Monday, November 23, 2009

Good Grief...Talk About Getting Side Tracked....

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post, can someone please tell me where the time has gone... right so I suggest as this is going to be a long post it might be wise to make yourself a cuppa & get comfy & put your feet up.

So I told you all about the painting of the hallway well to be completely honest here it had come to a stand still until this arvo so what happened do I hear you asking??? Thing is I was washing the inside of the front door down while I was waiting for the walls to dry started on the outside of the front door & just kept going. Ended up washing down the front porch then decided *well may as well clean the front veranda. This was no small task as I cleaned *everything* walls, picket slats along the front & side, front of the house, all the beams under the roof, chairs, tables even the decking. So then I decided that it was time to rearrange out there so pulled the bench that was sitting out the back veranda & put it out the front (still have to make new cushions for it yet) moved plants from the front to the back which then led me to cleaning out the back of course so there goes another couple of days......

So then after all this cleaning & reorganising I suddenly had the bug to sew as you will see by the photos below....






They have all been listed on Website & soon to be listed on my Etsy store.....


Ok so after I had finished making the above Chrissie Stockings I decided it was time to get back into the painting after all it had sat there for a while unfinished right... So what do you think happens next.... a heat wave hits us & at temps in the high 30's the paint was drying before it left the brush! This morning I was up early (oh by the way I only have one wall, 4 out of 6 door jambs & the picture rail needs one more coat & it is finished) before the heat hit & managed to get a bit more done, I have given myself until Thursday to have it finished. I was going to do some more at night but after the events of the past couple of nights forget it. So you all want a laugh ok well the other night I'm sitting finishing off some sewing when out of the corner of my eye (I really don't like seeing things out of the corner of my eye) I see something go scurrying across the wall, instant heart palpitation's look over & here's a humongous Huntsman Spider. Sewing gets thrown, TV gets turned off, just about to go out the door when here it comes from behind the door to sit above the door. Instant thought is *Oh come on give me a break I just want to get out of here* I have this fear that they are going to jump down & land on my head - YUCK.... So finally pluck up the courage (we are talking a lot of courage here) to make a dash for the door when I suddenly realise that I have not turned the light off, noooooooooo back in again, another mad dash & then there I am laying in bed wondering where this spider is going to end up during the night, get back up & close all the bedroom doors, just to be on the safe side. So yesterday I get my Darlin' to peep behind all the paintings, curtains & anywhere else I can think that a very large spider could hide but nothing, *Probably long gone* says Mr MP&CC, *But gone WHERE* asks I, *Outside* says he, *Yeah right I was not born yesterday*... So last night there I was up late as usual (I'm a night Owl you know) decide it was time to go to bed, exit the lounge without incident, went to walk out of the kitchen when there above the door jamb was yet another huntsman. This one was not nearly as big so decided the bedroom doors can stay open tonight. Anyway I'm about to get into bed when I look up (since the night before I am now in the habit of looking up whenever I enter a room in my home) & suddenly before I can stop it this low moan which gradually gets louder is coming out of my mouth (we are talking around 2am here). Hubby is woken from what he tells me was quite a deep sleep to find me leaping onto the bed & pointing in the direction of the top of the wall (we by the way have rather high ceilings in this old little Cottage of ours. He looks up to see what I can only presume is Mama Huntsman looking down at us! Me well I have broken out into the usual sweat, shaking & nearly screaming at him to KILL IT. *It wont really hurt you you know* he tells me...... *The bleep it wont hurt me, its doing a pretty good job of it right now, please please please just kill it* So off he goes to get the spray (leaving me in the room alone with the thing) comes back with both spray & fly swatter, gives it a good blast when to my complete horror it drops down onto the floor. Thinking his work was over Mr MP&CC starts to get back into bed. *WHAT do you think you are doing I scream really getting quite hysterical by this stage, *Oh I think I go it* he says, *Well if you got it where
is the body then* asks I. I get THAT look as he gets on all fours looking for it. *Must have gone under the bed* says he, that was it that was the last straw, was about to get off the bed & start to pull it out from the wall when once again out of the corner of my eye I see these yucky long furry legs coming up from the back of my bedside table. Screaming even louder now (oh yeah its about now that Taska is woken & comes running in to see what the matter was) jumping back onto the bed, hubby sprints across the room fly spray & swatter in hand & lunging at it sprays & hits it until it is finally dead. Looking at me he knows what I was about to say next so before I can say anything he scoops it up, dashes out the front door where I hear him saying* The ants can eat you now*. All signs of tiredness by this time had disappeared so there I was
laying in bed (looking all around the top of the room) in the end I read until after 3am before I can get to sleep. This morning I came across the smaller one I had seen last night about to go into my sewing room, Mr MP&CC once again assisted in getting rid of it for me. See the trouble is
if I see one & it happens to be a big one then I just know that its mate is around somewhere & if there are two of them well then it stands to reason that there are going to be heaps & heaps of babies which eventually will grow into big ones & the cycle just starts all over again. I think I am going to have to make a little carry bag or something to put the spray in so I can keep it very handy in case some more of these monsters decide to set feet past either of my verandas which is of course forbidden.
Have I told you our Bonnie had three little *boys* who are now just over 3 weeks old. Will take some photos of them tomorrow so you all can take a peek at them.
Well it is late & I am taking longer to write this due to the fact that every second or so I am checking out the walls for you know what.
Hoping you are all having a Spider free day or night....





A stunning Give-A-Way.....

Rebecca at http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/ is having another Give-A-Way which is open until 6/12/09 US time. Below is the beautiful cushion one very very lucky Lady somewhere out there is going to win....ohhhhhh I just hope it's me, I mean I REALLY want to win this one....

So if you want to be in the running to win pop on over & leave Rebecca a comment on her posts, believe me when you have visited once you will keep going back for more...


I sopose I should wish everyone good luck but na like I said I REALLY want this one...







Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Sweet Chrissie Wall Hangings....

Just a quicky today as the hall is quietly telling me it needs another coat of paint applied to it & the dreaded picture rails are being a bit more vocal telling me they haven't had a coat of paint yet!
So thought I would show you guys what I made on Sunday.... took a break from the painting & made these sweet chrissie wall hangings.... what do you think, will list them tonight...





Little pearl beads have been sewn on to decorate the sweet tree with rhinestones placed as Chrissie baubles....


Rachel Ashwell fabric used for the chrissie stockings, little *jingle bells* ribbon bows & rhinestones have been sewn on....


Ok so a few of you guys have asked for photos of my painting, this was taken yesterday of the hallway, the darker green looks a bit lighter than it actually is. I love the green on the walls but after 10 years of constant washing it has faded & lost its *fresh* look. My Darlin' was a bit upset to see this colour go which surprised me as he has always left the picking of colours to the painter of the house *me*. Anyway its coming along nicely & am hoping to get the walls finished today & some of the picture rails started......

Oh & before I forget our Government in their wisdom have decided this time to give flood relief payments out to the poor souls affected by the floods last week, it made my day....
Wishing you all a great & prosperous day....


























Sunday, November 8, 2009

Am away Painting....

I have been away for over a week now have been flat out painting! I started in the bathroom & have just finished Dylan's room which has gone from *pink* it was originally Taska's room, to cream with white picture rail, skirting boards etc. Looks so much fresher & lighter. Have now started on the hallway & all the rooms will be the same colour. I had forgotten how time consuming doing the picture rails were, 3 coats on the walls is no problem but 3 coats of cutting in with a tiny brush can get very back breaking! I have also painted the furniture in his room white & left drawers & doors in the wood grain.... looking good I have to say....
Our Bonnie had 3 little pups all boys this time & cannot get over how fast they are growing.
Friday was a day of hell in Coffs Harbour, for the FIFTH time this year we flooded again, reporting 294mm of rain in just 24 hours. I cannot tell you just how terrifying it is to race around putting as much stuff up as possible & then just having to *wait & watch* the water rising hoping that the rain will either stop or at least ease off so the ground can soak up the swimming pool that is now our yard. A Fire Engine suddenly turned up outside our front yard with the local CES guys going door to door to see if anyone wanted to be evacuated, nobody left their homes I guess we were all determined to stay & try & keep the water out. We were lucky this time, the rain finally did ease off a bit so the drains could handle the huge volume of water, it had got 1/2" from coming into our Garage again. A lot weren't so lucky. In Gundagai Street where I live quite a few homes flooded, Bray Street looked like a war zone with cars swept away after the creek broke its banks, Gundagai Place where people had only moved back into their homes on Thursday after the March 31st floods only to be flooded once again, it truly is heart breaking. Park Beach Plaza our largest shopping centre which only celebrated 30 years of trading last week was also flooded, as was the city centre. A close friend of ours down the road had a leak in his roof which resulted in the entire ceiling in his kitchen caving in! Yesterday the rain eased even stopped for a while but today it is back, to be honest I think we have all seen enough. So I am now left wondering if our Federal Government will provide Flood Relief for those who have been affected once again, so far the citizens of Coffs Harbour have not seen one cent while other towns & cities affected by natural disasters have, I think it is time they showed support for us up here it will get to the stage where Insurance Companies will not be able to afford to keep paying out.

So I will be away for a while while I get my painting finished......

Hoping you are all having a great weekend...

xxx