I had a brief moment just after I woke up this morning when I thought it was my day off and I wasn't even cross when I remembered I was going to work. I was surprisingly chipper for most of the day until I had to help out another team with its bills and they were annoying (I had to do maths!) and they kept me at work beyond my usual home time. But, yay! It's the weekend now. I have no plans, except for relaxing and reading. It's a hard life. It was, as forecast, a lovely warm day today. I spent most of it inside, but the sunshine still lifted my spirits. I think I would have been less chipper if I had to go to work on my usual day off and it was cold and miserable.
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.
What stunning spring weather we've had the last few days, with the mercury hitting the mid-20s. Mid-20s! Even a mere 20 degrees would have been cause for glee. It's been such a cold winter that I'm having trouble remembering when it was last warm enough to walk to and from work without a jacket.
Luke bought a new car last week and we took it for a cruise down the Mornington Peninsula on Sunday. We stopped at The Royal Hotel in Mornington for lunch and it was mild enough to have our meal on the veranda just across the road from the sparkling bay. The tide was out and the water was a beautiful shade of turquoise.
I'm enjoying my 10.00am starts. I'm not doing a very good job (by which I mean I'm doing a very bad job) of getting up early enough to have breakfast at home and walk to work, but it's so nice to have a weekday lie in. I also don't feel quite the same feeling of "UGH, I have to get up for work in the morning" knowing I don't need to get out of bed before 8.30. Today I got up at 9.00am and sat down at my desk at 9.55. WIN! (The 6.15 finishes are less enjoyable, but that's partly because I'm not at all busy.)
Here's some stuff I've been hoarding for when I got around to blogging again:
Are you a smellfungus? Find out in this list of 101 Bizarre English Words. A lot aren't really that bizarre, but most of them are splendid and should be used more often.
I found another time-related word to add to my list: nychthemeron, which means a full period of a night and day; 24 hours. It's a pretty cool word. it sounds like the name of a planet or something from a sci-fi novel.
I love the idea of a playground for adults, like this one in Boston. Not one of those ones that are designed for sedentary grown ups to get some exercise, but a playground that's just for fun.
Check out these photos from the Reykjavic Police Instagram account. Puppies, kittens and fairy floss, oh my! (Have I mentioned my fixation with Iceland?)
The last two days have been filled with glorious sunshine. I walked the 40 minutes to my osteopath appointment this morning for the first time in aaaaages to make the most of the warmth. I bared my pasty white arms and gave my vitamin D levels a boost. Aaaah...spring. The smell of jasmine is everywhere and magnolias are blooming, even though the trees are still bare of leaves.
I had my neurologist appointment yesterday. I'm gonna get botox! As well as its cosmetic and other therapeutic benefits, the toxin is effective at preventing migraines in many sufferers. I have to keep a diary to show that I have 15 migraines a month before the government will subsidise the treatment, so for the first time ever I'm willing my head to ache! Fifteen seems like a lot, but I think I'll get there. The treatment costs $1,200 and lasts only three months so it's not an option if I don't qualify for the subsidy.
It's weird that being injected with the most deadly toxin known to humankind feels preferable to taking medication every day. (No one has ever been poisoned by it during a treatment.) I didn't ask about whether the treatment will have cosmetic benefits, if you're wondering!
I had a lovely dinner with the girls last night - a farewell dinner for a friend from my old work who is leaving to for an extended stint of travel, the lucky thing. The food was tasty and we had a lot of laughs.
I've had a huge wedding show binge this afternoon. I've lost track of how many hours of wedding programs I watched*. I'd be watching Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta right now if I hadn't already seen the episode earlier in the day. So annoying!
(*Yeah, I know I should have been outside enjoying the late winter sun, but I didn't have the energy for it. I still enjoyed the sun shining in my big lounge room window and the gentle breeze blowing through my flat.)
Luke and I left the house tonight to go for dinner and I could smell spring on the air - that lovely sweet blossomy scent. I spotted a spray of jasmine among the greenery on a neighbour's fence on the weekend too, and buds have started to appear on the still-bare branches of shrubs I pass on the way to the tram stop. It feels too cold still for buds to appear, but it makes me happy. It's one of my favourite times of the year.
I saw a possum on the way home the other night. It was sitting at the bottom of a tree, watching me pass by.
I haven't been working to work lately so I haven't seen Mr and Mrs Plover beside the river, but I did see a lone plover on the oval when I was walking to the tram on Monday. It was a manic little creature - it would take half a dozen quick steps then stop and look into the grass for insects, then, finding none, it would run off again. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. If 'd had the time, I would have stopped to video it.
Hello, world. It's been a while. Glee has been a little thin on the ground for the last few months and I've been too glum/tired/lazy to force myself to keep blogging through it like I've done in previous gloomy periods.
But I've been feeling more myself the last few weeks (yay for medication) and the urge to blog has slowly returned. Since it's NaBloPoMo time again (already) I thought I'd use it to get back myself back in blogging habit. Yes, I'll be back tomorrow. And the day after. Etc.
Finding things to write about isn't likely to be a challenge because I intend write about stuff that happened while I wasn't blogging - including my trip to England and Paris in August. But I'll start with more mundane stuff.
I had my performance review at work today and it went well - the partners are happy with my efforts. Not that I expected it to go badly, but for most of the past six months I have felt unmotivated, unenthusiastic and - for a few weeks after my holiday - almost inert. I was sure my funk must have been obvious, but either it wasn't or I met expectations regardless. Whichever. Thankfully, since I've been chirpier, I've been much less inert at work.
Today is Friday and it was sunny after a yet another week of chilly, grey days. Melbourne is having an unusually chilly, grey spring so today's sunshine was very welcome. Tomorrow is going to be warm too.
I gave blood today. They had gluten-free mud cake in the cafe.
A very pleasant day to walk into the city. Aaaah, spring.
The plovers are back again!
What's that over there?
I spy with my little eye...
A (wonky) circle of daisies
Make a wish...
A different kind of daisy
I popped into the City Gallery for a squiz at the Melbourne Parks and Gardens through the Magic Lantern exhibition. This picture and many others of Melbourne's public gardens in the early 1900s were taken from delicate glass slides made for a projector called a Magic Lantern (which is also on display).
The slides were found in a storeroom at the Burnley School of Horticulture in 1975 and thought to have been used by the school's first principal, Carl Bogue-Luffmann, in his lectures. The school was established in 1891 and caused a stir for admitting women. Bogue-Luffman said in 1900 he "did not think horticulture is an affair of sex". He was waaaaaaaay ahead of his time.
As I was passing the town hall I saw a sign promoting a free public lecture by Bill Bryson. BILL BRYSON! FREE PUBLIC LECTURE! The 16th Kenneth Myer Lecture, to be exact. Bill will be talking about "the most important and remarkable (and generally under-appreciated, even by scientists) things he learned about science while researching his book – A Short History of Nearly Everything". The lecture is being presented by the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. I sat down straight away in front of the town hall and registered online to attend. Yay for smartphones., eh?
I walked to work and home again after the gym without a jacket, in short sleeves, for the first time since the end of summer. Yay for spring. Tomorrow is going to be warm as well - 29 degrees C (before a return to more wintry weather. *sigh*)
Daylight savings starts this weekend. Wooh!
I accidentally stuck an address label crooked on an envelope at work, but peeled it off cleanly, without removing a layer of paper. Quite satisfying. I also find it pleasing when I place a label exactly square on an envelope, or on the spine of the folders we use for our files.
Luke and I enjoyed the Henry Wagons show at Hamer Hall yesterday. Henry's an engaging personality and loves a chat when he's on stage with the band, so it wasn't surprising that he was entertaining when doing more talking than rocking. The Performance Enhancers series features musicians talking about their inspirations and influences, musical and otherwise. I had a good spot right in the centre of the third row, with no-one in the seats in front of me. I managed not to swoon.
Henry performed several songs, including one of my Wagons' favourites, Never Been to Spain, a cover of a song written by Hoyt Axton and performed by Elvis. "Fat Elvis" is one of Henry's musical inspirations - he even had fat Elvis as his special topic when he appeared on the music quiz show Rockwiz.
Here's a stripped back live version with just Henry and his guitar, which is what we saw yesterday.
I've been listening to Wagons all afternoon while pottering around at home, with all the windows open to let in the fresh spring air. There's couple of large windows in my living area, so I don't feel like I'm missing out by spending a sunny day inside.
I have a lamb shoulder in the oven, with loads of vegies, garlic and rosemary. My flat smells like roasting garlic. Yummmmm. I love these symmetrical photos of underground railway stations.
Happy first day of spring! Happy birthday to Gleeful! Four years old today. It was a beautiful sunny day. I had a massage in the morning (the ouchy type, not a pampering one) and then got my hair and nails done. I'm still keeping up this girly girl caper (although I think my biker boots balanced it out). And all day I've been counting down the hours until Luke gets back. His plane is due to land in just over three hours. I wish I could meet him at the airport so I get to see him sooner and because it's lovely to walk off the plane into a big hug. I'll just have to be patient... Here's another Mali. This one's in front of Melbourne Central, near the corner of Swanston and Elizabeth Streets.
I entered Melbourne Central by going up an escalator I've never been on before and finding myself in unfamiliar territory, which doesn't happen very often in one's own city. And look what I found!
It's the Melbourne Central Little Library - a small space that could have had a shop in it, but instead it's got shelves of books for people to borrow. What a fantastic idea.
Tis the eve of spring...and Gleeful's fourth birthday...and Luke's homecoming! I'm triply excited!
Continuing the trio theme, I saw a pair of ducks with their three ducklings foraging for insects on the bank of the Yarra this morning. I hope it's not the same pair of ducks I saw a few weeks ago because that would mean their brood is rather depleted.
I've bought two new albums this week. One is the new Gabby Young and The Other Animals CD, The Band Called Out For More, which is theatrical and almost operatic. The other isUnderneath this Big Striped Tent, the debut album of the quirky American duo Channing & Quinn. A big thank you to my friend Margaret for sending me a link to their album because she thought it would be to my liking. Yes, indeedy. I'd never heard of them, but after a few bars of the first song, I had goosebumps. Channing Lee and Gabby Young both have fantastic voices.
I wore a pair of my new boots at work today. They have pretty high (but solid) heels and a hidden platform, so I felt like a giantess (I'm usually 163cm). They're pretty comfy too, as high heels go anyway.
I had drinks with the girls from my old work last night. One friend who left the firm a few months before me was also there. We haven't seen her for ages so there were hugs and smiles all round. There's was no tasty lamb dish this time, but the $10 cocktails made that easy to overlook. Delicious fruity cocktails. Yum.
More Mali!
Here's a few more Mali sculptures. I think this weekend is their last weekend at large in the city before being auctioned off, so I probably won't get to see them all.
Bourke Street Mall
Southbank, the Clarendon Street end
I think I posted a pic of this one before, but I only
realised last night this is the Mali self-portrait
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 saw the ducklings again today...well, one of them. Most were huddled under their mother's body (warm as duck down, I suppose). Only one was on the outer, but it was trying to snuggle back under. Father duck was watching on protectively from higher up the river bank. (I couldn't stop to take a photo. I really need to stop hitting the snooze button so many times.)
For the last couple of days at work I've been trying to sort out invoicing issues on a file that had been left in a shambles by a partner who recently left the firm. It was a pain in the butt trying to get my head around it, but it was quite satisfying in the end. My boss referred to what I was doing as "analysis". Hehe.
I'm leaving work in daylight again. Yay! Spring is only a few weeks away - which means Gleeful will soon be turning four. Four! I can't believe I've stuck at it so long.
My department moved offices over the weekend. I'm still settling in to my new workspace, but I have an even better view than before.
The partners gave the each of the secretaries a bunch of flowers and a Myer gift card to say thanks for all our hard work during the move. I got tulips with purple flowers I think I should know but can't name (some kind of bulb - a little hard to see in the photo). Pretty. I wasn't expecting it, but it's a lovely gesture.
Speaking of flowers, the little black and yellow daisies have sprouted in the grass along the river banks. It's spring! Warm weather is forecast for the weekend too. Yay! I want to get out and fly my kite.
Today is the first day of spring and that means Gleeful is 3 years old. Yay!
I was a bit grumpy when I left for work this morning, but my mood lifted when I saw new growth appearing on the trees beside the river. It was a grey morning, but it turned into a beautiful sunny day.
I stopped to take this photo near my building - spring blossoms! blue sky! - and when I zoomed right in, I saw bees harvesting pollen. Bees! This one says hello.
I have some new music to share with you. I saw the video for this on Ragelast night. Raphael Saadiq. Love it.
And this afternoon, while streaming Adelaide's Three D Radio online*, I heard a new track by the Dex Romweber Duo (among many other awesome tunes) and discovered they have a new album out. Hurrah.
* My very first blog comment, back in the olden days of Myspace, was from Jade, who hosts a couple of shows on Three D, including (The Whole) Kit and Caboodle. Thanks to the wonders of the interwebs, I can listen online. If you like your music with lashings of rockabilly, country, blues, gospel, funk, swing and "dreamy creamy mashed potato pop", I urge you - nay, I beseech you - to check out Three D. Now, I sez!
I have some other fabulous stuff to share with you too. If you're into love (who isn't, really?) and letter writing and especially the two of them combined, take a look at The World Needs More Love Letters. This lovely project grew out of one girl's attempts to ease her loneliness while travelling. She started handwriting love letters and leaving them in places for people - complete strangers - to find. She left them in library books and cafe menus and on trains. She wrote 400 letters and then launched the website to help other people spread the love - you can write love letters and request a love letter for yourself or someone in need of a bit of love. I er...love this.
If that's not enough love for ya, check out J's Love Project on her site, Zebra Sounds (which is where I read about Love Letters). She writes about her year of "consciously, unabashedly, fearlessly spreading the love".
"In January, I made a public declaration that 2011 would be my year of loving fearlessly. It's a project. A mission. My personal rebellion because here’s the thing: snark is funny, cynicism is cool, but I think the real badasses in this world LOVE... "
I couldn't agree more. There's also links to many awesome things on her site, especially if you like reading and writing and well, awesome things.
Today I didn't even need to wear a cardigan on my walk to work to keep warm - just a top with elbow length sleeves and arm warmers covering my forearms. And the arm warmers came off before I got to work.
I have been struggling to get up for work, as predicted, but I have forced myself to get up just 10 minutes earlier than usual. It's nice having the extra wiggle room in what was an extremely tight morning routine to ensure I arrived at work on time. I do enjoy a wiggle in the morning....
I found a purple rollerball pen in the coping room at work. Finders keepers.
I was feeling cranky coming home on the tram tonight and then I got a text message from Luke that made me smile.
It's still winter, but I went to work without a jacket today. My new red cardy was enough to keep me warm.
We've got passionfruit in our fruit box at work at the moment. Yum. I love the smell and the taste of passionfruit. Someone also brought in the surplus supply of lemons from their tree for people to help themselves to. Don't mind if I do. Thanks.
I'm sure this sign on Russell Street wasn't there before - it looks like they have removed a billboard that pre-dated the paint job. It also looks like there's an even older sign underneath the Abbotts Lager one. Not surprisingly, it's on the side of a building that is or was a pub.
