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I love to decorate.... whether it be one style at a time or all at once...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

back online.. and what's been happening..

Hi girls, where do I start? It's been so long.. partly my fault, partly not but I won't bore you with  my computer problems which have been totally frustrating.

So what have I been doing? Well let me go back to before Xmas. I did change my family room out, which I will post some pictures of soon. I really like the new look but it has thrown a spanner into the works abit and I have also been feeling a little ... well... not sure really, perhaps overwhelmed.. heavy.. and just feeling the need to declutter a little.. so I have simplified my buffet/hutch in my dining room and gotten rid of a tea trolley with all its bits aswell. More on this later.

The majority of the changes have been outside. Hubby took a week off over Xmas just so we could finish off (or nearly finish off) some of our 'unfinished' projects.
I'm afraid I can't show you before pics as they are all on my old computer but they are mainly of mud anyway so you're not missing much.

We have been working on our home for the past 10 years andI have hated the driveway for all that time. It was an eyesore.  So we finally finished the top part of the driveway by laying a border of pavers either side right out onto the pavement area. These all had to be cemented in and then we ordered a total of 65 tonnes of crushed aggregate.. or crushed cement and bricks. Much cheaper and only 1/3 of the price of pebbles or similar stuff.

Our biggest mistake was not ordering it all at once. We first ordered 30 tonne... which we spread .. hubby with the bobcat and me with the rake, and let me tell you that was hard bloody work!
Anyway, I was liking it as the overall colour was white which is something I really wanted but didn't expect and it looked great against the house. But this was not enough.. so we then ordered another 35 tonne.. which to my disbelief was not the same color! It had way more red crushed brick in it giving the overall look a creamy colour so we had to go over the whole lot againg trying to mix in the new with the old. Let me tell you something if you ever...ever.. have the desire to renovate... nothing .. nothing.. goes to plan! Just be warned... anyhoo this is how my driveway looks now.. and  I am loving it. It looks clean and bright and even when it rains it looks delightful..


 I love the 'crunch' it makes when you walk on it.. like the homes you see in England in that show 'escape to the country' on channel 7 two (one of my favorite shows!)

looking from the back of my yard towards the front.. that netting is in my neighbors yard covering his pear trees.. the cockatoos here can be quite destructive buggers!

towards the road..
towards the back .. we also got someone to cement infront of the garage..what a difference now.. so much cleaner as we only had loose gravel in patches before!
oh.. and here is the newest addition to our family.. meet timone (yes, out of lion king)
this is my herb garden, doing very well I must say..I have rosemary, sage, basil, flat leaf parsley, chives, thyme and mint.. which against my better judgement I planted in the ground..big mistake as it is now spreading everywhere.. should have left that one in the pot..

another project we finished was the front rockery, we had only done one half and the other half was still all mud, so we finally did that too, put in all the plants and laid the crushed rocks and pavers
we have had so much rain these past couple of months everything is growing really well and lush.. the plants are already catching up.


we have been triming trees.. which is a regular job when living on property, they tend to take over the place if you don't. To my delight my windflowers which haven't flowered for a couple of years have finally made a show! I had forgotten what colour they were!





and here are some pics I took this morning.. as I mentioned it has been raining alot lately to the point it is flooding in certain places in NSW .. some not too far from where I live.
look at the front of the house today..
left hand side of extension..

this is the right hand side of the extension.. this is the side we haven't finished yet.. as you can see it holds alot of water.. thanks to council we had to leave 40cm between the ground and the house which made this ground level lower than the existing house. Funnily enough I remember saying back then when we were buiding we should turn it into a mote and throw some goldfish in.. looks like my idea might turn into a reality!
ok, maybe not so funny, we still have to put a drainage system in so this doesn't happen again.. and that's our next project!
take care girls, will visit soon,
Maryann xxx
 







5 comments:

Elizabeth and Gary said...

Hi Maryann,
I have missed your posts...Welcome back.
WOW I love your yard and hard scape, its amazing and so beautiful!What a joy it must be to have so much land around you. Timone is adorable he looks so layed back kitty's have it made, laying around all day...oh ya to be a kitty, what a life LoL.
I enjoyed my visit with your today..The quilt I won from your 100th post is still looking beautiful and I use and enjoy it everyday, its very special to me.
Have a sweet day and hugs, Elizabeth

Shirley said...

Hi Maryann, I have been watching for you to come back. Your yard is going to be so pretty with all of the flowers. I really like your driveway. Our fat cat at work likes to lounge in the sun in the window. Have a great day. Your Missouri Friend.

Fee said...

It's all looking great. I hope you get your drainage issues under control. Love your new kitty.

Hugs - Fee XX

Lounging with a Latte said...

Your gardens and surrounds are looking great. I hope you aren't in an area that is flooding with all the rain events that have been happening.

Amy Chalmers said...

The driveway looks really fantastic! I looked over your yard improvements carefully and with great interest, I know how much work that is~but what an improvement!! Your lawn looking out looks amazing~what a nice property you have.

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