Florish or your out!

That's my motto with my plants.  Either they live productive lives or they come out for something that does.

We will soon have a great harvest of mini cos lettuce, and the tomatoes are coming along well EXCEPT for the cherry tomatoe.  Funny, I have had problems with these before.... Oh well, time for some maintenance.

 

The tomatoe bed

 

Wind and rain and harvest

We have the first harvest today, cherry tomatoes and rocket straight from the garden.

We have had another storm, with high winds and rain overnight, and this brought one of the tomatoes down.  Fortunately it was not actually broken at the stem, just bent.  So I tied it up again.  This brings me to the types of ties to use.  Old stockings are perfect as they are strong but flexible, I have some strong wire coated in plastic that I use, and it works well.  Some people use string, not as good as it can rub the stems.  Whatever you do use, tie up tomatoes about every 4 inches to keep them going.

The rocket is quite small yet, but tastes really good.  It has a mild peppery taste, and is perfect for rolling up with some chicken in a wrap.  I have a couple of rules for what I grow:
1. Something we like to eat,
2. That is expensive to buy,
3. Things I use often but little at a time (like mint or radish), so waste a lot.
4. Easy to grow in our area.

Here is a great article that might help with planning a garden : http://thenaturallivingsite.com/blog/2011/03/how-to-plan-your-garden-food-production-for-self-sufficiency/

I decided to make a chicken curry tonight, and had to buy some chilli (mine is not ready yet) and some lemongrass.  The lemongrass was quite expensive, so this makes it a perfect thing to grow in the garden.   Just  purchase a lemongrass stalk from the supermarket with a bit of roots at the end of it.  Place in water to get the roots going, then replant in a pot or in the ground.  Pots are better I think, as lemongrass can really get out of hand and is quite spikey.

Oh dear, the peas have suddenly stopped.

I don't think it is going to be a great year for peas.  A friend of mine saw ours and was amazed (note: this was a week ago) as his had started and suddenly stopped after an inch or two.  Well, since then we have had a lot of rain, and I suspect our peas don't like wet feet, because ours have stopped growing, and are starting to yellow.  After such a promising start too.

So I have taken the mulch from around the roots, this may help - stay tuned for an update.


UPDATE:  removing the mulch seems to have worked and we have peas!

Mulch, and more mulch.

So, the seeds are up and now it is time to mulch - but which one?

Bark - not so good for vegies as it takes up nitrogen from the soil.  Better for other parts of the garden where you do not want to replace mulch too often.

Leaves - Saves money, but you need a lot of them.

Grass - grass clippings break down fast but add nitrogen to the soil as they do. It's best to use grass clippings in thin layers or to let the grass dry before spreading it as a mulch otherwise it starts to stink

Bill was right - especially about the crocodiles

 

This is what Bill Bryson said about Australia:

Not as tough as my place! 
Our garden contains, and has contained over the years a variety of critters such as  (Note, this is just a small selection):

Eggshell recycling 101

Eggshells are great for deterring snails and slugs, as they do not like the sharp endy bits.  Once you have broken and used the eggs, just put the eggshells into the microwave for about 30 seconds to harden them up, then break them up and store in a jar for use on the garden.

Eggshells are a great source of calcium, so put them into the worm farm or compost (don't nuke them for this!).  This is very beneficial to  tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. These crops are susceptible to blossom end rot, which is caused by calcium deficiency. While this deficiency is most often caused by improper watering, there’s no harm in making sure your plants have a steady source of calcium. As the eggshells break down, they’ll nourish the soil, and your plants.  Don't be concerned that there are bits of eggshell in the worm castings, just make sure you have crushed them well before putting them in.  I go on, and then off, putting eggshells in with the worms as I don't want them to dominate the castings.  If you are using them as direct fertiliser, then crush the shells really well until they are powder as I have for the tomatoes below.  (sorry about the glare in the corner).

Oh dear, I nearly killed the lettuce!

Lesson learned!  DO NOT FORGET TO WATER LETTUCE AFTER FERTILIZING.
It was raining a bit yesterday, so I put some liquid fertilizer on the lettuce thinking the bit of rain would do the rest - Today they are burned at the edges.  Well, that is the last time I do that.

Failure is good.
 It's fertilizer.

Everything I've learned about coaching,
 I've learned from making mistakes.
........Rick Pitino

 

~

The first snow peas have peeped above the ground!

Exciting, the snow peas are peeping through the earth.

Only just!

I wish I had shares in the weedkiller company

Seriously, I have spent a fortune on weedkiller!  When we moved into our house the garden was infested with wandering jew - a weed.  Now it is 35 years later and I am still killing it.  The only thing I have found is to pull out as much as possible, and hit the rest with roundup or zero weedkiller.  But it does not stop there!  Oh no.  I have a large area of paving, and it constantly gets weeds in it, and around the side of the house is concrete, it also constantly gets weeds.  So I have tried this recipe out, to see if it works.

The seeds they are a spouting!

Great news, after less than a week, and despite horrible winds and heat, the rocket, marigolds and radish are sprouting.

 
 

Rocket

 

 

 

Radish

 

Marigolds

 

 

So the first of the seeds are up!  The marigolds will require no special attention. 

 

The Rocket  is a slightly different, here is some advice from Burkes Backyard:



The best rocket to eat is baby rocket, very young rocket, and that’s almost impossible to find in supermarkets. I get all my rocket by growing my own and harvesting it young, when it’s about 50mm (two inches) tall. When it’s young, it’s sweet and nutty and lovely.  Keeping crops of salad greens well watered is the main job for salad green grown either in pots or in the ground. Also keep them growing steadily by giving them a liquid feed (mixed up in a watering can) every fortnight. I use Nitrosol, but there are plenty of good alternatives.

 

So my plan is:  water every day,  weekly liquid feed with worm poo,  eat young,  and plant more each 3 weeks

 

 

The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.
Gertrude Jekyll

 

~

 



necessity is the mother of invention.

Its very hot today, with an estimated 38degrees C top temp!  And the hot wind is blowing from the west/ north west - not so good for newly planted plants.  What to do?  Well, I have put an old fitted sheet over the stakes, should be both a wind break and some shade - hope it works.  Also watered around the roots and where the seeds are sown.

"Necessitie, the inuentour of all goodnesse."

...Toxophilus, C1545

 

 

Postcript.  18/10/2013



 

The sheet was a failure as the winds were really bad.  This is what it looked like yesterday at my sisters house, bear in mind she lives in a suburb, NOT near the bushland.  It was the same at my house.

 

 

Many homes have been lost in the fires, that only lasted about 24 hours, but were very destructive.  It is not even summer yet, and we have had catastrophic fires!  I cant think what it will be like in February.  As for the plants, well the lettuce look a bit worse for wear, I have hand watered them, and the seeds so hopefully they will survive well.  We are all coughing from the smoke left in the air. 

~

The fun begins with the planting

After a day that got to 40degrees C, (that is really HOT), it rained overnight so my beds are perfect for planting today.  The soil is warm and wet.  This is the great thing about living where I do, we face south and are on the top of a hill, so my house was built to passive solar standards to take advantage of this.  When we get a hot day in Sydney, it is usually followed by a southerly buster - rain and wind from the south.  I just open the doors and in comes the cool air.  I doubt I will ever move!

So the plan today is :
Bed A

1. two tripods for snap and snow peas,
2. a row of radish, rocket and pac choy seeds which is repeated every 3 weeks so we have a continuous supply.
3. flowers in one corner - courtesy of a wedding my son went to where he received seeds to plant as a thank you gift - lovely, and some marigolds if I can find them,
4. parsley in the other corner to keep away pests and encourage good bugs

Bed B

1. Yellow cherry tomatoes
2. Grosse Lissie grafted tomatoe
3. More tomatoes
4. Basil
5. Lettuce that can be continuously picked.

After a trip to the shop for seedlings, this is what I actually planted

So, all the things in bed A are seeds, and only the basil and flowers are seeds in bed B.  As the soil already has manure and compost in it, I only added lime to the lettuce and tomatoes, and worm castings to the bottom of the tomato holes, and coffee grounds on top of the soil around the tomatoes.

4 peas have been planted at the bottom of each tripod, 2 per stake, and I will put in another 4 under the other stakes in about 3 weeks, that should keep a good supply going.  The beds currently look like this:

Here are some tips I used at the plating stage

• Add a bit of lime to the soil for tomatoes and lettuce
• Take off the bottom leaves of the tomatoes so that they don't develop fungus or virus diseases.
• Put some worm castings into the tomato holes.
• Sprinkle ground coffee (not instant) around the tomatoes.
• Water Epsom salts over the peas to help the seeds sprout, and over the lettuce because they like it.  (I did this the next day)
• On the second day I watered everything with a mild solution of seaweed extract and worm juice.

By the bye,  I set up a very successful worm farm for next to nothing, here is the link on how to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN3cACBUWjI  - and thanks to Gardening Australia.  I have used this method and it works.  I bought my worms from a place in Oatley though, as they are much fresher than if you buy them from the hardware store.  Check out  Able Worms -   Myall St, Oatley NSW 2223

Here is a picture of my worm farm, I got the boxes for free at the Sydney Markets.

When I judge art,

I take my painting and put it next to a God made object like a tree or flower.

 If it clashes, it is not art.
...Paul Cezanne

Test, and when you think its right, test again.

OMG I have been so sick with some virus/flue that I caught out on Sydney Harbour.  Well, probably my fault as I did go out in the rain and wind on the Manly Ferry just to take photos of the tall ships coming into the harbour - see below, that is the crew on the masts!   It was all part of the Naval Review in Sydney.   Trouble was, it was a sunny day when we left home and the weather deteriorated badly, by the time we got to Manly it was terrible.

 



Anyway, I am on the mend now after a trip to the doctor and several drugs later, so we headed off to Bunnings to buy some seeds etc.  While I was sick, the best husband and son in the world shovelled all the soil into the beds for me, and it has had a couple of weeks to settle in.  Don't fill a bed like this to the top, as you need some room for water and mulch.



I decided a soaker hose is the easiest way to water the garden, and bought 2 that are 6 metres long, I put the first one in....



And turned on the hose to test,  way too much hose  and  water for the area!  (This is why you test), so one hose will do two boxes nicely.  I will tie down the hose with some metal ties that I use for tying up the tomatoes to stakes.  These are pink plastic coated ties, similar to what is used to tie the end of plastic bags etc, but much longer.

Even with the hose on very low, this will only need about 20 minutes per day to water the plants well.  The way to tell is to test, put the hose on for 5 minutes, see how far down it has penetrated.  Then try another 5 etc.  once the water has penetrated 8-10 cm down, you know how much to water each day.

Tomorrow the planting starts.

 

Gardening requires lots of water -

most of it in the form of perspiration. 

~Lou Erickson

 

~

I do wish it did rain roses

Some time ago, the electricity dept had to do some work in my area, and it involved running underground cabling around the corner block we live on.  They soon discovered we have only 3cm of 'soil' which is actually sand, and then you hit large sandstone blocks.   Out came the special jackhammers and off they went.  But it brings me to the point of this blog, I have always wanted a vegie garden, but with no soil its a bit difficult.

So I began researching above ground gardens, and found them hideously expensive.  Just recently however, Aldi had garden bed edging for a reasonable price, but it was only 30cm high.  No. 1 son hit on the idea of putting one on top of each other, and making them 60 cm high.  Great for me, as I get some decent soil depth for veggies, and I don't have to bend so much.  So, we have bought 4, put them together on the grass.  We have to work out how to make sure they stay together, so off to the hardware store it is.

Grass is an enemy in this circumstance, so I have used the cardboard boxes they came in to line the bottom, along with some chook manure and wet newspapers.  This should kill the grass and stop it from coming through.    I have used this method before and know it works.

 

We found a great landscape supplies company that makes soil specifically for vegies, a mixture of loam, compost and manure - perfect!  They are BC Sands at Caringbah, when we went there to order and pay, they were really helpful, suggesting we order a bit less and delivered the same day, which we were surprised at.  No sooner had we driven home than the text had arrived to say the truck was on the way, so we quickly got the tarp down for the delivery.



 

 

It will never rain roses:

when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.
.....  George Eliot

 

~

Monet : I perhaps owe my painting to flowers

We have just come back from the trip of a lifetime, going to Singapore, England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Thailand.

Most definitely the highlight for me was going to Versailles and Giverny.  You could not get two more contrasting destinations, and in between we had a wonderful lunch at a little mill nearby.
Versaillles is all about excess, from the enormous gardens clipped within an inch of their lives, to the extravagant bedrooms and gold front gates.  Giverny is  a garden so painstakingly put together it looks as if Monet painted it onto the landscape. 

That's real gold on the gates and on the building inside! 

Its difficult to see, but there are several flowers here, first the dark, almost purple/black leaves make the backdrop, then the bright orange with yellow centre on the left, and the light orange/yellow on the right, in between you can just see the fine lines of the pink/red flower spiralling up to pull it all together.  Monet was a genius.

Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand,

 as if it were necessary to understand,

when it is simply necessary to love.
.............. Claude Monet


~

P.S. - You can follow my blog now on email - see right! .........>>>

My top tips for travelling

The bags are packed, the boarding passes are printed, we are off to Singapore tomorrow!  Then heading to London, and the Scotland and Ireland, a brief sojourn to Paris, back to London and 5 days in Phuket, Thailand.  Along the way I will try to put some blogs up to document where and what we go to.

In the meantime, here are my tips when travelling:

1. Sards Wonder Soap is great for rinsing out those undies etc. and easy to pop into a bag.
2. I always take a couple of blow up coathangers, you can wash a t shirt and dry it overnight with one of those!
3. As we will be travelling around, I pack all the undies, sox, scarves, cold weather gear and swimmers into large zip lock bags, easy to get out of bags and into draws.
4. On overseas travel I take carry on luggage with almost nothing in it, so that I can take some weight out of bags for internal flights.
5. This time we are taking a couple of bike locks, to use on the Eurostar and while our bags are in the car - should make trying to steal them much harder.
6. I take a fairly large handbag, again so that I can fit some things in it to lighten other bags if necessary.
7. Carry on luggage needs a lock on it - you neve know when it will need to go into the hold of a plane.
8. I always take some spare panties and a days worth of medication in my handbag - you never know when bags can be lost.

Come at once!

This is my favourite piece of Waterhouse's writing. Its from Miracles Happen - I hope it makes readers laugh as much as I did.

To set the scene; this is an exchange of telegrams between Bertie and his Aunt Agatha:

Aunt : Come at once. Travers.

Wooster: Perplexed. Explain. Bertie.


Aunt : What on Earth is there to be perplexed about, ass? Come at once. Travers.

Wooster : How do you mean come at once? Regards. Bertie.


Aunt : I mean come at once, you maddening half wit. What did you think I meant? Come at once or expect an aunt's curse first post tomorrow. Love. Travers.


Wooster : When you say 'Come' do you mean 'Come to Brinkley Court'? And when you say 'At once' do you mean 'at once'? Fogged. At a loss. All the best. Bertie.
 
 Aunt : Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. It doesn't matter whether you understand or not. You just come at once, as I tell you, and for heaven's sake stop this back-chat. Stop being a fathead and come immediately. Love. Travers.

Wooster calls his butler Jeeves.
Wooster : Jeeves, What do you make of these telegrams.
Jeeves : I think your aunt wants you to go at once, sir.
Wooster : Do you get that feeling too?
 

 

Madeline Bassett: [about Bertie] I think he's having a brainstorm! Aunt Agatha: What with?

When I was younger I used to roam the corridors of the local library fiction section, looking for inspiration.  I came across a few books written by the same author, PG Woodhouse, they were rather plain looking books, a bit like the one below, and fairly slim in comparison to other books.  But I took a chance on one.

It changed my life, I have never laughed so much when reading a book.  I don't know what it is about Woodhouse, wether it is the complicated plots, the amazingly rich characters or just his style with words, but I really loved those books.  I read them all!

Since then they pop up every now and again, with a series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry ( Jeeves and Wooster), and now in mp3 form so that I can listen to them on the way to sleep.

Here are some excerpts for your enjoyment, and if you have not read the books - get one out of the library and enjoy yourself.

Brinkley Manor:

Bertie Wooster: So! It appears that you've gone and got engaged to the Gussie.

Angela Travers: Quite right. We're in love.

Bertie Wooster: Oh, come now, Angela. Gussie's... Gussie's a splendid chap in many ways. If you've got a sick newt on your hands, Gussie's just the fellow to tell you what to do until the doctor comes. But honestly, old thing, you could fling bricks by the half-hour in England's most densely populated districts without hitting one girl willing to become Mrs. Fink-Nottle without a general anesthetic.

Angela Travers: Well, I thought it would be fun!

Bertie Wooster: Well, I'm surprised at you, young Angela. No wonder they say, "Oh, woman, woman!"

Angela Travers: Who do?

Bertie Wooster: ...Well, chaps, supposedly. But you know you're potty about Tuppy!

Angela Travers: For goodness's sake, Bertie, go away and boil your head!

Bertie Wooster: Well, now, Angela, if you'll permit me to observe...!

Angela Travers: No!

Bertie Wooster: Very well, then. I shall say no more. [gets up to leave, then pauses in the doorway] Just... tinkerty-tonk!

The Delayed Arrival:    
  
 Stilton Cheesewright: [referring to Bertie's cocktail] Now what do you suppose those things       are   doing to your eye?

Bertie Wooster: For your information, Cheesewright, one does not administer alcohol by the eye, or even by the ear. The mouth is the correct orifice.

Stilton Cheesewright: Not if one's meant to be in trainng for the Drones darts tournament, it isn't.

Bertie Wooster: Ah, yes, of course, you've drawn me in the sweepstake, haven't you? Well, your money is safe, Cheesewright. The Wooster form is as devastating as ever.

Stilton Cheesewright: We want a win this year, Wooster, not another dratted tie. I happened to look in on the Drones Club this evening. Freddie Widgeon was at the darts board, stunning everyone with a performance that took one's breath away.

Bertie Wooster: Tcha!

Stilton Cheesewright: Eh?

Bertie Wooster: I said "tcha!" scornfully, with ref. to F. Widgeon. I know his form backwards.

Stilton Cheesewright: He's knocked off smoking, you know!

Bertie Wooster: No!

Stilton Cheesewright: He takes a cold bath every morning!

Bertie Wooster: [shrugs] He's forgotten where the hot tap is.

Return to New York

Bertie Wooster: This is a bit steep, Jeeves.

Jeeves: Approaching the perpendicular, sir!

~

 



The fastest little chicken soup in town

When I was laid up for 4 months and my husband had to do the cooking, I had to work out a recipe for very quick and easy chicken soup.  Its a soup day today, as the wind and weather outside is just terrible, so here are the recipe instructions I gave to my husband, he did well.

Take a large pot, put a glug of olive oil in it and turn the stove on.
Cut up some chicken you have in the freezer into very small pieces.
Slice up a leek, put this into the pot and stir so it does not stick, when it is looking a bit wilted, stir in the chicken until it turns slightly white.
Turn off stove.
Cut up into small (1cm) size chunks, 1 stick celery, 1 potatoe, 2 carrots, 1 turnip and 1 parsnip (or 1 soup pack from the supermarket).
Turn the stove back on, and add the vegetables to the pot.  Stir for about 5 minutes until it all starts to wilt and cook.  DO NOT BURN.
Add 1 large packet of chicken stock, and about the same amount of water (or 1 kettle worth).
Add 2 large glugs of tomatoe sauce and 1 large glug of soy sauce, a couple of turns of the black pepper and some salt.
Turn down to the minimum on stove and simmer for about 1 hour.
Slice up 1/4 of a cabbage very finely.  Turn off the stove.  Add the cabbage and put the lid back on for at least 10 minutes.
Check for enough salt and pepper, add more if needed.

Serve with the nicest bread you have.

This is what it looks like:

This saying sort of sums up my husbands cooking:

And I don't cook, either.

 Not as long as they still deliver pizza.
............Tiger Woods

The race should be held in Sydney

The Formula 1 Grand Prix was held in Melbourne last weekend.  We had wanted to go to it for ages, and booked tickets last year in great anticipation, unfortunately the weather turned rather bad on the day we arrived.
We set down at Melbourne airport to rain and cold weather, the temperature had dropped from 40C  to less than 20C in the space of a few hours.  Well, we reasoned it had to improve.  We watched practice in our hotel room, and the rain got worse and worse.  In fact qualifying was put off until the next day.
When we went to the track, the weather was cool but not cold, with the occasional shower.  As the day wore on it got windier and colder.  Here is what we looked like just before the main race:

3 tragics at the track

 

That jacket cost me a few dollars about 10 years ago at a Nike sale - Never pay retail! - and it has saved my life on a few key occassions.  This is one of them. Likewise, my husband has his handy fold up jacket on, and son has the emergency plastic poncho.  This brings me to one of life's lessons.  You must own a wind and waterproof jacket - with a hood - that can be scrunched up into nothing, and take it on every trip you go on.

 

Americans call them windcheaters, and the only quote I could find came from a Blackadder episode:

"In a desperate last throw of the dice, Baldrick is sent to the House of Lords and Blackadder is left with nothing but a catskin windcheater and a broken turnip"

Well the F1 experience was just that, an experience, seeing cars worth lost of money, not too many fashionable people due the weather, and expensive promotional clothing we did not feel tempted to buy, along with a great race.  A once in a lifetime thing, and it made me realise THE RACE SHOULD BE HELD IN SYDNEY!

 

The transport would be better, the weather would be wonderful and people would not take their children along as they are more sensible.  So I am thinking of starting a petition...........

 

Learning how to be cool

My husband is a photographer from way back in the 70's.  He used to take wonderful black and white shots and develop them himself.  Back then it was quite expensive to have anything developed professionally, as film was time consuming, and fully manual.  Now we have a digital camera and photo setup and have the photo available online within seconds.

The photos he has taken for our website are just as good as any photo I have seen on long-standing company websites.  Take a look at this:

Len does all the technical taking of the shot, while I do the photoshopping to size and re-colour the background.  Getting a white background is actually very difficult, even with a light tent etc. the shots come out with a greyish background.  Thank god for google and Youtube!  As well as the generosity of many people who post online.  I found out about the quick select tool, and how to use the bucket tool in photoshop, and be the end of the day this:

Turned into this:

Not bad hey?

I was not really into nor did I understand the power of Youtube until my lovely nephew started doing movies (ie acting in them) and I found out he has his own Youtube channel.  Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialKarlBeattie/videos?view=0

He will be famous one day.

I leave with this quote, its kind of how I feel right now.

“Kids on the Youtube, learning how to be cool.”
― Toby Keith

Hospitalpacks.com.au is getting closer

Hospital Packs progresses well, the website only needs photos now.  Sounds so easy doesn't it?

Not so easy in real life. It took me a day to put together the photos for just one page of categories, even though the photos did not have to be taken, just downloaded.  A note here about a good website with millions of photos - istock.com.   These are photos taken by professional photographers who put them up on the site for use by anyone who buys them.  I have seen them used in lots of websites, and now mine.  This is how the first cut  (well, actually the third cut!) looked:

 

 

I think the bobby pins need some work, but am happy with the other shots.  My website is quite colourful, which suits the 50+ demographic that I am aiming for - I hope!  But I do think visuals are important.

 

 

An update on the light tent - check out the boys setting it up below

 

My husband will start taking the product shots for real today.  Can't wait to see how they turn out.  Meanwhile, I am tidying up the site and the descritptions of products.

I still have "happy packs" in the back of my mind, but of course, you have to learn first before launching site number 2!



A little weirdness goes a long way.

So happy for a friend of mine, who is going online, she has just set up a website for her celebrant business at : http://gailmcguckin.com.au/

Here is a sneak preview of her website:

Go Gail!

My favourite quote about marriage is

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." -Robert Fulghum

Now I'm a writer too?

So my new business, Hospital Packs, is  one step closer.  The room downstairs has been turned into an office, new computer etc. and I have done a stocktake.  Feb is a very busy month, as there are 3 supplier fairs that I need to attend, at one of them, which I was not really intending to go to, there is a company that has lovely baby clothes and wraps.  Have to look them up and talk to them about starting an account.

Ive been through the Reed Gift Fair book, and made a list of the 50 or so companies I need to see.  I'm waiting on some money to come through from my superannuation to pay off the mortgage and fund the business a bit more for some stock and advertising.  Meantime, I am trying to learn how to do a PR campaign.  I found this site which has been most helpful : http://www.getthewordout.com.au/articles/mediareleasetemplate.htm
and google have templates: https://drive.google.com/templates?q=press+release&start=1&sort=hottest&view=public

This was a good example http://www.lunareclipse.net/press-release-example-new-business.htm


I think my husband will be able to assist - after all he has 20 plus years in a news room!

Wish me luck!

Oh, and its different for social media - of course!

Never pay retail..#2

Really, NEVER PAY RETAIL.
I organised my son and husband to come the Matt Blatt sale with me, I was looking for some dining chairs, I knew my son was also looking for a chair for his bedroom.  He found the chair below, but in lovely Black leather.  Its a Rioco Lounge Chair, priced at $998. 

He bought it for $150!  What a bargain, and it is a chair he can put anywhere, in any decor, because it is fantastic design. 

 

On the way to the sale, browsing ozbargain, came across an offer from Microsoft to upgrade to Office 12 for FREE if you had bought Office 10 in the last year.   Of course we had!  So we upgraded the office computer for free.

 

 

Really, NEVER PAY RETAIL...........




Sydney breaks all records

Oh my! Yesterday we had record heat wave of 47 degrees C. 

Of course, we had the air conditioner on all day, but it has now given up the ghost.  First indication was that smoke started coming into the house, and a very bad acrid smell.  Oh well, at least we survived until the southerly winds arrived and the cool weather.

So, this morning it is a phone call the the aircon company and go out and buy some fans to try to keep as cool as we can until it is fixed.

A minor thing really, as many people lost their homes in bushfires yesterday. My father taught me one thing about bushfires, and that was "get out and get out early".  The silly advice of stay and defend your home was proven to be very bad advice recently when over 100 people died in Victoria. Fortunately the fire dept has revised its processes and is now telling people to leave when bushfires are heading their way.  The problem is, if you leave it too late the smoke and embers make it almost impossible to leave, and in a bushfire with lots of fuel behind it you cannot defend your house with a hose.

I remember driving through areas where fires were close to the road when we were staying with my grandmother in Scotts Head.  Very scary, but dad was insistent everyone leave.  He was right.

So, if you are ever in Australia in a bushfire - go to safety early, do not wait and get trapped.

NEVER EVER pay retail

So, on the advice of my son I did not purchase Office software for the new computer from Dell at a price of around $400.  Or from Microsoft at $499.

No, instead we used one of his favourite sites http://www.ozbargain.com.au/  This is a site where lots of people post bargains they find online.  Anything from cheap soft drinks to pedestal fans, to buffet lunches!  Its quite a site, and you can search, which we did.  (I just saw a trip to Bali for less than $300 on ozbargain)

We found an offer that was put on a couple of months ago for Microsoft Office for $15!  Yes, a saving of over $400.  To take up the offer, you needed an email address at one of the participating companies, so I used my old company, and a friends email address.  When I rang him to tell he was about to receive an email, he could not believe the price.  I only left the company a short time ago, and I knew nothing about the offer, neither had he heard of it.  Yet it must be available to all staff.

Anyway, the moral of the story is SHOP AROUND and NEVER PAY RETAIL.

I found the full kit my husband needed for taking photos at $600 less than he was able to get it, simply by using some nifty searching.  I usually search "buy XYZ online" as the first choice, then look for the shopping engines like http://www.myshopping.com.au/ who do the hard work for you, and list a whole lot of companies selling the one thing.

This is how I found the light box kit, pictured below and bought from http://www.fotogenic.com.au/index.php?route=common/home  they seem to have some great photogrphy stuff.

Thanks Will for the good advice, and thanks Nemia for the use of the email.

Thanks to Cynthia Nelms for the final word :
 “If men liked shopping, they'd call it research.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serious is a word that must be entirely avoided when it comes to decoration

Its past new year, past xmas and is my husbands birthday.  So this means it is time to take down the final xmas decorations.  But I feel sad, as they do add some cheer to the lounge room.  So i think it is time to brighten up the room a bit!

I have been purchasing for my new business, Hospital Packs, a new server is on the way, printer arrived yesterday and the photography equipment is ordered, so I hope it is up and running be the end of the month.  I will blog the trials and tribulations along the way. 

On this note, have you ever tried to buy a reasonably priced round meeting table?  Nightmare, they are all very expensive, not particularly attractive, and rather depressing all round.  My next step is to go onto gumtrees, and see what I can find 2nd hand, that might be painted for instance.  Ikea is the fall back, and that table is $300.

The back office area is going to have a beachy/hamptons feel about it.  I want to work in an area that makes me feel good, so lots of white mixed with nature, and splashes of blue here and there.  It wont look quite as good as this, but I will try:

 

 

By the way, here is a good site about this type of decorating http://www.designingthehamptons.com/
It has some good tips and links, I particularly love the light:

 

 



Hamptons Beach style comes from the Hamptons region of Long Island in New York - a popular destination among the affluent. It embodies the best of classic decorating with rustic influences. Think of the gorgeous home featured in the film 'Somethings Gotta Give' with Diane Keaton. If you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it (for the house alone!)

 

If you are wanting to inject some of this classic decorating style into your home, we have some easy tips that you can follow...

Use Light Colors
If you're looking for a classic Hamptons beach style feel, start with color. The idea is to keep things light, breezy and natural. Choose rustic wood flooring that has a sun-bleached look. Stick with white or neutral colored walls. Linen upholstery looks natural and casual, perfect for relaxing after a day in the sun. If you like the look of wicker, choose high-end pieces that don't feel cheap and tacky - white wicker looks especially chic in Hamptons Beach inspired homes.

Create a Style Balance
Interior designer, John Barman, suggests balancing contemporary styles with rustic touches like barn wood elements, original hardware and bead board walls. Using all rustic elements would make the space seem dated and overwhelmingly antique. If all contemporary touches were used, the house wouldn't feel like it was at the beach. Combining these styles is what makes everything come together. It is all about achieving that ideal mix of clean and contemporary pieces with rustic, imperfect touches.

Get Creative with Vintage Finds
Furniture that is interesting and unique doesn't need to cost a fortune! Become an expert at scouring local garage sales, discount furniture stores and local charity shops for distinctive pieces that embody the style you are after. Often these pieces are still in fairly good condition - all that you need to do is give the piece a little TLC to bring it back to life. Sand back your piece, re-paint it in a gorgeous white or duck egg blue and change fixtures such as handles by sourcing these from your local hardware store such as Bunnings. Schots Home Emporium has great antique inspired fixtures also! Thinking about re-upholstering those dining room chairs? DIY the job and save by getting a staple gun, some quality linen at your nearest Spotlight or Lincraft store in a French toil pattern or beach stripe pattern and fix the material to your dining room chairs for a quick and pocket friendly boost to your room!

Incorporate Natural Elements
Bring the outdoors inside by including plenty of living things into the décor of your home. The most important and easiest way to do this is by using plants and shells for decorating. Inexpensive and always beautiful, live plants mimic the lush plant life of the beach and add some color to the décor. Live plants also purify the air, making your home fresher. Items like driftwood, seashells and sun-bleached sand dollars are great ways to incorporate elements of nature. Display them in clear glass jars and as table centerpieces.

Natural Light
Light is one of the greatest decorating elements available. Huge windows that let sunlight wash into the rooms are a great investment. All the light colors can look drab without the sun illuminating them. Consider installing a skylight for more light exposure.

 

The above advice is from http://www.thehamptonshouse.com.au/blog/blog/howtodecoratehamptonsbeachstyle

 

Looks like a great blog to follow.  This link also has a list of great websites on the hampton style.  Thanks guys.

Well here is a first picture, rather messy at present, please note the tiffany's bag that now holds the pens and markers.  (thanks to my friends at Suncorp).