All quiet on the renovating front and a privacy latch

It's been very quiet at the Sow's Ear. The incessant renovating has ceased for now as we consolidate our money for more renovating in 2013. With the school holidays in full throttle, poor ol' Jason fighting a man-flu and a very busy social calendar, renovating is taking a back seat.

There are always lots of small jobs we do but they seem so inconsequential and unworthy to dedicate an entire blog post to them.  But some of those insignificant jobs are quite life changing...

For example a week ago, Jason installed a privacy latch onto the bathroom door. Our only bathroom is a combined toilet and bath. As you can imagine in a bustling family household, it is an 'in-demand' room.

privacy latch

The door lacked a lock. Lockless. There used to be a barrel bolt on the inside but we removed it fearing the children would inadvertently lock themselves in.

So for the past three years we have been accidentally walking in on each other as we performed our ablutions. It has not been an easy three years.

I developed a clearing-the-throat nervous cough at the sound of approaching footsteps to signal that the bathroom was occupied.

Son #2 developed a hysterical "Close the door!" scream.

Son #1 developed a nervous post traumatic bathroom twitch as he is extremely modest and would be in tears if someone caught him mid-stream.

And heaven help anyone who dared walk in on Jason as he sat on the throne. He used to cut us down with a murderous stare and be cranky for the rest of the day.

The only one immune was Son #3 who, at age four, is entirely comfortable with an audience and gives us a running blow-by-blow commentary of his toileting experience.

The privacy latch has proven a complete success. It may look a bit public toilet, but sometimes function outweighs form. (You can get some awesome repro brass locks from the UK here if you want to have something fancy)

Again, it is the small things which make a big difference in a renovation. A peaceful wee is all anyone really wants, isn't it?

Xmas gifts for under $50

Where has the time flown? I am so ill-prepared for the onslaught that is Christmas and have barely bought any gifts. And I think I've left my run a bit late for most online retailers...

So if you are a bit like me and have left everything to the last minute, and still don't know what to get for hard-to-buy-for relatives and friends, pay attention. All of the suggestions are independent, as none of these businesses had the foresight to contact me and pay me. Shame.

Just click the image captions to be whisked away to find out more.

A good wooden cheese board will never go astray in an entertainer's home. A nice vintage one would go down a treat but who's got time to fossick in mid-December?  Go to Myer first thing in the morning and buy this one. They have other cheese boards but this one is on sale, and you should never pay full retail if you can avoid it.

image and more information here

And if you team it with a cooler pack filled with Tarago River Shadows of Blue cheese from Coles Deli then you will have a friend for life.

For a new smart phone case go to The Dairy and check out the patterns from Keren Brown. Her pineapples and cockatoo cases are fun and summery. She's a Queensland gal too which will make your purchase feel very local, warm and fuzzy.

Image and more information here

I've only just discovered this Brissy online store called Everingham and Watson. They have a lovely assortment of Australiana that greatly appeals to me. And who can dislike an acrylic pineapple decoration to make your Xmas tree authentically Queensland?

image and more information here

As Christmas is focused around entertaining and summer get-togethers, you ought to have a big 9 litre stainless steel bowl which you can either fill up with ice and champagne or a retro punch. It is much nicer looking than the Coleman's esky if you are wanting to impress.

Image and more information here

Turkish towels are all the rage. They are made from a thin, super absorbent cotton weave which makes them light weight to carry and quick to dry. I say that is a great thing for those hitting the beaches and pools this Christmas. 

Image and more information here 

If you are really, really stuck and don't know what to get the person who has everything (ie a complete hoarder) and doesn't need more stuff, why not give a charity gift? UNICEF have a great range of charity gifts to choose from that will hopefully make a small difference.

The measles vaccine to protect 100 kids is bang for your buck at $27.

image and more information here

There you have some ideas to get you thinking but don't dilly dally.. You really have no time to waste!

Merry Christmas shopping.

A winner

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Bunnings giveaway. Sadly, only one person can win and that person is.....drum roll....

Marjee from My very own eye goggles.

Congratulations Marjee. I'm sure the evoucher will come in handy over the silly season. Go the power tool!

Again, thanks to everyone for entering the competition - it is always good to be able to give Fun and VJs readers a little something back. And thanks to Bunnings for providing the prize.

French doors and the question of toughened glass

Hooray the French doors are now finished. And funnily enough they look like they were always meant to be there...which they were.

Jason's finishing touches are probably what makes the door. Rim lock, brass door knob and brass escutcheon will age gracefully alongside the salvaged door.

A very interesting issue also cropped up when ordering replacement arctic glass for a shattered glass pane. I ordered the new glass over the phone and was asked whether I wanted it toughened to meet Australian Standard. It is twice the price of the  ordinary 'untoughened' panes of glass.

My response was 'no', what's the point having just one pane of glass toughened when the rest of the doors, as well as the rest of the house, has the original shattering glass? The salesperson then proceeded to read out what was basically a disclaimer about how I was advised and fully aware that the glass I was ordering was not safety glass.

I never thought using salvaged building materials on the Sow's Ear could ever pose a problem...but clearly it does in our increasingly litigious society...interesting...

Turf update

It's been 11 days since we laid the new turf (read here). Since then we have been watering the lawn twice a day to ensure that it survives Brisbane's sub-tropical summer.

Sir Walter turf

Thankfully we have a rainwater tank which makes watering the grass a relatively guilt-free pastime.

And yes, so far, so good. The new lawn seems to have taken root and is nice and lush, but we are keeping up the watering routine until the mini heatwave Brisbane is experiencing passes...We just want to make sure the lawn doesn't burn off because yesterday the mercury hit a very uncomfortable 39 degrees Celsius.

Yikes.

Anyway, we are so relieved to have managed to keep the lawn alive, especially as we don't have green thumbs! Yay!