Under the deck progress

It's all coming along rather well under the deck.

The May Day long weekend meant we could have a few days straight of painting the new weatherboards. It's looking much schmicker than the old cream fibro that used to be there.

Under the deck

It still has a long way to go. We still haven't finished painting all the deck joists which were painted in heritage green. It just needs one more coat of gloss white.

Newly painted weatherboards under the deck

We also plan to change the style of French doors we have here, so we haven't bothered to paint them. Jason's keen to get French doors in a hopscotch pattern to match the rest of the Sow's Ear. He's very into matchy-matchy.

Six-light French doors under the house
You can also see the joists under the deck are now white

The whole under-the-deck area needs a good hose down too after all the building work which was done last month. There's a few paint splatters which will come off with a bit of high-pressure cleaning. We'll wait until we completely finish painting this area though.

Here is what under the deck looked like a couple of months ago. Cream fibro cladding and heritage green joists.

We are also on the look out for a cool hose reel or hose hanger to keep things tidier. All our hoses are a big hot swirly mess on the ground near the outdoor taps. It's kind of sad.

Does anyone have some good suggestions about what to get or use? What do you use?

Outsider Art pieces

I finally ventured back to the Monte Lupo ceramic studio - remember when I visited back here? There was a new Mother's Day exhibition coinciding with the launch of a new coffee shop at the on site gallery.

I was very keen to see the new pieces that had been made since my last visit, particularly as I had a child-free afternoon. Many of the pieces were selling very fast.

The word on the street is that other galleries purchase pieces from Monte Lupo to add to their collections. Even some interior designers purchase what is made in the studio to sell in their shops. It's great to see the support that the artists are given.

Monte Lupo provides a career path for people with disabilities who wish to be gainfully employed in creative industries. They employ over 30 people with a disability. The work that they produce in Brisbane is truly amazing - such talented young artists.

Here are a few shots from my lovely afternoon out at the gallery:

Awesome garden sculptures welcomed us at the gallery entrance. These can be used as planter stands or outdoor tables

Life size garden dwellers. The work involved in these pieces is amazing. The ornamentation is individual hand crafted mosaic tiles. They are so unique.

Happy and cheerful tin people to hang in your favourite tree or on your deck

I couldn't resist purchasing a few small pieces which took my fancy.

This piece is by artist Peter Hughes. It was part of a collection of circus audience members.
She is the only other female in the Sow's Ear. I love her pink hair and alert eyes. It is very Reg Mombassa in style.

A gorgeous bird to keep Buster the Budgie company on the deck.
Apparently birds sell fast because they are all the rage. They are predicting fish to be the new birds as the future trend.

This piece is made by Isaac Patmore who is the production coordinator at Multicap. He is a very talented Queensland potter.
This is a small cup - it reminds me a little of Danish style pottery. Very cool.

Up in smoke

It was about 3am when we heard the loud cracking and popping of what we thought were fire-crackers. Why anyone would want to be setting off crackers in the ungodly hours of Saturday morning annoyed Jason to the max! He jumped out of bed, opened our window and was ready to give someone an ear bashing.

He looked out the bedroom window and then he went to the back of the house to go outside. Thirty seconds later Jason rushed back into the bedroom and started throwing on his clothes, "Get up. The house behind us is on fire."

"What? No. Oh my God."

As I raced out onto the deck, I was shocked to see the old timber house which backs onto the Sow's Ear streaming with the thickest blackest smoke I had seen. You could barely even see the house it was blanketed with that much smoke. It was at that moment we heard the sirens of the approaching fire engines.

Jason and I just looked at each other, helpless to do much but watch what was unfolding before our eyes. It was too late to do anything. We had slept through the window of opportunity where we could be of any use to anyone. It is a sickening feeling.

The quick response of fire emergency was such a relief and they contained the fire within minutes. We could hear and feel the steam in the air when they were dousing the fire from the front. We couldn't see anything from where we were, as there was too much smoke.

I took this at about 6am, a few hours after the fire. It doesn't look too bad from this angle except that the roof is blackened and the windows are charred.

The house is rented out. We weren't too sure whether the tenants were there at the time. When I went to have a look later that morning, one of the neighbours told me that there was no one inside during the fire.

I took this shot later in the morning. The fire damage is quite obvious from the front. The police and fire investigation unit were there for most of the day too.
I didn't want to be too obvious taking photos lest they thought I was one of those disaster tourists.

The very scariest thing about this fire, apart from it being too close for comfort, was how silent it was for us. We heard nothing and we smelt nothing until the house was well and truly blazing.

Our children never even woke up. They slept blissfully unaware of all the noises around them - the fire, sirens and neighbouring smoke alarms going off.

Old timber houses and fire are an unhappy combination. We're getting a second smoke alarm for the Sow's Ear after this experience. There is no way we ever want to be caught in a burning house without a fighting chance.

EDIT: I'm including a link to Qld Fire and Rescue's website about smoke alarm placement. It might come in handy for anyone spooked by this post. Link is HERE

Vintage goodies for sale

One of my readers is having a bit of a mid-century/vintage clean out.

Jo who is a graphic designer from Murwillumbah, in northern NSW, has some fabulous stuff that she is selling. I said that I'd help her out with her clear out (because I am such a sticky beak) by doing this post...also I know that some of  you are always on the look out for some vintage goodies. It's also a nice excuse for a Sunday drive for those living in Brissy.

So, here are just some of the things which are for sale privately before they are farmed off to antique centres or ebay...I believe Jo from Murwillumbah may be a bit of a bower bird much like my mate mid-century Jo from the 'Swich given all the photos she sent me. (Seriously there is much, much more!)

mid-century timber shelf

Retro kitchen canisters

There's two of these timber chairs

There are four of these yellow chairs

Retro kitchen hutch

Vintage hats to be sold in one lot. There's more than just this

antique clothes airer

Retro tea/coffee crockery set

So if you fancy any of the things above or if you want to see more of Jo's sale items, make sure to give her a call.

Jo's mobile is 0404 831 353 or drop me a line and I'll send you her email address. She'd love to hear from you.

French style...

Product talk by Nuffnang

Jason was rather glum the other week. It was heartbreaking. I wanted to cheer him up in a way which didn't involve me getting naked...and then I received an email from the Nuffnang Product Talk people saying they would be sending us an iron to test and review.

Perfect! I'll give Jason the iron. What else could a man want? That'll cheer him up.

And it's not an insignificant iron either. It's one of those Tefal steam generator irons which generates, you know, a lot of steam. And it's French. Even more perfect.

As regular readers would know, Jason has a penchant for all things French. French women (that would actually be me as I possess a French passport), Champagne, Peugeot cars (only if they don't break down), and now the 'you beaut' Tefal steam generator iron.

To quote Jason when I showed him a picture of the iron:

"I never imagined there'd be a day when I'd say this, but..... That is pretty cool."

Now this is ironing French style.
Squint and that guy could be Jason with hair, squint harder and that chick could be me trim and taunt.

Poor ol' Jason irons his own work shirts. I used to iron them back in my Betty Draper days, but I saw the light after Son #2 was born. I set out on a path of Constructive Incompetence. Forgetting to iron a sleeve here, burning a hole in the collar there, ironing shirts he no longer favoured...until I was given the sack as Chief Ironer. Take note, my life has been more fulfilling since.

Anyway, the Tefal iron arrived yesterday and did I get the the shock of my life...I hadn't paid attention to the scale of the iron when I looked it up on the website. My frame of reference was our 17 years old iron which is tenuously held together with yellowing masking tape.

This is the old iron. Long past its use-by-date. The shame.

I'll tell you what, this Tefal Pro Express Turbo Iron is one big mofo of a unit (the ghetto talk is seriously the only expression to describe it when you're expecting something more petite). It's the Hummer of the ironing world!

We were sent the Tefal  Pro Express Turbo GV8460 model.
The iron locks into place on the steam generator when it is not in use

So, after reading the instructions I set the Tefal Pro Express up to give it a test run. You basically fill up the tank with tap water, switch it on and get steamy.

For the first time since 2004, I proceeded to iron Jason's work shirts. Not just one, but all of them. I think it was the novelty of the new iron and its impressive steam making capabilities which propelled me to such dizzying heights of domesticity.

Jason's newly-ironed work shirts. He was so happy to see this sight.

The Tefal has a retractable power cord, the iron handle has a trigger which allows you to release steam as you're ironing and it glides effortlessly over clothes. It's as close as you will get to ironing nirvana, if such a place exists. Here is a link to a short (about two minutes) video on how to use it. (It shows you how to vertical steam suits and jackets too.)

Since using the Tefal, I realise just how crappy our old iron was and how inadequate it was for our requirements. It is amazing what you put up with when you don't know what's out there to make life easier.

Don't worry, I'm not about to make a habit out of ironing Jason's shirts full-time, but it will certainly make it a lot easier for Jason to do his own shirts and steam his work suits between wears.

Pre test run, I would never have contemplated buying an iron like this, thinking it was too big and just overkill.

Post test run, I have completely changed my mind. It's a really good product for people who have lots of work or school uniform shirts to iron every week. Like us. Although it is a big outlay initially, it would certainly be worth it.

And remember, it's French. You can Foux Da Fa Fa while you're at it. Repasser!