a workers cottage

it's off, it's on

2009-09-23T16:10:00.002+10:00

week

2009-09-18T15:59:00.003+10:00

the weekend

2009-09-14T09:20:00.004+10:00

Great weekend.

A photo a day

2009-09-10T09:24:00.003+10:00

Wednesday 9 September

Tuesday 8 September
Monday 7 September
Sunday 8 September

One fine day a petal fell on me

2009-09-06T12:06:00.003+10:00

The sun shone dull upon the ground
under the flowering trees
all lined along my park

Two by to
they run dancing
their limbs entwined

through the greenery

The sun warms the ground
fallen white petals reflect light
to the gold leaves there before.
glisten

Dark and knobbly and twisted the trunks rise together

This is my park.
this is were I've had my birthday dancing,
where I fist kissed and wanted more
where I can see the trees grow

I've seen the floods drown my park.
saturate it with the ooze of suburbia

My park is wide and green
and stretches farther than your eye can see
My park takes me

Takes me to a place of peace
of dreams, of now, of quiet.

To a place here, right here
the centre of the universe

My park, isn't a park

This place is a sound
a breath, a feather

it's a moment
held in the rings of trees

sheltering time

hitchhikers guide

2009-09-02T08:37:00.003+10:00

tell me the meaning to life the universe and everything and I'll show you the end of the world. Too much life, too much passion, too much of too much is fun.

"You ready to take the wheel, climb on to of the bull and up out of that plane into a new life." "Sure," she says, "I'm up for it, I've been expecting this to come along. What took ya so long." "Oh nothing" life answered back, "just had to get the stars aligned right. All you have to do is take the step." Same life just new places to go ,see, experiences to grasp onto and hold in your memory. opportunities to lose or exploit. "You ready?" She's already taken the step, flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Is this it? That wasn't hard, scary to lift that foot, but once removed from earth, exhilarating. A note drifts past, 'think' the only word that adorns the small sheet, "think" she thinks, "okay," and then leaps into the future of today.

Mary Mary

2009-08-31T18:06:00.003+10:00

Mary Mary
"I'll spit on floors
and do more drugs
burn every bill
get drunk on love
wear next to nothing
in the pouring rain
be a bad exmple
and do it all again.

"I'll be uncareful
I'll cause such scenes
and I'll never talk
of used-to-be's
Tattooo my face
I won't go grey
be a dancing queen
I'm growin old disgracefully." Chumbawamba, Tubthumping, 1996, Castleford

"Some women I talk to are so frightened of growing old. I sense their desperation. They say things like, "I"m not going to live to be old, I'm not going to live to be dependent." The message young women get from youth culture is that it's wonderful to be young and terrible to grow old. If you think about it, it's an impossible dilemma - how can you make a good start in life if you are being told at the same time how terrible the finish is? Because of ageism, many women doen't fully commit themselves to living life until they can no longer pass as young. They live their lives with one foot in life and one foot outside it. With age you resolve that, I know the value of each day and I'm living with both feet in life. I'm living much more fully... The power of the old woman is that because she's outside the system. She can attack. And I am determined to attack it. One of the ways in which I am particularly conscious of this stance is when I go down the street. People expect me to move over, which means to step on the grass or off the curb. I just woke up one day to the fact that i was moving over. I have no idea how many years I've been doing that. Now i never move over. I simply keep walking. And we hit full force, because of the other person is so sure that I am going to move over that he isn't even paying any attention and we simply ram each other. If it's a man with a woman he shows embarrassment, because he's just knocked down a five foot seventy-year-old woman and so he quickly apologises. But he's startled, he doesn't understand why I didn't mover over, he doesn't even know how I got there, where I came from. I am invisible to him despite the fact that I am on my own side of the street, simply refusing to hive him that space he assumes is his." Barbara MacDondald, from "Both feet in Life"

"It is much more a lack of fun which batters us than over-abundance and indulgence" Raoul Vaneigem

Okay, so I'm not old, just came across the album and it's contents and it brought a smile to the face and wanted to share it.

Home

2009-08-08T15:23:00.004+10:00

Home again home again. life, love and laughter. Missed and found and lost and fragile. Emotions peaking and then tumbling down with the exhaustion of crazy hours jumbled into a cylic form that people call a day. To and fro we go. Smacking your senses sideways with its unrelenting push towards the future. What future, that one you make. The one you carve with each outward breath and motion you take. A smile. A touch. A lingering sense.

then again maybe i'm just a crazy bitch ;

my friend dave

2009-06-04T08:48:00.002+10:00

So I have this friend, Dave's his name, drawings his game.
Dave was actually the first friend I had here in Brisbane, and even though he's moving to New Zealand he's a pretty special friend. Dave's also Mick's friend, way before he was mine. He and my Mick share a few memories and Dave being the drawing type has put together a cartoon of Mick's adult life. Recently I have been included. Here's the start: for more, follow the link.

http://www.davecharlton.org/shirty/?p=95

Walks with Maddie

2009-06-03T15:02:00.003+10:00

This is where Maddie and I like to walk. We come home with wet feet, and a thirst for some cool water. On our perfect Queensland days it's heaven. Five minutes from home, surrounded by the motorway, shopping centres and urban sprawl. My favourite place to get away.

time flies

2009-05-12T17:05:00.003+10:00

How is it that over two weeks have passed already!

I really only got on here so I could show you some of my latest creations. The photography isn't great, but the arrangements are pretty nice I think.

We got throughour first Mother's Day here at Surfers Paradise Flowers. It was three days of craziness and not much sleep. We got some very good compliments and had no complaints which makes it a good day in my books.

Change of subject- How sad is it that I'm already planning what to take home with me. My list is a page and a half long of exactly which underware shall take up the precious space in my bag. My biggest concern is what gear to take. I would like to not to haul any onto the plane and get new stuff at roller con, but RC is at the end of my trip and I want to skate around the 'rents home. As Julieann would say, if this is my biggest problem in life, I think i'm doing ok.

right, didn't see the time, must start packing up. later

2009-04-23T11:02:00.006+10:00

As much as I try and make this a weekly thing it just ain't happening.

Hello all and welcome to another instalment of A Workers Cottage. Lots of new developments in life so we'll jump right in then.

First of all my freakin neck hurts. I've been given a number for a remedial therapists and now I just have to get that little thing called an appointment made. The good ole neck hurts 'cause I did a totally awesome block this past Saturday at the second bout of the second season for the Sun State Roller Girls. Sadly, although legal and thoroughly effective ;) the consequences are not what I would call good.

Ok, now that I've got that whinging out of the way we can move onto life, the universe and everything.

Summer has finally turned her golden locks away and Autumn is running up to meet us here in our little corner in Queensland. The doona has been pulled out of storage, steam is escaping out of the bathroom on chili mornings, our shag carpet lends its fuzzy warmth to our toes and I get to wear scarves again! mmmm.....love this weather. Perfect in the day and snuggly at night. Which brings me to our next topic, work, work and more work and somewhere in there is derby and family and school.

Work at the flower shop is good, slow, but still chugging in. I think it's because we've got such a holiday crowd here on the coast that people are willing to spend a bit more money on non commodities. Not that we don't need flowers in our lives, I'm just saying the majority of the population doesn't necessarily see it that way.

Work at the leagues club is good, slow, but still moving along. In times of stress what do Australians turn to, beer and gambling. period

School, school is, umm I'm off school right now. Julieann was told that back surgery would greatly improve her life so she booked the date, flirted a bit with the surgeon and wha-la two and a bit weeks ago she was under the knife. Julieann's doing good now, but in her recovery period I've been minding the shop with the help of two lovely young ladies, Vicky and Jo. Since I'm in the shop I can't be at school. so there. School's pretty good though, boring theory-very common-sense kinda stuff. The practical side of class is great, challenging and a fun opportunity to learn as much as I push myself to do so. Plus there's some pretty cool people in it.

Sorry this is getting a bit long winded, so we'll have smoko, enjoy the visual pleasantries.

The photos above are from back in 2005 when I was freshly married and eagerly awaiting my Australian temporary residency visa to be approved. My brothers and I drove to Alaska from Washington State: been thinking about home a lot lately.

That'll do for now. more soon.

Valentines

2009-02-18T10:45:00.003+10:00

We've done it, our first Valentines day is completed and there were no casualties. All but one deliveries were made successfully.

Kevin and I were down in the workroom creating masterpieces of floral art, Maria, Julieann and Brian were up in the shop selling their socks off, and Gaven and Sue were running around the coast making deliveries.We opened the doors at 6:00am and the centre's shutters came down at 6:30pm as we shooed out the last customer.

My only real disappointment during the day is that we didn't sell more of the large balloons. We only had one blown up and I think if the rest had been, inflated we could have gotten rid of them.

On a home note, mom and dad, thanks again for the housewarming present of the huge pot, we love it. As you can see we put it too good use and it gets filled to the brim with yummy food.

let me introduce Bob

2009-02-05T19:31:00.005+10:00

bob, say hello to everyone.

everyone, Bob.Bob is from the Wimcee family and is a new addition to the shop. He joins a couple top knot and headdress dolls that are hopping to find new homes soon.Here's the new sign for the shop. It's supposed to be a nice pastel green. It looks good but it's not right and it really isn't consistent with the image we're trying to give the world.
Everyone, say hi to Maddie. She's a bit bigger now :)

nice

new beginnings part duex

2009-01-30T09:52:00.005+10:00

Righto

{so this is not mine, but I can now do one like it, my photo though}

so here's the shop, notice missing sign. It used to read "Kevin the Florist" the new one will read "Surfers Paradise Flowers."

{here's one of mine}

Julianne's been working non-stop on the business side of getting this venture up and running: the flower arranging side of it all is left up to me for now. Our business cards should be arriving in the next week as will new order pads, a yellow pages online listing and a big poster for display in the centre. Things are now rapidly moving now that the design and tweaking of the logo are complete. The process seemed to drag everything to a crawl. Soon the website will be up and running and we're hoping that it will really increase our business.

So, keep checking this space, http://www.surfersparadise.com.au/

Did a bit of gardening this morning. Our front yard had become a dead jungle of four foot tall marigold seed heads. Dry twigs and creeping grass had criss-crossed and swallowed up the poor old roses and herbs scattered throughout the beds. All fixed now, I think we need to get some good mulch in. We get a good breeze across the front and it saps every last drop of moisture from the soil, so some good protection is in order. Besides it'll help with weeds, right?

I'm very pleased to inform you that our: Jalapeno, Anaheim, Rainbow Chard and Mediterranean herbs fought well against the marigold onslaught and came out more healthy than could have really ever been expected.

A few weeks ago while dressing in our bedroom, I looked up and could see our back neighboors verandah. When the wind blows or when something disturbs the delicate hang of our blinds, all the world could see in. Not acceptable.

To market, to market (like I need an excuse anyways). Get this though, Mick came with me!!! shock of all shocks. Right, back to the potential peeping Tom crisis, we were at the markets in search of appropriate hedging. Found it in the form of some nice fast growing lilypillies and some acacia frimbrata (brisbane golden wattle). Hopefully the greenery will survive me long enough to provide some good privacy in a couple years.

Yes, I hear you saying "get some draps!" I will, I will, just as soon as we finish painting our bedroom and maybe get a new bed. Until then, we've got a huge blanket hanging in the window.

That's all for now folks, later skaters.

I'm back!

2009-01-26T07:27:00.004+10:00

Please accept my apologies for having been gone for almost three months, it's been a very busy time.

So wanna know what life's been up to?

Well, I now work at Surfers Paradise Flowers in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast and I'm working at the Carina Leagues Club whoooo hoooo. If you can't guess my favorite is the flower shop :)

Mick is good, they increased his medication and he's handling it all well. The doctors say that they can't do surgery again because his tumor has merged to much with his pituitary gland. His hormone levels are down from 146 to 59, and with the current dosage will hopefully get to the 40's which is normal.

Maddie has grown and grown, but still is a very cute, energetic and smart puppy. She caught the frisbee twice at the park yesterday.

Derby is back into serious mode with the new star program being instituted and a bout between us and Victoria being planned for June or July. We have so many awesome freshmeat this year, they all get along really well and they're skating is improving so rapidly it's scary, good scary though.

The house, oh the house. Today is Australia Day and we're continuing the great aussie tradition of renovating. All eight different types of wall paper has been removed. The lounge and hall has been sanded, plastered, sanded and then painted and then sanded and plastered again. I bought a test tin of paint for our bedroom, emerald green, but haven't yet had the chance to open it up for a go.

The lounge won't be a stark white like we were originally thinking but instead a creamy colour still with Paris red and mahogany for accents.

The day Roger attacked his room with the wall paper remover was a day of morning. Gone are the ships floating on the sea of silver, the cherub gods of wind have been themselves steamed away and the compasses have been directed to the black plastic bins of no return.

So what else is happening? For starters neither Mick or I are drinking. Him because of health and me in support. What do you do on a Saturday night if you don't drink (go the the movies!) What do you do on a public holiday (we renovate!) Just watched Gran Torino last night, very very good movie, mesmerising and heart warming. Watched Role Models last weekend, unexpectedly funny even if it has the typical Hollywood ending.

Yep, so life is still happening. It's mainly work life but that's ok for now.

week one

2008-10-30T15:21:00.002+10:00

Well my life is in limbo. My last day working for the Optometrists Association was on Friday. I had an interview at the local Convention Centre on Monday followed by job offer on Tuesday and now it's Thursday and I'm waiting to hear when I start my part time work. I've taken this job to fill in the times I won't be down the coast working in the flower shop.

In the mean time it's derby derby derby. Our third and final bout of the season is Saturday 8 November. My team, the Golden Roughs, have lost the last two games and this time we're out for blood. Just kidding! We're having fun and focusing on making the crowd love this sport.

new life

2008-10-16T13:13:00.003+10:00

So I'm changing careers and becoming a florist. Here's my first attempt at a corsage.

it's Spring

2008-09-26T08:52:00.003+10:00

For some reason there are birds that chirp all night long in our perfect tree outback. I get up at midnight to let Maddie out and there they are. I get up at 3 am and yep, still twittering away. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for birdies singing their little hearts out but come on, 3 am!? Must be global warming or the poles reversing. Something is going on and I mid-as-well get in on it.

So I bought $65 worth of plants last weekend and have been working on getting them into the ground all week. So far, the three pumpkin plants are in, so is the dill, four citronella plants (ones gone missing already-I'm blaming Maddie), oregano, sage and wisteria are all in.
The eggplant, tomatoes, basil, Meyer lemon, galangal, chamomile, squash, zucchini, and a couple plants forgotten what are, still sit scattered around the property. Tomorrow, the day starts early with a trip to the markets for cut flowers, a Kaffir lime and a bunch of rosemary plants. Then it's off to puppy school with our growing terrorist, and then to Bunnnings, to buy a little spade, some garden and potting soil and some blood and bone. All this before noon when it's time for a four year olds Princess (read costume) birthday party. Fun times.

Our lawn went a bit feral and Mick got the mower going yesterday, I think he started daydreaming, cause I came home to discover two of my three ginger plants now are little stumps. I'm going to have to tie bright orange safety tape to them and everything else I plant outside the apricot brick beds. silly boys!

update

2008-09-18T21:07:00.006+10:00

Thanks for your patience, it's been awhile, but this time I have a good reason. Yes, I am a bit lazy about posting, but stepping away from the outside world to be with my partner is a pretty damn good excuse.

Back in mid August Mick got the call saying that his surgery would be on Monday 8 September. There went my heart, straight through my chest. The words I'd been waiting to hear since Easter finally were audiable and I didn't want to hear them. I realise that yes, I had issues with this whole surgery thing.

I do love my honey and I want him to be healthy, but more than that I want him to be around. The smallest chance of him leaving this world or his personality changing scared the shit out of me. I think it scared me so much because Mick has always been so confident and comfortable with who he is. Mick is an immense character, he's passionately loved by family and friends, he's a big bear that sits on a big boulder, steadfast and strong. The kind of bear and boulder that easily becomes your favorite company and place to watch life go by.

Right, as mick would say that's enough mush, back to the cutting. Luckily I had three weeks to come to terms with the surgery and amazingly, I did. The more I talked to people about it the more comfortable I felt with the whole procedure. And now that it's over and everything is pretty much good, I'm glad it's over, of course. So very very glad.

Mick came home on Monday, he's up the coast on Bribie today having a fishing trip with his grandad Soni and hopefully remembering to take his tablets. He gets tired, but I suppose after having the closest thing to brain surgery as you can get, I'd be tired too.

In fact I am a bit tired, Maddie's fell asleep while sharing the chair with me and an empty bed is calling so, good night, sweet dreams, and don't let the bed bugs bite.

Oh yeah, before I head off to my own sweet dreams, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of Mick and I and the rest of the family. Thank you for your thoughts, calls, patience and everything else you have shared with us.

night.

back to the house

2008-08-21T15:42:00.006+10:00

Our new puppie, Maddie, obvisouly does not approve of the lovely orange and brown shag carpet that adornes our lounge room. When not chewing on sock covered toes, any newspaper left unattended on the floor or snoring she's trying to pull up the carpet. Now I don't really mind this interest she's showing in our renovations, but she's got to learn that first the wallpaper comes down, then the carpet comes up. Silly puppy.

Speaking of house improvements, I've started working in the garden again. Just doing some weeding in the apricot brick garden beds. Maddie is very helpful with this too, she loves nosing her way through the pulled piles of weeds and bouncing around in the loose dirt. While it may take a bit more time with her help it does make the task a hundred times more enjoyable, and yes, I do enjoy pulling weeds.

The front yard has just been severly pruned. We have about eight georgeous roses and most have some sort of disease or infestation. So good bye beautiful roses for now, see you next autumn.

EkkA

2008-08-14T15:58:00.006+10:00

The EkkA in Brisbane is basically the state show. It's huge! It's even got it's own flu named after it. School children are bused in, old couples scoot around, and there's cow poo everywhere! The dagwood dogs (corn dogs), fairy floss (cotton candy), and strawberry sundays (an ice cream cone filled with chopped strawberries, strawberry ice, cream and topped with a strawberry) fill the tummies of all who walk through those iron gates of the RNA showgrounds.

I love how bright the Sun State Roller Girls balloons turned out, in the bright blue of the Brisbane sky they really shine.

My roller derby league, the Sun State Roller Girls, were invited to be roving entertainers for the EkkA this year and we jumped at the chance. The EkkA runs from Thursday 7 August till Saturday 16 August and we were asked to participate in their daily parade and demonstrate roller derby. I signed up for everday, but had to miss out on Sunday due to having a sever allergic reaction to some ant bites. Two days to go and the only thing I haven't tried are the ribs. yummy.

The skating has been lots of fun, and although we don't get to show off much of our roller derby skills due to big crowds, we have been handing out hundreds of balloons and stickers and flyers. The crowds work in our favour in that there's so many people that we can explain derby to and invite to our bout (Saturday 13 September at Beenleigh Arena!). Skating is very difficult though with so many people milling about. Our stoping and slowing techniques have really improved as has propelling ourselves with out big leg movements. The lungs have gotten a work out too, we've blown up about 100 balloons a day!

The little kids love anything we hand out. Not much is free and even flyers seem to fly out of our hands. We've got one that explains what roller derby is, on that is a flyer for "Brisbane all girl full contact roller derby action" our bout on the 13th. We've also got our stickers that say, "If you can't play nice, play roller derby" and our balloons with the Sun State Roller Girls logo and website, http://www.sunstaterollergirls.com/

Maddie

2008-08-11T09:50:00.004+10:00

Here she is, our little terror.

Two posts in one week!

2008-08-07T15:43:00.002+10:00

What is this world turning into when a girl manages to get TWO posts out in a week? I'll tell you what, derby world! I'm sure you were expecting to hear something much different than that, but there it is. Laid out in front of you to judge or not judge or just ponder and maybe judge later.

I got to skate the EkkA today, and I get to tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that. TEN! read 'em and weep ten days of, luscious strawberries covered in chocolate, ten days of Dagwood dogs, ten days of jumping over cow paddies as well. The Sun State Roller Girls were invited by the EkkA peps to be roving entertainers. I love skateing roller derby in Brisbane!

I'll post some photos tomorrow, which is Friday, just in case you forgot. FRIDAY!!!!

I don't know if it's the sun and perfect temperatures or if it's just all the exercise I'm getting lately, but I feel damn good right now. I'm going to look at a litter of puppies this afternoon and maybe just pick one out too. I'll let you know how I go.

asta man-ya-na
yes, i know that's not how you spell it, but i don't care.

audios

hmmm....I'll have to do better

2008-08-04T14:06:00.007+10:00

Hello there. It's been a while, just over a month, and yes, I know I'm a very bad blogger. Well, what has been going on in my life has little to do with our house and much to do with derby. In case you didn't know, I play all girl flat track roller derby for the Sun State Roller Girls. I've been playing derby for just over a year and I love it!It's a crazy sport, it gives me very high highs and sometimes a lot of stress. Through derby I have improved myself and I'd like to think that the world has improved maybe just a bit because of what I've contributed through derby.

When I first moved to Brisbane almost six years ago I didn't know anyone. I spent a lot of time at the library reading the news and discovering new things to be interested in. I eventually meet a few people who always hung around the library surrounds and we became fast friends. These friends introduced me to my partner, Mick, and we have all remained close throughout the years. Although very dear to my heart and very involved in my life they were and always have been friends I stole from my Mick. thanks babe! Most of what we've done here in Brissy has always been insulated with in our mob and sometimes I yearned for a bit of outside contact.

I needed an outlet and I wanted it to be something new and challenging but mostly I needed it to be physical. Since leaving uni my level of activity had plummeted to the occasional tree climbing expedition while intoxicated, definitely not enough to keep this food lover fit.

In late 2006 a friend was living with us that had been involved with a women's circus group called Vulcana and she invited me along to her aerial acrobatic training sessions. I took a semester of classes with these strong and fearless women, I loved the physicalness it introduced back to me, a non-exercising lover of couches. The semester ended and I swore that I'd sign up for another semester but I just never did. Money, time and laziness were all factors, but the biggest was that I had had always been self conscious about my body around the aerial acrobats. These muscle toned goddesses of the sky slid through the tissue and trapeze in ways I knew my well rounded thighs would always have a bit of trouble with.

I don't think I've ever been a small girl. Now, before you go off on me, I like my body and I love my curves, but sometimes some of them just get in the way of what I want to do. I needed to find a sport that would allow my luscious curves to be embarrassed but still tone them into an easier form to deal with.

Rugby involved too much running and a ball that I knew I would be afraid to catch. Swimming wasn't social enough. I had just about given up hope, when derby came across my laptop screen one day and BINGO! here we go ladies, I found it.

It was sometime in early in June 2007 I came upon roller derby. According to the Internet, roller derby was booming in America, since 2001 it had expanded from two or three leagues to over 250! This was a full contact sport for women only. Everything I read about it spoke of changing women's lives for the better. The blood, sweat and tears didn't scare me off but instead attracted me. Women were building businesses based on the motto, "by the skaters, for the skaters."

The women I found training Brisbane's southside were friendly and very motivated. These women weren't afraid to say what they were thinking and they wore what they wanted to. They were confident and encouraging and I knew as soon as I stepped on the rink that this was the sport for me. It's a sport that wouldn't send me off if I happened to shove another player out of my way.

I soon discovered that being involved in roller derby meant more than just skating, roller derby is a business. It's a business that needs creative types and admin types and everyone in between to be successful. The Sun State Roller Girls is a non-for-profit incorporated organization, you can find out all about our mission statement and more about what roller derby is on our website Sun State Roller Girls Website

For me roller derby here on the southside of Brisbane isn't just about the physical sport or running an successful business, it's about reaching out to the community and sharing our passion. It's about getting women on the rink and involved with something out of their day to day lives. The women in SSRG come from all walks of life. Some of them love the spectacle, some

the sport but most love both. Most women I skate with have learned that roller derby has something special that brings out their best and that, is what they love about it.

Well, I've now rattled on about myself for long enough, but I thought hey, if nothing is going on with the house, you midaswell know what was going on in my life.

If you live in the Brisbane area and are interested in playing roller derby send me a message or check out my leagues website at Sun State Roller Girls Website

Training now takes place

Sundays @ Digi Skate from 7pm $10 skate hire available

Mondays @ Beenleigh Arena Indoor Sports Centre from 7pm $10

Wednesdays @ meet in the middle of the Goodwill Bridge at 7pm - we skate with Planet Inline $15 for the entire year

Thursdays @ Mt Gravatt YMCA from 7:10pm $75 for 6 weeks

Fridays @ Murarrie Recreational Reserve from 5:30am free

bathroom part duex

2008-07-04T16:04:00.003+10:00

Quick 'lil post with lost of ideas for you to ponder on.

We'll start with one that I really appreciate, maybe my favourite? It's got the combined shower and bath and its got a built in mirror storage unit. I love the tiles but the rest is a bit too boring white for my tastes. I'm not a big fan of the vanity setup but hey, nothing's perfect right?

{Brinda Bella Bathrooms}

Love this pebbled wall. Plain and simple, just love it.
{by LJT Bathrooms}
This is how I see our bathroom setup, but without the wall seperating bath and vanity
{by LJT Bathrooms}
Nice colours here.
{tiles by Perini}

The blonde wood is really fresh, but I'm not sure if it would hold up against some of the tiling I've seen and liked so much (see above)
{LJT Bathrooms}

The bathroom

2008-07-02T10:20:00.010+10:00

It's a new month and since it's a new month I'm going to turn over a new leaf and try to be a bit more consistent with new posts. This week we'll make bathroom week. What is, what can be, and could be will all be covered so hang on tight and stay tuned.

Currently the our bathroom looks like this. My favorite features are the blue tiles with cornflowers and the waterproof asbestos walls. Now this is what I call a relaxing room.

Exciting, huh.

What I'd like our bathroom to look like is this.

I like the colours, they are classic and they are relaxing. Two concepts that anyone would want in a sanctuary for cleansing. Here's a couple images that take those concepts and translate them into beautiful rooms.

{ the deep soak tub from Reece}

{the winning HIA bathroom by Reece}

{Smarter Bathrooms HIA winner for Small Bathroom Renovation}

For now what we need is a bit more storage space and some good hooks for robes and towels. I'd like to put in fixtures now that can be removed and reinstalled if and when we do a bathroom remodel.

We have two options for the bathroom remodel.

1) replaces the basin, adds a toilet, removes the shower and installs a toilet, replaces the bathtub and installs a shower head over it, and removes the current tiles and concrete floor replacing with another concrete floor and classical tiles.

2) doesn't replace/remove anything except the vanity. We just add new fixtures and shelving/hooks.

Stay tuned for more detail on what were looking to fill our two bathroom versions with.

A floorplan emerges

2008-06-25T16:13:00.004+10:00

So sorry it's been a while since my last post. Life has been busy and not much is happening with the house.

INSIDE: Mick has installed some temporary shelving and hooks to the kitchen that freed up some counter space. I painted a chalk board on the wall that will be coming down (the one that seperates the lounge from the kitchen,) then covered it with lists. I've also begun removing wallpaper from the lounge. Half the wall looks bad and the other half looks well, just as bad.

OUTSIDE: I've dug a big hole for a bay tree, but Roger says it needs to be even bigger! A curry plant and some thyme have been added to the rose bed and are both doing well. Next time I go out to Chandler markets I'm going to get some more thyme and other hardy herbs to fill in the bed with.

Now is the time to be digging more holes for the citrus trees we plan to grow. Roger says these have to be huge, since our dirt is so poor we have to cultivate everything. I've also put in three native ginger plants, an edible cardamon ginger, three tree ferns, a native frangipani that's evergreen, as well as a lilly pilly, and three wattles. All these plants are just seedlings, but should grow fast.

I have had a chance to do up a quick floor plan for future renovations. Please click on the image for a better view.

Let me know what you think. I'll soon be posting many ideas to fill future spaces.

The lounge

2008-06-13T14:32:00.006+10:00

Here are a few ideas for the lounge from poster shops.

{Four of the Six transported to Australia for forming a Trade Union. For sale on allposters.com}{Women's Labour Force, for sale on allposters.com}{Maxeville Beer poster, for sale on art.com}

mish mash

2008-06-06T11:22:00.016+10:00

{Curryville @ Morningside}
best lamb sagwalla and chicken chat in the country. oh yeah the pannier isn't bad either.
This weekend is packed full. I am attacking it with a strict budget and a good nights rest.

There's the Redland Indigiscapes plant sale on, then op shopping for derby, hens night and concert clothes, then Wintersun and a social at Tweeds Heads Epic Skate. Sunday follows with the Lifeline Bookfest and Young and Emerging Designers Southbank Markets. Plus finally spending some time with Mick since he's been on night shift all week. Phew.

I'm really looking forward to it all. really, I am. :)

I've been lost on what to do with our lounge room. Here's a little bit of inspiration, but I still need some cohesive theme. Here's some one stop shopping items found at room & board, now where's that spare $9,464 that I had laying around.

{Heartwood Extension Table}
all product photos from room and board online catalogue

{Corbin chairs}

{Heartwood Storage Cabinet}{Nogouchi Blue Pod and Script lamps}

{Galbraith & Paul Smokebush large Pendant in Garnet (medium orange shown)}

afternoon musings

2008-06-05T14:06:00.002+10:00

Back onto the subject of fencing: went for a walk yesterday morning and came upon this fantastically simple fence. It just seems very elegant and practical to me. I'll try and get a better photo on my next walk.
Same walk, same street. The fence around the property was so ornate and well taken care of and then there was this sign. I thought it was a great juxtaposition.
So this may be a little confronting, but it's so yummy that I couldn't not put it up on here. Roasted beetroot with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sweet, tangy heaven.
Two minutes after woofing down the last scrumptious bite of the staining veg, I had my own staining liquid leaking from my finger. While washing the dishes I cut the tip of my pointer finger with a newly sharpened knife.

That's it no more dish washing for me! ever again!

Ok, I know that's just not going to be possible, but I'm seriously thinking of never again handling sharp objects. I sliced open the same finger in February and had five stitches put in. The other finger carries a ham knife scar that still stares up at me! Ah well, must learn to slow down and just be more careful.

Soft yellow

2008-06-03T15:55:00.002+10:00

The horizon at this very moment in time is the softest of yellows: bathed in the suns last rays.

The few remaing droplets hang in the fermanent gently melting all other colours to the suns last triumph.

As much as I loved the grey skys and the wintery conditions a breif reprieve is always welcome.

On the home front there's not much to report. We've decided not to do anything to the place until Mick is back at work after his surgery and recovery time off. The goal is to save as much money as possible so we have a large cushion just in case things go unexpectadly.

On Sunday Mick and our friend Steve dug down through 2 inches of great soil then a foot of clay to hit sandstone. This is where digging stoped and the need for a crow bar arose. The holes are for a pailings fence that will run from either side of the house to adjoining boundry fences. The plan is to seperate the front yard from the back for a dog and also for when small children are visiting: we live on a very busy four lane road.

So, because we are doing a pailing fence here we are probably going to do a pailing fence for the rest of the property when the time arises. One decision made,l 1,000's to go.

Grey

2008-05-29T11:31:00.004+10:00

dull, dull, grey, so swollen
It needs to burst.
The heavy blanket above wants to rip open.
Free itself of the weight.
activivate.

{view from work desk}

A little bit of organization

2008-05-27T10:20:00.006+10:00

We can now walk through the lounge and kitchen with out high stepping over boxes. I'm finding bits of tape everywhere, but at least we've gotten all the boxes flattened and out of the lounge room.

This morning while I measured out the property for a fence the neighbors surprised me and said hello through their kitchen window. I was attaching one end of the measuring tape the chain link fence that runs the length of our properties and looking out for their dogs, didn't even think about people up and wanting to say hello to the outside world at that time of morning (6am).

So far were on great terms and for once we can say good things about the neighbors. They seem to be living pretty green with a solar water heater, rainwater tanks, herb beds and chooks. We'll have to invite them for a bbq sometime to say hi, talk about a new fence (currently, the back half has a 1.5m fence and the front half a 1m fence we want a 1.8m for the front half) and get permission to feed their chooks scraps until we get our own.

I haven't quite figured out the other neighbors yet, so far there's Liz, who's a really nice mature womyn, Ron also of mature age and stare -er, and two young people in their 20's who come and go (haven't met them yet). I guess they'll come to the bbq as well as the fencing will affect them to. We have a retaining wall seperating the back half of the properties at the moment and we would like to install a fence to run along the front halves.

The first major operation on the property is to install a fence. Mick said that I'm in charge of design and procurment, while he's on labour duties. He's said this about everything, I design and decide, he does.

Here's some ideas for fences: let me know what you think.

First up is the brush fence. It's hardwood and steel so no termites worries there. This type of fencing also is a good noise barrier. The looks are great, but I'm not sure how they will look in the neighboorhood. Installation is not the easiest and I'm really sure its not the cheapest.

{all photos below are from vendors websites.}

Next up is the colorbond fence. Colorbond fencing is powder coated steel. Very durable and strong, very fast and easy to install. It would fit in prefectly with neighborhood fence styles. You can get several different colours and three different styles plus lattice work at top if you'd like to fork out and extra $50 a panel. Installing automatic gates would be the easiest with colourbond.

Last on the list is a timber pailings fence. Probably the cheepest option. Presents a problem for pest control because of termites. Requires the most maintance and labour for installation. Would fit in fine with neighborhood.

All three fences would look fine if we did this (see below) to the front. The house below is just around the corner from us. I'd move the stairs to the (facing) right, but I think the style really suits our property.

First nights

2008-05-26T10:54:00.005+10:00

Were moved! I made mick pose with me up front late Sunday afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who helped us shift on Saturday. The garage is now full of cardboard boxes and the bins over flowing with stubbies.

Can you believe it, we fit 8 cars in the front yard Saturday night! Mick got home and cooked up a huge bbq and we all sat out in the back yard eating under the stars and by aid of candlight. There were kids running around screaming and giggling and trying to get into the Dulux can of jelly beans. It was pretty good for a first night in our very own place.

Our little cave

2008-05-21T13:48:00.007+10:00

Finally! I've had some inspiration for our bedroom. Cruising through blog world I happened upon Coco & Kelley, who has a beautiful blog btw, and found this photo. It's originally from Atla at Apartment Therapy, another fab blog, who did a special on this apartment.

I love the rich cream walls, they remind me of the local organic Greek yogurt that is so luxurious that there's a 1/4 inch layer of thicken cream on the top when you first break the seal. So yummy that I always forget about my lactose intolerance and scoop out a big dollop, heaven.

And the dark "Caribbean forest," as Coco & Kelley calls it, just wraps you in it's arms of strength and comfort. Sophisticated romance springs to mind, almost perfectly balanced between masculine and femininity for a shared bedroom.

Now, we do live in Queensland and even though the temps right now are perfect, come January the humidity will peak and anything not dried within an inch of it's life before summer hits, will never be dry again. So, a fan is needed, and this one is gorgeous. Found it on the ever bountiful Neiman Marcus online catalogue.These lamps from Pieces Inc have just the right amount of contrasting colour to perk up our little cave.

Love the texture of this Fendi linen from Neiman Marcus.

I'm not big on the white marble tops of these side tables from Paris Hotel Boutique, but the structure is what I'm looking for, maybe something a bit more practical with a drawer. The one below is from Neiman Marcus again and the one below that from Room and Board.

We've got to get the wall paper down before we do anything to the bedroom, but I can at least start collecting bits here and there.

I know the bedrooms should get done after the lounge as it's the most visible to guests, but I'm thinking that if I wake up in a room I love, then I'm that much more motivated to peal wallpaper from everything else.

I wrote out a time line today for inside the house and it goes something like this:

Move in and unpack, make sure all items to be stored are in water tight containers off the ground on pallets under the house.

Paint wall between kitchen and lounge: top-white, middle-chalk board grey, bottom-red.

Hang up photos on chalk board middle strip.

Remove wallpaper from the lounge, our bedroom, Roger's bedroom and hall (I recall that the back bedroom doesn't have any wallpaper.)

Paint all walls Primer white. Then move on to: our bedroom, back bedroom, Roger's bedroom, lounge.

Remove shag carpet! and polish floorboards.

Do something about the window coverings. Remove and replace with ?.

Then we play the waiting game. We want to live in the property for about a year before we do any major renovations on it.

Tea Party

2008-05-19T13:58:00.007+10:00

Now that we have a yard again and arn't going to disturb neighbors too much, Iwe get to throw parties again. I've already got a tea party dancing along in my head. Mick just shook his head and looked at me like I was crazy when I told him about it. It'll be girls only in the backyard and I'm really looking forward to it. The sky is a predictable but beautiful blue these days and the temps are perfect.The organic cold MENU and SERVING METHOD method is:

Strawberries (med bowl)
Cream (sm bowl)
Scones (tray)
Jam (sm bowl)
Lemon curd (sm bowl)
Turkish Delight (tray - pink)
Petite Fours (tiered cake stand)
Cake – Bolconne Dolce (cake plate - pink)
Russian tea cakes (cake plate –silver)
Banana Nut Bread (tray)
Assorted finger sandwiches (tiered cake stand & tray)
Chicken Curry
Chicken Salad with Smoked Almonds
Egg Salad
Goats Cheese and Watercress
Cheese (wood board)
Figs (wood board)
Grapes (wood board)
Assorted nuts (sm bowl on wood board)

Tea, of course!

Curried chicken and homemade bread sangers, I think I'm drooling already.

Now this is where my love for planning comes in here's the EQUIPMENT list
Table & Chairs (8)
Roses in low clear glass vase
Other flowers in low vases (2)
(lillies? I'll drag lisa along and we'll see what's at markets)
Tea lights in glass votives (16)
Three tiered stand (2)
One for sandwiches
One for sweets
Cloth napkins (8)
White Tablecloth
White Tea Towels (4)
China – Teacups, saucers, tea plates (8)
Silver tea service – teapot, creamer, sugar
bowl, tea spoons, sugar tongs

Salt & Pepper shakers
Cheese board and knife
Cake stand, knife and server
Crystal water jug
Water glasses (8)
Champagne goblets (8)
Ice bucket
Serving bowls (5)Serving trays (4) Serving spoons (3)

butter (cream) knives (2)

this lemon curd looks so yummy. I can't wait till we can harvest our fist lemons.

I'll have to do a few early saturday mornings for garages sales and find all the lacey linen and feminene china for the party.

Wishful Etsying dreaming design

2008-05-15T15:12:00.009+10:00

So I may be getting a bit a head of myself, but I just couldn't help it. I was cruising through etsy.com (best site ever!) and came across so much that I thought would be perfect for the back bedroom that my clicking fingers got away with themselves. Below are some ideas:

The decal would go at the end of a day bed we already have. Don't know if there's room enough. The decal is by the etsy shop, Badass Custom Decals and is called "Bird on a Tree"

I found this great material and thought it'd be perfect for some throw cushions.
Designed by Free Spirits and sold on etsy by Mod Fabric

Another decal, but I think it kinda ties in with the bird. Again, room?

The decal is by the etsy shop, Badass Custom Decals and is called "Sea Grass"

I would love this pattern on another cushion.

So here's how I imagine the layout of the room.
I'd like to experiment and see if these two colours on the fabric swatch above would be too much if used as primary colours for the room. Maybe a turquoise in just a shade lighter. The room isn't that big (haven't had a chance to measure it yet.) But if done carefully it just might work. We have to fit alot in this room so solid walls with patterned accessories (cushions, window dressings, not the bedspread) might have to be the go.

CONTENTS:
A magazine table with small table lamp and plant on it next to the window.

The daybed under the other window. This window is up about 5 ft from the floor.

Our filing cabinet at the end of the bed with a plant. The cabinet is metal but it's a fabulous three drawer number with bright rust orange drawers and a dark brown cabinet.

A small writing desk with the laptop and arm chair. Somehow I've got to figure out where to put the printer, it'll probably end up under the desk as a foot rest.

A bookshelf

assorted nic naks (cause they just need some place to collect dust)

Here's the rest of the house. I think I've made it to wide, but I've only been going off pictures and memory so far. I took the liberty of adding builtins for two of the bedroom (they don't have them currently).

Paperwork

2008-05-06T11:39:00.003+10:00

There is a never ending flow of paperwork that is being printed from our printer these days. Loan application forms, First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) forms, copies of passports and licences to be certified. Lots of emails back and forth between BCU Credit Union and myself. We've requested many, many documents and as of today are no longer waiting on any!

I got an email this morning letting us know that we have been conditionally approved by the Mortgage Insurers subject to the house valuation and FHOG approval! One step closer to moving in- I'm starting to allow myself to be excited again!

On Thursday past Mick and I met at the bank to get six months of savings account statements from 4 accounts printed off. We requested the statements a week and a half before but they only sent one page from one account so a trip into the branch was called for. Mess ups like this exactly why we have chosen not to go through Commonwealth Bank for our home loan. Getting paperwork becomes somewhat of a mission because two of the accounts are in only Mick's name and the hours that he works makes getting into a bank next to impossible.

I received the last of our statements from Mick's personal loan this morning and I've sent it off to the bank. I think I've faxed over 100 pages of contracts, loan and savings statements, application forms, and a myriad of miscellaneous documents.

Over the weekend we got mail from the real estate, the solicitor and the bank. We've declined to have any extra searches done by the solicitor, The property was sold only 2 years ago so I'm hoping that any nasties were found and dealt with then, of course I could be very badly mistaken and something could be horribly wrong with the place. Guess we'll just get to be surprised!

So here's the important dates:
5 May - Building Inspection (really the 6th because 5 May in Queensland is Labour Day)
15 May - Finance and payment of deposit
23 May - Settlement!

I've scheduled a household and carpet cleaner for the 23rd, but I'm thinking that I'll have to get those changed to the 24th and 26th respectively, I want to be able to hand the keys into Jeff Jones Real Estate, our current rental agents on the 26th. Might just have to take that day off work as well. Whoo hoo... moving! my favorite past time in the whole wide world.

Since Roger, Micks dad, is going to be living with us till after Mick's surgery at least, were going to get Foxtel and SKY installed. So I've got to call about that now to get it installed in time. Lots of footy watching for recovery should be helpful and if not technically healthy it's at least not physically taxing.

Which reminds me about the Optus Wireless Broadband and our land line. I'll have to get that changed as well, hopefully they have coverage out in the burbs of Carina. I've already ordered a moving checklist from the Post and that should remind me of any other little things I've missed. Hmmm...electricity, unions, credit card, bank, car and health insurance....and the list goes on.

Only 17 days till the keys are ours!

ps I've been debating on changing the name of the blog since it is a bit deceptive. The house is a workers home, but a cottage? ideas/suggestions are very welcome!

Building Inspection

2008-04-29T11:03:00.006+10:00

I'm beginning to feel that building inspectors have it pretty good. They spend an hour taking a look around and charge $390 for the pleasure. So yes, I know they are qualified, and they may spot something that I could walk straight pass, but I am glad that we are done with them!

Frank from Acumen, inspected the property this morning and gave us the all clear, the roof is good for another 50 years as is the rest of the guts. There are a couple of things to be fixed like the toilet needs screwed down properly and some of the doors don't close easily, but everything is pretty much in order. There's a window missing, but that's underneath the house and some of the window latches are hard to operate. Overall, it's a good house and Frank is a good inspector, at these last two properties, he's been honest and realistic, I'd recommend him and Acumen (I have not received any discounts or advantages in any for this recommendation).

While I was at the property this morning the estate agent reminded me about getting a cover note. Quick call to AAMI and RACQ will get that sorted. Lots of fees between now and settlement. Hmm....

Had another look at the yard, and yep, it's still a go for front yard garden, don't really know where to put the chooks though. I'll have to really get the dimensions of the place correct and see just where our Northern property line is. I'd like to fit in a three bin composter as well, but there's a couple of really well established shrubs in the way that I don't want to loose. This is how I see it standing on the street and looking from North to South; fence, thorny climbing vegetation on fence, chook and compost coop, border plants, pathway to front door, rose bed, raised garden beds, hedge, driveway, shrubbery, fence. Looking at the width of the land I'm estimating it at 18 meters or 59 feet, but to be safe it's probably 16m/52ft, lots to fit in a little space, but I think we can make it work.

I discovered a beautiful camilla on the property today, it's a gorgeous dark pink/purple. It's right next to a very nice apricot/orange rose. With lots of weeding and mulching and some pruning the established plants would really be breathtaking.

We found a place

2008-04-28T12:14:00.005+10:00

So here it is, our very own little workers cottage, we signed the contract on Friday with settlement in 30 days. Ok, ok so technically most people wouldn't call it a "workers cottage" but, if you think about it, that is exactly what it is. It was built in the 1970's for a working family. Every decade since the 1900's the "cottage" has grown. By the 60's the four room house had become a three bedroom abode, complete with kitchen, bathroom and laundry.

So now that we have moved on from semantics, let me tell you a little bit about the place.
Well, it has three bedrooms, two very good sized and one a bit smaller, a medium sized kitchen, seperate bathroom and toilet and a laundry. It's perched on 607 sqm of land in the suburb of North Carina. The ample front yard has several established shrubs and a few georgeous roses, while the spacious backyard comes complete with a hills hoist (not being removed because of nostalgia and Mick wants to swing on it), some paw paws and a couple mature shade trees. Oh yeah, a partly enclosed tin shed on a concrete slab toped with a weight bench comes with it.

That's the boring stuff out of the way, now, you walk into the wallpapered lounge room, do a jig around the wallpapered privacy wall into the wallpapered kitchen and view the wallpapered dinning area, take a couple steps and your back in the wallpapered lounge. Did I say wallpaper? There is a bit of it, but the variety that adornes each wall in the house is really the winner. My favorite so far is the first bedroom, imagine a cloudy day looking out onto the Brighton beach with the dark sea beyond, and riding on this sea of grey is a floatailla of ships! Not just any ships either, Captain Cook rigs at full sail. I believe the wallpaper was a sign, Mick's dad is a merchant marine and my dad is one of those people who can never be without at least one water vessel to his name: the wallpaper is staying, at least in this room!

The place is perfect for us. We'll tear down the wall paper, give it a fresh coat of paint, then tear up the shag wall to wall and clean up the floorboards. Everything else can wait. We want to make sure that we know exactly what we want to do where and what materials to use. We don't want to go wasting any of our labour and money!

Except the garden! That's top of my list. Front fence, chook pen and chooks, worm farm and compost heap followed by a no dig veggie garden.

Eventually we'll raise the place or dig underneath to add another bedroom or two, we'll tear down the wall seperating the kitchen from the lounge room and put a new kitchen in. We'll also put in a new bathroom and maybe add an ensuite while making the lounge room bigger. The part i'm looking forward to is a big wrap around verandah that will go in. The verandah would help with parking as there is no garage now, and create living space in the front, the North side and back of house to watch the sun slowly decend over a horizon of trees.

As soon as I get more picture of the place I'll post them, but until then you'll just have to drool over this small selection.

The start of a new search

2008-04-21T11:50:00.005+10:00

Today is a new day and a new search has begun.

On Saturday me and my two friends attended the auction and there's nothing to say except we lost. There was great effort and control expecially because of supportive friends, and even after going $6,500 over our agreed limit we finally said no, no more. I had Mick on the phone with me the entire time, his silence was vast compared to the auctioners babling.

The auction started and all I could feel was my heart beating. I didn't get into the fray until the auctioner made the second call, but everyone seemed to have that strategy too, so we continued like this until the end. The property sold for $327,000. A shake of the hand from the auctioner and a call from the real estate agent later on saying he was, "disappointed" didn't help the devestated feelings that I was having. The dream of our own home, the closest I feel we will come to just building a home from scratch was fading. But all is not lost, Sunday was the day for renewed searching and it looks like maybe we've found something better already!

The new property is a 1920's cottage. The lot is much smaller, 356 sqm, but it's clean and it's easily livable. It's not the most quiet of locations but neither was the last one. We've got an inspection today during peak trafic hour and we'll be able to hear just how loud it is.

There is also another property we'd like to take a look at: a small (very small) cottage in a location that is second on our list. The lot is perfectly sized, but they want to get offers around 500K. Mick just laughed when I told him the price listed on the agents brochure. "They've got to be kidding themselves," it really is a demo and build job. Maybe they could have gotten that price late last year, but not now. We might still look at it though, if they are willing to come WAY down in price.

Mick also has an appointment with his endrocrinologist today. Hopefully the doctor will be able to put him on some hormone drugs to calm his growth down a bit and will tell us exactly how much time off work he'll need after surgery. Mick has a 1 cm growth on his pituratury gland, it's effecting his growth hormones. Normal levels should be 40 and his are 140 so his jaw and other facial features are growing. If we know how much time he needs of work after the surgery we can determine if we should even buy a property now. Fingers crossed.

Auction tomorrow

2008-04-18T13:58:00.006+10:00

Well, tomorrow is the day it all begins the AUCTION.

I guess it doesn't begin tomorrow, it began two Fridays ago when I was combing through the local SouthEast Advertiser, the local community paper. I carefully cut out about nine advertisements for flats and houses all with in our set out monetary range $0.00 to $350,000. Saturday after attending markets with my mother-in-law, I set out on my little red scooter and the refidex neatly tucked away in the back box.

The first property at 9:30 am was "the house." Tucked away off a little used street, right beside the M1 and busway was a perfect little home for two modern day workers. The agent kindly took my details and proceeded to tell me this was a circa 1910 workers cottage. The advertisement had said that it was badly in need of repair, and it is! I fell in love and although I dutifully looked at the eight other properties, nothing could get the cottage off my mind.

Saturday turned into Sunday and I draged my partner Mick around to have a look at the place. He liked what he saw, and I took this from him as, "ok, let's buy!"

Monday came and the building inspection appointment was made. Wednesday morning it would be done by Frank from Acumen Inspections. I could hardly contain myself.

Suddenly I was drafting the layout and figuring out what to do when. First clean up the yard, then paint the walls, put on a new roof, new floor, new wiring, then plumbing, the kitchen and at last the bathroom. In a couple of years we can raise the house, add another bedroom upstairs and an ensuite to the main bedroom, and then build a rumpus room, lock up garage and granny flat downstairs. All the while tending to the yard with indigenous landscaping and permaculture techniques. I had my mom on the phone and 10 minutes later my Dad was ready to hop on a 14 hour flight to give us his carpentry expertise. Were set! Then the waiting began.

The auction was still 12 days away. How would I survive, how much could I torture myself with thoughts of wall colours and lighting fixtures and flooring options?

Luckily I could see the house again and get some more information about exactly what it needs. The building inspector, Frank had a lot of negative things to say about the house, but he also said that it's ok and that we should buy it if were up to the work. Sure it had borers that have eaten the floor and the roof is the aluminium the original builders brought over from England a hundred years ago, but the bones are good. The wiring will probably short out if you plug a computer in and the plumbing is anything but up to grade, but we have tradie friends. The yard has two aluminium sheds, an old rusty chook house and a burnt out caravan, but two sets of hands and a large rubbish bin should take care of all of that.

So now it's the Friday before the auction and somehow I've made it with out turning into a complete wreck. Mick and I have ironed out exactly what plan of attack would be for us to create a home (includes me getting a puppy and chooks, since we would have a yard), how were going to pay for it all, and just how crazy I am. I must admit that last one is a common topic in our place. I continually tell him he's just as crazy for putting up with me, but the juries still out on that one.

Less than 24 hours to go and all I can do is sit here and wait, well, work a bit and wait. Mick's picking up the bank cheque in readiness of our winning bid. I have two great friends coming with me to the auction tomorrow to drag me away just incase the bidding goes out of our range and I can't stop. We might be house owners tomorrow!! ok, ok, I know there's the whole settlement thing to go through, but we'll make it though that come hell or high water, just have to get through the AUCTION.