Happy Birthday to Moi!

This year I choose no candle counting...

(At least I'm not as old as I will be next year!)

x KL

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Bits & Bobs of my Blogging Hiatus!

It's been super busy around here lately...not so much with house progress unfortunately, but with life!

Poppy Project, Rotary Park GOSFORD

 After the horrendous fortnight of severe storm weather late last month, ANZAC day memorials were fortunately, appropriately spectacular.

Dawn Service with Gallipoli landing re-enactment at TERRIGAL

We went to Sydney in the afternoon to spend the remainder of the ANZAC weekend with Japanese friends who were visiting Sydney for the final few days of their whirlwind trip to Oz.

The last time I saw Nozomi was when she was billeted with us as an exchange student, 12 years ago!

My girls have visited her in Japan several times, so it was nice to be able to reciprocate her always generous hospitality. We met her mother too, who was her traveling companion. She kindly hosted my eldest daughter when she was an exchange student in Japan. Shizuko spoke no English, but we immediately had a strong  connection, and had a really fun weekend!

We had a lovely Mother's Day here, with our nest leavers visiting and spoiling me with a beautiful lunch. We took the opportunity to celebrate my daughter's boyfriends birthdays too, a 21st and 25th!
Love the photo below of the boys and Davo having a wee 'nanna nap' after the effort of making lunch!

It was disappointing to miss seeing my own mother as she (along with my father!) was isolated in hospital with pneumonia. They have both been so very sick, but are on the mend now, thank God!

Me dispensing lots of TLC to poor Mum!

 My son has become a teenager too (Eeeek!) so the birthday celebrations continued!
13! Where has that time gone!!!!?

Three 13th Birthday Celebrations...two to go!!!

Would never had foreseen that my baby (seen below playing PS1 with his sister) would be building his own customised PC for his thirteenth birthday!

And David's birthday is this Saturday. May's a very busy birthday month!

I've been back to hospital for some minor surgery which seems to have been unsuccessful. 

Hopefully I wont now need major surgery, but that's looking like a distinct possibility. Bugger.
Can still laugh at getting older though:

 

Progress on the house front is slow, as usual. One day a week is just not enough time for David to get any consistent work done, so we're considering employing some subcontractors to help. We have previously viewed this as a waste of our capitol (paying someone else to do what David can do for free) but we're both impatient to get the house finished. To this end we are obtaining quotes for the remaining work....

Carpet options. Decisions, decisions!

Hopefully, the second half of the year will be full of progress (YOTH15!) and frequent 'pretty pics' on the blog front as we complete areas.

Fingers and toes!!!!!

x KL

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ANZAC DAY 2015

Lest we Forget …

WWI Roll of Honour Wall at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

ANZAC Day, originally a commemoration of the landing of Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915, has grown to become perhaps the most important national day in Australia. In addition to recognising the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have served in war or on peacekeeping operations, ANZAC Day has become core to the identity of Australia itself, a day on which Australians reflect on the Anzac spirit and its place in Australia today. 

This ANZAC Day, we mark the 100 year anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.

Members of the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance practice boat drill off the island of Lemnos, Greece, in preparation for the landings at Gallipoli, April 1915

My Grandfather fought with the ANZACs at Gallipoli. 

He spoke very little of his experience but here is Dad's memory of his story...

Alfred Edgar Roberts was part of the British contingent sent to The Dardanelles to engage with the Turkish forces. He became part of the Allied landing at Gallipoli. 

Troops Landing At The beach. Photograph by Charles Bean at the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, 1915.

As the British contingent were advancing into Turkish held territory one of the Turkish snipers managed to shoot him in the leg. The wound made it impossible for him to walk so he dragged himself into a gully to avoid being hit again by the sniper. 

Australian artillerymen dragging guns into position after the landing at Gallipoli, Turkey on 25 April 1915.Public domain photo by CEW Bean.

Two Aussie soldiers picked him up and dragged him back down to the beach where they had build a block house made of bully beef packing cases. The Aussie soldiers told him all their officers has been killed so they were fighting the Turks on their own. 

Image via Pinterest

 
He was eventually carried over to an area where the British were evacuating their wounded to a hospital ship. He was treated for his wounds on the ship and was taken back to England.

Landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915 courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

 
After a short recovery leave in the United Kingdom he was off again to the war, This time to France where the British were fighting a "trench war" against the German army. The Germans were using Mustard Gas as a weapon to drive the British back toward the French coast. Grandad unfortunately was fighting the war in this part of France and and suffered from the effects of the gas until he died in 1978.

A Royal Irish Fusilier at Gallipoli attempts to draw the fire of a Turkish sniper to reveal his position. Photograph: Lt Ernest Brooks/ IWM via Getty Images

 He always praised the bravery of the Anzac's who assisted him in Gallipoli, who he credited with saving his life. He always had a high regard for Australians and was very proud that one of his sons immigrated to such a wonderful nation. 

x KL

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blue

We celebrated Australia Day yesterday in true-blue style with friends, a BBQ, slippery slide into Terrigal Lagoon, cricket and soccer....in between an almost continuous deluge of rain. Not that the kids seemed to mind! Disappointing weather but there were lots of laughs with the large contingent of adults sheltered under leaky tents and tarpaulins!

 For overseas readers, Australia Day is a national holiday and marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships. In contemporary Australia, our celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape with community and family events.

With the wet weather continuing today, building work has ceased here and at client projects too. J has a mate over and it's a perfect day for the movies so we have that planned for this afternoon. 

Meanwhile, I'm catching up with some e-mails and blog reading. 

Did you know The Pantone Colour of the Year 2015 has been announced?

Gotta say, I'm not a fan. Reminds me of the late 70's when burgundy was all the rage. Unlike the colour of 2014, which I interpreted here with pink highlights, I think I'll be skipping this colour trend entirely unless I creatively view it as copper-like, which has not waned at all in popularity.

Personally though, my newest, favourite colour is blue.

Dirty blue, teal, aqua and royal. I love them all!

I've already bought a few items to add pops of blue to our monochrome black and white interiors:

And four of my art works / wall hangings contain some blue...

Now I'm dreaming of an accent chair for J's room ....

... in blue, of course!

What do you think of The Colour of the Year?
Do you have a favourite colour featured throughout your home?

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

progress, presents and procrastination

Some more PROGRESS to report!

The top balcony off the dining room has its eave soffit lining complete! 

I begged Davey to use lining boards but never won the argument....he thought they would look at odds with the contemporary exterior.  Pffft.  

Anywho, plain and simple they now are. Next up is to waterproof that deck so the last and largest area underneath can be sheeted too.

Our tiler came back to work yesterday and laid the screed in our en suite. My happy dance was short lived though when he informed me of another job he has committed himself to, starting today. Then Davey will occupy him for two weeks and....well, I'm not holding my breath expecting an imminent return...Damn!

 Being holidays here, the pace for J and I has been  s l o w . You know; lazy mornings, no set bed time, mid-day movies and pj days just mooching. School is on the horizon though; high school no less and it's probably time we got back into a better routine. Dave must have thought so too as he surprised me with a 'present' today: Ducted vacuum hose, fittings and motor / barrel.  

Subtle and thoughtful. LOL.

Daughter No. 2 recently turned 23! She loves dinosaurs ( ! ? ) and i think still harbours a quiet dream of being a paleontologist. My eldest daughter organised a surprise family excursion to Taronga Zoo to celebrate coinciding with their Dinosaurs In the Wild exhibition...and Sydney kindly turned on a heatwave for us! It was a wonderful but exhausting day!

The time has come for us to replace my car too. I've been driving a Ford Territory AWD Gia and it has been a wonderful vehicle. Accommodating us all, plus friends with the seven seats when required and a sturdy and spacious 'work horse' for me collecting building and interior supplies. But the girls now live away from home and with access to a Ute and 3 tonne truck as work vehicles, J and I can scoot around in something smaller.

Top to Bottom: Mazda 3, Honda Civic, Hyundai i30

The final three contenders are the Mazda 3 Touring, Honda Civic and Hyundai i30 SE.

On moi must-have list is a hatch for rear conversion as a work vehicle. Leather seats too...it's hard to downgrade some features! 5 star safety rating, blue-tooth connectivity, maximum leg room for J when he's a rear seat passenger, rear ventilation, usb or power outlets and enough head room for Davey and J when driving as they're tall. (Yes J too as, in just over four years he'll be a driver and we are buying with the forethought of giving him the car at his first vehicle!)
I'd like SAT nav if possible (own a TomTom so not essential) and don't want heated seats or a sunroof.

We've test driven...talked and slept on 'it'. 

Tomorrow's decision day!

Get in quick with opinions!!!!

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

Bits & Bobs and some wee house progress!

 There's been lots going on here lately but not enough time to post. My poor little blog has definitely been neglected! 

Of course it's holiday time and there are books to read, sunshine to enjoy and friends to catch up with after the frantic pace of Christmas and New Year. I am yet to put the tree and decor away...this afternoon is earmarked for that onerous chore and I'm procrastinating!

My West Elm gold cutlery has been packed away in a new canteen from POK.

 Mattress-gate has been resolved and we are sleeping comfortably at last. Who knew how traumatic buying a new mattress could be? ! Long story short, NEVER buy an $8K Tempur mattress if you or your partner are hot sleepers...that thing will cook you alive! When we eventual bought successfully (Sealy Posturepedic Nouvelle Plush Gardenia from Domayne; BLISS!), we bought J a new mattress too. . . and of course some new bedlinen was required. He he!

Abode Euros, Cultiver Linen, Bonnie & Neil Cushion.

 The Table-gate episode that occupied FIVE MONTHS of 2014 and that I thought was resolved HERE, wasn't. It is now though, with the item being returned and refunded. We are however, back to square one and table-less once again. Recommendations welcome! Minimum 3 m length x 1200 mm wide.

The upper floor bathrooms have seen no further progress as our tiler is still unavailable. We're looking at him starting in two weeks but I'm not going to hold my breath! In the interim, David has started prepping the top verandas so they'll be ready to tile too with the french pattern travertine bought exactly a year ago! He doesn't want to lay any timber flooring or carpet upstairs until they're completed due to potential damage. Which leads me to...

 (insert drum roll, trumpets and fanfare)

TIMBER FLOORING

Yup. Finally decided, purchased and it's ready to rock 'n roll!

21mm thick, extra wide engineered oak flooring; colour Matt silky oak. I probably would have gone for a lighter tone but decided to err on the side of caution and not be too trend specific.

One pack of our flooring laid out!

As mentioned, Davey has made a wee bit of progress here. He had planned to do more but needed to work between Christmas and New Year to finish a client's house as they wanted to move in three weeks earlier.

Thankfully, we were able to meet their request, sans shower screens and mirrors. I'll show you more pics of this one in another post.

Our latest completed, custom client home.

In the last few days, David has worked here and the top veranda outside what will be our bedroom, and the entry, now have ceiling linings. J assisted his Dad with the last piece and has shown himself to be a great help when needed.

The bar-front under the bi-fold window area is finished and now just needs sealing. 

A beautiful bone-inlay chest of drawers that has been on my 'wish list' forever, finally made it here. I'm going to use it in the main bedroom and officially announce an end to my bone-inlay obsession!

I bought this great Pony Rider pouf for J's bedroom too. It was on sale for $90 from $229 (yippee!) and it will make a great spot to sit and put on shoes etc. 

J has finished Primary School and is headed to High School this year. The end of the year was frantic as along with the usual Christmas functions we had graduation events too. I made J and a girlfriend's daughter, signature bears dressed in mini uniforms as a grad gift. Sommer loved hers and had all her mates and teachers sign it but J wouldn't even take his to school. Boys. I should have known better! LOL!

 My craft skills were more appreciated by my middle child though. I posted HERE about A's desire for a Dream-Catcher for Christmas. Below is the one I made her and which she liked. Thank God!

It was very easy to make but the materials (especially the lace) were exy so I didn't save money by making one, I just made a more spectacular version for the same outlay.

That probably brings the blog up-to-speed with the goings on here and hopefully I'll have more House Progress posts to share soon!

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

Christmas. Take 11.

Well, THAT was a depressing post! I'd actually decided to post some of my better gift ideas and somehow went off on a tangent. Funny how good intentions can derail like that!

Anywho, thankfully the pessimism I felt pre-Christmas eventually lifted.

 I decorated the tree. Wrapped pressies and organised food and family. 

My monochromatic + metallic theme was sabotaged by Santa's wrapping!

 We had two Christmas's.The first was with Mum and Dad on December 23rd (also Dad's birthday) where I made a really simple Aussie style, mango and chicken salad, served with king prawns, fresh bread rolls and followed with pav. Easy peasy lunch for ten!

Then we celebrated here with the children and their partners on Christmas Eve with a more traditional European baked dinner of turkey, lamb and chicken, peas, roasted veggies and lashings of gravy. 

Luckily the weather was cool and forgiving! This is the first hot Christmas meal I have ever prepared for a large number and it was surprisingly easy; I had all day to prep (hubby generously helped) and roast the larger pieces of meat and then we served it on platters so everyone could help themselves. There was very little left - which is always a good sign!

our Christmas Eve table

Desert was macerated fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries) in brandy snap baskets (Shh...store bought ones) with brandy infused whipped cream and ice cream + a mini Flake chocolate in each! Yum. All pre-prepped and put together to serve in less than 5 minutes. (Yup; I'm no cordon bleu!)

We then opened presents on Christmas morning while eating croissants and mini egg / bacon and feta pies I'd made the day before so the older children could scoot to their partner's family luncheons. 

And we got a real surprise gift from Santa!

As this was our first year with all 'knowing' children...we tried to add some fun for our 12 year old by getting him involved in the Chrismas Eve, Santa arrival prep. This included making e-mail videos through PNP for the older children, who J decided to nominate as on the the 'naughty' list. (Yup. He's 12. And a boy. LOL!)

Imagine our surprise on Christmas morning on finding alien wrapped gifts for us all in our stockings from Santa! We were on the 'naughty' list too with chunks of coal* inside!

BEST present ever! Still LMFAO!

*Without channeling Scrooge, I'll quietly note that daughter #2 is currently dating a miner!

Merry Christmas!
 

x KL

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Christmas

Some years, I am bursting with enthusiasm about the upcoming festivities and enthusiastically prepare to celebrate with gusto. Others, I approach the season with a bit of a Ho - Hum attitude. 

Unfortunately, this year is unfolding as the latter.

It may be because this will be the first year, in 25 years of motherhood, that there are no Santa believers in my household. J, newly 12, realised the truth at Easter and sobbing, also lost the Tooth Fairy and Santa in one painful moment of realisation .

It could be that my life has been recently touched by friends grief. The loss of a Grandmother, the sudden departure of a young Mum, a long battle lost by a child. And the sad memories of losing of my Father-in-law and Aunt rekindled.

Or the stress of a looming client deadline - with them immigrating from overseas and anticipating a completed home for Christmas. The tile supplier informing me this week that their tiles (ordered in August) are quite literally on a slow boat from China...W.T!

Perhaps, as my adult children establish their own lives, and extended family grow, the coordinating efforts to celebrate together has become such a drudgery, that the event has lost its lustre.

Maybe I'm just tired.... The Table Debacle was resolved only yesterday.

The top floor bathrooms show no further progress because our tiler became unavailable.

Mattress gate concluded a fortnight ago.

Or perhaps it's the heat. It's hot! I'm hot. And honestly, just not bothered!

 Trying to look on the positive side, with less than 5 weeks before Christmas, I am very relieved to have purchased 98% of our gifts.

The wrap is really to go and my 2014 theme decided; metallic + white, 

(which is rather unoriginal as Christmas 2013 was bedecked similarly)

I might try and action the tree this weekend. It can only end one of two ways....

The Christmas spirit will either be created or drunk...

x KL

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