@ jeannie...that's Oipe, my dancing Queen...despite her size she's very nimble and does a little dance for her bowl of dinner. She's a Norwegian Forest cat. In the winter she grows another coat on top of her shorter curly woolly one...not FUR but a long straight coat of waterproof wool! Here sh'e in between seasons so no "Puss in Boots" UGG BOOTS and no gaucho pants! Can you imagine that!? After one litter she decided she wasn't doing that anymore...and I was sort of glad too....with all that wool around her nether regions! She gets shaved mid Spring, looks very funny but its more comfortable for her. Her favourite red mate 'Yodle' is smaller. Oipe is classed as 'red' ( ginger) even though her coat colour is much closer to a pale apricot. Have a friend who collects all Oipe's wool from her periodical groomings and her annual shear, spins it, crochets baby clothes and sells them...much in demand, better than Alpaca and as rare as....cat wool! I think Oipe weighs a bit more than 22lbs. Everyone is taken by her and she's such a " lol-about and couldn't give a darn" that she allows all the attention and loves it. My lifestyle is every bit as fantastic as it is just plain hard Aussie 'yakka'. I planned that this house would be where I lived and died. All sounds so romantic and close to Nature...and it is...but one can get really muscle sore, and brain weary working oneself into this lifestyle. Thankfully I am quite a strong Aussie country woman now..but getting here from being a thin city lizzy with not much strength, let alone country naus, was an ordeal I thought I would not survive. I've needed every bit of brain and braun I could accrue... and all on my own. I've met some wonderful country folk who have taught me bush skills I never knew existed. Did you know, for example, that we should never kill ants? Black ants are the natural enemies of the white ants or termites. You need to know where your black ants live and keep them fed so they'll stay outside and hunt the termites. If you find termites just surround them with a handfull of sugar and bring a clump of dirt and black ants to where they are...you won't need to spray...ever! Once they know they'll alert all their relatives near and far and anything wooden in your dream home will be safe. Glad you all like my story..THANKS...it makes all the hardship all that much more worth it! Oipe reaps the full benefit of my, at times, sore, tired body. When I'm flaked out on the lounge from hauling in the heavy ironbark firewood for the night...she just ambles up and plonks her voluminous self right in my lap and up my chest and decides I need grooming and exfoliating with her raspy tongue. Then I get a massage! She purrs and vibrates like an idling diesel engine...its kinda relaxing! P.S. Never thought anyone would catch me wearing Jeans! The only place I wear a skirt is to church..and sometimes I'm too tired to be botheredironing it...so have a pair of Sunday jeans ...there's no such thing as a day of rest...but time for the gentler jobs...like cooking enough to last the week! All the girls get together for that...NICE. I think I'm one of the lucky people!

while it is always a dream to have a home that matches your "dreams and desires" sometimes budgets must come first. Do you really want to splash out a lot of money on a look that you may not be able to afford. With mortgages so expensive and eating into our everyday lifestyle costs and jobs no longer guaranteed, I think your priority should be to put as much money into your mortgage while you can and just have a comfortable home where you can afford to be happy, healthy and free.......... don't burden yourself with additional costs just because it is "trending" at the moment. Trends change and so do your wish lists as time goes on. Think Comfort and Affordability.

Hi Complete Kitchens....Yes, I realise that 20k could get a good standard kitchen (our own one recently done was about 26k including scullery), I'm more talking about the ones that talk about doing kitchen, bathroom, painting and even moving some walls on 20k. What my point was, is its great when people like you actually give an idea of a cost of a project - it's easy to get fired up with inspiration and then get thoroughly dissapointed when reality hits! Things are expensive these days and I think for some who may not have done any renovations to their house for years, they don't really have a lot of idea of the costs involved.

Love; internal garage with remote door Walk in pantry ( no door as faces no public space so always accessible ..have 5 kids) Ironing board in drawer ( we have in kitchen, as laundry in garage ) Spice drawer ( a drawer with spice boxes laid flat ...nothing fancy but love it!) Family / dining/ kitchen ..no tv Tv in small lounge 4x4 m Big enough for tv and two couches only. Watching the news That's all we use the room for it seems as everyone has own device. Again no door on room, a wide opening, floor to ceiling so feels spacious Wir off ensuite...so no one sees anyone naked going from bathroom to dressing room..unless you want too Dog flap in side garage door so Dog can come and go if out. We have an acre . She can't access house but has her bed in garage at night. In day she is on our beds! Kids wing..parents wing. Or a separation somehow 10 cm thick laminate bench if can't afford stone 1200 wide hallways North facing or north facing light getting in somehow Out door hot water heater thing. Cheap to run. Hate; Should have put a solid door on ensuite. Not a $50 Bunnings door etc if you know what I mean...core door? Anyway, would have been quieter at 6 am with him sloshing around in there. We put a solid door from hall to garage, just didn't think about men getting old...:) If you are going to have power points behind couches/ beds etc have some exposed so you can charge laptop/ iPad/ phone while sitting on said couch We added one later as we built pre smart phone . At side of couch on wall opposite ( 50 cm away)