I Will Week

It is a little known fact that most Australian home owners do not possess a will.

Apparently there's a whopping 36 per cent of first home-owners who are walking around without a will. Yikes!

Considering our homes are one of our biggest assets, it seems reckless not to leave clear instructions for what to do with our estates after we're gone.

Who wants to rely on intestacy rules if your dodgy cousin Barry could possibly inherit the lot? It just seems like you would be leaving a lot of extra confusion and administration for your loved ones if you don't have a legally prepared will.

And scrawling a note on the back of a napkin as your will is just not going to cut it in a law court, so I've been told...

Jason and I had our wills drawn up when we bought our first home together and have updated it after each child was born to make sure that our children are provided for... if the worse should ever happen to us.

Preparing a will is something that is really easy to procrastinate about, but it's a good feeling when important things like that are organised.

Still haven't decided which one of the boys will get the mid-century furniture...

It is a relatively simple process to get a will. You can either use your family solicitor, if you have one, or contact your relevant state or public trustee who can advise your best course of action.

Have you got a will? Did you cut anyone out? And what did you leave me? Ha!

p.s This week marks I Will Week in Victoria with State Trustees encouraging Victorians to prepare their wills. If you live in Victoria, you can find out more information here.

Dinky window reveal

That dinky little window in the bathroom is now finished. I probably shouldn't keep calling it that, because it doesn't look dinky at all now it has been primed and has a couple of coats of gloss white.

Single-pane casement window with chrome casement stays and handle

It's a major improvement to what was there.

The old window which was just odd bits of louvre glass which could not open or close.

Dirty little window

Having the window custom made was a good experience for us, especially as we have mostly worked with salvaged joinery. It is so much easier fitting something new than the old stuff according to Jason. It just slotted into position, as it should.

The little window cost $135 not including the fittings. And it is another small project we can tick off our list.

Buying Florence Broadhurst bed linen

It's mid-year sale time in Australia and I've finally bought the Florence Broadhurst bed linen I have always admired. As my regular readers know, it is my mission in life to never pay full retail and also to not enter a big shopping mall (they depress me).

So it was win, win all round when I discovered from a friendly commentator that Adairs online stocked some of the Florence Broadhurst range and that it gets discounted at sale time. Hooray!

The Japanese floral bed linen with Chinese Key pattern backing

I scurried to the computer and ordered the Japanese Floral quilt cover, Florence Broadhurst Chinese Key pillow cases and some random flannelette sheet set (there is free delivery until June 30).

I really love the pattern of our new quilt, although the overall quality and general finish of the product is not as great as I would have expected...which is a shame...Thank goodness it was heavily discounted...

The Chinese Key pillow cases, on the other hand, are fabulous. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy the whole sheet set because it is just gorgeous. The sheet set I was after is now sold out.

Florence Broadhurst Chinese Key pillow cases

It is great having some new bed linen this winter. Nothing like a new quilt cover to freshen up a bedroom.

Rainy long weekend

What a wet horrible long weekend we had!

Fortunately for us, it was mostly spent indoors listening to ABC Classic FM's countdown of the top 100 movie scores. Ha! Yes, we are super-geeky.

The boys were listening with us when it came to the last three in the countdown...LOTR, Star Wars, and The Mission

We felt like we were back in the days before TV with the whole family gathered around the radio. The boys were thrilled when the music for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars made it into the last three. They sat there enthralled, as they love these movies. The fabulous music from The Mission was number one.

A well-covered Jason fitting the new bathroom window

And it wasn't all music and movies at the Sow's Ear. Jason fitted the little window in the bathroom...and it looks excellent. The weather was too wet for painting, so the window will come out again next weekend. We're hoping for a few days of good sunshine to paint and finish that little project off.

Dinky little window

Today, I picked up the new window that we had made. As it was being loaded into the boot of my car, the man from the joinery place said it was a dinky little thing. I chirped up and said of course it was dinky, "It's for a dinky little hole in the wall."

Jason arrived home ill this evening and is becoming acquainted with the toilet bowl as I type this...(poor sick Jason!), which means I have no one else to share the joy of the window with. Luckily the blog is my outlet. Ha!

So, please admire my dinky new window...Isn't it darling?

single light casement window with arctic glass

The dinky little thing is made from Surian Cedar and the glass is fixed into place with timber beading rather than the putty that we have in all the original windows. We also opted for toughened arctic glazing to match our other windows.

The new window will have to be primed and sealed with an oil based primer and then painted with a few coats of gloss before it will be ready to install. 

Fortunately, this weekend is the Queen's Birthday holiday which means a long weekend. Hooray!!

If painting goes to plan, installation of the window will be this weekend. Cross fingers!