esmerelda in residence

Back story

Finally - I have uploaded some of the pictures from the bedroom renovation to the flickr account (thanks to fav sis in law for providing the motivation). I am amazed at the work we did and how it isn't really reflected in the pictures. 

For example this pic:  

while it shows the mess  the bedroom was, it doesn't reflect the absolute chaos that prevailed while the demolition was underway, nor does it reflect the pain I underwent having to go get a tetanus shot (note to self - always wear shoes when renovating) - nor does it reflect the absolute backbreaking work Mr H put into the room. 

Take this picture as another example. 

This photo doesn't begin to reveal the cursing that went on behind the scenes as Mr H & I carted each monolithic section of wardrobe into the house. You don't see the frustration on my dear husband's face when I tell him the dual hanging section has to be re-done as there isn't quite enough room for my shirts to hang properly. You don't see the husband and the youngster spending an entire day to "make it so". 

So please, cruise on over to the flickr site and have a look & see if you can imagine what it took to get here:

 

from here. 
  

Why?

No posts recently? I started to say that nothing funny or interesting has happened lately, but let's just give the true reason. Sloth. I am deep in the throes of post winter, is spring ever going to show up, tired of the soul-sucking commute, sloth.
A few extra days off next week- maybe things will pick up then.

what I've been up to

Sheesh, blink your eyes and another month just goes zipping by. Guess I better rethink my thinking about applying to blogher; don't think I can stand the pressure. 

So, in the past month I've:

1. Purchased a new (to me) table and chairs for the dining room. The table is one of those old formica/chrome 50's tables with 4 chrome chairs. 
2. Purchased some "vintage" tupperware. The stuff actually looked brand new and at $20 for 3 bowls I wasn't going to pass it up as you can't even buy new stuff at that price. 
3. Made a trip to one of the inner suburbs to purchase a wok. 
4. Didn't buy a wok, but did score a granite mortar & pestle for $35. 
5. Thanks to Mr H's keen eye, picked up two bedside tables for $165. The tables are similar to ones we were outbid for on Ebay. The tables need to be refinished though. 
6. Spent the weekend in the mountains - got some good ideas for house renovations. 

And really that's about it. Nothing very exciting or glamourous. Well, there is the whole running out of petrol on the way to the train station thing, but we won't talk about that. 

The next big thing on the calendar: Elvis Costello on Oct 17.  And maybe some company in October as well. 

Overheard

Teenage boy: he looks like a girl.
Teenage girl: yea, when I was dating him peple thought I was a lesbian cause he looks like a girl.

conclusion

I spend many hours (although not as many as I used to) cruising the interweb. The list of blogs I check on a semi-regular basis has become unmanageable again ( I am going to have to divide the blogs up into foodie/non-foodie categories). Every once in a while I will search the expat blog list for someone close to my demographic (US expat living in Oz, of a "certain" age...you know the type - someone old enough to not want to be considered an "oldie"). 

I have come to the conclusion that I am unique in that if there are any other women in Oz that fit my demographic they either don't blog or if they do blog they do it so infrequently that their blog never finds its way to any of the "you might enjoy reading this" lists. 

It's not easy being the only esmerelda in oz.