The Laurel Hedge

This Mothering Gig

2013-05-10T17:44:00.002+09:30

It is a little over 33 years since I first became a mother. My kids would say that I've never been one for quiet reflection - too much to do, so little time to do it all in. However lately I've been thinking if I'd had my time over again, what would I do differently. It is the toughest gig of all this mothering caper and I reckon if it was an exam, I'd have probably only scraped through with a C-.

I was 23 & thought I knew it all. I'd seen life & death at it's best (& worst) after being chucked in the deep end of the Public health system at 17 when I went nursing. I'd worked hard, studied just enough to get over the line with a tertiary qualification & got married at 20. So then I thought it was time to challenge myself a bit more & I had one baby, then another & very quickly yet another......3 in 3 years. All over & done with by the time I was 27, a whirlwind of babies & toddlers.

They were such good babes, I was very lucky. However, their school years were not so easy, they had a single mother who was working long hours, travelling a lot & who was tired & weary most of the time trying to hold everything together. And then a little later, there was the challenge of becoming the wicked stepmother to 2 more boy cherubs. But despite having a C- mother, they've grown into beautiful independent men, who have forged good lives & who make me proud every day.

So this Mother's Day I want to say to the boys, sorry lads, I should have lifted my game a lot more. There wasn't enough fun & silliness, I should have listened more & rushed less. I'm aware that in the near future you'll be choosing my Nursing Home, so I hope I can redeem myself before then.

There are so many things I would do differently, better.......but there is one thing I wouldn't change for anything - doing it all again with my gorgeous boys, with a few Mummy modifications!

Image: Pinterest Vintage For Kids

Into The Dusk Light

2013-04-25T08:22:00.002+09:30

On ANZAC Day 2010 I dedicated a post to my Uncle Freddie (pictured bottom row, centre), who while commanding a Lancaster bombing mission over Germany for the RAF, was killed at the age of 24 along with his crew of 6 on March 7th 1945. Freddie from Adelaide, was a pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force, but had been seconded to command bombers for the Royal Air Force. You can read the post here .

Late last year the following email arrived in The Laurel Hedge Inbox:

Hi Millie

I read your blog post about your uncle. My grandfather was the Flight Engineer on Lancaster ME474, so would have been sitting next to your uncle on the plane. I did read that ME474 had been newly received two weeks prior to their last mission, being the maiden flight of the plane & that it had crashed into the sea off Holland, that's all we know. I do have some photos & I may have some letters somewhere which may be of interest & would be most grateful for any further information you may have. My Grandad is pictured in the back row far right.

Kind regards

Paul

You can imagine how I felt - the 68 years since that terrible night dissolved in a heartbeat. In my mind I saw the crew walking across the tarmac at Skellingthorpe, climbing into that big, noisy Lancaster & the plane taking off, heading across the English channel into the fading dusk light. I saw Paul's Grandad & my Uncle Freddie seated in the cockpit - doing the flight checks, talking about the weather conditions & maybe the task ahead. The British accents of the 6 crewmen occasionally interrupted by the flat laconic tone of the lone Aussie. The war in Europe was drawing to an end, great devastation had been delivered to both sides by similar bombing raids. I sat for a long while at the computer, re-reading Paul's email in quiet reflection of the great loss all the families of ME474's crew have endured through the years.

Any doubts as to why I blog were dispelled. Only 2 bodies of the lost crew were ever recovered after the aircraft ditched into the sea, Freddie's & Paul's Grandad Bill, the irony of that has not escaped me. I guess Paul was doing some research into ME474, a search engine picked up those words from my post & the link to The Hedge appeared. I shared the email with my cousin & he has now joined me in our communications with Paul.

So, many years later, 2 families on opposite sides of the world are reunited, in remembrance of the sad bond that links us forever.

ON THIS MOST SACRED OF DAYS

LEST WE FORGET

Lemon Kitten Heels

2013-04-13T11:54:00.001+09:30

Much to my surprise, this is by far the most repinned pin from The Hedge's Pinterest boards. Nothing flash, just an arbour of everyday lemons. One could intellectualise all arvo as to why people like it, but I've got a bathroom to clean, a trip to the supermarket & an appointment for a pedicure to stumble off to. My only thought is that unless you were 350cms tall, you'd have to grab a ladder every time you needed a lemon - but hey, pics on crack cocaine Pinterest don't generally have a Rate This For Practicality button on each image.

Things are lurching along OK here - at 11 weeks post-TKR I've finally retired Wally the Walking Stick to the cupboard of redundant medical/surgical appliances. I did try to slip into a pair of small kitten heels on Tuesday for a dress-up work appointment, but sadly kicked them off in a nanosecond due to immediate pain similar to day 2 post-op. Still have pain/swelling/discomfort & total exhaustion at the end of each working day is a done deal, but everyone seems to want to enthusiastically tell me I'm getting there......wherever there is!

So today's assignment dear Hedgies is to leave a comment about your most popular Pin & why is it so, I reckon we'll get some rippers!

Image: Lotusland via Avantgardens

Wet & Wild!

2013-03-11T17:35:00.001+10:30

My first week back at work with my 'mobility aid' was OK, we were really busy (apparently my return co-incided with a flurry of activity - funny 'bout that!) so I was on my feet a lot. So by Friday night the new knee & I were absolutely exhausted & headed off to bed at a whoosie 8.45p.m. I had my 6 week post-op appt with the Orthopaedic Surgeon on Thursday & received an A+. He's really pleased with my range of movement & the incision but still can't give me an indication of:

1. When I will be pain-free
2. When I will get a decent night's sleep
3. When I can chuck away Wally the Walking Stick
4. When I'll be able to slip the feet into a decent pair of Manolo's & toss the flats

Things on the reno front have stalled until this week, when MOTH decided to get a run on with finishing the big upstairs Family Room/Home Office. When he pulled up the grotty old carpet a few months ago he got a nasty surprise. About half the wooden floor boards were absolutely sodden & rotten & appear to have been for many years. After a good scratch around under the boards he was spewing as there is only a gap of a centimetre between the floor & the ground. No drainage system has ever been installed & as Stirling has the highest rainfall in the State, water had just been pooling under the floor & the boards have been permanently water logged since 1972. You can make you own assumption about why 3 previous owners just kept putting new carpet down over wet boards & never addressed the problem.

He's looked at digging a trench outside around the 2 walls & installing some sort of drainage system to try & divert rainwater away, but on Thursday night he came storming downstairs.

'That's it Mills, that trench idea ain't gonna work, so I'm gonna rip up all the floor boards & put in a concrete slab. Then the new carpet can go down on a dry base & my conscience is clear. Gotta do a heap of formwork & then call Mick from Midget Mixers to drop off a load. Do ya reckon ya might be up to shovelling into the wheel barrow on the day?'

Ah the joy's of fixing up someone else's stuff ups! Have a fabulous week dear Hedgies.

Image: Christies

Nine To Five

2013-03-03T14:23:00.004+10:30

After 5 long & arduous post-operative weeks, it's back to full-time work for moi & the new knee tomorrow. I'd like a couple more weeks of keeping the leg elevated & the brain in Happyland on the good analgesia, but it's not to be, so I'll just have to suck it up & hit the road in the morning. Things are progressing OK, there's still swelling & pain, but the Physio is happy with my progress & reckons I'm ahead of where I need to be, even though I don't feel it! I don't think the path to the office will be strewn with flowering bulbs to welcome me back, like this gorgeous image - all I'm concerned about is trying to manoeuvre the front steps up into the office with my trusty mate, Wally the Walking Stick in an half-pie elegant way. I reckon ballet flats will be the way to go on the tootsies for a while, but I still have my eyes firmly fixed on those impossibly high heels that beckon me from afar.

Thank you so much again for the overwhelming number of emails & messages of concern/ encouragement, gifts, virtual love & hugs etc, as MOTH would say 'Youse are all a grouse bunch of Hedgies!'

Slowly As It Goes

2013-02-07T15:32:00.000+10:30

'It's OK Mills, no need to look so startled. I've done the shopping, cooked dinner, vacumed the floors, cleaned the bathroom, hung the washing out & shampooed puppy Lulu. All you need to do is lie back & rest your weary self.'

It's been 2 weeks since the new L knee became a fixture in my life & it's been a roller coaster ride. The 6 days in hospital on mind-altering substances was an 'interesting' experience, but I couldn't wait to escape the ho-hum nursing care, so went over the wall early.

This has been the hardest thing I've ever done. Miss Over-Confident here thought she'd prepared mentally for the procedure, but she had not. The unrelenting pain, sleepless nights, loss of appetite, immobility & outright boredom have taken their toll. I've lost my sparkle & want it back. Throw in a large capsular effusion that won't go away & I'm over it. My wonderful physio is pounding me to a pulp in an effort to get me more mobile & I'm cranky. However, I do know that this too will pass, so I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize.....slipping that L leg confidently back into the highest pair of Manolo's I can find & strutting my stuff.

MOTH has been outstanding & I owe him big time. The many messages of care & concern from Hedgies everywhere have been amazing - thank you, thank you, thank you. Now back to the chaise lounge for a little nap.

Image: Silent Film Still Archive

Stepping Down

2013-01-20T15:40:00.000+10:30

For the past year, steps like these beauties have been my nemesis. I'm now having to go up & down stairs in the house & garden sideways like a crab & it is not a good look for a relatively young woman. My dodgy left knee is on its last legs (pardon the pun), so this Wednesday it will be hacked out & replaced with a Biomet Vanguard, the Maserati of knee prostheses, so my lovely Orthopaedic Surgeon tells me. I'm actually not concerned what marque of car it is most closely aligned to, all I want is to give the crab walk & this grinding, relentless, intractable pain the flicko.

I'll be heading into hospital on the first day of my Annual Leave, not exactly the vacation destination I had envisaged. Working up until Tuesday arvo as I want to keep my mind occupied on other matters, 'cos quite frankly I'm quietly terrified of the events of the coming week. Having a nursing degree is of no help whatsoever, in fact ignorance is probably bliss at a time like this.

I've watched the whole procedure on a Vimeo webcast, planned my post-op recovery with the bestest Physio in town, drilled the Anaesthetist about pain management 'til he could stand no more, down-loaded a years worth of mags in my iPad & 23 pages of instructions for Mr. Grumpy MOTH.

So dear Hedgies, I'll be stepping down for a while to get this whole thing done & dusted. I'll still chuck some quick posts up on The Hedge's FB page if you want to follow the progress of Millie's new knee, naming suggestions welcome. Send me positive thoughts on Wednesday morning & MOTH food. Bye for now, missing you already, love you lots.

Call Home!

2013-01-05T12:01:00.000+10:30

It was a shocking day yesterday here in the Adelaide Hills. It was one of those sizzling hot Summer days, the temperature reached 45C. (113F.) and an evil North wind blew fiercely. It was the first catastrophic Bushfire day declared in yonks. For the first time in 4 years I was worried, so dragged out my stash of 'Go, Don't Stay' treasure tubs, ready to grab if we needed to make a quick exit.

I've shoved the normal irreplacable stuff in them, old family photos & letters, the wedding album, computer hard drive etc. I told MOTH to lob the Insurance file in too & anything else he thought really important. Returning a couple of minutes later to close the lid, this is what I found. How different we are.

We dodged a bullet, but sadly, our friends in Tassie did not. Son #2 & his girlfriend are on a camping holiday there & are somewhere on the East coast. I've just heard that the beautiful coastal town of Bicheno is under immediate threat. We've tried calling his cell phone lots today, but haven't been able to make contact. I'm sure he's OK, but would like to hear that directly from him. If you happen to read this post mate, CALL HOME!!!

Addendum 8th January - ' Hey yeah no, haven't had my phone turned on since last week. Camping on the beach, it was awesome, saw the bushfires in the distance but we weren't worried. When I turned my phone back on I had 1,782 missed calls, dunno what the problem was, everything's cool. Back in Hobart today, flying home tomorrow. See ya.'

This from the same son who only took t-shirts, shorts & flip-flops to backpack around Europe in December/January! Thanks everyone for your messages of concern. DFAT now issues a travel warning when they know he's on the move anywhere around the globe!

Christmas at The Hedge

2012-12-24T11:23:00.001+10:30

Well dear Hedgies, it's Christmas Eve & here's what's happening behind The Hedge today:

I'm at work, but that's no drama 'cos as MOTH so succintly puts it 'Mills you should be jolly grateful you have a place to go to other than a Bingo Hall.'
After only 2.5 years our very expensive heat pump hot water system went belly up & we have had no hot water since Friday night. A plumber is supposed to be on his way, wish us luck.
MOTH hasn't started his Christmas shopping.
The cavalcade of cars belonging to various family members has left Melbourne this morning bound for a big Christmas over the border at The Hedge. They are blissfully unaware that MOTH has not completed the reno of the Home Office, so the 3rd bedroom is full of all the stuff from that room & is totally unusable. So MOTH's sister, Son #2 & Son #3 & his partner will be tossing for the only available bed - good luck.
MOTH is desperately upset that none of the Aussie telly networks picked up the 2012 Victoria's Secret Christmas Show. As you know, he always does his best pressie wrapping propped in front of it.

I could go on, but I won't, I ran out of tissues about 2 hours ago. All in all though, it's been an OK year here & I'm grateful for getting through it relatively unscathed. I'll be working through early January & then I'm off to make my acquaintance with my new titanium knee on Jan. 23rd. I'll be back before then, so see you soon.

Merry Christmas!

Fishy Story

2012-11-28T15:45:00.001+10:30

'Mills, are you sure we're at the right place? You promised me after I sat through that long Saturday lunch at the Robin Hood pub with all your cousins we'd go to the Fishing Tackle shop & I could pick out my Chrissie pressie. This joint is pretty ritzy & why would the blokes put big balloons & pretty ribbon on their sign? .......I'm confused. I've never heard of a bait shop called Brown Button Trading, something's very fishy.'

'Geez Mills, these blokes have got some weird ideas about fishin'......what's the story here, those cushions are a bit OTT. You know all I normally use to plant my bum on is an empty wine cask bladder blow up. Maybe all the fishin' stuff is inside, I'm getting rool worried here'

'Honestly Mills, will youse drag yourself away from all those racks of fishing clothes for the midgets & help me try & find a bloke who knows what's going on here. Oh & some girl has just offered me a glass of champers......crumbs Mills, that's never happened before. Do ya reckon we've stumbled into the wrong place, this is NOT RIGHT!'

Yep, it took him a while but he eventually twigged that he was an unwitting guest at Kimberlee's Brown Button Trading Christmas Pop-Up Shop! Here he is, looking very confused. Ignoring him, it was a fabulous afternoon of shopping, drinking & laughing with one of my dearest & talented Bloggie chums. Kimberlee's post on her experiences meeting MOTH is here. And as far as getting him to understand the concept of a Pop-Up Shop, don't even ask!

Courting Spring

2012-11-17T18:14:00.000+10:30

I haven't ventured down to ~~MOTH's garden junk area,~~ the Tennis Court since the end of March. A long, cold, miserable, wet Winter put paid to that. So I thought I'd better check on the state of his famous lilies this arvo & this is what I found.....it made me very happy. Tubs & tubs of the yellow Orientals with huge flower heads & multiple blooms. It looks like the rubbish Winter didn't worry them a bit.

Due to the aforesaid miserable, wet Winter we have churned through the firewood like no other year. MOTH was getting worried that stocks were getting low, but the King of Recyling was rejoicing this week 'cos his mates at the Tip had saved him a whole lot of wood the Council had discarded. Free firewood does more for MOTH's spirits than a win by the Demons on a good day.

Son # 5 dropped off all these English Box plants a couple of years ago & 'asked' us to babysit them for him. Well son, just look at them now. If you want to flog these beauties off to a client you had better get up here pronto before we shove them on the verge with a very high price tag attached. Our 'babysitting' Invoice is in the post.

This I'm not too sure about. You may remember MOTH bought home a Yucca to experiment on last year. He removed a whole lot of 'pups' from the Mummy Yucca & planted them up. 12 tubs later they are going like da bomb & he reckons he's seeing $ signs over each of them. Time they went I reckon, so if you live in the Adelaide metro area & want any, drop me an email, you would be doing me a HUGE favour.

Rockin' The Rosebery

2012-11-10T12:05:00.001+10:30

I would love to have a Hedgies Christmas Party this year. 2012's been a challenging one for many of us & I reckon a big night out is called for. I've found the perfect venue The Rosebery - the ultimate party bus, isn't it a little beauty! She seats eighteen in considerable comfort on the top deck on dark green leather banquettes and chairs or thirty standing. Downstairs seats a further six - eight in the bar area. For even more fun, we could shove a marquee onto her side, add a dance floor, a DJ, the obligatory disco ball & off we go for a great night!

Who's in? Do let us know who you'll be wearing, what cocktail you'd like on boarding & which song you'd like the DJ to crank up. It's Alexander McQueen, a large Margarita & Donna Summer's 'Last Dance' for me. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

Images: The Rosebery

Peek-A-Boo

2012-10-27T12:02:00.000+10:30

Despite still having to endure many freezing cold nights, Spring has just popped out her tentative face here in South Australia & of course that means that the Real Estate market is starting to stir. Adelaide may be the younger sibling to her older, brassier sisters in the East, but I reckon we truly are the little Star of the South. Lots of interesting architecture makes for a market that's never boring. And being the eternal sticky beak House Hag that I am, here's what's around at the moment.

Love the first pic, a c.1895 sandstone Victorian return verandah villa in gracious College Park. Oooh that bay window!

This c.1880 Victorian house is just around the corner from us here in Stirling. Gotta love a circular drive.

A cutsie tootsie c.1935 English Tudor-style home on a monstrous land holding in swanky Unley Park. Those twin chimneys are awesome.

An early c.1842 Georgian homestead on a motza of land at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills.

The sweetest little c.1905 double-fronted Edwardian sandstone cottage in trendy Hyde Park. Love the eyelash verandah.

A fabulous early c.1843 Australian Colonial homestead complete with sweeping verandahs in lovely Highgate. A big sigh over the slate tiled roof.

Back to the Adelaide Hills for this c.1882 sprawling Victorian homestead at Crafers. Added on at various times over the years, it's a treat.

As only Adelaide can do - a c.1905 Victorian sandstone return rerandah villa in genteel Walkerville. Lavish wrought iron on the bullnose verandah is sooo traditional.

Right down on The Esplande at Grange, with views straight out to the beautiful blue waters of Spencer Gulf, is this ripper c.1882 boom bluestone Victorian Terrace house on the far right of the group. With 4 levels it's a dream property.

Back to Stirling for this c.1908 Edwardian Queen Anne villa on a large land holding. For long-time Hedgies it may look familiar, as it's been featured in one of my very amateur Come Walk Around Stirling posts with my dodgy knee & even dodgier camera.

Now this is will indulge the special needs of our mate Heidi, who is in desperate need of a sea-change from Burton, Texas to the glorious Clare Valley. Here's your new house - Spring Hill Farm. A fabulously renovated c.1850 sandstone homestead with a couple of hectares of grapes chucked in for good measure.

So, do any of these beauties particularly catch your eye, we'd love to know? And if you are one of my lovely ex-pat readers sitting in another part of the world drooling & feeling homesick, wipe those tears away & send me along to bid for you on your Adelaide house! It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

Images: Real Estate

Back To Basics

2012-10-20T12:38:00.001+10:30

I received an email from an irate Hedgie the other day, telling me that The Hedge had gone 'off piste' so to speak. That this was supposed to be a blog about renovations & it had become something very different & he/she wasn't too happy. Well dear anon Hedgie, you are of course correct, so apologies for the stumble & here's an update of where MOTH's up to. This is how the final room upstairs to be completed looks this morning, pretty dodgy aye. But there are no brown/red brick walls or Mission Brown beams, so I'm happy!

It is the big long room we've always used as a home office, although now that I'm off to another office in the city every day, MOTH's delighted as it's his & his alone. In a previous incarnation it was used as a consulting room by The Hedge's original Owner/Builder, a G.P. It has a separate entrance so his patients could make a quick & discreet exit. It has no heating or cooling & is like a mortuary in Winter. No pun to the good Dr. intended.

The room has a full bank of the original c.1972 book cases down the long wall. We've ummed & aahed about what to do with them, but they are really useful & virtually indestructible, so hey, they'll stay.

Like all the other rooms here at The Hedge it has this weird, weird 3-panel incredibly high window. The room is a bookend twin in dimensions & appearance to the Master Bedroom, which is downstairs & at the other end of the house. MOTH won't drop the ceiling in here, as we want it to resemble it's twin. I do like symetry! We're on the downward run here - finish the painting including the book cases, add a split system AC, chuck some carpet down, get Miss Richfields to wave her magic wand with curtains & a Roman etc.

And much to my amazement, a trip to Ikea for a huge buy-up of matching file holders, as suggested by MOTH. 'Mills, we couldn't possibly put back all those disgusting mis-matching coloured files & 3-rings.' Yep, I'm still in a state of disbelief that a statement like that came from his lips.

Work has been crazy, we moved offices 3 weeks ago & it nearly killed me. We've only gone 2 suburbs - from Glenunga to Norwood (for Adelaide Hedgies), but it's like we've landed on a different planet. The Builders start the big refit soon, so I'm shaking at the thought of all the plaster dust & noise, but it will be worth it. Baby Gracie is now 14 weeks & is keeping us all entertained. Spring is beginning to appear in the Hills & boy, do we have some work to do in the garden. So how are you? I'd love to hear. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

Not What I Was Expecting!

2012-09-21T15:52:00.005+09:30

Dash you Crack Cocaine Pinterest, you've totally burst my bubble this week. You sent me the weekly stats of The Hedge's most pinned image & it's not what I was expecting. Always imagining myself as a world famous & highly respected design blogger (no need to laugh thanks!!), I naturally assumed the star pin would be some fabulous design image that I'd so lovingly selected & curated especially for my 'dedicated' Followers. Nope, nothing like it. It was this big bowl of Butternut Squash Gnocchi with a Fontina Cheese & Spinach sauce......26 repins, how embarrassing, there goes my carefully cultivated image in a mouthful of pasta.

The only redeeming thing here is that I've actually made gnocchi from scratch in the Kitchen From Hell & guess what, it worked! So I guess there's nothing for it dear Hedgies, here's the link to the gnocchi from the Proud Italian Cook blogspot. Do give it a try & let me know how you go. I certainly don't have one of those fancy schmancy wooden gnocchi rollers, I managed to produce cute little pasta thingies with a quick flick of a fork. The Fontina cheese is worth blowing the budget (& your LDL/HDL levels) on. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

Image : Proud Italian Cook

Small Town Life

2012-09-06T15:04:00.000+09:30

Although Stirling is not exactly the big smoke, it's not Hicksville either. It has all the charm of small town living - most people know each other & where they live, you're known at the local shops by your first name, the local cop shop keeps 9a.m.-5p.m. business hours so the crims can plan their activities, we know when new people have arrived as we don't recognize the car etc. etc.

We've also had our share of controversy over the years, predominantly around development applications to that august body, the Adelaide Hills Council our local government authority (& there's a whole bloggie post there!!) We are a one pub town and the Stirling sits in all her beauty on the roundabout in the main street.

Brett & Sarah Matthews are very savvy local Publicans & have been tarting up the old girl to a level that makes our city cousins drool at the mouth. When we first moved up the hill from the city, the pub had an old 2 tier paddock out the back which was loosely known as the 'Carpark'. A few years ago the Matthews decided that it presented a great opportunity to redevelop. So steeling themselves, they went to Council with their ideas - a small set of ripper shops on the upper level & a big undercroft Carpark to replace the stony gravel dust bowl with it's long history of wrecking a zillion pairs of stilettos as their owners stumbled up to their cars at the end of a very big night out.

Well, it didn't go to plan and all hell broke loose. Some of the locals even took up places on the road into town, waving placards denouncing the proposed progress in Johnson Street. They wanted the old dust bowl to be placed on the World Heritage Register & Stirling to remain in it's cosy time warp. The Matthews persisted, got knocked down, dusted themselves off (no pun intended) and went back to the DAP for another round. Finally, after numerous amendments it was approved and we were on our way. In their wisdom they decided to relocate their pokey little Bottle Shop from the side of the pub into all the new retail space bar one. They also made another brilliant move - they got Chris & Nancy Broadfoot very clever local foodies involved. The Stirling Hotel Cellars and Patisserie was born. The Bottle Shop is on one side of the space & the Patisserie is on the other - very dangerous let me tell you!!

First buy your grog......

Then take a couple of steps to the Patisserie to see what Chris has cooked up for the day, grab a coffee......

And if it's not too cold, wander outside to sit, eat, drink & people watch, it's sublime.

So where is this leading to I hear you asking? Well last night, the Stirling Hotel Cellars and Patisserie won the Australian Hotels Association's National Best Retail Liquor Outlet award! So to Brett & Sarah congratulations to you both from all of us at The Hedge. May the pain of battles past be just like the pain of childbirth, forgotten in an instant once a gorgeous trophy is placed in your arms. We love your work (especially the new initiative of after work Tapas and Wine Thursday/Friday). See you very soon. xx

Images: The Stirling Hotel

He's 64!

2012-09-03T15:12:00.000+09:30

MOTH's gone into hiding today as the dreaded Birthday Fairy is after him again! This year's birthday post was a shoe-in as the old boy is 64 today. This past year's not been one of his better ones, but things are on the up and up. His back is sort of OK, but now he's got issues with a rubbish shoulder. But on a positive note he still has the blonde hair that's made the model Agencies clammer after him all these years. No matter the only jobs they want him for these days are for retirement village ads, his phone is still ringing, so he should be grateful. So in 'celebration' of all things elderly I'll let Paul and Ringo remind him that the golden years are here. Just as well he has a young wife!!

Million Things Millie

2012-08-29T17:10:00.000+09:30

Hello dear Hedgies, just rushed in to say hi, things are good (my very dodgy L knee being the exception), am still very busy at work, so little time left for my very favourite past-time......you. Things are progressing well for The Grand Botanical Tour 2013 with Ms. Library of Design. If you haven't checked out what's happening, please go & see the plan of action over at The Library. So as you can see by the gorgeous Potting Shed image, in between programming defibrillators I have gardens on my mind.

Baby Gracie is growing rapidly, I'm trying to upload photos of her on The Hedge's Facebook page, it's become the new generation Nonna's bragbook. If you want to keep up with the little cherub's progress do join me on FB. I'm finding running personal, The Hedge & work Facebook pages + The Hedge & work Twitter accounts 'challenging'. But I do love the social media whirl, just get a bit cross-eyed at times ensuring our work Followers don't get pretty Hedge stuff & you mob don't get receive a tweet about the value of adding EtCO2 capnography to your defib parameters!!

Images: Andrea Rugg HSP Garden Buildings

The Flowers, Frocks & Botanical Fantasies Tour 2013

2012-08-22T16:29:00.002+09:30

Are you constantly embarrassing your nearest & dearest by jumping high on the spot trying to peer over a wall into someone else's gorgeous garden when out walking?

Is tagging along with an fabulous chick who has entree into private properties only seen in glossy mags right up your alley?

Does mooching around in stylish boutique hotel rooms you would NEVER have found on Trip Advisor sound good?

How about dinner each evening with a group of lovely like-minded gals from all points of the globe in chic little bistros in the English country-side?

Are you an independent traveller who can't stand Carleen the Co-Ordinator organizing each second of your waking moments on tour?

Do you have a couple of weeks free next May/June to experience things that will make your friends & family sick with envy!

If you answered a resounding YES to all of the above, then read on dear Hedgies.

By popular demand, that lovely uber blogger Janelle McCulloch over at The Library of Design has put together her inaugural Flowers, Frocks & Botanical Fantasies Tour 2013. Boy that girl has more contacts in her address book than MOTH has excuses for not picking up a paintbrush!

The initial itinerary looks fantastic & the dates will co-incide with the 100th anniversary celebrations of the much-lauded Chelsea Flower Show. You will not have to take out a 4th mortgage on the house to fund your spot, Janelle has a unique ability to match frugal with fun.

For more information & Expressions Of Interest visit The Library here & here. When I told MOTH last night I'm off to London with the girls he didn't move a muscle. But then again, that may have been a little difficult for him tied up with rope to the chair as he was!

It's 2012 MOTH!

2012-08-10T16:16:00.001+09:30

I don't reckon there would be one Hedgie in the whole wide world who would register surprise if told that MOTH has the oldest mobile/cell phone in existence. Now I'm not saying that it's the original device.....oh no, no, no. He's lost his phone too many times to list - at the Adelaide Council Garden Refuse Tip, in a shopping centre car-park, in a client's garden, on a plane, in the Indian Ocean off Broome.....the list goes on & on ad nauseum. And each time it's a huge drama ços he never backs up his Contacts to his SIM card & the whole lots gone. And each time, he replaces it with EXACTLY the same model as the one he's lost. For those of you who are brave enough to follow The Hedge on Twitter, you will know that we had yet another phone drama a couple of weeks ago.

I stumbled in from work one evening to find MOTH screaming down the landline phone.

'I've lost my phone, how many times do I have to tell you, what are youse gunna do about it! Just cancel my old number so some dodgy crim can't run up thousands of bucks of calls on my phone when they find it.' Ed Note: No self-respecting criminal would be seen dead with your grotty filthy old rubber Tradie's phone mate with no internet access or touch screen.

'Mills, I tell you I only took Lulu for a walk, got home & my phone's gone. It must have fallen out of my pocket, so it's somewhere between here & the Bottle Shop.'

'No need to be sarcastic Millie , Lulu needed a walk & the pub just happened to on my well-planned route. So throw us ya keys will ya, I'll have to take your car & go looking. Make sure my dinner's cooked by the time I get back will youse.'

......1 hour later 'MOTH here again Telstra, I've searched high & low all over Stirling in the dark & I still can't find my phone so I need a new one, I'm a successful businessman & need one pronto to conduct urgent negotiations with my clients. And I don't want one of them fancy jobs, just send me the same model I've had for 10 years.'

'What..... they've been discontinued? Bloody hell you mob are hopeless, put me onto the Manager.'

'Well that's it Mills, my life's over, all they'll give me is one of those wanky jobs like youse & the kids have. I don't want access to the internet or my emails or a camera or a video....I just want to make a phone call.'

Óh #@**!! Mills, I just happened to put my hand in the other pocket of my hoodie & guess what I just found. No need to roll all over the sitting room floor laughing, its NOT funny. I never put my phone in that pocket, you must have done it. I'll have to make a million calls back to Telstra, get them to give me my number back & all that stuff, bloody hell.'

So things went back to 'normal' after that 'til last night. I knew something was up as he'd been scratching around in the recycle bin for ages & voila, he wandered back the sofa. Then complete with some junk mail on mobile phones that Telstra had shoved in the 'Tiser this week in his hot little hand, I heard something I'd never, ever expected.

'You know Mills, I've been thinking, since all that drama with my phone last week, maybe, just maybe, its time for me to have one of them Smart phone jobs.'

Telstra you've been warned. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

On The Move

2012-07-21T12:27:00.000+09:30

We are moving.....no not Home Millie, but Work Millie. We outgrew our current premises ages ago, but my Boss managed by squashing his desk in amongst all the stock & stuff & going with the flow 'cos the office is very convenient (1 minute from his house!). Then I came along 4 months ago & that all changed. I need a large space around me to work effectively (don't ask!) & it has proved problematic. So we have spent the past month first trying to find something & then trying to contact the relevant Commercial Real Estate agent (which is akin to arranging a meeting with Julian Assange in a public place!!) We think we've found the right place but boy does it need some work, in fact a total refit is on the cards. So the Boss's lovely wife has taken up the challenge & between the 2 of us we will be in make-over mode big time.

Due to nature of our business it will never be a shrine to prettiness, although I firmly believe there's room in the market for a range of defibrillators in Pantone colours. But I've finally been able to justify the time I've spent on Crack Cocaine Pinterest (thanks Heides!) & trawled through Work on my boards. Lots of great ideas to chuck on our Wish List.

All is well with baby Gracie, as you can see she's sleeping well. In fact she gave her tired Mummy & Daddy a full 6.5 hrs on Wednesday night. Not bad for a 10 day old baby I reckon! Its the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

There's Always An Angle

2012-07-15T17:31:00.003+09:30

Regular readers of The Hedge have long known that MOTH's always looking for an angle. Most of it has centred (very unsuccessfully) around making millions of dollars through this blog. He has a misguided notion that all I need to do is spend a couple of minutes a day doing a ripper post, that sponsors will clamber & then he will be able to sit around all day drinking beer & making the occasional guest appearance on Martha as The Hedge's Resident Craft Genius. So it was no surprise to me this arvo when I heard him yelling:

'Mills, Mills, come quick, I'm about to make us a fortune!'

'Do ya remember the other night on telly when we saw all those people flocking to see that image of the Virgin Mary that's appeared carved into a tree on a street in Newark?'

'Well I'm just about to put Stirling on the map, look what I found on the Dining Room floor, impressive aye!'

'And we could always say that miracles do occur at The Hedge regularly, just don't tell 'em that I'm a Presbyterian.'

Ed Note: The only miracle that occurs around here mate is that occasionally another room gets finished in the world's longest renovation!

'Oh, oh Mills come quick again I'm upstairs & look what else I've found! If the VM image doesn't pull them in, then this one of a mouse will, geez I'm good!'

I've left him sitting at the Dining Room table working out how many tour buses will fit into our short no-through country lane, how he can con our long-suffering neighbours into letting him use their driveway as a turning pad for the said buses & seeing if getting the Pope to make a guest appearance will up the numbers of the faithful & consequently his GP on signed photos & admission charges.

Image 1: Philly Other 2 images via my phone.

A Post With Benefits

2012-07-13T11:06:00.000+09:30

What a delight it's been reading all the beautiful comments left on Gracie's post - thank you to everyone who left a message of welcome. Looking through them all suddenly brought home to me that the roll call of familiar names are what this blog is all about. Wonderful, wonderful friends who have been an integral part of The Hedge since day dot. You've stood by us through the roller coaster ride of this renovation & our family/work sagas - empathizing, advising, observing, occasionally chastizing, but most of all having a laugh, often at the latest catastrophe to befall the hapless MOTH.

Since returning to full-time work again I've been a rubbish Blogger. Unrelenting exhaustion has made for few posts & even fewer return visits & that's made me miserable. Throw in a MOTH who's on a Go Slow campaign & things have been less than optimal around The Hedge. I've even thought about shutting it down & giving you a break, but I know I'd regret it the second I double clicked on the Delete Blog Forever option.

So the arrival of our darling baby girl this week has brought with it some delightful additional benefits. The realization that you gorgeous Hedgies are a most patient & forgiving bunch & that I want (not need) to lift my game here. Thank you for the gentle jolt, I feel more determined & fired up than I have in ages. I love you all - it's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

She's Here!

2012-07-11T09:54:00.001+09:30

Yay I'm a Nonna at last! Sweet baby Grace was born at 1.44p.m. yesterday to her exhausted parents Son #4 & his partner Miss K. At 3.62kgs. (exactly 8lbs.) she made her appearance 10 days early, but after a check, that renown Paediatrician Dr. MOTH reckons she was well cooked.

Just a couple of dodgy phone shots from a quick visit last night, we were surprised to see her fair hair as her Daddy looked like a little orangutan at his birth 30 years ago. A mass of black, black hair on his head & soft black down all over his body! Dr. MOTH reckons Gracie's been here before - her pensive, wise gaze is mesmerizing. It's been a big couple of days, now back to earth for us all.

Fine For Some!

2012-07-07T10:51:00.000+09:30

This is the reason I've been totally absent from Bloggie Wonderland these past couple of weeks. I wish I could say that I've been shacked up in this wonderful villa in France enjoying a warm European summer, swanning around the associated champagne houses & eating & drinking to my heart's content. Unfortunately it wasn't me, it was my Boss! 2 weeks ago he went to Portugal for a work conference & then decided to stay on for a week's vacation. Think Florence, Venice, the Swiss Alps & Paris here. Then he called & said he needed to do some serious product investigation in the Loire valley. Interesting that, as I wouldn't have thought the cool, cavernous cellars of the French champagne houses held the secrets of the next generation of external cardiac defibrillator/monitors, but I stand to be corrected.

Anyhoo, his absence has meant that I have just experienced one of the most challenging, exhausting times of my working life. While I appreciate his confidence in leaving me to run his wonderful business alone just 3 months into the job, there have been days when I was ready to send in the Special Forces to kidnap him from his travels & bring him home pronto! Ours is a complex business with an exacting & technically/clinically demanding client base, many of them working in extremely remote sites.

The phone went non-stop & my problem-solving abilities were put the ultimate test time & time again. Early starts & late finishes, trapped in the office without a break. This morning I'm so exhausted I can hardly put one foot in front of the other. He's back on Monday & it will be with the greatest of pleasure that I leave him to it & head out to see some actual clients. Somedays I think at 56 I'm getting too old for this caper, but only for a nano-second. I keep thinking of how miserable I was this time last year in a job that had nothing going for it. I'm very grateful for the chance to have something to challenge me in every way, but for now I think I'll head off to the sofa & the warm fire with a trashy mag. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

P.S. Our little grand-daughter is not far off making her appearance, so stay tuned!