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Monday 19 August 2013

Transitioning.


Hello from a wintery afternoon in Hobart.....complete with snow on Mt Wellington:



We are home. After a meticulously executed 44 hour trip from Nimes, which involved hire cars, trains, planes and pre booked maxi taxis we materialised at our front door only to discover that we'd forgotten to organise......the keys. Cue the locksmith. By this time it was dark and cold. Bleak. We had to go out again. To say goodbye to our last remaining beagle. Somehow he managed to make it to the day that we arrived home and we were able to say goodbye. Cue the tears.

The last two weeks have been a fog of jet lag and displacement....and I'll admit to also indulging in a tad of gratuitous homecoming malaise.....I have packets of sunflower seeds sitting on the kitchen bench waiting to be planted and I've been painting my toenails YSL 'Bleu Majorelle' which is the colour of the Mediterranean sky:


Sigh. So while I may have been daydreaming about our sojourn in the south of France the reality has been the unrelenting horror of unpacking the house.....how did that happen so soon.....and a never ending whirlwind of athletics carnivals, Irish Dancing Competitions, teacher meetings and myriad trips to the uniform pool. 

So, I've been trying to console myself with some soothing (although possibly manic) gardening....planting more box (because you can NEVER have too much), roses, punnets and punnets of hollyhock seedlings......and the beagles. Look how stunning this hedged rose garden in Stockholm was:


And those Danes have an incredible gift for using hollyhocks, they seem to just sprout out of the footpath:




 So beautiful. Needless to say,  I'm determined to try to achieve this effect at my house.

Things have been made to feel worse as I've succumbed to a nasty little lurgy, which has been working it's way through the whole family and has now taken up residence just behind my face. So yesterday, I had to pull out all the stops and between rain showers we all rugged up so that I could lead an expedition to the Botanic Gardens to gaze upon the wonderment that is Peter Cundall's Veggie Patch made famous on the ABC's 'Gardening Australia' programme. It's always guaranteed to make me feel happy.....however the sight that greeted my eyes was enough to make me.....almost....cry. It's been gutted:


I had no idea. 

Anyway, I've also been engaging in a spot of comforting home decorating which ultimately involves wallpaper and upholstery....be still my beating heart....yet to set the plans in motion it also involved getting the plasterer in, who, of course, reduced the house to an utter mess. Plaster dust = days of dusting, vacuuming and mopping. There is no way around this sorry fact. 

I keep flashing back to our road trip to Sweden, Denmark and Ireland, where everybody in the family had a turn at ticking something off their bucket list. The boys lived their dream of two days at Legoland and a night in the hotel.....where our room overlooked the magic that is Miniland and our Irish Dancing aholic daughter celebrated her 12th birthday in Dublin....complete with tickets to Riverdance at the Gaiety Theatre. 

And me? Mine happened in Stockholm, when I'm not ashamed to admit that I dragged the whole family to the recently opened ABBA: The Museum:



Tick. I loved every single minute of it. How could I not....I danced on stage to 'Mama Mia', sang 'Waterloo' in the sound recording booth, sat in the 'Arrival' helicopter:


And then.....I stood in front of these:


It all came flooding back.....how desperately I coveted one of these dresses as a five year old. In fact, given the chance, I'd still love to give one a whirl on the dance floor. 

Did you know that the girl's had their names emblazoned on the back...see:


And that back in the early days of ABBA, Frida used to make their costumes. 

And my husband? He was very excited to actually drink Guinness and watch 'Father Ted'.....in Ireland. I'm pleased to report that he did both....even on a couple of occasions at the same time:


And then, just because it was there and it had to be done, we all kissed the Blarney Stone:




 Even the baby:


I mentioned this to an Irish friend the other day at the school gate and she promptly told me that all of the local lads after closing time at the pub in Blarney.....go and pee on it. I hope she made that up.

Rx

22 comments:

  1. Eww.....that last bit is a bit yicky. I don't think I'll kiss the blarney stone if I ever get there!
    Good luck with your hollyhocks x

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    1. YUCKY...and to think that we felt lucky that somehow we'd managed to evade a long queue...maybe everyone knows this salient fact, except us! Excited about the hollyhocks...hope they like my garden! Rx

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  2. Oh GOD! I hope for your sake that they don't!!
    So sorry to hear the return home has been a bit blah. Locksmiths after dark, dying beagles (and I'm so very sorry to hear you lost both), plaster dust, and restocking the house would take the gloss off for sure.

    But wallpaper!! How exciting! Which one?? I'm picking them out for our extension at the moment. It's the fun part. The un-fun part is doing the lighting/ electrical plans, so it's felt like a reward to flick through all the books with their endless possibilities.

    The gardening sounds very soothing. I am still waiting for my roses to arrive... apparently this week is the week. Frankly, the garden looks completely depressing at the moment (the cultivated part, that is. The uncultivated part makes me feel slightly suicidal). Here's hoping the sun starts shining on Hobart soon so you can get that blue tinged pedicure out in sandals (and the blue is not from the cold!) xx

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    1. So do I...although it's too late for us now!

      Wallpaper is v exciting...except that I always have to convince my husband that he likes the one that I do and that isn't always easy. Already have 'Imperial Trellis' downstairs in the library and wanted something that would complement it and the striking geometric timber work on the stairs so went with Anna Spiro's trellis...it will tie in perfectly with the turkish carpets, toile sofa and painting that already graced the landing as well as with various bits and pieces I picked up on our travels...hopefully it will be up by next week! Was looking at samples of a friend's orange and hot pink toile paper she's chosen for her powder room and wished I'd been more adventurous....and that I hadn't tiled mine!

      Thank God for gardening is all I can say....was so desperate to plant more roses that I poured over the David Austin catalogue...and then made do with what they had at the garden centre's around town. Regardless of my frenetic activity, there are still lots of bare patches and weedy bits....not to mention that in these deepest darkest depths of winter everything is doing a perfect impression of being dead. I am dreaming of the day when it (fingers crossed) resembles a Portmeirion dinner set and I can get out amongst it in bare feet with blue toenails and drink G & T's in it! Rx

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    2. Your friend sounds like she has the Manuel Canovas toile wallpaper if it's in pink and orange... it's beautiful. I do like Anna Spiro's designs though, I'm going to use her striped one in the white with orange in S's bedroom (he wants an orange bedroom... I'm thinking that asking a 3 year old what colour to do their bedroom in is not the best idea, but the orange stripe will grow with him a bit better than orange walls would). The trellis is fab, and I do remember your imperial trellis in your library, it looks so beautiful. I think I'm going to have to do a wallpaper post on the blog or I'm in danger of hijacking your post with all my enthusiasm on the topic!!
      I long for rose season. At the moment they are definitely looking too stick like, with not enough new growth to give much hope of the future. xx

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    3. Fully share your enthusiasm about wallpaper....just wish that most of our walls hadn't somewhere along the line been treated with a textured finish which makes it v difficult. Years ago, I investigated doing the staircase wall in a Designers Guild paper and nearly choked at how much it was going to cost once we'd hired scaffolding, replastered and then papered. Luckily I have a few flat walls...will blog the finished result of the latest papering effort! Rx

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  3. Maybe urine has special healing properties- you can only hope!
    Welcome back!

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    1. Do you think?! Better just clarify that I only gave it a bit of a peck whereas my boys assured us that they'd pashed it so for their sakes I hope you are right! Thanks so the welcome back wishes! Rx

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  4. Sending you a bit of France ... Oh and I shouldn't worry about the stone, that urine must be so flooded with alcohol, I'm sure it could be used as a disinfectant ! Anyway, welcome back home, Romy !xxx

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    1. Thanks Silver Bunny......managed to lug home quite a lot of France in the form of red wine, fois gras and 8 tins of cassoulet (my husband is just a little bit addicted)! Yes, having witnessed with my own eyes how much the Irish drink I'm sure that you could say that it was indeed disinfectant! Same friend, who I might add is a doctor, also assured me how good for your health Guinness is....apparently it's full of vitamin C....not to mention a trillion calories! Rx

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  5. I LUFF it all but I mostly luff Abba and le baby kissing the stone!!! xx

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    1. I am renewed in my love for ABBA! Baby was determined to kiss the stone even though you have to climb all the way up to the battlements and then dangle backwards and upside down over a gaping void. Rx

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  6. I am also DEVASTED re the torn up vege garden. Why? How? xx

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    1. Apparently they are doing a whole new community food garden...yet to me it doesn't look like it will be ready anytime soon. Words can't describe how much I adored Pete's patch and my children have been used to being dragged along to look at the veggies with great regularity throughout their childhoods....I think they were genuinely worried I was going to have a mini breakdown when we saw the utter desolation. End of an era. Rx

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  7. Welcome back in many ways. Yes I have a theory about jetlag. I don't think all your molecules have caught up in the plane. We just weren't meant to travel that fast...funny I had a similar thing happen to me, I went all around the USA for three months, coordinated boats and trains and motel night the whole time and was soo proud of myself and did the same as you except my neighbours have a spare set...you will laugh about it at Xmas! Well nothing like a good routine and decoration to get settled back in. But I envy you I'd love to be in oz right now...x

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    1. Jetlag is cruel...especially when as poor Australians on the homeward journey we are travelling backwards and pretty much loose a day which is swallowed almost entirely whole in the space of those darkened, restricted cabins. Couldn't believe we'd overlooked the keys...went to the property manager's office only for it to be closed. Luckily the darkness also hid the fact that the tenants hadn't watered any of the pot plants which were also dead...looking forward to Christmas when it will hopefully elicit a giggle! Only wish our part of the country was warmer....Sydney and Brisbane have been experiencing temperatures that Tasmania would call summer while here it's been chilly...complete with snow on Mt Wellington! Rx

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    2. http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/on-the-verge-uzes-the-hidden-gem-of-the-south-of-franc/?ref=travel&_r=0

      Wasnt this where you were in France?

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  8. I have heard the pee/Blarney Stone story also - like you, right after I kissed it....

    Hopefully everyone will settle back in to home life soon - it doesn't sound like you have had the smoothest return you poor thing.

    I am sorry to hear about your doggie too. So sad.

    Thinking of you and hoping things improve soon.

    Just got back from Falls Creek following a crazy week with J and co.... So much fun but over way too quickly.

    Take care Romy.

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    1. Thanks for warning me re the pee! My children have been absolutely ecstatic to return to their respective Hobart school's and it doesn't look like they're behind in their work which is a good thing....even my baby smiled and waved when she finally was allocated a day at creche last week...it makes such a difference when they are happy to go to school! It has been sad losing both beagles...it is taking a while to adjust to being able to leave gates open, food on the coffee table and not having to clean up pee. Spoke to J today....and her and a mutual friend constantly rang and smsd me photos when they were out on a jaunt in Melbourne on Saturday...skiing sounded fab! Rx

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  9. We were in Hobart in July, and I looked up the Botanical Gardens online before we headed over so I knew Pete's Patch was under reconstruction. I was a bit eeerrrrggh about it, but they are building a community vege patch. So many people must go there on pilgrimage to the patch. We loved the Gardens though, there is a great app treasure hunt thing to do, our kids had a a ball.
    Apart from that, sounds like you all enjoyed the traipsing about, the Abba Museum must've been a hoot!

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  10. Very sorry to hear about the beagle, good luck with the rest of your transition. My boys are not in school yet, but I have the "last days of summer" doldrums along with the rest of the local kids. The ceaseless rain isn't helping, what did help was imagining spring just around the corner for you Aussies! xo

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  11. Oh Romy, what a fabulous Post - your trip looks and sounds absolutely wonderful. I'd love to catch up and hear more about it!

    I've been disappointed about Petes Vegie patch too as I always head over there to see what he's planting and plant ours out accordingly. I'm having to wing it a bit this year!

    Hope you're all settled back home now and the lurgy has moved on. As great as it is coming home after a trip, I always suffer a bit of "re-entry syndrome". I am so so sorry to hear about your beloved Beagle. That really is so sad :-(

    Mel xxx

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I LOVE hearing your thoughts! Rx