Yip we are painting the inside of our house for the first time in forever !
The first week was full of anticipation & excitement, I didn't mind cleaning & clearing up the first two rooms really felt quite wonderful. Then came the dust, smells of paint & turps & did I mention dust aaahhh. Anyway after the room was finished it looked gorgeous & empty & wonderful, hah until I realised we had to move the next rooms stuff into there plus plus - aahh now its just our bedroom & office that has anything resembling living space.
No I am not complaining just reality hit me square in the face of how doing anything worthwhile is not easy but the end result will be a fabulous clean flowing colour scheme, vanilla walls & white ceiling in the bedrooms, everything else is cobbler beige (which I call putty colour) & white ceilings but it flows. Another week & we should be finished roll on next Friday 26th October.
Then DH decided to have our floors re-done, they are oregon pine & so yes i caved in & the next two weeks after that will be floors - quite easy really move everything out (yes everything) & we will sleep & work out of our granny flat in the back garden - that right now is a storeage space for anything & everything, we don't even know if the bathroom works.
My husband never promised me a boring life, whew he has kept his word lol but seriously it'll be the last time we do anything to this house, after that I would like to go into a secure complex where I can lock & go.
We are living with empty rooms & I really like the space & keep saying we need to down scale our furniture & belongings - my DH is a horder & I am not so its a matter of us both compromising but i think he's seeing my point of view somewhat. My DD & I had a good laugh we hauled out my wedding dress & veil from the back of a cupboard ( DH & I have been married for 32 years!!!!) & I am going to clean it & get rid of it my poor hubby nearly had a fit but I just said no its got to go.
Anyway i am off to cook dinner in a kitchen thats relatively dusty (that fine dust that comes from sanding down walls that look perfectly good to me !) even though my dear maid has cleaned it . Aaaagh the good life.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
01st October 2012
I can't believe I last blogged four months ago,still I am alive & kicking.
June & July & August whizzed past, I celebrated my birthday in August,went away to our timeshare in Pilansberg where we always meet up with my sister & brother in law & just enjoy the time together. Coming back to Durban after the dryness in the Pilansberg & Johannesburg is always wonderful - we really are a Durban by the sea family.
In September DD & I headed down to Cape Town for the scrapbooking convention at Spier wine estate & it was lovely, we flew in on the early flight on Thursday to a cool wet cape, but by the time we had booked our car & whizzed off towards Stellenbosch it was already lifting. We went all over on thursday & just explored, on Friday the sun shone & off we went to Kirstenbosch Botannical gardens which are magnificent, went to Hout Bay for a late lunch & then off to the V & A water front which was so busy but had such a good vibe. We just made it in time back to Spier for the registration on Friday afternoon exhausted but happy. The one thing that struck me was how clean all the areas were, even driving past Khayalisha area was really clean, the other thing was that they sell beautiful proteas along the roadside at incredibly cheap prices & they are so big & beautiful.
Saturday & Sunday we had 6 sessions & thoroughly enjoyed them, made new friends & relaxed, we finished just before 5pm on Sunday but had wisely booked our flights for Monday morning at 10.35am. So we had a last supper out in the Stellenbosch area and relaxed for the evening. we flew back on monday relaxed & refreshed & really feeling like we had had a super break.
Then its been the church fete, cooking & serving bacon & egg rolls till twelve, then a quick dash home to change & catch a flight to Joburg for a 21st birthday party, whew I am exhausted now but great fun was had by all & I am glad we made the effort.
My DH business is in an unatural slow time & he gets incredibly edgy & stressed, add to this the decision to paint the inside of our house - for the first time in about 16years. We are still uncertain about bedroom colours but are in agreement for the flowing of the open plan dining room/kitchen area into the lounge & passage area so yay for that. My DH is very conservative & so its a battle to get colour into our home but he is compromising this time so lets hope it works out. I don't see us painting again for a very long time. Moving everything out of each room is a pain but its been good too as we need to declutter as we go along, even the inside of the cupboards have been emptied to be repainted & that was a mission especially as our eldest son moved to Joburg nearly 4 years ago but his cupboard is full of all his stuff, so he said I need to sort it out - he may just be sorry he said that.
So its a postive outlook for this month & hopefully a calmer one too.
June & July & August whizzed past, I celebrated my birthday in August,went away to our timeshare in Pilansberg where we always meet up with my sister & brother in law & just enjoy the time together. Coming back to Durban after the dryness in the Pilansberg & Johannesburg is always wonderful - we really are a Durban by the sea family.
In September DD & I headed down to Cape Town for the scrapbooking convention at Spier wine estate & it was lovely, we flew in on the early flight on Thursday to a cool wet cape, but by the time we had booked our car & whizzed off towards Stellenbosch it was already lifting. We went all over on thursday & just explored, on Friday the sun shone & off we went to Kirstenbosch Botannical gardens which are magnificent, went to Hout Bay for a late lunch & then off to the V & A water front which was so busy but had such a good vibe. We just made it in time back to Spier for the registration on Friday afternoon exhausted but happy. The one thing that struck me was how clean all the areas were, even driving past Khayalisha area was really clean, the other thing was that they sell beautiful proteas along the roadside at incredibly cheap prices & they are so big & beautiful.
Saturday & Sunday we had 6 sessions & thoroughly enjoyed them, made new friends & relaxed, we finished just before 5pm on Sunday but had wisely booked our flights for Monday morning at 10.35am. So we had a last supper out in the Stellenbosch area and relaxed for the evening. we flew back on monday relaxed & refreshed & really feeling like we had had a super break.
Then its been the church fete, cooking & serving bacon & egg rolls till twelve, then a quick dash home to change & catch a flight to Joburg for a 21st birthday party, whew I am exhausted now but great fun was had by all & I am glad we made the effort.
My DH business is in an unatural slow time & he gets incredibly edgy & stressed, add to this the decision to paint the inside of our house - for the first time in about 16years. We are still uncertain about bedroom colours but are in agreement for the flowing of the open plan dining room/kitchen area into the lounge & passage area so yay for that. My DH is very conservative & so its a battle to get colour into our home but he is compromising this time so lets hope it works out. I don't see us painting again for a very long time. Moving everything out of each room is a pain but its been good too as we need to declutter as we go along, even the inside of the cupboards have been emptied to be repainted & that was a mission especially as our eldest son moved to Joburg nearly 4 years ago but his cupboard is full of all his stuff, so he said I need to sort it out - he may just be sorry he said that.
So its a postive outlook for this month & hopefully a calmer one too.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Life is not always great
I feel like a hamster spinning on a wheel & getting nowhere fast, I like being busy & normally cope well, lately I feel as if I am going to fall into a pit & never get out.
Why ? probably because life just happens, we haven't had a free saturday/ sunday for 2 months due to work, church, charity, social committments & we don't always get enough sleep due to travelling all over. Yes travelling is a bonus of our work but it can be very tiring & 2 testy people in a car for eight hours not so much fun, especially since I do battle to keep my opinions to myself ( really am working on it but can't say its easy.) The same can be said of sitting at an airport waiting for a delayed plane.
Our family has gone through an emotional year & a bit with our extended family having huge issues to work out & because we can't be there for them it is so so so frustrating. I really believe in "it takes a village to bring up a child"as there is always the community to support & encourage & rely on. These days families are fragmented & its definitely not a positive thing although if I had to be face to face with this particular family member (whom I love) I might just be tempted to wack him one. ( not nice I know but so honest.) I also realised how much I was hoping for a fairy tale ending & that takes a lot of emotional pounding when you have to really take off the rose coloured glasses. ( though I still have hopes.)
Then I have just had an SARS audit for one of our businesses, not too bad at all but quite demanding still & hopefully they will sort out the end result. I have to admit to not having a problem with SARS so shouldn't complain - it just adds onto my load.
To top it off my son thought it was just fine doing a baited shark dive ???? I mean really at 26 I thought he had grown up - still it went well & he's in one piece although he does seem to have a much more healthy respect for sharks. Thats another thing our youngest is going overseas hopefully at the end of the year & although he doesn't live at home he works in the family business & father & son are like two circling lions recently - whew its sometimes too much & Mom always lands in the middle & it is horrible.
It will get better ....... at the end of the year we will have overseas family visiting & right now thats my light at the end of the tunnel.
Why ? probably because life just happens, we haven't had a free saturday/ sunday for 2 months due to work, church, charity, social committments & we don't always get enough sleep due to travelling all over. Yes travelling is a bonus of our work but it can be very tiring & 2 testy people in a car for eight hours not so much fun, especially since I do battle to keep my opinions to myself ( really am working on it but can't say its easy.) The same can be said of sitting at an airport waiting for a delayed plane.
Our family has gone through an emotional year & a bit with our extended family having huge issues to work out & because we can't be there for them it is so so so frustrating. I really believe in "it takes a village to bring up a child"as there is always the community to support & encourage & rely on. These days families are fragmented & its definitely not a positive thing although if I had to be face to face with this particular family member (whom I love) I might just be tempted to wack him one. ( not nice I know but so honest.) I also realised how much I was hoping for a fairy tale ending & that takes a lot of emotional pounding when you have to really take off the rose coloured glasses. ( though I still have hopes.)
Then I have just had an SARS audit for one of our businesses, not too bad at all but quite demanding still & hopefully they will sort out the end result. I have to admit to not having a problem with SARS so shouldn't complain - it just adds onto my load.
To top it off my son thought it was just fine doing a baited shark dive ???? I mean really at 26 I thought he had grown up - still it went well & he's in one piece although he does seem to have a much more healthy respect for sharks. Thats another thing our youngest is going overseas hopefully at the end of the year & although he doesn't live at home he works in the family business & father & son are like two circling lions recently - whew its sometimes too much & Mom always lands in the middle & it is horrible.
It will get better ....... at the end of the year we will have overseas family visiting & right now thats my light at the end of the tunnel.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Nikon School of Photography
DH & I just spent a morning at the Nikon School of Photography in La Lucia Durban, not to do photography that will have to wait. To learn about our new Nikon D3100, it was really very interesting.
There were 24 people & I felt that was a lot but it did work, the lecturer Mark Young was very good, he's an international photographer & gave us lots of good tips & laughs at common faults but what impressed me more was his knowledge of the camera.
He was very comfortable with it, never had to look up anything & was quite happy to help all of us, he had a super way of making you do it - rather than show you how and for me that really works.
Everything was hands on & he had us taking photos changing settings & getting different results - I enjoyed it thoroughly but by the end of 4 hours I was just overloaded with knowledge & technical jargon, thank heavens DH & I did it together because we both can't forget the same thing hopefully.
So we decided to go for a light lunch at Gateway, why I am not so sure because everyone was there aaaahh I can't stand crowded places but we found a relaxed table & enjoyed lunch, thank fully it was much easier going out than in.
On our way home our DD said to stop off at her house & see her garden, she has started with nothing & has got her lawn going, a few roses & a few shrubs, its coming on. What she was so excited about was her old wheelbarrow which she had planted bulbs in & they are sprouting, I am not sure how well they will do in durbs but we'll have to wait & see.
So now its off to have a nanna nap lol I need it.
There were 24 people & I felt that was a lot but it did work, the lecturer Mark Young was very good, he's an international photographer & gave us lots of good tips & laughs at common faults but what impressed me more was his knowledge of the camera.
He was very comfortable with it, never had to look up anything & was quite happy to help all of us, he had a super way of making you do it - rather than show you how and for me that really works.
Everything was hands on & he had us taking photos changing settings & getting different results - I enjoyed it thoroughly but by the end of 4 hours I was just overloaded with knowledge & technical jargon, thank heavens DH & I did it together because we both can't forget the same thing hopefully.
So we decided to go for a light lunch at Gateway, why I am not so sure because everyone was there aaaahh I can't stand crowded places but we found a relaxed table & enjoyed lunch, thank fully it was much easier going out than in.
On our way home our DD said to stop off at her house & see her garden, she has started with nothing & has got her lawn going, a few roses & a few shrubs, its coming on. What she was so excited about was her old wheelbarrow which she had planted bulbs in & they are sprouting, I am not sure how well they will do in durbs but we'll have to wait & see.
So now its off to have a nanna nap lol I need it.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Today I am
Today I am
- Grateful its Friday & I got through the week.
- Grateful for finishing 3 business sets of books & filed their taxes yay.
- Grateful for my hubby & family's support even when I am grouchy.
- Grateful to know I can relax this weekend.
- Grateful to have long distance relationships with family overseas.
- Grateful to know I don't have to get up early tomorrow.
- Grateful to be meeting friends for lunch on Sunday.
- Just so so glad to know I can see things a bit clearer right now.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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