I Dream Of:: COMING HOME

Is it that time already. Here I am thinking of all the things that make home Home. I am leaving tomorrow and I can't wait to get there. Not that Starbucks is what I am dying for. Sydney, by far, has a better cup of coffee. Its the company! I can't wait to be engulfed by my family and their hugs and kisses. I miss my four sisters. Their little hang ups, their way with phrases and words. Their quirkiness that were once annoying is now what I miss the most.

I miss the houses in their neat little rows and manicured control gardens. Living in the forrest is a wonderful thing but sometimes just looking out on some simple grass feels so relaxing. I miss the shopping. The price of living and the gentle sunshine.

In fact, the thing I miss the most is my mom. Her smell, the way her check feels when I kiss it. that crapey softness that comes with ages of smiling. I can't wait for her to hug me. To spend hours cuddled up in her bed with her talking till 5 am.

Work in Progress

Another reason why I have been missing in action....

Before and mid job of the lower retaining wall off the entry way. You can see the slope was right up against the porch and how much more space is created by pushing it back. you can also see the misplaced hibiscus...

My husband and I have started the next wall project. Landscaping is still a major need and want for this property. Having built our first wall, we are now ready for the second. Already I feel like the slope is not coming in my front door. Just by removing two meters of soil! This will be planted out almost exclusively in camellia and azalea with good ground cover. I will most likely remove that New Zealand Hibiscus. I am not happy with the look when it dies down and it is in the wrong place! It creates an eyesore in the winter months. Will put it hidden back amongst evergreens so when it dies back it is softer to look at.

Our plans are to enclose the porch and create a foyer, so to speak, as my front doors open right onto the stairs that lead down to the playroom. It makes for a very bad entry where your guests are shuffled between stairs, host, hallway and door. I think enclosing the porch in glass and moving the front doors to the side will open that up considerably. I also don't want to loose the morning winter light I get, So the glass is pretty important to me. Louvers are also being considered here as that is were we get our summer breezes in the humid weather. Without the breeze the house is unbearable at night. on the other side of the porch, by the camellia tree we are trying to keep while building, will be a zen like garden. Or so my husband says.... This is his little space to create on his own without any interference from me! It will be off the dining room and will open up via french doors to the enclosed garden for more light and atmosphere while dining. question is do I want to have the porch open with glass facing that garden? or do I leave that wall solid thereby creating a hidden garden effect that guest don't know about until they are seated? hummmmm.....

We were thinking of paving the concrete slab with sandstone at one point, but now we both are coming around to decking it. Trying to create the illusion of a tree house with a wrap around deck. This will also tie in the back veranda and extension deck on the side of the house to the front. At the moment, I am trying to convince him that wrapping the brick stairs in Decking and using the stone pavers on the foothold would also bring the deck up to the street level as well as warming up the pavers and tying it back into the block and bush rock walls.

Finding so many rocks and having no where to put them, I have built the second Terrace. It will balance out the other side. I have made a little pebbled path for easier access to maintain the slope. and Have just started thinking about plants for spring. What I have planted to date has all been from cuttings or from collecting plants that others have been throwing away on the side of the road for council clean up. Mostly, agapanthus, mondo grass, spider plants (so we call them in the states) and these super great plants that grow well and I just keep dividing every couple of moths. I think they are called moses in the cradle. But I am not sure. Love the dark green with purple underside though. Keeping to purples and greens leaves with splahes of color.

So far, I have only paid for the decorative rocks and the weed mat! I will put up a treated pine boarder to cover the weed mat and retain the soil so it doesn't fall into my gravel. I am very pleased to date with the way this is progressing.

Before and after shots of the first wall.

I put scavenged plants in this bed to maintain them for replanting. I am pleased with the result though! I may fill in more with the zebra plant and the sweet pea plants. I think the inpatients like it here as well. The peace lilies are not happy. May have to just move them indoors.... Will see how they fare this winter. I love cyclamen, I will keep adding more around to the lower bed once the soil is prepared better. At the moment, the lower bed soil is horrible but the Mondo and the Moses in the Cradle are doing well enough.

Missing in Action

I have been bad! Its been ages since I logged on to share all that is happening around here. To make things worse, I am leaving for four weeks to the states on Saturday. Don't misunderstand me, I am thrilled to be leaving. But, I will most likely not post too many times in the next four weeks either. So a quick update to share what has happened in my absence.

As you may recall, this is the start of the remodel back in November. We had a full fledge leak coming from the shower through to the lower lounge room. Extensive damage and not covered by insurance! This was the last thing we wanted to do after just purchasing the house. Finally, after much work and many months of tradesmen. It is finished.

Why did this take so long? Firstly, it was an absolute nightmare! We made mistakes with ordering tiles, even though we had a tiler do the math. We also skimped money with tradesmen. We settled for their off hours between 4-6. And thirdly, after I finally got all the wall in and painted and decided to trim out the mirror. I nailed through a water line! Which meant ripping out a wall and patching and painting and plumbing etc. I was not happy about that. Last but by far the worst! The shower door installation was a joke!! It took weeks. And it was hard work on my part because they kept wanting to do a poor quality work! Round one, they installed the pains of glass off the shower pan line. Insisting it was impossible to hang on the line. Because they installed it off line, they had to re cut the glass. I was not happy with this at all. So when they came back I continued to insist they follow the pan line. It is only silicon. you can glue it at any angle! This was a battle until I had my husband call the company. Once corrected they had to re cut the glass again.

Then they hung the door and missed the stud! They said this was all fine as the tiles would hold the door up. of course they cracked my marble and tiles. The idea of the heavy door pulling on my wall with no support other than tiles was scary. I asked them to remove the door and said I would pad the stud. A task I was not happy about since it required I cut in the through the hall way. Once again I had to get another wall repaired. And can I just add, padding a stud is not an easy task. It took me three tries before I could fit the power drill in between the wall cavity to screw the stud in. Finally, padded I had them re install the door. Which had to be moved over as they now were following the correct pan line.

But, it didn't end there! The installer left the place in such a mess with such a sloppy application of silicon and the door hung lopsided, I once again had to call and complain. it took three more hours for the silicon to be cleaned up, cleaned off my floor, and basin, and the joints made crisp and smooth. For the glass to be cleaned up of silicon and for the door to be hung plum.

I decided last minuet to put this little cubby hole above the bath. I needed something to break the space up and A piece of art in this humid environment was not an option. I made this little box and the plasterer (who was exceptional) put it in for me. Thanks Liam!

What I love about the space. I love the flooring!! unfortunately, my husband doesn't. But it works for young children. It is a wonderful tile surface that has shine and matte areas. It also has a wonderful texture! I especially love the way it accents the honey toned hardwood floor. It reminds me of the way the rocks on a beach look. With bits of gray and sandstone stripes glossy from water and matte from sun and wind. It is perfect as it doesn't show muddy little foot prints too!

I also love the elongated Subway tiles. Not your traditional size which adds a modern twist, but with a classical application.

I have to add before I go. I love the toilet too! Sitting lush against the wall I no longer have to reach around the thing to clean behind it. No little groves and twists to collect dust and other things you find around a toilet. Just clean and solid. I think in the master bath I will try a floating toilet!?