emerald..don't know how you full time mum does it..I wouldn't be able to cope lol I only work part time and yet on the days I work I don't even look after myself properly lol. took the kids to Yum Cha today so I bought groceries at Melb Central before hopping on the train back .. just making a stir fry tonight..was going to have stir fried noodles..turned out my Hokkien noodles are expired..this is the reason why I don't buy stuff beforehand lol so will wing it and have with rice..one wok wonder with some scallops from the freezer.. my kids are easy they don't ever whinge about what I cook they know better..as sometimes I don't cook at all lol

I really feel for you. I had a similar experience when a neighbour recommended someone she knew who was 'really good'! He was extremely lazy and, apparently, suffering from depression and he had split up with his girlfriend! He did a dreadful job which took a week - because he was too depressed to work on some days - he only did about half the job and I wasn't impressed. It has ruined my relationship with my neighbour because she knew him to be really good. She won't even come into my place - I assume she doesn't want to see the mess he created! To top it all off (I had paid him cash - fortunately only half of what he 'wanted' (not 'earned') so he wouldn't be paying tax on it )- I didn't get a receipt. He also took my house keys so I had to have the locks replaced. Such a mess and then, I had some tradies through a couple of weeks later for an unrelated job and they asked me when I was getting the place painted? When I told them it had just been done, they really didn't know where to look. I seem to constantly get ripped off, so I'm not getting much done any more - too expensive and depressing.

You could try Wet & Forget on the driveway. You can buy it ready to use and attach it to a hose or buy a bottle that you dilute to use in a sprayer. I have used it and it works - slower than water blasting but it won’t damage driveway if it has some damage? I can’t quite tell from photo if that’s grass clippings/mulch or broken concrete on driveway? If you use it be careful not to spray garden bed. I live in FNQ and we planted seaside daisy - doesn’t need watering but it also won’t die from our wet season. It’s a ground over and spreads out beautifully in a courtyard area that’s get a lot of sun. Just needs a trim from time to time. I see you have Rio (purple green ground cover) which you could separate and plant down the path but it does like water. Maybe for the fence you could try attaching lattice to it and plant another passion fruit vine to help cover the whole fence. It does look like you need to get rid of some woody parts of the passion fruit. It’s a tough plant and will enjoy a bit of pruning. We had one that I thought had died last year and it has returned with no help from me. Be careful with the heliconias and gingers ... they can get out of control if you don’t stay on top of them. Anything tall will cover your fence but it will also cover the passionfruit vine which obviously loves the spot it’s in. Good luck!

High quality rendering is a mixture of art and science. You need to have an artist's eye to understand what looks good, and a scientific understanding of light, especially when it hits glossy, reflective, or transparent surfaces. You need a high powered computer to be able to perform a render, and loads of time to get it right. If you don't want photo realism, including an accurate depiction of colours then there is lots of software, and cheap renderers out there who can give you mediocre results that look like it was lifted from a Sims game. If you do find someone who can do accurate colour imaging in a photo-realistic manner for $100 per image please let me know. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits