Second win, second wind, new leaf

Stopped by Hosier Lane on the way home 

I solved the Target puzzle again! Twice in a week. I've been making myself persevere beyond the "very good" word count and this time I reached the word limit without really noticing (the word was "sentenced"). Still no confetti shower. 

One of my pot plants got a bit droopy because I forgot to water it. Until it wilted, there was a long thin flower thing pointing towards the ceiling, but lack of water had it pointing to the floor. It was still drooping long after I watered it and I thought it was doomed, but when I got up this morning it was pointing up again! Yay! I saved it!

One of our other indoor plants  - a palm of some description - has sprouted its first new leaf since we bought it a few months ago.  I was worried it was failing to thrive. 

Street art hotspot, Sausage Saturday, lean and pointy

This little guy looks quite Seussian, no?

A few months ago I discovered an amazing street art hotspot in Windsor called Artists Lane, which runs parallel to Chapel off Green Street. I visited again today after my pilates class. 

 

Don't mess with this sword-toting woman

Hippo, birdy, giraffe, oh my!

Sausage Sunday has come early this weekend. It's Sausage Saturday! As well as potato salad, I made a German-style cucumber salad with dill and sour cream.  T'was yum. *pats belly* 

Now it's time to watch The Dressmaker.   

No post from me yesterday. I felt lousy most of the day and the high point was when I got home and crawled into bed to sleep. And this photo. I'm so lean and pointy! 

November: day 15

More poppies flowering out the front 

This is crazy, but I went to the gym today. Again! On a Sunday! I even left the house before midday! It's rare these days for me to even be out of bed by noon on a Sunday. Utter madness.  

I'm very pleased with my discipline, of course (I just wish it wasn't a constant struggle to maintain). I did 30 minutes of moderate cardio  - including a few stints of jogging - and felt energised when I left. 

I'm pleasantly surprised at how much better I feel following a fairly modest increase in physical activity. In the past week I walked to work twice (40 mins each time), did an hour of clinical pilates, visited the gym twice, walked more than 10,000 steps most days (19,400 today!) and did stretching at home. I feel less physically worn out, and not as stiff and sore. 

It feels good to be doing something to make myself feel better instead of just flopping on the couch feeling sorry for myself. 

***

I did a little laneway wandering on my way home from the gym. Here are some photos.  (I'm on Instagram now if you want to see more of my photos there. My username is frisky_librarian.)

 AC/DC Lane

 AC/DC Lane

 Just off Degraves Street

 Centre Place 

 Centre Place 

 Centre Place 

 Presgrave Place

Presgrave Place 

November: day 9

I walked to walk today for the first time in months - not because I leapt out of bed eager to make the most of the mild, sunny morning, but because I woke up before six o'clock and couldn't get back to sleep.  I was up early enough to eat breakfast at home instead of at my desk, conduct my full skincare and make-up routine instead of the bare basics I usually manage due to over-sleeping, and then make the almost 40-minute walk to my office. AND I was there five minutes early! It's such a nice way to start the day...but it probably won't happen again for months. Many months. 

I walked half-way home as well (racking up 13,000 steps today in total) and found some cool street art along an alley off Flinders Street.

Cool

Melbourne had a late burst of summer warmth today, but a cool change blew in as I was walking through the city. Aaaah, so refreshing. 

I cut through Hosier Lane on my way home and took some photos of the street art.   There's always plenty to see. 

 Creepy

 Monstery

 Intensity

 Gaze

 The eagle and the bear

 Bike and bunting

 Solemates

Bike and boy 

Laneway lady

Spotted on Hosier Lane on my way home this evening

Pictorial Sunday

If you look hard, you'll see a painted over Coca Cola sign 

(north side of Curtain House, Swanston Street)

Yes, I was at Melbourne Central. 

Here's the obligatory Shot  Tower pic

 Another lovely floral display in front 

of the Town Hall

In the flower bed above. I love these flowers, 

but forget what they're called

 Street art on Hosier Lane 

Part of the Citylights Project, Hosier Lane 

No surface spared in Rutledge Lane

Blue and green should always be seen 

Raaaark!  

Unexpectedly gleeful and expectedly cakeful

Bustling Centre Place

I had an ace day on Saturday, which wasn't what I expected when I left home in the morning. Not that I anticipated a bad day, but I ended up doing stuff I hadn't planned, which was fun.

I should have known it was going to be good when I got off my train from Richmond at Parliament Station and walked straight onto the train to where I had to go. That's a good omen.

Actually the good omens started Friday night when I bought myself a fat, furry-hooded parka - apparently the last one in store and in my size and on sale. Wheee! I think I've built up some shopping karma after not buying clothes for over a month.

I wore the parka yesterday and today. It was like being swaddled in my doona* out in public. I was toastiness on legs. I love it.

Anyhoo, I had an appointment over the other side of town on Saturday and then came back into the city, where I found myself with a few hours to kill. Rather than testing my shopping karma, I decided to go check out The Independent Type exhibition at the State Library.

Union Lane

I wandered there through the laneways and arcades - Degraves Street, Centre Place, the Block Arcade, Block Place and Union Lane. I also wandered down Drewery Lane for the first time (that I remember) and discovered the fabulous statue over the door of the Baroq House bar and lounge.

To the library...

The Independent Type is an exhibition on the evolution of books and writing in Victoria. As well as displaying Henry Handel Richardson's typewriter, Marcus Clarke's cabbage tree hat and the laptop on which Peter Carey wrote the True History of the Kelly Gang (among many other things), they had the little pocket diary from 1985 in which Paul Kelly jotted down lyrics for one of his best known songs, Leaps and Bounds. The words are actually a little different to those that ended up in the song, but they still refer to the the Punt Road hill, the MCG and the Nylex Clock, which are all spitting distance from my house. I love it when the clock on the silo says 11 degrees, just like in the song (not that it's been working for most of this year).

OK, it's a bit small to read...

After that, I went upstairs to feast my eyes (yet again) on the airy awesomeness of the domed La Trobe reading room (below) and then I had a hot chocolate and a teeny tiny flourless orange cake with zesty icing at Mr Tulk (the cafe at the library named after its first head librarian).

I had to get to my other appointment then but when that was over, I walked home via the Royal Arcade and Lingham Place, which is home to City Dream, the first of 2009 Laneway Commissions art installations. It's pretty cool - at first I couldn't see anything and then suddenly the "electric graffiti" appeared on the dark stone wall. I'm sure people walking past were wondering what I was doing lurking about in a gloomy laneway.

Nearly home...

Home

After dinner I had a chat to a friend on the phone (while looking out my window at the occasional bursts of fireworks to celebrate Melbourne Storm scoring in their game at Olympic Park), then I had a long soak in the bath before settling in to watch a bunch of Scrubs episodes from season 8 on DVD. God, I love that show.

Sunday

I'm just about falling asleep due to a sugar-induced stupor as I write this. I ate many, many sweet things today.

I had afternoon tea at the very posh Windsor Hotel, which is the first event in the week-long Festival of Jayne's Birthday. I prepared myself for afternoon tea by eating nothing all day except two slices of toast for breakfast at 10.00 am and I was still full as a goog (gee, I love that expression) when I left.

There were dainty ribbon sandwiches (some with cucumber, naturally), savoury pastries and scones with jam and cream served to our table on a three-tiered silver platter. Then there was a buffet laden with sweet treats - I had pavlova (not as good as my mum makes), mango cheesecake, a tiny chocolate cake, choc dipped strawberries, pear and almond tart and a tiny lemon meringue pie. I also had two glasses of pink champagne (which went straight to my head). There were crisp linen tablecloths and serviettes, proper silverware and chandeliers overhead.

So, now I can cross "Have afternoon tea at The Windsor Hotel" off my 101/40 list. Yay.

If all wasn't enough sugar (and fat), I went out to a birthday dinner with friends tonight (someone else's birthday) and ate a piece of lemon tart. I'm going to be so caked out by the end of the week...

The rest of the fest

My birthday festival continues on Wednesday when I'm going to Circus Oz. On Thursday (my actual birthday), I'm having lunch with a friend and then dinner with another friend at which I'm going to feast once again on corned beef and mashed spuds (I've been fantasizing about last weekend's meal all week!). And then on Saturday, the Wagons West Birthday Extravaganza Road Trip Down Memory Lane is go! I'm so excited.

*quilt/duvet

PS Something odd has happened to my formatting again but hopefully it will fix itself like it did last time.

More library glee

A different bit of the State Library

Ooh, how exciting! Today I found out* that part of the State Library that's been closed for six years will throw open its dusty doors to the public during this year's Open Day in Melbourne.

The ornate Queen's Hall is the oldest part of the library and is said to be haunted by the ghost of a librarian and a small child. Shame the open day won't be held at night!

As you may know, I love the State Library so I'm keen to stick my nose behind its closed doors.

I'm also eager to have a look at the boardroom of the National Mutual building. It was on the program for last year's open day, but the crowds were huge and I didn't get my foot in the door. Better get there early this time.

Oh, for anyone else who is interested, the Hidden Gems Open Day is on July 19. There's a little bit about it in today's Age, but I haven't been able to find a dedicated website with more information.

* Thank you anonymous blog reader

Laneway art

The City of Melbourne's 2009 Laneways Commissions are on the brink of being unveiled. There will be five of them but I know not where and when at this stage.

This development is tinged with disappointment because two of my favourite laneway art commissions from previous years have recently been removed - the chandelier in Warburton Lane and As it Happens (below), the expanding and shrinking wall bulge in McKillop Street. I used to walk past and appreciate them most days and now they are gone. Sigh.