Base Camp, Mackay

We arrived in sunny Queensland last night to a very welcome reception. Sue really pulled out all the stops appointing the guest house for us. From the bathroom to the kitchen to the living area, it’s fully stocked with anything we may want or need.

 

The guest house is set apart from the main house with its own private pool and gardens, where we may have gone for a midnight swim under the stars as bats sailed over head. That may have happened.

Sue cooked a lovely dinner of lamb and feta parcels, while we explored the grounds, listening to the geckos and making new friends.

This morning we awoke to the sounds of whistling birds, and now I’m blogging by the pool while watching dragon flies , butterflies and bumblebees buzz around me. It’s a very relaxing and peaceful place. Perfect for a long weekend getaway.

Table Settings

I started setting the table for Christmas yesterday. Hopefully I’ll be finished by Tuesday! I stopped working on it to make dinner last night. Here’s what I have so far:

    

FYI

If you really love someone, don’t ever buy them a pink kitchen appliance, unless of course, they actually like that sort of thing.

And if they’ve already had to ask multiple times for the specific “gift,” getting it in pink will only make things worse.  Just so you know. 

New Arrivals

With the arrival of Dan and Lauren on Monday, we thought it best to get the guest room in order, so with out further ado, here it is!  We haven’t managed to get a desk or bookcase yet, but at least there’s a bed. 

Also today, I replenished the now rather sad, empty corner where one of my orchids lives (when it’s in season) with some spider orchids.  It’s a nice temporary solution while the other orchid sleeps.

We had a nice little wander through Crows Nest, in and out of highly air conditioned stores, checking out various new bars and restaurants, and now we’ve returned so Scott can work on his ARC proposal.  He’s been working very hard both night and day on various projects.  He’s exhausted, and really deserves some rest, but he insists he feels like going to the Chinese New Year festivities in Belmore Park tomorrow.  We’ll see.  It would be fun, but I don’t want him to get rundown.

Impulse Buy

Not really an impulse buy, per se. You may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that Scott wanted a water feature in the living room, and I had spotted the perfect location for such an item. Well after that we looked at a few really cool ones, but they were priced in the thousands and were way out of the range that we wanted to spend on something that is more or less frivolous.

Well, today we went Christmas shopping, and we were very good, buying loads of gifts that weren’t in any way for us. That is, until we accidentally happened upon a 20% off sale on water features. Even though the box weighed 15 kilos (33 pounds) Scott valiantly offered to carry it all the way home, and once we got up to the cash desk, the item scanned at 40% off (no idea why- we didn’t ask), so we were thrilled we had decided to make a purchase of the copper and slate fixture!

In addition to gifts, we also bought a red snapper, some sweet potatoes and some broccolli before returning home, so when we arrived, I got down to making dinner, and Scott got down to assembly and beer.

I am happy to show you the finished product: our water feature. May it help up our feng shui and bring peace and relaxation to our home.

Vacancies

We can now (or more towards the end of the month really) have house guests. Someone in our building named Kimie is moving back to Japan and doesn’t want to pay to ship her bed back, so we’re taking it off her hands for a small fee. It has a nice wooden frame with a really good orthopedic mattress (approved by the International Chiropractic Association ).

All guests have access to a private bathroom with shower & bath and complimentary toiletries, as well as a private balcony with spectacular city views. The facilities are equipped with a pool and gym, and there are flat panel TVs in every lounge area for your viewing pleasure. Wireless internet is available for all your business/personal needs. Fresh clean linens, sheets changed weekly (daily is not environmentally friendly during the current water shortage), towels changed as you require.

Casa Nowson: open for business. Chez Amanda’s: menu changes daily, see board for specials.

Interior Indecision 2006

I can’t make up my mind about the lounge. I’ve changed the sofa cushions, added vases and candles. . . still haven’t found a rug or a painting we like. We’ve also added the really lovely embroidered pictures that Sue made us for our birthdays. They’re currently adorning our guest bathroom with our new soap dispensers and guest toiletries. Decorating is tough!

We’re hoping some one in the building will soon sell a spare queen size bed (one that actually goes with everything else we own), and yesterday we began looking at desks and bookshelves, so the spare room will be making a move toward being furnished soon.

Of course, now that our belongings have arrived, we first need to finish unpacking the boxes that currently live in the spare room before we can do anything else with it. HINT HINT: Scott, your consoles need to be put away (not to mention the 700 controllers I packed and have now unpacked).

Imagery

We’re currently looking for art to adorn our bare walls.  After a few weeks sourcing local artists, we haven’t see anything that we’ve liked, so I’ve dedicated today to looking at Boundless Gallery, an online site with 10,000 plus paintings from artists around the world.  To be honest, I think I found THE one for the lounge in the first fifteen minutes (Scott likes it the best so far as well), but I’m going to give them all a look.  It’s a really handy site in that you can upload a photo of your room and its dimensions and see what each piece will look like in your space.  I’m looking at mostly oils and acrylics on canvas, and we’re leaning towards abstract, though I’ve also seen a figurative one that I like as well.  I think Scott would prefer something abstract with lots of movement to contrast all the straight lines in the apartment.  I certainly favour that direction as well, unless something really special pops up.

At the moment we’ve got four artists we’re focusing on, two in the States, one in Canada and one in the Philippines. . . Scott would like to commission a piece, but I’m not sure it’s worth the money right now.

I’ve looked at over 3,000 pieces so far today.  I think I might need a break soon, lest my eyes start bleeding. 

Oh!  Our coffee table finally arrived.  YAY!  Now we need something to put on it, and I think we’ll start looking at furniture for the guest room this weekend.

Okay, back to my research. . . Here are a few of our contenders: 1, 2, 3, 4. . .any thoughts?

Green Acres

No livestock yet (pets are against building rules), but I have been trying my hand at planting. So I guess it’s more like green thumbs really, which is new for me, as I’ve never grown anything before, so fingers crossed I didn’t inherit the black thumbs of my family.

Inside I have my orchids, both are phalaenopsis orchids. The newest is a Little Emperor.

We’ve also looked at taller green indoor plants, but we haven’t bought any yet. Scott would really like a lucky bamboo, which isn’t actually bamboo at all. It’s a dracaena- a member of the lily family. You can do some amazingly intricate arrangements of these gems. I don’t think I’m quite that advanced yet, and I might need some help with that one. They’re easy to maintain after that stage.

Maybe he thinks it will help our Feng Shui. Along that line, he’s also been looking at water features. At first I thought that was a little over the top, but from where I’m typing, I can see an empty corner that needs some love. . .hmm. . . (must remember to investigate further later).

Outside, I’ve been working on my herbs. So far I’ve planted pots of sweet basil, curly parsley, chives, oregano, coriander (cliantro) and mint. So far so good, everything is beginning to flourish except the parsley. It seems to be a bit more temperamental than the rest. Today I moved it into the corner of both balconies so that it will get full sun all day.

Next, I’m going to move on to outside flowers. I’m so excited! I think I like this whole citified high rise gardening thing.

Go Shorty. . .

Yep.  It was my birthday. . . I had such a lovely day yesterday, and I really do appreciate all the emails, texts, cards, flowers and phone calls.  They really did make my day!  I woke up to strawberries and eggs benedict, my favorite morning meal.  Scott showered me with Calla Lillies and gifted me with the orchid (and closer) I’ve been wanting for three years.  I had an easy day.  We had some champagne, then we went to dinner at Pilu at Freshwater.  It was nice dining to the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and the food was outstanding.  We returned home to find more unexpected flowers with the concierge.  Dad and Sue sent a lovely bouquet of pink roses!  Scott, the concierge not the husband, guarded them for us while we were out.  So all in all, a nice 27th 25th birthday.