I have miles of decking at two houses. All timber when put in the Australian sun will suffer. When building our beach house we decided to go for Spotted Gum and let it grey. Why fight it? We applied Cutek, and will on a regular basis. At our main house we have lots of Merabu or Quilla. Will not grey the same, and leaches lots of red stain. Cheap, but would not use again. What ever you use, use a good quality oil that seeps deep into the wood not a traditional stain/or top finishing product.

I love this topic and look forward to seeing the finished article (and the idyllic photos that will go with it, which make me feel warm and happy and imagine my kids playing gently in nicely arranged, light-filled spaces, while they're actually sitting in a spewed-everywhere puddle of Lego having extremely violent Lego-spaceship-wars). We have 3 kids and I juggle professional work as well as study, so I've got lots of other things sussed - vegies get delivered, meals are bulk-cooked, we have a great system of plastic boxes which allow leftovers to be pre-packed the night before for school lunches (cooked beans and a mini tub of dip make a great school snack), compost and chook-recycling of food waste are automatic, everyone does homework at the same time on the kitchen table (and I sneak in another hour's study or reading at the same time!) In short, most aspects of our household run like a machine. But cleaning is not my thing (although having a clean house really is!) and on a bad day it seems like nobody else cares, so this is where my attention is at the moment. I have a few new tactics which are very successful so far. * Alignment of incentives. "You want to go to Hayden's house to play basketball? Not until all beds are made and the laundry is hung out. If you don't want to help, that's fine, but it will take me a lot longer by myself." And I am very hard-nosed when I say this, the kids know it, so they pitch in. * Deal with smells before visual mess - clutter can be annoying for me, but a persistent smell can totally ruin the whole family's mood without anyone realising it. Water soluble lavender oil spray is my go-to. I am also a fiend about removing leftover pieces of fruit from schoolbags etc straightaway. The compost bin is well sealed, and things in the fridge are not allowed to stay there long enough to develop intelligence. * As Melissa said above, have a spot for everything & make sure everyone is involved in the putting away. We have races, games, songs or very fun rock CDs reserved for cleaning (Van Halen!), we ask the kids to help with "feeding the laundry monster" by bringing dirty clothes & sports gear to the laundry. Limit new toys and games, especially bulky ones, and move unused-ones out quickly. New things in the house must have a spot nominated for them by the evening, or something else must go out to make room. * We have multiple sets of outdoor shoes (thongs/crocs, work boots, gumboots etc): at least one pair for each person at each doorway. In nice big crates, so we don't have to look at it. SO if I want to go outside to grab some fresh herbs or the kids want to play Star Wars, the shoes are just -there-, sit on the crate while you put them on, and leave them at the door when you're done. The tracked-in mud from short trips was driving me crazy so I went to the local outlet and got extra boots for everyone, made some super-simple treated pine boxes, and it works. * I wipe down wet-area surfaces (showers, bathroom benches, kitchen benches) with whatever almost-dirty cloth is available whenever I go past. Towel or tea-towel about to go to the laundry? Give everything a quick wipe before I fling it in the machine. Consistent small cleaning has been more effective for me than less frequent big cleaning days. Nobody wants to do the bathrooms anyway, but if the benches are clean there's only the toilet and the floor to do. It also reminds me to clear bench surfaces so clutter doesn't build up. * My husband does the same with floors. Dust bunnies and grit drive him crazy, so he gives one room a thorough sweep or a vacuum each evening and it never builds up. And *Ask for help outside the immediate family when it all goes pear-shaped. Get your parents in law to come over. Call on your friends - and be there for them to call when they need it, in a straightforward and easy way. Know your neighbours (you don't have to like them) but set up a way where you can look out for each other. 'Supermum' is a myth, get over it, because everyone who is juggling a lot needs help sometimes. Anwyay that's my contribution. I didn't mean to write such an essay. I hope there's something in that which is useful to you.

dohraime thank you yes it looks similar but that one has a fluted edge and different cup, also the flowers are not the same which even though it says Rosemary I have not been able to find the exact same flower. The set is a real beige ivory colour not white at all. I don't know if it was always like that or it it's from old age, my mum & Grandparents lived in Hamburg and brought it to Australia. I also have her engagement silver necklace too.

It is the Blum SERVO DRIVE which is the mechanism for the touch opening http://www.cucinelube.it/en/lube-plus/blum/servo-drive/ Here you can watch videos which illustrate various Blum mechanisms, including SERVO drive. http://www.cucinelube.it/en/lube-plus/blum/video/