Hammers, saws, drills, screwdrivers

This is the home I grew up in.

It is a beautiful old villa. 

Around a hundred years old.

At the moment it is a bit tired and run down.

Mr P has been recuperating with us.

Soon the home is to be rented.

We are all very pleased that it is to be rented within the family.

Absent-Minded Prof and Moneypenny will move in soon with Little Sunshine and Poppet.

Before then there is some re-decorating to be done.

One thing I like about home education is the flexiblity of it.

The opportunities that the children get to do things they may not otherwise.

Boar has always included the children, all through the years, in whatever projects are happening.

This time is no different.

I think the skills they learn are as important as "The Three R's"

Which actually aren't as only one of them begins with R!

However, I digress.

Locket and Brains got stuck in helping.

 

Locket

Brains

Pulling Pinex off the walls. Note the timber behind. It is Sarking

The reason the Pinex needed to come off?

 Locket pointing to the tunnels and holes made by borer

 Tiny but they do a lot of damage!

 Locket pulling out nails after the Pinex was removed.

 Mr P may be 87 but that doesn't stop him from doing what he can.

Here, he is sweeping up wallpaper bits.

Last year he climbed into the roof space to replace a battery for the alarm!

This involved climbing a ladder, stepping onto the top of the door as the house has a high stud.

The hatch to the roof space is about 3 metres above the floor.

Once he had a foot on the top of the door he pulled himself up into the roof space!

 This is one of the beautiful rimu doors in the house.

Mr P was telling us that it took him a year to strip and varnish the doors.

Previously they were painted.

A labour of love as they have the grooves in the moulding.

Wouldn't have been easy to get all the paint out of there.

Locket pulling wallpaper of the kitchen walls.

Brains had stripped most of it by then. 

It was vinyl paper so wouldn't have been good to paint over.

 The hallway, apart form the end, is back to the sarking. 

The GIB board has been carried in and sits waiting to be attached.

A busy day. Although we were only there a couple of hours.

Later in the day Locket and I went out to Porirua

She was going away in a few days and needed some things.

As we were having Halfpint and Mr Magoo to stay it would be easier to shop with no wee ones :)

One of the things we got was a camera.

 Pretty good bargain at around $30. A good beginners camera.

Although it can go underwater.

Locket likes taking photos and has quite an artistic eye.

Good for her to have her own to practise with.