Country Club Living

My daughter spent the past few days enjoying the hospitality of her friend's family at their home in the gorgeous gated community of the Heritage Golf and Country Club.

What would it be like to live in a resort-like setting? 

Pristine lawns and gardens, spa, restaurants, pools, golf links, bicycle paths, security.

January Photo A Day Challenge Day 17 'Water': in the kiddie pool at the Country Club

Day 18 'Something I Bought': swishy new clothes for Aidan - on sale! 

Love the stripes inside the shirt and hood and on the cool shorts.

Day 19 'Sweet': nature's honey made locally. 

We like it on toast, in hot water with lemon to sooth a sore throat, in milkshakes and in chocolate raspberry brownies (will make and post the pics and recipe soon).

Day 16 Photo A Day Challenge 'Breakfast'

January Photo A Day Challenge Continues

Day 15 'Happiness' - Having fun in the playground.

Day 14 'What Your Are Reading' - Actually read this on Day 15.

Hostess with no more mostest

Noooooooooo Hostess Cupcakes anymore?!!!! Just heard David Letterman say Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies and Ding Dongs, filed for bankrupty. Seems people want healthier products. I'm worried about all the staff that might lose their jobs. In an effort to help those people, I suggest all my family and friends in Canada buy up and send me as many Hostess Cupcakes boxes as you can. I of course won't eat any of them myself but will distribute them amongst the Aussies here so they can experience that creamy centre. It's helping everyone, really.

Day 13 of the January Photo A Day Challenge: 'What's in my (daughter's) bag'

What's in my bag

Surprisingly, I couldn't fit into the photo frame the 203 business cards, 506 receipts and 7 McDonald's (clean) napkins - you never know when you might need to mop up a glass of water spilt onto your keyboard...

Day 12 January Photo A Day Challenge: 'Close Up'

House Goals for 2012

January Photo A Day Challenge: Day 11 'Where I Sleep'


This is my daughter's upholstered double bed. I love the turquoise/acqua blue.

Melissa from the Inspired Room blog (www.theinspiredroom.net) asked her readers to post our dreams for homes in 2012, projects on our wish list. Mine:

• Build a house on our farm
• A new driveway for our existing home
• Update our entertaining area in the backyard
• Paint my son's bedroom
• Add a third toilet in our back hallway
• Place white subway tiles as the back splash in the kitchen, laundry and ensuite

Favourite routines


Lisa Leonard asked her blog readers what our favourite routines are. Mine:

• Big breakfast on Sunday mornings 
• Saturday visits to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market to stock up the pantry and fridge with seafood and veggies – and lunch of borek
• Lots of laundry on the weekends, getting bedsheets and towels onto the backyard Hills Hoist (the Australian rotary clothes line)
• Friday pj party night involves a movie or game at home, and often a takeaway meal

During the week, my routine involves long hours commuting and working. On the train at 7am, in the office just before 9am. Back on the train at 7pm and home at 8:30pm. Weekly meetings with the best creative minds in the Australian performing arts and event management industry, hiring staff, commissioning suppliers, writing briefings, yada yada. 


I use the commute time to plan work, reply to emails and personal reading – if I don’t end up fast asleep on some poor unsuspecting soul’s shoulder sitting beside me! Other passengers can be entertained by watching my head snap forward in exhaustion when I’m trying to read. I wake with a start and promptly fall back asleep. How did I turn into my grandfather?

Australian Picture Rails

Melissa of The Inspired Room (www.theinspiredroom.net) started a great discussion about using picture rails in a home. They allow great flexibility because you can move paintings, prints, photos and decorative plates into any room along the rails with picture rail hooks. No nails or holes required.

In our Australian 'Californian Bungalow' the picture rails are positioned 2/3 up the walls and are very popular in older-style homes.

In the first two pics, you can see that the walls are painted white above the picture rail and buttercup yellow below. It really brightens and opens up the room.

Our picture rails had originally been stained a dark brown, but we stripped them back to their natural timber. The third photo shows the solid red walls in our dining room.

In case you want to know the artist for each print.... The first photo at the top is a print by Lesa Delisi called 'Point of Interest'. The second is by Carolyn Blish. The third is Catherine Simpson's 'Homemade Soup'.

Back to the January Photo A Day Challenge!

Day 10 "Childhood" - there's nothing better than Star Wars Lego.

The photo frames above can be used for Day 9 "Routine" - if not the daily routine of cleaning them (which I certainly don't do enough of), then at least the routine of looking at them with enjoyment.

Day 8 "Sky" - over the Goulburn River in front of our house.

Day 7 "Favourite" dam on our farm where we can fish and boat.

Family Fun and Games

Day 6 of the Photo A Day Challenge: "Something That Makes Me Smile"

Games night with the family.

You can't help but scream with laughter when you pull the wrong stick in KerPlunk and all the blooming marbles crash to the bottom.

What's your favourite board or card game for family fun? Wrenching your back playing Twister?

We like Mastermind, Cluedo, Game of Life, Crazy 8s, Sorry! and even CashFlow (hilarious hearing the kids talk about liabilities, passive income and the rate race - which we have yet to escape).

Ahhh, the games people play!