Well, it’s taken me ages to get around to posting these… but I’ve done enough moaning about the stress and disruption on here so I should really show you guys the results of our home makeover.  I’ve got some of the real estate pictures (and a few others we took) from when we bought this house and have taken matching pictures of how it’s looking right now.  We still have a new floating floor and kitchen to install, but we needed a break so we’ll be doing that after Christmas trade is over!

Livingroom & Dining Area – Before

Livingroom & Dining Area – After

We’re still using some of the previous owner’s old furniture just for added authenticity – we’ll replace once we’ve chosen the flooring and kitchen finishes.  There was an awful lot of terribly under utilised space in our house. We could see it was big when we bought it, but somehow there was no room for anything. A few walls / railings in the skip and it’s looking lots better.

Livingroom – Before

Livingroom – After

One wall removed, some trimming of ceiling beams, and the true space of our living area is revealed. We did this to bring the bush backdrop further into the house. Still some new windows and blinds to be added.

Livingroom Towards Dining Area – Before

Livingroom Towards Dining Area – After

2 Walls and a bit of bulkhead left over from a previous extension have been culled. The “windows” you can see in the wall through to the kitchen will be filled with some custom slumped glass with RGB LED strips embedded around the edges. We will then be able to programme them to be whichever colour or series of colours we want. MMMM, mood lighting!

The Deck Outside The Livingroom – Before

The Deck “Outside” The Livingroom – After

Floor to ceiling louvres to catch them breezes. We had a daybed made by our next door neighbour (artist and general clever chappie) from some of the timbers that were pulled out of the house during the renovation. Duncan’s mother has just spent 10 days upholstering it and making us some cushions out of raw silk I sourced in Thailand.

Kitchen Area – Before

Kitchen Area – After
We quite literally raised the roof here – we discovered that a previous extension had created a false ceiling. The line between the kitchen and dining area was originally the outside wall of this house.  When it was extended, the old owners just left the internal roof in situ. We just thought it was too good a chance to waste  – but gosh darn it cost a few quid extra.  I can’t tell you how wonderful those 32 degree days were in this house with nothing but corrugated iron between us and the sun

Downstairs Lounge – Before

Downstairs Lounge – After
We robbed a few square metres from here, tacked it onto the dining area, and shifted the access to the back door (and the back door itself) up into the main part of the house to give a better flow.  The old back door location was on the deck off our bedroom so not great for privacy or ease of access to the back garden. This room is now a “snug” and the old back door is now a cupboard!

The New View from My Sofa (Couldn’t Find a Before!)

*Cough* So yeah… just a few small changes. Of course, being good techie type people we also installed a sexy C-Bus lighting system, had the entire place re-wired with new circuits installed, wires for sound and internet passed through various walls, ceilings and floors and hooked our TV into our computer network for optimal viewing pleasure.  Quite frankly after all that watching TV is about all we have been fit for.

So if you were wondering why my sites got a bit neglected and my blogging tailed off significantly I’m sure that the fact I was trying to work not 3 metres from all the execution of this resculpting will answer all your queries in this direction.  If you’re still not convinced of just what an effing mess we had to live and work in for 3 months, I’ve selected the 3 messiest, most destructive, horrid “progress” pics I could find below for your delectation.

I’m sure you’ll find it hard to feel sorry for me given the really lovely result, but I’d just like to close with a reminder that this took 3 long months to complete, and another 2 months for us to bring far enough up to scratch to be considered a semi-home again! We also painted it all ourselves. 3 coats.

As a few of you guys might know I’ve had a bit of a sad situation recently. My much loved grandmother got very sick and passed away.

I did think a lot about whether I should make a post about it on here,  but hey… I bet there’s a lot of you who have lost people you love who’ve thought “I just wish more people knew how awesome they were.”   So that’s what I’m doing. This isn’t a drone about how I’m feeling (I’ll spare you that), it’s all about her.

My Supergran, Eve.

If grandmothers were like sticks of rock, mine would have had “You go gal” written inside and the wrapper would advertise “free cuddles with every bite”.  She was always first to dance at any party, and one of the last to leave. Optimism and kindness were her watchwords. She was from that generation who came through WW2 with Dunkirk spirit by the bucketload, never complained about what she didn’t have, and could create just about anything from not very much at all.

I could gush on like that for hours, but I think people are best described by what they have done…

Where’s The Midwife?

Back in the “Olden Days” babies weren’t born in hospitals.  The miracle of birth happened at home and the midwife would come with a nice cannister of gas and air, and some words of encouragement.

Through the local telegraph, Gran heard that one of her neighbours had gone into labour.  “I’ll just pop round there and see how she’s getting on” she thought (as you do).  Upon arriving at the door she was greeted by a very, very white faced husband.

“QUICK, get in here!!”

The midwife was, for some reason, nowhere in sight and things were um… progressing alarmingly. Bear in mind that in those days a husbands place was firmly elsewhere when children were being born, so he quickly grabbed my grandmother as a drowning man might grasp a lifering and ushered her through to where the action was at.  Without too much fuss (well, that’s how she told it many decades later!), my grandmother duly delivered their son.

A few minutes afterwards the midwife turned up clutching her gas and air cylinder and remarked,

“Och, it looks like youse are doing fine. I’ll away then.”

And away she went.

And every time my grandmother saw that boy for the next 50 years she’d say “Awww… look at the size of ye!  And to think I delivered you.”

How could he forget?

Mum, Where Did That Pram Come From?

One Christmas Gran was at the town square at the annual carol service. Her cohorts informed her one of her friends had been taken into hospital, leaving her husband to look after their young baby.  In those days the most a man knew about a child was that they brought in the dough to feed them, and someone else looked after them and their ablutions.

“Oh dearie me” Said Gran in no small amount of horror. “He’ll never be able to look after that baby. He hasn’t a clue!”

So off she toddled round to her friends house and told her (very relieved) husband that she’d look after the baby until she was all better.  My Mother told me she went out to the Christmas Carols, and simply returned with a pram, announcing they had a new lodger as she pushed it into the livingroom.  The baby stayed for around 6 weeks.

In total my Grandmother had 7 children of her own between when she got married and her early 40′s. At this point she probably already had 4 or 5 children of her own in her very small 3 bedroom house. She might have been limited on space, but her kind heart really knew no bounds.

Good God Gran, Why Were You Topless Sunbathing?

A few years ago I went to visit my gran, with my then boyfriend in tow. She’d just returned from a lovely holiday with my Aunt and Uncle – she loved the sun so was looking very brown and happy.  She was in the kitchen fussing around and called through “My holiday snaps are on my side table – take a wee look”

I dutifuly went through all the usual nice pictures people take on holiday. The apartment, group pictures at character filled restaurants, Georgious the waiter (my what a laugh he was etc etc etc. My boyfriend knew the family well so was also looking at the pictures with interest.

There were lots of pictures of the beach which I spooled through until to my horror, there was one of my Grandmother laughing away and sunbathing TOPLESS!!

“Arrghhh… Gran!!” I squealed, recoiling in horror. “What the hell’s this?!?!”

“What’s what?” She said, emerging from the kitchen looking genuinely puzzled.

“You’ve got your boobs out on the beach, were you at the topless sunbathing???”

“Ah…” she said, “No no, I took my bra and top off and draped my t-shirt over them to protect my modesty. That auntie of yours bloody whipped it aff me and took a picture. The minx.”

“I see.” I said, somewhat mollified by her unruffled reaction.  “Umm…. did you not think to remove that one?”

She just giggled a bit, treated us to a mischevious look, and wandered off back into the kitchen, leaving myself and the boyfriend to regard each other in uncomfortable silence. We didn’t look at the rest. Just in case.

And Finally…

Thanks dear Gran for everything you’ve given me. The little dimples that appear when I smile (I always saw them mirrored in your face), my creative streak, my strong sense of empathy.  But most of all, thanks for my sense of fun and the delight I take in dancing the night away. All of these gifts have come from you and I will always carry them with me.

I use them often and in the same way that I think of you – with love, joy, and laughter.

OK, so here’s a new and random  feature. I’m going to call it “Stuff Kirsty Does” and use it for all the knowledge that doesn’t fit neatly into the affiliate sphere but which I think will greatly enrich the lives of my readers.  Mind you, I think that the purpose of my exciting new section will probably end up (unintentionally) being the demonstration of the extent to which I am mad as a brush.

So without further ado…

How To Grow Your Own Pineapples

Now don’t snort in derision here, I know I live in Queensland which makes the business of Pineapple production a lot easier but they can still be grown as an indoor plant in colder places.

Step 1.

You’ll need a Pineapple from the supermarket with its stalk still attached.  Once you have obtained your fruit, grab the stalk and twist it sharply to remove it. You should have something in your hand that looks like this: -

Step 2.

Your pineapple top is already a little plant complete with mini roots just waiting to find moisture and start growing (gosh darn they are clever!). All you have to do is expose them.  To do this, just peel off the leaves at the bottom of the stalk until you uncover little brown nubby rootlets.  They will look a lot like this:-

This example was from a pineapple that was ripened on the plant and which I’d bought from a farmer at a local market which has probably allowed the rootlets to develop a bit more before harvesting.  I’ve had supermarket pineapples that didn’t have such prominent rootlets. These worked fine so don’t worry if your Pineapple doesn’t look quite like this.  I’ve just found one growing in our garden where Duncan rather lazily buried the contents of our compost bin when I asked him to move it.  After 6 months underground it’s recently sprouted into life. Very impressive!

Step 3.

Pop your pineapple head in a jar of water so that the part without any leaves on is submerged.  Don’t let any more of the plant get underneath the water else it might start rotting / go mouldy.  A lot of places I’ve read advise against using jars of water, saying that it’s better to let them dry out for a day or two then plonk them right into the soil.  They are probably right but I’m a big kid and I like to see witness the roots growing for myself. 

In the Queensland climate here’s what my pineapple looked like after just 4 days sitting in a jar of water in my garden: -

Cool eh?

Step 4.

Once your roots have grown to a size you’re happy with / the novelty of watching it grow has worn off you can think about potting your new plant up.  I usually wait until mine are about this much grown:-

You won’t need a terribly big pot as Pineapples are quite shallow rooted plants and don’t need heaps and heaps of soil to do their thing.  Mine are growing quickly in the QLD heat.  Here’s one I potted up at the start of November: -

Fabulous progress already!  It’ll take about 2 years to actually produce any fruit and this particular species will grow to about 1m in diameter.  In case anyone is wondering I’ve been propagating these to replace the front hedge Duncan and I ripped out a few months ago.  Not only will it make a nice cheap way to cover a bit of ground, when my plants finally fruit it’ll look damned funky.  Here’s what a pineapple plant in fruit looks like: -

Should make for a pretty cool driveway!

I imagine that in colder climates it will take a pineapple plant a lot longer to produce fruit and it goes without saying if you decided you want to get in on the game and grow one yourself that it’ll take a bit longer than here in Queensland.  I reckon its a bright and fun way to brighten up any affiliate office though so why not give it a go?  We could give out prizes at the end of the year for whoever grows the best one.

Yep, that’s right.  We have another new resident here in the Affiliate Stuff office (and you might well be forgiven for asking yourself if we can actually get the door shut on any given day).

So who is our new affiliate chum?

Introducing…

Zuri!

Her main duties here at Affiliate HQ are in the stress relief department.  So far she’s been doing a good line in looking cute, adorable, and generally gorgeous.  Our resident Cat in Chief, Lazlo was a teeny bit unsure to start with, but seems to have gotten over his initial concerns about her fairly quickly….

As you can see, they form a fairly formidable IT support team by way of creating a rather excellent “screen muff” on the rear of my computer.

But On A Serious Note….

We got Zuri from our local animal rescue shelter.  Just before Christmas, Duncs and I decided that we should foster a cat for one of the local rescue organisations as that is a time of year when lots of former pets are Euthanased. 4Paws Animal Rescue are a Sunshine Coast organisation that have adopted a decentralised approach to the concept of an animal refuge.  All their animals are housed in the homes of volunteer foster carers.

Zuri was abandoned in a rental property when her owners moved out. They simply closed the door and left her, another cat, and some kittens behind. They were found a few days later by the maintenance man.  When we got her she weighed 2.2kg and was fairly thin and bony.  This is the picture 4Paws took of her when they got her…

Cute size for a kitten, but this cat is actually well over 1 year old!  I don’t understand why people can treat animals like a disposable commodity, particularly one with such a beautiful personality.  Of course, knowing what she’d been through and after Lazlo took such a shine to our new wee foster-kitty we couldn’t really bear to part with her.  So the adoption papers have been signed, money has been parted with, and she is now a full time member of Clan McKenzie!  She still spends a lot of time hiding herself away, but comes out of her shell a little more every day.  Lazlo is completely besotted (bit too much at times as she gets fed up with his constant attention!).

So…

Welcome home Zuri – and ladies and gents don’t forget your local animal rescue if you think you would like a new pet.  Even if pedigrees are your thing, you may be surprised at what you find in a shelter. Posh cats and dogs have not been immune from the effects of the recession.  If you don’t want to commit to a permanent pet, do please consider fostering.  Every dog or cat placed in a foster home is one less euthanased at the council pound – you’d be quite literally saving a life.

Zuri has been with us a month and has already put on 500g on a diet of Iams, chicken necks, and love

P.S We chose her new name – it means “white and lovely”.

P.P.S Don’t think I don’t know you thought this was a post about another spider

Greetings Australian wildlife fans!  As some of you will know, our lovely Aussie home is a bit of a haven for wildlife and I’ve posted a few pictures up here and there for your entertainment and delectation.  Most have been scary and poisonous spiders in some shape form or fashion, so by way of balance I’ve finally managed to grab me some pics of the kangaroos that live around these parts.

I ended up tearing down the wire fences on 2 sides of our property about a week ago as I didn’t see any need for closing out the beautiful bush environnment here  and this was what I was rewarded with at 6am this morning….

This is The Lady Roo From The Family Group….

And Here is Her Cute Little Joey!

Awww… aren’t they gorgeous?  It’s just so special to have wildlife like this around us and yet only be living ten minutes from the beach at Mooloolaba, in the midst of a relatively dense population.  I really do love living here and feel so incredibly lucky to have found this house.  We also see Possums, King Parrots, Green Catbirds, Eastern Water Dragons, Blue Headed Honeyeaters, Lorikeets, Whip Birds, Green Tree Snakes, and lots of other interesting wee critters.

See?  Its not all about me and scary spiders is it?  I’m always being accused of being a mono maniac when it comes to arachnids.   Mind you, I got a cracking picture the other day.  I’ll be publishing it soon as I simply can’t resist sharing it with all of you. I reckon I’ll have to put up a health warning first though. This one is that good that those of you suffering a nervous disposition might develop heart problems if you see it without first reading a disclaimer

I’m a little distracted this month as my parents and Duncan’s parents are here on the Sunshine Coast visiting with us for the entirety of October.

I do have 4 blog posts all written up to entertain you whilst I’m “on holiday”.  They’re all Ask Kirsty’s as I was trying to catch up with all my correspondence before my folks arrived and it seemed like a good way to multi task (very important for us busy affiliates!)

We’ve been having a great old time so far and it’s been brilliant showing my parents around the beautiful place where we live.  Here’s a few pics of our days out so far, just so Y’all know what we’ve been up to.

Chilling out with my parents in Buderim Forest Park

Duncan takes in the view near Point Cartwright

My Dad entertains us and the neighbours (even the ones several miles away!)

Family picnic at Happy Valley, Caloundra

Duncan and his Mum get sand between their toes.

Celebrating 38 years since my parents got married on our deck!

Definately packed to the rafters at Chez Kirsty & Duncan this month, and loving every minute!

It has!

It was our first wedding anniversary at the weekend and we can’t believe we’ve now been married for an entire year!  I’ve been a bit quiet on here as I got stuck into as much work as possible over the last couple of weeks to make some room in the old affiliate schedule for a nice 3 day mini break.

As I’ve been neglecting all you lovely readers a teeny bit, here’s a few snaps from our short trip to the mountains above the Sunshine Coast.

Beers and sunset on our balcony, what could be better?

Beers, sunset, dinner, and a long suffering expression from Duncan!

Glasshouse Mountains, and arty tree!

My wedding anniversary gift from Duncan, isn’t it cool?!

From our hike in the rainforest!

It was a lovely break, and we managed not to let it disrupt the progress with my various Christmas sites too much (whose idea was it to get wed in September?!).  I must confess I did take my mobile internet with me so it wasn’t an affiliate-free weekend, I just had to check my stats.

Better luck next break Duncan

Hey there guys and gals, and greetings from your newly rejuvenated affiliate blogger.  On the weekends I usually spend a bit of time working out a couple of things that might be kinda fun to write about on here.  This weekend it didn’t happen and I thought I’d explain why!

You See Doctor, I’ve Been Feeling Kind of Rotten…

After developing no less than 4 sites recently and then having the flu, or “death lurgey” as I called it, I was feeling like my affiliate mojo had sort of deserted me.  I have 2 more new projects I need to start as well as keeping all of my sites fresh and updated and I just couldn’t get going properly.

So I Decided What I Needed Was… something diametrically opposed to the virtual world of affiliate marketing.  Yes, it is a creative discipline but in the end I was left feeling it was just nebulous and that perhaps there wasn’t much point to it all.  At this stage Duncan suggested an ambulance as I’d clearly lost my mind  – but I had a better idea.

Doing Something “Real”

I decided to spend 4 days with minimal internet time (one of my issues is I never take a break from long internet sessions – regardless of whether its my “day off” or not).

Without banging on too much about it, if you feel jaded I suggest taking a total break from the online world. Go and do something real to get it all in perspective.  My solution was to spend 4 days procuring and then distributing 8 cubic metres (half a tonne) of bark mulch on my front garden.

I started work again today and feel totally revitalised.  I was able to pick things right up and tie off loads of niggly loose ends. Tomorrow I start the next two projects and I feel great about it.  All it took was 4 days backbreaking garden labour, ha ha ha!

Try it

P.S.

Here Are Some Piccies Of My Endeavours… Welcome To Affiliate Gardening World

Before

After

G’day (or should I say “Och Aye The Noo!!”) and greetings from me sitting jetlagged on my Mummy’s couch in Bonny Scotland.

I got in yesterday afternoon and I’m feeling pretty damned good actually.  I employed some new techniques on my latest longhaul adventure which meant I had a pretty decent time of it in the dreaded Economy Class.  I thought I’d share these with all you guys as I am feeling remarkably good for someone who has just spent 24 hours sitting in a space just slightly larger than a tea tray!

• Noise Cancelling Headphones – You have to buy them,  a total must have.  Not only do the movies sound better but they block out a lot of the background noise that ends up really wearing you down.  Oh, and screaming children!
• iPOD loaded up with Audio Books – I’ve used this before as I put them on when I want to go to sleep.  Nice soothing narration at low volume combined with my new headphones meant I was pretty oblivious to what was going on nearby when I wanted to sleep.
• Take a massive big pillow and HUGE fleece blanket. Yes, a lot of people did laugh at me both in the Airport and on the plane when I turned up with a cosy bed in a massive bag.  But then I got 7 hours fairly solid sleep and they didn’t, so they weren’t laughing when I was sending up the big Z’s.  I even had a dream!
• Use The Business Class Toilets – The way Emirates have their planes set up, the business class loos are located behind the forward galley.  They leave the curtain open so they can get in and out, and this means the sneaky economy traveller can dash forward for a bit of business class loo time.  No queues as their presence is not advertised to the rest of economy by way of a green light.  Rejoice in the floral arrangements, revel in the presence of genuine towels with which to wipe your hands, and enjoy higher standards of cleanliness which mean you are a lot less likely to stand in mystery liquid on the toilet floor in your socks (yerrrcchhhh).
• Melatonin Herbal Supplement – I took a melatonin supplement every few hours during my journey and I slept much more soundly / easily both during the journey and last night when I got home to Mum’s.  I usually wake up at 4 or 5am and can’t get back to sleep when I’ve been flying.  This time, I got 12 solid hours and woke at 8.30am feeling pretty darned good.

Sorry if you were hoping for an affiliate post, but this is the best I can come up with under the circumstances and perhaps some of you will find it useful, ha ha ha.

Just as well I am feeling good.  Today I’m driving up to Stirling to go on a Hen weekend prior to my good friend Kathryn’s wedding and Duncan will be paintballing and generally hanging out with the rest of the stag party at the same time.

More “Affiliate Stuff” from me when I recover fully!

That’s right folks, we’ve been expanding our interests in Australia and today a job applicant came knocking at the office window.  He doesn’t say much I have to say, but he has spent most of today throwing some interesting shapes onto my office desk which has had a fairly huge impact on my productivity.

So without further ado, meet my new mate Sid who has been spending all of his time sitting not more than 2 feet in front of me today.  What a good looking Aussie!

Editors health warning…. *Ahem*  If your name is Chris Clarkson or if you’ve not enjoyed other posts about things that have scared the bejeesus out of me you might want to close your eyes now

.

.

.

Sorry about the picture being blurry at the bottom, its just that Sid here is rather large, and didn’t have the decency to position himself at an easy to photograph angle.

Internet research has turned up the fact that he (or she) is in fact a Net Casting Spider – Deinopidae is his Sunday name.  Some of his fans also refer to him as the “Ogre Faced Spider”  the reasons for which I don’t know because I’m not up for inspecting him with a magnifying glass.  Not to worry though, the above link will graphically demonstrate why he’s not known for his handsome appearance.

In his favour I must say that unlike recent visitors he’s not poisonous nor will he try to perpetrate any bites upon me.

All I can say is thank the lord for flyscreen!