First Post From The Palace

This is where I live.....ok kinda just trickin', I do live here for now but it's a temporary thing. We are building a new house on our old block and in the meanwhile we are living with the outlaws, I mean inlaws. It's funny, I tell people we are rebuilding and that we are living with the inlaws and automatically get the look of fear/sympathy/disbelief in most people's eyes, but it can't be all bad when this is where you have relocated to now is it! And the outlaws love a drink and MIL smokes, it can't be a bad thing when I get home from the school run and she offers me a glass of wine....and the woman is Miss Domestic personified, washes our clothes everyday, I could deadset live off 2 pairs of undies in this joint, as well as being a master chef with amazing meals nearly every night. And this arrangement is really only Sun-Thurs, cos they go to their beach house most weekends. Bliss huh?

Well it mostly is, of course it isn't all beer and skittles but we seem to have the living together thing working well. Anyway we are at the halfway mark and will be leaving to go to our new house mid June YAY!

So this is what we bulldozed, this house had NOTHING going for it apart from the location and my endearing memory is giving it the finger (literally) as I drove away for the last time....
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This WAS our bedroom, home of the workbench, although neither kid was conceived in there, they just slept there and kept me awake when they were born pmsl

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And this is where we are at, nearly ready for the bricks......

And in closing I would like to dangle another carrot at the brilliant photographer Carrie Young, stop flying over my freakin head and take some photos here PLEASE :)

My musical tastes....

Are up my bum according to most people (except my best mate Sal, she understands, she was throwing up with me after drinking a bottle of vodka with me the day Freddie Mercury died, we got smashed watching "Flash Gordon" and "Highlander" as you do), but I've just spent all day working out how to get a friggin' song on here and I don't care if you like it or not!
You can all blame T, she had "Happy New Year" by Abba on her blog and I found myself clicking on it just to hear the song. Sad hey :) Anyway quite often I'll visit blogs and I don't like the music, but not here cos I chose it!
So I'll start off with some Elton John, the man is a genius and I've seen him in concert 4 times. I didn't go to the last concert in the Barossa because of course it was on election night and of course I had to be glued to the telly (really wish I had gone to Elty now :P) This is from the "Two Low For Zero" album.
Don't protest too much, because then I'll change it and who knows what will be next - Queen, Wings, Billy Joel, Supertramp, Chicago, Abba, Meatloaf anyone? And then blame my parents, I used to know all the words to "Band on the Run" by the age of 4.

Adelaide is awesome for deja vus!

It's been funny the last month, kind of like Groundhog Day 30 years on.
I first had that feeling when I took the kids to the Christmas pageant with mum. She had it in her head we were going to take the kids, I really wasn't that interested. I got so excited about the pageant that when Charlotte was 14mths old we trekked into town, walked for miles, got a crap spot, couldn't see much and then she spewed on me! So I was a bit off the pageant after that.
Mum lamented the fact that when we were kids we went with family friends, and Alan's consulting rooms were smack bang on North Terrace. We had a great view and used to catch the bus in. As I recall the oldies also got into the festive spirit with champagne, and more than once year we were pestering the oldies to go home as the pageant had finished 2 hours ago!
Luckily mum's determination (and bellyful of champers at a Melbourne Cup Lunch auction) saw her "win" 4 VIP seats to the pageant and we had a great morning and I'm really glad I went.


The same thing when I took Charlotte and Angus to see Father Christmas at the Magic Cave, pretty much the same cave that I visited with my mum when I was a kid. It's seems so much smaller now!




And this week we have had Learn To Swim lessons which I did when I was a kid like 30 years ago! I remember them well also, and Charlotte is loving it. We used to walk to Burnside Pool, and if we were good we got a Pez and a packet of Toobs (you don't reckon I'm happy those magical gems are back on the shelves!). I also remember Learn To Swim as during one lesson on a hot Advegas day mum left our budgies in their cage on the clothesline in the full sun and by the time we got home, well they were dead. Poor old Sturt and Bananas (yes my brother and I named them LOL).
And I've seen 3 girls who I went to school with this week who I haven't seen for ages, 2 in the supermarket on the one day and another one has her kids at Learn To Swim too. And my biology teacher is there also with her grandchildren. We have our 20 year reunion in May this year, can't wait, but also can't believe it's 20 years since I left school!
Adelaide is good like that, things change but remain the same.

Luckily Bad Things Only Come in Threes

...I really don't need to type anything do I...

My mother is a complete gem - she's had the kids for the last 2 days, and taken Charlotte to learn to swim etc so Nick and I can do stocktake at work. She got Charlotte a well needed haircut, took them to Macca's for lunch, cruised around the farm, went shopping and even drove them all the way back to Goolwa this afternoon complete with bottle of champers in hand.

It was picture perfect really until I spied these on Angus's feet. "Dord I didn't think you'd like them but they were only $8.00" (well der you got robbed more than Nick did with Kel the vacuum cleaner).

I think she saw my face and quickly pointed out Angus's new Esprit t-shirt, shorts and shirt.....

There's a rule at our house and it's character costume thingos ONLY as pjs.....

Of course Gus loves them and is currently wearing them fast asleep in bed. And she considerately wrote his name all over them so they can't get lost too easily.

Cheers Mum, you really are (mostly) a gem xxx

All Good Things Must Come to An End (Nearly)

Ah happy happy joy joy, back to work today NOT!

That all too short 2 week period of annual Porter family holidays has ended for another year :(

One of the bummers of owning our own business is that we can only shut the door and have a break together for 2 weeks at Chrissy time....

Although we are going to commute this week so we can stay at Goolwatu a bit longer....and I have to say I think Charlotte and Nick appreciated the father/daughter day they had together while Angus and I went to daycare/work.

Ah well, things could always be worse, like imagine how bad it would be if my mum had bought Charlotte purple Crocs for Christmas and she insisted on wearing them every day or something.....oh hang on she bloody did!!! STOP LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!

Never Ever......#1

ever ever ever ever EVER send your hubby out to buy a new vacuum cleaner. Be warned. You too could end up with a contraption that looks more like Kel Knight's Daewoo than a vacuum.

A Tiffany vacuum cleaner - WTF?????? Who would have thought. Okay so the old Sanyo was stuffed but it looked noicer. Hubby was suitably berated for buying a piece of crap.

"But we have a Tiffany toaster"......yeah so...we bought it when we first moved in together and it's only still there cos it works.

"But it only cost $104".....yeah so.....hang on what! Well bugger me I was certain that all Tiffany electrical goods were priced at $19.99 or lower
"But you never vacuum anyway"....yeah so...buying me that piece of shite aint exactly going to make me want to actually vacuum now is it.

Welcome to It's A Porter's Life - It's a Dyson Free Zone

Cool and Crazy Chaos at Couches!

Hang on, cancel the cool bit it was hot as buggery, but the Porter family had a most excellent time indulging in the hospitality at Couches (it helps that Spud works for Yalumba!).

Picture a hot NYE in a wicked shack with 12 adults, 15 completely overexcited kids and 2 dogs. Or don't lol, it was crazy but fun! The kids had a Hi-5 disco, hmmm Angus thinks he's John Travolta....

Alas poor Georgie had a cold and was struggling a bit NYE which probably was appreciated by my mates as they actually got to get a word in, but I did make it till midnight to see the fireworks at The Pines. It wasn't quite Sydney but certainly not as crowded on the beach. Luckily I felt better yesterday, found my drinking boots and had a great night last night with a smaller crowd of 6 adults, 7 kids and 2 dogs.

Couches is right on the beach, but I use that term loosely cos there are no waves, and the comment was made that it was like swimming in wee cos it was so warm. Charlotte borrowed a bikini and thought she was Christmas on a stick.

The only downer was not taking the boat out so I could once again prove why am called the "Squid Queen", but yesterday we were all way too hungover and today it was too windy. Never M.

So now I am back at Goolwa till I have to go back to work on Monday but I'm not even thinking about that yet!