Behind Closed Doors

It's a cool, breezy day today and I am not feeling that well to be honest. I have a sore head and that is not going to feel much better for a while as the bloke is using power tools. The relentless drone and high pitched squeal of the wood trimmer thingy (very technical I am) is making my ears wobble. The Bloke went into the local Bunnings yesterday and purchased a new solid wood door. We have been dwelling in this place for a little over 17 years and we have been talking about replacing the carport entry door with a more solid structure. The one that was there until about 3 hours ago was a less sturdy construct with a real dodgy doorknob. Not only was it a pain to unlock, it was quite a security risk as it was what they call an 'internal type door', originally intended to be used on the interior of a home and not as a 'keep bad people' out type door. What were the builders thinking?
Anyway, after a short discussion we located one we liked which was at a price we liked-seriously you should check out the prices of some more flasher doors!
Today was the big day. The bloke and one of my DD's removed old door, hung new door and it was then they discovered a few issues that made a reasonably simple job into much more than first thought (aren't home reno jobs always like this?). So now the bloke has to shave some of the new door down. Okay done that. Then his able assistant rushes of to a lunch time meet up with her friend. Then the bloke realises that the former door was recessed into the surrounds so he needs to now remove the bottom section of metal. Okay lots of noise here, my ears vibrating with the very loud sounds. Some swearing took place, not too bad considering, and then of course the power tool thingy breaks so it is off to the shop for a replacement. At least there is peace and quiet for an hour or so, bet the neighbors are relieved too. So I'm hoping he gets it done by night time as I wont be happy to retiring to my bed knowing that our fortress has been left unmanned.
Silly really to think this, with the amount of noise exuding from this place at night would be thieves would be to frightened to come in.
Take last night for instance. I went to bed at about 9pm. I fall asleep fairly easily once I have my Bi-pap machine on, but was woken a short time later by the sounds of our dust buster revving up under my bed! I recall asking in a Darth Vader like voice what the heck was going on. I was told it was our youngest daughter trying to scare that cats that were under our bed. The bloke wanted to shut our door, but didn't want them in the room with us! Okay, what's the problem doesn't everyone do this? At least once in their lifetime? Mm mm
Anyway, it must have disturbed my sleeping rhythm as I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. I am very tired about now.
Well to jump back to the door discussion the next thing to decide once it is hung successfully it what colour to paint it. I initially thought black would be the one, but after reading some home decor blogs it seems that black might not be the go with my style house and the existing colour scheme. So my next choice is red. Someone has suggested to not paint it and varnish it so you can see the wood. I'm not sure, as I have always wanted a striking painted entry door, just like the ones they have in those dreamy house and garden mags.
So after a whole post on a door, tell me what colour your door is and if you had your choice what colour would you paint your door?
I'll let you know when the colour is decided, and yes there will be photos too.
Alas neither the turquoise of the yellow doors belong to my abode, wish they did though.

                                                     Photo source

Till later,

[edited to add that we have chosen Kimono Red for the door, and it goes on tomorrow.]

Appreciating the small things

Happy Friday. Even though I'm not working any more I still get a buzz when Friday comes along. I am not sure why I get excited but it could be the memory of when I did work and Friday signaled the last day before I could sleep in, take the pace a lot slower, go shopping, and enjoy the almost festive feeling. So I think it is funny that after four years at home I still get the vibe.
I have to say that we have been having some very nice days weather wise. I feel more energized on the sunny, bright, but not too hot days. Spring is in the air in this part of the world, and despite the hay fever things are looking good.
I am sure for some reading these ramblings of mine they must wonder at the banality of my daily existence. I often do as well. However, if the last four years of self exclusion from my community has taught me anything, it must be to appreciate the small things. And I do.

                                                          Local flora photo by my BIL

Of course my life has become a whole lot happier with the arrival of my grandson. That little fella just melts my heart. I got to cuddle him every day this week and even looked after him on Tuesday while his mum went and did some shopping. He slept most of the time, only waking for a bottle, or two, of expressed breast milk and then went back to sleep with a contented look on his face. Ah..the bliss of a contented, sleeping baby. 

So I have a question for you now. What things do you appreciate? What do Fridays mean to you? 

Until next time, 

Much Happier Days

Hello and welcome back to my place. A lot of things have kept me busy since I last wrote and I have the pictures to show it. There are plenty more pics in my other camera, these ones are from my iPhone as it is just that more convenient to use in a hurry. The little Fella is changing daily almost. He is getting cuter by the day and his black hair seems to be growing; in fact his mother thinks it will be curly like hers. That would be so lovely blue eyes and black curly hair.

He looks so adorable and in the bottom pic he looks like he is executing a karate move. :)
He has the most darling, soft fingers, which are long and strong. He is quite tall too, so I think he takes after my side of the family there. I love listening to the dreams and plans they have for this boy. As every parent wishes nothing but the nest for their offspring.

I have been working hard on my latest quilt project and have to report that I finished the quilt top last night. It gave me a few challenges along the way and the unpick-er was near by the whole time, but I didn't need to re-do much at all. I am pleased with the end result, although I am yet to quilt and bind it.

Above the photo shows just one of the many fiddly things one must do when making a quilt like this one. Lots of small cutting. Lot of fiddly piecing. Measure twice, even three times and then it might be okay.

Making up the twelve star blocks, tricky and you must try and be accurate. Well I did try...

Ironing after each step is really vital if you want fabric seams to sit right and it adds a more professional look to the piece. I have skipped the ironing steps and paid the price, I mean there is only so much pulling and tugging you can do in order to make pieces fit.

Okay this is a picture taken of the quilt top before I attached the two borders. I'm not sure why the pic is not a good one, it really does not show the fabric off to it's full beauty. However I am sure that once I have quilted it another photo will be taken.

And this is a pic of 'Neville', the spare cat who resides with us now as it seems his original owners have moved on and forgot to tell poor ol Nev. He is not liked by all of my family, and he can be annoying with his demands but I like him. He sits by me sometimes and sleeps. Though he does get a bit naughty and has nipped me a few times.
I am going to finish up here as I am sure there are other blogs you want to go read. A sing out to my regular readers who comment or email me. I appreciate every connection, it means a lot to me and gives me a real buzz.

Be back soon...

How Fast is this year going

Wow it's Friday again. I think that someone has time on high speed because the days go fast. One of
my daughters informed me that is Christmas in 4 months time and I had to count to make sure she was correct. And she was!

We wont have a full contingent again this year as the second eldest is going to Darwin with her partner for a couple of weeks. However it will still be a nice time due to having a baby to celebrate with. I have always felt that Christmas is more special when there are small children around. Although bub will be just four months old, I am sure we will all have much fun showing him the great things about family and get together's .
I am already planning to make him his first Christmas stocking.

 I have been working on a new project this week. It is another quilt, no surprise there I suppose. It is a pattern I have not tackled before and it is giving me a real big challenge. However I am still in the early stages of cutting out the hundreds of small pieces and then ironing them to try to ensure they ft nicely together. That is one of the many frustrations of sewing when I need to sit down. Usually cutting on a mat with a rotary cutter is done standing up. That way the right amount of pressure and visuals leas to accurate measuring, cutting and then sewing. If you stuff up in the early stages, which I often do then it ends up in me having a huge problem down the track. But I do my best with what I have got, so unless I want to enter a quilt competition, then that's all fine in the end.

I have a friend coming over to visit me soon, and I am happy that she can make time to do that. I really do appreciate that I know good people who don't mind having to come to me all the time. Yesterday another lovely friend visited and it was great time because my daughter arrived with Jacob not long after so she had a nice long cuddle with him. It's amazing though how your arms ache from holding such a little bundle. Of course he slept through the whole lot. He does that, sleeps a lot during the day but at night he is little Mr wide awake. Still he is not even two weeks old yet so that is expected.

Health wise, not much has changed although I have been quite breathless this past month. I am never sure what this is from-the heart dysfunction, lungs or allergies. It makes walking harder and of course I am less likely to want to do it then. On a happier note I am feeling much more content mentally. This is good. I haven't heard form my GP for a while though, but I wont call her unless I am feeling crook. I am waiting on some tests that she was arranging but because they are ones I am not keen on having I am not chasing her up about them. Not smart I know, but my anxiety escalates greatly when I think of the logistics of the scans and the huge potential for shame, as it is a gynecological issue. And it is a male who will be doing the investigation.

Today our middle daughter Emily (in the photo above) drove to the city as she and her friend fly out tomorrow night to Hong Kong for two weeks. Of course I am doing my usual thing and worrying about her driving there, then being in a foreign country. I really love that she is going to new places and that she gets to experience other cultures. I have a dream that I will be able to travel one day when I am healthier. However I do realise that there is a strong possibility that I will never leave this place.

I am sorry to say that some pictures I was going to post are not accessible from this laptop. The bloke recently purchased a new computer for me and now that I have the ipad, this dying laptop and the new flash one, my pics are downloaded everywhere. Once my daughter has time I am hoping she will help me synchronise all three.


All the best,

A Baby is Born

Jacob Philipp Hubon

Born 18th August, 2012

8.07 am

9 lb

Our first grandchild has arrived. He is a little beauty, although maybe not so little at 9 lb. Both mum and bub are doing fine. A midwife did discover he was tongue tied that was interfering with his feeding but the doctor just snipped it and all is well. 

He has stolen our hearts.

So welcome to the family little boy. We hope your future is filled with the best life can offer. We are here for you forever. Your aunties are all besotted with you. They are going to make your life interesting I think.