Mysteriously lighthearted and Brisbane - day 1

I went back to work today and it was wet and miserable, but I was mysteriously lighthearted. It was probably partly because my boss is on holidays for two weeks. That's always good for the spirits (even though he's a great boss and I know how lucky I am). 

I went back to pilates tonight after a couple of weeks off. It was good to be back - my body needed it. The instructor is always so cheerful, which makes me cheerful too (obviously I'm not one of those people who's annoyed by the perpetually cheery). 

Oh, my holiday!  This is what Melbourne looked like on the day I left: 

 From the top deck, front row of the Skybus

And this is what Brisbane looked like when I arrived. It was about 28 degrees! I felt like I'd flown to a whole other country, not just interstate! There were people in bikinis and boardies all over the place (including in my face as I ate lunch at a cafe).

Streets Beach, Southbank

I spent the afternoon and early evening wandering into the city and back again via the Brisbane River. I love how the CBD is perched right on the river and there are boats moored practically at the doorstep of city office towers. 

From the Wheel of Brisbane (London Eye imitation)

 Eagle Street Pier

 Cute cottage near where I  stayed

To be continued...

Tense knee caps, fungus, Fitzroy wanderings

Awesome Collingwood ghostsign (or is it Fitzroy?)

At pilates today, while I was executing a bend over hamstring stretch thingo, the instructor told me to "relax my knee caps". I laughed instead. 

There's a crop of little mushrooms in the garden out the front of my flat. There's more of them today than there were yesterday. I'll check again in the morning. (I tried taking photos but they're too small and too far from my reach to get a decent one.) 

Luke and I had lunch over in Fitzroy today then wandered the streets and alleyways, looking at street art and ghostsigns. 

 Inward goods

 Manufacturing chemist

Mesmerising eyes

George Costanza

Then we went home and I napped for hours.  

Good timing, goofy laugh, no boss

This morning

There's been more wet and windy weather about today, but I timed my comings and goings perfectly. I arrived at an appointment this morning just before heavy rain pelted down, and I got home tonight after pilates minutes before the wind whipped up again. 

My pilates instructor has a goofy laugh that makes me laugh too. 

My boss wasn't interstate today - dang! -  but he will be tomorrow and Wednesday. Wooh!

Feline, Foddie's, strolling

I met a cat coming home

I forgot to mention our meal at the Foddie's on Saturday night! It was their opening night and we waited a while for our meals, but they were worth the wait. I had the pulled beef burger, with one of the best gluten-free buns I've ever eaten, and Luke had the lamb fatoush salad, which he enjoyed.  

I had picked out their dessert tapas for my second course, but I couldn't fit it in.  As a thank you for coming to their opening night and to apologise for the wait on our meals, they sent us off with some gluten-free, lactose-free chocolate brownies. Yum. 

I walked nearly all the way from work to my pilates class in Windsor, which took a smidge over an hour. I walked along St Kilda Road for most of the way. It's quite a pleasant stroll, despite the multiple lanes of traffic. It accounted for about half of my daily total of 14,000 steps.  

November: 23, 24 and 25

Street art in a city alley

Oops, so much for 30 posts in 30 days. I've been exhausted the past couple of days, so bed has come before blogging.

I'm going to two Interrobang  - A Festival of Questions events on Saturday - one is Why does 'i' come before 'e' except after 'c'? with Mary Norris, grammar guru from The New Yorker, and the other - which I'm especially looking forward to - is What is it to be wild? with Cheryl Strayed, the author of the memoir Wild and the woman behind the Dear Sugar podcast and column. 

I did my first reformer pilates class at the gym tonight. It was hard, but good hard. Most of my main muscle groups got a work out. I think they'll be sore tomorrow...

There's something very satisfying about going through the drawers of departed employees to find stationery. We've had a shortage of Post-It Notes, but I found a good stash yesterday. 

November: day 2

View from work today

Work was very quiet today because so many people - including my boss - took the day off to make a four-day weekend. My phone only rang once and hardly anyone interrupted me all day. I liked it. 

I have no plans at all for the public holiday tomorrow. I love having no plans. JOMO is practically my middle name.   

I went to pilates after work even though I was really tired and just wanted to go home (which is me every day).  I walked through the the door of the pilates studio like a hunchback and strode out feeling tall and straight. I've been doing clinical pilates since May or June. I haven't noticed any significant lasting improvements yet (I'm a physical wreck - these things take time), but I sure feel better after each class.