A grand design

Today I thought I’d write about my favourite television program of the week. Yes even more than Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares or Desperate Housewives, the show I most look forward to is Grand Designs… on ABC1 at 6.05pm on a Thursday… and there’s an earlier series shown on Tuesdays at 11.00am.

What I love about this show is the dreams that fuel it.

Kevin McLeod is the host and he can speak several European languages, an impressive addition to his passionate love for the subject and obvious regard for his subjects - both human and material.

Every episode Kevin follows the journeys of people who want to build their dream house. From modest budgets to magnificent, every design has vision and a story behind it. And no build is without its challenges.

We watched Tuesday’s episode yesterday of an Irish couple who were building an LA inspired mansion on a steeply sloping block. Today’s was of an English couple in Tuscany, lovingly restoring a derelict castle having coped with 4 years of Italian bureaucracy. One of my favourites was an older couple building a Roman inspired guesthouse in Southern Italy for just 19,000 pounds. Extraordinary and inspiring, and another of a couple who’d lived in a shed for over 13 years, who built this fantastic house out of wood - a bespoke kit home from Norway. It was beautiful.

Bespoke is one of Kev’s favourite words. :)

Now we may never build our own home - in many ways I can’t think of anything worse - but watching these people turn their dreams into brick and wood and mortar is inspiring. It’s a program of hope. Maybe that’s why I love it so much. Great to watch such positive energy, to absorb it through our telly.

Everytime I watch this show I think “You know what? We should do this show in Australia.” I’d have like to have seen it done on the house opposite us for example or my cousin’s house… both amazing houses… and they must be the tip of the iceberg.

After all - building your own home is the Australian Dream.

The question is who would be the host - could there be another Kevin McCloud somewhere down under?

Watching the cricket

May I just say that that’s what I call watching cricket.

And before you get the wrong idea let me give you the background.

We got up this Sunday morning. I made the bed (I was the last one out of bed - so that’s fair), went down to the shops to get some fruit and the papers and Groover got on the computer (although he did bleach the toilet if I remember rightly). I cleaned the kitchen properly - even the oven doors - and put on the first of four loads of washing. Hung out washing - folded washing.

Cleaned the back half of the house including floors.

We went out to Fremantle where I bought a dress and Groover didn’t get a massage.

Came home and I made dinner while Groover watched the cricket.

Until he felt guilty.

You see we do split the housework and it’s usually predicated on the other person conspicuously doing housework as well.

It’s not a completely even split but he nags the kids and buys more wine than I do so I suppose that makes up for a bit…

I think the bottom line is we are both as lazy as eachother when it comes to housework and would happily not do it. And it’s only that his threshold is slightly lower than mine that he does any at all. I’m sure if I hated mess more than he does he would do nothing and we would not be happy campers.

From bar to e-nook in one generation

Today the Sunday paper’s real estate section taught me that areas like the one we have our computers in is no longer a “bar” but an “e-nook”.

Here’s me in my e-nook:

As you might be able to tell in this photo - waaay back in 1977 when our house was built, complete with exposed beams, chocolate coloured metal window frames and hanging garden in the entry - it was a bar.

In just one generation we’ve turned our repository for alcohol into an office. Our beer fridge is now relegated to the laundry.

But how long will it last?

Already laptops and mobiles, playstations and PDA’s are seeing the need for the e-nook disappear. Add to that fridges with computers in them and surely it can’t be long before the only thing left is a lonely printer - and a wireless hub.

Perhaps the e-nook will become the e-cupboard or even the e-drawer?

Certainly we are seeing in our house the development of an e-breakfast bar.

What are you seeing in your house?

Dark Horse: Your room is ready!

We call him The Dark Horse. He has been a friend of Groover’s since school and is coming out for an Australian Christmas with his girlfriend and helpfully staying at our place while we bugger off to a big family Christmas in the snow.

We don’t often have guests but whenever we do we are galvanised into action and clean out our granny flat which spends most of the year as a shed/storeroom/kids playroom.

It wasn’t that bad actually… there have been times when I’ve physically not been able to get past the first foot from the door due the the junk that has been dumped in there. I took some before and after photos.

As you can see the bed has completely collapsed. Fixing the frame was our first priority and it took ages.

Ah but the result was worth it.

This is the other half. There is also a small bathroom - filled with The Orchid Hunter’s school notes from 2005&6 - the ones he couldn’t bear to part with - but I don’t want to bore you…

We’ve lived in this house for ten years and this is the first time I can remember Groover helping out with the clean up (he says he’s done it once before - but I don’t remember). It’s much more fun when there is two of you, plus he even threw out some of his crap beloved treasures.

 

Organised!

It has been a while since I organised my larder. Maybe years? Certainly it hasn’t been properly cleaned out since 2005.

Shocking I know.

There is something internally cleansing about taking everything out, throwing out the sunflower seeds reduced to dust; re-discovering empty tupperware containers named brown rice and self-raising flour; finding the old jar of cloves - use by date April 1996!

I walk around my house and end up back in the kitchen, just staring at my organised shelves and feel good about myself.

To think! This could happen every week! I could tidy up the linen cupboard, the wardrobe, the kids’ wardrobes, the cupboard in the laundry, the back room! I could write a menu plan! Hang on. That’s taking things too far.

For now I will simply rejoice in my organised, clutter-free larder.

On not having a pet

I never thought I’d grow up and live in a house without pets. My dog when I was growing up was a black labrador/corgi cross - think labrador face, shortish legs and stout. Her name was Hannah. I used to lie in bed of a morning and hear her thunder up the stairs, along the corridor, the door would fly open and she would leap onto the bed.

At Easter time she would sniff out our Easter Eggs and scoff them.

She was a waggy friendly dog, slightly overweight and a terror on bin day.

We also had a cats. My first cat was a black and white fluffy cat called Tinkerbell. We also had Samson - a very large ginger cat with a flatulence problem. And finally Mr B, also known as Fred. Who was grey and white and turned up in our garage with his leg caught in his collar. A visit to the vet and he was ours.

I had a mouse too, which got eaten by a kookaburra, but that was a sad little tale which I won’t go into here.

So why am I not a pet owner now? I’m a grown up. I can do what I like. I’m obviously in the minority, not having a pet.

Well I guess I’m out of practice. Groover has never been a pet owner. His father was a pilot and so they were always away - not an ideal scenario for pet owners. Also he’s allergic to cats.  And so is my orchid hunter(Hugamuga).

And the longer I live without pets the harder it is for me to like them. I’m not that keen on being sat on by affectionate cats now, and even feel slightly sneezy around them - can you catch allergies or is it low tolerance? And dogs? Well they do smell a bit and I cringe when they lick me. When our rabbit ran away, another sad tale, I was half relieved.

Does that make me a bad person? Am I depriving my children?

They never ask for a pet, well not since Butterfly ran away.

“We don’t need one because we go on holidays too often”, Says my daughter. What a practical girl. “But I wouldn’t mind fostering a pet on the holidays when we’re at home…”

Hmmm I don’t think so.

Can I imagine us ever having a pet?

If I did it would be a small yappy dog - like my brother-in-law’s Puffy. That I didn’t have to take for walks twice a day. And I’d have to work from home. I don’t think it’s fair on the dog to be out every day.

It could be a while before that happens.  Like, post-divorce. :)

My bath

Groover and I are going to get new taps for the bathroom. No. Really. We are. Yes I know we are not the most handy but it has become necessary.

Apart from the fact we are trying to be green, and the taps leak, and the shower rose is stuffed… the spout into the bath has completely broken off.

It works quite well without the spout it must be said apart from when you first turn the bath on and if you’ve bent down to turn on the taps you end up with a face full of water.

See ThirdCat… not so interesting after all… :(

Suck it up

Right that’s it! Cellobella had had enough. Fed up with an enormous Hoover, heavy, impractical and bloody useless she held her hand over the base of the vacuum. As she suspected it didn’t suck.

This beast of an appliance had been the bane of her life since Groover had proudly extracted it, shining, dark red and enormous from its box several years ago. I’m afraid she wasn’t very grateful for the expensive purchase.

What is that?

It’s a vacuum cleaner.

Why did you buy an upright vacuum cleaner? Did you not ask me what I wanted? Did I not clearly articulate that I wanted a light, quiet, pull along model?

Yes you did.

Did you not also consult with our cleaner (sadly no longer with the household because she couldn’t stand the bloody vacuum cleaner)?

Yes.

Did she not say she would prefer to use a light pull along cleaner which is better for her back.

Um.

?????

Choice said it was the best.

Well I’m not bloody using it.

Two years ago…

So maybe we could sell that wretched thing… where is that write up from Choice?

Um… I can’t find it?

Right. Well seeing as we are poor now and can’t afford a cleaner (particularly one who will bring her own vacuum) you will have to do the vacuuming!

Today… Groover leaves for Karratha. Cellobella decides to use the Hoover to clean the house. There is only so long one can go, crunching over the floor. It doesn’t suck.

Cellobella now owns a brand new Meile 5210. It is blue. It is small. It is light. It is quiet. It has a telescopic wand. It can lie down flat to get under chests of drawers. It sucks.

Next weekend, Groover can do the tidying and cleaning of surfaces, kitchen and bathrooms and Cellobella will be happy to take Milly out for a spin! :)

[Big Red now has been banished out the back]

And for the record, this is what Choice says about it: (it scored 2nd best of the range tested)

MIELE S5210

Good points

• Good dirt removal on carpet.
• Excellent for dirt removal from a hard floor.
• Good range of tools, with onboard storage.
• Variable power.
• Telescopic wand.
• Very good reach from the power point.
• Fairly lightweight.
• Dustbag is easy to install and remove.

Bad points

• Nothing in particular.

Â

Oh yeah

Forgot to tell you… at the end of that horror day (paint/fire etc), I stood on one of my director’s chairs to force the glory vine back onto the pergola and the seat split and I twisted my ankle (not badly).

But the good news is I confronted my pool guy today about taking my chlorinator in for testing (when I didn’t ask for it), giving me a quote for an EXORBITANT amount of money - the part a lot cheaper when I checked on the internet - and leaving my pool without any chlorine on the hottest weekend of the season.

To quote our Premier, on Thursday evening I was “incandescent with rage”.

My pool is now green but the chlorinator is back - sure not working brilliantly, but back - and they threw in some extra chlorine as well.

Ahhhhh. That feels better now.

My soul is a furnace of love;stoke it to the full

Title courtesy of the Bacio chocolate found on my pillow at the lodge we stayed at last weekend. A charming weekend with good friends and good wine. There are photos to prove it. :)

During the weekend, after a very wine soaked evening we went on a wine tour of the region. In a bus. With about 10 twenty-somethings. Sigh. I am getting old. Also was very hungover so it was lucky that the last stop had some jewellery for sale!

The lodge itself was deluxe. Lovely food, well appointed rooms, completely up to spec!

While we were away the coroner finally delivered his findings on Harry’s death. No surprises to those who went to the inquest. Mr Hope was scathing about CASA and it would seem rightly so. I’m just happy it’s over at last. Although it will never be over, not really.

Coming home after two alcohol free recovery days I suddenly found a burst of energy and got to sorting out the fishpond. Our fish, sadly, are dead. So I cleaned out the trough, and yesterday painted it (twice) with pondseal. Now I just need to await a week before filling it. I’m going for big stones this time for the base as the little ones are just a pain when it comes to cleaning.

I also divided up the hugely overgrown irises and now have several (tens) of little ones that will hopefully survive their rough treatment. My plan is to create a bog garden next to the fish pond and plant some of them out. Others will go to new homes. Projects for the summer.

Today I was doing such hard weights at the gym that my watch dug into my wrist veins and they are all lumpy red and bruised. Beauty is pain my friends, beauty is pain. Or at least fitness is. I am starting to feel fit and hopefully will one day be so.

I went to McDonalds tonight with the kids for a quick tea. Honestly why would you eat there? Despite the Salads Plus and Deli Choices I must say I was not inspired (although I saw an enormous young mum of about 20 order a salad). The whole place stank of stale oil. I had an orange juice.

Dippity and I wrote a Haiku tonight about surfing.

I’ve got the hiccoughs
Maybe I’m scared of the surf
A pounding wave breaks.

Photos soon… and happy birthday MIL!

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