Action weekend

It's amazing sometimes just how much can be achieved in a single day!

MONT and a buddy got the roof to the new studio started.

They started work around 8.30 on Saturday morning....

...and by lunchtime it was looking like, well a roof.

By around 3pm the corrugated sheets had been put on the roof

...and the front boards had been put back (we saved and re-used as many of the weatherboards and timber we could)

Then yesterday, MONT filled in all the holes and joins with "no more gaps"...and painted it.

All done!...well, almost

Now, the roofing plumber just has to arrive this week to finish off and attach the spout and gutter.

Exciting times!

Bag or dress?

This photo was taken to highlight the Jeanne Oliver camera bag....

But......

It's the dress that took my fancy. 

Yes the linen bag's nice, but the dress is just "me".  

Basically it's just a caftan like pattern in denim.

I think I have a length of denim in my stash...

Perfect

Raiders

Every night we hear them coming. They emerge in the dead of night and descend on our trees.

They jump from the fence or roof onto the garbage and recycling bins down the blind side of the house.
They land with a thud, right near our bedroom....then they head to the trees. Namely, the Magnolia and birch trees.

These two critters (Mum and bub) were spied in our neighbour's tree before they headed across the border into our yard

This is what they leave behind...

Actually, this is pretty good compared to other nights...MONT mowed the lawn and cleaned up yesterday, removing all the evidence....the section under the tree was covered in buds and bits of chewed branches

So instead of this, from a year or so ago....

We've got this.....neatly trimmed branches

They've done so much damage to the magnolias that we've only had a handful of flowers this year

...and now, even the leaves on the two trees are looking a little thin

Not good.

Studio Progress

It's well on it's way!

The posts are now in to hold up the extension of the roof.

Next weekend, work will begin on the roof itself.

The room will take up two bays of the carport, which makes it just over 4 metres long. We've been talking about the placement of the windows and the all important door, which has caused us a little bit of a problem because we need to have an entry that won't allow water in. You see the frame/walls will be built on top of the paving, so a special water proofing membrane of some sort will have to go under the frame to stop rainwater seeping in and making the interior floor wet.

We talked about placing the doorway at the back of the room, from what will be MONT's workroom/storage shed...but we've now scrapped that and the door will be placed right near where that creamy coloured planter box will be.

One window will look straight down into the driveway...the other will be on the side wall looking into the yard.

Very exciting....but it's still a long way off from being completed. It'll be interesting to see just how long it's going to take from go to whoa.

Dreaming of decorating

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but even though my new studio isn't even built yet, I'm dreaming of and planning the interior

White is going to play a big part...no surprises there...but I also want a few little splashes of colour....like pink.

These images are from Fiona Douglas of Bluebell Gray. The fabric is what caught my eye, not the blue walls, even though I think the whole effect is stunning!

I'm thinking something floral for some side curtains in my new little room.

Then, I saw this in this months Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This is on page 39 of the October BHG.  The little lamp shades caught my eye as well as the art on the wall.

Then there's this...lovely, although a little jumbled

Apart from the studio, I'll also be re-decorating the spare room to make it a little more "kid" friendly when we have sleep overs here.

It'll be light and bright with a nice rug on the floor. I've been through the linen cupboard and found some bits and pieces that will be perfect in there!

This is the reading room from the Lettered Cottage. Great job!!

...and this...well this is just lovely. I've had it for ages and can't remember where it's from. Sorry.

It's happening....

My new studio/sewing room is on it's way...

Not sure when it'll be finished. These things take time as MONT tells me. Regularly!

He dug out the first post hole back in April

Then a couple of weeks ago, he dug the other one on the other side and started pruning back the ornamental grape vine and wisteria.....it's over where that blue lidded bucket is near the fence

Then on Saturday, he started on the end of the carport so we can begin the extension

The wisteria's tied to the clothes line until the posts and frame goes up, then the fence will come down (temporarily) so the side wall can be constructed. That's the other thing...I'm going to lose part of my line so we'll have to find another spot for one. I can't be without a clothes line!

The finished room will measure about 4.5 metres by 3.6 (approx 15x12 feet) and it will have a wall of floor to ceiling cupboards. You cannot have enough storage! The walls will be painted white, or slightly off white to blend in with the sandstone floor and i'll get a nice rug to make it feel cosy.

On the outside, the weatherboards will be white, like the rest of the house. We've got a couple of (second hand) windows to put in and now the only thing that has to be worked out is where to locate the door.

The whole idea is to have all of my sewing and crafty stuff out there so it isn't cluttering up the spare room, which is an absolute mess at the moment because I don't have a lot of storage for all my bits and pieces

I quite like this idea for "small stuff" storage...nice shallow drawers with partitions so everything is easy to find. Perfect for cottons and trims and pins and all the little stuff that goes missing in larger drawers.

...and this is nice too...perfect for all the knitting patterns and my magazines.

I'm on the look-out for a skinny table to hold the sewing machine and overlocker and I think I've got just about everything else I need.

We hope to have it finished before Christmas...but you know...anything can happen between now and then...so we'll play it by ear.

So there you have it...this is what's been consuming me these past couple of weeks. Can't wait to keep you updated on progress.

I haven't given credit for the last two photos because I'm not sure where they came from. If you do, please let me know so I can give credit where it's due.

Soup Nazi ?

Well, not quite... I always serve bread with soup and making soup makes me pretty happy.

Winter is the perfect time for soup and this one has a nice twist....

It's a coriander pesto

It's a spicy soup and it's a nice change from the usual pumpkin or potato and leak

It's made with sweet potatoes with a little hint of Thai

I've posted the recipe over here.

Hope you like it

Windfall

I don't know about you, but I love it when people offer me millions of dollars for no apparent reason at all.

This is the latest little offering that arrived in my "inbox" today. I especially love the incorrect grammar and the details about what I have to do to retrieve "my" money



UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE,
PO BOX 555, NEW YORK NY 10116-0555


This is to notify you that we have intercepted your parcel from DHL COURIER
SERVICE is making the delivery and we have stopped the delivery process for
some security reasons stated below:

1. Our scanning system has detected that your parcel contains a confirmable
ATM CARD to the tune of $6,500,000.00 USD.

2. Such ATM CARD coming from African /Europe/Asia is been verified by the
POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE which we have directed our inspection team to
proceed with the verification to ascertain the authenticity of the ATM CARD
and now after all the verification on the Parcel/ATM CARD, having contacted
the issuing institution who made it known to our office that the ATM CARD is
a Genuine one and Not ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED. We have also forwarded the Serial
Number of the ATM CARD to the U.S, Treasury Department and they confirmed
that the CARD is Authentic and ready to be cashed at any ATM MACHINES.

Also for the Delivery of the Parcel to continue, you are in obligation to
obtain from Spain, a Duly Sworn Affidavit from Spanish High Court which will
back up the Origin of Fund. This is in line with the Anti-Terrorist Campaign
which the USA Government has embarked on recently to protect our Territory
from future attacks.
You should therefore contact the sender of the ATM CARD or the DHL Courier
Agent in Madrid,Spain to get the Sworn Affidavit for you while we wait to
receive from you the Affidavit File Number to enable us forward your ATM
CARD to your address.

Below is his contact information. Note that the cost of the Affidavit is
$188 and do not hesitate to remit the amount to him.

Name: Arthur Pattison
Email address:pattison.arthur-------

We shall then forward the ATM CARD to you and you will be sure of a genuine
ATM CARD that is coming to you. We are doing this for your interest
considering the rate which fraudulent and stolen checks/ATM CARD are been
sent to our innocent citizen that most times put them in problem.

Your urgent action on this notice will be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Guy C.
Chief Postal Inspector
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Don't  you just love it...