Sarah's birthday

Well a little bit of 'non house stuff'. Sarah turns 12 on the 23 May but we had a birthday celebration yesterday for her as she will be with her dad next weekend.

Saturday was shopping day and she was given a budget so that she could buy whatever she wanted. Twilight is the big 'thing' at the moment so you'll see by the pics below that a lot of things were Twilight related!!

Sunday was a low-key lunch with Poppy & Nana Liz, Aunty Min (Godmother) and the Ho (aka Kirstie). She's having a big birthday bash with her school friends next week so we didn't want to invite kids to 2 birthday parties. The day was a good one though and she seemed to enjoy herself.

Another year closer to becoming a teenager!! Yikes.

Sarah

Me and Kirstie (aka the Ho)

Sarah in her much beloved Twilight t-shirt

Aunty Min (my BF), Nana Liz (step mum) & Poppy (my dad)

Paving ... harder than it looks on TV!

Well yesterday was a very productive day. The weather was absolutely beautiful so it was time to give these pavers a go. After this experience, all I can say is tradies are a god send (if we could afford one!!). Laying the pavers was easy ... it's getting the bed of sand perfectly flat that is the impossible task. We decided that when it comes time to do the main patio area, we will definitely hire somebody qualified to do it.

So our path is almost done .. we didn't quite get finished yesterday so hopefully John can finish today or tomorrow.

It's not perfect .. but neither are we. And I figure that when the water feature is done and garden beds are planted, you won't notice how wonky the paving is (let's hope not anyway).

Pics below to tell the story of the day.

Oh Mr Hart - what a mess!!

This sucks - why can't I pay a little man to do this!!!

Well I've done that bit ... now what will I do!

It's dodgy ... but it's ours. The larger area on the left sits outside the formal lounge.
The paving will be surrounded by plants and will be a a seating area.

Looking from the water feature

My only backyard plant! Magnolia Kay Parris - 2 flowers soon to bloom.

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel I see?

Yesterday was officially 'Wacker Packer Wednesday' at our house.

I decided to 'work from home' (read: help John in the backyard) as he is in Tassie this weekend so we wanted to keep progress going.

We managed to get all of the road base layed for the path and then hired a compactor (we call it a wacker packer). We also took the opportunity to get the road base laid properly in path at the back of the house next to the grass.

The pond is also in... that was a pain in the *ss trying to get that level I can assure you. It's out of level by about 1-2mm but we figure nobody is really going to notice. I sure hope not anyway!

J's off to Tassie this afternoon so his jobs this morning are:

1. Bring sand in to make a bed for the pond to sit on
2. Attach sheets to the side of the pond
3. Sand join in feature wall

If this gets done I will hopefully be able to at least get the sealer on to the boards over the weekend (well, Sunday is going to be horrible weather so I'll aim for Saturday).

Then if all goes to plan, J will start laying the pavers next week.

Then it's just a matter of painting, bringing in some good soil and mulch and that will be all we can do for now until we save some more money. I've picked out the urn I want that will sit in the water feature and I know what plants I want as well. Ideally I'd like to have all this done by winter but $$$ will play a big factor.

Anyway ... it's all going really well and looking just how we planned it. Very exciting!!

Forgot to take photos yesterday so will do so on the weekend.

Our own Backyard Blitz

It seems that Backyard Blitz has come to Lyndhurst.



Unfortunately not the TV show but our own little "non-handy-man" version of it!!

We were going to commence works on Tuesday (following Easter) however given that the weather was too perfect we decided that a bike ride was far more important.

So the real work began on Wednesday. A few trips to Mitre 10 and Bunnings throughout the week to pick up wood, nails, screws, woops ... wrong nails, go back and get the right ones ... you get the picture ... has resulted in some great progress.

The backyard looks a bit like a bomb site (you'll see below) but it really is starting to come together.

We were actually waiting on a couple of things to be delivered before we could move into the backyard so a lot of the work was done in the shed. The poor bikes copped a beating of sawdust on day 1 & 2 but the result is a pretty sturdy frame for the pond insert. John did a great job of the frame and you'll see over the next few posts how it all comes together.

By the way .. the pond isn't actually going to be a pond .. it will be a water feature.

The pavers arrived on Friday morning (woo hoo) and I am really really happy with them. They are perfect for what I wanted. Frickin' heavy though!!! They are 20kgs each paver and I moved about 1400kgs of them into the backyard. Boy was I in a world of pain that night!

These 2 pics show the mess that is currently our backyard although the dogs are loving having lots of new things to smell every day. They certainly enjoyed us being outside for the week.

Yesterday we headed to Bunnings to get some sample pots for the screen and the water feature sides. This is the bit I like ..... seeing some colour! We had originally decided that we would have a red feature wall behind the water feature however I think I'm going to go for this plum colour. Kind of hard to see but it's a lovely deep plum and then the walls of the pond will be the green (as you can see below). We went with green on the sides because we already have a green screen in the BBQ area (you can see that screen in the photo above).

Zach wouldn't get out of the way for the pic below so you can just see the top of his head!

For those that have been following our blog for a while you will know that J & I tend to have some ripper discussion/arguments when doing stuff in the backyard .... generally we can laugh about them after. You'll be pleased to know that there was only one major meltdown .... quite good I think!!

Stay tuned for more pics!!

New benchtop, an ass groove and finally some landscaping

Well after my 'negative nancy' post not so long ago, I thought I'd post again with some better news.

No, unfortunately J still doesn't have a job.

The couch however, is getting an awesome workout so much so, I have to keep asking him to sit in different seats each day so that we don't get an ass groove in one seat (and yes, it would be the chaise!!).

The new benchtop FINALLY got installed last week and it's nice to have a benchtop that has no scratches on it!!! It's been in for 5 days now and not a scratch on it so the last one was definitely a dodgy bit of manufaturing.

And the other good news (well good for me, not so good for J because we know how much he loves landscaping with me) ... our Easter break will involve laying a path, building a water feature and moving in some mulch!!! I'm very excited.

How did this come about?? Well I was fortunate enough to get a little bit (and I mean 'little') of a bonus from work. So I figured 'screw it'. It's a bonus ... it's not effecting any bills or anything else so I'm going to spend it on some landscaping. I've made a deal with J that I will budget so that we can do as much as possible in the little area from the side gate to the patio area. This will involve a path, build a water feature and put some mulch down. Unfortunately I don't think there is going to be any money left for plants but we'll wait and see! I dragged both J and the child down to Pots Galore and Garden World yesterday and I think we found the pot for the water feature. The pavers will be ordered this week (hopefully) so that they arrive by Easter.

So while the main patio area is still not finished with the paving, at least the weed infested area next to the patio should like nice.

Stay tuned for photos and the arguments that will come out of this little exercise!!!!! lol

2009 ... going downhil!!

Yep - it's been a LOOOONNNGGG time since I posted.

Basically, since we arrived back from Tassie after the Christmas break life has been a blur of work ... go home... have dinner ... sleep .. and start the cycle all over again. My work is flat out and I've been putting in 11 or 12 hour days which as you all know, becomes very tiring after a while.

J lost his job a couple of weeks after we got back from Tassie and has still been unable to find work. It's a really bizarre feeling having the economic crisis hit us (which probably sounds bizarre in itself) but generally, we just keep on going and feel sorry for all of those that it effects. Now it is actually effecting us. Because of the type of work J does (and in the mining sector) he's struggling to even find work interstate.

So, with just one salary, child support to 3 children, mortgage and the other bills, you guessed it .... no pavers ... no more plants ... no landscaping. Sigh.

On a positive note however, the new couch did arrive. We were considering cancelling the delivery when J lost his job however it would have cost at least 50% of the cost of the couch so we just figure 'stuff it' (much harsher word used mind you). It is unbelievably comfortable so we figure when we have no money, we can close the blinds to block out the lack of landscaping and eat baked beans on our lovely couch. Ha ha.

I don't have Sarah this weekend and John will be sailing on Saturday so I'm going to use some of the day to catch up on everybody's blog!!! I can just imagine what I've been missing out on seeing!!!

New year ... new couch

OK .. so a long time between posts... but also there has been nothing of note to report on over the christmas break!!

Our lawn looked very sad when we got home from holidays however a little bit of water and a mow it has picked up and looks lovely again.


The garden beds held up well with no love or water over the holiday break, to the point that I need to prune some back as some are looking a bit tatty. My brown thumb has definitely turned a very light shade of green.


One very exciting thing that has happened is that we ordered our couch for the family room!! Woo hoo. We had been looking at it for a few months and always anticipated to order it around March/April but for whatever reason (and who am I to question the reason!!), we went into Freedom on the 28th and placed the order. I think the 10 week delivery got us across the line because we figured that if we were to order in April it would be middle of the year before we get it.

And my (very large) backside cannot bear to sit on the old blue couch for much longer I can assure you!!

The old couch has been good to us however (Sarah's dad and I bought it about 12 years ago) so it's time to go somewhere else. I'll give it to the Salvos and maybe somebody will be able to use it. For an old couch it is still in pretty good condition ... really only needs new cushions to make it comfortable again.

So why don't we just do that I hear you ask? Well, it's blue ... and there is nothing blue in the house.

So other than that .. nothing to report. We haven't heard from the carpenter about the kitchen benchtop replacement yet so hopefully that will get done sooner rather than later.

Andy out.

Merry Christmas to one and all

Well, almost another year over. Boy I hate getting old!! The years just seem to roll on and I never seem to do half the things I wanted to do.

2009 is going to be a great year for us.

Sarah starts at a new school next year (Grade 6) in preparation for high school in 2010. She's growing up to be quite the young lady. Like any spoilt, only child, she has a rotten attitude at times and gives us all a lot of grief - but she's a pretty good kid (bias mum talking probably).

My job is changing and I am looking forward to seeing how that plays out. Economically, just like most other businesses, we will see some tough challenges but I'm pretty happy to be here and to work through the tough times with my team mates.

J continues to work at the same place (yay!!) although he has warned me he may be off to Perth for a few months next year. Hoping that doesn't happen but will wait and see.

Tim & Chris (J's kids) are growing up fast and we are hoping to see more of them next year. Although Hobart isn't too far on the plane (takes longer sometimes to get to work in the morning!!) he still continues to have issues with his ex so we can't always arrange for the things we'd like to do with them. The kids arrive tonight for 8 or 9 days so J is pretty excited.

And finally, my 2009 wish is to purchase our pavers. Yes yes ... I had to say something didn't I!!!! I'm hoping that once the patio area gets done, we can complete the rest of the backyard and then finish off the front yard. I imagine this is going to take most of 2009 but my goal is to have all landscaping done by christmas 2010 (with the exception of the pergola which should get done in 2011).

So to those friends and loved ones that read our blog because distance keeps us apart ... and to those cyber friends that we have met throughout the year and continue to build friendships, we wish you a spectacularly merry Christmas ..... joyous New Year celebrations ..... and a 2009 that brings you love, prosperity and happiness.

xxx

A new benchtop ... eventually

At our 1 year inspection (waaaaay back in June) we asked PD to replace the kitchen benchtop.

Why? Because it showed up every tiny little mark and you couldn't even put a bottle of wine on the bench without it leaving a ring.

After the first few months I thought that maybe it was because we chose black and it just shows every mark, however I was assured that regardless of the colour, it shouldn't be doing it.

So after 5 or 6 visits (can't remember now) ... from 5 or 6 different people .... ranging from PD, to the cabinet maker, to Parbury, to Parbury's boss to the uncle of the man that knew the guy ...... anyway .. you get the picture. Everybody that looked at it said "yeah .. it shouldn't be doing that". Then I would go through the pain of explaining that I don't cut things on the benchtop, I don't clean it with bleach .. blah blah blah.

Anyway .. I was starting to think that it would never get fixed and I'd have to put up with a horribly marked looking benchtop for the next 10 years ... but yay ... we finally had approval that they would replace the whole thing and they will give us a call after we get back from holidays. Should take 2 days at the most apparently.

I did try to be a bit cheeky and ask for an upgrade to the benchtop and to add the waterfall bits that everybody has now (love love LOVE those) but I was very quickly told no. I said I was happy to pay for the upgraded bit but the phrase 'tell her you're dreaming' comes to mind.

You have to try don't you!!!

Christmas is almost here

Well after my little meltdown yesterday, I thought I'd post some christmas cheer.

Our christmas tree is up!! Yes, I'm one of those people that puts the tree up as early as possible and the carols start piping through the house for weeks on end.

While I'm still very disappointed that the paving area won't be done by Christmas, I figure if that's the worst thing that is going wrong right now ... I'm doing OK.

And of course J's consoling efforts last night consisted of the phrase "Don't worry too much about the pavers darling, at least I can ride my bike".

One day Alice ... pow ... right in the kisser!!!! :-))

Not bloody happy Jan

Just rang to order the pavers.

None available until January.

Am I pissed off? Too bloody right I am.

Where's Jan so I can smack her in the head.

007 Movie review

So firstly, we get stuck in the storm yesterday afternoon heading to the cinemas. Fortunately I had bought my wet weather pants a couple of weeks earlier so I was completely dry when I got there .... poor Scarlett copped a thrashing by the weather.

Note to pant manufacturers ... when you add an 'x' to the size, it doesn't just mean that the person is getting taller!!!!

So we arrive ... pick up our tickets and head into Gold Class lounge. Greeted by a lovely young lass who gives us a table and the menu.

They had a deal .. 3 course for $40 so it actually worked out cheaper to do that because 2 courses was only just under that by a dollar or so. There was the first mistake ... I was so full at the end of the movie I could barely move. Felt like I'd already eaten christmas lunch!!!

Anyway ... I'm digressing.

Movie starts (mind you we didn't know it was the movie, thought it was a trailer).

Now I'm not going to give anything away other than this:

1. The man is so completely sexy it's ridiculous
2. One major flaw of the movie is that he only takes his shirt off once
3. The writers seem to be moving away from the typical Bond traits (ie. bombs in the wheel arches of the car, a hat that turns into a grenade .. you know, all that sort of stuff).

Personally I didn't think it was as good as Casino Royale, but it was still a good flick. Loads of action and the bad guys seem to be getting uglier and creepier so that's all good.

So in my very humble opinion ... if you love action films, go and see it. If you love the traditional Bond movies, then you may be a little disappointed.

Still .... beats 2 hours of laying pavers. Oh that's right ... we have none to lay.

:-)

Insert drool here .....

Tonight ......

Gold Class .......

James Bond .......

No more to be said. :-)

'Boral' has arrived

Well she's here. John picked up his new love on Friday afternoon and went up to the Dandenongs with my dad to celebrate.

Unfortunately the weather here in Melbourne on Friday night/Saturday was somewhat similar to a Hollywood verison of really bad weather, so he couldn't get back on and ride her until yesterday.

We went out for breakfast, picked up Dad and headed to Marysville, through the Spur and back home again.

John on his baby

The bikes at Marysville


The 3 bikes - Dads (BMW), Scarlett and John's beast

So in keeping with tradition, John decided that he should name the bike.

My suggestion was Boral or Austral Bricks so that it continually reminds him that everyday he rides what should be, my pavers!!!!

Sorry husband ... the public have a right to know

Dear friends, I have been banned from posting this particular post today ... however ... I'm going to do it anyway because it still makes me laugh (some 14 or so hours later).

So J tells me that we need to leave work early on Tuesday so that he can collect his bike. No problems. Discussions about how he would need to drop me off to work in the morning took precedence over the usual discussions such as "what do you want for lunch today", "can you please pick up your shoes" and "oh my god, that stinks .. what the hell have you been eating".

We decided that Scarlett wouldn't be able to hold two tubs of lard such as ourselves, so the only reasonable option was for me to ride the Honda back home again once he'd collected the ZX. Never mind that the poor car sits in the driveway day after day, feeling lonely and left out.

Tuesday arrives and throughout the day numerous emails and phone calls end with 'I'm so excited' and 'T-x hours to go before I collect my bike'.

J arrives at work to collect me ... off we go.

Arrive at the shop (that coincidentally doesn't look anything like a landscaping shop with pavers), sign some pieces of paper, have a chat to Steve (the bike guy) and he says "OK mate, thanks for that ... I'll send the paperwork in tonight".

There is a brief silence ............... awkward ................... and J asks "so .....can I have my bike".

Now at this point ..... J's face replicates the happiness of the face below:

Steve then says "nah mate .. we have to wait until the finance company sends the settlement certificate through. You should have your bike by the weekend though".

Cue face below:

I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time. Nothing like a good belly laugh to finish the day off.

A post for Carolyn

Boy was it hard finding a pic of our bathroom!! Had to go WAAAAAAY back to when the house was first being built. This pic was taken while the house was still being built which is why you can see writing on the glass!!

On another unrelated house point, the paver bike is being collected today. Pics to follow tomorrow no doubt :-)

The BBQ works ... and 2009 has come very early

As J posted last week, we were held the inaugural BBQ for some of our friends on Thursday night. Yes that's right ... the night the storms were due in Melbourne.

We're not too bright really.

I forgot to take some pics just before people arrived - ie. when the cushions were on the chairs, candles lit etc etc. so I've posted the 'pre' photos. You get the idea anyway.

Before it rained, it was very very pleasant being outside. We had whacked down the crushed rock with the machine thing from Bunnings so although the top layer of stones was loose, you didn't sink into the ground or anything. Feels quite solid. Dad reckons it is good for us to walk on it and let it settle for a few weeks anyway to give it a really good base for the pavers.

J did a great job at his very first BBQ, only burning a couple of rissoles (which we decided to use as hockey pucs the next day).

When the rain hit everybody did a great job at picking everything up and bringing it inside in record time. Only wish I had the camera handy when J was outside in the rain, in his sailing jacket cooking the meat while we were inside enjoying lots of laughs and wine, champers and beer. Was a very funny sight.

Now you may be wondering what the title of my post means .. '2009 has come very early'. It's come very early for the man of the house ....... see below. Delivery is hopefully on Friday.

Zen, high finance and the art of BBQ assembly

Howdi Folks, J here,
I don't know what came over me last weekend but in a fit of marital bliss I went and signed away my soul to G.E. money for a BBQ. It is apparently 'interest free' for 12 months, but I will be paying it out well before then thus avoiding the opportunity for them to charge me 1 years interest on day 365 + 1 at the highway robbery rate of 29.45% !!

The really good bit is that I got 'pre approved' for a limit of $10,000 and am expecting a card in the mail any day now that will allow me to pull that limit out of an ATM machine (again at 29.45% + a 3% withdrawal fee!!)

Pigs arse !! I got bitten by this sort of thing once before as a lad and came to within a hair breadth of bankruptcy..... so thanks for the offer Mr G.E. money but no thank you.

Anywhooo, having gotten that rave out of the way A and I consulted the astrological and biorhythm charts, called a meeting and decided that we would put the BBQ together on Sunday arvo after a good shag, going out for breakfast and a quick ride through the dandenongs on Sunday morning to make sure we were both feeling happy with each other, thus minimising the chance of any arguments during the assembly process.

Such was my commitment to the cause that I even let her ride my bike for part of the ride!!

As a result of this preparation and my masters degree in Ikea furniture assembly from the university of Stockholm (Cranbourne campus) the assembly of the BBQ went well (as did the turf laying once I mastered the concept of 'brown side down, green side up'), with the exception of one 'I told you so' moment from A and a slight hole misalgnment problem, the sort you would expect to get from a chinese guy who is getting paid 50c a day to build BBQ's for some capitalist.

As it turns out Getting A to 'help' me put the BBQ together was a good Idea because we had a heap of nuts and bolts left over and if she hadnt supervised the job and if I hadnt put together the BBQ as per the instructions of A, I would have been accused of doing a shonky job of it.

As for pictures, well there are none, but it looks like every other trolley BBQ in the world apart from the cross threaded screw at the bottom of the left hand side but that only adds charm. So look out for a picture of it when we get our pavers down.

The BBQ christening is set for thursday night when we have people over for dinner and yes of course, rain is forcast ..........

Cheers

J

Bike porn and a new lawn

Our extra long weekend started on Friday afernoon when we headed to the Motorcycle Expo at Jeff's Shed. J calls it 'bike porn' as we drool over the things we can't have!!!!

His mission was to find his Kawasaki ZX14 which he wants to move on to ... ha ha, did I laugh when I saw that it was in the very back corner therefore it would be one of the last stands we looked at!!!

My goal was to check out my upgrade ... the Honda VFR800.

So here they are ....

John on his new 2009 baby

Andy's upgrade (hopefully)

So, on to all things 'house'.

Saturday morning saw us up at 6:00am to move the last cubic metre of dirt into the backyard before the grass arrived ... which was due at 7:15am. Dad was then to arrive at around 8:00am to help us level the dirt and lay the turf.

Well the turf arrived at 7:00am ... loads of noise just for the neighbours!! How they must love us. Then when the guy left again at about 7:20am, J decided to shout "it's OK neighbours .. you can go back to sleep now". oh the shame ... the shame!!! :-)) (Cathy from across the road did have a giggle about it on Sunday when she told me that she heard him). It's a good thing I love him hey!!

I have also decided that the TV shows like Backyard Blitz, that have 20 minutes to spare and no turf laid .. and then all of a sudden it is done in time ... is more bullsh*t than I first realised. There is absolutely no way in the world they can lay turf as quickly as they reckon they do. Not properly anyway.

We finished just after lunch .. and our lawn area is really quite small!!!

Anyway ... the first hour or so was preparing the soil. Dad bought his contraption down that levelled the soil really well ... we then put the 'starter fertilizer' they give you (I think it's a mixture of fertilizer and water crystals) and then it was time for the turf.

Progress pics below. The first pic is to remind you what it was a month ago.....

The lawn area 1 month ago

Soil levelled and fertilized ... first rolls of turf ready to go

Brickwork pattern working well

Da daaaa ....... all in. J making sure the lawn gets a good drink

Another shot ....

and a close up shot

We were completely knackered on Saturday night ... those rolls of turf are dam heavy, but we both agree that the work was worth the effort.

Can't wait for some plants to go in the garden bed and the path to be done!!!

Next time on the 'Adventures of J & A in the backyard', hear how J puts together his new BBQ with a screwdriver, a Bundy and lots of nagging from A.

The front garden

Well all of our attention of late is on the backyard and my poor little front yard is feeling very neglected.

So ... I thought I'd show you how my plants are doing. Now, please excuse all the mess around these beds as we have to re-do the path to the front door and fix other parts of the front as well ... so don't focus on the mess. Just focus on the healthy plants :-))