I woke this morning on my 'fly by' visit to Melbourne to this fabulous view. It was raining, which was a welcome sight given dam levels in Melbourne had fallen below 30%.
The rain continued all day and continues to rain as I sit at the airport waiting for my flight which has been delayed by half an hour.
Unfortunately, I cannot bring you any fun shop windows this time round however, the Adelphi Hotel in Flinders Lane has an unusual feature. A glass swimming pool seven floors over the street.
03 May, 2007
fly by melbourne
01 May, 2007
momentary touchdown
Unfortunately, the whirlwind from which I have returned from that travelled through both Noosa and Toowoomba did not permit internet access even though the trusty laptop was dragged along.
I would like to share more of my whirlwind tour of Queensland but think I will save that for the weekend. Instead I post a 'tribute to flora' mosaic, because we are into plants here as you know. These photos were all taken in Noosa and surrounds. Toowoomba and surrounds made my heart cry, it was so dry, and the countryside was brown, brown, brown. I know we are in drought, but it is really shocking when you see it and realise how grim things are. I feel a bit guilty that I did not take any photos of our drought stricken land for some balance.
24 April, 2007
cockroach and cake
23 April, 2007
it made me laugh
Hmmm, Thanks for the laugh.
15 April, 2007
silenced
I was on a mission for something else, which shall be the subject of another post, however, I also came home with this wonderful fabric pack of japanese fabrics that shall be used in my recycled jeans quilt.
14 April, 2007
Aluth Avurudhu
In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese New Year falls In April when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya otherwise known as the 'House of Pisces', to the Mesha Rashiya or
'House of Aries'. Sri Lankans then begin celebrating their New Year known as 'Aluth Avurudhu' in Sinhala and 'Puththandu' in Tamil. The timing of the New Year begins at the time determined by astrologers. They not only calculate the beginning of the new year but also the conclusion of the old. You might think that surely where one year ends another simply begins, but not so. Here, there is a period of a few hours in between both years called the 'nona gathe' or neutral period during which no one works and all are expected to engage in religious activities.
12 April, 2007
resting
apparently yesterday I used up almost 20% of our monthly 1G internet account. It must have been discovering that you can watch past episodes of Martha Stewart and indulging.
It is really hard work resting, I have read my book, watched tv (Dr Phil, Judge Judy, love it), done the odd bit of dusting, vacuuming, and general tidying up. Being at home through the day with the sun streaming in, you really notice the dust, and it gets me quite agitated, not good when you have been told your blood pressure is high and a brain scan is required. Hmmm, yes a brain scan, I only went to the doctors on Tuesday because I thought I was coming down with a cold or the flu, and yes I have had a constant headache for a fortnight but I was putting that down to work stress, so a couple of days rest and I would be right for the month ahead of conferences, workshops, graduations, trip to Queensland, trip to Melbourne, submissions, presentations ....... and other life changing possibilities, I guess now we shall see.
In the pursuit of resting and making the most of this week at home, I have gathered up our old jeans and will try and out do yesterday's internet usage (only joking B) for recycled denim jeans quilt inspiration.
11 April, 2007
extended long weekend scarf
inspired from my day at the Show with mum on Thursday last week and Ann Collin's handwoven mohair wraps and dyed wool, I couldn't wait to get home and dig out the balls of mohair I bought last year. I had started the scarf a couple of times but couldn't remember the verbal instructions given to me, so subsequently unravelled what I had knitted a couple of times before admitting defeat and putting the wool away, till now. I commited the instructions to memory, 9mm knitting needles, cast on 18 stitches and knit to the end of the wool. Wallah! Over the extended long weekend, Friday through Easter Monday and sick day Tuesday.
08 April, 2007
Happy Easter
after trepidations about easter, due to recent family gatherings that have unavoidably strongly focused on the pregnancy's of the two sisters (remember I am oversensitive), I put on a brave face and we joined our family for easter.
The venue this year was Randwick, at my auntie's (mum's sister). The weather was great and all the family except for the youngest sister and her husband attended. We had baked pork and vegetables for lunch and cakes, cakes and more cakes for dessert. There were so many cakes that one went home with its maker (my grandmother) untouched and the other got dissected and went home with willing recipients. I cant't believe that my grandparents made it through yet another yearly milestone and that my grandmother was able to make a cake for the day. They are so well.
After lunch we took ourselves to Centennial Park for coffee, fresh air and to walk off some of the calories.
06 April, 2007
sponge with jam and cream
We have such lovely neighbours. This was presented to us over the back fence by our neighbour. It was the lightest sponge with fresh cream and jam. It was a little overwhelming actually, not being very proficient in the kitchen I couldn't imagine baking more than one cake succesfully and handing them away.