I’ve been feeling really happy over the past few months. Actually, happy isn’t the right word. I’ve been feeling very content. I’m happy too, but I think the contentment is the important piece of the puzzle. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m wondering if it’s a sign that the hormonal storm of the […]

Picture this … There’s a plumber in my powder room fixing the dodgy piping; there’s a builder on my deck assembling a bathroom cabinet; there’s another builder in the laundry measuring up the shower screen glass; two blokes stagger through the front door with my new velvet sofa; and my friend Mel arrives to do […]

It was the builder’s turn to send ME a photo yesterday. Fortunately he meant to do it. It was a pic of a piece of benchtop in his storeroom that he thought might do the trick in my laundry. I’m so desperate for the renovation to end that I’d probably accept a piece of masonite […]

All the secrets are coming out today … well, a few teeny weeny ones. Former weekly magazine editors tend to embellish … OK … DD’s first name is David. Gasp. My builder’s first name is Daniel. Both names start with “Da” and because I’m long and short sighted I accidentally texted the builder a pic of […]

I bought my first-ever new sofa in my lunch break yesterday. At age 52. Took me a while. And, blimey, I didn’t opt for something safe. I went for a green velvet one: The youngest is HORRIFIED. She hates it. I hope I haven’t made a terrible mistake. Most sofa places have a three-month wait, […]

My hopes for getting a functioning laundry/shower room were dashed yesterday on multiple fronts. 1. The plumber needs a big hole jackhammered into my side path to get the new drainage in. 2. The shower outlet is very low, as it was positioned before we decided to raise the ceiling. So the shower head I […]

Rats are a lot like printers. They’re cheap up front, but the ongoing costs are a killer. Business Insider notes: “A gallon of printer ink can cost you $US12,000. When in cartridge form, it’s more expensive than vintage Champagne.” Why is printer ink so expensive? “Oh that’s simple: greed … basically it’s a formula: The […]

You know that compulsive nesting thing that pregnant women do? Well mine saw me hunting for a house when I was weeks away from giving birth to my first child. I was living in an apartment in Bondi that was up 50 steps … not very practical with a pram. We couldn’t find a house […]

OK, you’re up to speed on my week off … now what? Oh, that’s right, I promised you renovation pics. There’s still not much to see. As aforementioned, work on the new laundry/shower room is going VERY slowly, but the tiling is almost done. Just one day to go, fingers crossed, as the tiler is […]

After two beautiful days in Forster, we explored South West Rocks on route to Bellingen to drive the Waterfall Way. Here’s a happy snap from South West Rocks, we thought it was awesome: And here’s the link to all the fun details on The Thirsty Travellers. Here’s a happy snap from Waterfall Way, which was […]