Whoops...first casualty of the move.

Whoops, look what happened.....

I'm trying to get ahead (sorry no pun intended) with the potential house move, but was a little over zealous perhaps and this is what happened.

I just hope its not symbolic. The father figure losing his head!

I bought this statue when in South Africa, mainly because it was a family of four, all holding hands.
I wanted my family of four to remain close and connected too. So as you can imagine I was rather upset when I swiped it from the shelf.

Things are progressing with the house hunting and potential move, so I'm away to get busy, hopefully not breaking anything else in the process. I'll keep you informed how things go.....

On a different note entirely, I hope everyone - if your into the 'Royal Wedding' -  has a great day today.

It appears my invitation must have got lost in the post...because it still hasn't arrived :-{

The frenzy and hype is being felt even this far from the UK, so I can imagine what its like there.

My Aussie girlfriends are having a girlie night wearing tiaras and hats, which should be fun.

Pop those corks...  

South African Wood

I've began the process of looking and evaluating our possessions for the imminent house move.
Its funny how at certain times or due to different circumstances you can see something in a completely different light or perhaps it reminds you of why it was admired in the first place.

I've always loved wood and this piece certainly holds a few tales within its layers.
It was given to us whilst in South Africa by a friend.

Its supposedly hundreds of years old and it certainly looks like its been around for a while to me.
The textures are incredible and you can even see the grooves and burrows that the residents have made over the years.

I've been meaning to have it mounted onto a plinth to give it the reverence it deserves.

 

Hmm....that reminds me I must go and moisturise.....

Happy Easter to you all....

Happy Easter to you all....
I'm hardly having the usual Easter weekend this year, with it being my son's birthday, house-hunting, and Anzac Day Celebrations all rolling into one.
I did want to bake Hot-cross buns (which would have been a first), but I never got round to it unfortunately. I did however, bake my son's favourite 'Chocolate and Vanilla Cake' as per his request  http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/chocolate-and-vanilla-marble-cake.html
He's not actually had a bite so far due to having partying a little to enthusiastically with his pals!

Enough said... 

On a completely different tangent, here's a guest that just popped onto the decking to enjoy the beautiful sunshine this afternoon. It certainly looks like a Praying Mantis but correct me please if I'm wrong....

It was very strange the way he moved his head round to have a better look at us, whilst I was trying to get up close for the shot!

Maybe he was making sure I got his best side?

His body looked like a folded leaf and although I don't normally like these sorts of beasties, I must admit I had to admire him.

.....but I don't think I'll be wanting one for a pet....

This seasons autumn colours have arrived....

Today was a beautiful autumnal day and I just had to pull over in the car to capture it.

I wanted to take some photo's last year, but before I got round to it, there were a few blustery days and before I knew it, the leaves were stripped. So disappointing.

I don't think they've reached their peak just yet, but I didn't want to miss them this year.

Slightly risky standing in the middle of the road....

This truly was magnificent display
 

These were drying out in the warm sun just by my feet.

They remind me of miniature reindeer antlers

Updates

Whilst on our walk this morning, Muffin and I passed one of the trees I planted back in September 2010. http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post_19.html I planted lots of grasses and trees on that particular Sunday morning as part of the Volunteer Community Planting scheme, and promised fellow volunteers that I'd keep an eye on them all.

As you can see this particular one has come on great over the last year.

If you were part of the gang that day then you may like to see its progress.

Which then got me thinking about other updates that may be of interest

(I really need an excuse to stop looking at properties online)

So here's a few updates...

• What the....http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/what.html the creature made its way up over our window and has been stuck on the wall since March. I'm hoping that I get a chance to see the metamorphosis of this weird creature and have my camera handy. I hope its a little more photogenic than last time.
• The Figs are doing great although I'm not sure when they are ripe so I'm keeping a close eye on them before the possums pounce http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/come-and-get-your-fresh-figs.html
• The avocado is continuing to grow roots although somewhat slowly. http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/avocado-planting.html  No sign of a sprout up top yet but I'm ever hopeful.
• Pooches in Paradise...well the honeymoon did come to an end but Muffy seems to be okay. http://neesienatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/pooches-in-paradise.html In fact, so much so she was having great fun on the oval this morning with 'Billy' from the Block, but don't tell Zac....

At some stage I'd like to get back to some baking, whilst I still have this great kitchen to hand. I have a recipe for some Easter scones that taste just like hot cross buns - yummy and so simple.

Anyway, I suppose I've had a break so its time I got back to the house search.
If I've missed an update on something you have read previously and would like to know what's happened since then, just let me know.

House Move 11 (part 2)

Last weekend was a marathon to say the least.....the clocks ticking on our imminent house move, so we had to dedicate all day Saturday to viewing potential properties. But after viewing 11 homes everything became a blur. My mind was in a spin - all the kitchens, en suites, lounges, entertaining area's etc all merged into one.
My previous record for viewing in one day, was 13, but that was when we first moved to Melbourne and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I think I've learnt my lesson since then and certainly don't want to repeat it.  Eleven viewings took timed military precision, a challenge to say the least.

Perfect houses, perfect plots, perfect locations but unfortunately not on the one property. There's always a compromise, but which is the most important? I've watched so many programmes over the years which give advice, tips and guidelines, but these all seem to disappear when your wanting to choose your next nest. Its a very emotional process.
Isn't location supposed to be the main aspect, but that doesn't help when you find a wonderful house that would be perfect, just if it were possible to uplift it to somewhere else!

I think the males of the species should leave the final nest choice to the females, but then logic can go out of the window, especially when the design is just what your looking for....the fact that its $1,000,000 over your budget doesn't really sink in. Rose coloured glasses maybe....?

Well, other than a divorce (which might well be a factor with the way some discussions go) and having a baby (which quite frankly, if that happened I'd kill him) a house move is certainly up there on the stress- oh-meter! What makes it harder is we don't particularly want to move in the first place :-(  Well not just now anyway....
Enough of this...I need to make progress, so I'm off to wrap some treasures in a box..... ho hum.....

Muff-in-Boots

After I'd washed and polished the wood floor yesterday, Muffin for the first time fell down the stairs. This has never happened before, so perhaps I was over zealous with the mop!

But in my defence, she was in a rush to get down to the front door and worked up into quite a tizzy (what's new?) so maybe I shouldn't feel so guilty?

I had purchased these little sockets for her a few months ago, but didn't feel it was necessary to put them on, but after this mishap I thought I'd give them a go.....

As you can see...she wasn't impressed

I had no idea I'd be in for such a laugh.

She stood still for quite a time unable to work out what was happening. Then tentatively she took a few steps. Each step so over emphasised it was untrue. Like a real strutting prima donna - all that was missing was the tutu. And don't worry I'm not going there!

The socks were enough....

T-shirt Mystery

Over this last year we've had a mystery occur in our house, which really perplexed me...my t-shirts started to have little holes appear in them.

At first, I thought it may be my jeans or belt that had got caught, or horror of horrors perhaps little beasts nibbling the fabric, but then after my constant groaning, as yet another t-shirt was ruined, my son came to me one day to show me he'd also been a victim.

I finally worked it out ...

When my friend told me how upset she was, about her new top that suddenly had developed a hole I had to smile and said "Look I've got one of those too and I know why, it's not unique to you...."

Then a few weeks later, another friend mentioned as her son walked into the room, that he had his favourite t-shirt on, but he had ruined it due to playing with their cat. She thought the cats claws had caught it...now here's a clue, it wasn't the cat....but her son loves to cook?

Are you getting warmer.....?

So there were too many similarities - small holes all located in a similar area on the garment.

I noted that they all appeared at waist height and generally in the centre.....I began to look into everything that came into contact at that level. Days went past but finally eureka!

It was the granite worktop in the kitchen.

Upon running my hand along the edge, I came across an uneven area. My friend checked her kitchen and sure enough there was the evidence.

So if you have the same happening to your t- shirts and tops, check out your kitchen units.

I'm convinced you'll find the culprit!

Case closed.



House Move No.11

Wow what a week that was...

I'm sorry that I haven't posted lately and hopefully you've missed me ;-)

I didn't realise that I wouldn't get any time free for blogging, and before I knew it the whole week and weekend disappeared, so I couldn't give advance warning I'd be away.

The main reason for my absence was I became a headless chicken upon hearing news that the owners of the house we're renting want to move in!

http://www.clker.com/clipart 

I couldn't believe it initially, as we have never had to leave a house before we decided to, but I suppose that's one of the downsides to renting. (This is the first time we've rented and possibly the last for that reason)

But as the week progressed I've come to terms with it and looking positively forward.

Well, there's not a lot I can do other than start looking at what's available out there and packing asap....

I'm going to try and keep cool, calm and collected over this whole process, but this will be our 11th house move and I know how much effort, expense, organising, patience, understanding, not to mention how tiring it can be.

If anyone out there has useful tips or advice to help this be as painless as possible I'd love to hear from you.

I'm thinking of having t-shirts printed with 'Handle with Great Care' because I think they'll be times when I may either blow a gasket or hide under the duvet till its all over....

I'm sure there's going to be quite a few saga's throughout this process but as long as I can remain cheerful and positive plus have a bottle of gin or vodka handy, I'll get through it....

Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted ;-)