Out with the old and in with the 'new'

 
We have finally made a start on improvements at Mt Victoria. A tradesman has been organised to paint the roof. We have chosen Windspray, a grey Colourbond colour, which should blend in with the surrounding bush quite nicely. No before shots as yet. I must do that before its too late!

A major step forward was installing the 'new' Rayburn slow combustion stove which we bought a few months ago on Gumtree. When I say new, both stoves are probably around 60 years old but the new one is in much better condition than the old.

I have a sentimental attachment to Rayburn stoves. My mum and dad had one installed in their home, that they built themselves, at Bullaburra. The house was built in the early 1950's and the fuel stove was the heart of the house. The kitchen was tiny and the stove took up a lot of room but it was the only stove we had for a long time and it also heated the water so it was used every day. Not so good in the middle of summer but great in winter. Mum cooked everything on it and a rack above it was used to dry clothes or warm pyjamas before bedtime. It was great for bum warming when I came home freezing from school in winter! The stove at Mt Vic was the same model as the one at Bullaburra.

The old stove.

The old stove naked without its doors.

Coming out of its spot.

A view of the back of the old stove on its way out the door. Ughhhh.

Inside of the top of the old stove. Equally ughhh!

When we bought the new one, I was in two minds as to whether it was a good idea or a wise investment as it was a lot of trouble and effort for it to be transported and installed, however when we took out the old one it quickly became apparent that it was in much worse condition than we realised. The poor thing has had a hard life! The back was completely rusted out and full of flakey stuff. So we are happy that we made the right decision to find a better one and very happy with how it looks in the kitchen.

We were also able to find out a little of the history of the new stove. We bought it from a couple in Laggan which is in country NSW between Crookwell and Taralga. They had bought their house with the stove in situ in the kitchen.. The house had been on a large property that had been subdivided into smaller lots. Priscilla, who we organised the purchase with, told me that the house had been owned by two elderly ladies and she had memories of them from when she was young as she had visited the house with a relative. The ladies were highly regarded in the town for their fine baking and it was apparently well known that if you were going to visit morning tea time was a good time to call in to sample their baked goods, all cooked in the Rayburn! Its a lovely story.

The new stove on the trailer when it arrived.

Moving the new stove into place.

Looking resplendent in its new home!

We had a lot of help from some wonderful friends, collecting the new stove from its previous owner and installing it and removing the old stove. It was a big effort. Thank you all very much Michael G, Michael H, Trish, Dom, Dave and Jenny. We couldn't have done it without you.

Now that the stove looks so lovely I will be trying to do something about the state of the sandstone wall behind it. When the wall was built it was painted with clear lacquer however many years of smoke and soot has discoloured it badly. I have a few ideas on how best to clean it so wish me luck! We still have to get the plumbing reconnected so that we can have hot water from it and a new flue installed. One thing leads to another. The ceiling around the flue also needs patching! Oh well... We will get there in the end. Rayburns are lovely stoves to cook on and in. They have a normal oven and a warming oven as well as the hotplate on the top, of course, and put out a lot of heat to warm the house. They also heat the water so, all 'round. its a very useful appliance!

Now for something completely different. I made this little block after reading a tutorial on the Pinkadot Quilts blog. Its called 'Free Pieced Tree' tutorial.

It was so easy and really fun to do. It only took me a bit over an hour but I am very happy with the result. Not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet ..... I may make it into a little wall hanging or maybe make some more.  So if you are looking for a simple project to fill in an hour or two give it a try.

I will finish up with a picture of beautiful Shoal Bay. We took our van out  for the first time since returning from our big trip and spent three lovely days there.

Thanks for visiting!