Diary of a Kitchen renovation, Day 2

Day two.

At soon as the clock hit ten I called Ikea. I had found the product number of the discontinued breakfast bars and was hoping that they were not all gone yet. Called Ikea, we were in luck. Put one aside for us, and the boys went down to get it and I left for work.

I came back carrying a big pizza for my hard workers. The day was over, and the counters were in. My sink was in also. It looked gorgeous.

But there was another problem. The taps that Allen and I had carefully chosen weren't going to fit through the thickness of the counter top, cause it was made to go through the really ugly - but thin - metal sinks. My ceramic sink didn't have holes for it. So another little setback.

And so, we still couldn't have running water. We had had to turn off the mains the day before because when the guys ripped off the old sink and taps, there was a gap there, and when Allen took a shower, water leaked everywhere in the kitchen. Along with the dust and wood chips, that was a lot of fun to clean up.

So at the end of day 2, our kitchen looked like this.



It's so exciting to see pieces come together. Especially when it's pieces you've chosen.

No seeds

That's impossible.

It is taking me forever to try and download the season premere of Grey's Anatomy. I have never had this much trouble before. It's just not happening.

It says that there are no seeds, but on the website, they say that there are more than 6000. There must be one or two of those on the net right now, or anytime since two days ago, don't you think??

And I have tried 4 different torrents. And still nothing.

It's sooooo frustrating!!




This sucks.

Diary of a Kitchen renovation, Day 1

Before I start, I will give you the before shots.
This is what the place looked like when we moved in. Kitchen and adjacent dining room

Empty


Full


After I covered the cubboards with matt black contact paper (got the idea from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, of all places, but it worked a treat, it's hard wearing and washable and cost almost nothing and took about 5 minutes a door) and changed the hardware.


So I got up soooo excited. And Allen, well, lets say, not that much.

I went to the gym with Charlie and by the time we got back, Allen and his dad were ready to jump in the car to zip up to Ikea to get the new sink.

Yes, I had to buy my sink from Ikea, because I wanted a white ceramic sink, which in this city, seems to be absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to find. They only have those really ugly and counter top space consuming metal ones that have drippers on the side. Yuck. I was so sick of ours, it was so small I couldn't even fit our frying pan into it to clean it. Grrr. So I went to - count them- 14 kitchen stores to find a ceramic sink. And believe it or not, NO ONE had them. NO ONE! And when we went to Ikea to pick up our counter tops, there it was. Nice, beautiful, white ceramic sink. And cheap, too. So there. Hurray for Ikea.

We also bought our new floors from them. The cheapest in town, what can I say. We didn't have a big budget.

We also hit the hardware store, our trusty Bunnings, to get our taps and plumming stuff, and a saw.

Then finally, the work began. We ripped off the old rosy-beige counter tops. That felt really good. Then it was measuring time. Allen and I had bought breakfast bars at Ikea instead of actual counter tops, because the one we wanted was out of stock and the breakfast bars were made of the exact same wood, and they were being discontinued, and so, were super cheap. Only thing was, the ends were rounded off and they were a bit wider than counters, so we'd have to cut them to size. A bit more hassle, but we saved 300$ this way. After all the traces were made on the breakfast bars, the boys packed them into my father-in-law's pick up and took them down to Bunnings to see if they could get them cut. They were turned down, and so came back and lost about two hours of their time.

By that time, I had to leave for work.

And I came back to find that the counters weren't put in.
Somehow, we had miscalculated and with the rounded ends we had to cut off, we were missing about 30cm of counter tops.

At the end of day one, our kitchen looked like this.


Oh boy.

Season 4

It's really bad when you are addicted to a television show.
I have been waiting for months to see what happens on Grey's Anatomy. And if it wasn't for the magic of the internet, I would have to wait many months more.

But tonight is the night. In North America, milions of lucky yous will be able to get your hit of McDreamy. I will have to wait until saturday.

Still, I am very excited. Very.
And I feel a bit stupid admiting it.

I would sound so much more refined if I was as excited to read the next Pulitzer prize.

Diary of a kitchen renovation.

This is an introduction.

Pictures and stuff will have to come later, because I can t get to my computer because my office is completely overflown by stuff from the kitchen.

So here it is. The time has finally come. All my life I have waited to redo a kitchen. I could see it when we bought the house. The kitchen had to have a serious do-over. And thanks to our tax returns, now, we could finally do it. And it was also time to put our thinking hats on and our bargain hunter shoes on, because we had little time, and very little money to do it all.

The renos have been going on for 2 days now. Details and pictures to come.

All I will say today is that I am very proud of the choice of faucet Allen made this morning all on his own, he who is always so afraid to pick out anything by himself.

Yes, I am excited about a faucet. I have had dreams about my new sink.
Call me a remodeler geek.

35 years.

My parents have been married for 35 years today.

And I just realised that all of the wedding pictures I have of them are in Canada. Somewhere in my room in Saint-Lambert. My mom wore this really cute oversized berret and my dad was all handsome in his oh-so 70's suit.

And here they are today, a perfect portrait of what I think a marriage should be like.

I would have loved to be able to organize a nice little supper with Steph and Marc-Andre, and watch the parents dance to Les Roses de la Picardie of Yves Montand somewhere between dessert and coffee.

I cannot begin to say how much I love them.
And how much I am grateful for the wonderful example they have set for us.

Joyeux Aniversaire, les parents.

Foresight

Aparently, the Italians built a train track through the Alpes even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip.

They built it because they knew that someday, the train would come.



When I first moved here, I used to think about that all the time.
I was thinking I had to have faith, that I had to lay my tracks.
And I am thinking about that today.


I wonder if my train will ever really get here.

Stupid people. Thought #1.

Waited on a table of 12 people tonight.
Went around asking who wanted a drink.
One person did.

Went to computer, put order in, went in bar, made drink, picked up tray, put drink on tray, and went back to table to give it to the person.

Person next to the drink person decided he then wanted a drink.

Went to computer, put order in, went to bar, made drink, picked up tray, put drink on tray, and went back to table to give it to the second person.

A third person suddenly realised she wanted a drink.

Went to computer, put order in, went to bar, made drink, picked up tray, put drink on tray, and went back to table to give it to the third person.

Believe it or not, that must have happened like 10 times in a row.
Seriously, people, don't to that.
It's frustrating, and stupid and a waste of time.

Yes, I am venting, and it's helping.
Cause my patience is at an all time low, and my feet hurt.

Three years

Today, september 21st 2007, I am celebrating my third aussie aniversary.


I have been in australia for officialy three years today.
And I still can't believe it.

I took a moment today to think about what I have accomplished since I got here.
So much has happened.

I got married.

We lived at three different adresses, from the tiniest studio appartment in North Adelaide, to a quirky townhouse in the city, to our very own house in Morphett Vale.

We bought our first house. I bought my first car. And we have a dog now. And a veggie patch in the garden.

I have worked on 3 feature films, one of which went to the Cannes Film Festival, 5 short films, a ongoing television series and countless commercials, corporate and music videos.


I really have built a life for myself here.
I am proud.
Because it's not always easy to be all the way out here.

Connaissez-vous Missy Higgins?

Si oui, tant mieux.
Si non, vous la connaîtrez bientôt, parce qu'elle vient de déménager à Los Angeles et a décroché un gros contrat avec les Américains.

Missy Higgins est une auteure, compositrice, chanteuse, musicienne.

Elle a un son qui rapelle les bonnes années de Sarah McLauchlan, mais en moins mélancolique. Elle a un bon beat, une voix spéciale, et en ce moment, j'aime beaucoup l'écouter. Je crois qu'elle vient de Melbourne. Là où les artistes fructuent et la culture underground est vivante et vibrante. J'ai hâte d'y déménager...

Si vous voyez un de ces albums chez HMV,




aller dans un petit booth écouter quelques tounes. Ou sinon, vous pouvez trouver les chansons sur Aquisition ou Limewire...Son dernier disque, On A Clear Night, est particulièrement bon. Je suis stiquée sur la piste 'Where I Stood' en ce moment.


Un petit goût de musique Australienne.

Festival Juste Pour Rire

Chaque année, à la télévision, il y a un programme spécial intitulé

Montréal's International Comedy Festival

Et ce mercredi dernier, je l'ai vu. Une de nos plus grandes comiques australienne, Corinne Grant, était à Montréal dans le cadre du festival Juste Pour Rire et interviewait les comiques anglophones en se promenant dans les rues de Montréal. Et ensuite on voyait le show, même avec le bonhomme vert qui tire les plugs...


C'était vraiment le fun. Surtout que beaucoup de comiques faisaient des jokes sur Montréal, le Québec et ses habitants.

Par exemple:

'There are more festivals and events in Montréal than anywhere else in the world. Did you know that? There's the comedy festival, the jazz festival, the book festival, the film festival... It never stops. Montréal is like a huge city suffering from ADD!'

'I am so happy to be here in Montréal. And to be in Québec. I just flew in this morning from Canada.'

Good stuff.
I got a glimpse of our fair city and had a laugh.
It was fun.

La joie du Ebay-isme

Cette année, j'ai découvert Ebay.

C'est excitant chercher des trucs, les trouver à super bas prix et bidder dessus. Et une fois gagné, c'est le bonheur. Et ensuite, il y a l'anticipation de recevoir le paquet. Et quand tu l'ouvres, c'est comme une deuxième joie.

Comme par exemple. Je me cherchais une nouvelle montre pour le travail. Une swatch. Et en Australie, il en ont tellement peu, et ils ont seulement les modèles plates. Rien d'original, rien d'extravagant ou coloré, vraiment, ils ont rien de ce qui fait qu'une swatch est Swatch. Et ils n'ont jamais entendu parler de leur collection de bijoux. Sérieux.

Alors, bon. Pas grand choix ici. Alors, je navigue sur Ebay et je trouve une belle petite montre à Chicago. Je bide, je gagne, je paye 25 dollars et quelque jours plus tard, elle est à mon bureau de poste, toute neuve, toute belle, toute originale.


Et tout ça, pour le tiers de ce qu'elle m'aurait couté dans un magasin.

Pas pire, des fois, Ebay. Pas pire pantoute.
Et maintenant, mon poignet est content.

Un an

Et voilà. Il y a un an aujourd'hui, je prenais l'avion pour aller à Montréal.
Ça me fait tout drôle.

J'espère ne jamais plus attendre un an avant de remonter dans un Boing 737. En fait, c'est étrange combien j'ai une relation love-hate avec les avions. Je déteste voler, mais en même temps, c'est grâce à eux que je peux revenir chez nous.

Ah, l'ambivalence, je vous dis.

Eclipse

La semaine passée, nous avons eu une éclipse lunaire très spéciale.
Je ne connais pas tous les détails scientifiques, et en ce moment, bien franchement, je n'ai pas l'urgence d'aller déterrer tous les détails, alors je vais seulement vous raconter ce que j'ai vu, parce que c'était vraiment spécial.

Éclipse lunaire totale, mais avec un twist.

Au début, ça ressemblait à une éclipse normale. On pouvait voir l'ombre de la terre se frayer un chemin jusque dans le milieu de la lune. Mais ensuite, une fois la lune éclipsée, (et c'est là que me manquent les explications scientifiques...) elle est devenue rouge pétante. Quelque chose à voir avec la position du soleil durant l'éclipse, et les rayons qui frappent l'atmosphère d'une certaine façon... etk.

C'était superbe. Et ça a duré quelques heures. Et ensuite, lentement, la teinte rouge a disparue, et l'ombre de la terre a quittée la circonférence de la lune.

Vraiment hot. Apparement, la dernière fois qu'un pays a pu voir ce genre d'éclise était en 2000.

Et ce soir-là, j'aurais bien voulu avoir un trépied. Parce que la nuit était claire, mais la vitesse de mon shutter sur mon apareil photo était environs 11 secondes. Alors, je n'ai pas de photo claire et précise, mais ce qui ressemblerait à une des 'light paintings' de vanou.

Un après-midi à Quorn

Voir des kangourous dans un zoo, c'est une chose. Voir des kangourous en liberté, c'est autre chose.

Durant notre visite à Quorn, nous sommes allés prendre une grande marche dans une gorge rocheuse et asséchée.


Ma belle-mère m'a dit en sortant de l'auto qu'il fallait garder les chiens en laisse parce que nous verrions peut-être des kangourous. Peut-être??? Il y en avait des tonnes! Partout! Et certains étaient très proches de nous. Assez proches pour que les chiens veuillent partir courrir après.

Quand on part pour une randonnée dans le bois au Québec, déjà, c'est rare de voir un chevreuil. Imaginez en voir des dizaines, parfois 8 ou 10 à la fois! C'est un peu le feeling que ça m'a fait, mais en plus exotique...
C'était super.

Par exemple. Combien de kangourous voyez-vous dans cette photo?

Pas pire, hein?
Certains partaient en nous voyant approcher...

D'autres nous observaient de près...

D'une manière ou d'une autre, on ne se tanne pas de les regarder...
Ils sont tellement cutes!!

C'était vraiment le fun.

Nothing to report.

Because nothing is happening.

I have been working every day for 3 weeks. I need the money, but now, really, what I need is a day off. To do absolutely nothing. And Allen's friend just dropped off the frist two seasons of Scrubs which I haven't seen and so the dvds are sitting there, looking very inviting.

I am ready for a dose of Zach Braff.

And a nice long sleep in.