of disappointment and moving on

Well, for various reasons which I won't go into, our plans to move have fallen in a hole, so we will be staying where we are for the foreseeable future. We are quite disappointed about missing out on the lovely house we had made a offer on, but it's just not going to happen, so what can you do?
Instead, we will be spending the next couple of weeks getting quotes from all sorts of tradespeople and businesses to get some work done on our current house. We have had a few days to think about what we want to do and we have a great list of exciting things to do.
School holidays are coming up and I have two weeks off along with Bloss and MotH, so that will give us an opportunity to look at things like carpet, curtains and new bits of furniture.
I have had a lesson on uploading images, so will put up some of my layouts soon...but don't hold your breath waiting ;-)

of happenings large and small

Bloss has discovered ABBA - well, the "Mamma Mia" version at least. At 10, she wasn't about when ABBA was huge - I was about 14 and was a big fan - so it's all new to her. Growing up in a house where music is always playing, and with a musician for a dad, she has fairly wide-ranging tastes in music, from musical theatre to opera, from classical and some jazz to nursery rhymes and Christmas carols. She doesn't like most of the 'popular' music her little buddies at school listen to, which sometimes leads to a bit of teasing in the playground, but she has a fairly well-developed sense of self and is quite happy to be different most of the time. She has been to see "Mamma Mia" three times in the last couple of weeks and the soundtrack is now her bedtime music of choice, in between chapters of Harry Potter as read by Stephen Fry. We also have it in both cars and in the bathroom CD player... overkill, no?
The house was featured in the local real estate guide in today's paper, and there is another Open Home scheduled for Saturday, so we continue to wait and be positive that a buyer is not far away. We have asked for an extension of the contract we have on "our" new house, and informally the current owners have said that's not a problem. We know them well and they really want us to have the house, which was their mother's (whom we also knew very well), so that's all good.
Spent Sunday afternoon scrapping with Mandy and had a lovely girly, creative time in her beautifully warm loungeroom in front of the fire. Got 2 layouts done - one was a for a challenge - but couldn't upload 'cos my digital camera is cactus...gotta work on that. Did 2 more in front of the Olympics the other night and am planning to do some more tonight as MotH has band practice - which means I can spread out in the lounge :-)
MotH graduates from Uni on Saturday - B. Ed after 6 years of part-time external study - so we off to the ceremony in a city about 1 1/2 hours drive from here. Large Black Slothful Dog is having a night at the local kennels - which he loves 'cos they let him off the lead and he runs up and down all day (did I mention he's a retired greyhound?) - but no doubt we'll get the cold shoulder for a while when he comes home... Anyway, great rejoicing and it should be a great time for MotH - he's worked really hard and had excellent results all through, so he's really earned this. I am so proud of him. Will have to make sure we get some good pics I can scrap - we're borrowing his dad's digital SLR camera for the day.

Softly, softly

A quiet couple of weeks on the house front. We had an Open Home last weekend and there were five lots of people through. Apparently a couple of them are interested, as is the guy from interstate still, so maybe some movement soon. If interest rates and petrol prices come down a bit there may be a bit of a perking up of interest in the housing market, but let's hope we don't have to wait too much longer. Apart from anything else I'm sure the vendors of the house we want to buy are getting a bit antsy waiting for us to sell.
Meanwhile Bloss is getting ready to audition for the local Musical Society's youth spectacular - a variety concert and play - which is happening mid-October. She's doing very well with her braces, and school also seems to be going well.
MotH is still obsessing about getting stuff done around the house, but is being very optimistic about the selling process, which is not like him...
Have done quite a bit of scrapping this last couple of weeks, blind scraps and challenges from a forum I belong to as well as some stuff of my own. Have been given some lovely papers and tools by a generous co-worker, which was a lovely surprise, and this sparked some inspiration. Must find out how to upload pics...and get a new digital camera, ours having died this last couple of days :-(

maybe...

So, heard from the real estate agent this morning that there are two potential buyers of our house. The "out west" guy apparently DID manage to se the place on Monday. He has a portfolio of rental properties and is looking to add to it, so there's one hopeful. The other is from interstate and has seen the photos etc on the Web. He's apparently quite interested and is looking into finance. Keep your fingers, toes and eyes crossed...
In other news, MotH has recently completed his Education degree and will be graduating in August. As a result of finishing, not only is he now a qualified and registered teacher, he got a nice big pay rise too. The school has been great, very supportive and encouraging of his studies and the occasional day off for study purposes, and this extra financial reward was very welcome. It wil certainly come in handy when we buy the house we have an offer on... ;-)

ramblings

It's very late and I really should be in bed, but instead am sitting at the pc browsing some of my favourite scrapping sites and listening to Russell Watson. Bloss is well and truly asleep, the slothiest dog IN THE WORLD is asleep in front of the heater and MotH is on his way home from orchestra rehearsal in a town some 130-odd km distant. I am spending money on scrapping goodies I really don't need right now and drinking my fourth cuppa of the evening...
The prospective buyer didn't make it on Monday - snowed in out west apparently - so hopefully he will reschedule soon. Checked the house listing on the Internet last night and it's had about 300 views, so don't know if that really means anything or not. We can only hope.
I need to find out how to upload images into this blog so I can put some of my scrapping layouts here for the world to see. Maybe tomorrow...

of hard work and echoes

Well, we have slaved away over the last week and during the weekend to get the house as ready as it can be for people to look at - and, with any luck, buy... MotH has taken about 4 loads of stuff to the tip - why do we do it to ourselves, let "stuff" accumulate until it's completely out of hand before doing something about it? - and has removed I don't know how much clutter to our spiffy storage unit. Some of the rooms in the house are now almost as empty as they were the day we moved in. They echo. It's scary how much stuff a family of three can accumulate without actually noticing until it has to be packed away...
Bloss is coping rather well with her braces - thank goodness for Bonjela and kids' Panadol, I say! She has managed the discomfort pretty much on her own, taking only 1 or 2 Panadol each day (usually just before bed) and is keeping up with the intensive-cleaning/plaque-tablets/mouth-wash routine without too much nagging on my part. First school day with the metal today, so we'll see how she goes. Being something of a drama queen (no snickering from the peanut gallery, thanks!) I think it was quite a disappointment to her when the first three people she saw at school didn't even notice ;-)

Brave Bloss

Bloss had her braces put on today. She acquitted herself very well in the chair, not making any kind of fuss, although it must have been quite uncomfortable for her. And it kept her quiet for a whole 45 minutes! She is managing quite well, although I know she is beginning to feel the discomfort rather strongly. The mysteries of dental wax and the efficacy of Bonjela in relieving some of the pain as the braces begin to hurt inside her cheeks, followed by a dose of Panadol, should see her right in a few days.
In other news, a fair amount of the paint MotH and I applied to the walls of the house was washed away by last night's rain, but enough remains so that we will only have to do one more coat. The plasterer is coming in the morning to quote on a couple of small repair jobs, which hopefully he will be able to do in the next week or so - hopeful, much... The real estate agent called today to say that he wants to bring a prospective buyer through on Monday, so we will have a busy weekend doing the rest of the de-cluttering - which, as anyone who knows us will be aware, is no small task... ;-) Wish us luck!

of painting

Hi Mandy!

Well, today being a nice clear day and not too cold, MotH and I are continuing the painting job we began yesterday, tarting up the outside of the house ready for people to see and hopefully like...hard work, as the walls we are working on are render-covered brick and very rough, requiring brushes as well as rollers. Still, nice to be out in the fresh air getting a bit of exercise.
Not much quilting or scrapping happening at the home of scrappychick at the mo, since much of the stuff required for these activities is packed away, but I am storing up inspiration as the days go by. Got great pics of Bloss and MotH yesterday while painting...
Bloss has gone to spend the day with a friend, and will be bemoaning the fact that tomorrow she must have braces installed (if that's the right word) on her teeth.
Anyway, having finished my restorative cuppa, must get back to it...more another time.

And in the beginning...

Not a very imaginative title, I suppose, but the best I could come up with...
Inspired by several friends who have recently been exploring the world of blogs and such, I thought I would have a go. It's easier than I thought...
Bloss and I will use this blog to share bits and pieces of the adventure that is our daily life with whoever wants to read along.
To begin with, we are currently trying to do a few jobs around the house so we can put it on the market - we've found a lovely place not too far from here and have fallen in love with it. It's just the kind of house the Man of the House (hereinafter referred to as MotH) has always wanted to live in, and Bloss and I quite like it too ;-) Keeping our fingers crossed for a quick sale...