"In spite of everything....yes, let's....." Van Gogh

A little over 3 years ago, my husband, daughter and me packed up all our goods and chattels, leaving the cacophonous jungle of Sydney and all that was familiar behind. With Van Gogh's quote "in spite of everything......yes let's" foremost in our minds we set off for a new lifestyle in an idyllic pastoral corner of Tasmania.

After a journey fraught with obstacles, I must admit that upon walking up the front path of our country abode, I murmured to Pete, "are you sure that this is the house that we bought?"

 

On the very first day, before my mini breakdown developed into full blown depression (the sojourn from Sydney to Tassie was akin to a Cecil B. de Mille's epic Hollywood production), we immediately ripped up putrid coloured carpets.....each room had a peculiar, ghastly hue of its own; diarrhoea brown, spew green, the most appalling of oranges, mustard yellow, dreadful maroon etc etc. And the walls.......they were adorned with paint colours that I have no doubt would never have made the cut in the Dulux paint charts. Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I am no chroma phobe, I adore colour, indeed I am in love with and embrace the myriad of hues represented in the colour wheel with open arms; but the painted walls before me, shouted at me, indeed, willed in me a desire to paint every wall cream, cream and then some.

 

So the fixer-uppering began. In a continual mindset of "what were they thinking??" we sanded, patched holes, painted, pulled down, ripped out; endeavouring to transform our  strange li'l olde country abode into a cosy and comfortable place we could call home......and I might add, as seems to be more often the case, we are still at it, this far down the renovating track.