Monday, March 23, 2009

(not so) Blue Monday!

I always feel a little blue on a Monday but for some unspecific reason I feel extremely bright and chirpy today!
We had a great weekend. My sister, her husband and my mom came to visit yesterday. We had great food, great company and just chilled out. I chilled out so much that I totally forgot to take pictures of the renovations as I had planned to. I promise take some photos before dark today and will update this post with pics tonight.

It’s the last week of the school term for the kids this week. I can’t believe the first term has come and gone already! So much has happened but it all went past me way to fast to absorb it all. Marco is in the middle of his first exam. They didn’t write exams in the private school that they attended in the past, so this is yet another adjustment for him. I actually fear for the worst but I guess I’ll have to wait for his report card – which we’ll only get after the holidays.

Michael is going on a rugby tour for the first week of the holidays. I miss him so much and would have loved to have him home for the entire holiday but I know he really wants to go on the tour and I want him to enjoy every moment of it. I’ll take a couple of days off work when he’s at home after the tour to spend with the kids at home.

This week at work I have to finish off my budget for the next financial year. I hate budget time! Everybody is so stressed out and it’s always a big rush to meet all the deadlines. I guess my chirpy mood won’t last long around here but I’m going to give it my best shot in any case!

Hope all of you will have a great and productive (and hopefully more creative than me) week! A little birdie told me that this week's going to be a SUPER one! :D

God bless!
Michelle

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Miss Avocado

How sweet is this girls art?
This one is called "Repairs"

Pop over to her Etsy shop to see her other gorgeous creations.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

My new kitchen revealed

So here it is ... my dream kitchen!!!!

Ta-da!!!
*** ( insert drumroll here) ***

I love every little detail of it! There's so much space - a place for everything.
I've always wanted a pantry - now I've got one!
Next to the pantry is the laundry. Only big enough for a wash basin, washing machine, tumble drier and a huge cupboard on the other side for my brooms, ironing board, vacuum cleaner as well as a linen cupboard.
Next to the laundry is my scullery with double sink and undercounter dishwasher.

Then it's the main kitchen:

A lot of thought and planning went into this kitchen. It turned out just perfect with everything I need close at hand. I have a tall cupboard for the groceries that I use often (on the far left of the next photo), then the fridge, microwave, roll-top breadbin, stove, workarea and sink - with a dustbin drawer right next to it - all in a small triangle and not more than 2 metres apart.

One of the focus areas in the kitchen is this beauty ...

I'm so in love with this stove. I can't keep myself out of the kitchen. All of sudden cooking and cleaning are not swear words anymore! The hob is gas with an electric hot plate on the side. The ovens are electric - one of them with a thermo-fan. An absolute joy!

Monday, March 16, 2009

At last!

At last! I have my life (and my blog!!!) back!

I couldn’t access my Google account since I cancelled my Telkom ADSL and therefore couldn’t access my old mailbox. I tried to get assistance from Google on various occasions but I guess I just didn’t have the time, energy or patience to carry through the process of changing my details and resetting my account.

This weekend I had a specific urge to blog and decided that today was the day that I was going to sort this thing out, and … wha-la … here I am – back on my blog!

I really missed blogging and I missed my blogging friends terribly.

You won’t believe it but they are still busy building!!!!! Although everything still seems to be chaotic, they are slowly but surely getting closer to finishing up.

The kids and I have now moved out of our house in Sasolburg and we now are fully fledged “Parisians”. I’m falling more and more in love with this little town by the day. I plan to take my camera with me on my next “Paris Rendezvous” and will give you a virtual tour of the town of Parys (that’s the one in the Freestate province of South Africa on the banks of the Vaal River, not the one on the banks of the Seine) one of these days.

My life has been such a whirl wind the past couple of months. I moved house, both my kids started school at new schools, Michael went to boarding school in another town. It has been a time of change and adjustment for us all which was (to put it mildly) not easy at all times.

Marco really experienced a whole lot of problems adjusting to the new school. I guess it was just too many changes at once for one little boy to manage. He had to go to go to a public school for the first time in his life. He was used to having English as his first language in school, now had to adjust to being taught in Afrikaans. He really had a hard time reading Afrikaans – even though it’s his home language. The other major change was that he had to cope with all these changes without the support of his big brother. Michael has always been there for Marco and has obviously provided a huge sense of security. He went through a rough time but now I’m glad to say that he has made lots of new friends and is happy to go to school each day.

I’m also glad to report that Michael is having a ball at boarding school! He thoroughly enjoys high school and didn’t have a single problem in adjusting to boarding school. He’s such an easy going and goofy kid and he fits right into the culture of his new school (Pothefstroom Gimnasium). He has grown up so fast! In a few short weeks he has really grown from my little boy to a full blown teenager!

I also have to announce that I am now the owner of the most beautiful kitchen in the whole wide world! I know that this is a very subjective view but I can honestly say that my dream kitchen has come to life. I know, I know – where’s the pictures?? I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t taken one single photo of my kitchen since it was completed a couple of weeks ago. That is so unlike me not to take pictures but I guess I’ll be back to my old Photo-maniac self in due time.

Now that I’m back onboard Blogger I’ll be sure to take some snaps and will post them for you before the week is over – I promise!

Now I have to pop over to say hi to all my blogging friends – can’t wait to “see” all of you again!!!!!