Spring is imminent, and a day out

Bright sunshine, blooming lavender

It gladdens my heart to see signs of spring appearing. Magnolias are in bloom, shrubs are budding and I saw a bee the other day. Today I was out and about with sunshine on my bare arms. It was delightful.   

Luke and I were treated to a day out at the football at the MCG yesterday courtesy of his work. It included lunch and afternoon tea in the Premiership Club, a tour down to the boundary of the hallowed turf during the team warm up and tickets to the game. 

 Luke and me boundary riding

 Me relaxing on the interchange bench

My team, North Melbourne, played and lost to the reigning premiers, Hawthorn, but it was still a fun day out. Free food and booze is always appreciated and I haven't been to the footy in years.

The stadium was only half full, but that still means we were sitting in a crowd of 50,000 people. It's a pretty amazing atmosphere, even when your team is losing. 

Football selfie with freshly coloured quiff

Yes, I know I haven't finished blogging about my Queensland holiday yet. I've been busy spending time with Luke upon his return from overseas and being too tired for blogging. 

Easter, footy's back, summer's gone

 We didn't do it! Let us out!

The extra-long Easter weekend has arrived. Four days of no work. Woo! Luke and I are going for a drive to Bendigo tomorrow to visit my friend and her two boys. We're going to make a (probably very long) day of it by travelling via Trentham, Daylesford and Castlemaine. I'm a little bit in love with central Victoria after our recent visits to Maldon and Clunes, and my day trip to Castlemaine a couple of years ago. I discovered from Trentham's website that it has Victoria's longest single drop waterfall - imaginatively named Trentham Falls - so we'll be stopping off there. 

Apart from that, we haven't planned anything, which I quite like. 

The football season (AFL, that is) started tonight. I'm not a huge footy fan, but there's something comforting about coming home on a nippy autumnal evening, plopping onto the couch and watching the football on TV. Well, Luke watched it (and yelled at the TV) while I messed about on my laptop.

Speaking of autumn, it looks like the hot weather has finally nicked off so we can now properly appreciate the loveliness of autumn. 

Shellacking, footy, shiny, tiny, stripey

I had my nails done again today, but this time I got shellac polish in a deep, subtly iridescent purple. Shellac is a new type of nail varnish that dries very quickly and lasts much longer without chipping. It's weird not having to be careful to avoid smudging or chipping it. Weird, but good. (I guess I can no longer describe myself as a not very girly girl.)

Footy

My (Aussie Rules) football team, North Melbourne, had a convincing and unexpected win over Collingwood, one of the top team in the competition, last night. I think this is the first time I've ever blogged about a football game (apart from the Grand Final). I'm not a particularly enthusiastic fan, but I've followed North Melbourne since I was a kid (despite the rest of my family barracking for Essendon) and it's gratifying to see them doing well after many years of mediocrity.  I think there's some Collingwood fans in my team at work. *digs out North Melbourne scarf*

Shiny

As well as watching the game last night, I shined some of my shoes. (Shone my shoes?) I polished a few pairs of work shoes that were scuffed and dull, as well as my biker boots, and then conditioned them with beeswax "leather balsam" (as it's described on the tub). Not the most exciting way to spend one's Saturday night, but also quite gratifying. Shiny, shiny shoes for me. 

Let there be light

Some of the light fittings in my flat are the screw-in kind and others are bayonet cap style. I never remember which ones are which, and I always forget to check first before going to buy a new globe. Today, in defiance of the order of the universe, I managed to buy the right kind for my kitchen light fitting. 

Tiny 

When I was walking home with my light globe and groceries, I spied a teeny weeny little mushroom in the garden that runs the length of the footbridge over the freeway. I reached for my camera, but I'd left it at home. Dang. Luckily it's close to home, so I went back later and took photos of it. 

I should have put something in the shot to show how small it is. It's less than 2cm tall. Eyes like an eagle, me. 

Spring is ready to...spring. 

 Hydrangea bud

Here's one it prepared earlier

Sripey 

I put my new bed linen on the bed this afternoon. It makes me go a bit cross-eyed, but I like it. The heart cushion usually lives on the couch, but I've moved it to the bed. I love black and white with red accents. 

I think Grover likes it too

J and Jayne's long weekend

Me and J at Coles late Saturday night. Do I know how to

 show a foreigner a good time, or what?

My US friend J has been and gone and it was fun. I enjoyed showing off my town to him and since the long weekend was all about packing in fun stuff (and none of the usual boring stuff that has to be done on weekends), it was like a little holiday for me too.  I felt like I'd been away from work longer than three days.

On Saturday we watched half of the AFL Grand Final (Mark I) with the masses at Fed Square and the end of the game at the the Eureka Tower Sky Deck, which was almost deserted. A good time to go! We could see the crowd at the MCG and hear the roar of the crowd at Fed Square from 88 floors up.

Although the drawn game was anti-climactic, at least J can say he was in Melbourne for the historic 2010 drawn Grand Final.

After the game we strolled along Southbank as the sun set. It rained a little, but then there was a rainbow over the city.

Saturday night we ate a quick dinner in North Melbourne before seeing Dave Callan's Fringe Festival show, Woman. Back in the city,  J loaded up on Tim Tams at Coles. He couldn't get enough of the chocolatey Tim Tam goodness.

On Sunday we went to St Kilda and ate breakfast outside at The Espy in perfect spring sunshine. The weather could not have been better. We meandered the length of the Esplanade market where J bought presents for himself and friends, and then along Acland Street, which was thronged with people enjoying the warm weather.

 

From St Kilda Pier

That evening we went to a threatresports show at Theatreworks on Acland Street, which was the first time I'd seen theatresports live. On Monday we hired a car and travelled the Great Ocean Road to Port Campbell. The weather wasn't as good as the day before, but it was still mostly sunny and we didn't get rained on.

 

At Sheoak Falls

It was beautiful as always, especially the lush green pastures glowing in the late afternoon sun. I think I almost like the rural parts of the GOR more than the seaside bits.

Another rainbow, near Port Campbell

Us and some of the remaining 12 Apostles

We ate dinner at a pub in Colac and then hit the highway for home.

On Tuesday it was back to work for me, but I met J after work for Philip Escoffey's Six More Impossible Things Before Dinner, which was very entertaining (regardless of whether you think he's a con man or a mind reader).

And then J was gone! Four days really isn't long enough to see Melbourne...

It's all happening!

The view from Swan Street Bridge last night

It's Friday! J arrives tomorrow! Melbourne is abuzz! Not because J is arriving, though I'm sure it will be happy to host him. (I'm excited about him arriving of course.)

It's Grand Final Eve - tomorrow is a big day for this town, powered as it is by AFL fever (that and caffeine). It's a great time to visit Melbourne - the weather's starting to warm up a little, the Fringe Festival is on and the International Arts Festival kicks off in a week or so as well. So much to see and listen to and do!

Ah, I'm firmly in the grip of Melbourne love right now...well, more firmly than usual.

Visitor, strong and hot (er...)

I love the old bluestone, cobblestones and brickwork in this alley near my office

My US friend J arrives on Saturday. Yay. It also happens to be the biggest event on Melbourne's sporting calendar: the AFL Grand Final. Not only will I get to enjoy the atmosphere of the day, I'll be sharing it with an out-of-towner (I hope the Collingwood fans don't scare him).

I like it when I'm at the gym and I have to adjust the weight on a machine so that it's heavier, not lighter. It doesn't happen very often, but I'm happy when it does. Wooh! I'm stronger than that last person!

How ace are hot water bottles, hey? Much better than wheatbags, if you ask me. One morning last week when I woke up, my hot water bottle was still slightly warm, SEVEN HOURS after I got into bed with it.

Football, daisy chains and fireworks

I had such a gleeful day today, from start to finish. My little inner spring of contentment is burbling away.

I woke up feeling good from a dream in which I reconnected with the boy I dated briefly at the end of high school. It was just so lovely to spend time with him again and I was pleased he'd left the religious sect he belonged to back then (really!) and we could be together again. Strangely, I didn't feel let down when I realized it was only a dream - just a little warm and fuzzy inside.

I woke up to an absolutely glorious spring day - blue skies and sunshine and a forecast top of 28 degrees C, which is unusually warm for this time of year. I wore one of my new Red Bubble T-shirts with my arms bare all day.

And today wasn't just any day - it was the biggest day on Melbourne's sporting calendar - the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final. When I went up the street this morning, it was teeming with football fans of all ages wearing their team's colours, many of the kids with painted faces. A chopper was hovering high overhead. A tabby cat wandered among the brunching football crowd on the footpath looking very unamused by it all. The atmosphere was amazing. Even I was feeling a little nervous excitement and I don't follow either of the teams that played.

Eight hours hours later the game was over, and the underdog scored a victory over the reigning premiers, which had only suffered one loss all season. I wanted the underdog to get up - I have friends who follow them and I'm happy they are so happy (although both of my bosses support the losing team....).

I wandered down some new, unexplored streets again today when I was out and about, including The Vaucluse, which is an exclusive enclave of the suburb of Richmond. It has beautiful old houses with shady trees and gardens full of flowers that scented the warm air. In other streets lined with squat terrace houses, you can almost smell the history, it's like a vapour. I love it.

On the way home I saw some daisies in the park, the same kind that I used to make daisy chains out of when I was a kid growing up on a farm, sitting in a paddock in the sun with the girls from next door.

And then tonight, as I was sitting on my couch setting up a profile on StumbleUpon, fireworks exploded, perfectly framed against the night sky through my loungeroom window (below). They were just across the river in the park and so loud it sounded like bombs were exploding around me. It's like living in a weekend war zone here in the warmer months, and although they give me a fright sometimes, I love the fireworks and the fact I don't have to leave my house to enjoy them. I just turn my head! Yet another reason to relish living in this flat.

Aaaahh...

Have a gleeful weekend everyone!