RIP....a sad time....

OK...so I didn't get back here as soon as I had hoped...sadly, my Mum passed away 2 days after my last post.

She had been very unwell for the past few months....a consequence of a fall in early May....but she had been struggling with Parkinson's Disease for the past 6 years. This had impacted her mobility, which was so hard for me to watch as she was such an active lady, and in the past few years her cognitive functioning had deteriorated too. 

I was there when she died....by a bit of a fluke chance...although I kind of like to think she maybe waited for me to arrive before she went, as she went only 5 minutes after me sitting down with her. So the last week and a half has been a blur of phone calls, funeral arrangements, lawyers visits etc....and I had to fit going back to work in there too. 

I will miss her terribly, but it is comforting to know she is no longer in pain or struggling to move.  RIP Mum.

I have been feeling very tired but I'm hoping I am coming right now. For me, this time brings back lots of difficult feelings and memories, of the death of our son (9.5 yrs ago when he was nearly 10 years old) and we have since also lost my day (in 2006) and Steve's Mum (in 2008)..I know...I need to just take it slow and look after myself...easy to say but a bit harder to do!!! 

So today I'm off to a friends to do some scrapbooking....I'm going to try and finish an album I have been doing about the renovations my son and his wife did on their house when they first bought it, about 4 years ago....it's on the market now so it's timely to get it done. I will try and post some pics of my scrapping.... 

 Caio 

 Sandra

It's been 3 long years....

So....hellooooo....it's me here..... ...there seems to be an echo...... I haven't blogged for 3 years and 12 days and tonight I just feel like starting again....because I can...because I miss being able to flick back and read some of the hum drum that is life ticking by...so I'm going to pop in here and post occasionally....not to keep in touch with people (I can do that of Facebook) but to record stuff.... I'm a bit out of practice, so if there is anything I need to know about privacy settings and the such like (I really don't want a new man friend from Utah or Manchester or Chile lol)...and anyone who reads this would like to tell me what to watch out for....I would appreciate it... Otherwise my plan is to pop in occasionally and record what's going on chez moi...in my little corner of the world....just for me....and anyone else who might fancy a bit of an 'ordinary life' read.... Tonight I am cold...like chilled to the bone cold...so I have turned the leccy blankie on and I may take a warming dip in the spa before bed....tomorrow I have a new group I am starting at work in the morning and my first infant observation visit for my first Post Grad paper (bubs is just under a week old...I have to stay "removed"...that'll be interesting)...so I will be sitting at this computer writing it up tomorrow night...or should be at least..... OK...there's a start....will check back in in a day or two... Ciao Sandra

A couple of recent piccies...

....of the very lovely grandies.

Taylor...

And Porter.....

Cute huh????

Caio
Sandra

I asked my eldest DS....

.... do you think you could have found a more messy occupation??
Izzy, our Gibstopper .....



...and his mess....




Caio

Sandra

OK...Time for a renovation update...

...still bedlam and huge mess (can't believe how much mess a gibstopper can make lol)

But we can see progress and the ensuite and downstairs bathroom are almost done.....just the odd cabinet, glass door, painting of window frame and mirror/s and glass splash backs to go. Kitchen and dining room are painted, tiling is done in entranceway, 2 x bathrooms, laundry and other bits but no functioning kitchen yet. Lounge should be ready to paint next week and the oven should be in and benchtops measured and ordered. Here are some pics....not good ones but all I can manage in the mess (my washing machine is currently in my office/scraproom...go figure lol.)

This is a peek at the kitchen...looking into my new huge pantry....shelves arriving next week I hope and I'm only stocking it with yummy goodies lol!!!
And the new wine rack above where the fridge is going...now we can't afford the wine to go in it lol!!

The flash new heated towel rail in the ensuite...

....and a peek at the tiled (double) shower in same ensuite (there is the same set up at the other end....so cool..

And the installed but not yet working gas fire in the lounge.....



Points to note:
- every tradesman thinks that their part is the most important bit (except maybe the builder, he was flexible and cruisy) The Tiler was precious, the gibstopper is very messy and steals my coffee (but he is my son and I love him dearly lol), the plumber and sparky just pop in and out when we call and quietly go about doing their own thing.
- we will probably run out of $$ very soon...aaarrrgghhh!!
- I'm sick of takeaways and BBQ, no room to prepare food and handwashing dishes in the laundry tub.
- Installing the spa pool first was sheer genius and probably one of the few things keeping us sane. Too bad we might run out of dosh before the kitchen is finished ha, ha.
- the lovely labradors are wondering if they will ever be allowed inside again....they have to stay out as they can't read the tilers "Keep Off" signs (remember, the tiler is precious).
- I would probably renovate room by room next time, not all at once
- I have to laugh or I will cry!!
- I'm over choosing taps and light fittings...and I have to choose one more tap this weekend....eeeekkk! Who cares, as long as the water comes out surely!!!

Will post more again.

Caio

Sandra

Does this look like progress...??

Over the last week or two, we have gone from this (dining room).....

....to this....

...and this (kitchen)....
to this.....
The island is from our old kitchen and won't be part of the new one. We have put in a big pantry so we don't have room for an island but we are having a "peninsular".....with a "waterfall" no less. Watch this space.

Meantime we continue to have to live with this (lounge).......
and this (bedroom)....
All we seem to do is shift stuff around so the work can be done.

The anticipation of it all being finished is almost too painful to bear lol.

Ciao

Sandra

YIKES....

...it has to get worse ..... before it gets better.


Now we have NO walls in the lounge, kitchen, dining room and stairs.

At least the lights still work, as does the bbq and the shower and toilet. Not much else is functional tho lol.

Now the builder is nearly done and once the plumber and sparky have done their thing, we have all the gibbing and finishing to do.

Sleep.....overated lol.

Caio

Sandra

YIKES....