Seasons of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

When we bought this new house we inherited a productive vegetable garden.  Over time it will probably be expanded, at the moment we are working out what to do with what is in there.

There was a lot of basil on the verge of going to seed, so of course I turned it into pesto.  That was fun.  The jar (please ignore the label, it did once have commercial pesto in it, but be assured that that green stuff is all mine!) is approximately one-fifth of what I made up last weekend.  The rest is in the freezer.  This jar is now almost empty, having gone into soup all week.  (A favorite Italian-inspired cafe I visit frequently put me onto the idea of a decent dollop of pesto in many soups being a wondrous thing).

I had planned to cook a pressure-cooker lamb thing with roasted rhubard last weekend.  And George was delighted because he (a) likes rhubarb and (b) wanted me to use up what was growing in the garden.  So I went down and cut the rhubarb.  While cutting it I politely asked him if he was 100% sure that it was rhubarb and not ruby chard grown bigger than it should have been allowed it.  He was adamant (and he is the gardener among us, I am the cook).  So I dutifully threw away all the leaves, rhubarb leaves being poisonous of course, and roasted the stalks with butter and sugar.

Roasted ruby chard stems with butter and sugar does not taste bad, as such, it just doesn't taste of anything except, well, butter ... and sugar.

And a large bunch of squeaky fresh ruby chard languishes in the bottom of our green waste bin :(

The house is coming together, slowly.  There is still all the stuff in storage.  When that comes out, I will be able to organise my craft stuff to some extent, and we will have thousands of books to reshelve.  I think we may need some new bookcases, too, but I'm not sure about that.  We have decided that the books of my dead father are going to the nearest book sale - I feel that I have been cursed ever since they entered my life and that it is no longer worth trying to value and sell them.  Some we are deliberately keeping, happily, but the bulk of them will not even be entering the new house.  We all need to move on.

It needs a lot more tidying and organising and finding places for things but it feels like home and we love it.  Yes, it was worth all the angst!

And work is even feeling a bit better.  I had a three-month review yesterday - I am on a 12 month contract (we all are, it gets renewed so long as both sides still want it at the end of every 12 months) but with a 3 month probationary period). I wanted to discuss some things I was not happy with, and obviously my boss needed the opportunity to say anything he needed to say.  Everyone who matters is happy with me, so I do still have a job!  And I was able to air a couple of grievances and establish myself on a bit more of a professional footing.  And I am possibly the only person in living memory to ask for more work to do!  What I actually said was that my allotted duties did not fill in the time I worked, and I was unhappy with the perception that I should spend the extra time doing the work of people below me in the organisational structure.  This was agreed upon, I have more interesting things to do now, and I am going to embark on a training course in designing and delivering information literacy programes, paid for by the college, which will help bump up my CV no end.  So I am still tired all the time, and I would still rather be at home crafting, but at least I feel a little more appreciated now.

Resolutions - May Update

So here we go again. And again, and again, and again...

1. Accomplish all the necessary stuff involved in selling this house and moving into the one we are buying. This is the sort of resolution that, although not easy in itself, HAS to be followed through on.

Report - House sale was finalised on April 15, as was house buying.  For a scarey 45 minutes we had no place to live in but were comparatively wealthy.  Now we have gone back to having no money but owning 3/5 of a rather nice house.  The bank owns the other 2/5, of course.

The move went as well as expected.  Tempers got frayed, things got lost, one or two things got broken (mostly by us!).  The bloomin' removalists packed THE KETTLE.  They obviously had not studied Removalism 101.  So I ducked out and bought a cheap and nasty kettle that was on special in Target.  THEY PACKED THAT TOO.  We have not fully unpacked, of course, it will take months before everything is sorted out completely, but the house feels like home and we are very happy with the move.  Some furniture still needs to be acquired to make sense of it being larger and with more rooms/functions for the rooms, but that will be done gradually (a mixture of IKEA and Ebay, probably), together with the other things we want to get done.
2. This was 'get a job'.  I've decided that after nearly three months whingeing about it I will be deleting this one from the monthly report.  Periodic whingeing may still occur but it will be same old, same old.
3. Complete a project a month. Even if it is just a plain sock (pair of socks!) Preferably try out some new techniques or whatever, but at least one project a month.

Report - I had low expectations for April, what with the house move, but I am glad to announce that I finished the April Bead Journal Piece a few days before the end of the month.  When we can find the cable that connects my camera to the computer, I will blog about it!  It's the one important cable that is still missing, of course.
4. Stop spending money like water. With this in mind, this resolution is split into sections :

4.1 I will not buy any clothes or shoes unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Report - I bought another couple of work things, but I have pretty much reached the stage now where I have plenty of work things and really don't have any space for any more clothes.  Though I want to get back into dressmaking again.  And there are some killer boots I am waiting on to come into a shop in the city!.
4.2 I buy far too many DVDs. I will restrict myself to the equivalent of one full-price film (i.e. one new release or something like those 3 for $30 specials you see around) and one TV series. I need to be VERY STRICT about this.

Report - I'm really quite a good girl.  I slightly exceeded the above, but now I am spending my own money on them I feel less guilty.  For my film, I bought Harry Potter 7 Part 1 (still haven't watched it yet).  And for the series I bought the complete (2 series) box set of Campion, because I have read a couple of the books in recent months and fancy it.  And also, the slightly naughty bit, an extra series - Children of the Stones which is a 1977 kids program that looks wonderful!
4.3 Likewise with books. One full-price book or the equivalent per month.

Report - to my complete surprise I stuck to this, buying a new AWW Pressure Cooker cookbook.  I've cooked a couple of things out of it, too!
4.4 Craft materials - only to be purchased if necessary to make a specific project immediately after purchase. Otherwise all craft material shopping is to be done from the stash.

Report - One roll of strong double-sided tape bought to replace the one I lost in the move.  Used for sticking face cabs to beading foundations, and that sort of thing.  And then another roll to replace the one I managed to lose between the shop and the car. 
4.5 Exceptions to the rules will include craft shows, where I will take a fixed amount of cash and leave my credit cards at home. Nothing purchased under these circumstances will count towards the total!


Report - I passed this one - I went to AQC with a fixed sum of money and bought Nicole Maillieu's new book, which I had planned to buy, and as I was exhausted from moving and at the end of the show when everyone's defences were down, was conned into buying a showbag of Japanese goodies that had originally been $60 but were being sold off at $30.  It supposedly contained over $100 worth of stuff.  Well, it contained some things I didn't like, but the fabric selections alone were worth well over $30 and I love Japanese fabric, so though an unplanned purchase I was happy with it!
4.6 Items for any room in the new house, but especially the kitchen, will only be purchased if necessary, not just because they catch my eye. There will be some purchases, planned in advance.

Report - No impulse buys have been made, but some very expensive planned ones for the new house.  We have bought a new fridge, dishwasher and microwave, all to replace the old and decrepit ones that were wearing out.  Also two new beds, ditto.  And new carpet.  And there will be other things to follow.  In particular a new digital TV and recording device for me, to replace my tiny and old CRT telly and decrepti VCR.

So I am happy with how things are tracking.  We are exhausted and broke but we love our new house.  I might even take some pictures of it, if we ever find (or replace) that cable thingy that connects my camera to the computer!

Floofy Scarf Redux

I don't know why the last pic didn't load. Probably something to do with the computer being out of action for several days. But anyway, here it is.

The move happened. There are still things we can't find or do, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of Easter it should be a lot better. We still loved the house the moment we walked in, despite the chaos. And the chaos, though diminished, still exists. All will be well and all will be well and all manner of thing shall be well!!

I got a new bed :) It is superbly comfortable. And there will be other new things soon too. All replacing ancient things.

By May we should feel like we actually live here! The neighbours are generally delightful, the street is gorgeous and leafy and so quiet. The previous owner said there was no native wildlife around, which was disappointing because we had got used to living with parrots and possums and bats and things. Well, in a week, we have heard more native wildlife than he ever mentioned, and he lived here for 30 years!

There was much weird plumbing and electrics and we have spent a lot of money getting them fixed, but those fixes should last a long time. It helps that we know a plumber, and a carpet person (we got new carpet downstairs), so service was prompt and excellent and reasonably priced, and the electrician loves us now because we paid him well up front!!

I have not got the kitchen quite sorted out yet, but with a bit of resorting, it will be fantastic and I can go for true gormet!!! And the owner left a little vegie garden with some very usable chillies, tomatoes, a few other things and enough basil at the right stage to be turned into yummy pesto over Easter,

Yes We Have Sold It!!!!!!!

And the next day I got a job. My head is spinning. I start on Friday. I will be Assistant Librarian at the Endeavour College of Natural Health in Melbourne working O.8 time (at a rather low salary, which is a bit of an issue - it's a rather crappy Award) and I am really looking forward to it.  Actually, I'm not sure what I am feeling - excitement or terror!  Probably both.  I will attempt not to hyperventilate.

So goodbye 'free' time, hello workforce.  Almost the first time in 18 years.  (I did spend six months working part-time for a friend several years ago).

And the house settlements both take place on 15 April.

Resolutions - February Update

January wasn't too bad in terms of following through on my resolutions, or goals.  Report card time:








1.  Accomplish all the necessary stuff involved in selling this house and moving into the one we are buying.  This is the sort of resolution that, although not easy in itself, HAS to be followed through on. 


Report - masses of decluttering happened.  A storage unit is almost entirely full of books, bookcases, craft materials and other stuff that we can live without for a while.  The house has been on the market since before Christmas and quite a few people have been through it.  We are settling on the new one, and moving in, on 15 April.  All neighbourhood op shops have had their stock massively swelled by our offerings.  A small amount of stuff has been thrown out if too disgusting/broken/etc to reuse or recycle.  The house is cleaner than it has been for a long time.  I think we have accomplished everything possible for one month.


2.  Get a job.  It really is time after 18 years to go back to earning some sort of income.  This is a scary one.  I have no idea how I and the rest of the family will cope - they have all got used to me being available whenever required.  I did not have children or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome last time I worked.  A very large part of me does not want to go back to work.  But a small part of me craves the idea of doing something else. 


Report - I have applied for seven jobs, having spent a long time rewriting my CV.  The first two jobs, no interview or job.  Job 3, no response.  Job 4, have an interview on Tuesday - it is unfortunately the lowest paying of the lot but might provide useful experience.  Jobs 5 and 6, no response yet and it was long enough ago to assume that I didn't get interviews.  Job 7, hoping for an interview but if I don't hear in the next couple of days will have to assume nothing there either.  One more possibility, waiting on a job description.  I fear that the 18 years out of the workforce is proving to be a stumbling block and a half.

3.  Complete a project a month.  Even if it is just a plain sock (pair of socks!)  Preferably try out some new techniques or whatever, but at least one project a month.


 Report - I have finished my January Beading Journal Project piece.  It will be photographed and blogged about separately.  Very pleased with both it, and with finishing something!!

4.  Stop spending money like water.  With this in mind, this resolution is split into sections :

4.1 I will not buy any clothes or shoes unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.  'Necessary' means underwear if my current collection falls apart; if I end up in a job where I can't wear jeans, some other covering for my bottom half may be necessary beyond the one pair of black trousers and one black skirt I own; and I am going to a family wedding in March that MAY necessitate a new outfit.  I can make myself anything I like out of my vast stash of fabrics and patterns, however, and if this is the case, purchase of required notions will be permitted.  I would make an outfit for the wedding but that is likely to be around the time we move, and I am packing up my stash as we speak.


Report - mostly successful.  No clothes purchased.  Two pairs of cheap, gaudy summer sandals proved irresistible, however, so not total success. Two pairs of inexpensive, practical black shoes for work purposes were also purchased, legitimately.

4.2 I buy far too many DVDs.  I will restrict myself to the equivalent of one full-price film (i.e. one new release or something like those 3 for $30 specials you see around) and one TV series.  I need to be VERY STRICT about this.


Report - surprisingly successful within the strict wording of the agreement.  I bought one TV Series - admittedly it was the entire PD James collection (not including the Martin Shaw adaptations) which was astronomically expensive, but it WAS only one boxed set.  I tossed up between feature films but in the end spent the same amount of money as a brand new one on the TV series Testament of Youth which has just been released.  It is one of my all-time favorites, to the point of obessession with Vera Brittain.  So I consider that I did well, if not cheaply!

4.3 Likewise with books.  One full-price book or the equivalent per month.


Report - hey, guess what, did not buy ONE BOOK AT ALL.  I might consider rolling it over, but I think that I ought to consider the two naughty pairs of summer sandals and call it quits.

4.4 Craft materials - only to be purchased if necessary to make a specific project immediately after purchase. Otherwise all craft material shopping is to be done from the stash.


Report - ahem, one new Issy Miyake Vogue pattern slipped under the radar.  

4.5 Exceptions to the rules will include craft shows, where I will take a fixed amount of cash and leave my credit cards at home.  Nothing purchased under these circumstances will count towards the total!


Report - no craft shows, so I passed this one!

4.6 Items for any room in the new house, but especially the kitchen, will only be purchased if necessary, not just because they catch my eye.  There will be some purchases, planned in advance.


Report - I am pretty certain that I followed this one to the letter.  Oh, I did buy two coloured glass bottles to store water in the fridge, but they were $5 each and we didn't have any fridge water bottles.  I do have a water jug but it takes up half the fridge, whereas these fit in the door.  So I count these as reasonable purchases.


All in all I think I did OK!  This month - well, I;m afraid that so far one more pair of cheap gaudy summer sandals came home with me.  Clothes - it depends on whether I get a job this month and, if so, what the dress code is, but the only clothes purchased will be under those circumstances.  I am on the lookout for a pair of winter boots as they start coming into the shops - in the winter I like to wear skirts with boots.  I have two pairs that suit, but one is about to fall apart and is not fit for work wear, and the other pair are two winters old and may not last out another winter, so I want a back up pair.  And because they have to fit my massive calves and still look attractive, I have to shop around.  Otherwise, my winter shoes are more appropriate for work than my summer ones, so there shouldn't be any need for more.


I already know what TV series and feature film I will be buying this month, but I will draw out the anticipation.


Everything else, like house stuff, will be taken as it comes!

No, We Haven't Sold It Yet.

http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/VIC/Glen-Waverley/?adid=2008782159

Snarl...

Psst .. Wanna Buy A House

For Sale - one heavily used house.

http://www.firstnational.com.au/property.cfm?propertyID=1518839

Resolutions

Well, so far so good.  The packing continues at a snail's pace, but a bit more is done every day.  The necessary legal documents have been obtained, so the estate agent can start to market our house properly.

And I have applied for two jobs.  This has me terrified but also a little excited.  It took me a good three hours to rewrite my CV and write two application letters.  My last CV dated from 1990.  There were two/three jobs to add to that (two library jobs and one editing job).  I could barely remember the person I was when I wrote that CV in 1990.  I sounded like a busy professional with impressive skills.  Hopefully I still sound that way!

I am being choosy, though.  I am only applying for library jobs that actually sound as though they will be interesting and where I genuinely think I can contribute to the workplace.

And it is January 4th and so far I have not spent any money on the things I said I was restricting myself on.  OK, only four days, but I believe one has to beat addictions one day at a time!

A New Year, a New Decade

I didn't do too well on last year's resolutions.  I think the only thing I did follow through on was to make one item with the overlocker, which I am pleased to say is still in one piece and being worn!

But I did do other projects, so I am not too disappointed with myself.  I was just less adventurous than I had hoped to be.

I have a new resolution for this year, in fact more than one.

1.  Accomplish all the necessary stuff involved in selling this house and moving into the one we are buying.  This is the sort of resolution that, although not easy in itself, HAS to be followed through on.
2.  Get a job.  It really is time after 18 years to go back to earning some sort of income.  This is a scary one.  I have no idea how I and the rest of the family will cope - they have all got used to me being available whenever required.  I did not have children or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome last time I worked.  A very large part of me does not want to go back to work.  But a small part of me craves the idea of doing something else.
3.  Complete a project a month.  Even if it is just a plain sock (pair of socks!)  Preferably try out some new techniques or whatever, but at least one project a month.
4.  Stop spending money like water.  With this in mind, this resolution is split into sections :

4.1 I will not buy any clothes or shoes unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.  'Necessary' means underwear if my current collection falls apart; if I end up in a job where I can't wear jeans, some other covering for my bottom half may be necessary beyond the one pair of black trousers and one black skirt I own; and I am going to a family wedding in March that MAY necessitate a new outfit.  I can make myself anything I like out of my vast stash of fabrics and patterns, however, and if this is the case, purchase of required notions will be permitted.  I would make an outfit for the wedding but that is likely to be around the time we move, and I am packing up my stash as we speak.
4.2 I buy far too many DVDs.  I will restrict myself to the equivalent of one full-price film (i.e. one new release or something like those 3 for $30 specials you see around) and one TV series.  I need to be VERY STRICT about this.
4.3 Likewise with books.  One full-price book or the equivalent per month.
4.4 Craft materials - only to be purchased if necessary to make a specific project immediately after purchase. Otherwise all craft material shopping is to be done from the stash.
4.5 Exceptions to the rules will include craft shows, where I will take a fixed amount of cash and leave my credit cards at home.  Nothing purchased under these circumstances will count towards the total!
4.6 Items for any room in the new house, but especially the kitchen, will only be purchased if necessary, not just because they catch my eye.  There will be some purchases, planned in advance.

And when I have fully moved in and unpacked, I may start up a version of Decluttering by Numbers again.

Wish me luck, please.  I am USELESS at keeping resolutions.

House photos

Rather than do a hugely picture heavy blog spot, here's a link to a Facebook album with photos I took around the outside of the new house on Saturday.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100548&id=1274941519&saved

or

http://picasaweb.google.com/deadeyeconstance/NewHouse#

There's lots of inside photos too but they include the vendor's stuff, so I don't want to publish them.  I took them more to get an idea of where we could put things.

Back to the grindstone.  Considering that we probably won't move in till April, G's list of essential jobs to be done while he is at work gets longer every time he speaks to someone.  I am sorely tempted to stop answering the phone!

Our New Home

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-vermont+south-107049445

Now, while there is many a slip, etc, I think I can announce that we are buying this house.  Unless there is a disaster.

I don't know how long the link will be up for.  Hopefully by the time it goes down I will have my own pictures to show off.

Now all we have to do is sell this place.  Oh, and pack :(  That has started.  George is doing his sergeant-major thing and pushing us to do everything ASAP even though it will be three or four months before we can move.  Books are being packed by the hundred.

It;s a pity I'm not doing the Decluttering by Numbers thing any more, I must have put about 300 books and magazines in the Op Shop pile yesterday!

Unfortunately in the last 12 months we have moved MIL into a new house; packed/unpacked/repacked my father's stuff; and now this.  So it feels like our third move in a year even though it isn't.  The last time I did that (four moves in 14 months) I collapsed in a heap for two years before being diagnosed with CFS.  (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) .I'm not sure how I am going to cope!  And I need to find a job as soon as possible after moving to pay the increase in the mortgage.

Wish us luck!

Teddy Bear Tuesday

Would you believe, this is a teddy bear turned into a rock by enchantment?  It is waiting for the spell to be broken by Gandalf the wizard but he is too busy with some ring or something and keeps getting teddy bears confused with other small creatures with furry paws.

In the meantime he is 2.5 cm tall and 4cm wide.  I think he was asleep when the spell was cast and was lying down, otherwise he would be somewhat short and portly.  I can't remember the type of rock he was turned into, I thought it was malachite but looking at it closely I am not so sure.  He lives in the display cabinet with the other teddies and creatures waiting for the day...

In other news - yes, some of you made wise guesses, we may be moving house.  The indoor waterfall of ten days ago convinced us that the house was, indeed, not worth saving (it is crumbling, leaking, sinking, etc, and sadly, though only 40 years old, seems to have been built under almost no building regs at all.  IT would cost more to save than to rebuild, and after doing the sums we have decided that rebuilding would be overcapitalising and selling it as a development block and moving on is the best thing to do).

I really don't want to move because I love this house, and because moving is such a PITA when you have done it as many times as I have in my life.  (I counted it once and it was enough for most people three or four times over).  However we have been looking for a little while in a desultory way and have realised that there is plenty of decent stuff in the same suburb that would suit us and allow the kids to stay at their present school, which is important to all of us.  Baby Bear only has a year to go - a year in which we definitely should not be distracting her by moving, but she will just have to cope!

Trouble is, once we find the right place and buy it, we will have to sell this IMMEDIATELY.  Which means that Decluttering by Numbers will become Decluttering and Packing in a Total Panic, with no time to record things.

I will keep my half a dozen readers posted.