Foggy, creamy, trippy

 

Looking back towards Morell Bridge

It was a fabulous foggy morning this morning. I got up at 7.00am and couldn't see even a hint of the city buildings from my window, and they still hadn't emerged by the time I headed off to work at about 8.00.

The sun didn't start to break through the fog until I got to Alexandra Gardens. 

But there was still fog shrouding parts of the city when I got to work and it hung around for ages. I love fog - it makes for great photos and usually means a sunny day ahead.

Luke made creamy chive mashed spuds again tonight. Yum. 

Luke and I didn't go on our usual road trip back in January, but we are hoping to hit the road for an extended driving holiday in July. I'll say more when our applications for leave are approved.*crosses fingers*

Birthdaytripping

Happy birthday to me (for yesterday)! We had a fun day out in the country. I particularly enjoyed the drive up to Woods Point because it was a very foggy morning, and the forest looked spooky and magical in the mist.  It was beautiful when the sun started to break through. 

On the Black  Spur between Healesville 
and Narbethong 

A little way past the  Warburton turn off on 
Woods Point Road

Most of the road between the Warburton turn off and Woods Point is unsealed. It was fairly smooth...apart from all the parts that were slippery with mud and riddled with potholes and corrugations. Luke did a very good job of avoiding most of the potholes, but some teeth-rattlers did sneak up on him. It's far from the roughest road we've been on, but getting back onto bitumen was still quite a relief. 

We arrived in Woods Point around lunch time, and parked our little muddy hatchback behind a row of even muddier four-wheel drives.  I think we were the only people in town in a two-wheel drive. 

I was careless getting out of the car and managed to get mud on my jacket, leggings (front and back), dress (front and back), my handbag and even my sunglasses, much to Luke's amusement. I had to leave my jacket in the car, but a tissue and bottle of water removed most of the rest of the mud on me. Luke also got some mud on the back of his calf getting out of the car. Fortunately, as we walked up to the pub for lunch, it soon became obvious that nearly everyone had a bit of mud on them. Woods Point is a popular destination for four-wheel drivers and dirt-bike riders, and most of the people in the pub were there for one or the other.   

Waiting for lunch. No 9 on 9 July

The Woods Point hotel is one of the most isolated pubs in Victoria (it's beyond the reach of the internet!), so I was quite surprised to find a young English woman working there. She'd been there for six weeks and was enjoying it - even the lack of internet access wasn't bothering her as much as she expected. I doubt I would cope with the isolation or the lack of net access. I should add here Woods Point is a very small town of only about 100 people. There's a police station, a school, a mining company office, a general store (which was closed yesterday). 

Luke and I both had a chicken schnitzel sandwich for lunch. It was made with supermarket white bread and Kraft Singles cheese, but it was greater than the sum of its non-gourmet parts. It was pretty delicious, in fact (just as well because we waited for more than hour to get it. I don't recommend arriving just after a fleet of four-wheel drives.)  

After devouring our schnitzel sangers in super quick time, we went for a wander. Woods Point is a great place to visit for someone like me who like things that are old, rusty and decrepit!

 Old, rusty, decrepit car

 Old, decrepit service station with rusty bowsers

If you do a google images search for Woods Point, you will see a lot of photos of this tiny service station. It's very cute and I love the old bowers. Here's a shot of the two on the right. 

Diesoleum!

Bowser detail

 Another little shack

 On a lean 

Side view. It appears to be held together with a 

bit of wire, a couple of rocks and a miracle

Before heading home we stopped at the cemetery. There were far fewer graves than I expected, but a sign at the gate explained why: in 1939 the Black Friday bushfires destroyed the town and burnt the wooden crosses marking most of the graves. Only some have been replaced with simple white signs bearing a name and date of death. 

High on the hill

No neighbours

Luke's car after the drive home 

All in all, it was a fun day out. You can see more of my photos here. 

Odd fog, good hair, new blog

Weird patchy fog lingered around the city all day today. The sun was shining where I was but I had a good view of the foggy bits, like in the picture of Docklands above. It was strange but cool. I love fog. 

Zoos Victoria shared some ace photos of the fog at Werribee Open Range Zoo this morning.  

I had a good hair day today...mainly because a tiny bit of effort into making it look less like troll hair. 

My new blog, More than Enough, is live! I'm still working on tarting it up though. Day two of my shopping ban today and so far so good! 

Foggy, sunny, foggy

 The fog clearing on my way to work this morning

On the city fringe...the sun reflecting off 

Eureka Tower onto a wisp of fog

Around 5.15 this afternoon

The fog returns as I return home

JBPM: day 22

The city disappeared today

Today was super foggy. The city was hidden when I left for work and I couldn't see the bay from my office until the afternoon, but most of the metropolitan area remained shrouded in fog all day. In fact, the fog is forecast to linger in some parts of Melbourne until tomorrow afternoon. I like fog. 

For lunch today I had a bowl of the lamb and vegetable soup from Sue Shepherd's new(ish) range of FODMAP friendly products. It was nice to have a hot meal instead of my usual lunch of sushi rolls. I can't eat onion, garlic or gluten so sushi is the easiest quick meal option for me, but it's not the ideal winter repast.  

I made the avocado and lime rice again tonight, but this time I didn't measure anything and it was even better. It's so quick and easy to make too.  

Have a look at these pictures of a gorgeous 144-year-old wisteria tree in Japan. Stunning. 

Here's a song from Norah Jones' other country band, Puss N Boots. 

Foggy, foggy, foggy, blimp

I'm sure it wasn't foggy when I got up this morning, but when I left for work 'twas foggy indeed. I couldn't see even a hint of the city as I crossed over Morell Bridge.  Luke said it wasn't foggy when he left for work very early this morning either, so it must have rolled in just for my photographic pleasure. Thanks, fog!

It amazes me how quickly fog can disappear. Five minutes after I took the above photo, the sun had penetrated the fog and almost burnt it all away. There was a little wisp still hanging about the top of Eureka Tower, and the sun was bouncing off the tower onto the fog. 

It took longer to clear outside the CBD though. 

 Looking out my office window about 10.30

I saw another sight out my window in the afternoon. Another blimp! This time a red one, which flew around and around in a very tiny loop, and then it was gone. What is it with blimps and their odd behaviour? Or am I having blimpy hallucinations? I had a lawyer at my desk when I first saw it. 

Lawyer: Blah, blah, blah...

Me (interjects, points out window): Ooh, look! A blimp!

Lawyer (glances out window): Blah, blah, blah...

Me (thinks): What's wrong with you? It's a blimp! A red blimp! 

Sigh. He's only about 25, probably too young not to care about appearing young. 


I was going to mention the quote by CS Lewis about putting away childish things, but I couldn't remember the exact wording, so I asked Google. I found the whole passage the quote comes from. I've never seen it in its entirety before. 

Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

Probably best I don't tell the young lawyer his development is arrested. 

Deni, chilly, smelly, zingy

Foggy morning

Luke and I are off to Deniliquin, my hometown in southern New South Wales, tomorrow afternoon for a family get-together to celebrate my birthday. We'll be able to stay a day longer than our last visit in July last year, which means more time to spend with my mum and to take photos. I'm really looking forward to it. 

It's going to be really cold overnight while we're there - down to 0 degrees C one night and -2 the next. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'm looking forward to wearing my super warm parka though. I haven't worn it at all this winter. The days are meant to be fine and sunny, and not too cold. Perfect. 

I'm still loving The Etymologicon. It's marvelous - it blows my mind a little bit on every page. Some of the origins of words and connections between words are just so bizarre, you couldn't make it up. I'll save up all the mind-blowing bits and regale you with them in one (probably very long)  post.  

I bought two bunches of jonquils on the way home last night - one yellow and one creamy white. When I opened my front door tonight, I was met with their heady aroma. It can be a little strong, but I like it. 

Speaking of nice smells, I gave my Docs a coat of beeswax leather conditioner tonight. I love the smell of that too. 

I had blood orange gelato for dessert tonight. It had a zing to it almost like sherbert. Yum. 

My Saturday in photos

The fog still lingered over the city when Luke and I walked along the river this morning. I took a photo of ducks (surprise!). It's so cute the way they tuck their beaks into their feathers to sleep. 

There was a rainbow in the spray from the Hochgurtel Fountain in the Carlton Gardens.

Here's a close up. 

We went to the Finders Keepers Market at the Royal Exhibition Building, although the opportunity to photograph the building's beautiful interior was the biggest drawcard. The market only took up one end of the building, with the rest of it screened off. But there were gaps  where the screens joined so we squeezed through and snapped away. It's not that often you get  the chance to take photos inside the Royal Exhibition  Building without hordes of people getting in the way. 

Click here for more pics

Luke spotted an old sign on a building opposite the Exhibition Building.

Bantown House? 

We popped into the Botanic Gardens on our way home. The Ornamental Lake is covered in a thick carpet of algae. 

It's a swanvoy

I took more photos of ducks (and the algae).

The ducks were funny.  I saw a gap in the algae where the surface of the water was disturbed. 'Ooh, there's something in the water over there!' I said to Luke, just as a duck popped up in the gap. 

We saw swans making a love heart. Unfortunately they were rather inconsiderate swans and didn't hold the pose for more than a nanosecond, so my photo is fuzzy. 

We took some more photos and then headed for home. 

The fog and the sun and the moon

There were three hot air balloons floating in the foggy sky when I got up this morning. The fog was thick, but the sun was trying hard to break through as I made my way to work (below).  It took until well into the morning for it to clear up completely.

My building emerging from the fog

When I left work, the big, yellow moon was rising and just hovering above the top of the MCG stadium. Of course my photos don't do it justice.

 

I could see it almost all the way home.
 

PS: The blog about my birthday weekend in Walhalla is still to come. You can see my photos here for a taste.

Fog, comfy, day off

 If you squint a bit..

Melbourne got its fog on again today. It was a little foggy when I left for work and it never fully receded before creeping back in the late afternoon as the sun was sinking. It was so thick in places I could only just see the top of the Arts Centre spire protruding out of the blanket of white. It was strangely patchy.

  

(ignore the reflections)

I bought some new trackie pants (sweatpants) on the weekend. I won't be wearing them out of the house, but gosh, they are cosy and comfy.

It's my birthday on Saturday week and I've taken the Friday off before. Yay.

More fog, more sun, more signs

It was very foggy until nearly midday today.  I love fog, partly because it usually gives way to a clear sunny day, which is what happened today. It was yet another gorgeous winter's day. I took these photos from my flat.

The Nylex clock

AAMI Park

The city begins to appear

I took this one just after leaving home. The fog cleared

before I got to the city

I skived off the gym today (I'm still sore from walking up Hanging Rock....that's my excuse anyway) and wandered into town, shedding my gloves and earmuffs as the exercise and sunshine warmed me. I saw a little girl in grungy Centre Place holding a large red balloon. Sadly there were too many people passing by for me to get a good shot. Dagnammit.

I picked up some old family photos I had scanned to CD. There's some great photos of my paternal grandfather, who died before my brother and I were born, and a nice one of my parents taken before I was born. There's also lots of cool photos of old cars. I plan to do something with them, I'm just not sure what yet. Some sort of collage, I think.

My grandfather Mick and old car

Then I poked around vintage clothing, homewares and book shops in the city and Brunswick, but only bought a photography book.

I had planned to be in the Carlton Gardens at sunset to take photos, but I didn't get there until it was dark and was pleasantly surprised to see the Hochgurtel fountain in full...spray? It looked spectacular lit up by spotlights. I suppose it must be on all the time now the drought is over. Yay.

I spotted some old signs in Brunswick.

Moran & Cato (a department store)

Moran & Cato Tea Warehouse - I saw this sign a few

months ago but forgot to take a photo

Off Fitzroy Street. I can't make out what it says

And look in the background of one of the old photos I had scanned! An ad for Robur Tea. (I don't know who the couple is or where it was taken.)