Midsummer Eve etc

Midsummer Eve has come and gone, but tonight is the night for food and wine, family and festivities. With this in mind, here is a Christmas photo for everyone featuring our favourite avian friends! (And yes, that is the 2011 fledgling on the top of the Christmas tree!)

Three Flying Teeth

I begged my very talented sister to make these for me after attending an exhibition of her work … last century. I have been carrying them from house to house ever since. Now I have the perfect canvas to hang them on!

And in case it isn't obvious, they are supposed to be a twist on the classic theme, popular in 50s kitchens, of three, ceramic flying geese.

Alternative Uses For 60's Tub Chair

A beautiful left over from Monash University's 60's office furniture has been in our possession for a while now. It has been in need of repair since we got it but we have only recently taken the broken base off to be repaired. The tub part of the chair has been resting on the newly arranged shag pile (a gift from the world's best sister in law) in the study. Hardly noticed by the girls before now, the tub has become the preferred home for "she who must be obeyed".

SekhMet at leisure!

New/Old Ceramic 70s Door Knobs

We bought a small box of glass and ceramic 70s door knobs off eBay over a year ago. I uncovered them when tidying up the laundry and put the ceramic ones on the four doors that had had the original timber handles "renovated" (i.e., replaced with dull, cheap, new plastic crap).

[2010 silver plastic crap (left), 70s orange/brown ceramic awesomeness (right)]

This is a process we would like to repeat all over the house, un-do the cheapo "renovation" and replace low-end 70s fixtures and fittings with high-end ones.

Laundry shelving

We bought a flat-pack shelving unit to go into the laundry last xmas, but it has taken a year to find the time to rip out the crappy and broken shelving and install our new free-standing shelves.

[before (left) and after (right)]

Of course, the old shelves were cross-nailed to the wall with four inch nails rather than being screwed to the studs.

By the time the shelves were off I had dozens of nail holes to fill. it took three layers of plaster to smooth out the mess—so I needed to repaint the whole wall.

Once the wall was painted (a terra-cotta colour called "tawny copper"), the flat-pack shelving needed modifying and reinforcing to fit around the water-heater.

Now that it is done, all the tools which were stacked on the floor are on shelves. It isn't pretty but it holds everything, it is sturdy, we can use the sink and open the back door.

[tools which were on the floor (left) are now on shelves (right). The clothes racks will hang off hooks on the front of the shelves. The kitty-litter is still on the floor, but now we can get past it to the sink and out the door.]

Adding Links Using Classic Template on Blogger

Blogger / Google really want to make it difficult for the average Jo/anne to personalise their blog, like we have here—even just to run their blog. It is now hellishly difficult to add links if you are using Classic Template (perhaps only on a Mac?).

This is what I see if I go to Page Elements to edit the Links widget:

No widgets! To get the widgets to re-appear you have to:

1. Design>Edit HTML>Copy existing HTML
2. Old Templates>Revert to Classic Template
3. Customize Design>Upgrade Your Template
4. Select Template [Watermark]
5. Edit HTML>Paste existing HTML
6. Page Elements [widgets re-appear]>Links [which you can then edit]

Of course, there is nowhere online that sets out these six steps, but trial and error eventually led me to the discovery that this will make the widgets re-appear: fraught trial and error, since there is the ever-present danger of loosing everything in your blog.

Having gone through these six steps again I have added a few more links. Thanks to J. for the two great mid-century design blogs. The others are bookmarks I have accumulated looking for materials for the house. I will add another batch when I am feeling particularly brave!

Crafty Renaissance

Recently I had purchased for me the one 70's item I had been lusting after for such a long time. The macrame owl! A wonderful lady I work with purchased this magnificent orange owl from an op shop in Heathcote. Perhaps the CWA needs to get good with macrame and ditch the scones! This gorgeous owl came with two others of darker hues which haven't found a place yet but I claim this bright species for my orange and red study. Happy now!

Macrame Owl from Heathcote

My second piece of beautiful craft to add to my study has been a more personal and special item. My gorgeous sister made a Halloween gift for us. It now has pride of place on my shelves above my desk so I can admire it everyday. (judging by the cat hair on it I am not alone!)

Crochet To Rock Your Granny!