the money pit or the great australian dream?

Three months ago my hubby and I became home-owners. Or to be more precise we became home-loaners. (Isn’t it funny how once that money comes out of your bank account on a weekly basis you simply don’t miss it? Because really, it was never yours in the first place, since you are, for the rest of your natural life, owned by the bank.)

The most wonderful thing about our first home was that it needed nothing done to it. We could happily live inside in connubial bliss until the time came that we decided to move somewhere new. Since that time we have bought paint, nails, shelves, and put a down payment on a complete new kitchen. Between them, Bunnings Home Hardware and Freedom Kitchens now own every last bit of us that the bank didn't get a hold of. Gulp!

Aah, new paint. Who needs to hire a painter when you have no funds, two sets of perfectly able arms, and a clear vision? Hmmm... We do, that's who! So now three months on, half the house is half painted in a gorgeous cappuccino colour (the clear vision part) with the other half still strangled by the 'sky blue' and 'ocean green' that were here before we were. The 'sunshine yellow' doors throughout the house are still awaiting their spanking new lick of glossy white paint (more clear vision as yet unrealised) as does all the old dull white trim. I can hear you laughing now. Sure, you are thinking. Like that's going to happen anytime this decade!

On a rare day off together, hubby and I had the whole day ahead of us, with big plans to paint everything that was left to paint – to at least finish the half cappuccino, half blue lounge/dining room. So what did we do? We took the puppy for a walk. We watched a few episodes of “Arrested Development” – funny stuff! It turns out you can’t watch just one! Hubby spent a couple of hours listing DVDs to sell on eBay and I sat on the floor of the office organising the photo album of an overseas trip we made this time last year. All dire, necessary pursuits that could not have been put off to any other time!

And the lounge/dining room? Looks no different than it did this morning. We need help! Did we do the right thing? Did we fall into this with our eyes tightly focussed on pictures in glossy magazines and not on the job ahead? Yes! We are bad bad home-loaners.

But then that night, we stood outside together in our patchy backyard, admiring our wonky Hills Hoist clothesline (that we will one day replace with a gorgeous outdoor setting and a technologically advanced wall mounted clothesline), grinning at the new batch of lemons sprouting on our very own lemon tree, breathing in cool autumn air, and scrunching our bare feet in our overgrown grass. Boy did it feel like we were standing in a little piece of paradise.

No landlord telling us we couldn’t have a dog. No real estate agents threatening visits so we had to find a new way in which to hide our dog. We can put up any picture we want using any sized nail and hook we want, into walls we can paint any colour we want.

You know what? It's seriously fine to be a home loaner!

Ally – living the great Australian dream!
ally@allyblake.com