I have to admit I am a Big Brother fan and Big Brother Australia will be starting this Sunday 2 May. I am very excited and can’t wait to watch. I’m not sure why I am addicted and find as each season starts (this will be the fourth) I get more hooked. See the Big Brother website.
My last log mentioned I was about to start preparing my room to paint. Well I found something interesting while wielding the paint scraper. I’ve got wooden chair rails around the wall in my bedroom and I discovered that paper had been glued over the top with a coat of paint over that. What I think happened is someone put a dectorative frieze over the chair rail at one stage then the last owners scraped some of it off and got sick of it and just painted over the rest. I think I’ve scraped most of it off and I haven’t even started with the sandpaper.
Then getting deeper into the can of worms the ceiling guys came round yesterday and I left for work and left them to it. An hour after I’d arrived at work I got a phone call from them and I immediately knew something was wrong. Apparently under the ceiling was the original ceiling made of some sort of mortar/plaster stuff and that was attached to small strips of wood that were nailed to the white ant infested ceiling joists which is why the ceiling had started to bow. I initially freaked out thinking the whole roof was damaged which has turned out not to be the case. I was on the phone to a structural engineer but am not going down that path. It looks like some ceiling joists need to be replaced and I’m pretty right for other white ant damage. So instead of my new ceiling being done in one day all that has happened is the old ceiling has come down and I can see into my roof space at the moment until they come back tomorrow to fix everything. I also had to organise a mini skip for all the rubbish which includes insulation which I’ve had to throw away. Plus I came home to an absolutely dusty house which took a good hour to vacuum and dust.
I was nearly in tears yesterday as it’s hard to deal with on your own but I take the tack that it could be a lot worse. The upshot is that the job will take longer than planned and it will cost more – don’t know how much more yet. And the walls in my bedroom are filthy and need a very good wash. I’ve just shut the door to my bedroom..
I’m sitting at my computer doing this to avoid starting preparation work in my bedroom to paint. I have to sand the woodwork and as I have an old house with chair rails there’s even more woodwork and fiddly stuff. I even have to do the fireplace. Most of the house was painted before it was sold to me and it was a really shoddy job with only one coat of paint on the walls and on the woodwork as it’s all streaky. It will take me a little while but I will do it properly – well as properly as I know how.
Went to buy the paint and stuff today but the place I am getting it from wasn’t open – the one just down the road was but as I can’t get my mates rates there I have to wait till the other one’s open. I need time off work just to do all this stuff.
To add to such a fun day my son has had two tantrums over something quite minor but I didn’t want to backdown. It was even worse that he had his first one early this morning when I was still half asleep. It’s hard not to wish the time away for when he’s a bit bigger and doesn’t have tantrums but I’ve heard teenagers are even worse. Not looking forward to the trials that might bring. On a positive note though he did a poo in the toilet. We only started toilet training a few weeks ago and he’s been reluctant to do poos anywhere but in his sleep nappies – quite often at 6am – or in his undies. This could be another one of those breakthroughs. He’s doing pretty well now but it all meant a lot of washing for me in the beginning as we just went cold turkey with the nappies.
Must go do my paint preparation….
I’m pretty tired at the moment. Have spent the last two nights at different friends places for dinner and drinks and the accompanying late nights and early mornings are making for sore eyes today. Plus I’ve moved everything out of my bedroom as I’m getting a new ceiling this week. I’m off to the paintshop later on today to get paint as while everything’s out of the room it should be painted. I can’t wait till everything’s done as I didn’t like my room previously.
I’ve shortlisted down to 2 companies (from 3) for the built-in wardrobe. The unlucky 3rd one was a bit unprofessional I thought as he asked if my son was adopted for a start – my son’s father is West Indian. And the other 2 companies measured with proper equipment and this guy only had a tape measure. They would measure properly and do it all in-situ when the wardrobe is being built – but….. Anyway – without naming names – I’m probably going for the slightly more expensive quote but sounds like they do a better job. I’m going back to the showroom before I make the go ahead phone call. So I’m crowded in the spare bedroom with my bed taking up most of it and junk taking up the rest. I don’t like mess!!!
The title of this blog is ‘Guitar playing’ and I haven’t even mentioned it yet. Friday night at my friends place, my son picked up the little guitar and sat down with it, we put it round the right way for him and he started playing it. Of course he doesn’t know how to play but considering that it was really good. It’s hard to describe the change that literally washed over him, but his face turned all serene, he knew exactly what to do with the hand that makes the chords and he was picking the strings rather than strumming too. I think in a previous life he must have played guitar. I’m going to get him a little one for his birthday.
I only realised last night that I had someone lined up to come to my house next Monday to replace the ceiling in my bedroom but it’s the Anzac Day public holiday that day. Wouldn’t matter to me as I’m not going away for the weekend but I thought I’d better let the tradesman know. So he’s coming on Tuesday instead. I guess it gives me an extra day to clear out my bedroom and set myself up in the spare bedroom/study. It’s gonna be a little bit crowded and disorganised for a while because I’ve decided to paint my room also and it will be a lot easier if it’s empty. I’ve already warned my boss that I’ll take some time off to do this as it will be even easier if my son is not around at the time – he’ll be at childcare.
I’ll also be getting a built-in wardrobe and throwing out an old wardrobe and old chest of drawers. They are only fit for chopping into firewood at the moment and I can’t wait to get rid of them.
Ever since I bought my house I’ve been hoping my ceiling won’t cave in on my as it’s noticeably saggy and luckily so far so good. I lived in a rental house a while back where I came home from work one day and the middle section of the ceiling had come off and landed on my bed. Imagine if that happened while I was in bed, I might not be here right now.
Well we’re getting there my son and I. This morning he did his usual thing of coming into my bedroom – I pretend I’m asleep and he puts his face right up next to mine until I acknowledge I’m awake. Sometimes he grabs my nose. It’s really cute and I can’t be mad that it might be 5.30 in the morning. Anyway, this morning we went through this procedure and I let him hop in bed with me to have a cuddle and he went to bite my arm then must have realised that it’s not something that should be done and instead kissed my arm and said sorry! It’s moments like these that makes it all worthwhile being a parent.
On another note found a website today which I want to have more of a look at Crikey.com.au. They say:
"Crikey will point out theft, corruption, deception and collusion whenever and wherever it can. It is our self-appointed task to take a long thin spike to the bloated egos of political, media and corporate Australia and to take clear black and white snap shots of the men and women who have their fingers in the till or who simply get paid too much for doing shoddy work.
We will at all times try to have fun, respect the laws of our country in as far as they make sense and to fill the gaps the Australian media seem unable or unwilling to fulfil."
Went to what was supposed to be a 40th on Saturday night and it turned into a wedding. I must say that I had my suspicions and I was correct. Why was I suspicious?
1 The invite was very fancy for a 40th – it looked more like a wedding invite
2 The 40th birthday girl doesn’t actually turn 40 for another two months
3 Everyone was told to be there early!
4 And we were told to dress up
5 Oh, and all drinks and food were supplied which isn’t always the case for 40th’s of my friends
I did dress up in a beautiful 70s sparkly purple dress I bought from the local Goodwill shop for $10 and wore my long black boots.
By the time I got home I had to have some headache tablets as I had a killer of a headache from the mixing of drinks that I did – beer, tequila shots and vodka jelly (mmmm). Never had vodka jelly before and it’s delicious and deadly.
