Stuff it in a Sack......

More fun with furniture and sacks today....just realized I had sold all my outdoor furniture, and invited people for xmas....whoops.....so off to the local op-shop in search of outdoor chairs....and this is what I found.....

OK...... I will admit not the most attractive chair in the world.....but there was 4 of them, and they are made by Sebel and solid as commercial office furniture of the 80's was.....and they were dirt cheap...$15 for 4 of them.....all i really needed was something to put on the veranda, watch the sunset over the hills and drink long island ice tea's with guests over the xmas break....I cant paint the frames today due to weather....but I think they will make a very comfy place to watch the world roll by when done.....

Take a Seat Gentleman......

Love it when two separate purchases are made for each other.....a vintage deck chair without canvas, and a pile of coffee sacks that were to good to pass up bought two weeks before.....Big needle time...

And another lucky purchase....a set of balance scales....no weights means I have something to do with all the little bottles I have....make crystal weights with colour liquids and vintage weight labels....

Stuck in a Moment....

Lets just stick to the good bits..... found some interesting bits and pieces...... and had a nice salad.... the end...

oh....I am reading a great book filled with sharp bits of metal and dead animals.....lots of fun for a decorating "bible"....Thanks Jane at Plain Jane Styling (you can follow her much prettier blog by looking to the right in My Blogs List).....

Let's Have That one Bronzed!!!!.....

What a great day....garage sale went of without a hitch....made more money than I can comfortable jam in my wallet....even after buying the kids (and myself) a Playstation 3 with a big pile of games, I can pay electricity, and everything else with enough left for "pushing the barge out" at xmas.... I chatted, I sold stuff, I chatted, I sold stuff....all good, all very good....Had my Dad and M here to help, the kids were great and my sales patter must be rubbing off on the boy. He has a wonderful ability to get the ladies to smile. The Big yellow chairs I bought Last week left today....almost 6 days....hmmmm that's some short lived furniture....if i was better at maths I could work out the percentage of profit....1000% I think.... Did I mention it was a great day? Been a wonderful weekend having the kids here has been great too....We went out got takeaway....curled up on couch watched giant TV.... Sponge bob marathons, Tome and Jerry and now Lava Girl and shark boy.....There has been two large bowls of fresh popcorn, and the house smells wonderful.....

I was going to take a picture when I first started the sale, but to be honest there really wasn't time....it's a shame there must have been twenty people chatting and buying it would have made a good photo......

Don't Cry for me Marge and Tina....

No tears at all.....from them or me....great school concert.... Now I don't know why I have been avoiding them.... Chats and fun and happy smiling kids.... So many hugs and smiles, i may be a little high from them.... a good day....

Pride......

It has now been raining for four days straight......the yard is a mud puddle and the kids are stir crazy.... but it doesn't matter.... must be on the upswing of the roller coaster, does a roller coaster have an upswing.... I cant really say I am on the upswing of a swing, that just sounds dumb.

Very proud moment with my kids last night....It was ten o'clock and I had completely forgotten they were still up. The reason that made me so happy was because the night before they were jumping around like loons in the big TV room, as they have taken to calling the room with the big TV. So I explained to them that if they had of been quiet I would have let them stay up....So the next night they went to great lengths to be invisible and inaudible...So proud......of my pride.....

Tomorrow in between being busy I am off to school to watch my wonderful little girl sing in her Kindergarten concert.....I will wear dark glasses because I know I will cry....

About Face......

They say a week is a long time in politics......well its a bloody long time in  my life too.... Up ... Down .... Hairpin Bends....

These Boots were Made for Walking....

Actually I think they were made for embarrassing cyber goth wannabees.....and should never been worn by any one over 21.... However as I look so good in eyeliner, I will give them ago.... I am sure I wouldn't like them at all if they didn't cost over $500.... But they do seem to be really well made compared to the cheap knock offs I have seen.....

And if the apocalypse comes, and the world degenerates into gangs of leather clad bikers fighting to the death over the last can of tuna*, at least I will have something to wear....

And yes I am making pointless posts to keep my mind of the current spiral of decay and entropy that is eating away at me....

*BBT Sheldon Quote

AT WAR!!!!!!......

For those of you feeling the doom of breakneck speed, as the end of the year is approaching.....I feel for you. My calender looks like the worlds most complicated game of naughts and crosses, at the moment....Red and Black ink, fighting for dominance over the battlefield that my life has become.... The times and dates of children's parties, school events, friends visits and working times of others, let slip the dogs of war on Start of School holidays, Garage Sales, Market Days, and the remaining shopping days till xmas chimes an ominous note over the whole sorry month.....

"Like butter spread a little to thinly over to much toast" I think is the quote..... That's how I feel, being pulled in a dozen different directions.... Other people have needs, at the moment I just have tiredness. I want to rally and fight... I need a rousing Henry or Richard (Insert roman numeral here) speech, to lift my weary sole for one last push against the Frenchies or Gerry's or The Scots or something....

So I will pick up, dust off, remount..... and get back to tilting at windmills, till the storm lifts or the pillars of heaven shift.....or I find the Seven Demon Bag......

Today I sat here....I drank coffee....and thunk....

Butcher, Baker and the Candlestick maker......

......Or maybe the guy who turns the Stop/Slow sign at roadworks * All these are real jobs.....Looking after kids and turning a dollar or two with the only real abilities you have.....Not work.....

Only God Can Judge Me!!! the saying goes....I guess as an atheist that cuts that group by one.... Here's a new rule...Number 72 - "You don't need to justify it to anyone, but yourself". I think that is going to become a favourite, up there with Number 6 - "Using the Phrase "It's The Principle of the Thing!" is your personal red light to stop what the hell you are doing and calm down!".

Rule 32 - Is don't eat out of the open tuna can after two days..... These rules are the things we need to know.....they don't have to sound like someone distilled the wisdom of a dozen Dali Lamas.....

**

*Why do they always give the job of holding the slow sign to the person that looks like they are? Happy accident or cruel reminder?
**A Cast Iron Rabbit.....

The Light House Keeper.....

Today I was thinking about lamps..... bit over the designer retro thing.... and the industrial thing can be a bit harsh.... So I started playing around with a few bits and pieces I had around, a very dull 50's floor lamp, Some Paint and a skinned lampshade frame.... and now this is an industrial lamp I can live with....

Just wish I had a completely empty room just to put these to pieces in.... Midnight Express anyone?

The Real Job....

Taking some time off today from grifting and pretentious artistic pursuits, to do my real job... Being a dad..... I am better at that anyway... Dollhouse construction time....

Even this gets a before and after.....

Before

and after...

Try Sleeping Through That.....

The night I mean..... Teeny tiny touch of insomnia, not as bad as I used to have it.... and I got some washing done. Silver Lining and all that..... The books are balanced, the cupboards are not bare.... and I realized something, that when I am not pouring all my motivation and confidence into a bottomless well, I have more than enough to change my world.... and my goodness there is a lot of catching up to do.... Doing well this week....but more of that later.... Jinx and all that ladders, black cats and knocking on your wooden eggs.....

Oh and of course the other upside of insomnia.....

Suits you sir!!!!!

Day Two.....Again.....

Confusing I bet....oh well....

Today's ridiculous ebay bargain.....Two super large comfy club style arm chairs... After a fierce bidding war I managed to snag them for $1.04 or 52 cents each..... Damn I am good at this.....

It's Not Easy Being Green......

But it is a little easier to be a kind of vintage industrial green.... I am not a fan of recycling garbage, it shocks and horrifies people that my plastics, paper etc bin is never used.... I am unapologetic, i try to reduce my consumption of garbage at the other end....the purchase end.....

Very little in my house is new, most of it discarded as worthless, and then replaced by some chipboard rubbish from a chain store.... My greenness comes from the up cycling.... I will stick with that I think....

A great example, is this horrible but solid TV unit, its orange pine cottage look is well out of fashion...so it is basically thrown away.....

Probably to be replaced by something similar in a more "fashionable" country chic or some such thing... They throw this away and then go spend $100's on another one..... or they could buy a $3 tin of paint?

Not a dramatic amount of work, but a very functional piece for my sons room and less than an hour to achieve.....

The $3 can of paint was still quite full, so a 1940's pot cupboard also got upgraded from twee pseudo antique......

....to a much more palatable industrial style piece, also for my sons room....

Lilliput.....

My continuing mission of downsizing my life continues....not just getting rid of stuff, but replacing things with something half the size.... Today it was a Piano..... Swapped it for a slimmer, easier to have around model..... Yes, I am still talking about the piano.....

Not the Original Title.....

I did have two photo's to post today....and a witty cryptic title.....but when I combined all three, I came off little bit Patrick Bateman..... (let's pause here....for the less hip to google) ... OK ... all caught up now?

That is the least disturbing of the images (only because I don't have a video of myself trying to get that damn thing onto a headless torso).... The other picture looked wrong on the page, it involved a cordless drill, a large drill bit and a now vaguely anatomically correct torso of a mannequin. While being the only practical place to insert the stand, it also made for a easily misinterpreted image.....

Double Shift.....

More stuff left today....and more leaving tomorrow.... Not feeling like I am losing a thing.... It is some weird reverse Dorian Gray kind of mojo. Every piece that leaves makes me feel better about my life.... Speaking from a pop psychology view.... It is probably quite simple.... Hording all that stuff was about control.... or in fact the lack of control over my life. As I gain more and more Independence and control, the old life is falling away.... it feels good.

The Dark Knight stand has hit a hurdle, and fallen....I can't find the right Batman artwork, and not in the mood for delays.... So I found something that I am happier with....

Six Copies of Sleepy Hollow....."The Ichabod Gentleman's Dresser".....Suits you sir!!!

Shift......

Sold some stuff online last night while having a nice Indian meal....You have to love technology that lets you make more than the dinner cost before the bill is due. So more items will leave the house this week.....It may not look less cluttered to the outside world, but I know there has been a serious reduction, In fact the idea of having to move is striking less panic, on the packing front anyway....

As I expected the minute I decide to move, I suddenly start making contacts in the design field and my horizons are widened for me.... I am now seriously considering the foot in the mountains option, a little weekend shop maybe?... Slowly, Slowly.... I know if I can ride out the next 12 months or so the government will be pestering me to do something, and they have a department that might pay me to set up the business.

Slow and relaxed Sunday.... Breakfast out....bit of a wander..... Back home to paint and await the kids...

Time Gentlemen......

A little something I whipped up ages ago.... Finally got around to taking some proper photos in case anyone wanted to build there own....Caution lots of Blue bricks needed, and obvious statement I know... but something worth thinking about before you start.

The Directors Cut.....

I was just wandering through my house, clearing a path for the sofa bed to go in the morning....Deciding what to keep and what to sell.... Trying to figure out if I am editing my past, into something more palatable, or less painful to look at..... or if it is a more positive sign of change.

I wish I knew....

Day Three....and a Pox on both your Houses....

Drama check please!!!....This year is really shaping up for one those Horrible Anuses....or whatever the Queen called it....So the week wrecking Chicken Pox that my daughter got (despite being immunised) has been passed to my girlfriend (despite her having it as a child).... I am so not game to leave the house!!! I really cant afford to get that sick right now....Trying to decide if the aches and pains are caused by a virus beating me into spotty submission or the fact I keep lifting bloody heavy things....

Speaking of heavy things.....this was bloody heavy....and lifting it in and out of the car solo is an act of macho stupidity that I will pay dearly for.....

So I now have a very heavy hall table.....all it needed was a quick polish and it is done....since it already fulfils the role of dual purpose furniture, I will just leave it the hell alone....

Day Two.....

The Morning - Beyond tired today....I had one of those nights were I am not sure if I slept, nodding off and then awake again a few minutes or an hour later? Not sure which.... Got that wonderful/horrible high on fatigue feeling.....Finished a picture and a coffee....

The Afternoon - Still pretty ratty....House is a bombsite which isn't helping the insomnia, but good weather meant I worked outside most of the day....some time for oil to dry and a few coats of polish and I will be able to move my new/old industrial style game storage table into the hallway....Hopefully eliminating the giant octopus of power cables that feed the portable video game collection.....

 

It looked like this when I got it....for free.....the main issue was that the legs where about to fall off... It is much stronger now....

and it now looks like it belongs in my house....

Day One....

And there isn't a patch.... There is only distraction... and ice-cream.....

I have often said I could double $1000 in a month by trading and selling... In fact I suspect the original amount doesn't really matter, in some ways it is easier to triple a $100 in a week than double $1000 in a month. There seems to be a degree of care with small purchases that goes out the window when you have a big wad of cash to gamble with.... With $100 to my name I only buy definite easy to shift to a mass market items, with more cash I tend to chase the one person who will pay through the nose.... So I will try and apply the thrifty to the wad.... Today's purchases were a bit eclectic....Spent about fifty all up. Some items are a no brainer, two Atari flashbacks for $15 is a very easy $40.... A Sixties TV tray for $1 should get 10 and so on, nothing risky just nice little earners.... I had a coffee, I drew a balloon and I bought a case of sweet and shiny vodka drinks......

.....and yes there will be a bunny..... because there always is.....

CLAMPS......

Surprised I got anything at all done today.....Still feeling like a nasty flu has hold.... Headache so bad I couldn't bring myself to go into town and pick-up new glasses (was meant to collect them last week).... At least I didn't spend any money today, got to reign that in soon.... The headache is now in full migraine mode.... That's always fun..... Dark room time.....

Against my better judgement I spray painted a table, the fumes vs the week of rain.... Fumes won, and even though I wore a mask I suspect the fumes have made me sicker.... moan moan moan.... Sorry needed to get that out there into the unread ether.... Pretty sick of the world this week.... Stick with furniture I think.....

Shopping list, If I had any intention of leaving the house.....some wood putty, a copy of "The Killing Joke" and some handles.....

Only other thing I did today was glue and clamp.... that should hold it.....

I'm on my Way.....

From misery, to happiness today....ah ha.... Wow stupidly busy weekend/week/month but getting there... I picked up a ridiculous couch I bought on eBay, washed the cushion covers and did some spot cleaning.... So now I have a couch that is way to big for the room it is in, temporarily, I will shift the uncomfortable sofa bed and a few other items....and the giant but super comfy couch can go in the games room.... I often buy things on a whim, hell I am the whim king, sometimes I think I will keep the item and then when it gets home I decide to move it on, and sometimes I buy things with every intention of selling them ASAP, and they end up keepers....This one did that to me, I just fired it up to test it, and now I cant part with it.....

Valued by Experts.....

This is the self important sticker that has start to rear its head in some op-shops.... I love that sticker, it lets me know what to avoid.... I am not sure where they find these "experts", it certainly isn't antique road show.... It seems like they have some retired antique dealers who come in and offer then 20 year out of date, and often completely spurious information and prices.... Rubbish pottery with 100's of dollars on it, chintzy royal collectibles that only appeal to people who are dead or no longer have the income required to pay the silly prices.... and those same experts then price this at $5.....

A tiny crystal scent bottle, filled with either smelling salts or crack cocaine.....maybe the expert needs their glasses upgraded....because I saw this, when I turned it over....

Some unknown maker called BACCARAT from France went to all the trouble of engraving their name in the base.....You would think an "expert" would have seen that, how lucky it is that I still consider myself an amateur.....

Time For a Little Recharge.....

Off to Bathurst to deliver the small ones....after having them home all week it might take me till Sunday to miss them. Need a bit of me time, so a night out in Bathurst, dinner with friends and a nice B&B.....Bliss for a busy mind.....

Reign Over Me.....

Raining.....Raining.....No Decorarting.... No Cleaning..... No Art..... But the PT now has a new stereo (thanks to Nick). I now have both bells, and whistles....and Bluetooth, everything is better with Bluetooth, I am hands free and playlist rich.....240 albums and counting, and a playlist for every mood, from "gee i am happy" cruising to "my ex is a bitch" thrash.... I wonder which end of the spectrum disorder gets the most airplay....

.....so tonights job, playlists.... after I fix all the stupid things the latest update did to my iPhone of course....grrrrrrrrr.....

Small Minds.....

This week has been called due to weather....Under the weather, stormy weather etc.... Taking one child to school has proved to much of an effort this week...So we are all taking the week off....There is cake for lunch and video games in every room.... This is not parenting, this is coping.

I have been a bit unwell, and I have spent the day slowly rearranging small things on shelves....

and then I rearranged even smaller things on very small shelves....I am sure I have more small things somewhere? I just cant seem to find them.... What with them being small and all....

Still Needs More Cowbell....

Bit of redecorating distraction going on today....Hmmm not sure about this....still needs a tweak or ten....on professional advice I dumped the practical beige rugs, and it does seem to have toned it down a bit....I might sleep on it....the couch I mean....

Think I need a more industrial stereo cabinet, or at least one that hides the speakers....