Money makes the world go round

Next week we are completing on our purchase and with the money to pay for it in a bank account in the UK, I've had the challenge of juggling it over to make the most of what is a very poor exchange rate. What I hadn't realised is that when I looked at the current exchange rate, it was not what I would be getting from my bank and these rates are for 'corporates' only.

I found a service however, called Currencyfair, which matches changers of one currency with another and allows them to pitch for the best rate. You can either take the current rate offered, or put in your order and wait for someone to match it. I did mine in dribs and drabs, partly because of the exchange rate and partly due to fear but next time I would do in one hit. In the future, I would also put my money in way ahead of time to get the best possible offer. Even so, I saved myself about $13000, which is a new kitchen.

There is a tiny bit of hassle at the beginning as you need to prove who you are, but as they allow you to take a picture of a bill and email it across, it was hardly a hardship, but you should allow a couple of days for the process.

Thanks to Tobin Black for the image.

Next stop - Northern Beaches

Somehow I managed to loose this page so here it is again! The big news... a new house! Can't wait! 7 moves, including 2 countries in 3 years... This time though, the boxes I've so carefully stored each time will be freecycled as this one will be ours!

Its a little cottage on the side of a hill, between the sea and Pittwater. It's currently 2 flats but its got the bare bones of a lovely little house which feels just right and we're going to have fun playing with it and making it ours. It has a whopping garden, which backs onto a reserve. The garden needs to be shown some love and I can't wait - the current owner hasn't ever been to the end! Its also got a chicken coop so I think we're about to turn all Good Life. M has plans of vegetable patches and I think I will be quite happy with the view of a sea of green until it meets the ocean in the distance.

To get there I have some serious moving to do and being the only non-worker, I know that will be on my shoulders. But it will be so worth it in the end and I'm so looking forward to putting down some roots again.

Home... until next Thursday

For the past 4 months we've been staying in a house with this gorgeous view. Sadly, next Thursday, this phase is coming to an end but gladly will be starting our gradual move to our new full time home. After 6 moves in 3 years, I'm looking forward to passing on the boxes I've so diligently saved each time and never seeing them again!

This house has been a treat. The perfect place for Christmas and for a summer that has been rough in places with plenty of rain. Its up on the Northern Beaches, overlooking Dolphin Bay, which is near to Whale Beach. Unlike other houses closeby, its not glass/steel perfection and is pretty close to its original state with 50's bathrooms in swimming pool blue and diving mermaids etched into the glass. The kitchen too still has its original oven. Its these things about it that we love, coupled with the ever changing vista from the front deck and a wall of rock at the back that turns into a waterfall when it rains.

Its been my sanity during these never ending days of waiting for my visa. I've had great walks and swims, along with space to think and plan. Its helped me to fall back in love with Australia again and made me OK about staying.

Rather bizarrely, once upon a time back in London, I tore out a picture from a magazine of a sideboard I liked and have been carrying it round since then. That picture was part of an a photo shoot featuring Mark Tuckey, a furniture designer, taken in the house. I had no idea about the coincidence until I read this post from Table Tonic. How spooky! Here's the article and the chest.

If you want to know details of the house, mail me and I'll happily share. Its surprisingly affordable in comparison to its neighbours too.

One girl's treasure

I've talked about rubbish collection before. Back on dry land though there is also a six monthly collection of junk which means that everybody has a good clear out and piles it up outside their house in advance. In these days of vintage and distressed looks, its serious business to drive around and score something that might turn out to be your treasure.

Being up on the Northern Beaches, there's plenty of gems ripe for the picking. This week alone, I've scored a very old wicker bench and a coffee table, along with assorted bric-a-brac, cake stands and the like. There's a pile up happening in the garage as we speak, ready for the refurb action to begin.

I think the bench is going dark grey and I'm thinking of denim for the cover, with a couple of bolsters to finish it off. Alternatively, Im thinking of tea-staining some oversized roses print fabric but that's possibly a bit too obvious. The basket table is actually a lot nicer than the picture shows. Im thinking lime green... Any thoughts?

Quorn's here

Flavours, along with smells of course, are things that bring back memories. Sometimes even the thought of those tastes are enough to drag you back kicking to other parts of your life and you can recall those tastes as easily as if you were about to tuck in. Take MacDonald's for example. Love it or hate it, I can still recall the taste of a quarter pounder with cheese, or those dry tasting fries, although I haven't eaten meat for nearly 20 years. We're a long way by ship here so if you haven't brought it with you, its likely to either not taste the same (like chocolate), or cause you to remortgage.

My dad arrived at Christmas with a 'stash' literally, of PG tips. He had de-boxed them and put them in clear plastic bags, so with the air squeezed out of them, they looked so like something he should have been banged up for, if only he wasn't 82 and busy thanking the air hostesses. His delivery however, saved me a fortune, and brought M, the PG tips addict, much happiness. (sadly they were finished by the time dad left!). My Marmite, carried, and declared by me involving a long queue and plenty of verbal abuse from the Australian customs, is carefully counted to last until the next visit. NOBODY is allowed to touch my Marmite. Including The Boy who was overheard describing it to his 8 year old friend as 'Vegemite for London people'. I don't think so!

And I could kill for a good pizza. I've sidled up to Italians and asked for recommendations - the lower ground floor of the Post Office building in St Martin's Place seems to be it and I would rip off your arm for a Giardiniera and although my desire may be slightly biased, I'm far from alone. One of my reasons for being accepted into M's family is my closeness to a discount!

Now, I'm not saying that the food here isn't good - superb even. I don't think a single country on earth comes close to the Japanese offering but Australia isn't too far behind. Except in one area. If you're not a meat muncher, you're stuffed! Dried out bits of olive sausage is about all you can expect if you're a vegetarian at a BBQ, and we can nibble all we like on the skankiest 'schnitzel' from the freezer section that is worse than carpet food, but nobody is fooled.

But not any more....! Woolies have started sell Quorn.... Proper, good old fashioned Quorn, albeit with a new label and only one choice of sausage. But its still a Quorn sausage... We've had bolognaise today in two houses and I even got a call to tell me how much The (vego) Girl liked it... I still have no idea what's in it but I don't care. Its delicious!

An oldie but a goodie

This, rather large, delight is the oven in the holiday house we have been renting on the Northern Beaches. On first glance, it has two distinct downsides; Firstly, it’s electric, not gas, and as every good cook knows, gas is the way forward (except my dad who would disagree til he’s blue in the face). Secondly, it looks like it was first installed in the Arc.

It turns out however, that the electric rings are completely controllable, super efficient at both heating and cooling, as are both of the ovens – the inside temperature gauge mirroring exactly the heating control. It also has two plate warming drawers underneath and a very useful power point on the top right hand corner. In fact it’s probably the best oven I’ve ever used… (take that electric showroom on the Portobello Road, it wipes your Smeg out anyday!)

Rather surprising for an oven that is over fifty years old – turns out St George made it in around 1952, ceasing production in 1957. In fact it’s so old that it’s on display in the Museum of Australia in Canberra.

Unfortunately, it seems that I’m not the only one who has spotted the Supermatic’s superpowers… I’ve been trying to track one down for our new house, so far without success.

Perth

Just had a few days away with M's daughter and her kids in Perth. Love the weather over there, much drier and the beaches are beautiful with the Indian Ocean making everything that perfect blue. We made a point every day to swim at Cottesloe, close to where M grew up. Also exploring Freemantle which was a hard town, where M's parents landed with their 6 kids and lived in refugee camps, sharing a bungalow with another family. Hard to imagine that now as its a cool town with great shops and cafes. Hard conditions but such amazing opportunities if you worked hard.

I still find it hard not to laugh about the fact that M is a grandfather. Perhaps its because I've known him for so long but he doesn't feel old enough... Or maybe its me!

Anyway lovely flight back watching movies and spotting other planes circling beneath us.