What I'm competing with...

The house down the street (2 doors down from mine) is coming up for auction next weekend, and I've been haunting the place, and I've been at every open house they've had so far. (3 and counting)

As well as haunting the poor real estate agent - and I'm afraid that he thinks that I really want to buy the place. But I'm also getting a bit worried that he thinks that I have designs on him, so I may have to control myself and fore go the next open house on Wednesday.

But what I really want is to get an idea of what this particular house has to offer, and what the possibilities are for achieving their asking price - or an even higher price - for my place.
You know... what kind of work, detailing, painting, etc that I would need to do to reach the same 'standard' as it were.
And to tell you the truth, I think I'm slightly ahead of the game on several counts. Maybe not all... but some, anyway.

Their place may offer three bedrooms, and I only have two... but my bedrooms are much, much bigger. And one of theirs - in my opinion anyway - well, it's not even really big enough to use as an office or a babies room. Put a baby crib and changing table in there, and the poor baby would have claustrophobia in no time. You honestly, couldn't swing a cat without getting fur in your mouth... even if you wanted to.

But both of my bedrooms are big, with one that's almost huge...(sadly, not mine) The biggest of my two bedrooms would easily fit 2 double beds with room left over, and my room, even with a queen sized bed in there, there's still has enough room left over to throw a small party. Well maybe an exceedingly small party, but it's still plenty roomy.

And although the yard down the street is neat and tidy, it's tiny... and the fences are so low that you couldn't walk outside naked without the neighbors seeing everything that God gave you. Not that I have any desire to walk around my backyard naked, but at least in mine, I could, if I really wanted to.
Mine is secluded, it's woodsy, and it's completely and utterly private. Lots of lovely little nooks and crannies and "rooms" that are secluded from the rest of the yard... if that makes any sense.

It's also weedy and overgrown (again) and it needs a bit of tidying up, but there's enough room for 6+ units if someone wanted to buy it for development.
I would hate to see that happen, to tell you the truth, but once it's sold and I'm back in California where I belong, what they do with it won't be my concern anymore.

I'll admit it...they have a much nicer kitchen - if pretty much dated - than I have, but with the Kit-Set kitchen I mentioned in my last post, I reckon we could bring that part of the house up to snuff fairly easily and cost efficiently.
As well as bringing my bathroom into the 20th century. ( I would say 21st century, but that may be reaching for the stars just a little too much.) Mine needs the shower cubicle replaced and a vanity put in at least, but that's fairly easily done. I'm not going to say cheaply done, because it won't be. (the shower unit needs to be custom made because it's slightly less than 'standard' size) But one or even 2 days work will bring it up nicely, I think.

All in all, both houses are pretty much comparable square-footage wise, but my bedrooms and my yard are much bigger than theirs...
So if they can ask (and get) $240k next weekend, I have pretty high hopes of realizing slightly more than that, when this place goes up for auction.

Lounge (living) room

Kitchen and dining area

The largest of the 3 bedrooms (and whoever took the photo was standing right against the wall... so it's pretty darn small. Nice walk-in closet though.)

Backyard... from corner to corner

It does present well, doesn't it?

The bathroom looks nice, but the tub is pretty small and shallow.

Kitchen looking into the dining area, with the lounge room right around the corner. (in the background.)

Backyard... again, from corner to corner.

Here is a great opportunity to acquire this neat and solid three bedroom brick veneer, which is perfectly positioned near primary & secondary schools, and all amenities. Comprising three bedrooms with built in robes, a good size lounge with gas heating throughout, and a spacious kitchen & meals area with slidingdoors out to the neat low maintenance yard. The single garage has workshop space and remote roller door, and the big bonus is direct house access into the living area. There is also side access into the yard with enough space for a trailer etc. Other features include secure front fence, aluminium windows, and plenty of potential to further improve.

Anyway, I have semi-high hopes... and I can't wait to see what price this place brings next weekend!

I'm shameless...

Yes, I'm shameless.

Not that I want to be... but I have to be, if I want anything to get done around this place.
I have to be ruthless and shameless and a whole lot of other "lesses" in order to get my house in order, I think. I have to beg. And I have to plead.

Partly because I'm a girl, and because a lot of the manly "men" type of things elude me. Not that I'm not willing to give 'em a try, but because I just don't have a clue about a lot of building/patching and maintenance thingies. I've tried... and messed things up time and time again. And I've even gone to the trouble of searching out professionals... who when they give me quotes, immediately send me into sticker-shock and have me reaching for the smelling salts, before I swoon.

Is it because I have tits breasts and they figure that they can take advantage of me?
Is it because like P.T.Barnum said "there's a sucker born every minute" and the so-called 'professionals' think I'm "it and a bit"? (well, to be honest, it wasn't actually P.T. Barnum who said "there's a sucker born every minute" - it was a banker named David Hannum who was too stupid to get out of his own way and who took Barnum to court, while trying to cover his own arse.)

Okay, so to get back to my tales of woe... and how I solved things once before...
A couple of months back, I had a " work-bee/garden party/sausage sizzle" thingie where I invited all my local friends around to help me out with the yard work, (it was a fantastic day, and we got heaps done!) and I'm seriously thinkin' of doin' it again...

Only more or a work-bee/garden party/house maintenance/"happy hauling days" kind of thing. I'll put all my worthless treasures out on tables, invite all and sundry to come along and slap some plaster and paint around, pull some weeds, pull some bales and hoe some corn... and hopefully help me knock together a kit kitchen from Bunnings... and in return, I'll fill their bellies, entertain them with witty conversation, and then let them start hauling away the crap treasures that I can't bother packing to send home.
As well as the half empty bottles of shampoo and potions and cleaning products and cutesy hand towels and oven mitts and knick-knacks that I once thought I couldn't live without.

And to add to the whole "I'm as poor as a church mouse" and I can't afford to pay market price for a bunch of shonky contractors thing, I also seriously hurt my back and knee in a fall a few weeks back, and in spite of chiropractors, physical therapy, potent pain meds and all that other hooey, I'm still getting around like a frog with one leg tied behind my back.
I lurch to the side and bump my arse a lot... and we won't even go into how moody and irritable I've been with it all.
(now's the time for you to say "thank goodness she hasn't been posting!!" - although I prefer that you wouldn't... and that you'll all reassure me that you've missed me - even if I've been so crabby that folks around here are wanting to break out the crab leg crackers, and serve lemons on the side of me.)

I want to get this work done... and I need to get it done asap, because I need to get this place whipped into 'sell able' shape so that I can sell up and go hooome....
So start gathering up your work gloves and tools and whatchamacallits and bring your appetite as well... and we'll get 'er done!

To be continued...

I live with mere mediocrity

Martin Luther King had a "Dream" and he got out there and told the world... And it changed not only how people around the country thought and acted, but it also changed history.

Last night, I had a dream... and in that dream both my eyebrows fell off, and I ended up gluing false moustaches in their place.
Which leads me to believe that I'm not really destined for greatness.
No, really... I'm not.

I'm just mediocre.
Now, I'm not saying that in any self-depreciating way. I'm just stating a fact.
Oh, when I was young - when I had my whole lifetime stretching out in front of me... I had dreams of being someone special.
I had dreams of making a difference... and dreams of someday standing on stage accepting a myriad of awards for a whole slew of wonderful accomplishments.

I wanted to be a writer, and move people through the power of my words.
I wanted to be a horticulturist and surround myself - and others - with the beauty of plants.
I wanted to be an archaeologist and understand and unearth ancient mysteries - and hopefully, find a few dead bodies in the process. (preferably old ones)

And I wanted to be a singer of ballads - like an early Joan Baez. (well, that one was mainly so that I could meet James Taylor... who would somehow be amazed at my soul-stirring ballad perfectness, and who would sing "Fire and Rain" to me... and then we would eventually launch into soul-stirring duets in front of a roaring fire.
(preferably a fire in a fireplace... and not a Smokey the Bear kind of fire.)

I didn't do any of those things.

I grew up, studied hard, and eventually found myself working in the field of medicine... in Oncology.
And I loved it. I really did.

But it all fell by the wayside when I had my children.
Suddenly, my dreams shifted... and it was all about them.
Encouraging and nurturing their own forms of greatness.
It was about giving them wings so that they could fly and find their own worlds... and by doing so, I was somehow leaving my small legacy to the future world.

Oh I don't know that I did a very good job of it, and I certainly wasn't the mother - or inspiration - to them that I wanted to be... but I think I did alright.
I raised 3 wonderful, caring, involved, and thoughtful children, but I honestly think it was more by the grace of God... than because of any overwhelming constant, prodding input from me.
And now I'm attempting to make a difference in the life of the Lad... and I think we're making wonderful progress

I guess that there's just something in me that needs to "give" to others.
And after years and years of soul-searching, I've finally realized that it's not because I want praise and adulation, (well, to tell you the truth, I knew that one already) or some fancy-schmancy headstone trumpeting to the world that I made a difference...
It's simply because I want to give children the key to their own futures.

I'm no saint.
I'm not special.
I'm just mediocre.
But I surround myself with potential greatness and I (hopefully) infuse small people with a hope for their eventual future.

And that's enough of a dream for me.
Funny eyebrows notwithstanding...

{Edit}
Some one just shared this with me and it really struck a chord...

"During your life, everything you do and everyone you meet rubs off
in some way.

Some bit of everything you experience stays with everyone
you've ever known, and nothing is lost.

That's what is eternal... these little specks of experience in a great, enormous river that has no end"
~ Harriet Doerr

Date night at a dive...

I've had a battle on my hands, trying to teach The Kid some never-before-learned "life skills", and I'm happy to say that we've made some pretty good progress.
He's getting pretty proficient at doing his own laundry with all the sorting, soaking, hanging out and all that goes with it... plus he's cooking for the family, doing dishes, etc.
(Just don't tell him that today is "scrubbing the toilet and cleaning the bathroom day", or I'm afraid that he'll bolt for the hills and I'll never see him again!)


So anyway... last night I was too lazy tired to cook and we decided to go to The Royal Mail hotel just up the road from here. Now the last time we were there, I had one of the best meals I had had in a long, long time, (succulent, delicious garlic prawns) so when it came to choosing where to go for dinner, it was pretty much of a no-brainer.

Not only did I not have to cook, and I could have my fill of Garlic Prawns, but The Kid could practice some important life skills... such as calling and reserving a table, ordering the meals, table manners, paying the bill, etc. (unfortunately not with his money this time, but still...)


Now, I worked until 6pm and he had booked for 7, so I reminded him that he needed to shower earlier, so that I would have time to fancify myself when when my little charge left.

Unfortunately, he took the whole "date night" thing very seriously, and he spent almost 45 minutes in the bathroom... showering, doing his hair, brushing his teeth, slapping aftershave on his little peachy-fuzzy face and even cleaning his ears!

Which meant that I barely had time to change my clothes and run a comb through my hair, but I could do little else in the way of looking presentable...
But Ce la vie I guess.


Once we got to the restaurant, he did a terrific job of ordering, getting drinks (a pitcher of Coke)
and making conversation ... and asking me things about myself for a change, and not carrying on endlessly about Eminem - thank goodness!
All was going well until he took a couple of bites of his chicken parmigiana, and realized that it was still raw inside... and that there was a bit of stringy plastic stuff between the chicken and crumbed coating. He did well with going back to the waitress and requesting another meal.. and luckily, the next one was cooked to perfection.

Unfortunately, I was pretty well disappointed in my garlic prawns, (more like shrimps in a butter sauce this time) and the choices of "sides" was less than inspired, and since the raw chicken had basically put him off... we decided that enough was enough. He went up and asked for a doggy bag for meal, and then went back to the "sides and salad bar" to top the chicken off - "to eat tomorrow for lunch".
Once we got home, he made me a cup of Sleepy Time tea, and he even thanked me for paying for dinner!



I'm beginning to see a glimmer of hope here with The Kid.

At long last!

Just some updates....

I know that I've been slack lately, but I have to admit that quite a lot of you have been sending me private emails, and asking 'what's going on with ____ or ____ or have you heard any more about ____.
And so, I'm gonna do my best to bring you up to date.
Because we all know that I've been causing you a lot of sleepless nights, and keeping you from living life to the full.
And I apologise for that.

So here we go.

1. The Kid.
The placement with The Kid is going good. I would say it's going "great"... but that would be fibbing. Oh, don't get me wrong... he is a good kid, but because he's been in care for almost 14 of his 16 years, it's been a real battle teaching him "life skills".
How other carers could completely and totally allow him to skip showering and tooth-brushing... and allowing him to take the train to Melbourne on his own, at 15 years of age, I don't know. But they did.
And now I'm gettin' grey hairs because of it.
And I'm going hoarse as well, I think.

2. The Hay Bale garden.
Now this one did a lot better than even I expected... even though it took a while to take off.
Once it got going though, it's just going and going and going... kinda like an Energizer Bunny garden.
The tomatoes and eggplants are still producing, and showing no signs of stopping... I have peppers of every description still coming out of my ears and I've run out of room in the freezer, and I can't even freeze anymore!
So if you've though about giving this thing called "hay bale gardening" a try - I say GO for it!!

3. Moving Home.
Yes... I'm going home.
Soon. But how soon? I dunno. We're still waiting on the property next door to my sons place, although we're also still working on the manufactured home option as well. Because... I mean, who wouldn't want to have 2 homes? I guess most people would prefer houses in different areas of the country, but this 2-in-1 idea is going to suit us right down to the ground.
Because I have ideas...
One house will be for livin' in... and the other will be used as a B&B. And hopefully, (we're working on this one) the B&B can be used as a "get-away" once a month for a returned serviceman's family.... or a deployed serviceman's family - completely and utterly free of charge.
So, as you can imagine, even though things seem to be going slowly right now, there are lots of plans/decorating ideas etc, going on behind the scenes.

4. Cleaning out junk prior to moving.
Well, thanks to my friend Jenny, this one is just about under control. We cleaned out almost all the kitchen cabinets and threw stuff away and gave stuff to the Salvation Army... and to be honest, Jenny scored most of my Tupperware, because quite frankly, it's not worth trying to ship back to the US.

Then we hit the linen cupboard... where Jen also scored heaps more stuff. Along the lines of towels and sheets and doona covers and even a quilt or 2. And the rest is now sitting in the Salvos, so I'm down to next to nuthin'...
But just enough to do me.
Which will make the moving men happy, I'm sure.

Then we hit my bedroom... and I'm not going to say much about that mess, other than I was beginning to wonder if I was going to survive it. It was hot and dusty and never-ending and overwhelming... going through all the stuff that had been sitting in the back of the closets for years and years... and believe you me... I was getting cranky!
But we did it. Eventually.

So there ya go.
You're all up to date.
Mostly.

To be continued....
Maybe.

Oh happy days...I won't be missing out!!

I know I haven't been around much lately, but things have sort of been "happenin'" here.
Good stuff and bad stuff, as well as on-going kid problems... But I won't even attempt to go into that particular issue, because I honestly think that if I start thinking about it - or writing about it - I'll start pulling my hair out and gnashing my teeth... and I don't have the energy for anymore of that right now.

Plus, (and this is mainly why I haven't been around much lately) I've had LOTS of computer issues as well - but the pc problems now seem to be resolved thanks to my wonderful techie and a brand-new (well, at least to me) Bessie here.
I had no idea at all that my computer could run this darn fast !!
It's like greased lightning!!
(Jason? I love ya, honey!)

Blogs are now loading instantly...and when I type, I don't have to wait 20 seconds for the letters to show up...
So I don't have to sit idly by while the text loads, or kill time by doing the dishes or scrubbing the toilet or anything.
Yay me!!

Less time doing housework is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned.
*wink wink*

Don't take that away from me...

I consider myself to be an "Urban Homesteader" - if only in a small way - at this point in time anyway.
I grow some of my own veggies, (or attempt to, when the snails aren't busy thwarting me) I have fruit trees, I can and preserve - as well as occasionally freeze my homegrown fruits and veggies.
I collect rainwater for re-use in the garden, and the rinse water from the washing machine goes directly on the garden.
I compost, mulch, recycle, repair and reuse or give stuff away... whenever I can.
I do what I can to be self-sufficient, and although I'm certainly not where I want to be yet, I'm walking the walk and talking the talk.

But the right to call myself an Urban Homesteader may soon be taken away from me - and taken away from any of you - who consider yourselves to be *Urban Homesteaders*.

See, it seems there's now a war a-brewing, and it all has to do with the Dervaes family aka Dervaes Institute - feeling that they, and they alone, should have the sole legal right to use the term "Urban Homestead" or "Urban Homesteading".
Because they "trademarked" the terms in 2010.

"Last year, the Institute managed to register the term as a trademark (in connection with “educational services” such as blogging) and it is now sending take down requests and warning letters targeting individuals and organizations that have been using the term for years."

Now, as far as I know - and according to numerous sources smarter than me - "urban homestead" or "urban homesteading" is simply a term in common usage... and it's used by folks all over the world, who are only just trying to reduce their impact on the environment and live a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.
By growing their own food... whether it be fruits and veggies, or chickens or assorted livestock for personal use, or collecting rainwater, re-using grey water, canning, dehydrating, freezing, making cheese or butter, or wine and beer ... plus a whole lot of other things.

It's what people have been doing for a long, long time... and in all that time, the terms "Urban Homestead" or "Urban Homesteading" have both been in common usage.

As a matter of fact, a lot of urban homesteading books have been in published in the last ten+ years or so (before the term was copyrighted)... and I'm lucky enough to own a couple of them.
(Neither one these though.. but they're definitely on my wish list)

Urban Homesteading by Rachel Kaplan and K Ruby Blume
("Rachel Kaplan has been gardening in and around urban environments for over 15 years and belongs to a family of farmers and lovers of the land... and K. Ruby Blume is an educator, gardener, beekeeper, artist and activist, with 20+ years experience gardening in an urban setting.")

Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (published 2008)
To check out their blog - "Root Simple", go here

Now these very people are being unfairly confronted with legal action... all because the Dervaes family/ Dervaes Institute - believe that they - and they alone - should have sole right to the terms.
They even went to the extreme of contacting face book ... and managed to get several pages belonging to Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen as well as others (folks who use the terms) disabled.
Good one, face book.

But... this whole kerfuffle has ticked off a lot of people who consider themselves to be "urban homesteaders", as well as getting in the faces of Face Booker's and Bloggers...
So the upshot is that there's now a serious backlash against the Dervaeses' and their stand-over tactics ...
And that's as it should be, in my humble, urban homesteading opinion.

Take Back Urban Home-steading(s)
(face book page)

Simple pleasures are best...

I was thinking the other day about food... and how in the last few years, we've gotten so spoiled with all the fancy cooking shows and blogs and all that competitive, "I can cook fancier than you" stuff.
You know... instead of plain ol' meatloaf and mashed potatoes, we now feel obligated to fix something that requires 37 rare and hard-to-find ingredients, and then we have to use all kinds of fancy and expensive gizmos to make and mix it with.
Not that I've ever felt obligated ... but I'm just sayin'.

So, the other day when I was feeling peckish around lunch time, I decided to make a good old fashioned Tuna Salad Sandwich.

And once it was made, and I ate a big spoonful straight out of the bowl.... Mmmm!
I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
So it's true.
Sometimes simple is best!



I figured that with 2 men in the house, I should triple the recipe... and that way I would make sure that I had something left over for an afternoon snack for the next few days.
I'll give you the measurements I used, but this can easily be altered to suit your own tastes - or your appetite.

Tuna Salad Sandwich

3 cans of white Albacore tuna in spring water (drained)

3 hardboiled eggs, chopped

1 large dill pickle, with one half finely minced, and the other half roughly chopped

1 small onion, minced finely

Mayonnaise to moisten.

optional / a small sprinkling of dill or other fresh herbs / or a small splash of chili oil

I like it best on plain ol' wheat bread toast with lettuce, (reminds me of my far distant youth) but rustic whole grain breads or even toasted English muffins are real good too!

It's almost snack time for the kids and I, and I can hear that tuna calling my name... so I'll catch you later!