A little gem

On my way to Narrabri to collect my puppy, I always drive through a town called Wee Waa. It is always tidy, and you can see the residents take great pride in their town with most houses on the main road done up beautifully. The main street is nicely done too.

Whenever we go through town I tell my husband to slow down so I can have a good stickybeak at the cute weatherboard houses as I go past.

I have always wanted to have a good look at one particular place on the main street as it always catches my eye as it is so lovely.

The fence is quite high and imposing. The gates are locked whenever I go past. But today was my lucky day!

The garden is immaculate and beautifully clipped. The Japanese box hedges make such a difference in keeping it all tidy and together. The fountain to the right is a gorgeous feature too.

I love the iron seats to look at the garden at different angles. It is winter so everything is a bit dormant now. It is a cool oasis from the heat in summertime.

It used to be a convent back in the day. Love the colour of the weatherboards with the white trim. I love it so much because it reminds me of my house (same colours). I think once mine is painted, it will be a close match to this.

To the right of the house is a tiny cottage and I discovered that there is a shop within. It is the cutest shop with loads of beautiful giftware. I oohhed and aahhed to the ladies who own it, and they mentioned they had another room in the main house where they keep their furniture and homewares. I took a look, and it had the most gorgeous lights, mirrors and beautiful furniture within. It was rather dark so I didn't take pics. I eyed off a lovely nickel plated desk lamp, and I really should of bought it. Might have to go back one day soon!

This little pavillion is used for weddings. It's so cute! There were a million tradies inside the main house on the day I was there, so I would love to see it all finished. Apparently there are going to be more retailers in there. I am hoping for a coffee shop, and more space for the ladies with the beautiful gifts and homewares.

I love this archway and main gateway at the front.

I wonder if I can convince someone to make me one?

So pretty!

Lots of ideas to consider for my garden now.

New addition to the family

I picked this little fella up last Monday.....

He is a lovely blue stumpy-tailed cattle dog.

I drove to the half way point (Narrabri) to meet the breeder to collect him. I put the boys on the bus, and told them that there would be a present to play with when they got home from school.

The previous owner was a lovely bloke and his wife had been spoiling him for 10 weeks. How could you not? Just look at him!

He was very good in the pup cage all the way home and didn't yelp once. When I took him out of the car, he ran under the house and hid for a bit. He was a little overwhelmed at first.

The breeder told me that they were calling him Teddy. I thought it really suited him as he is a little softy. We were tossing up between Max and Ted or Teddy. Ted won, and he responds really well to his name now.

My older boys are besotted with him. My youngest boy is frightened of dogs, so he is trying to get used to him being around. He is ok to watch him from inside the house, but he won't go out if Ted is off the chain.

Ted was great the first night we got him. We put him in the chook run and he didn't peep until 6am. The second night when he formed a bond with us he cried and howled and barked for hours. I decided that we wouldn't sleep with him doing that so I let him loose and he slept under the house.

We are slowly introducing him to the chain so he will be able to be tied on the back of the ute without barking the whole time.

So far he has been so beautiful and happy. He smiles at us all the time now, and is a bit more confident too. Due to the boys spending all their days with him. My middle boy gets up and the first thing he does in the morning is to check Ted and say hello to him.

Dash and Albert rugs

Tara from Shabby in Suburbia has a fabulous giveaway on her blog.....

http://shabbyinsuburbia.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/dash-and-albert-rug-giveawaywinton-house.html#comment-form

There are THREE rugs up for grabs on the blog..... and they are all gorgeous!

Have a lovely day!

Citrus trees

We have been looking at putting some citrus trees in for a while, and I have finally chosen some trees.

We have pretty good soil here so it is ideal for citrus trees. My father in law has asked me for years to put more trees in. He even said he would pay for them, as he can't grow them in his black soil at his home.

I put some in at my old house, and they were a bit exposed. They all died due to the massive 2002 drought. The poddy calves that I was trying to keep alive ate every leaf on them, so sadly, they died.

So fast forward to now, and my boys are eating so much citrus fruit I can't keep up!

I put two orange trees, one mandarin and a lemon tree in.

Lemon tree

I have another mandarin to put in once we remove a dead tree that is taking it's place at the moment.

We also have concrete blocks we have to remove. We discovered them underground when we were digging trenches for our water scheme. We dug them out and we think they may of once been a cement tankstand long ago.

Mandarin with mandarins on it - Bonus! Concrete blocks behind it.

My vegie patch to be is next to the citrus. That my be something I will get into next year. Major renovation there!

The dead tree will have to be dragged away

Vegie patch in the making

Can't wait until they grow up!

Painting the house

I have started painting the exterior weatherboards of my house.

The house was painted about 10 years ago and it needs some love again.

The colour on there now is called "Agapanthus". Not sure who made it, possibly Dulux?

The colour I am painting it now is called "Iron Gate" by Taubmans. I had a painter working on the house last year. He did the facsia and vents in this colour for me. I badly wanted him to keep going with the exterior, but as finances dictate - we had to leave it there. It is quite similar to the other colour, but less blue and more softer gray. It should wear better too as it is white based, and won't fade as much as a black based paint. I learnt this while I was picking a colour with the painter - handy to know.

So, the house isn't too flaky which is good as there is less prep to do. I thought I would give it a go.

The old colour is on the left. My new colour is on the right. Very subtle, but I can see a difference straight away.

It is going to take me many months to do it all, I am determined to get the "hot" sides of the house done first because painting in the heat of summer is not my idea of fun!

I started painting the pergola too last year before we moved, but it was harder with a little 2 year old "helping" me. So the time is now, I must finish it off too before it gets too hot to paint it as well.

The pergola is being painted with Porters Paints "Palm Beach Black". I love it so much! It is a matte speciality finish which should protect the posts really well.

The drawback is the expense of it. It costs a bomb for 4 litres, and it sucks in the instant you slap it on. The Pros are no prep needed, Just brush it on!

I have a lot to do.

The Smeg microwave

When we moved to this house earlier in the year, my microwave suddenly stopped working properly.

It was a LG and it did the job, until the turntable stopped turning. It still cooked a bit, but was a bit patchy, with hot spots and cold spots in the food.

So off to Dubbo I went in search of my next microwave.....

I went to Harvey Norman and I looked at a few that they had instore. The price was about $200 - $300 for a decent branded one.

Chatting away, my requirements were...

1. Big internal cavity
2. Cooks evenly and with a few good functions
3. Not too expensive/good brand

So I was checking them all out and I asked the guy what does the Smeg one do that the others don't. He said "Nothing really but I will give that one to you for $300".

So I was sold straight away as the Smeg was $600 and double the price of all the others. I am a believer of "You get what you pay for". So I was stoked that this one was the same as all the others.

I took it home feeling chuffed.

Turned it on to heat some food and.... Nothing.

Would not heat!

So I called Harvey Norman, and told them the story and they agreed to replace my dead microwave. I could not believe that it was a dud before I even turned it on!

So a couple of months later I was able to get down to Dubbo to exchange my microwave. I nearly asked them to test it for me to ensure it worked as I did not want to drive back (2 hours away) to Dubbo again if the next one was a dud.

Holding my breath, I heated a plate of food and SUCCESS!

Very happy with it now, seems to work really well.

Until a week later, I accidentally chipped the glass tray inside clanging another bowl against it.

Chipped tray

Moral of the story?

There is no moral really, but I have decided that I am over mucking around with microwaves.  I can't be bothered going through another trip to Dubbo to get a new tray for it.

Still happy with it anyway - it heats, and that is the main thing!

I have been absent for a while on this blog as it has been busy and back to school too.

These School holidays we didn't go anywhere this time. We awaited the arrival of a new niece and cousin for my boys.

She is rather cute! I can't show pictures, but we were very excited.

As farm life dictates, we waited for a heifer to give birth to her own calf. We were watching her during her pregnancy as heifers usually need help to give birth for the first time.

We thought the minute we went away for a few nights would be the minute she went into labour, and the calf would get stuck. So we stayed put.

We waited all holidays and checked her twice a day, no calf.

Then we got a bit of rain, beautiful rain and she eventually went into labour.

We checked the back end of her, and sure enough the amniotic sac was bulging out, and we left her to do the rest. She managed to give birth without our intervention (which was wonderful).

The little fella is lovely, and the heifer hides him away in the long grass most of the day, so I havn't had a good close look at him yet.

We managed to take the boys to Dubbo for the day so they could see the new Ice Age movie. I was able to buy some new boots - on sale (bargain).



These boots were $225 down on sale to $95 in Myer, last pair in my size too!

I have started painting the exterior of the house (I have no idea how I got roped into that one). And it is a big task! I just want it done, so I can move on to other projects. May take me a few months to get it all done though.

So all in all, a very relaxing, yet busy holiday period.

The old cottage

We have an old cottage that is fairly close to the main house. It has been sold for removal, but the person who bought it still hasn't removed it yet.

We are keen to see it gone, as it will only fall down without love, care and money put into preserving it.

If I had lots of cash I would renovate it fully and use it as accommodation for guests to sleep in. Alas, it in bad shape. So unless we win lotto, it is something we have to let go.

Here she is.

L shaped enclosed verandah with squillions of louvered windows.

This is the side view of the house.

Inside the sunny wrap-around verandah. The paneling would look great all painted beautifully.

The front of the house.

End of the verandah room leading into the front entrance.



The front entrance looking into the laundry to the left. I love the weatherboards too!

The rank laundry. Shower on the right.

The rank kitchen.

The loungeroom, tasty carpet. And that is a fireplace there too.

The master bedroom.

The water system.

As you can see, the house is pretty bad.

It has three bedrooms, and that verandah is lovely in the winter sun.

The whole thing needs gutting and new windows in most of it. The kitchen and laundry need redoing, there is a shower in the laundry too. It would be fanatastic as a guest house, or if you were just looking for somewhere to live before you had children.

It has good bones.

We have sold empty house for removal many times, as we can't keep all of them. Better to have someone take them and do them up into lovely homes, than fall down and be a fire hazard.

Would love to see this one when it is finished!

Vogue Living - Stuart Membery

I picked up a cope of Vogue Living this week and was amazed at what was in it this time. Stuart Membery's Bali Home - and it is gorgeous,

This is totally my aesthetic.

Stunning isn't it?
Love the fresh blue and white colour combo. Such a beautiful looking room to relax in.

Chinoserie elements, island style, a touch of plantation style. A wee bit of Hamptons......... and it is on like Donkey Kong!

I die!

I love that zebra hide bench and the ginger jar lamps. I could happily live with any of his pieces in my house.

If you are like me, and only buy Vogue Living occasionally. Seek out this issue as the photos are absolutely beautiful.

He has a website for more drooling power.

http://stuartmemberyhome.com/interior.php

All pics in this post are from his website.

Jo.