Name that tree!

This is what happens when you leave Mark and his dad alone with a chainsaw... 

To be fair they didn't get too carried away - one of the reasons we bought our house were the lovely trees in the backyard - a big Peppermint, two nice Banksias, a scruffy looking Tuart and some other miscellaneous Australian trees.. 
Now it's cleared it looks loads better but still nice and shady.

Here's a test for any green-fingered Antipodeans out there - what is this tree? -

It had small pink flowers a couple of months ago and now has those funny little nut... things. 
Any ideas?

Not quite there yet...

I still haven't got any 'after' photos to show you - and that's what I'm really doing this for after all!

Things are looking a lot whiter and cleaner but that doesn't make for very interesting photos.
So instead here are some random pics:

I resorted to Coke and Starbursts to get me through today...

Random Happy Meal chappy...

My special painting flip-flops thongs

I few weeks ago we had a flier in the letterbox advertising a house built in 1968 - it was described as having plenty of 'period' features - the mind boggles (I'm thinking original red formica kitchen and avocado bathroom suite...)

This is our own special period feature -

Yes - that is a tap in the corner of our living room - it doesn't work so I'm thinking it will be useful for...hanging stuff on?

This weekend...

Disaster! Today I ran out of white paint! And the downstairs walls definitely need another (fifteen) coats...

So this afternoon I started sanding down the old wooden window frames....fun!

I've only read three books so far this month (been a bit busy..) - a bit of Adrian Mole, The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes (which is actually Dan Rhodes' pseudonym - I only just found this out and it's very strange having read it believing it was written by a woman, and then discovering it was written by a man)
And 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson - which is a thought provoking look at family reunions after life changing events.

And this morning I found these little jars at the swap meet for $1!! Yes - one whole dollar!

Tracey English Giveaway!

Fab UK illustrator Tracey English is having a giveaway on her blog - hop over there now if you fancy winning this lovely screen print.

(Although obviously I'm hoping I'll win...)

(Image copyright Tracey English)

Painting, more painting, and a fantastic find!

Painting progress report: after 52 coats of paint the doors are beginning to look more white then blue... I'm going to tackle the window frames on Friday.

Look what Mark brought back from the city yesterday!
OK, I asked him to - it was a real bargain on Gumtree.

It's a real beauty - all the original handles - and the glass is as good as new. I'm thinking it would go perfectly in the Art Deco house...

It needs painting..... join the back of the queue please

And so it begins...

Work has begun in earnest on The Ugly House - my mother-in-law 'volunteered' her services - she's a dab hand with a roller.

I let her go home today - between us we've touched up all the white internal walls, started painting the green ones and nearly finished painting the dark blue woodwork white (one of those nightmare jobs where every coat should be the last, until you stand back and can still see the blue!!! Aargh!)

I also came up with three reasons why it's a good idea to paint your house when it's 40 degrees outside:

1. The paint dries quickly
2. You lose half your bodyweight in sweat each day
3. You get to go for a swim when you've had enough

Those are the only three positives I could think of...

Mark has built half a fence and is finishing the gate tonight. (The table legs came in handy!)

And most importantly, we discovered what the pole in the middle of the living room is for -

The Ugly House - Before...

We christened our house 'The Ugly House' when we first saw it - e.g. 'Oh look, The Ugly House is still for sale'
When it was still for sale after six weeks, and Mark had got a job, and the seller had dropped the price, it started to look slightly less ugly, and slightly more... do-able.

Are you ready for some 'before' photos?

Look away now if you're easily disturbed.

This (apparently) is the kitchen... And yes, it's upstairs.. (Handy for a morning cuppa in bed)

This is the downstairs, which currently has a concrete floor and strip lights, but will soon be a lovely living room...

The stairs to the balcony are completely rotten and will soon be gone... (If you look closely you can see that the fourth step up is already missing)

That huge concrete water tank down the garden will one day be our swimming pool!
(I'm serious..)

This is the upstairs landing which is nice and big and has a door onto the balcony...

And this is me on day one, still looking quite happy and optimistic... 

What's the best way to get those stickers off the bathroom mirror?