My New Car

Neale and I went car shopping last Saturday morning and we bought a car.  It's our first 'brand new' car in 26 years.  We decided on a Mazda 3 2013 Neo hatchback in the graphite colour.  Neale will now get the station wagon and we will probably sell his car (a little Hyundai Excel) to a wrecker.  The dealership offered us $250 for it.  I've just paid the car rego, so if we hand the plates in soonish, we'll get a fair portion of the $600 we paid for the registration back.  I'm planning on getting personalised number plates - but my order wouldn't process.  Will have to ring and get that sorted out.
The kids were all asking Neale as to who will drive the new car - Neale's comment is that according to the Ferengi 138th rule of acquisition - Jenny gets the new car!!!!

 

I drove the car home from the dealership - very nervously and very sedately!

My material shelves.  (they do stand straight - don't think I was though!)
My son Morgan was around and just the right time - and he got the job of putting these shelves together for me.  I'm tempted to go and buy another set!  Neale hasn't realised (but will, if he reads this post!) that I've smuggled in 3 tubs of material that were out in the shed - they're now housed on the kitchen sideboard.  I've still got another 3 tubs out in the shed, so might bring another one in.

Am so looking forward to Tuesday - it's a public holiday for the running of the Melbourne Cup.  Being the most dedicated and conscientious worker that I am - I'm taking Monday off as an annual leave day  - giving myself a nice 4 day weekend.  Hooray!  Mind you,  I've got to make sure that all my work is done on Friday -   pay sheets for my house cleaners need to be done and sent for processing with all their work organised for Monday & Wednesday. 

Laura sat her first Year 12 exam this morning - English.  She says she thinks it went ok.  Only 3 more exams to go and her schooling life is over.  Next weeks exam is for multimedia.  I'm having to leave work early on the Friday  to get her to Warragul (about 40 mins away) to sit this one.

Hadden (no 3 son) is pretty disappointed today.  He's applied to ADF and today has received a letter telling him that due to his peanut allergy (he carries an epipen - which thankfully, we've never had to use)  he is medically unfit for service.  His allergy hasn't been assessed for quite some years - hopefully with age, it might have lessened - anyway, we've told him to go to the Doctor/Specialist and get retested and check.  Not a happy chappy.

Jen

Very Excited...

I'm very excited  -  I get to pick up my new baby tomorrow night!!!

It's not sewing related at all though. 
I've arranged to leave work a little earlier tomorrow afternoon, I need to get back to Churchill to Neale up from work and then off we go....
Will post a picture tomorrow night.

Jen

Nearly Done

My sewing room is nearly done and I think it's looking totally spiffy.
That's Neale's study through the sliding door.
It would be really unfortunate if any of the 3 older boys who have moved out wish to move back in - I can offer them floor space or a couch in the lounge room now! (I think we're safe!!)

Neale put up the shelving for me on Saturday/Sunday.  After loading it up with my books it started to bend alarmingly, so Neale bought a couple more rails - much better. I was hoping to use the top shelf for all my pattern drafting/fashion design books - but it's pretty high and I'll need a ladder every-time I want to get a book down.  I think I'll keep them in the bookcase in the lounge room - much easier
I want to buy another shelving unit to store some material - but the one I'm after was not in stock at the store on Saturday.  I've seen a 8 cube unit that I think will do the job - won't fit a great deal of material in it - but enough to get inspired etc. I'm wanting to put it where the door is on the left hand side of the room.

Sunday, I seemed to spend the day moving one pile of mess to another place - slowly getting it all under control - I'm currently  reorganising my sewing cupboard in the kitchen.  Only another 2 shelves to tidy up.

I've discovered I've got more fabric that I thought I had - good grief!   Even though Neale took 5 big bags to the storage locker (years ago) , I seem to have replaced that since.  I did visit the storage locker a little while ago - but have discovered the kids have been busy dumping their stuff in there and my bags are totally buried.  It needs a major clean out - but I'm not doing it by myself.

 I love the table - which I'll use as a cutting table also.  It's not as high as I'd prefer a cutting table to be, but it's wider than my kitchen bench and it beats cutting out on the floor.

 I've got some notions in the little trolley and about 7 tubs of patterns all stacked up underneath and at the side of the table.  My drafting rulers are all in the black case on the right hand side.

 

 My sewing pantry  - not a very clear photo. The 2 top shelves still need sorting - lots of college folders and miscellaneous stuff! The third shelf, I've got  containers of zips, bindings, eIastics, buttons etc.  4th shelf - more material. I've got my small  Elna Stella and also my Brother embroidery machine  on the 5th shelf with all my machine embroidery threads and  stuff.  Bottom shelf holds all my cottons and a box of ribbings.

Sideboard in the kitchen - the big blue tub has got my mending in it (out of sight - out of mind!!) and lot's of UFO's - mainly for Laura when she was about 6-10 years old.  At now 17 3/4,(she read what I've written and I had to up the age!)  I somehow don't think she'll appreciate them! Cardboard boxes and tub of even more material!

Another Update

Neale has finished painting out my sewing room - yay!  He took pity on me and did another 2 coats of the white gloss on the trim.  Today, he was doing a little patching up of the paint - when I removed all the masking tape on Friday, some of the white leaked through to the aqua and and some of the paint came off.  Rats!!

I was hoping to get my table and chair today - didn't happen.  Hopefully, I'll have time one day after work this week to get to Traralgon and pick it up.

It's back to work fo me tomorrow - major bummer.  Have enjoyed my 2 weeks off.  I made a stop at the office this afternoon as i wanted to collect the mailbox key and have checked out my desk - there's a huge folder of things for me to go through/do.  Oh well!!

Yesterday, Neale and I spent the day in Melbourne.  I visited Cleggs on Elizabeth St - beautiful fabrics, with most of them out of my price range.  They've got some beautiful coloured ponti  I was eyeing off!  Then it was off to Lincraft.  I bought 3metres of a pretty cotton print, it was in the $15.00 per metre  stand, but rung up at just under $14.00.  Turns out, it was in the wrong section.  Bargain!
I bought a new denim skirt - my other one is a little too short for work and seems to have  ummm, shrunk somewhat!
I went to Dymocks and browsed through all the fashion books - oh wow.  Some were very pricey-and one i was interested in was very heavy - sanity prevailed as i realised I'd have to carry it around with me!  I also thought it would be cheaper to buy from Amazon ( turns out it was double the price with Amazon!!!)

Neale and i caught a tram out to Collingwood to an art gallery.  We walked it seemed for ages, but finally found the gallery and were even on time! Neale was participating in a group exhibition called "Monstrous". It was nice to attend the opening and meet some of Neale's art frends.

We arrived back home at about 9.00pm.  So pleased to get back home - and take off my boots.  They are comfortable - but not for 12 hours.  Next time i visit Melbourne - i'm wearing  sneakers!

Relaxing later at home with several glasses of bubbly, i decided to check out Amazon for the book i mentioned earlier.  I didn't buy it because it was priced at $125.00, but i seem to remember ordering another 5! Being slightly ( ok, alot inebriated) with a credit card is somewhat  dangerous.  I'm looking foward to receiving the books in the next month or so though.

Eleven hours and i'll be back at work.....

Jen

Recap / Sewing Room Update

Neale is home from New York, I picked him up from the train station in Morwell just over 2 weeks ago now.  He had a fantastic time, and came home with lots of photos, very footsore and seriously jet lagged.  He's promising that we'll both go next year!
As you saw in my previous post, he did go to Mood for me - no fabric though, but I do now have a Mood baseball cap and t shirt!  He also found Tiffany's and he bought me a beautiful silver necklace designed by Paloma  Picasso.

My sewing room is still not done.  Neale painted the walls the other day for me and I started painting the around the doors, window and skirting boards.  I have made a discovery - I absolutely loathe painting! I've done one coat so far and will possibly need to do another 2 - woe!
I ended up choosing Taubman's "Kingston Aqua"  for the walls, white gloss for the trim and today I bought "Stone Patina"(grey) for the back of the sliding door that separates my room from Neale's.  I'm wanting to get a matching grey blind for the window.  The room looks light and airy.  I just hope that my part of the painting turns out OK.
I'm planning to buy a 2 metre table (Officeworks)  to hold my machines and which will also double up as a cutting table.  I definitely want a some shelves on the wall on the right hand side to hold all my books.  My pattern collection should fit under the table in plastic storage boxes.  I also would like a shelving system to hold some of my fabric collection.  I've seen a couple that might me suitable, but will probably necessitate  the entry door to be removed.  I suppose once the table and chair are in, I'll be able to see just how much room is left.

I'm currently on 2 weeks leave at the moment - now in the second week!..  Have enjoyed not having to get up and get to work by 8-30am!  Haven't done a great deal - housework, ironing (haven't even made a dent in that!!) read several books, watched lots of movies on dvd and just generally relaxed.
Tomorrow, I tackle cleaning up and out some kitchen drawers and cupboards.  I heard a mouse the other day and have seen evidence of where he's been - pesky little blighters.

It's Spring here now.  I thought I was doing well, 9 days in and no hayfever.  Day 10, it has all changed and I'm suffering now.  Stupid tablet has yet to kick in.

My car got crunched in a car park on Sunday - so not happy.  I hope karma gets them good.  I suppose it's not too bad - a broken headlight cover with a dented bonnet with paint scraped off.  It's not worth going through insurance to repair it (I think I've got to pay the first $500-00) and frankly, I don't really want to spend that to repair a 10year old car that is not worth a great deal now.

Neale's taken pity on me and started doing the second coat - it's going on much easier for him now though!

Jen.