Anyway, I've said some things that I automatically assume are understood by all, and they're not. And that can be a bit confusing for people, so I thought I'd explain a few things ...
1. 'en ute' ... that's how I described the buffet being delivered. It was me really just being silly. By that I meant it was coming on a 'ute' which is slang for 'utility truck'. Utes are great.
This is just some ute.
I wish we had one tucked away in the garage because they're good to take to the dump and great for furniture removal. Our friend, Mr C, has a ute. He kindly let us use his to collect the buffet and he helped load and unload the buffet. For that we gave him a 'six pack' ie six stubbies of beer. I think in this case it was Heineken. Which was probably cheap. We're pretty tight.
2. Sugar soap - According to the bottle, this stuff is a heavy-duty domestic cleaner. You can use it concentrated or diluted, but it is especially good to clean surfaces prior to painting. We could've given Mr C a six-pack of Sugar Soap, but it's likely he wouldn't lend us his ute anymore.
3. Child 4's outfit - these are cute. I've seen a few of these rompers lately.
Here's one ... from here.
And another from here.
They're perfect for Australia's summer, especially if you have chunky, dimply, just-started-walking thighs.
This house is my kind of house - simple, mid-century, flat-roofed and unpretentious.
If it was mine, I'd paint it a dark olive or dark slate.
This house is two-doors down from us. It is an old 'Queenslander'. It has a verandah hidden by the tree at the front.
I'm guessing it was built in the 1920s or 1930s (but I'm no expert) ... it is in desperate need of a paint. It's one of those houses that spooks kids out! Someone lives here, but the yard is overgrown, and we never seen the occupants or any movement. It's the sort of house, you'd dare your friends to go up to the front door and knock, and, by doing so, you'd scare a bird which'd fly off, and then wet your pants just before you bolted home.
I have a 'wet-my-pants' story. I'll tell you that another time.
5. VJ's and floorboards - Imagining the interior of the above home, the interior walls would be VJ's ie vertical-joined or tongue-and-groove.
You can see what I mean by the above photos.
This is the norm in 'Queenslanders'. And the floors in 'Queenslanders' are invariably wooden. Mostly pine, I'm guessing. They are soft wood anyway, and people get them polished and they scratch and dent easily. So when you see the floorboards in my photos, they're nothing special.
You'll also note, for those who don't know, that the above unpainted house is on stilts. This is another defining characteristic of 'Queenslanders'. It allows the air to flow under the house, keeping its occupants cool, because we all get so hottish in summer.
That's just a basic run-down. I'm no expert. The Fun and VJs blog is an excellent one for learning more about this type of architecture. She's renovating her house and she discusses the various features. We 'babysit' the house we're in. If it were mine, I'd be knocking down walls, left-right-and-centre, to the point where I may as well just build a new house. The 'Queenslander'-style of home causes me much personal angst.
6. The Husband - Here he is. He's on a mission this weekend. And it's a disgusting mission.
Due to my delicate constitution, I refuse to clean toilets. That's slack, I know. But if you have sons, like mine anyway, you'll know they wee everywhere. The Husband has just declared he should have been the father of four girls. Anyway, he's gotten stuck into the bathrooms today, which has sparked a cleaning frenzy. Here he is giving the laundry a once-over. He's just told Child 2 and 3, that from now on, they are only to go to the bathroom in the backyard.
It's a giddily glamorous life of toots, utes, six packs and VJ's.
Thanks for the mention MMMC. I'd love an open plan 60s mod house in the future. For now, it is a Queenslander with all its walls and doors.xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for the translating. You are so lucky to have your hubs clean the bathrooms! Very interesting houses in your neighbourhood. Are there very many of the type of house you like around? How pricey is the real estate there? Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteHow funny my husband has cleaned both the kids rooms, and vacuumed them too. Perhaps it's the weather!
ReplyDeleteYours in delicate constitutions(garbage smells make me want to dry retch).
Imagine four girls as teenagers sharing a bathroom! :)
I had a friend email me a fake Australian Citizen Test. One of the questions on it was: Is there someone you are friends with only because they own a ute or a pool? Naturally!
ReplyDeleteI love Queenslanders! Much better to look at than to live in though. So many seem to be stuck with pokey rooms and sleepouts created from building on verandahs. We live in the post-Queenslander era(1960) Red-brick veneer. It is low-set red brick from the outside and looks like a Queenslander from the inside - minus the odd floorplan. Tulip oak floors (stunning), casement windows(lovely) and masonite walls (revolting).
My life has never been the same since the ex left and took his V8 ute with him. How am I supposed to bring home retro furniture from the oppy now???
ReplyDeleteLol. I have 1 son. He is 4. Enough said. Also, the house on stilts looks like Inside Mary Elizabeth's House by Pamela Allen.
ReplyDeleteBM,
ReplyDeleteI suspect you'll be in a MC piece of architectural brilliance long before I ever am!
Deb, when I've done my exams or I've been done-in by my exams or undone by my exams, I'll take you on a photographic tour of the neightbourhood. Houses in this area range from about $500k AUD to $1millAUD. Property is a killer.
R&S, I said to the Husband if there were 4xgirls, there'd be a lot more screeching!
Bernice, I like the sound of your place. Queenslanders are an attractive style ... and some of them are gorgeous. If find they get very dusty, though. Or maybe that's me? And we definitely wouldn't be friends with Mr and Mrs C if it weren't for their wheels!
CurlyPops, the Nerve!
NessaKnits, I hear you! You hear me! I'll look up that book now. Thank you.
I have three little pee shooters. One aims better than others, one puts the seat up, another even gets the wall. It's in the DNA. My mother had marvelously robust leptospernums under her front patio where her 4 boys were exiled to pee shoot until they went to boarding school. My dad also tells stories of he and his 3 boy cousins playing "Blitz searchlights" simultaneously around the communal bowl. During the summer months we also encourage the use of the outdoors paarticularly the lime tree (aka the wee wee tree). Apparently it's very good for citrus.
ReplyDeleteI also live in an old farm house- it has old hardwood floors, mystery walls, a cat door out to a 3 metre drop and, fortunately, 3 toilets.
love that queenslander..would look great painted! Nice one of the hubby too!
ReplyDeleteHa! You are doing good for the planet, explaining all that.
ReplyDeleteAnd my husband also cleaned and reorganised the laundry this weekend (it was more of a mudroom than a laundry), but only because a friend of mine suggested it, not because my mother and myself had despaired (sp?) of getting him to move his rubbish out for oh, seven years now. What's that about?!!!
As the mother of two boys and a cleaning lady who's found a new career in aged care, today I have to clean the toilet. Mainly AROUND the loo actually. Yuk. Roll out the Pineocleen.
Happy rainy days to you!
That first romper? Me wants it. Me goes buys it. It's the hangover making me talk smart.
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