This weekend Melbourne was hammered with violent hailstorms. The city centre flooded, shopping centres were evacuated and the roof of Southern Cross Station caved in under the weight of the ice. It was pretty serious stuff, and although my suburb was targeted I managed to miss the whole thing.

I was shopping. Oops!

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When Tim called with the news he sounded pretty freaked out. He told me that he kept waiting for our windows to smash, as the hail was golf ball sized and coming in sideways.   He couldn’t open the back door because of the amount of ice piled up against it, and anyway he had his hands full with what was happening inside.

For a while the ceilings held up okay, but at some stage the hail smashed up enough roof tiles that water poured into the laundry and toilet. Tim managed to save the suits, coats and dresses that I had hanging in the laundry but everything else was covered in filthy ceiling water.

Let me tell you – nothing makes you appreciate the little pleasures in life more than wet toilet paper when you really need to go.

I didn’t get home for another couple of hours, and was amazed to see that there were still huge piles of ice on the ground.  It’s incredible that the ice in this picture lasted 2 hours on such a hot day.

We also discovered that the ice had punched about 40 baseball-sized holes into the roofing of our covered outdoor area – an area that we sort of depend on to be covered and rain proof.

Sunday was spent emptying our laundry and cleaning it from top to bottom – not an easy task, considering that it’s the size of a small bedroom!  I treated it as an opportunity to throw out some stuff and get it into better order.  When that was done I cleaned up the post-cyclonic state of our garden, and after 3 hours managed to restore it to its former glory.  More or less.

It was a strange experience to miss the storm entirely, but walk back into a disaster zone.  All my pot plants had the leaves stripped from them, a couple of pots were smashed and I saw lots of plastic-covered windows on the houses of my neighbours.  I’m really pleased that I had the car far away from the area, because although we have a covered carport I’m pretty sure that the hail would have bounced up and dented the car all over.

But of course the Universe works in very mysterious ways.  I may have lost my Sunday (and 60% of my back’s functionality) as a result of the storm, but she sent me the Labour Day holiday as a small thank you for my efforts.  That extra day off helped me to tackle some other little projects around the house that I hadn’t been able to get to, and now our beautiful new home really does feel like it’s ours.

Tomorrow morning (along with thousands of others, no doubt) I’ll call the real estate agent and try to get our roof sorted out.  I feel incredibly lucky that we dodged really serious damage.

Ah, fresh starts. Aren’t they great?

Here are a few little habits I’d like to improve upon in the month of March.

01. Make the bed every morning
02. Put away my clothes once a day
03. Walk the dog 5 days/week
04. Stop eating as though it’s still Christmas
05. Go for a run twice/week
06. Write something in my journal every day
07. Focus on one room of my house at a time, and completely unpack it
08. Take some photos of my pretty new home
09. Make a nice, big dent in my 101 list
10. By the end of this month, cease being in my twenties

That last one isn’t exactly negotiable, but the others may take a little bit of concentration!

I must say, life is treating me well right now. Our new house is finally starting to feel like home, and we’re gradually finding solutions to all its little problems “quirks”. Like the fact that it has no pantry, and no cabinet in the bathroom, and…

… it turns out that it’s all fine, and nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a bit of clever shelving. Our new home has got so much style and charm, and although it has one less bedroom than the last place it manages to look very spacious. We have incredible sunset views every afternoon, a constant breeze and brand new paint and carpet. As much as I loved our previous house, it’s nice to not have cracks in the ceiling that actually let through sunlight!

On top of all of that, several people have answered my call for butt-kicking me into finishing my 101 Thing in 1001 Days list! My friend Sally deserves extra credit for planning a 10-day visit in which we’ll visit the Great Ocean Rd, do the Neighbours tour, see fairy penguins at Philip Island and maybe even fit in a ghost tour. She’s already orchestrated the Yarra river cruise and taught me sign language, and I owe her a great deal of credit for encouraging me throughout my silly self-imposed challenge.

And later this month I’ll be waving goodbye to my twenties. The big Three-Oh seems to big a big deal for some people, but for some reason I’m not all that excited about it! I’m not dreading it either, I guess I just don’t see it as much of a landmark occasion. My new “chapter” began when I moved to Melbourne I think, perhaps it’s just too soon for another one.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind about this during the next two weeks. My family has begun to make a bit of a fuss of me, so perhaps it will rub off!

So, there’s lots to look forward to in March, and beyond. My favourite seasons are approaching, my favourite boy is close enough to snuggle, and work has been very rewarding. Life feels so much better when you’re in the driver’s seat, zipping through the traffic and singing along to the radio!

Have a lovely March. I know I will!

мека мебел

How cute are these little shortbreads? I found them at my local cafe today and had to have them.

I don’t really need an annual occasion to remind me that I’m the luckiest girl in the world, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Valentines Day is pretty special to us, so much so that we once celebrated it in April because we were on opposite sides of the world in February! If we count that one (and we do), this is our 5th Valentines Day together.

We don’t go overboard on February 14, we just try to spend time together. This year I put together a photo frame full of childhood photos of both of us, and he cooked up a beautiful breakfast of sausages, eggs and mushrooms cups with brie cheese. I’m banned from the kitchen because he has something big planned for dinner too.

He makes me laugh, he gives me butterflies and loves me at my worst. I think I’d better keep this one.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Tim.
You can stay
xxx

Today, after a particularly frantic day at work, Tim and I picked up the keys to our new house.

We ducked home to pick up a car-load of stuff to take over there, and of course we packed the puppy dog too. It was pretty wonderful to watch him explore the place and investigate all the delicious new smells.

Our little home is lovely and I can’t wait to have all our things into place. It will be a long process though, as we’re going to need to buy a whole bunch of storage furniture that was built-in in our current place.

Patience isn’t my forte.

Tonight we set up our little coffee table in the dining room, covered it with butchers paper that had been used to wrap our glasses, and put fancy-folded paper napkins on top of our disposable plastic plates. Then we ordered pizza and talked about where all our furniture will go.

This next chapter feels good.

It was time to move on.

So, we’re moving house.

We are really excited about our new place and can’t wait to fill it with our stuff when we get the keys on Monday. However, before this can happen we need to stash it all into cardboard boxes and label it and pick it up and carry it places without tripping over other stuff and then watch as strangers load it into a dirty bumpy truck and hope that nothing smashes on the way.

So no pressure, then.

There are many words to describe the challenging stylistic direction we have chosen for our home this week. I won’t give it all away, but I can reveal that it centres mostly around one particular textile.

Cardboard.

Perhaps Martha Stewart could make something of this, but here at Casa Scarlet the decor is missing that certain “something”. Which of the following images do you think most resembles our lovely little home right now?

Is it “A”…

(With thanks to the very fancy definatalie)

Or “B”

(moving is FUN if you’re a modern prairie girl!)

Or perhaps “C”?

(Hint: way too fun to be the correct answer)

If you guessed “D – None of the above” you’d be correct! The correct answer was this:

Especially if you added lots of dust, laundry, a very concerned dog and maybe a few extra boxes.

So we’re going to go right ahead and clean up this mess rather than checking into the site for a few days. Please talk amongst yourselves, and enjoy your fabulous weekend!

(If you hear crying, just turn up your TV. It’ll be over soon.)

So far, this week I…

+ Reorganised my office, and prepared a stack of new material for the coming year.
+ Bought two lovely dresses from Leona Edmiston (who is having a killer sale, by the way…)
+ Packed a bag for a quick interstate jaunt
+ Sent the pup to the groomer for the day, with hilarious results
+ Finished my 60th task in 101 Things in 1001 Days
+ Fell in love with a boy (the same one as before)
+ Found our next home, in a part of Melbourne that is new to us
+ Found an agent who is in love with our dog, meaning that we don’t have to hide him anymore

- Two evil 40C+ days
- An evil eBay sniper won my third Leona dress (boo!)
- Moving house is evil
- Saying goodbye to lovely memories is sad (but, also a little exciting.)

How’s yours?

Dear Universe,

I am not a good patient.  For Tim’s sake, please make these cold & flu tablets do their thing by morning.

He really doesn’t deserve this.

Your biggest fan,
Elizabeth McSnotrag-Greene

Before we get any further into this 2010 thing, I thought I’d wrap up last year with this quiz that’s been going around.  Feel free to answer it yourself in the comments!

2009 Meme

1.What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I learned how to run, hosted an Aussie Thanksgiving, got my first stitches, made a sock monkey, visited South Australia, ate on the Restaurant Tram, finally visited the Melbourne Design Market, bought my first new car, and took my boy to the Moonlight Cinema for a picnic (with help from a hamper from Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I made any resolutions last year, except to plug away at my 101 List. I’ve done pretty well at my list (reaching 59/101) but I had planned to be a lot further ahead at this point!

I wrote about this year’s resolutions over here.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
There have been lots of babies born to coworkers this year, and a few old schoolfriends.  2009 was the year of cute bubs, that’s for sure!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
I haven’t been overseas at all this year, but I’ve done more than my usual quota of interstate travel.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A cute butt.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Tim’s birthday on 9 August was pretty memorable, as were the few days leading up to it.  It’s not every year that you attempt 30 presents for somebody’s birthday!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably completing Couch to 5K, after a lifetime of believing that I couldn’t run.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Abandoning my paper journal for this entire year.  I’m going to sit down with it tonight.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was pretty healthy this year. I even managed to avoid swine flu, despite living in the Swine Flu capital!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our little car is probably the best thing we bought this year.  We’re a bit in love with it, and the freedom it’s given us.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My friend Sally, for being my “101 Things” cheer squad, and lining up a couple of opportunities to cross things off my list.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Not worth writing about here, it’s all a distant memory.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, groceries and vet bills for my broken-down dog.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I had a long time to get excited about Tim’s birthday, since it all took so long to plan!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

“Dream” by Priscilla Ahn.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?

a) much happier!
b) about the same (but skinnier than I was 6 months ago)
c) about the same (but with a new, improved plan)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d done more reading and writing.  More long walks with my ipod.  More “clean as I go”, rather than cleaning sprees.  More long talks and snuggles with Tim.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Less procrastination, and associated worrying.

20. How will you spend Christmas?
Christmas Day was just the three of us this year, but we held another one on 27 December with our friends.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Only several times a day

22. What was your favourite TV program?
The Office and 30 Rock

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is overrated.  I’m too lazy for that kind of commitment.

24. What was the best book you read?

“The Book of Emmett” by Deborah Forster

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
It was either Barcelona or Angus & Julia Stone

26. What did you want and get?
A new set of wheels, and a puppy with four working legs.

27. What did you want and not get?
Nothing really – at least nothing realistic!

28. What was your favourite film of this year?
2009 wasn’t a big movie-watching year for me, but “Up” was pretty special.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I celebrated my 29th birthday by going to work!  It was a great day though, and I was pretty spoiled.  I had three bouquets delivered to my desk (one of them chocolate!), and received some really thoughtful gifts.

30. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
2009 was a year of fewer friendships, which were energizing rather than draining.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
A little bit more feminine.  More dresses, frills and pretty accessories.

32. What kept you sane?
Tim, single-handedly!  Somebody give that boy a raise.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I made it all the way through 2009 without a celebrity crush… until 30 December when we watched Benjamin Button.  Maybe it was a reaction to Brad Pitt getting hotter as the movie went on?

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
US Healthcare.  It’s a hot topic in this household.

35. Who did you miss?
My Grandpa.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
April & Joe are our favourite people of 2009!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
It’s okay to look out for #1 sometimes, especially when you find yourself at the bottom of someone’s list.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

and it’s the saddest song you’ll ever hear
the most pain you will ever feel
but you grit your teeth because it don’t
get better than this (know this)
and you’ll try to explain as the blood leaves all your veins
and you can’t think of anything that you would change

“The Saddest Song” – Streetlight Manifesto

I’m in so much denial about this 2010 thing that everybody is talking about. I mean, can’t we all just calm down about 2010 and wait until Christmas has passed?

Hang on a minute…
Is that why people kept giving me presents last week?

I think I’d better accept that this year will be over in about six hours and say my goodbyes!

2009 was pretty good to Tim and I.  Our little house was full of friends and family, but there was also plenty of space for the two of us to just be together.  Both of us have had periods of stress in our jobs because of downsizing, but for the most part our work lives have been pretty fulfilling.  We’ve lived well, loved well, and we seem to have achieved some wisdom about what matters most.  It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Many of my friends, coworkers and fellow bloggers seem to want this year to be done.  So, for their sake, I’m okay with the clean slate that a new year will bring!

Here are my resolutions for 2010 (and beyond):

1. Continue to plug away at my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge. With 42 items on my list still remaining, and a finish date of 28 September 2010, I have a lot of work to do! There are a lot of “works in progress” in that total, so it’s still an achievable goal. And hey, if I fall short by a few it’s still a monumental achievement.

2. Write a grown-up budget. Not that there’s anything wrong with spending all my pay each month, and then living out the final 10 days on instant noodles… but I would like to buy a house someday…

3. Move house. We absolutely adore our enormous 3-bedroom, inner-Melbourne house and our huge backyard… but it’s time to start putting our money to better use. We have no regrets about the time we’ve spent here, but it’s time to move on.

4. Continue to improve my health. I’m an idiot for not writing about this already, but I finished Couch to 5K almost a month ago and lost a buttload of weight in the process! I’ve been given a glimpse into a life where I feel fit and healthy, and I want more. In the short term this will mean:

- Making running a few times per week a part of my routine
- Heading back to the gym and swimming lots of laps
- Fresh food that focuses on vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, fish, lean meat and tons of water. No fads!

5. Reconnect with that which is most important. I plan to set aside time each day to clear my brain of work, TV and Internet… and just focus on getting back to “me”. My plan is to rediscover my passion for my paper journal, and playing music again. I’m just not me without them.

Five resolutions is plenty for somebody who doesn’t normally make NY resolutions!

It’s exciting to have some clear goals in mind, and to imagine life at the end of next year if I have been able to improve each of these areas of my life.

Something tells me that 2010 is going to be great for me, and hope it’s great for you too.

Are you setting any resolutions for yourself this year?