Hammock heaven

I've always wanted a hammock.  I remember being jealous of our neighbour Ruth's hammock, under the weeping willow as a little girl.  I'm not quite sure why I left it so long either... something to do with lack of hanging spots or maybe sunshine.  Anyway here's our new charcoal one, strung outside the bedroom window.  It's rained since it arrived but I'm looking forward to many hours languishing on it, devouring books.  

Shopping: Tescos smartphones

Im not keen on Tescos. Even less so the 'Tescolisation' that is happening all over our planet. However, I do think this is a very clever idea.

Knowing that the locals in Korea are time starved, the store posted photographs of real ailes in railway stations. Consumers are able to purchase the products by scanning them with their smartphone, using the 'dead' time whilst waiting for a train. When they get home, TaDa! The shopping is delivered.

Rather than Tesco's there are loads of things Id like to be able to do this with. What about ordering a coffee, or a pizza to greet you at the other end.

BBQ shenanigans

Two weeks ago, we bought a new BBQ. A much considered item for which we spent several hours talking to the lovely man at the BBQ shop, learning the intricacies and specialisms of cooking with gas. We learned that we must have marine grade steel, due to our proximity to the sea. We also learned about flipping bricks and adjusting knobs and cleaning, in some detail. I know pretty much everything there is to know about a BBQ, in fact! Just ask me!

What we didn't learn however, was how to fight off the wildlife for our supper.

We live at the top of a hill overlooking a reserve and over that, the sea. We are woken by cockatoos, entertained daily by rainbow lorikeets and their clown like walks, are blessed with a garden full of shy red parrots and are in the flight path of bats. I love them all, but most of all, the laughing kookaburras who make me take nothing seriously.

Until now.

On the first trial of our shiny new toy, where my beloved nuked the sausages in the name of cooking, our leisurely mock-spring lunch on the deck ended in disaster. From the mouth of babes (well, the boy, who's 9),the kookaburra plucked.

It got even more plucky the next morning with the bacon, wrenching it from the hot grills. And lunch that day with guests (more nuking, a chicken this time) ended with a leg missing.

And yes, for those of you who laugh and scorn the meat, my Quorn sausages were not safe either!!!

So, what to do? I asked Everybody.

(Like the kookaburras, Everybody laughed!)

So, for a sensible answer, I wrote to the zoo. And today, a lady called Vanessa answered.

"You're stuffed", she said, (but in a roundabout way).

And so, it's war, and I'm dusting off my Super soaker 2000!

Shop: Wardrobe by Wilkinson-Wyke

A biased bit of blogging here but not without some satisfaction. I have a dear friend Soraya, who has a knack of always finding something gorgeous where others fear to shop and who delves into her deep and magical wardrobe and adorns herself with something beautiful and stylish in a way that the rest of us can only drool. Until now, she's used her talents for friends who need something spectacular to be sourced. I've been on at her forever to turn it into a business and now it seems my nagging might have worked! Finally she has done it!

So (drumroll please...) ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you....

Wardrobe by Wilkinson-Wyke.

Soraya specialises in Art Deco and early 20th Century pieces - clothing, accessories and homewares. Happy shopping!

Home: Garden update

Been a bit slack of late, keeping up my postings. For two reasons really. Firstly, because I'm working on a New and Very Exciting Project, of which, I will tell you more very soon. Secondly, because its still winter but 24 DEGREES today! Who can sit indoors on a day like that?!

Certainly not me anyway. Not when I've got this much of a challenge with our new garden. We had a survey done, whilst I was away, to determine the flatness of the bottom and the possibility of putting a studio on stilts down there. To do this, the vegetation, that had not seen human foot for many years, was slashed and we were left with a big pile of brown. And there its remained for 2 months, along with the debris and plant-age and about 2 foot of soil which has slid down the hill during last week's rain.

So today, aided by the lovely Stuart, gardener-extraordinaire, the garden has been half cleared and some light at the end of the tunnel has been spotted. Its a tiny pin prick of light mind, it's a very, very long way to go!

Greetings from the White House

There are some benefits to endless-Bladerunner-death-scene style rainfall here in Sydney.... The decorator who promised to come in September called to say she was on her way and has spent the week painting and now our 1970's style ski lodge ceiling is no longer. Our brown wooden window frames now match the white clouds amongst which, due to our elevated position, we now sit.

I've also been able to crack open the boxes of books that I haven't seen for 3 years and still smell of Primrose Hill and the Japanese plastic toys, so loved by beloved. And whilst we've still got a very long way to go, its all starting to feel a bit like home.

So here then are some of our corners. Our eating corner with our Gary's table, the Star Wars print we bought in Nelly Duff on Columbia Road and some of M's own paintings. Some of the aforementioned books and the 70's coffee table and white vases I bought once upon a time for the black slate fireplace in Holland Road - filled with pretty white blossom that is another benefit of the winter here.

What I learned today #358

Every day teaches us something new - if you're willing to learn. It always comes down to the same thing. You create Heaven and Hell. Hell hides in making others responsible for your story. Heaven lies in honest ownership of your life. No one else can make you happy, healthy, beautiful or valuable. If there's a problem, its you. If there's a solution, its you. You have total power. Use it wisely.