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. 

More wandering

I had an appointment in Prahran this morning then I spent the afternoon wandering about the streets, as I am wont to do. I took a lot of photos of stuff and things. 

Trio of verandah seats, Prahran 

Skull and bricks, Artists Lane, Windsor

Rainbow Tea, Artists Lane again

Well, hello there. Naturalist mann-equin at Chapel Street Bazaar

Ha-haaaa! T-Rex tapping out witty retorts on Facebook

Shady, leafy Davis Street, South Yarra 

Gorgeous house and garden on Davis Street

Blooming 

Rusting

In the front garden at Botanics on Punt Road

Inside Botanics, florest, nursery and giftshop - aka paradise

I bought a stem of gorgeous purple orchids

  

And some chrysanthemums (fittonia on the right)

My mantelpiece 

More 'mums and spathiphyllum with a trio of flowers

Orchid close-up

I walked about 16,000 steps and was plum tuckered out when I got home. I had a nice hot bath and am very much looking forward to getting into bed. I don't plan to emerge from before lunchtime. 

Sunday wanders

Walking across Morell Bridge this morning I spied a man and a small boy picnicking in a spot out of the gusty wind. They sat close together on one side of the blanket, the boy's head resting on the man's shoulder. I wanted to take a photo of this sweet little scene, but I couldn't do it discreetly. 

I took a tram into the city and when I was crossing Collins Street, I passed a little girl in an orange tracksuit, blowing on a harmonica.  She had a mop of dark hair. It made me smile. 

I went to Melbourne Central, where I discovered a gorgeous little flower shop called Morning Flowers (it's probably been there for ages - it's me that hasn't). 

 Succulents, terrariums, tiny posies, and wee pot plants galore

Such a pretty shop

I bought three of the aforementioned wee pot plants, which I'm too tired/lazy to take photos of right now. 

I did some wandering about the laneways. 

 Union Lane

Street heart, just off Degraves Street 

So much to look at on Presgrave Place

 Off Degraves again

Off Degraves again 

This piece above is great and I love the huge curve of colour that surrounds it, but it makes me wistful for the fantastic mosaic that used to be there which said, "Random acts of gentle anarchy". I loved it, and now I miss it even more after discovering its history (because I couldn't remember the exact wording and had to consult the Google). 

The work was created by Sayraphim Lothian during a workshop with a visiting UK "craftivist and rebel ceramicist" Carrie Reichardt. Sayraphim describes herself as a "public artist, investigator of guerrilla kindness [and] craftivist". I love the idea of guerilla kindness - leaving "tiny handcrafted artworks out on the street for people to find and take home, injecting tiny, unexpected and magical moments in passers-by’s lives. They aim to remind people of the niceness of life, as rewards for those who take the time to stop and look around them once in a while" I like to take the time to stop and look around me all the time. So, yeah, I miss the mosaic. I will keep an eye out for her tiny handcrafted artworks now. 

I went to a couple of art and craft shops to get supplies for a few projects I have in my mind as a result of spending too much time on Pinterest (still). I'm feeling very creative lately, although I haven't actually created anything thus far; I just lie awake thinking about what I'm going to make. I wonder if this has to do with being off the anti-depressants (a surge of creativity, I mean, not lying awake thinking, although that could be too)? 

 Happy button is happy (despite being trapped under tape)

I have an extra long weekend coming up in a couple of weeks (I'm taking the Monday off before Melbourne Cup Day so I have five days off. Wooh!) so I'm planning to immerse myself in arts and crafts then.

 Crossing Morell Bridge on my home this evening

 As above

Cool clouds

* All these pics and more are on my Instagram feed. 

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.  

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.