new home

Well it's beginning to look and feel a bit like a new home - and Fresh and Clean !

This part of the painting was done back in October while we were in New Zealand.

I am loving the black on the kitchens pitched ceiling.

Lots of clutter still about in these pictures some painting still going on.

Now we have half the house with new floorboards - bit of chaos this weekend with beds and most of our furniture out on the verandahs !

Should be finished all the flooring by Friday next week.

More pics next weekend !

6 more sleeps

Do you like to count down to exciting events by sleeps ? I do. Six more sleeps until the flooring layers come and start laying new floors in our home. Hurrah !

Farewell to the mint ? green carpet with its pastel pink pinkish pattern.

Farewell to the carpet that has suffered the indignities of potty training twins.

Farewell to the slippery scary tiles in the entrance.

Farewell to the grey / pastel toned geometric lino in the kitchen.

Artichoke

This superb plant was in Pam's awesome kitchen garden. I must plant one - and learn some yummy ways to prepare this vegetable. The last pic is my favourite.

Fluro Party

James' 21st Party. looking pretty happy here with Kate by his side !

Brad, Rilla & Olly

We have had a lot of rain

This was the afternoon school pick up. Kids never really do stop asking a lot of questions !

Lake Hume

Lake Hume has soo much water in it at the moment. We are enjoying this rare treat.

Bethanga Bridge.

We went out in the boat on a little sightseeing tour on Saturday afternoon.

'The Island' ! This is "the island' which I see looking out from my kitchen window and gauge the rising or falling of the water levels. Mostly it is actually attached to the land on the left. I get excited when the water rises enough that it becomes an island. It is known as One Tree Island , even tho it has two trees ! The light blinks on and off in summer evenings. Solar powered I presume.

summer skirts

I sewed some simple cotton skirts for the girls ! Have not sewed clothes since Neah was little .

I should do this more often - they only took about 10 minutes each and cost less than $8 each, thats about $30 less than Pumpkin Patch - whose quality and styles for girls has gone to the pack anyways.

Flinders Lane, Melbourne

from my i-phone.

Some day I'm going back there with my real camera and time !

We just happened upon it by chance.

New Zealand. September 2010

So in pretty much the exact opposite order of our trip,

Mt Cook National Park

overlooking Queenstown

Brad, measuring up against Sir Edmund Hilary

indulging in some gourmet Hokey Pokey ice-cream. New Zealands favourite.

Panning for gold at Arrowtown.

We had two excellent days skiing at Coronet Peak. Queenstown. This is Neah with an instructor who taught them 1 hour each day. They caught on pretty quick !

7th birthday tea at Aunty Lois and Uncle Peter Kirchers. Cromwell

Looking over Christchurch. Brads grandad used to work on a flower farm on this hill. This was on a Thursday. The earthquake hit on Saturday. We were then at Cromwell, 5 hours south and it woke me and Aunty Lois up , but not Brad or Uncle Peter !

re-decorating update

well it's slow.

ie : not much to report at all.

What there is to report is this,

I have purchased a new clock - (well ok - that was back in May - and was for Brad's birthday ! )

anyone else buy stuff like this for 'their husbands' - but really for themselves ?

A painter has been to do a measure and quote on painting our really , really, super duper high ceiling rooms. But. He hasn't called back - I bet he's scared of heights too.

A curtain making lady came out last Saturday with some gorgeous samples and ugly samples and measured the windows. She sent the quote thru yesterday. $10,000 smackaroos - and that's not even half the house ! and includes a 10% discount ! ? I'm thinking that I should re-think our house insurance - except that the current ones are not worth a dime.

The floors. I have a sample plank of wood. I'm trying to like it, but I'm just not sure, better get some more. Of course what I really like is the black timber look - which they don't sell at the Hardly Normal flooring store where they do offer an attractive 42 months or so interest free finance payment plan.

Better go and invest in a few more home decorator magazines. Or maybe try and sell all the ones I have. Confession : a wholesale sell-out of the ones I already have might just about pay Marie the curtain lady !

My Dearest ...

It's often said there is beauty in sadness.

tis true.

Yesterday I went back to Wagga, just to have a little visit with Grandad, a chat with with my amazing Aunty Erena, (she is the other super hero in this world that you haven't heard about yet - you know besides Wonderwoman and Supergirl etc ) and spend a little personal time on my own by Grandma's final earthly resting place. Not an easy day, but special.

I returned home with a little snack sized lunch baggie containing some beautiful treasures that Grandma had picked out for me.

A hair clip / barrette. Tortoiseshell with little diamontes around the ends.

A hat pin. My Grandma was a true lady of style. Hats were her thing and they suited her beautifully, (we all know it takes a certain type of person to really wear a hat).

A little inspirational bookmark. It had been in her bible for some time. Earlier this year she hand wrote a message in it for me.

pass me a tissue ..

And a fan. Her 'convention fan' to be exact. It has the right scent - the scent of Grandma's elegant taste in fine parfums. Though I think the most endearing thing about it is it's not perfect. It's been broken a little - and it's been 'patched up' with Grandma's economy. One last little lesson of wisdom for me. I'm so quick to throw out and replace. Yet Grandma had repaired her modest fan even though she had the means to replace that fan with hundreds of fancier ones.

But . The Letters.

Letters which 'turned up' , surfaced in the immediate days after Grandma's passing. Never been seen in the 60 years of Grandma and Grandads marriage.

They are proving to be a huge source of comfort to Grandad and an absolute wonderment to me.

They are of course all the letters of their courtship. My Dearest Stanley ..... My Dearest Eileen .....

' well this is the fourth letter I have got written to you this week my darling ... '

just. so. beautiful.

all so gentlemanly.

ever so lady like.

oh for the romance of yesterday.

as opposed to the texting messages today. Send and delete, text & delete ..

all my love, me xx

rainy day - paper cities

These fun paper cities kept the girls entertained nearly all day yesterday.

I 'found' them a wee while ago cruising around the web and bookmarked them for a rainy day. Yesterday was it !

Neah, Olly & Rilla had a great time colouring in, cutting out, folding etc and finally visiting each others cities.

Download, print and away you go !

Where : www.madebyjoel.blogspot.com

(look in the April 2010 archives)

just in case

This is going back a while, just discovered this afternoon on an SD card I haven't touched in a while.

Twas the night before Neah's birthday - just posting up a reminder for herself on her bed not to forget her birthday.

As if you would forget when you are turning NINE !

today, 4th July, 2010

Weston.

early today my beautiful grandma finished life here on earth.

no more memories to make - just memories to keep.

today last year / today this year

we were at Moonta, South Australia. staying with Rin & Lyndo !

today : at home. Roger & Nerida are staying with us, and we are enjoying our little niece / nephew - cousins, Comfort & Weston. They have gone to play in the snow for the day.

We would like to go too - however, Brad has taken Neah to the Dr. and Olly has a b'day party to go to this afternoon.

We will play in snow in New Zealand in about, umm... 8 approx. weeks !

school holidays

Three weeks of school holidays . I love it !

sleep -ins

no lunch boxes

no school runs

We kicked it of with a weekend trip out to my mum & dads.

Yesterday we made 'ice-cream cone cup-cakes ' . The pink fluff on top is Persian Fairy Floss, great way to 'dress up ' treats so they look rather fancy !