Eeek! I'd like to go back and replay this day differently please!

It's hot, and I'm feeling rather heavy and a bit anxious these days.  
I got home an hour ago after several hours of battling city crowds to run errands, looking forward to putting my feet up and resting quietly ....
.... but alas, it was not to be.

Another summer storm has hit, and both the dogs are barking inconsolably - Gus is terrified of thunder and Bracken is a major dork who barks at Gus, really loudly, and doesn't respond to my attempts to make him be quiet.

Meanwhile, water is pouring in through the heating vents and light fixtures in our living room ceiling ...  it's not dripping or trickling, it's pouring down in several steady streams and filling the buckets in the small space of time it takes me to go and get more towels and pots. All this just after we've had to spend a packet-load of money on extra plumbing and glazing work and fixing up other leaks due to the shoddy efforts of some dodgy contractors who did our renovations last year ...

And I look and feel a bit like this:

 with about as much flexibility and mobility.

Gulp!
(*curls up on bed with headphones on and eyes squeezed shut while thunder rolls in and dogs continue to bark at top volume...*)

Little sweetheart ♥

I wish the young possums would stop falling out of trees around here! Yesterday I found this sweet little baby in our local park, and although he was breathing and squeaking when I picked him up, sadly he died, probably of shock, just before I reached the vet clinic.
Poor little love ...

They're just fleeting encounters, but I get teary every time this happens!

Neat as a pin

Hooray! Two wonderful blokes took it upon themselves to blitz through some more painting at our holiday house this weekend. Having driven a packed one-tonne van for over 4 hours after work on Friday evening, they set to work in the living room. They only had one-and-a-half days in which to prep and complete the work, but I think it's come up a treat! I just knew it would look so much better once the greasy-looking, glum, oil-based paint was gone - it suits my simpler, pared-down aesthetic now and I'm sure it will be a lovely space in which to relax ...

Thank you G & J!

This is the pic I took when we first went to look at the house. Note the dull, ugly walls and ceiling, clunky pelmet with synthetic lace curtains, not to mention the cluttered knick-knacks ...

 Yellowed wainscotting, damage to the fire surround ...

There seems to have been a sliding door here in a past life ...

.... now it's starting to look more fresh and snug. I'd like to put a couple of simple things on the mantlepiece and a few coloured prints on the walls, re-cover the armchairs etc., but that can all wait for a while ...

Bit by bit, room by room, we're getting there. This little house will be lovely when it's done.

We have the POWER

Go wild, kids! It's the nuclear age!

 

(source)

'Health Physics', 1947

I found these 1947 work safety posters via Retronaut. The idea of working somewhere where these are required (and considered adequate for worker protection) is a little disturbing, don't you think? 

“These posters were produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1947.   Their purpose was to remind personnel of radiation safety practices and also to let them know what the term “Health Physics” meant, i.e. radiation protection.  In 1947 the term was only 4 years old and no less confusing then than now.”

- Oak Ridge Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Museum Collection

Remembering

It's three years since my dad passed away. I know he'd have been thrilled about us expecting our first baby soon, and he'd have been a wonderfully caring and fun-loving grandfather. I guess I'll have to help my little boy get to know his granddad through pictures and fond memories, through stories and just through being the way I am, as I do what I can to include some of my dad's sparkle in my everyday life.

I might indulge in a little glass of champagne this evening .... here's to you, Papa Dick!



(Image source)

Beautiful bones

... photographed for LIFE magazine by Andreas Feininger.

Can you identify them?

1. a mole
2. an elephant femur and a hummingbird
3. a fish
4. an owl
5. a sloth
6. a pygmy armadillo (does my bum look big in this armour?)
7. a horse and a human
8. a jumping mouse
9. a gorilla ribcage
10. this one's a mystery to me ... it was labelled as 'an animal skeleton'. Any suggestions?

Worm me up, baby!

Hmm, it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted ...

I've been quite tired lately but we enjoyed a few days down at Port Fairy last week - it was hot and sunny and really lovely spending time in the sleepy village atmosphere and playing with the dogs at the beach. I realised that despite the region having a higher rainfall record than Melbourne, the garden there gets very hot and dry in summer so I've been re-thinking my plans.... Still loving the idea of an informal, insect-attracting perennial garden though, particularly in the naturalistic style and with beautiful ornamental grasses featured.

Just as a record for myself, I took some photos of the 'blank slate' front garden in November. It looks rather glum at the moment but I hope we'll be enjoying a very different space in a year's time.

(We're planning to paint the house and replace the 1970s fence; the verandah has recently been re-stumped and re-decked; and that ugly ramp and handrail have gone, as has the giant Strelitzia - the 'Bird of Paradise' plant. I also need to remove the Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) and the Oleander 'cause they're rather poisonous, but I'm planning to plant some trees, most likely a flowering crabapple and a magnolia...)

The back garden is bigger, pretty much just a large expanse of lawn and two apple trees. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into them when the weather is milder and I'm more mobile ... that little place is more than ready for a facelift!