Home decorating 101.... by a NON expert!

Well much has transpired since my last post.  I'm now in full blown home reno mode.  I blame too much American daytime television for that!!     Fixer Upper, Good Bones, Flip or Flop.   I am amazed at the seemingly lack of governance in their reno regimes..... but perhaps those boring legal bits have been edited out for effect.   I'm not undertaking that level of work at this stage, but I am doing some decorating!   One of my jobs has been to create a functional office space. Having achieved that with a huge L shaped gloss white desk big enough for my editing computer and my smaller Family History and general laptops and some gloss white Ikea storage units, time has come to decorate the blank wall behind the desk.

The whole room was gutted and two coats of Taubmans was liberally applied.   My mate Moo was the paint buddy on that gig.   I did the patching, sanding and cleaning prep then she did all the cutting in while I rolled along behind here.     We did that on a stinking hot day so there was not a lot of time needed between coats!  And here we are 3 months later ready to create a gallery wall of images.   I purchased 11 black frames with white mattes.  Different sizes and formats, but the black and white theme was what I was after.   I then had 11 of my fave black and white images printed (oh there could be a whole blog post on that debarcle alone).   I finally framed them all.

As the frames were all different styles using old style wire and hanging hooks was just going to be a drama.   Moo suggested I try the 3M "Command" system of wall hooks.  Essentially they are sticky backed velcro.  Surprisingly they hold considerable weight.

I made paper templates the size of the prints and blu-tacked them to the wall.   This made it very easy to move images about and get the look I wanted.  I didn't want all the people pics on one side and the architectural images clumped together on the other side, so the templates worked a treat.

The process for hanging the system is to affix the velcro to the frame,  wash down the wall area where the sticky velcro will end up with rubbing alcohol.  Then remove the protective paper from the velcro and place the image where you want it.....and then..... instantly remove the image!!  That leaves one half of the velcro on the wall,  allowing it to cure for an hour before reattaching the print. 

Each stage of that process is fraught with problems.  Firstly all the frames had different widths on the reverse.  Fortunately the "Command" hooks come in varying sizes, so be cautious if you are embarking on this journey to match your frames with your hooks or, like me, you will be racing to Bunnings for more appropriate supplies!    The next problem was... hanging the images straight.  For this I used a Ryobi Air Grip Laser level.   Air grip, such a cute term for suction!    A mate at work loaned me two laser levels, but for them to be used "single handedly"  they needed to be affixed to the wall...with a nail!   Errr NO!  Not after all the cleaning and patching I had done!!   There are a number of different Laser levels out there and not knowing my arse from my elbow in this selection process I consulted he who shall be known as the "Oracle of Home Renovation".   Without hesitation he recommended the Ryobi.  He was right.  Suction was the answer.

So with all the good gear, good info and good intentions I began removing the templates and hanging the pics.    I started in the middle and worked out to the edges.   The "Command" hooks do leave a little wiggle room so fine tuning is an option.  And if you totally stuff up they can easily be removed and repositioned with a new wall mount piece (which can be bought separately).

The one negative I found was that one of the larger format frames I bought had perspex not glass and was scratched before I even got the print into it.  Lesson learnt,  Microfibre cleaning cloths and perspex don't go mix.   Its an easy fix though.  I'll have a sheet of 3mm glass cut for the frame and replace the perspex at some stage. 

Naturally I took progress images so you can follow the bouncing ball below if you need to.
I am chuffed at the look achieved for a minimal outlay.

Thanks must go to Moo, Joshy, The Oracle and Ash.  Job done! 

BLANK CANVAS

COMMANDER HOOKS, TEMPLATES AND OTHER ESSENTIALS

TEMPLATES IN PLACE

WIZZ BANG RYOBI LASER LEVELLER

ON ITS WAY WITH LASER IN PLACE

THE FINISHED PRODUCT!

2015! Here we go!

Well 2014 was pretty good.  No new cancer, still having some side effects from treatment but realistically I'm very lucky and pretty good!     Working in the tin shed is going ok.  It's pretty squishy at times, but it won't be for much longer.  The new building is progressing as expected.  New car is going well too.  Needed some new tyres and yesterday, a new windscreen.   My first ever windscreen after the biggest stone chip I have ever seen!     Started taking a few more photos too.  Something that I have been missing out on in 2014.

Started a new collaborative photographic project with associated blog.  I've been wanted to do this for some time, but couldn't find a suitable collaborator.  But she was under my nose the whole time!  Lauren and I met about 7 years ago and started shooting together.  We are vastly different and 17 years apart in age.  The idea is to photograph the same subject each week and see how similar or how different our shots are.  It's called Westside girls and here is the link!  Westside Girls .

The veggie patches going ok too.   The crops are booming, yet I still haven't got my head around true crop rotation. The original single veggie bed has swelled to 12. For the first time I've grown rockmelons and for the first time I've lost some veggies to something other than insects.   The corn has been stripped and I can only assume that a very smart possum has worked out how to do this and a couple of the rockmelons appear  to have been attacked by lizards.  Still in the grand scheme of things it is ok to be feeding the native animals a share of the bounty!

As for the other Bounty that plays a part in my life,  William Blighs Bounty, I did not spent a lot of time reading about it in 2014.  Although some great new books have been written about the Bounty, and other fascinating maritime history,  I have not been doing much reading of late.  Seemingly a side effect of having some holes burnt into my brain as part of my treatment.   The desire to read is still there, but I find I can only read a few pages before sleep overtakes me and a big heavy book smashes me in the nose.   Hopefully I will get more reading under my belt in 2015.

So what else do I want for 2015???  Well not a whole lot more really.  I'm essentially very happy with my lot.  I am hoping for some relief from the annoying side effects of treatment.   I'd like to be sleeping consistently better than I am.  I'd love to spend a whole lot more time with camera in hand taking some quality snaps and sometime I'll be taking the camper for a spin.  Yep, this is the good life!

Twenty Two years later!

Way way back in the last millennium, 1992 to be precise, I was transferred from Newcastle Police Station to Belmont Police Station. I didn't really want to be transferred, but it happened and so I went from a 5 minute walk to work in a relatively new station to a 30 minute drive south to an old run down station. My role within the Public Service changed and I was less than inspired by my new duties.  On my first day at  Belmont I met Jenny.  She had been transferred into Belmont about 3 weeks before me and I must say she made my transition an easy one.   We clicked, although we had few obvious common interests.  She was a smoker, loved netball, trashy magazines and P&O cruises.  None of those things struck a chord with me, yet we laughed, a lot.

The years went on and we worked in a series of failing buildings. Staff levels fluctuated and changes were made to suit.   People shifted offices and buildings, filling weird little spaces.  The original buildings themselves were completed in 1964.  Initially 1 police station and 2 residences, but by the time I arrived the residences had been converted over to office spaces. Over my years at Belmont I worked in every building,  the boat shed became brief storage, the carports were enclosed and became exhibit storage.  The original timber dock disappearred to be replaced by a metal and perspex one.   New machinery arrived.  A series of different breath analysis machines came thru,  video cameras appeared in the ceilings of the charge area, a new cell complex was crafted from nothing to provide a safe area for both prisoners and staff.  Gone were the days of cutting out warrants on the weekends. Petrol cards became the norm and our backyard bowser became redundant and was filled with foam. The massive charge books disappearred as did carbon paper.  Fingerprints no longer needed ink.

After the 2000 Olympics Belmont received a second hand fax machine from the task force.  When the station was ultimately emptied before demolition 3 weeks ago, we still had the same machine and it had survived, without servicing and without fail, all that time.  The building were added to, modified, painted in gross colours and chopped and changed to suit changes in legislation and staffing levels.

People changed too, there was a regular turnover of staff.  Sad to see some faces go, others ... not so much.  Staff married, had children and grandchildren, divorced and died.  Some took their own lives, some took the lives of others.  None without touching us all in some way. I have been to far more funerals than weddings.  Jenny died too.  Constables have left and returned as Sergeants. Detectives have left and returned as Commanders. As I age I can't believe how young they all look!  The years have flown.  I have gone to a lot of parties! I'll never forget that NYE when 2004 turned into 2005 down by the tents in Valentine with Sarabear, The Commodore and The Kent. Nick names ruled and still do!   The crims were many and varied. Often a family line appeared, sometimes a whole family.  Kids followed parents into a life of crime.  There have been some celebrity prisoners and I'll never forget the bloke charged with murder who asked me out on a date "when i get out".

We have continued to work on through some trying times.   Bushfires and storms have caused some grief.   When we have not been able to get home because of fires, flooding, road closures and fallen power lines.  We've slept in cars or in the office because we can't get back to our families between shifts.  I remember that terrible night when two good mates were surrounded by fire and had to shelter in their vehicle until help came.   The work radio brought relentless tragedy. Listening to the urgency in their voices as the search for a missing officer unfolded and the abject despair that overcame us all when she was found.  The radio brought more tragedy on the morning Dave Rixon was shot, it failed to tell us Dave managed to handcuff his killer before he passed.  His heroic last act. The chilling immeasurable sadness the morning Tony Tamplin passed is still fresh in my mind. The radio rarely brought good news.   So many sad, terrifying, horrible times. So many things that are best not dwelt on.  Thankfully, there were many more happy times.

Over the decades architects came and went, measurements were taken and plans drawn, all to no avail.  Then about 2 years ago funding was secured for a new station and whilst many of us believed it would never happen, it has.  The station is no more.  Over the last 3 weeks it has been levelled.  The abundant rodent population has found new homes and the clean up has begun.  The site is not yet ready for the first sod to be turned and, no doubt, there will be a ceremony for that!  Digging the foundations is probably not more than a week or two away.   In the interim, staff have been scattered   to the winds.  Myself and my Prosecutor have moved to a new office and it is working extremely well for us so far.  Deconstruction and demolition does cause the walls to vibrate, the noise can be loud, yet the workers are brilliant.  The chosen construction team, Kingston Building Australia,  are professional, generous and hard working.  Nothing is too onerous for them.  Again, or rather still, my workplace is full of laughter, personalities and genuinely caring people who will go above and beyond ... and I wouldn't want it any other way.

As always... for reading this far you are rewarded with images.