I was reminded today of one of our greatest Halloween costumes of all time. ALLEZ CUISINE! 🎃
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Photo Post
On the left is the front hallway with our old solid door. On the right is the new one with reeded glass. Even on a cloudy day, we get a lot more light in! 😍
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Shared today on Facebook
It’s been more than a month since my last proper #renovation update! We are still waiting on a few bits of furniture to arrive, but the internal work is now 90% done. Today the builders installed our new @vitsoe shelves! Now comes the fun of filling them. 😍 There’s also the new living room rug, as well as curtains throughout the house. The HVAC is up and running in the living room and bedroom, and our fancy lights are being installed. Most excitingly – a new glass front door and security gate! They’re still tweaking that one, and the frame will be painted bronze to match the windows. As always, thank you to @internidesign and @aureigroup for making it all happen…
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Photo Post
It’s been more than a month since my last proper #renovation update! We are still waiting on a few bits of furniture to arrive, but the internal work is now 90% done. Today the builders installed our new @vitsoe shelves! Now comes the fun of filling them. 😍 There’s also the new living room rug, as well as curtains throughout the house. The HVAC is up and running in the living room and bedroom, and our fancy lights are being installed. Most excitingly – a new glass front door and security gate! They’re still tweaking that one, and the frame will be painted bronze to match the windows. As always, thank you to @internidesign and @aureigroup for making it all happen…
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Shared today on Facebook
I voted! Thanks again to the Elkhart County Election Board for allowing overseas citizens to participate in our democratic process, and for making it as hassle-free as possible.
Here’s hoping sanity prevails and America elects the team who aren’t insurrectionists, convicted felons, and rapists. 🤞🇺🇸
Happy birthday, dear Miftik mother of Wiftik! 🤣❤️
I’m working on the outline for my Sydney Tech Leaders talk next week. I’ve managed to make a personal finance talk that relates each section to an AWS Well-Architected Pillar. 😂
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Shared today on Facebook
It really ties the room together. 😍 The final pieces are slotting into place! #newrug
The secret is out! I am raising funds for Dementia Australia, and I’m giving away 14 Smart, Sensational, Sun-Protecting (S3) Bucket hats. You’ve got two weeks to donate if you want a chance to win one! ❤️
Smart, Sensational, Sun-Protecting (S3) Bucket Hats for Dementia Australia
Summer Succotash with Bacon. I shelled, cooked, and peeled more than a pound of broad beans!😋
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Summer Succotash with Bacon. I shelled, cooked, and peeled more than a pound of broad beans!😋
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Smart, Sensational, Sun-Protecting (S3) Bucket Hats for Dementia Australia
As you probably know if you’ve followed this blog or any of my social media accounts, back in 2018 I worked for Amazon Web Services and I had the idea to sew myself an AWS dress to wear to tech events around the world. It was so popular, my colleagues even made t-shirts and stickers! In 2023 I raised the bar with the AWS dress v2, which had matching sneakers.
As of 2024 though, I’m retired and it seems a bit silly to hang on to these dresses. Why not turn them into something fun and raise money for an important cause? So the dresses have become 14 Smart, Sensational, Sun-Protecting (S3) Bucket Hats, and you can win one by donating to this fundraiser.
Dementia is a terrible disease that has affected our family in recent years. It really, really sucks to watch someone you know and love just change and disappear. I’d like to help other families going through this, and hopefully even work towards a cure.
To do that I need your help! Please make a donation to support my efforts and help me reach my goal to beat dementia. You can donate through:
- My Facebook fundraising page
- My standalone Dementia Australia fundraising page
- Or if neither of those options work for you, feel free to donate to a dementia-related charity in your own country*.
All funds raised (through channels 1 and 2 above) will support the work of Dementia Australia to provide vital support services for people living with dementia, their families and carers. These services include counselling, support groups, education and training.
For every $25 AUD* you donate, you’ll get one entry into a raffle for one of the 14 hats. I will draw the winners at random on November 1st, 2024, and I will cover postage anywhere in the world. Please make sure you are contactable if you win! You can donate as many times as you’d like but you can only win one hat, and you don’t get to choose which one you get. (They’re all the same size anyway.)
* If you donate via option 3, please email me a screenshot of your donation and I will ensure you are entered into the draw. You’ll get 1 entry for the equivalent of $25 AUD in your own currency.
Disclaimers: Obviously I don’t work for AWS anymore, and I don’t claim ownership over their logo or any of their service icons. The hats were made by me from the dresses I wore as part of my employment for AWS, and I won’t ever be making any more. If I can’t contact you within a week, I reserve the right to draw a new name and send the hat to somebody else.
Thank you for your support.
PS for the sewists: if you’re curious about the pattern I used you can download it for free here! Each hat is fully lined, which means I actually had to sew 28 hats (30 if you count the prototype I made). 😅
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Shared today on Facebook
I spotted my first jacaranda blooms of the season yesterday. Love this time of year! ❤️
Reminder to self: When in doubt, use the walking foot. It’s magic! #slomo #sewing 🪡🧵
Woot, my knee-jerk don’t-overthink-it pub-quiz answer was Iran which seems to be [✓]. I ‘knew’ it was more populous than…