We move into our new house tomorrow (July 16 2011)

dear chums;  Louise here once again.

Just a quick blog to let you all know we are moving tomorrow into our new place!  It was meant to be next week around the 22nd but happily things have moved on a bit faster than anticipated, but we are certainly not complaining;   the only slightly annoying thing is that we shall be without Internet until 22nd as that is the date we booked the Telstra technician to switch us on!  Bugger;  so please leave comments but I shall be unable to respond until later.

Now, I shall give my devoted readers a quick photo tour of the new Casa Byron;  But before I forget I have to tell you all the good news;  this house has been a holiday rental home for its all 4 years of life, and comes fully furnished!  (including cutlery, pots /pans, glassware, plates/cups; 2 toasters, a TV & DVD; Iron and ironing board, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, microwave, small CD player; coffee machine; washing machine, an old and very sad BBQ; & beer fridge.)  All rooms are Air con with remotes.  No garage, but a car port with roof and a shed for garden tools.

We have our own furniture in storage on the island, so we shall be selling most of what you see here in the pics soon;  all offers considered!  Contact me on Facebook;

There is also an outdoor spa bath, which I forgot in all the excitement to photograph;  the gardens (front and back) are quite small, as there are 2 houses on one block; but it has lots of potential.  It has a grey/white interior which makes it a bit sterile looking but with a few home touches and an odd paint can, we think we can transform it to the home we have always wanted.

Here is the deck at the front of the house;  15.7.11; the decking needs sanding and repainting desperately.  Not a job we are looking forward to...

The flash bounced off the kitchen here a bit, as it is so pale,  but you can get the idea. Looks a bit sterile at the mo, but we are thinking a bit of colour on the walls may be what is needed.

That awful brown sofa is a futon bed and the whole  house sleeps 12.

Not a too bad modular lounge next to it.  Needs a bit of a clean.

Looking to the end of the house; that's a glass table with chairs; Going cheap!  (I have an antique table in storage that I know will look great in that spot..)

Bedroom 1; we get all bedding except sheets and towels which belong to local laundry.

Bedroom 2; think those bunks may need to go, unless we open a backpackers?

Bedroom 3; main one, it has a  big mirrored sliding door built in wardrobe which I am not keen on, but for now I will live with.  

the ensuite bathroom ; Oooh ; Luxury...

 Bedroom 4; you can walk onto the deck from both main bedrooms above.

the main bathroom with indoor spa bath; Oooh more luxury; I need bubble bath lotion and Brut champagne to enjoy that properly I think. (Matt are you listening?)

So that's about the end of the tour;  as you can see it looks and feels like a 'holiday rental' home, but with a bit of TLC and hard work we can make it look how we want...  I would love to have solar panels, a worm farm, rainwater tanks, and a grey water system, but money is a bit tight, so that may have to wait for a while. 

We have plenty of rooms now, so if any of our friends want to come and stay please let me know.

Once again, we will be without net access (we think) until 21st July, but we may have some walls painted and if I have the strength I'll do a blog showing our changes; We also have the gardens to fiddle with, a new experience for me, and I would love to start a veggie patch.  

Not much other news to report, just been bushwalking, lying on the beach, shopping here and there and packing up the flat under Matt's folks where we have been living since April 2nd.  It's Matt's mum Petah's birthday in a few days so 'Happy Birthday' to her.

adios amigos and will catch up soon.

Louise

July adventures...(the Moods of Maggie...)

Hello moovers and groovers,  Lou here at the helm; 


Just a quick blog to keep you all up to date on what we have been doing here on the island;  I wish I could say wild parties and booze ups or similar, but sad to say, no:  we have been doing the bush walks on the island on the cloudy, cooler days, and taking to the beach on sunny days (like today 5.7.11).  


The changes in the weather here now the "winter" is on, has been quite striking;  see below.

Arthur Bay Beach; 5.7.11 Sunny, calm and 24C - Lovely...Anyone for a pedicure?

cloudy and windy; Nelly Bay 29.6.11; with wind surfers, something I have never seen before on Maggie island...Townsville in the distance:  22C and that wind felt chilly!

Overlooking Rocky Beach 3.7.11; calm again but with a cold wind; good for bushwalking.

But good news on the house front, we are just going through with the paperwork and plan to settle (hopefully) on 21 July or thereabouts. We shall be moving in 23rd July we think, as we want to paint some walls...   I will be taking photos of the new place, and a blog entry will be dedicated to it: Stay tuned...  

One of the visitors to our new place;  We were there checking the garden out, and saw this kookaburra; a baby as the adults here have a turquoise feather on the side.

6.7.11

Now I have to share something; I was listening to my favourite radio station Triple J and one of the presenters was asking people to call in their most embarrassing moments;  We had the usual;  walking to work with the skirt tucked into the back of the knickers;   falling over running for a taxi;  you get the drift.  


This of course led me to think of my many, many embarrassing moments I have endured through life;  I'll share this one with you.


As Esther used to say on 'The Golden Girls'  - picture this, its Sydney 1982 and I am at a new job working for a re-insurance company in Martin Place in Sydney city;  I had only been there for a few weeks and already had realised the boss I was secretary to, Ray Gosling, was a sleazy bastard; but that's another long tale, which I won't go into now;   Anyways I'm in the Ladies toilet and another woman came in the cubicle next to me,  so I left the Ladies and went back into the large open plan office we had and sat at my desk outside Ray's office.


Enter Julie, (for it was she who was next to me in the loo) and quite sarcastically for her as she was one of the top insurance assessors, she shouts out to the whole office; 'Hey guys when Louise sits on the toilet, her feet don't touch the floor!'   


I nearly died!  And what made it worse, was that it was true:  I am 5ft 2 ins or 158 cm and the damn toilets practically needed a stepladder to be able to sit down on them.  Talk about red faced.


One other occasion also came to mind; but it was me making someone else very embarrassed.   


Its 1992 and I am at my then boyfriend Neil's work party for something or someone and this young chap who was looking a bit lost, got chatting to me;  after a few minutes he came out with a pearler; 'I'm so glad to see the Neil got rid of that scraggy redhead Louie he was seeing.'   In a quiet voice I whispered into his ear, 'I'm a brunette now..'   And I followed it up with a look that told him I was NOT joking;  he then put his drink down, checked his watch and quickly made for the door, never to be seen again that night.   Luckily later I saw the funny side and told Neil to tell him 'no hard feelings'.


If any of the blog readers wish to share any similar stories please email me at londonlouise@gmail.com  and I will use them on the blog (anonymously if you wish).  


Just before I go, I have discovered a new beauty "soap" that is very cheap to make;  and similar to Dove; you just need a bar of cheap body soap (the no frills/home brand is fine) and some cheap Sorbolene hand cream, in a pump dispenser.  Now when you are showering or washing, lather up your hands with the soap, them squirt a dash of hand cream and feel how the lather goes all creamy!  And, you will find that the tightness that soap leaves on the face has gone.  My guess is that  the alkaline (PH) of the soap is changed somehow by the Sorbolene.  Not sure, but its a lot cheaper than Dove Soap and feels the same, and as my friends know,  I am, shall we say, thrifty at times!  Try it,  you'll love it.


Leaving with a great pic of my lovely husband Matt who is having a birthday next week and turns 38...  Happy birthday darling...


More soon; Louise

Here is Matt with Nana Joy's dog Rusty, on Nelly Bay Beach;  29.6.11