Amazing What A Trench can do for Excitement Levels!

Finally the weather has been kind to us...and we have progress.

The footings are being dug as I type. I can see where some walls will go! I feel like something is really happening and it is not feeling quite so surreal as it has done until now. We are all coping really well with our makeshift living arrangements, even Zeus is very settled with it all. We are thankful for some wonderful family friends that have him for us when we are not at home though in case he does get stressed.

Some serious dirt has been removed from our backyard. We have really tried to make a sloping block flat and it feels like we will achieve what we set out to do. That high wall still needs to come down about 20cm, and with 4 metre wide steps it will create a really open feel rather than a huge wall hitting you as you walk out of the house. It has taken 30+ truck loads of dirt so far and there is still a load of dirt to be taken from the block.

I am so excited!!!

Helping out the Liquidators...

at Borders (and just in case you wondered, I did support them by buying instore when times weren't so tough...although Book Depository is my usual go to online!). These were books I had hankered after for sometime and at 20-40% - why not I say? The clock was a $50 bargain and I can picture it on a shelf in my sewing room...some day! I love it!

Mermaid Mania

Miss Ciára is obsessed with Barbies and Mermaids. Talking about their new bedrooms when the reno is finished Ciára announced that she would like a mermaid quilt to match her pink walls and coloured chandelier. You can imagine how thankful I was that it was mermaid and not Barbie taht she requested! Zoe will be having a ballet theme in her room. Anyway, these are the lights that will be in the girls rooms;

and this is the Mermaid fabric I bought online...
and I know this is not good but I can not find the website I bought it from and I deleted all email history after it arrived....Yikes, sorry!

Pies and Tarts - A block of the month project

When out in Bathurst, I love to visit this shop if I am able to.

Sometime ago, I dropped in and spied this BOM (which they don't seem to have anymore!) I signed up for it immediately! I love it. The little packs of triangle papers and beautiful fabrics, started popping into my PO Box on a monthly basis...and all of a sudden 10 months had past and I hadn't even started.

With a trip to a cold and wintery Ireland coming up back in November I decided to take this along with me to keep me busy when I was cosying up next to the radiator. There was a lot more than stitching to be done on our trip to Ireland so Block 1 didn't even get finished however now, 3 months after our return, I have finally completed that block 1 and can now move onto the other 9.

I really love the fabrics, and will keep slogging away on this BOM to get it done. Sounds like a good thing that my machine broke as now all I can do is hand stitch until I can justify forking out for another machine

A Room with a View

A day of rain puts an excavation behind about 2-3 days. Our sloped block and the type of dirt we have doesn't do us any favours either.

Digger Ralph tried yesterday, he really did, but neither the bob cat or excavator could get any traction at all. The bobcat fishtailed all the way up the block to the backyard, when after 45 mins he gave up, and took the bob cat and went to another job.

At least now we can see the levels and the space we will have.

The builder tells me that Murphy's Law states that when an excavation is being done or a roof is being taken off then it will rain!!! With the Man of the House being Irish I guess it was definitely bound to happen.

Rain is forecast all next week, we have everything crossed that the weather man has it all wrong!