Multimedia Post

First, you HAVE to watch this super awesome music video made with jelly bean stop-animation (yes, you read that right):

Spring flowers

Snapped in my garden this week... I hope to spend some time there this weekend. Have a good one.

Before and After

It's taken me long enough, but I can finally show you some renovation pics!

Bathroom:

When our house was built, the owners at the time decided to change the plans for the en-suite bathroom in the main bedroom. They were elderly and didn't want a bath, so they built a wall in the middle of the room that would be the bathroom and installed only a shower, toilet and single basin, using the other half of the room as a walk-in cupboard.

The spare bathroom, on the other hand, has a bath and no shower. In winter, being cold-blooded, I find that the only way to get warm is to immerse myself in piping hot water. We would often use the guest bathroom to bath, but when we had guests staying with us, we were stuck with our shower, which had a broken sliding door that needed to be forced closed and still let cold air in because it wouldn't shut properly. The guests, on the other hand, were stuck with the bath, which is difficult for people like my 85-year old granddad to use.

So we installed a hand shower in the guest bathroom, broke through part of the wall that had been built in the bathroom and used what was the walk-in cupboard as a spot to install a lovely bath.

We found a way to fit in our new bathroom without moving any major water points. We added an extra basin and an extra shower (inside the existing shower). That last bit is one of my favourite things... Now TSC and I can shower together and he can have his luke warm water and I can have my scalding hot water. I've been explaining the necessity of this to everyone who has seen the bathroom: I believe all serious marital discussions should ideally take place in the bath or shower because it's very difficult to fight with a naked person ;-)

Anyhoo... Here are the pics...

Before

If you look closely here you'll see the towel rail lying on the floor. We tried fixing it on numerous occasions and it just kept falling off. So glad we have nice new, sturdy towel rails!

It may look innocuous, but this non-closing shower door was evil.

The walk-in cupboard

During
Here's where we broke through the wall from the existing bathroom into the walk-in cupboard...

After
Now we just need more stylish laundry bins!



Still can't believe this was the walk-in cupboard!

The Bedroom:

Once we'd put a bath in what was our walk-in cupboard, we obviously needed to find a new storage solution, which meant installing new cupboards. We also had to replace the carpet, which was worn through in some spots, and the skirtings. You'll see why when I show you a pic! The ceilings had pulled away from the cornices, allowing dust from the roof to pour into the room and make TSC's allergies a million times worse than usual, so we fixed the ceilings, rhinolited over them and put in new cornices and a new light fitting. While we were at it, we installed a vanity for me so I don't clutter the new bathroom with my make-up and hair accessories, and we also replaced the curtain rods.

Photos...

The revolting skirtings. We've now replaced most of these around the house with Meranti wood ones. The originals were made of a substance that was almost like cardboard - you could pull the things apart with your bare hands!

You can also see how worn the carpet is here - it's actually threadbare under the skirting on the left side of the pic.

Fixing the ceilings and prepping the walls...

This pic shows where we built up the old doorway to the walk-in cupboard and the rhinolite, stillwet and patchy on the ceilings.


New paint, fixed ceilings, new cornices and a new light fixture...


The finished room:


I LOVE these cupboards (thanks Louisa for the recommendation). They run the whole length of the wall and one of them opens up as the entrance to the bathroom (the one you can partially see on the far right of the pic)

The new cupboards opposite the bed, along with my dresser and the new curtains.

I'm so chuffed with the way my heart-art headboard substitute worked out! Our old headboard was too big for the room. We actually had to take it apart to get it out once the cupboards were in!

So that, my lovelies, is what I have been preoccupied with over the last six weeks. I'm very glad it's all finished and I am supremely happy with the end results. But now I want a break from home improvements for a bit ;-)

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing TSC. We didn't finish the renovations before my bday, but I'm glad we did it before his.

My opinion on various things. And pics.

As I'm sure you are all aware, I have an opinion on pretty much everything :-) So here are my thoughts on a couple of things:

Movies:

Unkown: I love Liam Neeson. I love action movies and thrillers. One would think this was a match made in heaven. And it was definitely edge-of-your-seat engaging. The only problems are the plot holes the size of JuJu's ego and the fact that it's all been done before. And let's face it, Bourne Identity did it a little better. I give it 6 out of 10.

Thor: Expecting a credible storyline and a superb script from a comic book movie is a bit like expecting a politician to tell the truth - it's possible, but quite rare. That said, if you can ignore the really daft plot, cheesy lines and superficial characters, Thor is actually quite a lot of fun. The special FX are pretty impressive, there's loads of action and, of course, there are Chris Hemsworth's abs. I give this one 6 out of 10 too.

TV:

Masterchef Australia: I don't know why I watch this show. I find it so stressful that I spend most of it clenching my fists and chanting contestants' names over and over as if I can stop them from being eliminated. But I love it. I really do. For the first time in ages, TSC and I are following something (other than sport) regularly on TV. Of course, it helps that we have a PVR now :-)

Restaurants:

La Passant: I bought a voucher for La Passant in Sandton awhile ago from awesome group buying site, WiCount (http://www.wicount.co.za/), and WOW - what a find! TSC and I had such a lovely dinner there. He had the lamb shank in red wine, cranberry and chocolate sauce (yum!) and I had the duck breast with orange and mango sauce (also yum!). We finished off with a rooibos creme brulee and the beligian chocolate mousse - both were little pieces of heaven on a plate. And the service was fabulous. We'll definitely be visiting again.

So those are my opinions for today. And here are some more pics from Sondela...

TSC feeding Porky, the tame warthog who was taken in by the Wildlife Centre when he was abandoned by his mother...

Sweet ass :-)

Yummy cheese platter that was brought to our room as part of our package on our first night...

Three giraffes. We saw them from a distance when we were out cycling, so we headed closer, got off the bikes and walked near enough to take pics - amazing experience...

Good stuff. And pics.

I do not feel like being back behind this screen, hard at work. The past few days have been such a good break that I don't want them to end.

I survived the farm in Namibia, with all its millions of mosquitoes and its one loo that doesn't work properly. TSC went off hunting and then spent much time cutting up all the meat (three springbok) to make biltong, mince etc, while I ploughed through several library books. I must say, despite the fact that it's really not my cup of tea, the farm was beautifully green. They've had good rains this year, so instead of just bone-dry red dirt, there was lots of grass and many fat dassies, happy sheep, tiny wild flowers and, of course, thousands of bugs. And the weather was great. Sunny and warm during the day and not too cold at night.

TSC enjoyed it. I would've liked to be with my whole family who were in Durban for Easter (especially my borther, whom I haven't seen in the past few weeks), but it was good to see him happy and I'm glad he got to spend quality time with his folks, without a million other people around for a change. Also, there were kittens, so that kept a smile on my face. I managed a few firsts too: first time eating !nabas (Kalahari truffles, which we dug out of the sand) and first time eating melkkos (not a fan. I'm not big on milk, so it was wasted on me. Lumpy milky stuff).

Anyway, here are some pics...

Horses, enjoying the short, sweet, green grass at the dam...

Somewhere, over the rainbow...

Kittens!!!!! *Squee*

We got back last Tuesday. Wednesday, being Freedom Day, was spent at the Rand Show. I haven't been since I was about eight years old and TSC has never been. We had such a good day out, although we spent far too much money (we each came home with a leather jacket).

Pics...

Thursday we both worked. And then, on Friday... SONDELA! I'd been looking forward to our weekend getaway since we booked. And once again, Sondela didn't let us down. I *love* that place (wrote about it last time here). We were only there for two nights, but we enjoyed every minute of it. We played tennis, rode our bikes through the bush spotting game, swam, read, napped, watched the stars from our private outdoor victorian bath, took photos, fed a giraffe at the wildlife centre, enjoyed good food and a private dinner at the poolside with candles and a fire, did a game drive and generally had a ball.

Pics...

Our private lunch table in the garden...

Zebra crossing...

The view looking up from our outdoor bath - a giant Kapok tree...

A Kapok blossom that landed in the empty bath...

All of this wonderfulness. I feel very lucky indeed.

Words and pictures

It's been a busy time. TSC's dad was in hospital for a few days to have a kidney stone removed. The process was more painful than expected and TSC and his family have been quite stressed. We also had a lot on this weekend and TSC's helpers, Isak and Johannes, have been staying with us on and off to help him out on the odd jobs he's doing, which has meant no real privacy for a bit.

The weekend was good, despite being busy. I am so broke after Hobby-X, although I came away with awesome loot. I have lots of craft ideas now - just no time to execute them! On Saturday afternoon we had a picnic in the Pretoria Botanical Gardens to say farewell to my friend and her hubby, which was lovely, but made me sad. We also went to Moo Moo for supper with my folks, which was great.

Thankfully, after a mad Saturday, we got to spend Sunday chilling with my folks at their place. It was the perfect day - naps, good chats, swimming, a great Sunday lunch and a leisurely walk around the estate where they live. TSC and I felt like we were on holiday. Neither of us was keen to come back to our house to do laundry ;-) Being a grown-up... *sigh*

Isak and Johannes are with us for the rest of the week, which is challenging in terms of cooking because they struggle to eat with a knife and fork. We did a braai for them the week before last and burgers last week and I've made a chickpea curry with rice, which is easy to eat with a spoon, but I'm running out of ideas! Especially seeing these odd jobs are always last-minute, so I've already bought ingredients for food for TSC and I this week. I was planning on grilled black mushrooms with some nice toppings for tonight with sides of salad and roast potatoes, but you can't eat those with your fingers or a spoon. Well, not without some difficulty, that is. Any bright ideas?

In other news, TSC's cell phone contract was due for renewal, so he got a new BlackBerry yesterday. His is much fancier than mine and he's very happy with it. He hasn't stopped playing with it since it came out the box. It's nice to have him on BBM - he's the person I SMS the most, so it's going to save me some money. Yay!

I'm super excited that we're going to see Cirque du Soleil Saltimbanco next week. CANNOT WAIT! I really didn't think we'd get tickets and was so bleak that we'd miss it, but my folks stepped in and saved the day.

I have so much work to do today, so I'll sign off and leave you with a few pics...

Sapphire, in the desk drawer next to me. When I'm at my desk, this is where she is.



Marble, loving my high threadcount duvet cover as much as I do. Spoilt boy.



I took this shot at the wedding we were at two weeks ago. I don't know why I love it so much. Maybe it's the contrast between the groom's masculine shoe and the feminine rose petals. Or maybe it's just because I remember how he was almost dancing while he waited for her to arrive and be walked down the aisle - he was just so excited!



Eh... I had more, but they're taking too long to upload. Next time.

Some lists

Excuses for last week's lack of blogging (a quick summary tour):

• Got sick and spent three days between bed and couch with a box of tissues.
• Painted the house (finished at 2.30am on Tuesday morning).
• Started operation clean-up after the epic painting mission.
  
• Spent a night in Pretoria to celebrate my mom's birthday with her and the family at the most awesome restaurant - Hemingways (best creme brulee I've ever had in Gauteng).
• Worked on publicity for my client's big event happening this Wednesday.
• Hosted groups of people at our place on two nights of the week (one included our new neighbours, which was cool).
  
• Hung lots of pictures on the newly painted walls.
• Washed all the curtains downstairs (five sets) and rehung them. Fun times.

Things I've wanted to blog about:

• Seeing Black Swan (what a strange film!).
• The fact that TSC turned down the dodgey job offer I was worried he would accept.
• How I was surprised by wonderful customer service at a Wimpy (of all places) and enraged (but unsurprised) by poor customer service at a Makro.
• The fact that I have Ella back (my car). She's perfect after her visit to the panel-beaters, who fixed the front bumper that someone had kindly reversed into (and had then not bothered to leave their details, of course).
• How much I hate paying my insurance excess for someone else dinging my car.
  
• The fact that some Joburg twit managed to put a tiny dent into the rubber bumper (didn't know you got such a thing) of the rental we were driving while Ella was away and how I'm now worried I'll have to pay for that too. Two accidents where I wasn't even present that I must fund!
• How the world seems to spin faster every year.
• How I should never have made it a New Year's Resolution to blog more.

Awesome highlights from this weekend:

• Having some neighbours over on Friday evening for a braai and chatting till 1am.
• Seeing some lovely girlfriends for a champagne breakfast on Saturday morning and being able to have conversations both silly and serious in the space of a few minutes.
• Finally figuring out (thanks to some help from Phillygirl and Arkwife) how to work my BlackBerry properly.
• A really good church service last night that made me think (about life and death. Our pastor, who has been battling cancer, handed out a template for a will and told us to make sure we're not caught dead (pun intended, I'm sure) without having a will, funeral arrangements and letters for our loved ones prepared. It may sound morbid, but it was all done with a great sense of humour and lots of thought-provoking quotes).

Decisions that have to be made:

• Do I agree to become a member of the board of trustees of our residential complex (they keep asking and I keep putting it off)?
• Should TSC study full-time this year? Should he study part-time and keep looking for a job? Should he study and work for free just to gain some relevant experience?
• Do I take up an interesting offer for some work that came through, even if it's something I've never done before and potentially quite risky?
• What on earth can I do for TSC for Valentine's Day that isn't cliche and doesn't cost much, seeing we just spent our extra cash on painting our house?

And that, dear readers, is me summed up in bullet point lists. Here are some pics, as promised...

Loved this flower... shot at Augrabies.



The view and our breakfast at The Overlook in Keimoes, where we spent our fourth wedding anniversary on 16 Dec.



My two gorgeous nephews at my SIL's wedding on 18 Dec - both sitting still for a change!

More jewellery pics and my kitties

How cute are my darlings? Well, I think they are. You don't have to ;-)

My little Sapphire cat...



My gorgeous Marble boy...



It's been a bland day... rain, updating a client's website with all the press releases I've ever written for them, laundry, invoicing and photographing my jewellery. *yawn* Nothing exciting.

Deep blue necklace with pendant...




Some alice bands. This is the first time I've tried these. What do you think?




Gold sparkly earrings...



This eve is my final photography class. So sad that it's nearly finished :-( I've loved every minute. I'll probably take the Photoshop course too, seeing I now have the fancy software and no idea how to use it. I love being able to keep learning new things. I want to be doing that for as long as I live. That's one of the main attractions of journalism for me, actually.

Before then, I must finish the work I'm busy with, visit the lady doctor (joy), exercise and make supper. So I'm going to say cheers for now and get to it.

Flora photos

Some pics I took at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens this weekend, on our class outing. I had fun, even though I'd only had 2.5 hours sleep the night before and could barely focus.

Will definitely be going back when I'm less exhausted ;-)

Jewellery pics

Hello all. Still recovering. It's frustratingly slow.

That said, I have kept myself busy. Been making jewellery for my annual Christmas open house, which I'm hosting this year on 13 Nov. If you're a crafter and would like to sell your wares, or if you want to come along and browse the jewellery for Christmas gifts or just to spoil yourself, drop me a mail at doodlesofajourno at gmail dot com and I'll send you the info. For now, here are a couple of pics...