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House Nerd

  • VISIT THE OLD BLOG
  • Home Envy
  • Before & After
  • Our House
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  • Advice
  • Happier Home
  • Nerd Life
  • Home Projects
  • Archives
  • Contact
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  • About Me
  • In The Media
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  • Happier Home

    How We Made Our Old House Warmer

    July 4, 2021August 1, 2021

    Who’s feeling the cold right now? Yes, I know the whole running joke about people in winter in Perth, where it gets to 16 degrees (60 Fahrenheit for those of you overseas) and people start squawking and moaning that they’re freezing to death. To give people overseas an idea, it never snows in Western Australia.

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  • Happier Home

    Eating at Home: Our Eggs Benny Chan Recipe Hack

    June 21, 2021July 5, 2021

    Forget rose petals on the bed and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. My idea of romance is the Sunday morning I got to sleep in late, then wake up to see Mr Nerd had made breakfast. But not just any breakfast. He had prepared for me a replica of one of my all-time favourite, iconic Perth

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  • Gardens

    How To Grow a Lush Garden from Cuttings – for Free

    May 30, 2021June 7, 2021

    There is nothing that chills my husband to the bone more than me than the sound of me screeching, “STOP THE CAR. I SEE PLANTS.” I have gotten so, so many plants for our yard – for free – by finding them on the side of the road, in the wonderful scheme that is green

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  • Advice

    How Non-Profits Can Engage Bloggers, Influencers and Journalists

    May 27, 2021July 4, 2021

    Recently one of my old editors, Alecia Hancock, asked me if I would be happy to give a talk for her annual digital marketing summit Change the World. She started this event under her organisation Hancock Creative five years ago. It’s basically a free, full day virtual summit aimed at giving tips on social media

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  • DIY

    How to Paint an Old Concrete Driveway

    February 6, 2021May 3, 2021

    Guys, don’t think that just because I have a house blog that I’m always super gung-ho about getting started on our long list of things we want to fix up here. That is definitely not the case. I procrastinate a lot, sometimes because I’m scared of making the wrong choice, because I just can’t make

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  • Gardens

    You’ll Love this Cute Indoor Plant Shop

    January 15, 2021July 4, 2021

    Perth plant fans, there is an indoor plant paradise right here in suburbia called Novos Home Nursery, and it is amazing. Can you believe this place is someone’s backyard – and you can go there to buy plants? Novo’s Home Nursery in Leeming is run by a lovely family that have turned their backyard into

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  • Home Projects

    Our Cubbyhouse Makeover

    February 7, 2020February 22, 2020

    Pass me that mother of the year baton, guys. I don’t get to have it too often, but I totally deserve to hold it for a good minute or two. I won a cubbyhouse! I won it late last year through an Instagram competition held by a local Perth cubbyhouse company called Kidzshack. To enter,

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  • Happier Home

    Make Your Home Beautiful with Bambury (and WIN a $500 Gift Voucher!)

    December 15, 2019February 7, 2020

    If you are after one of the quickest, most affordable and also easiest ways to freshen up a bedroom or living space, I always think new cushions are a fail-proof way to go. Nothing brightens and lifts a space quite as easily! Add in a fresh new plant and you’ve treated your room or outdoor

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  • Home Projects

    How to Make An Amazing Succulent Bowl

    September 15, 2019June 8, 2021

    If you have ever admired a pretty succulent bowl but thought they looked too tricky to make one at home (or that you’d kill it anyway) I have good news! Succulent bowls are super-easy to put together; and even if you’re a total black thumb with plants, you can keep one alive and thriving, I

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  • Happier Home

    Cook and Clean Perth (and Win a Free House Clean!)

    August 23, 2019September 11, 2019

    When I first heard of Cook and Clean WA four years ago, my first thought was, “What a good business idea!” I think Little Nerd was about six months old, and the reality of how hard juggling a baby and a job (with a husband on frequent work trips away) had most definitely sunken in

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  • Home Envy

    An Energy Efficient 1960s Renovation in Bayswater

    June 2, 2019February 7, 2020

    Bayswater is one of my favourite suburbs in Perth. If you don’t know it; think old farmhouses, sleepy streets, old trees, character houses with tons of potential, and little pockets of former farming land that make you feel like you could have stepped back in time. It has so much perfectly unpolished charm, and it

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  • Before & After

    Penshurst – A Sea Captain’s Mansion Saved from Ruin

    May 22, 2019October 16, 2019

    I have a soft spot for Penshurst, the historic house I’m going to share with you today – which was actually one of my very first home tours – in fact I visited it before I’d even clicked ‘publish’ on my first blog post! (Original post here). When I was a teenager, after school my

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  • Home Envy

    Before the Fire: Paganin House by Iwan Iwanoff

    March 17, 2019August 9, 2019

    I originally published this post on the old format of House Nerd here. Iwanoff fans rejoice.  Iconic Paganin House has been saved! After this famous Iwanoff home in Floreat was gutted days before Christmas 2015 by a house fire, it has now been brought back to life by the careful work of its owners and

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  • Home Renovations

    Le Fanu, Perth’s Most Expensive Renovation, is Now For Sale

    March 14, 2019March 16, 2019

    Le Fanu, Perth’s most expensive home renovation, is up for sale. If you could do with a luxury beach home and have a spare $17 million, this heritage-listed house could be yours! Some of you guys may remember the story I wrote a few years ago on this house. Right by the beach in Cottesloe

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  • Advice

    How to Update Dated Lighting in an Older Home

    March 3, 2019March 21, 2019

    The right lights can have a major effect on a room or an interior. In fact there are few things that can date a home more quickly than old, daggy lighting. Hello boob lights and oyster lights! No matter how curated and stylish your décor, or how modern your renovation, if you still have an

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  • Home Envy

    The Hilton Fibro Cottage Renovation

    January 3, 2019January 7, 2019

    I love this house. This is the former home of our friends Tim and Caity Phillips, it’s a cool renovation and a house that I like because it suits its owners down to a tee. You guys may already know Tim’s name from some of my earlier posts; he and his TJP Carpentry team put

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  • Our House

    Rejuvenating Our Garden For Summer (and my Favourite Hardy, Affordable Plants)

    December 23, 2018August 13, 2019

    This story is a paid partnership with Scotts. Thank you for supporting my blog’s sponsors. Ahh – summer. I am going to be honest, I’m not a summer person. In my past life I probably was the Wicked Witch of the West who melted to death. Her rage was an accurate representation of my snippy

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  • Home Envy

    A New Hamptons-Style House in Wembley Downs

    May 19, 2018June 25, 2019

    Having built four houses across a range of looks from coastal to Colonial to contemporary, empty nesters Debra and Steve knew exactly what style they wanted their next home to be. The end result is what they both call their dream house – a beautiful, timeless Hamptons-style home perfect for dinner parties and entertaining. Beginning

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  • Home Envy

    An Old Lady Cottage Freshened Up for a Young Family

    February 15, 2018February 16, 2018

    What do you do when you love renovating and building and are itching to do it again… but you love your current location, which is just perfect for your family? Well, it might not happen very often, but these two dedicated renovators sold their much-loved labour of love – and built their next home right

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  • Nerd Life

    Renovating our House: What I’ve Learned and My Advice for Renovators

    November 20, 2017May 25, 2021

    “If we ever renovate again, I would…” “Our next house, we should do this…” These are words Mr Nerd and I have uttered to each other many a time as we’ve been ankle-deep in renovation rubble here. I am still FAR from a renovating pro, but we’ve learned a lot of things through trial and

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  • Home Envy

    A Light and Bright Home Renovation in North Fremantle

    October 13, 2017May 4, 2018

    When I am scrolling through Instagram, the photos always guaranteed to stop me in my tracks are ones of renovating. Maybe it’s because I have always been obsessed with a good before and after story – all the bits, from the demo to the drywall to the decking being laid out – but there is

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  • staple-design-rachael-pearse-house-nerd-shaker-kitchen-renovation-subiaco-green-kitchen-reno-traditional-herringbone-parquetry-floors-custom-made-cabinetry-perth

    Before & After

    Before and After: A Beautiful Traditional Kitchen Renovation

    September 23, 2017September 25, 2017

    Aside from our own renovations, I haven’t often featured room makeovers on House Nerd – I’ve always gone the whole hog and done a whole house. Even though putting together full home tours – like this one – take me ages, I haven’t often done ‘room renovations’, such as a kitchen or bathroom only, because

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  • house-renovation-perth-home-renovation-70s-80s-house-DIY-Scarborough-housenerd

    Home Renovations

    A 1980s Renovated Home on a Steep Scarborough Site

    August 25, 2017August 25, 2017

    Amy and Andrew Palmer-Millin stumbled upon their new home by accident. They were house-hunting in seaside Scarborough and were on their way to a different home open when they chanced upon the place that was to become their next home. “We accidentally went to see the house, it wasn’t on our list to view at

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  • Home Envy

    A DIY Makeover for a Daggy 70s Willetton Home

    August 20, 2017May 8, 2019

    Would you buy a house you hated? Could you make an offer on a home with an interior you didn’t like at all – a home that was actually a particularly ugly example of the era it was built? Home owners Craig and Emma Croxford did – buying a 1970s Willetton house that was so

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  • Frank-House-Iwan-Iwanoff-Menora-House-Nerd-interiors-Meghan-Plowman-1970s

    Home Envy

    The Frank House by Iwan Iwanoff

    August 20, 2017September 25, 2017

    So I’m going to make a bold call here, but I have to call it – I think I’ve found my favourite Iwan Iwanoff house yet. (At least my fave of all the ones I’ve visited so far!) It’s this quietly shy beauty – the Frank House in Menora. The house is owned by Michael and Carmen

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  • Home Envy

    Two Apartment House: The Ground Floor Apartment

    July 22, 2016July 29, 2019

    This story was originally published on my old blog format on July 26, 2016. The house I’m sharing with you today is so cool – and ahead of the general Perth design curve. Built on a tiny inner-city infill block just 200sqm in size, it’s a freestanding house that has been designed to comfortably accommodate

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  • Home Envy

    The Eco-Friendly Small House in Maylands

    April 27, 2016July 29, 2019

    I have been a fan of the houses of WA architect Ben Mountford for a while now. You might remember I did a story a few years ago on the renovation and extension he designed for this old Mt Hawthorn cottage, which won him an architecture award. His homes are cool; yet relaxed and liveable, different; but not

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  • Before & After

    A 1903 Worker’s Cottage Reno

    March 17, 2015February 17, 2020

    I have always loved the tiny, original workers’ cottages in suburbs like Leederville, Subiaco and Fremantle. But although I look at them from the outside and admire their quaintness and charm, often I think that I could never live in one – I presume that they must almost always be way too small and cramped

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  • Happier Home

    A Mother of Three’s Completely Edible Suburban Garden

    March 8, 2015February 25, 2020

    Can you be self-sufficient from the average-sized suburban garden? I don’t know, but the owner of this one is definitely trying – and she has such an awesome garden that I think half of you will be itching to plant sweet potatoes or peaches this weekend. I was introduced to home owner Kate Reading by

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  • Home Envy

    The Pretty Palmyra Weatherboard Cottage

    January 7, 2015May 2, 2021

    I love all the houses I put on House Nerd. But with its unpretentious character details, classic weatherboard build and young owners who DIYed and decorated the whole house on a shoestring budget with lots of secondhand, op shop and side-of-the-road finds, this Palmyra cottage felt extra-special to me the moment I entered. I grew

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  • Home Envy

    A Spooky Old Sea Captain’s Mansion

    October 28, 2014July 4, 2021

    Some people like gardens that are perfectly neat, with not a weed in sight or leaf out of place. But I tend to prefer the messy, crazy, overgrown ones; big and rambling, or small courtyard gardens, I like ones that enshroud their houses in dark jungle-like thickets. To me a crazy overgrown garden is so

    Continue Reading
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    housenerd

    One of my long-time favourite local MCM houses is One of my long-time favourite local MCM houses is for sale! 😍 I would buy this sweet house if I could. I've loved driving past this house since I was a kid. Imagine curling up with a book in that cosy sunroom while it's raining, or playing board games in the dining room, the lights of the city skyline in the distance 🌃🤩 AND when you wake up the morning after your wine-fuelled Take Two and Dutch Blitz shenanigans, in just two minutes you can walk to some of the best coffee in Perth, @grouchandco! ☕ The interior is so cute - the house been kept in the same family since it was built in 1962, which I think is so special 💛 They have selected the lovely @siobhanmicaleyardproperty to sell their house for them. 
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First pic my stalkery snap, professional pics by Clint Baker @musemediaperth ✨ Someone please, please buy it and invite me over for wine 🙏🏽 I will help you throw a 1960s-themed housewarming party. I'll bring pigs-in-a-blanket and devilled eggs 🍸
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🏡 FOR SALE
29 McCoy Street, Melville
Built 1962, 4 bed, 2 bath
@siobhanmicaleyardproperty
@yardproperty
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#housenerd #housecreeping #mcmperth #yardproperty #midcenturymodern #modernist #1960s #60shouse #perthproperty #perthrealestate #forsaleperth #houselove #makeminemidcentury #housesperth #houselove #modernistaustralia #cutehouses #housestalking
    "No dogs sleeping on the bed next time we get a do "No dogs sleeping on the bed next time we get a dog," Mr Nerd and I vowed to each other before we brought Luka home. As you can see, it's going really well. Our resolve isn't crumbling at all 😶

Also, that big linen blanket is from my friend @bedtonic, and it might be my favourite thing I own. If you invest in one thing for your bed in the next couple of years, make it one of these! We haven't used the heater in our bedroom since we got one a few winters ago. Good time to ask for one with Mother's Day 😉 🌸 Hope you all had a lovely morning ☕
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #luka #aussieshepherd #bordercollie #australianshepherd #puppy #perthpets #dogsofinstagram #perthblog #perthinteriorblog #saturdays #tireddogisahappydog #mothersday
    A few Sundays ago, we lost Chicken Nugget, our swe A few Sundays ago, we lost Chicken Nugget, our sweet little teenage chook 🐥 "I have two dogs, Nala and Luka, but Chicken Nugget died one night in Mummy's arms and now her be an angel," Miss Nerd has been telling anyone and everyone; including total strangers, who usually tend to look startled. Despite knowing she had a good innings (13), I have now officially cried more over a chicken than over any dog or cat I've owned 😭 Yes, a chicken. (And we eat chicken!)
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We'd had a really busy Sunday. We were out almost all day; the city, playground, river, came home, took the dogs to the park, had a lovely dinner at a friend's place. One of those rare blissful days where parenting just lines up; everything is fun and easy and everyone is happy. We got home, I got the kids down. It was later at night when I went to let the dogs out the back, and saw a fluffy bundle lying by the back door. My heart sank. I thought she was already dead. She was sleeping. I brought her inside and got her warm cuddled her in my lap. She died in my arms around midnight.
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I've had so many pets; experienced so many animal deaths. This one was the hardest 💔 Even though she had a nice chicken life and was SO old! I think what made me feel so broken up with this one was that so many animals go to die somewhere by themselves. In her last hours CN crawled up to the back door, to us. I felt so bad that she might have been suffering and I was too caught up running around all day; too busy with everyone else to notice. I felt so guilty - it took me a while to get over that 😔💔 The kids were gutted and still talk about how they miss her, Miss Nerd the most, as CN was her special (long-suffering, gentle and very patient) little friend. "But now Chicken Nugget is an angel in heaven and she has four wings not just two, and she can FLY with those wings," Miss Nerd says, and that is a pretty good image to keep. 💛🐥
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #backyardchickens #perthblog #chicken #chooks #perthbackyard #bantam
    WIN ✨ A double pass to the amazing @rooftopmovie WIN ✨ A double pass to the amazing @rooftopmovies and a voucher for a delicious bottle of @madfishwines to share 🥂🍷 One of my favourite Perth things to do is to relax by watching a movie outdoors and with a wine in hand - we definitely have the beautiful evening weather for it! 🌄 @rooftopmovies has become such an icon and what better way to enjoy it than with delicious, local family-owned @madfishwines - the official WA partner of this year's Fringe World Perth and Rooftop Movies. Here's your chance to make it there before the end of the season!
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To enter, all you have to do is: 
1. Follow @madfishwines.
2. Tag a friend below - 1 friend, 1 entry, 4 friends, 4 entries! Good luck! 
Winner drawn 10pm 24/03/22.
✨✨ CONGRATS @the.secret.life.of.johanna! Please DM your full name and email address and we'll get in touch so you can redeem your prize 🥂🍾🍷✨✨

Competition winner drawn by random selector. Promotion is not endorsed, sponsored, administered by or associated with Instagram. There is a complete release of IG by each entrant. 
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#brandedcontent #madfishwines #rooftopmovies #perththings #perthcompetition #perthwine #supportlocal #instagramwin #competition #contest #win #perthmovies #competition #instawin #giveaway #giveawayau #compers #winau #winperth #winewinewine #winelovers #wawine
    With Easter and Mother's Day not far away, I wante With Easter and Mother's Day not far away, I wanted to share present ideas from two really nice small businesses that kindly sent me the most beautiful things 💛🥺 They are the kinds of special things that feel SO nice I have to keep firmly reminding myself: "USE them! Don't just keep them at the back of the cupboard for 'special occasions'!" (It's so easy to do that isn't it?!)
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The first small business is @_cottoncollective_. Based in Perth, Lisa curates the prettiest 100 percent cotton, block-printed tablecloths and textiles like tea towels, cushions and cot blankets. I lover her videos of block printing being done - it is such an art. This is the Hamptons blue tablecloth, carefully block-printed by hand by artisans in India. I really like her Wildwood design too... well, I like them all 🤷🏽‍♀️ She offers free shipping through Australia 📦
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The second biz is @intheroundhouse, based in Sydney. They sell really fun, colourful plates and placemats; meant to be mix n match and eclectic (I approve) 🌈 I have some plates from their Blue Collection, some from their Italian collection, and a prawn 🦐 (everyone wants the prawn). Impressively they are dishwasher safe, which makes the higher price tag worth it 👌🏽 They are so bold they make setting the table fun - I find myself shouting, "PREGO" like Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. (An iconic piece of cinema).
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Spot the @madfishwines in there - another giveaway with them soon! 🥂
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#housenerd #gifted #brandedcontent #housenerdhome #tablescape #backyard #tablestyling #cottoncollective #intheroundhouse #perthinteriors #perthblog #handmade #entertaining #styling #patiodecor #alfresco #tablescapeideas #perthinstagram #interiorblog #specialoccasions #dinnerparty
    It's little and modest, but this weatherboard cott It's little and modest, but this weatherboard cottage is an icon. Familiar? This is the North Fremantle home famous for belonging to Carmel Mullally, or the ‘lady who lives in the port’ 🏠👵🏻Originally built in 1897, at 28 Bayly Street opposite Port Beach, this worker’s cottage became a symbol of resilience and strength, as the huge Fremantle Port sprung up around it over the years. 
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Ms Mullally moved into her house in the 1950s with her husband James. Despite her neighbours moving, every other nearby house being bulldozed, and the port becoming bigger and noisier, with the ever-constant hum of forklifts, freight trains, oil tankers and shipping containers being stacked - Ms Mullally refused to move. 
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She always said she loved living by the ocean and that her cottage gave her everything she needed. And she liked trains. 
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Ms Mullally endured a five decade-long battle to keep her home, with multiple offers and pressure from government authorities to buy her house starting way back in 1963, five years after she moved in. 
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A loved member of North Freo’s community, she became a symbol of resilience and strength. “I wasn’t keen on letting my house go – I’d worked for it,” she said. While she and the port authorities had some differences over the years – she famously painted slogans on her walls in the 80s telling the authorities to leave her alone - eventually their relationship came to a place of mutual respect. 
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Her little cottage was finally heritage-listed by Fremantle Council in 2007, saving it from ever being bulldozed, and Ms Mullally happily continued to live there amidst the bustle of the port work until her late 80s. 
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Last year, she had to move into aged care, and she sadly passed away earlier this summer at 89. I think she sounds awesome (my novel cont. in comments!)
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