Future Projects

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart.com

I just love these tissue paper pom poms and am determined to have a go at making some.  I have seen them popping up all around the place recently and they just seem to add such a lovely fluffy splash of colour.   I have done an internet search and found an easy tutorial HERE
Perhaps if I get started now I might be able to master the art in time for Christmas. (Yes, I'm giving myself plenty of time.)   White and gold (and maybe a splash of red) - so festive!

Another project that I am just itching to get started on is one of these farmhouse benches which my new blogger friend Tina from Rubies Place recently shared.   Tina (like me) has an absolute obsession with farmhouse benches!

(Image from Better homes & Gardens via Knock Off Wood)

Of course the fact that this one is red is just an added bonus.  Can just see it perched at the foot of my new bed.   The instructions look pretty simple and in any case - it's supposed to look rustic looking!  So I'm sure I'll be fine. 

If only there were more hours in the day (or better still - if I didn't have to work!) there are just sooo many projects I would love to undertake.    

The Many Faces of Dixie Chick

Just how much does Dixie Chick LOVE having her photo taken!  It constantly amazes me just how many comfy spots she can find around the house.  She never seems to stay in the same spot more than 2 days in a row although this particular spot (on the cushions of my sofa) seems to have been "flavour of the week."  I have had to drape a bit of a throw sheet over it for protection.  (I absolutely love my cream linen sofa - but it is HIGH maintenance with our menagerie!). 

"I think I'll just park myself here for a bit whilst you blog away........."

"This looks like an interesting spot to snooze ......"

"Ah yes, these upside down chairs are perfect for me to rest my chin on......"

"Here's another white sofa to shed some fur on........."

Another miserable, drizzly day here in Far North Queensland.  Have had to give the mountain climbing a miss this weekend.  At least I have been able to spend some time on the painting I am doing for my bedroom.  Perfect weather for a spot of painting!  The mountain will be there next week........

A Not So Nice Day

Set the alarm for a bright and early start as I was determined to get to the half way mark on the mountain and achieve my mini milestone today.  Wouldn't you know it - awoke to a drizzly, misty morning.  I couldn't even make out the outline of the mountain - it just looked like white cloud!   I figured it would be just too dangerous up there today - the rock faces would just be too slippery.  Oh well, there goes that plan.  Maybe tomorrow might be a better day?   The thing about living in the tropics is that even on a drizzly, miserable winter's day - at least the temperature is warm.  Nothing depresses me more than drizzly, miserable, COLD days.  Looking around my garden this morning I couldn't help but think that even in the misty greyness of the morning there is still incredible beauty all around.

The bouganvillea is just starting to come into bloom and although I absolutely hate the job of pruning it back every year (and the thorns are a killer!) it does add a beautiful splash of colour to a tropical winter.

Oh well, seeing I'm going to have to give a bit of a miss to anything outside today I think I might spend the day painting.  Sounds like a good plan to me! 

Mini Milestone

For the past 3 weeks I have been taking part in Michelle Bridge's (Biggest Loser) 12 Week Body Transformation Program (aka 12WBT) which basically means I have been following a 1200 calorie a day diet and exercising like a crazy woman!  Today was officially declared "Mini Milestone Saturday" and as a "Beginner" I had to select an activity which would challenge me for at least 1 - 2 hours.  So this was my Mini Milestone - climbing Walsh's Pyramid!  I mentioned in a previous post how the Pyramid has been my nemesis and how every day (for the last 27 years) I have driven by it and (secretly) dreamed of climbing to the top.  Now suffice to say I didn't get to the top - all 922 metres of it, however Julie (my training partner) and I made a pretty good fist of it and managed to get about 1/3 of the way up.   So we were both pretty pleased with our efforts. 

We started the climb at 7 a.m.  There were already a couple of cars in the carpark when we arrived so we knew we wouldn't be the only climbers on the mountain.  Checked out the sign and the base which told us it was a 5-6 hour return trek (you must be kidding!) and then started the climb.   The Tropical Walking Tracks Guide lists the walk as strenuous however Julie and I have decided that this must be a mis-print and it should be listed as extremely strenuous and gruelling!

The first half of the walk passes through open woodland up an ever narrowing spur that gets steeper as you climb.

We passed by a number of large trees which had been burnt out during last summer's bush fires.  We had to keep looking out for the orange tree markers which showed the track.  It would be pretty easy to take a wrong turn however the track seemed pretty well worn so obviously there had been a fair bit of activity up there over the school holidays.  We were actually overtaken (on more than one occasion!) by a couple of crazy people who must have decided that they would go for a easy little Saturday morning jog up the mountain.  Not human obviously!

After a solid 40 minute of climbing and scrambling - we reached a rock which marked the 1K point (approx 300 metres altitude).   We decided that this was a pretty significant milestone to reach.  So, after giving our lungs a bit of chance to catch up to our breathing - we started the descent.  The views on the way down were spectacular. I truly felt like I was "on top of the world!"

 It was such an exhilarating experience and Julie and I are definitely hooked.  Next Saturday our goal will be to get to the half way mark (approx 450metre altitude).  With a bit of luck my ageing knees will hold up okay - will have to mega dose on the Fish Oil capsules this week!  

Anyone for Drinks?

One of the things I love about being at home on holidays is having the time to browse through  thrift and decorating shops looking for interesting pieces of furniture.  On one of my expeditions this week I managed to find this gorgeous  "Drinks table" on sale.   Now I don't really see why? it was called a "drinks table" -however  I think it looks perfect in the corner of my new bedroom.   I am now on the lookout for a cute table lamp to finish it off.
My holidays are fast coming to an end - back to work on Monday.   I am really happy with all the jobs I have managed to get done.  Bedroom painted and new flooring laid;  new bed installed;  revamp of old chest of drawers.  The bedroom is still a bit of a work in progress - new bedspread on its way, floor rug to be found; white timber shutters for 1/2 window and some artwork (which I am currently in the process of painting) for the space above the bed.  However, all in all I feel quite chuffed with what I have achieved.

Still to come :  New quilt;  white timber shutters;  floor rug;  lamp; and artwork above bed!

The red check cushion was another bargain find - $10!  It looks a bit "odd" here but it will go perfectly with my new quilt and linen.  Dixie Chick loves the "new look" bedroom as well.   I will post updates as soon as I can although I am not going to have the time I have had over the past couple of weeks to primp and preen at my leisure.  If only I didn't have to work,  I could I restyle a room every fortnight!   I can but dream........

Chest of Drawers Makeover

It was this set of drawers (in Harvey Norman's showroom) which gave me the inspiration to transform a chest of pine drawers which had been sitting empty in Adam's old room.    At the time I bought the drawers, which from memory was about 17 years ago, pine was all the go and they used to  look so stylish in the corner of his room with his dinosaur collection perched proudly on top!  Over the years the pine has turned a rather ugly honey colour and a couple of the round pine knobs had fallen off and were no longer around and I was seriously considering including it in a pile of un-used furniture  I was planning to donate to Lifeline.   As luck would have it - I just couldn't part with it.   .  All those years of opening and closing the the drawers;  putting away Adam's clothes;  dusting his dinosaur collection.   It was like a member of our family - I just couldn't part with it.  A makeover was definitely in order.

So off came the remaining knobs and a bit of carpentry repair to the drawers to secure some loose ply base boards.  Then a liberal scrub with metho to remove the residue of old footy stickers which had been stuck to the sides and a light sand to prepare it for the undercoat.  A couple of coats of white paint later and some beautiful new glass handles and you wouldn't recognise it......

It looks perfect in my newly painted bedroom.   Such a fitting spot for an old friend!

New Flooring - Finished!

Well, my knees will never be the same again after completing the laying of my new bedroom floor!  Finally the job is complete and I am absolutely thrilled with the result.   After giving lots of thought to the "type" of flooring I wanted, I eventually decided on timber black bean planks.  I did consider laying carpet however given the fact that our menagerie (Mickey, Buffy, Dolly P and Dixie Chick) have the complete run of the house, the timber planks seemed the most sensible option.  Although I love the idea of carpet,  past experience has taught me that carpets and pets don't "go" all that well and I needed something which was going to be cool in summer and easy to keep clean. 
So, this is what I started with - 15 sq. metres of hard (extremely!), cold concrete.

The trickiest part of the whole project was just working out "where" to begin.   After what seemed like an eternity of measuring and re-measuring I finally established a starting point and then set about laying the planks.
This is where I got to at the end of Day 1 - about 1/4 way!  Oh my knees.... they were so red and bruised so I decided that drastic action was needed for Day 2.  As luck would have it I managed to find an old pair of cricket batting pads in the shed - bliss!

Day 2 and with cricket pads firmly strapped on I embarked on the next stage of the job.  I was determined to have it completed by the end of the day and worked like a woman possessed.   I must admit, there were (many!) times throughout the day when I seriously questioned my sense motivation to embark upon this mamoth d.i.y. project - "I must be crazy........" however never one to be daunted and spurred on by my belief that "There is absolutely nothing that women can't do!" - I pressed on.   I was soooo relieved to finally get to that final row and find that I only needed some minor cutting to get a good fit -  so all my measuring had paid off.

So here it is - the finished job!  I am so happy with the result and can't wait to get started on the next stage of my bedroom transformation.