researching

For a long time, we've been wanting to do some work on our small front verandah, lest one day an unsuspecting visitor get slapped on the face when they stand on one of the several loose floorboards. Finally, our local builder man paid a visit with tape measure and pencil (the live in builder-man declaring he was too busy) looked underneath things and poked at timber with a critical eye, not unlike a surgeon decided which diseased bits need to be taken out.

While he is here fixing the floor, I have also asked that he close in the open wall of the verandah, which in wet weather is a real pain in the bum.

You can see the open side above, the rug on the floor covering some pokie-out nails that refuse to bed down (an indication of the state of things down below)

Today I've had out the yellow pages and done some googling, sending off a few emails to get prices on shutters to fill that space above, so we can close them when it rains, but have them open for light and breeze, when its not. Not is about 80% of the year.

I've settled on aluminium, as they aren't as 60's/70's looking as I had in my head.....

 

  So now I just have to sit back and wait to be shocked by the prices that hopefully I will be getting tomorrow.... edited to add: if anyone wants to know what I find out, just drop me a line, I am finding out all sorts of interesting things!

Of course, it will never look as polished or charming as any of the pictures that I dredge up from around the www, but at least my precious pillows won't be getting wet every time we get a vigorous shower of rain.

Mind you, the knowledge that internet does not = reality, doesn't stop me from thinking, with eyes half shut and rose coloured glasses firmly in place, that my garden could easily look like this with just but a little tweak (and a chaff bag of $$) here and there....

the husband will be thrilled about my paving plans, I can hear him groaning about his back already :-) (I do wonder how they keep the lawn and pavers so pretty?!)

clever use of words

I came across a link to a blog post, which I share below. I LOVE clever use of words, without needing to get the dictionary in order to understand what's been written. Nothing like a well written insult too!

These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.                                                                                                                                                                                   
“He had delusions of adequacy.” – Walter Kerr

“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” – Winston Churchill

“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” Clarence Darrow

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” – William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” – Moses Hadas

“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” – Mark Twain

“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends..” – Oscar Wilde

“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.” – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

“Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second …. if there is one.” – Winston Churchill, in response.

“I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.” – Stephen Bishop

“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” – John Bright

“I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” – Irvin S. Cobb

“He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” – Samuel Johnson

“He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.” – Paul Keating

“In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.” – Charles, Count Talleyrand

“He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” – Forrest Tucker

“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” – Mark Twain

“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” – Mae West

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” – Oscar Wilde

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” – Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” – Billy Wilder

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” – Groucho Marx

this makes me laugh

And if you don't say that in your head in Sean Connery's voice...you are a stronger person than me! (a poor choice of photo though, wasn't he one suave individual in his James Bond days?!)

Who else could you listen to all day?

not exactly cinderella

but to the ball I did go, on Saturday night. Without The Husband, who was devastatedly disappointed that we had no babysitter and he had to stay home with the kids, as he loves wearing his suit and bow tie so very much.

I am on the committee (albeit a very poor one, having not been to one meeting in the past twelve months) that organises the ball, so I donned my frock (such a great word to drop into a converstation!) bling and trotted off to help out. Before I left, I allowed myself to be photographed - badly - by the husband. The six year old has better photography skills than he does.

I will not add commentary as of course one always can find fault with ones own image (hello white flabby arms, why did I not get a dress with sleeves?!)  I will say that I decided to put a rinse in my hair that morning, having been told with delight by kids and spouse of the grey hairs on my head. It turned out a little darker than expected. And after having my hair straightened and fluffed with the other girls in town who were attending the ball, I wasn't sure that I liked it but didn't have time to do anything else with it.

The hall was all decorated:

(It didn't look as empty as this in real life!) and those big roller doors on the left opened up onto a lovely deck, overlooking the river.

the table decor was very cool in the low light

And the rest of the ladies from my little town scrubbed up alright as well, all out for a Girls Night Out.

That is all that made it onto my camera, however there was a newspaper reporter snapping away so if I made the newsprint I will be sure to share :-)  

run, don't walk

a little consumerism here today, you know how deep and meaningful makes my head hurt....

I picked these two things up at woolies the other day, needing some new lip balm and wanting some face sunscreen I could put on each morning without feeling like I was covered in thick stuff.

I LOVE IT! of course its not 30 SPF (I haven't found a nice light, tinted one yet) but this is just gorgeous. I would even go so far to say as I would use it as a nice light foundation. It really does even out the complexion!

I was heading for the lipbalm section when I spied this, and being on sale I decided to try it. Again, I LOVE IT! It really doesn't have a great amount of colour, but feels great, seems to moisturise and have some sun protection at the same time, but doesn't have the sunscreeny taste that some do. I like this one so much that I am going to get another to keep in my bag.

Lastly, these, the food of the devil, or the gods, depending on your perspective. I didn't realise that I had a thing for chocolate and peanuts until I had one of these....

The Husband did some grocery shopping for me as he came through the Towers the other day, and brought home a bag of these "fun sized" beauties. Let us just day that there are none left now and I may have had more than my fair share...

I wonder why my pants are feeling a bit tight today.

Run, don't walk, folks and try some of these for yourself, today!  

dreadfully neglected

As I have been leaving little hints here and there around the bloggy world recently about wanting to see more of their gardens, I thought I should put my money where my mouth is. Trouble is, while I love gardens, my own hasn't been feeling that love lately, and in fact has been dreadfully neglected.  A recent sortie with a full poison bottle of over-strength brew has started to restore some order, the battle that that my nemesis Couch Grass has won over the past twelve months has taken a step back in my favour.

Anyhow, I thought I would share one little part of my neglected garden. I am not sure what to call this area, its not a green house, just a bit of no mans land between laundry and garden sheds and the back of the donga (my office area). A while back, with little husbandly assistance (which may explain the state of my back today) I laid down the pavers and carted many wheelbarrow loads of gravel to go around the pavers.

As you can see, I need to attack the couch grass here again, its looking far too cheerful, this should be a grass free zone (the gravel could probably do with a top up as well)

Pot plants have been toppled, there have been deaths, and vigoursly growing plants have escaped their pots and thrown babies into the gravelled area. Not exactly tidy and ordered!

Quite a bit of tidying and arranging needing to happen....and ever one to re-use and recycle, this "bench" came home from the rubbish dump, it had a former existence as the "dog box" on an old cattle crate, flipped over it makes quite a handy plant stand.

This area being covered and where the more delicate and shade loving plants are meant to live, it was quite a bit tidier than this until the porky pig came along and had a whale of a time...the succulent stand has been rescued and re-stood, but not put back where it should be....along with everything else needing a good tidy up.

Love those colourful little glazed pots, I pick them up at Bunnings or discounts stores when I see them on sale. And the steel mesh topped bench in the background, the husband won himself some brownie points the day he brought that home unexpectedly!  (the fact that he didn't make it himself, our man that runs our business did, doesn't really matter!) Its meant to be a potting/work bench, but of course at this moment holds all sorts of garden junk.

And one last one, looking around the corner from where I stood to take the above photo (at the end of the pathway)

more overgrown pots (btw, did you know hibiscus seem to grow very happily in a pot? Dug up and dumped in a pot as a "temporary" home, this one has flourished here for a v e r y long time. I see no need to move it now, just give it a haircut, and seeing as it is doing well, may just find it some hibicusy friends to fill some other empty pots.

So, I've shown you mine...or part of it.....now I best get that round up out again and start phase two of the couch grass attack.

in the news

Evidently my children weren't all that excited to be photographed with some North Queensland Cowboys players (can't say I blame them, really :-) waddya say to that, Di) I would have to say, I could walk past a footy player of any sort in the street, and not recognise them, maybe with the possible exception of Alfie Langer, maybe Shane Webke (only because HE turns up in the Country Life from time to time, and reads the news!) or the blokes off the Footy Show.

I was informed of my kids stardom by my sister in law, who had been telephoned by her dad to tell her they were in the Townsville Bulletin.

The page has been torn out and saved for posterity. Not sure why, maybe it will mean something one day if the Cowboys ever win something! ;-)