rainbowtatt

You’re not going to believe the difference in the “before” and “after” shots of The Water Feature:

Here’s the before shot of the outside:

And after?

So they patched the crack (insert immature laughter here) and painted it baby poo green/brown. But they thoughtfully made sure the crack is still visible for all and sundry to see.

And now, here’ s the inside view close up (before):

And a full view, featuring the new drawers we bought on the weekend:

It’s a bit hard to tell because I wanted to get the new drawers (Ikea!) in the shot as well as the Sleepy Bear on the Red Chair, which is apparently more comfortable with a bit of Ikea-box on top.

Anyways THE INSIDE IS EXACTLY THE SAME. The cracks, swollen plaster, even the little spider up in the corner… still there.

Turns out the main problem was in the roof and the owners of our place didn’t want to spend the money on “non-essential” repairs. Yeah, I know.

So we have the best of both worlds, I guess. We get to stay dry and we get a constant visual reminder of the 709 days that our loungeroom wall leaked.

BECAUSE I REALLY NEED THE VISUAL.

The Water Feature has been FIXED! My loungeroom doesn’t leak anymore! It only took 709 days to fix it!

Here are the before shots of the leaking wall – internal and external views:

Check back tomorrow to see the *amazing* transformation!

Update: see the amazing transformation here!

Last Thursday I popped along to Notes Live Newtown to see Rai Thistlethwayte (a.k.a Mr Thirsty Merc).

Manda very bravely came along with me and managed to put up with me while we had dinner at Italian Bowl on King Street then wandered back down Enmore Road to “Sydney’s newest live venue”. Nice venue, but reminds me a bit of a wedding function centre.

Needless to say, Rai is a very clever boy; he owned the piano and keyboards and his voice is just… wow. I found it easier to get into the funkier stuff, though – not surprising for a girl like me who loves rhythm guitar.

Best part about the venue is that it’s very intimate and Rai was amongst the crowd before and after the show. Noice!

This is what I spent most of the night looking at… Rai’s bum!

This week I paid off the loan I took out before my Great 2007/8 Expedition to the Northern Hemisphere.

I’ve busted my chops with double repayments and every spare dollar going into paying that loan off. And now I’ve paid it off in half the time of the loan period.

Chuffed with myself.

Problem is that having paid the loan off is another marker that my trip really is behind me.

My arrival at Heathrow:

The night of most of us girls in the same pub in London where I got to dance with a Billy Ocean-wannabe:

Even though our group dynamics have changed since then, I’ll never forget how amazing my trip was. How amazing my girls are.

And once I’ve paid off my car loan, I can start saving for my next trip :o))

Elvis has rediscovered the catnip-infused scratch box on the loungeroom floor:

Doesn’t he look “special?”

Suddenly it’s very hard to tell we have a red rug underneath all those nommed bits of cardboard.

Special mention to the blue bucket in the background of the pic on the left; my bucket that sits at the bottom of my leaky loungeroom wall a.k.a. The Water Feature. I know mentioning this will mean it won’t happen, but there’s a chance The Water Feature might get repaired on the weekend… almost 2 years after the wall first started leaking.

My Tim Tim cupcake recipe is online now over at That’s Noice.

I have to admit my test batch doesn’t look that pretty, but there’s definite potential!

These babies are in the oven RIGHT NOW.

Keep an eye out for the finish product as well as the recipe on That’s Noice on Tuesday!

Today, May Day, I turn 30-and-eleven-twelfths.

I’m slightly more freaked out about turning 31 than I  was about turning 30.

But I’m distracting myself with things I want for my birthday:

Number one: a hedgehog. Specifically, THIS hedgehog:

Look at that nose! OhmygoditssocuteIcouldeatit

Number two: a doona suit, aka the Lazy Patch:

This outfit would be perfect for my freezing cold house, and especially for working at my freezing cold glass-topped desk at home.

Number three: a slanket – the best blanket ever:

Okay, so this guy looks like a monk taking an afternoon snooze, but look at the functionality with the sleeves! It’s pure brilliance.

And fourth: I would like to be Bo Obama:

What I would give to be cute and fluffy and be allowed to run around with THE Barack Obama and be his loyal companion. Sigh.

What else should I want for my birthday?