I made this!

As you all know, I moved into a nice old 3 bedroom apartment in December. I love our place. It still needs a bit of work but I think we have done well! When we moved in, we had to spring clean. I think the previous tenants didn't own a cloth and didn't know what a cleaning agent was. It was the first time in my life that I experienced fear from filth. I will never forget some classic cleaning moments. My sister Nicci, was horrified when cleaning the balcony. I have never seen anyone get so angry and upset over a blocked drain pipe! Karen Little's reaction to pulling a really large and nasty hairball from the bathroom drain was unforgettable! As a doctor, she deals with some gruesome stuff but she couldn't handle the hairball. Her pale face with a gag reflex expression and her rather calm comment of "Wendy, I need a glove" will stay with me for a long time.

Lots of D.I.Y. followed. Who paints a bathroom gun metal grey? I felt like I was in a psych ward every time I went to pee! We painted it white and Nicci added some interesting (and uneven) potato stamp designs. After scraping 2 year old sticky coffee like goop off the tiled floor and adding some colourful bathroom mats and a plant or two, the bathroom looks better. No psych ward, no creepy filth.




Warning: women with power tools ahead! Naaah, we were not that bad! We got the hang of it quickly and (after lots of swearing) were able to put up lots of towel racks. It was most entertaining watching tiny Karen negotiate a large drill. In case you are wondering, no, we did not need 4 holes. It was a mistake that resulted in some exploratory drilling.





I have a lot of books. I need bookshelves! I was most disgusted at the ridiculous prices of bookshelves, (over R1000 -about $150- for a smallish one!) so I decided to make my own. I was determined. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. It is much cheaper but it 's a huge job. I must admit that I had never attempted anything like this before and didn't really know how to go about it. I even phoned a friend to find out how close to a plug I can drill for fear of electrocuting myself and/or cutting off the electricity to the flat! But after a bit of sweat, sulking and swearing, I have some awesome, BIG shelves.

Now just to fix up the pokey kitchen and add a splash of colour to the walls...