Compared to the USA, in NZ it’s much more common to move into a house without any appliances (or whiteware as it’s known here). We negotiated with our sellers to leave everything behind for us. Even though most of the appliances were somewhat older, they were good quality brands, and we didn’t want the hassle of shopping for those big items while we were moving.

But things break. Our stove lost a burner a few weeks ago, and we were pretty easily swayed to buy a new one instead of repairing it.

The new cooktop is about 6 inches wider, giving us an additional burner. But most importantly it’s induction!

So far we like the controls better than the old stove (although we wouldn’t have minded actual knobs you can turn, that’s basically not an option on these drop-in cooktops) and we REALLY like the quick heat and cool of the induction elements. All our good pans (thank you Costco in 2008 or so) work just fine on the induction surface.

We already replaced the oven last year… what will go next? Maybe our second-hand freezer, or maybe the microwave? Time will tell…

There’s the new windows, which make all our secondhand furniture look better, don’t you think? And more importantly : All the leaks that led us to this point are fixed.

After a series of delays and more cost than we really wanted, we’re all cozily buttoned up with actual double-paned windows that open to a nice amount (two down, all the rest to go). We’ll remember fondly the idea of having what a window repair guy with the gift of the gab called a ‘small conservatory’ (just a bay window in fact), but actually the new arrangement is nicer and more functional.

Now… what’s the next project going to be???

Our new house didn’t need much work, but several rooms wanted a coat of paint. My office / man-cave was the worst. Lee was ready to tackle the job over the Christmas break.

That beige color was even worse in person, sort of peachy. Ugh.

I wanted something similar to the blue-green shade we found in Brattleboro. And when one of the paint chips was named “Watersprite Tears” I was pretty much done looking. I imagine the paint-color-namer as the sort of stereotypical gray librarian person who’s just yearning to break out and Create. Well, mate, whoever you are, nice work.

The end result was brighter than I thought it would be, as is often the case in my experience. The room now feels very like it belongs in a tropical villa… which is fine, actually. It makes me smile just to walk in.

Thanks Lee for doing all this work!

After 35 or so years of adulting, I’ve learned a few things, such as to take the win when you can.

Yesterday’s triumph: hanging these curtains in the bedroom with only a couple extra holes in the wall and NO trips the hardware store.

Our shared driveway was slowly sinking into the neighbors garden. In one of the times I’m unequivocally glad to be a renter, the owners all had to kick in $20k for this to happen.

We have walked past this house several times without really seeing it. Or the old car rotting away underneath. Spooky!

There must be quite a story… the land alone, probably a tenth of an acre, would bring a million bucks more or less, even with a house to tear down.