Leftovers,postponed, free massage,

I had leftover corned beef and potato salad for lunch today, mixed in with boiled egg, avocado, sweet cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and spinach. Delish. 

I had an appointment at lunch time today that I really couldn't be bothered going to but then it got postponed. I'm going tomorrow instead now. 

I got a free massage at work this afternoon. One of the (rather infrequent) perks of working for a large firm.

Catching up: part I

The city, looking pretty

And now for all the other gleeful stuff that's happened lately. Can I remember it....C'mon, weary brain. 

Oh, yeah. Big changes are afoot at work! I will be taking on more responsibility and shedding some much-disliked mundane tasks, and I'M GETTING UNDERLINGS TO BOSS AROUND! Wooh! The topic hasn't been broached yet, but I expect some extra dollars will also be forthcoming. Money's not my prime motivator, but a little more in the pay packet is always welcome. 

I'm hoping these changes will ease the sense of ennui that has been creeping into my working days for a few months now. I had actually been toying with the idea of looking for a new job, but I realised in the last week or so that I now feel like I've settled into the firm - I know plenty of people outside my own team now and I've gone beyond small talk in the kitchen. I feel comfortable and I like it. I'm not naturally a serial job-hopper.  I was thinking it would be a shame to leave after just over a year and have to start making myself comfortable somewhere else, so the new developments are well timed. 

Gimme more hot towels

I had a Thai massage after work Friday, the second I've had recently. (I can't remember if I blogged about the first one.) It was 70 minutes of fabulous. It hurt, but it was good pain. I love the hot towels at the beginning and end. I could seriously spend a whole day lying face down with hot towels on my back, as long as there were someone there to replace them as they cool. If I ever strike it rich, I'll pay someone to do that.

New specs

I have my new stripey spectacles! The frames are black, with black and white vertical stripes on the arms. I like them very much. I'll post a photo soon. I think it's time I had a new avatar actually. I've had the same photo, which I also use on Facebook and Twitter, for years. Clearly I'm not a compulsive selfie-taker. I've also been cultivating my quiff - it's longer than I've ever worn it before and stands up better without the aid of product now than it ever did before with product.  

Two herons

Remember me saying that I liked to think there was only one Nankeen Night Heron that I passed on my way home from work? And how we almost had one of those nodding relationships you develop with people you see on the train platform every morning? Well. THERE'S TWO OF THEM! TWO! Or perhaps even more. They were stalking the shallows about 10 metres apart when I walked past on my way home on Tuesday night. I don't know if they were together together, like Mr and Mrs Plover always are, or just in each other's vicinity. 

Hello, gardens; it's been a while

I made an unplanned visit to the Botanic Gardens on Sunday. I was nearing my front door after a walk up the street, thinking about how I couldn't wait to get back into bed because I felt really average (sensing a theme?) and *scratched record sound* I realised I'd locked my keys in the flat in my other bag.  Waaah. I had at least three hours to wait for Luke to get home from work. 

It was a sunny afternoon and I hadn't been to the gardens for a while, so off I went. I visited the Californian garden. 

 Moss and lichen. Not sure that's particularly Californian...

I walked through Fern Gully

 I can't recall the last time I saw water in the gully

I visited the Fern Gully resthouse especially to find and photograph fungus on the timber roof. And...bingo! There were several of these tiny fungus there, only a few centimetres high. The roof is mostly covered in moss, which is quite dense in places and, not surprisingly for moss, very moist. I had water dribbling down my sleeves as I reached up to take photos. 

The rest house

 This tree is half bare and half hanging on to its autumn

 leaves. Quite striking

 The echinacea is hanging on 

I also went to the herb garden, which has become another of my must-visit places in the gardens. Winter isn't its best time of year, although the lemon verbena leaves still smell divine. 

My (proper) camera battery died and it was quite cold by this stage, so I went to the Observatory Cafe for a hot drink (and ridiculously overpriced tiny cake), then I wandered over to the Shrine of Remembrance, just in time for the lowering of the flags and The Last Post, which I always find affecting. I had the idea of warming myself on the Eternal Flame, but I couldn't get close enough to it, dammit. 

By now I knew Luke was going to be late home so I headed into the city, thinking I'd find somewhere to warm up before heading home, but I found the Light in Winter Festival in Federation Square instead. 

This is the Helix Tree, which lights up at the sound of human voices. They have a choir singing at the base every day at sunset in June, and I heard the Melbourne Mass Gospel Choir. Although I'm a heathen, I do enjoy gospel music.  

And then I headed home and Luke was there and it was warm. 

Massage, book bargains, The Dude

I had a Thai massage after work Friday to ease the tight, sore muscles in my upper back and shoulders. It was AMAZING! Easily the best massage I've had. The pressure was perfect - hard, but not too painful - and she hit all the sore spots. I'll definitely be going back. 

Luke and I went into the city yesterday. We visited Embiggen Books, but left empty-handed, which I was actually a little relieved about since I already have too many unread books. But then we couldn't resist the pull of The Book Grocer on Elizabeth Street. We left with six books - four for me, two for Luke - for $50. A bargain, yes; but all those unread books... My four books are  all about words and books.  

I'm currently reading Bertrand Russell's Conquest of Happiness, which I bought at the op-shop for $2 a couple of weeks ago. Last night I read the line: Man is perpetually toiling, and matter is perpetually in motion, yet nothing abides, and I immediately thought, 'The Dude abides'! That's because I saw The Dude's costume at the Hollywood Costume exhibition yesterday. The Dude is the main character in The Big Lebowski. Definitely not the flashiest costume there! 

Sunset, rainbow, good timing

 The sunset reflecting on a South Yarra building

I'm back again! Already! I took these photos on my way home tonight. The sky was slate grey and stormy, and the sun was setting. 

 A pink tinge in the east

 A rainbow! Or part thereof

 Taken from our bedroom window (yes, it needs a clean)

Not only is tomorrow Friday, but I managed to nab a spot for a free massage at work. Another perk of the job. It's good timing because my back has been sore this week. 

Good pain, weird fruit, yummy muffins

I had my massage this morning. It was painful, but in a good way. The massage therapist said my muscles were very tight, especially my backside. Yep, I have tight buns. She spent quite a fair portion of the  one-hour appointment pummelling my posterior with her elbow. Ow. I'm going to start having regular massages. After I finish this post, I'm going to have a soak in a hot bath. 

After my massage, we went to Victoria Market to buy our fresh produce. As we were parking the car, I spotted an old sign on William Street. 

It's not as fun going to the market when I'm doing my low-allergy diet* because everything looks so delicious and tempting, but I can only eat a very limited range of fruit and vegetables. We did get a couple of weeks worth of meat though, including some lamb shanks for the slow cooker. 

We saw some Buddha's hands, a yellow citrus fruit with long fingers. I'd never even heard of them before, much less seen one. They're weird. 

* I can't remember if I mentioned I'm doing the Friendly Food diet again as part of a research project conducted by a pair of Monash Uni honours students. My dietician put my name forward to participate in the hope it might shed some light on my problem foods, since previous attempts at completing the diet have ended in frustration. This time it's only for about a month or so and I don't need to wait for my symptoms to clear up before I start the testing phase on Wednesday. They also supplied me with some snacks to make it a bit easier.  

Among other things, they gave me a dozen vanilla muffins which were scrumptious. I also got the recipe, so this afternoon I made some of my own. They're tasty. That's my morning tea sorted for the week. 

Redemption, anticipation, resurrection

The young lawyer who yesterday was unimpressed with the red blimp today offered me a Tiny Teddy biscuit. Perhaps his development isn't quite so arrested after all. 

I've made an appointment to have a 1-hour massage on Saturday. I can't wait. My efforts at the gym have improved my fitness and muscle tone, but a lot of the time I feel stiff and sore, especially my lower back, hips and between my shoulder blades. Not as young as I used to be...

A month or so ago, Luke bought a pot of coriander from the supermarket, which shrivelled and died almost the instant it was placed on our kitchen windowsill...all except for one or two little stems which have kept growing. It's slowly started to sprout more stems too. It's alive! 

I just realised I have forgotten to post a photo of my big terrarium. I won't take one now because the fern I planted also shrivelled up and died, so it's a little sparsely planted. The baby's tears are doing well so I might get some more of them. 

Music, massage and mmmmmmmmmm

I was listening to my iPod on shuffle while waiting for the tram home today, and it played Dusty Springfield's I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself and then the Whites Stripes' cover version straight after. Out of 232 songs on my Frisky Faves playlist!

Sometimes I think my iPod is a shiny little sentient being because when I'm sad it selects songs that are guaranteed to depress me further. Sentient, but unkind...or maybe it thinks I like to wallow.

Hurts so good

I had a massage after work tonight. Man, it hurt - but it's good pain. I went to one of those Chinese medicine places near work. I felt like laughing when he was doing the hand choppy move on me - as well as making an "errrr" sound so that it comes out as "er er er er " to the beat of his chops. I resisted.

Mmmmmm

I bought myself a bunch of Oriential lilies yesterday (below) and one was open when I got up this morning. I was greeted by its perfume when I arrived home tonight.