Steam Punk

EK (teen 3) wants to do her room in a Steam punk inspired style.

What on earth is Steam Punk you say???

It is many things and it seems also difficult to encapsulate but here goes...

It is roughly based on the Victorian era (1850 -1910) and styles take it as a starting point, often called Neo-Victorian. Powered by steam and clock work. Finding new and alternate uses for old items. It is definitely futuristic or rather retro-futuristic, fantasy based and inspired.
Movies like:
 "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" set in 1866 with Captain Nemo and the futuristic gadgets, giant Squids and adventures; "Wild, Wild West", "Van Helsing" etc, all fit this style well.
As does most science fiction... "Dr Who",  "Ware House 13" and the "Fire Fly" series which each combine aspects of old, vintage and modern in decor, clothing, tools and gadgets in crime fighting and life.
Throw in things like blimps, Da Vinci type inventions, H G Wells writing, art and inventions and we are starting to build the picture.

If you have a spare hour or so go browsing this site - one of my girl's current faves. But I warn you, it is fascinating and a bit addictive. ... or is that just me?

OK. What does it mean when she wants to do her bedroom to reflect this steampunk phase of her life?

Well that is just what I am trying to work out.

I am also trying to sort out which aspects are a short phase (like her Elvis phase - lasted about 8 months some 4-5 years ago) and which are longer (like her country music, Dr Who and princess phases - all of which are still current and have been ongoing in various forms for .... about 6 years, 4 years and 13 years respectively). Have I ever mentioned that my dear teen 3 has eclectic tastes? Oh and she like to combine them all .... hence steampunk seems to fit.

So far I have determined that she LOVES old stuff. Easy enough. In terms of furniture she likes well made, dark, timber pieces. Not too hard... oh and if it is a bit fancy and visually interesting it is even better.
Hmm. With this in mind I set to scouring eBay etc for a dark timber tall boy as the starting piece for her room. A tall boy will replace her desk which has only been used as a duchess and dumping spot for some years now.  (Homework and study doesn't happen at a desk mum... whatever was I thinking?!) The desk is now offered for sale. I began searching for a suitable second-hand (how I buy most furniture) some weeks ago. Just a few days ago I won and collected a tall boy that I expect will be a treasured piece of furniture for many, many years.

A solid teak tall boy (made in Indonesia) which we bought from a lovely couple who got it as a wedding gift and brought it with them from Singapore. They told us they married just over ten years ago but no longer have the space for it since they have two young children now. They said they had kept it so long since it was special to them but couldn't justify keeping it any longer.

When EK saw it she jumped up and down and ran her hands lovingly over it. She then removed a drawer and hugged it. YES. She hugged a drawer. At least it amused and delighted the couple selling it. Us ladies chatted while the guys loaded up the trailer. The wife commented that she was happy that the tall boy was going to a home where it would be looked after and loved.

In that background of the photo you will also notice the pink floral wall paper and the ugly mustard carpet. The carpet and the wall paper clash terribly with each other too. A more neutral cream-ish tone should help in this room.

Over the weekend Teen 3 has moved into her tallboy. It was accompanied by a clean out of her hanging robe which I must say is looking quite empty now.  The next step is to tackle her two tall book shelves...
I think a before photo is is order.

Solving the Wall Paper Problem

As I have mentioned a couple of times now, we are in the final stages of Ra's room reno. During the painting stage EK declared that it would be a very long time before she would pick up a paint brush again. It was only a day or two later when she started to change her mind... well maybe we could do some thing with my room but without paint.

The ideas started to flow. "I would like to do my room in a steampunk style." (more about that later.)  Soon she was saying, "my room would look better if we painted it".

Hmmm.  Painting EK's room is not as straight forward as one may think. Why?

Her room is covered entirely with wall paper... PINK with pink roses, stripes and more roses.  This pic almost makes it look ok. The photo was taken at night with a flash which tones down the pink-ness of it. It is quite a dark room due to having one only small window on the southern side of the house and it isn't helped by our girl having a black curtain which she often keeps closed.

I have been doing a bit of research into painting wall-papered rooms. The general consensus is that it is best to remove the paper if possible; a labour intensive task to be sure. Apparently it can be painted over IF the paper is in good condition. The catch is that it also requires significant preparation. ... and there is no guarantee that it will be successful.

I think I prefer the 'I don't want to paint my room."

So what can be done to improve a very pink wall papered room?

One very clever person used wrapping paper to cover a glass brick wall.

Before

After

source

This got me thinking about a less expensive solution to the dark but over-powering pink floral wall paper. I have been searching out a paper at a reasonable price in bulk. As it turns out there are heaps of nice prints in 50-60m rolls. We worked out that we would need a full roll and would have to leave a few areas with large furniture pieces lank to get it out of just one roll. At around $43 a roll it still isn't 'cheap'. It is still looking like our best option but I will keep doing my research.  It you want to see my girls current faves go check them on my pinterest page. The natural with writing and birds is currently the fave.

Thrifting Treasures

The teens and I have been busy op shopping lately.

We are hunting for items to finish off Ra's room (teen 2) and to get the theme going for EK's room (teen3). On a side note, I thought it was confusing for folks when I was referring to my teens so came up with pseudonyms for them. Let me know if it helps or hinders.

We have a list of items that we are hunting for and have had some success. Yeay. The following items have been acquired over several days of searching through about 8-9 stores.

 Large framed oil painting $12.50 half price 'cause it's been there a while. 

It now provides a bit of a challenge. The intended purpose is to frame a vintage poster that i have ordered for EK. The frame is why we bought it. Except the painting is quite nice and she likes it too.

mirror $15 - old real glass wall mirror with lovely bevelled edges and showing its age charmingly.

 Records

Beethoven set $10

original West Side Story $3

Oliver $2

Invitation to Walk $2

 The pic above shows the inside of the beethoven set. It is in paper envelopes because it is pre-plastic. These records are heavier and thicker than the others.

There are about 6 records in the set.

We were buying records for the album covers to hang on EK's wall. She wanted this set 'cause it is genuinely old and "I just love old stuff and simply MUST have it mummy!" 

Our girl loves musicals and chose the records of the musicals because she wanted both the records and the covers. Now guess what else she wants??? 

Ra and I were discussing her room and had decided to add making a bolster cushion to the list. 

I got lucky and found two bolsters for $5 each. they are the long kind and are genuine foam not jus the fibre fill - these beauties won't lose their shape. 

 The day that I bought these home our girl did a happy dance.

With 2 it meant I can have one for each teen. two happy dances. 

EK (teen 3) has a list of items that she wants for her steam punk inspired room. All of it is old or looks old. Hence lots of op shopping. The trouble is old stuff is quite popular now and is therefore harder to find and  costs quite a bit. I am not even talking about antiques which have long been expensive.

Old mantle clocks were on her list and I picked up this beauty on eBay for $5 + $8 postage. 

Our girl hugged it when it arrived. She declared, "It's even better that I thought it would be! Now I don't have to take to it with sandpaper to rough it up. I think I might even leave the old cockroach egg on it."

I thought it would look just as good and old without the (empty) roach egg shell.

Apothecary jars are on her list as it old silver.

The small jar $1.95 is the right shape an the set of three glass canisters $12 will fit in too.  I believe they will go on her shelf to house hair bands and other girly stuffs.

The silver coasters are for coasters, candles and whatever else she decides. They were $2. 

There are more items on the list still to find... I only have so much energy, time and budget so it will have to be an ongoing challenge.

Hair (part 1)

I just got my hair cut and 'fixed' the colour mohawk that teen 3 did in the school holidays. My stylist, karen, laughed her head off when I told her about it. She did completely understand though... I suspect that most hair stylists had bald and severely hair hacked barbies when they were kids.  I told her that I didn't mind the pink just not quite so much of it. Karen suggested that we put a couple of pink foils in. That it would look good and it there were a few bits were the original pink didn't quite cover it would blend. I have always wanted to add a bit of wild colour and haven't done it.

well now I did it.

I am scrunching up my face 'cause I just gave my sunnies to teen 2 so she could see to take the pic.

indoor self-portrait

I was inspired to do a hair styles over the years after I stumbled across Jane's version the day after may haircut.  Ready for a giggle?

1970's

 such a sweet young thing... rocking the 70's Paige Boy style. My mum loved it, I hated it. I wanted long hair like all the cool girls. Oh and I got to sit next to the teacher 'cause I was the tall skinny bean pole. But my uniform was very short and the photographer told me to pull it down over my knees. 

2 years later, after much begging I finally got permission to grow my hair.

I got to wear my 'best' dress to school for photos. It didn't matter that it was mustard and purple in a sea of blue uniforms. The only other girl not in uniform was standing next to me and was 2 years older. he was the tallest so that meant the two of us misfits were in the centre of the class photo.

1980's

I finally had the long straight hair of my dreams.

... and then came the perms. For some reason only the fringe was permed in these early perm years. ??

Oh and chech out the high riding jeans... they were the first pair I ever owned and I was so proud of them. It didn't matter that my legs were too long for them. I was just glad they were flares (so old fashioned)

Of course when going to girl guides plaits were high fashion - still had the permed fringe.

This must have been between perms. It is one of my favourite pics from my early teens. I was reading a book (just after a swim) and my dad called my name. I looked up and smiled and he clicked. I love how natural and relaxed it is. Most photos i look self conscious.

we're still in the '80's. I wanted to be fashionable and the bob cut was high fashion in the mid '80's so the hair was all cut off again. And yes peasant tops were cool too. 

Then came the Mullet...

 all layered short in the front and side with the length in the back...

and that dreadful centre part.  I sure worked that ol' mullet. 

I remember older women complaining about the 'rat's tails' worn by many of the young men around this time too. Yep those rats tails seem to pop up every decade too.

Then came the BIG hair which seems synonymous with the 80's. 

Man that hair is sooooo curly.

This pic was taken about 3 months after my wedding in the late 80's. This is how I like to remember myself: young, tanned, fit, gorgeous. I had been at the beach all day and had changed for dinner in the car. No makeup and only a cold shower under the open showers at the beach. 

 The care-free period was so short.  Just three months after this pic with me standing next to my red laser... it was written off and I nearly was too. The next one was when I was recovering.

I think this look is "Spiral perm growing out".

I finished out the 80's by cutting all the hair off again... but of course it was layered to death.

And it looks like the mullet snuck back in.

still got that centre part, or bum part as I heard one hair dresser later call it.

This post is getting waaaaay long. And I am just getting warmed up in my hair trip down memory lane. I still have the 90's, naughties and now. Yep that is only the first half of my hairy life.

Gold and Navy Nails

It has been weeks since I did a nail art post. I have still been painting my nails but haven't been doing art as much. I am about to remove this current art so figured I had better get a pic and post it.

I started with may new Orly 'Glitz' paint and did a little art with Sally Hanson's 'Blazing Blue'.

I was aiming for simple and elegant art on just a few nails.

As you can see by the grow out lines it is time for an update.

My art on my non-dominant hand.

... and the art on my dominant hand. Obviously I need to more practice with my non-dominant hand.

Taming the Brows

Why is it that as men age they lose the hair on their head BUT they make up for it by growing hair, LOTS of hair in other places???  Ears, nose, eyebrows and toes to name a few.

Hubster has gone from having eyebrows to having eyeBROWS. This morning I decided it was time to tame the brows.  I took the pics after I had trimmed the left eyebrow and the difference was so stark that I just had to document it. :)

BEFORE

and AFTER

big difference hey.

While I had the embroidery scissors and hubster was in a trusting frame of mind, I also did the nose ... and later the ears. Teen 3 suggested I break out the tweezers on the mono-brow. That raised a nicely tamed brow. I didn't push my luck. ;)

I LOVE Lamp!

A big box arrived in the post on Thursday.  I unpacked it to find my latest eBay purchase - 2 brass (painted) lamps. Happy dance.

 2 lamps + packaging + box 

 lovely curvy neck

 3-way adjustable: vertical and horizontal planes + ball thingy to allow depth adjustment too. 

 about the only 'real' brass - the standard Australian lamp fitting thread

 sigh - love the curves

 and goose-neck spun around 

I love lamp!

Teen 2 found some lamps and I then went hunting to see if I could find something similar to her first lamp-love 

Adair from Pottery Barn (black one) 

$101.50 + postage which is only $50 at the moment 'cause it is 50% discounted (if they can afford to discount it by 50% then I suspect it is over-priced by about hmmmm 50%  !! )

source

I think I ACED it! :) 

Even better I got two lamps for $30 + $32 postage

( a difference of over $210)

I was only looking for one lamp for teen 2 but since these came as a pair I showed it to teen 3 who wants to re-do her room in a steam-punk style and she got very excited that I had managed to find her the perfect lamp for her theme. WIN - I am the best mum EVAH (for a bit anyways).

teen 2 wants to paint her lamp black to match her black wrought iron bed.

Teen 3 wants to leave hers as it is 'cause it is PERFECT.

Today the teens and I went to commence shopping for shades.

We walked ito the first lighting store and were delighted to discover a sale was going on with up to 50% off everything. (big smile)

In less than ten minutes both teens had selected a shade which perfectly fit the look each girl wanted.

One was $5 and the other $10.25. (even bigger smile)

even deducting the shades from the PB price I am $195 ahead. (Cheshire cat smiling now)

Here is teen 3's leave-it-as-it-is lamp + shade. (yes it's facing up 'cause she wants it that way)

I love lamp.

and to leave you with a smile...

 Charlie says "Ta for the new box, do ya think you could get rid of the extra packaging? All these little white balls are sticking to my fur"

Yep he finds every small hidey-hole. check the first pic again to see that Charlie is in the box in the background. :)   

Fruit Box Shelves

Nectarines used to come in timber boxes. The boxes used to get crushed and trashed. I rescued some fruit boxes from the scrap heap at our local fruit store... about 14 years ago. The fruit no longer comes in timber boxes like these.  In fact towards the end of the Nectarine season that year after the fruiterer had kept me in timber boxes (which I had given freely to many, many friends) he showed me the new waxed cardboard boxes and said they would be coming in these from then onward.  NOOOOOOO.

Not long after this sad day we moved interstate... 1800km away. The few remaining fruit boxes came too.

I had intended to paint the up and do something crafty with them. In our new unit we were short on space (understatement) and there was a small area in a walk way that was not utilised. I hadn't been able to display any of my sweet nic-nacs and I spied my pile of boxes sitting in the corner.

Inspiration struck.

Off to the hardware store and the purchase of some lengths of dressed pine and a packet of screws later meant that all the materials were ready for a little creative storage.

Hubster broke out the cordless drill and we assembled our new shelves. The pine was 1" x 1/2" in 5' lengths or in metric 25mm x 18mm  x 1500mm.  Each support is screwed to the box side near the top and bottom of the box-side. Simple.

 Originally I was trying to decide whether I wanted to paint or stain them.
Life got busy and I ended up leaving them raw. The pine of both aged to the same tone.

 As you can see they are pretty dusty now and in need of a good clean up.

I took these photos of one of them when we were cleaning up the furniture to paint for Ra's room.

The first 4 years of the shelf life (couldn't resist) was spent as display shelves for photos, bears and pretties.  With each subsequent move the shelves (we made two sets) got to serve many purposes both practical and display only. finding a new way to use the 'box shelves' was one of the more enjoyable aspects of each house move.

Why am I mentioning it now?

Two main reasons.

1. It is a clever use of re-cycled boxes (long before it became fashionable) which I haven't ever blogged it.

2. The other reason is that I am planning to put the shelves to use in our latest home - it's only taken a year. This is the second house only where the shelves haven't had a purpose. So finding them a role now is both a joy and the end of an era.

We are planning on disassembling the shelves for the first time in many years and will reuse them in Ra's new room.  The plan is to paint them and attach them to the wall to use as decorative storage for our girl's bear collection.  There are quite a few details still to work out; colour to paint them (white, light blue or feature blue?); how to attach them to the wall (rental house); how to layout the boxes??

I am looking forward to each step in this next project but wanted to share my beloved fruit box shelves.

Oh and in all the houses, in all the locations, with plenty of uses... I don't have a single digital photo of the shelves in use. There are several where they are in the background but not able to be clearly seen. I do have a couple of pre-digital pics but they are in albums... too hard.

Big Blue Box Challenge

Progress on finishing teen 2's (Ra's) room has slowed significantly. Not stopped altogether, but not making exciting headway either.

Life has caught up with us.

Our girl returned to TAFE (school) last week with a BANG. She had exams and assignments immediately after commencing back.  This has made it difficult to do much with her room as she has lots of study to do and little free time.  Yesterday in biology she got to cut up (and examine) a heart and a kidney and was in heaven (her idea of it anyway).

This week end should bring an opportunity to get it a bit further.

Remember the big blue trunk that teen 2 and I were so excited about?  Weeeelllll, there is a problem... it's kinda a big problem and we aren't having a lot of success in finding a suitable solution.  Put simply, it's too big. Despite careful measuring and planning it doesn't fit well in the room.

The trunk is bigger than what we were originally looking for but when we saw it and redid our calculations we (I) thought it would work. What I failed to consider is that in order to open it a substantial amount of additional space is required. :(  Very sad face.

We switched the bed and bedside drawers to the other side of the room in order to better accommodate the big blue box.

 The room as it currently stands. 

In order to have the trunk in the room this is the only possible configuration. 

The trunk is too long to go along the end of the bed and still allow passage.

The room is too short to allow the bed to be against the original wall with the trunk under the window. 

This pic shows the current walkways.

It looks generous in the photo... but the distance between the tall boy and the end of the bed is 50cm. 

The gap between the bed and the wall is also 50cm. The 50cm gap is fine for our girl, but the double bend in that gap is less than comfortable. She believes it is only a matter of time before there is an accident due to not properly negotiating the bends. I am inclined to believe her as she has been known to regularly misjudge much wider and simpler passage ways - eg doors and door frames.

There is a 10cm gap on the other side of the bed to allow for the curtains and bedding. 

This is causing another problem. 

10cm to allow for bedding is fine. But to allow for curtains as well as bedding - not fine. 

It means that the curtains are squashed by the bedding whenever they are open - which is every day during daylight hours.

Sigh. We are chalking it up to experience and will learn from this lesson to make allowances for the additional space required for bedding, curtain protrusions, and top opening items in all future planning.  

I am particularly disappointed as I had thought through so many big aspects only to be undone by the little things I failed to consider. 

Now shifting to a happier topic... I have plans for the space on the feature wall above the bed. Tomorrow's post will reveal those plans. No the actual execution - I can't go that fast.

Warts and All

Literally.

For about the last 7-8 years I have had a wart on the tip of my 'tall-man' finger on my dominant hand. Or as my kids say, the finger that gives someone the finger. I tried everything to get rid of this wart. I used various over the counter treatments and whilst the wart was eaten out often leaving a big crater, it CAME BACK every time. I had it frozen off by the doctor (cryotherapy) on at least two occasions, only to have it stubbornly grow back. I tried the old 'starve it of oxygen' method with absolutely no success - do you have any idea how impossible it is to keep a finger tip covered and dry for a prolonged period of time?

I never managed to make friends with my wart. It looked ugly and was in my way. It is right in the spot where I push with my embroidery needle. Every time I embroidered it would get stuck by my needle - by the back of my needle. Yep the eye of the needle would frequently piece its lumpy, warty surface. And yes it hurt, and bled. I suspected that my embroidery was the cause of its existence in the first place.  (virus entering via the weakened spot.)

I tried various thimbles with not much success. ... On a side note I have often considered the main advantage of a thimble is to rest the finger wearing it, 'cause somehow the finger wearing the thimble is the only one NOT used.

Anyway.

Last night I went to put my computer down and the air vents on the bottom cover caught on the edge of the wart and I felt a pulling sensation. Moments later I touched that spot as it felt a bit odd. To my surprise there was NO WART.

I went back to where my computer sat and hunted all around to find it (and dispose of it after examination). Alas it was not to be found. The tip of my finger felt funny. The kind of exposed skin funny that is felt when one has just cut (or broken) ones long nails and that skin gets to touch another surface for the first time.  All new and sensitive.

There was a thread or two of stringy skin and a lot of just normal skin where once there had been a wart.  And the only evidence that anything is different about that finger tip is the lack of finger print on the bit where the wart used to be.

Now if I haven't totally grossed you out. I have a pic of my new finger tip.

This morning the 'threads' are mostly gone but you can see where they were. I am imagining they were the roots.  You can also see the rings (a bit like a tree) where it grew back bigger each time I tried to kill it off. The original wart was quite small, but it grew to a diameter of about 7-8mm over the years.

I am hoping that it doesn't grow back again.

I am also wondering why it has just dropped off now? And how come it died off without me even noticing any major change in it? And how the skin underneath managed to heal and seemingly push it off? And is there any link to my embroidery (other than it just hits that exact spot every time I push the needle through the fabric.) And does the coincidence of my now lengthy embroidery funk have anything to do with the wart's demise?  Must do some research.

... Am I the only one who find this stuff totally fascinating?

Linen Cupboard Organised

The other day I came across a neat idea on closet organisation and I just had to pin it for future reference.

source

See the wire racks in that closet?  I own two sets of them in two sizes. Because we rent and have had to move from time to time, I have used these racks many times and for many purposes in various pantries, kitchen cupboards, linen cupboards, etc. They don't have a current use in our home and have been languishing mostly forgotten on the top of the pantry.

The other day one of the girls was complaining that the linen cupboard was not working and needed some serious sorting and tidying. When I saw the pic of the racks in use in the above cupboard it sparked the idea to put them into use in our linen cupboard.

Here is the before:

Immediately after I snapped this pic the white bed cover in the bottom of the unit fell out.

Teen 2 (our Ra) likes to organise things so when she was taking a break from study on Sunday afternoon started pulling items out of the closet. She stated that since we don't own any single beds now we really don't need all that single bed linen. She had a good point. So her and I sorted through it all and I offered most of it on freecycle. 

Over the next day or so all of this will go to happy new homes.

This morning I have continued to sort and cull the linen cupboard. 

I have found it surprisingly difficult to part with certain objects. For some reason I am very attached to my tea towels ??? Many of them are now thin, too thin to be of much use as tea towels. I guess since many are well over twenty years old it shows they were good quality linen to start with.  I have acquired a few new tea towels and the girls have been preferring them. Some of the old ones are now in the bag of rags. The same thing for face washers. I still have about half-a-dozen crochet edged baby washers. Considering my youngest is 16 that makes them pretty old too. They are now in the rag bag. The same thing with the hand towels. I still had a number of our quite old ones in the closet. When I was looking at the ones that I purchased to replace the old ones I noticed that my 'new' hand towels are in as bad or worse state that my previous 'old' hand towels (!) were. We sure go through hand towels. Why do I hang onto the old, holey, thread-bare, stained ones? ... More culling. Hubby will be pleased next time he is looking for a cotton rag.

Wanna see what my linen cupboard looks like now?

It is so empty that I don't even need to put the wire racks (bottom of pic in front of the closet) into use.

Now I have a confession... To the right of this closet is another one that houses rugs, blankets, doilies and table clothes. It really is time that one got a go-over too. That can wait for another day.

Renovation Cost Tally

The costs and budget is something over which I tend to keep a close watch. We certainly don't have the extra to throw around so have to be careful at making a little go a long way... sometimes a looooooong way.

Teen 2 has been saving for a while and really wanted to do this reno. She has paid for most of it herself with a little assistance from us.

The break down looks like this:

Paint

• room                      60
• feature wall            30
• furniture                 60
• rust converter         15

 total Paint cost            $165

The house is a rental. Rarely would we decide that a rental justified the expense of painting. In this case we decided that the $90 cost of the paint was worth it even knowing that when we eventually leave it will be left behind. Our girl will get the benefit of it for at least the next 12 months and that alone makes it worthwhile. In addition to that it is a HUGE improvement on what the room was like before.

Furniture

• Bed and mattress       175
• Robe                           20
• chest                            43
• tall boy                      120
• bed side drawers       free

total furniture cost      $358

We saved a lot of money by purchasing good quality second-hand furniture which we then adapted to suit us. We even got the bedside drawers for nix. :) Gotta love freecycle.  The pieces will last for many years. If our girl should ever decide to change or update them it is likely that she will get most of the purchase price back. 

We were further able to off-set costs by selling her old furniture.

Bed      $ 80

Robe       30

Soft Furnishings                     paid                               recommended retail / original price

• doona                          143.95                                   389
• sheets                            71.55                                   279 
• doona cover                160                                        170
• curtains                         60                                         140
• curtain rod                    45                                           70
• European pillow x2      40                                           40

soft furnishings total            $520.90                              $1088                 difference $568.90

The priority was to have the very best quality soft furnishings for the bed and to save money else where. With careful shopping both on-line and in-store we were able to purchase the soft furnishing items at very discounted prices.  Our girl only wants cotton against her skin but was happy to save money on the curtains. 

Couch Diving

Hubster lost his coin purse some months ago. We have hunted the house looking for it and it has been bothering him that it "just vanished".  How can it just vanish???

Yesterday while he was at work the teens and I finished off the main parts of teen 2's room and finally the last of her possessions were removed from my lounge room. YAY!!  At one point there was barely a walkway through all her stuff to get to the couches.

It also enabled us to make a minor rearrange of some of the lounge furniture.

The relevance of the two events (missing coin purse and reclaiming the lounge room) for Hubster was finding his coin purse. Sadly, despite clearing the lounge of additional stuff and moving couches etc, his coin purse didn't reappear.

This morning Hubster decided to go couch diving. I managed to sneak a photo when he was doing the last chair.  He pulled each part of the couch seats about, reclining chairs and digging into their secret depths. Talk about a mine of lost treasures.

He found all the usual suspects: fluff, hair, receipts, lolly wrappers, embroidery floss, needles, beads, tissues, safety pins, pens, hair bands, socks, notes, etc.

He also found a treasury of lost / missing items: dotting tool, back of the tv remote (missing since we had house sitters in 3 years ago), phone hand set (so that's where it got to), nickers (!), bottle of nail polish, tablets, coaster, bracelet, negatives, ear ring (yay one of my missing ear rings) AND the missing COIN PURSE. OH happy day.

Hubster doing a happy dance is quite a sight to see. It sure makes everyone around happy to see such an uninhibited display of delight... and it still had several coins in it.