Christmas at The Hedge

 

 

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

 

'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

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

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

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

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!

 

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

 

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!

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

 

 

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