Athertonblab: After and Before photos

It's very unusual for me to get off my bum and do some of those pesky jobs around the house. So, to finally get some progress on my "studio" is an occasion as newsworthy as the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, or Hamas members attending a bar mitzvah for social reasons. So, like all good renovators who post senseless indulgent blogs, "before and after" photos are compulsory.

But I only thought of this halfway through the day's work. So we have "during and after" photos.

This is basically what it has looked like for almost a year

Now for those of you I haven't already told more than fifteen times I have a small, birdsnest-infested and smelly timber frame outbuilding which was used as an implement shed. For some reason this creaky little creepy-crawly outpost inherited the name "studio". This name came from my big and way too ambitious plans to convert it into a place where I can escape from the harshness of life and paint pictures of naked women and call it "art". Plans which have thus far never seen the light of day due to more pressing projects, a.k.a. sitting down and watching sports on telly.

Which is why, when the kids would call it "the Studio", I would get cross with them for reminding me that it's really a smelly, crappy shed which is nowhere near being a studio because I have willfully neglected it.

Inside. This probably won't change within a year

And for those who havent heard me whinging recently, this thing has been the bane of my existence. But this weekend...progress at last!! Unbee leeevubble.

I finally got to wear that Toolman belt Mark Baker gave me five years ago

Thanks to a generous donation of weatherboards from Brenda and Pat there wasn't a great deal of expenditure involved in my current blaze of enthusiasm. However, you always find there are little tool-type thingys lacking so a trip or two to Bunnings is always on the cards.

After five trips to Bunnings I discovered that if you actually write down all the things you need at once, it can save some petrol. Revolutionary, that.

Either that or you can leech tools off your next door neighbour. If you're lucky your neighbour has recent health problems rendering him inactive, which ensures that you seldom get no for an answer and can stock up on tools which he won't be needing for a while. It's known (to Simpsons Fans) as "Flanders' Revenge". Especially since I too am a tasteless Christian stereotype.

hard to find good help these days

Lulu even pitched in and helped by swinging aimlessly around in a little toy bucket

The weatherboard cladding operation was kicking along nicely. I had even managed not to dismember myself with the (borrowed) circular saw despite best efforts. Before and After photos were an afterthought, as opposed to a forethought, so they became a duringthought. If that is a real word. And I doubt it is.

The sweet smell of progress

The next step will be re-roofing, which I expect to be underway some time in 2008, if I can get through those darn union problems.