do. (1) Spider bomb the garage and (2) clean the garage.

Then onto the Hills Hoist. I had to restring it because the birds had chewed the cord to use the soft cotton threads inside for their nests. I used a YouTube video to learn how to do this but my hoist was different to theirs so it doesn’t look right. Oh well. I did the best I could because I couldn’t wait any longer for this task to be done by my husband. 🤣

Given I’m now not working, it’s up to me to do the bulk of the housework and handyperson jobs around the house. Thankfully I have YouTube to help me out as I’m not practically minded and have little patience with repair jobs around the home.

Next I painted the plastic chairs. These were chairs my parents had given me for a BBQ we had years ago. They were painted aqua green by my father (no idea why) so I decided to spray paint them a Brunswick green to match the 4 other plastic chairs of similar style. I cleaned them up, gave them a quick sand then spray painted them. Out of all the repair jobs, I like spray painting the best. It’s so easy but as I was out in the strong sunlight, there were a couple of times, I felt faint from the fumes and the strength of the sun bearing down on me.

That’s all the house jobs for today.

Next on my list is to clear out all the drains around the house of leaves and debris; then cover them with shade sail (it acts like a filter).

Secondly, I need to spray paint some trellis under the outdoor sink just to make it look nicer.

Thirdly, we have wood rot around the timber frames of our windows but people quoting for the job are so diverse in prices. We have had everything from $3K to $12K. Lastly, I need to organise a new timber Paling fence (another $4.5K) to be built in our front yard as along the driveway, the fence has dropped and likely to scrape our cars as we drive out.

Home and yard work is never ending. It’s also quite expensive! However we decided to use our savings to improve the home rather than go on any holidays or take leave. We figure that the more we can do now, the easier it will be when Andrew does retire in 4 or so years, to focus on other stuff namely us going on trips away together. With his bust work, this is near impossible for him to get any leave.

Next up though I really do need to learn how to use the drill. However, I’ll clean the garage first to make it more “workshoppy” for me. I’d like to put some order in there so I can enjoy going out there to build and repair things.