Death by Inspection

I like to torture myself slowly.
I like to look at houses that I generally can't afford.
I also like to look at houses that don't fit the criteria of "the next house" but are terribly interesting.

Here's a selection of houses which I've tormented myself with lately.

The instant I walked in it felt like a home and as Hyacinth Bucket would say,
there's even room for a pony.
Layout (yes)  Size of land (yes, yes)  Price (I think yes ... jeez I hate auctions)  Location (sort of) ... next

Location (yes)  Breeze (yes) Layout (no) ... next

I could see myself sitting on the patio here.
Layout (yes)   Land size (yes) Location (no) ... next

This has been a serious contender.  No need to change schools, routines, etc.  It's around the corner.  But can I live in a total renovator for at least a good year until I hopefully have enough money to do a reno?  I don't think I have the energy.
Location (yes)  View (yes)  Breeze (yes)  Price (not sure) ... next

The kids took one look at the tree fort, complete with slide and flying fox that they didn't complain about the lack of pool ... bless their little first world problems.

Location (yes)  Breeze (yes)  Character (yes)  Layout (no)  Price (no ... the 4007 postcode will see to that) ... next

I've admired this home since I was a child.  It has so much character and street appeal.  Pity it's on a busy road.   
Location (yes)  Character (yes)  Land (yes)  Breeze (yes)  Layout (no) Price (yes but I'd want to pay less as it needs work) ... next

The mat says it all.  How can I make this one work?  It would be a sea change.
Character (yes)  Breeze (yes)  Layout (yes)  Location (stretching it)  Price (good question)

Who else will be joining me tomorrow, torturing themselves at many an open house?

All photos from realestate.com.au

Now For a Colourful Musical Interlude

Someone was surely on drugs when they decided this as an exterior house colour.

Everybody sing ... "It was a one eyed, one horned, flyin' purple people eater."

Yep.  That sure was some good gear.

"There's a star man waiting in the sky, he'd like to come & meet us but he thinks he'll blow our minds."

Meanwhile, down in Mexico way ...

"Para bailer La Bamba!"

And if the Mexican cantina isn't your style, you can always switch continents, and cuisines, by simply crossing the floor.  Hello Bollywood!

"Jai ho!"

Boo!

"All I'm hearing from you, is white noise."

All photos from here.

The Bombing is About to Begin

Rather than spending the last few hours of his holidays playing Skylanders or besieging his sisters with Nerf bullets, The Little Master was completing his 10 pages of holiday homework.  Yep ... homework ... on the holidays!

Not quite The Little Master, but not happy just the same.

Image from here.

You see, The Little Master is in Year 3 and looming for him is Naplan.  So the pressure is on.  Not from us at home.  It's rather a "reflective pressure" from school.  You see, school does a lot to try and minimise any apprehension about Naplan by providing the kids with justifications as to why they're learning particular content (persuasive texts this year) and is giving them lots of opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge through group tasks, individual assignments and of course, homework; holiday homework!  But by providing all of these chances for the kids to practise what they've learnt, especially in a mock Naplan test way, the idea of making such test "anxiety free" for kids is actually working in reverse.  It's stressing them out!

The Little Master has completed a number of these.

Image from here.

I so hate buying into the whole "you must do well on Naplan" mindset, but it is quite hard to avoid it.  Homework has contained multi-choice tasks each week, information regarding the administering of the tests is in the school newsletter and if you even think of wanting to apply for a place at a private school, then you'd want to have your Naplan Test result ducks in a row because they're going to be one of the first documents you're going to have to trot out to get your child into a flashy-pants school.  Sad really.  Let's just hope that things such as generosity, empathy, motivation, perseverance, kindness, etc shines through after our kids have been Napalmed, I mean Naplan-ed, in May!

Socks and Sandals?

Does anyone else have a problem with this ad, or is it just me?

I wish I could enlarge it further but it was a screen shot I took of a sidebar pop-up ad from the ninemsn website. So many questions are swimming around my mind:

• Why the socks and slides?
• Do the slides belong to the man in the ad? If so, then why a size too big?
• Has this man ever been to the beach before? A man who's been to the beach would know how inappropriate such footwear attire would be.
• More to the point though, who would find a man, that wears socks and slides (and to the beach for that matter) attractive enough to want to procreate with him in the first place to require a family car?
• And finally, is Volkswagen tightening their advertising spend because clearly from this advert, they've been outsourcing their advertising campaigns to Odesk!

This ad stinks!

Bloglovin'

I'm hoping this is going to work. It's a linky tool to follow the blogs you love. I'm just happy if you read it occasionally :-)

Here goes.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Stay Where You Belong

I jest you not!

When I first saw an email for "An Officer & a Gentleman - The Musical" in my inbox, I deleted it without opening thinking the email was junk.  Now that I've received another one I've taken the time to open it and cannot believe that this is for real ... the movie, An Officer & a Gentleman as a musical.  Seriously?

Maybe people had the same reaction to hearing Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and T S Eliot's Old Possums Book of Practical Cats were now going to be rocking the West End as musicals?  I'm not sure.  I just want to laugh to think this movie will be played out live on stage.  Probably because I can't stand the movie in the first place; over-hyped schmalzy 80's love story with a huge power ballad starring Richard Gere, who I still can't see what all the fuss is about with him.

What about you?  Do you love a musical?  Or are you the kind of person who grabs the remote and fast forwards through "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"?

Well Hung

Even though we're not on the move or actively looking for another property, I cannot resist checking out the real estate listings from time to time.  Who am I kidding ... everyday!  I love looking at interiors and landscaping, particularly on properties I will never in a lifetime be able to afford.  One such "out of my reach" property caught my eye yesterday.  It's at New Farm.  Beautiful old house with most traditional features intact on a generous block.  Feast your eyes on the photos from the listing, paying attention to the decorating, rather than the bones of the house.  Those with crap eyesight, like me, may need to enlarge the photos.

Welcoming facade.

Ooh, great art! A Bromley no less.

They must work from home and yet another Bromley.

Yet another Bromley. Ooh, hello. What's that on the wall?

Oh? Where are his hands in that painting?

Now we know.  Yes, well moving right along kids.

Maybe a little bit too personal of taste for an Open House?  What do you think?  At least it's well hung!