St Kilda is always fun and the streets full of surprises

I passed by a block of apartments in Robe Street and thought someone was waiting to open the gate. A few steps on and "What the??"exploded in my mind and I retraced my steps. A statue waiting to open the gate?!

It's an amusing statue - a bit of fun that brings a smile on a cold grey day. He looks rather like the people who cover themselves entirely silver and then stand perfectly still in Bourke Street.

This 'person' is entirely covered in white plaster.

He is so clean I am guessing that he has just arrived and got into position.

St Kilda is never Dull!!

Results of painting Cork Tiles

I have been cleaning my house and I washed the painted cork tiles in my foyer. I thought I should write an update-post on the success of the venture as my original site is getting a lot of traffic. See here

It hasn't been the success I wanted although the effect is exactly what I was looking for.

The paving paint gives the surface a slight texture - not quite smoothe. It feels good with bare feet.

We put a sealer on for the first coat - recommended sealer from the local paint shop in Prahran 'ESP Easy Surface Prep' it says it is a product made from penetrol. My original choice was a Resene sealer but it was too hard to find in Melbourne.

The blurb on the ESP says that it avoids chipping and there is no need to de-gloss or sand before you paint. It took ages to dry far longer than it said on the can.

I have now given the floor 4 coats of paving paint ( I thought paving paint would be harder and wear better under foot). After the first 2 coats I found it chipped so I darkened the colour a little and gave it two more. The darker colour was because I thought the original colour too stark and glaring. Now it seems more durable but then I am more careful and treat it delicately.

I still have the old worn cork tiles in the kitchen which is a much larger space and I would like to paint them but I need a method that can withstand heavy duty traffic. If you know of anything or have painted cork tiles yourself, please let me know how it went. Any info would be helpful.

Passing by a house where I lived once and was happy.

I lived in this terraced house a few years ago. It was a sunny house with good vibes and it is sad to see it run down and in want of repair. It is a rental property and while I was there they renewed the roof which showed that they took some interest in the place. They didn't bother with the guttering in the front at that time and looking at it now that was a mistake. Green slimy mould is growing on the wooden veranda below where the rain pours through the large rust holes. The veranda may improve when it is summer and we have the expected months of dry sunny weather. The house faces south and it is a nice place to sit and sip a beer or a wine at the end of a hot day.

I was tempted to 'rose-nap' the standard rose when I left. You can see in the picture that it has fallen over by the front steps. I pruned the rose and nurtured it and it rewarded me by blooming every year - small pale pink flowers clustered around the top. It looks as if it is bravely producing leaves. If it flowers it may get someone's attention.

To give it a friend I planted a yellow rose in the centre of the garden. I took this with me. The standard was there when I arrived and I believed that by removing it I would be in breach of my tenancy contract and the cost of a replacement would be taken from my bond. When I look at it now I wonder if anyone would have noticed.

In the other corner there was a beauiful blue hydrangea. I pruned that every year, too and it produced an abundance of blue flowers. There was variegated ground cover and some blue bells that came up in spring.

At the rear of the house is a very useable back yard (yard rather than courtyard I think) where I grew tomatoes, rhubarb, silver beat and climbing beans. One of the delights of the back yard was its privacy which prevents me from seeing in and checking it out.

It was a pretty house then; old and in need of a paint but now it looks derelict as if no one loves it.