The sound of one hand typing

Procrastination is such an art. I have written whole boring tomes on it in the past, describing the why, the how and the when as an act of procrastination in itself (how post modern, how predictable). For example, do you ever just check your emails for that moment of surprise and distraction – fleeting whimsical joy of some random comment or hello across the miles?

I do.

Possibly far too often.

And you know what’s funny (but probably not as you’ve probably done this too) – is that I’m almost certain I can tell by sound what people are working on in the office. I don’t mean that I can hear the whiny noises of an open report on screen compared to a satisfied humming of a personal email – ie I don’t hear any sound from the things themselves, I am not completely bonkers – but the timing and tone of the typing. Yes, I think there is a particular fast happy typing that speaks of no pondering and an abundant desire to communicate that comes with the personal email, and a serious tappety tap that comes with working on actual work. Anyone else notice this too?

Waiting for Godot

I've never read or seen this play. All I know about it is as follows: it's by Beckett, it's a play, Beckett is famous for writing plays, it has people waiting for someone called Godot who never arrives, there's lots of standing around and talking, and maybe it's a metaphore for waiting for God, or for a point, or something. Anyway, I am waiting for my period. 30 and menstruating since I was 11 so you'd think I'd have my shit together enough to know when my period was actually due. But no. Not on the pill, so don't have that handy bubbble pack to telll me, and don't tend to write it on my calander, sometimes remember based on the moon (but its not as consistent as I might have romantically imagined, my period is not beautifully timed to coincide with the phases of the moon apparently), sometimes recall a significant event that was happening last time so can count forward and guess that way - but often can't recall, and so that leaves just my hormonal register. Sometimes it feels really clear - I get lots of energy to reorganise things / make things and want to have lots of sex in the middle of my cycle, then can feel a little bit baffled and teary and listless a week after, usually forgetting why and wondering what's wrong until, baboom, a few days after that I get a strange once-removed aching feeling in my belly, like gravity is pulling extra hard just in that part of the world, and a kind of grimly determined feeling. Sometimes I feel angry then too, just a wandering general anger. And then I get blood and its a relief because I know that's it's come full cycle, that I'm not pregnant, that everything works, that there is some kind of rythm to life and that the existential crisis that lasted a day was likely triggered by hormones. But on my new years fruit and veg kick I wonder whether having lots of nutrients and important trace elements and what nots might not help in reducing PMT type symptoms (perhaps 'experiences' rather than 'symptoms' is more appropriate - after all is not a disease?), which would be great, but also make it harder for me to guess in advance? And... you might think 'yeah whatever, who cares?', which is fair enough, but I work in an office and I worry that I willl be mid-phone hook up or mid sentence and feel that peculiar slide of first blood and either sit there knowing that by the time I get up at the end of the meeting I may have a small pool like you see in tv murder dramas near someone's bludgeoned head, on my skirt, or that I will have to quickly exit, trying to juggle some strange combo of pelvic floor muscles to stop the next wave, circumspectly pop to my handbag at desk and then dash to the loo. Hey - maybe I can sign up for one of those nag email services (see Betty Sue's post on NY reminders) and get an e-update on the status of my mennstrual cycle. Handy!

Crutches

Oh Monday nights are the most tiring of the whole week. Here are some random factoids. Last night on the walk home a drunk man with one leg who was sitting on a low wall hit me on the arm with his crutches, whilst shouting words that would make a warfie blush. This because I offered to help him pick up one of the crutches that was strewn on the footpath far from where he was sitting. The other crutch was much closer and he bent in half and nimbly grabbed it by the end (demonstrating much more bend and flex than I showed at yoga on Sunday). He gave me a good thwack and caught me by surprise - I pointed my finger and said 'don't you hit me' and stood still and eyeballed him because I thought he might get a taste for it and keep thwacking and it quite hurt. Then I said haughtily 'don't be rude' and walked away.

I think I'm getting a bruise.

Novelty accessories are one of my crutches. I just bought a Cat and Girl t-shirt online for the first time, a silly t-shirt that I've wanted for ages. It's great and makes me smile. I suppose blogging is another crutch. It gives you someone to share those stupid moments with and makes them anectdote, not just a smack in the arm. Doesn't it?

'What is the moral of the story?' Not sure...Your sanctimonious acts of kindness might jump up and hit you? Not everyone wants to be helped? Don't pat stray dogs - they might bite? Could be any of the above.

And now? Perhaps 'you don't make friends with self pity' (aka Cat and Gir - see sidebar - this quote from one of the archived comics I think) could be fitting.

Ten intimate things seen in public

1. A thin boy in baggy layered singlet, with big earphones doing dance practice silently and alone in front of mirrored windows
2. A woman bent over a cat in a cage on the front seat of her car, so close when she starts to unbend and rise that her mouth is almost touching me as she hisses, cat like, sorry
3. A woman rubbing moisturiser into her brown legs at the bus stop
4. A gaping shirt and a pouty nipple on a dark haired chest
5. A man going through the bin in front of our closest fruit and veg shop, carefullly placing fruit into a green bag
6. Pegnant bellies
7. Someone frowning and looking exposed as they have a mistake explained to them by a kind but thorough mentor
9. The look goodbye that a new acquaintance gives when you are both single but cautious
10. My own hand slowly moving someone else's away from the part of the crossword that I can no longer see well

Summer programming...

Oh yes, sorry to say, it's not just tellie and the daily newspapers which get all thin and (more) light on for content this time of year - it's my blog too. I have big and gutsy things I could write about right now but quite frankly am too hot. And lazy. It's hard to be melancholy or pensive or analytical in this heat, which is presumably why the Russians write good plays but were less well known for their summery cocktail creations - or something. (See, already resorting to national stereotypes and vague pointless anectdotes.)

In typical summer programming style - or lack thereof - I could resort to reruns (just copy and paste a post that I thought was interesting from another year and see how that goes down), a cheap nature doco (could post about the lizards in my garden - very little effort of observation required there as I drink coffee on the back step anyway), could just post other people's stuff (hey, transcribing a poem a day, reading it here is cheaper than buying a book and less late fees than a library), or maybe I could take some good French blog posts and remake them in English but change the ending so they are no longer poignant and everything gets explained neatly (but I can't read French so likely this would be a disaster).

So. Instead, I thought I'd just steal someone else's fun story and piggy back it. You know do an 'if you liked that you'll just love this' style post. And where the original was based on an actual story my summer programming version is mostly based on a series of 'might have beens' and 'hmm, in another universe maybe this would have hapened and been an exciting tale - but it didn't' type reflections:

MeriRisa writes about being busted in a house T-shirt out and about in the funky burb, and I must confess to having similar 'ooh, whoops, that wasn't meant to be public' moments or fear of such moments recently. These are they:
- Buying Alexander McCall Smiths' 'Friends, Lovers and Chocolate' book - the second in the 'Sunday Philosophy Club' series in the newsagent at central station whilst waiting for a train to Katoomba (and a visit to the mountains for a friend's birthday), and being sure that I would bump into some gorgeous young literary type and be forced to say 'oh, I just, you know. Um. hey. About that Kafka then'
- five minutes before buying said book, worried that anyone at all would bust me reading (some crap women's magazine name here) specifically for the article on 'let him know you like him with your body language'. 'What? Oh this? Argh - this isn't the very sensible and grown up book on relationships that I was looking for - that is actually written for an adult who has half a clue - oh ho, silly me...'
- Being busted with plastic bags or any other random eco slackness in front of my boss, who happens to live in the same neighbourhood

The only actual incident was just recently after yoga bumping into an ex lover (oh how European, do we use that word?), and being there with a workmate who is very grounded and no nonsense and spirutual. Having this bumped into person be a little bit patronising to me and even might we say self-satisfied was a little embarrassing. He was like an old t-shirt that spoke of another time and place and different interests and possibly even standards - I felt embarassed at the work friend seeing me in that T-shirt.

But as for real t-shirts... very pleased to say that I have not at all been embarassed at the wearing of tracky dackies in public (this is a good thing? you ask) as I hurry to and float back from yoga. I even have a very large sun hat with makes the whole ensemble look rather like I am constructed of anti-fashion matter, but I like it.

oh summer

Oh summer in the city and everyone* is:
- wearing pink
- trailing white cords from their ears
- dashing out to see theatre and movies in parks and in strange old buildings
- making valient efforts to enact work life balance
- doing beachiness
- popping out of the tall brown and grey buildings at lunch time to get some breeze and sun heating their backs, and to get that goofy eye closed smile in the sun as you think abut nothing look


* by that I mean most people, or some, or at least a few that I passed as I walked to work today

New Years Resolutions (part 2)

So somewhere along the way in January I have become a New Year Resolution voyeur. Fascinated with other people's, which in addition to the ones I posted earlier of my house mates have included work mates:
- 'fitness - just one this year, we're ditching the personal development one, did enough of that last year'
- 'to save enough money to visit family back in the UK'
- 'watch more movies, read more books'.

I have decided that my random grab bag of resolutionish-thingstodoish items might best be characterised by an overarching statement of 'do more, think less'. This might seem odd for someone to whom daydreaming out of a nice window is almost a second career, but I am making a conscious effort to up the ante on action. Less endless deliberating, less analysis, less waiting for a nice clear rational way forward - more spur of the moment, more gut feelings and more doing.

So where has this lead me so far?

Well last week I went to yoga 3 times (ask how excited I am about that!), this weekend I am off to a hula workshop and I think, but am not entirely sure, that I have just joined an indooor soccer team (ask me if I even know a single solitary soccer related rule or own a pair of proper sandshoes - errrm...). But this physical stuff is not the only manifestation of the doing, just the most obvious. The other type of 'more doing' that I've been trying to do is the letting go of things more quickly ('oh I know, maybe just send that work email after only editing once, and don't rewrite 5 times to try and capture all possible angles of interpretation'), in the absence of a clear and firm rationale for decisions making one anyway ('hello random art calss - you'll do') and maybe just maybe being a little more open with relationship stuff ('oh stop modelling all possible outcomes and their likelihood and just give it a go!'). Sounds good huh?

paper and printing

Thanks Georgie George, that's a very good question. Paper for lino cuts, many options, many different effects. My knowledge of paper comes only from doing (playing) rather than theory, and I haven't been doing much these last few months so there may be other useful perspectives (this is my footnoted caveats!), that said, I think there are 3 main features that characterise the paper you use:
- thickness (or weight)
- texture
- absorbancy

The other two main things which I have found interplay with paper features to efffect the print are the ink (wetness and stickiness - themselves a function of thickness of ink plus time exposed to air, as gets stickier with time) and the printing process itself.

I find that a very thin paper (eg recycled copy paper) is fine for doing test runs as it's very smooth texture picks up a good print, but the thinness and lack of absorbancy means that it often wrinkles in the area surrounding the ink. Which sucks, but is ok for a test. Reducing the amount of ink on the plate helps, but does not neccessarily result in 100% vwrinkle free prints.

A rough textured paper feels and looks great, but can be much harder to get a good print on. The reasons for this are pretty obvious - some bits stick up more and get the ink while the low patches miss out and look pale and the overall print can be patchy. But you know this altready! Obviously using a press, or a very firm hand printing method will help overcome some of this and give a good effect on rougher paper. Do you print by hand? Do you use a barron? Otherwise the back of a wooden spoon can be good for getting decent pressure on thick paper, while palm of hand and flat finger is good for thinner paper, and very tactile and exciting to boot.

I find a reasonable wight drawing cartridge fine, as some of the smoother water colour papers. Some papers seem more abosrbent than others - maybe types of fibre / fibre length etc.

Some people in my class used diffferent rice papers to print on and then mounted in the middle of other paper - this looked great and seemed to print really well (not very textured, but visually textured if that makes sense).

Anyway, that's my first thoughts. Tell me if you have any other handy hints or specific problems. And - what is this homemade press you speak of?? Very exciting...

Rainbow shoes

I am so going to get some funky suede shoes in pink or green! Yihah. But not the rave boots - at least not for work.

http://www.wallabytracks.com.au/suede_footwear.htm# (Can't do proper hyperlink on this computer, you'll need to copy paste)

And yes I'm a vegetarian and wear leather shoes. I figure this is fine because
a) leather at least has the possibility of being a sustainable product (if tanned using natural products and done carefully and kindly??) which I'm not convinced that synthetics based on petrochemicals can really be (oh I know I know, industrial ecology, cleaner production, recycling etc, but at least as the system is I think plastics are crap)
b) I am ok with my own 'hypochrisy' which I actually like to think of as a montage of moral positions, or perhaps a values smorgasboard. I would argue that it's impossible to live a life without doing harm in the west these days, so giving it a red hot aussie go however we can is the next best thing.
c) In knowing that I am being incostistent I am also cool with other's inconsistencies

The future's so bright

Interesting 'map' of future trends:

http://www.rossdawsonblog.com/Trend_Blend_2007_map.pdf

In the pink

You may know that I am going through a ridiculous pink phase. I don't remember being particularly into pink as a wee lass. I think I just wore whatever got put in my wardrobe, mostly groovy op-shop numbers sourced by my resourceful and creative studying and supporting me single handedly single mum. I did have favourite outfits like most kids - which at various times inclued a puffy sleeved red velvet number with matching muff (seriously), gum boots, a jumper with a 3-d monkey on it that mum knitted for me, later fluoro socks and a ra ra skirt - etc. But none of it pink that I recall. Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that I'm not actually wearing much of it (a few coy little musk pink work tops and matching shoes that look nice with a black pant aside), but have been strewing my room with gashes of hot pink throws for the bed, and just yesterday bought some highly femme pink roses - the type with nice flat and open faces and a nice smell - for my bedroom.

And today, coincidentaly cooked 2 pink things, which I will share with you now.

Plum cake
Slice blood (satsuma) plums and line a long loaf tin (that you have already greased and lined the bottom of with a neatly cut strip of with greaseproof/baking paper) with them in tight little rows to cover the whole bottom of the tin. Make whatever vanilla cake mix works best for you (pound cake-ish, not sponge) and add the grated rind of one lemon, generous amounts of ground nutmeg and ground ginger (and ground almonds if you have them), pour into the tin and bake slowly. Wait until entirely cooled to turf out of the pan and do so gently onto a long plate that you've put on top of the tin before turning upside down. If (and this is an if) the turning out is disastrous, just serve the other way up, (put another plate on the top and tip upside down, remove first plate) with the fruit on the bottom as a surprise. Serve with thick (organic even better) yoghurt.

Pink soup
Sautee onion and garlic (spanish onion or ordinay brown) in vegetable oil, add roughly diced fresh beetrot, parsnips, carrots, potato (and other root veg such as sweet potato, red sweet potato, radish) - add boiling water to cover. When vegies soft mash with potato masher or stick a stick blender thingie in the saucepan and puree. Serve with sour cream, black pepper and chives or maybe toasted almonds and chopped herbs for a vegan soupie. (Can add salt but fun to try to taste things without too - if going salt free try mint / extra garlic/ chilli / cooking in half vegie stock instead of all water).

Organics wo-man it’s where it’s at

My friend is an independent rep for this newish CERTIFIED ORGANIC skin care + cosmetics range (Miessence). They sell not only your cosmetics creams and soaps (including deoderants) but also colours for your face - eyeshadows, mascara, lipstick and lip balm - all made with vegetable based rather than petrochemical based products. Many of the ingredients are certified organic, and they don't have a lot of the nasties that your typical face creams, lippies, toothpastes etc have in them.*

I'm very excited about trying some lippies that are not chock full of scary things that I then accidentaly eat. I like a nice lippy and is really the one cosmetic that I would choose if I had to choose just one. I am using their aniseed toothpaste at the moment and it is great, once you get used to a slightly different texture and slight salty flavour. For more info, to check out what's available or place an order check the website.



* 'Huh? What nasties?' I hear you ask. Check out these sites for more info about some of what is in personal care items. And if you are incredulous about the idea that there could be harmful ingredients in products made by well known brands, after all, there are rules and regulations right? They have to test stuff, they can't go putting just any old chemicals in your cosmetics can they? Check these sites for some interesting arguments about why a precautionary approach could be in order.

The founder of the Miessence company has an article here where she talks about what kinds of ingredients to avoid in cosmetics and other products you put on your body, and why current testing and regulatory frameworks might not be 'weeding out the nasties' and keeping these products as safe as they could be.

There are lots of community enviro / consumer lobby groups with an interest on this topic like The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics or US organisation Not Too Pretty (who says "Chemicals linked to birth defects do not belong in products marketed to women!") and Environemntal Working Group who did one of those scary assed chemicals in bodies studies. Lots of folksy sites are out there with overviews of the issues like this one who says "Make-up and body care products have been linked to allergic reactions, birth defects, and even cancer. It is a medically recognised fact that our body absorbs significant amounts of what we put on our skin. With certified organic food rapidly becoming the nutrition of choice by the health conscious amongst us, why would we accept any less for our skin?"

Organisation No Harm , a global coalition of 443 organizations in 52 countries working to protect health by reducing pollution in the health care industry,says "Exposure to fragrance chemicals can cause headaches; eye, nose, and throat irritation; nausea; forgetfulness; loss of coordination, and other respiratory and/or neurotoxic symptoms. Many fragrance ingredients are respiratory irritants and sensitizers, which can trigger asthma attacks and aggravate sinus conditions."

"Phthalates, a ubiquitous group of chemicals used in hundreds of products, including soft vinyl plastic toys, shampoos, soaps, nail polish, vinyl flooring, and pharmaceuticals, are being scrutinized for potentially harmful effects during development. Shanna Swan, PhD, an epidemiologist and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, described her recent study of the effects of phthalates in humans, the first to show a significant relationship between maternal exposure to phthalates and adverse reproductive development in male offspring. More

"During the past 10 years, there has been a worldwide decline in the use and human exposure to many chemicals, including pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). However, a new generation of chemicals that have endocrine disrupting (ED) potential have emerged. Their presence in the environment and concomitant levels in humans are prevalent, although the sources of these contemporary-use industrial chemicals are not entirely identified. They include the phthalates, alkylphenols, brominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluorinated organics (PFOCs). The alkylphenols, especially bisphenol A, are potent EDs. Levels vary by geography, race/ethnicity, age and gender, and human health effects are just beginning to be assessed. This article discusses the toxicology, human exposure, and potential health effects of EDs that are likely to be important in the 21st century." MARY S WOLFF Endocrine Disruptors - Challenges for Environmental Research in the 21st Century
a In Living in a Chemical World: Framing the Future in Light of the Past Volume 1076 published September 2006 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1076: 228–238 (2006). doi: 10.1196/annals.1371.009

Anyways, I am not an ecotoxicologist and of course suggest you do your own research and listent to lots of perspectives, but remember - today's wacko 'taking things too far greenie rant' can be tomorrow's 'whoops, hmmm - maybe they were onto something' (remember DDT, remember thalydimide, remember asbestos mining?). I think sometimes we do things in good faith but only later realise the potential consequences - especially when it comes to exciting new products that we are excited about inventing and wanting to use and sell. The EU tends to be ahead of both the US and Australia in limiting and prohibiting chemical use, so check EU publications to get a flavour for trends.

In general I think when assessing the possibility of a new perspective having valdity it is always important to ask 'who has a vested interest in this information not being part of public discourse'. When you think about the huge $ that the personal care industry makes and moves around, I am not particularly surprised that 'women's' magazines and commercial tellie doesn't have much to say on this one - that these questions are not frequently asked, and people feel more comfortable assuming that all current products must be fine. To do otherwise would be like eroding the foundations that they sit on. I reckon.

That's my Sunday soapbox over.

Inspirational Bowie

"At 60 years old David Bowie remains one of music’s most influential,photographed, adored, imitated, admired and talked about artists of the post Beatles period. On Saturday January 6th, at 8pm on BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe hears from performers who have been inspired by him and his music. Along with archive interviews with John Lennon, the programme features new interviews with: Debbie Harry, Marc Almond, Neil Hannon, Brett Anderson, Richard Hawley, Annie Lennox, Boy George, Moby, Ian cCulloch, Jarvis Cocker and Ricky Gervais." (Thanks to the Marc Almond email newsletter for this info - you know, Marc Almond of Soft Cell fame.. you know, you know, the single Tainted Love - which I signed up to in a moment of 'where the hell is he now' curiosity coupled with bemusement at the idea of a regular e update of a now very b-celeb, but which has now proved strangely informative)

BBC Radio 2 is transmitted on 88-91 FM, DAB, Freeview or you can listen on line at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/ The Radio 2 website also has a 'listen again' feature where the show will be available for one week after its transmission.

tales from the cutter

Well, just for the record the new 'do' is part raunchy Italian mamma, part Wolfmother. Go figure. Think trim plus some kind of shaggy layering, think 'who even knows I can't see for all the fluffiness'. My new hairdresser beleives in curls, he said 'I'm not the kind of hairdresser who will try to fight curls' and went on to not only absolve me for not having had a hair cut anytime in 2006 (I spared him tales of my sewing scissor trims in my confessional) but he also said 'I bet your hair is like mine and is awful when you first wash it and best when it's kinda dirty?' to which I nodded furiously and made squeaking noises (who knows why, might have been all the fumes). What a treat to have a haidresser who didn't even once purse their lips and make a sour face at my split ends, ask me about anything even vaguely related to hobbies I have no interest in, or try to convince me that really I will be letting down the entire team of humanity if I don't invest in some wax or curl pumping lotion. Yipee! he did ask me if I was a uni student, so I figure I either look uncannily young and perky (nice try) or my complete lack of hair care and general earthy approach to grooming convinced him that I wasn't worth the hard sell.

Oh. One more thing to share - piece of our convo that made me laugh:

me: Yes you see I just can't have a high maintenence hair cut, it just doesn't work with my life style.
him: Mmmm, yeah. [pause]. What's your lifestyle?
me: oh, well... lazy.

locks lopped and corners uncluttered

Well, it's off for a hairy for me. Oscillating between 'just a trim', maybe a deep conditioning and then a mega swishy blowdry (always fun for a change when you normally have tangly curls)...or maybe a 1920's style high bob that will deal with a wave. I do like the longish tress, it's good for lazy folk like myself who think of haircuts as an annual rather than 6 weekly affir (I know, I know, terrible), and it works quite well to keep yourself real when in the corporate environment (hard to feel too slick and part of the faceless slick corporate machinations when you have wildy hippy hair that you often leave unbrushed). Then again a bit of elegant, sporty shorty can be fun too - I just dread the maintenence and the daily attention that is possible required (as may even require - gasp! - the styling product). I just know you're on the edges of your seats trying to guess what I'll choose - never fear, will update you after the event.

On another note, it is the second day after the full moon, which means we are in the waning period, which apparently is very good for spring cleaning like mad. Well actually for doing some general 'out with the old' whether physical or emotional, ready to work on growing new things once the new moon pops out and starts to wax later in the month. If you subscribe to such notions. In any case, great extra incentive to tackle those lingering *difficult* boxes under the stairs from my recent house move. Do you ever do that thing after moving house where all the fun and easy stuff you unpack in a flurry over the first couple of weeks ('hey, clothes I like! Oh my books! a hah, groovy crockery!') and then 2 months later you realise you can no longer avoid the boxes that were less fun and require some kind of thought and action ('oh, what, broken things? oh shit, a box of random assorted paperwork that needs filing and decding and responding to? Oh, hello, my half finished knitting project that was going well until I realised I couldn't read the pattern for the tricky collar bit and was just making it up - where do you go?'). Well this morning I am doing part 2 of a recent corner unclutter and sorting and it feels great.

Sunny weather back again here also making me inclined to be full of action and verve. For example, even went for a run (as in not for a bus but in a park) last week and have bought a serious sports bra in a sensible shade of pale blue in anticipation of more such frolics. Heavens. Whatever next.

Holiday reading

Some of my recent holiday reading adventures are described here. More to come.

New years res options abound (part 1)

Well, firstly there was the 'start the year with good underwear' resolution - and that one I have already ticked off thanks to the post-christmas consumer orgy that is the department store January sale (and also thanks to my very funky red good luck New Year knickers from Aunty B).

'Get to know my local area better' is also a good one, and here is a cute article from MrMicool on that very subject. Mind you I also love the comment from Tony, London which says:

Oh, stop it, you touchy-feely freak! I live in London precisely because people here are NOT overly intimate. I like the fact that I walk amongst strangers, I love the fact I am not subject to tedious drivel from people who happen to impinge upon my geography. If you want to know your neighbours, go live up North or something - stop assuming we all want to be like you.

Ah bless the grumpy inner city brittleness. My housemates brother stayed at our place for a few days over New Year, up from Melbourne with friends for a bit of revelry. He came back from a night out at a club appaled at the rudeness of shoving, pushy people, and baffled by the way that people would just stand and scowl at you rather than chat and actually participate. So I think a bit of cheery 'good morning' action is definitely in order to make sure the city retains its yin and yang, you know, so balance is maintained in the universe and the whole city doesn't just topple over due to too many people wearing slippery shoes and slidy blow dried hair and not smiling enough. (I am tired from a too early start today - does it show? Slightly delirious)

Another possible res option is more gardening. Recently went to visit Betty Sue's lovely secret hideaway garden. Well, in actual fact it is just their actual garden, regular kind, at the back of the house, but you see, in garden minding mode I entered via a tricky route involving alleys and stone stairs, so when I finally came upon said garden and swung open the gate in the back fence it was like discovering a sectret little mediterranean oasis. Tres lovely! I feel all inspired to plant herbs in pots. Oh, and the green beans I nibbled were exceptional - good work Betty Sue.

hello new year - aren't you bright and shiny?

Well, I have had a little Chrsitmas period bloggy hiatus and am back now for an exciting year. Holiday-wise, I had a lovely few days away to visit family, returned to the house without housemates to decompress and thoroughly wind down, have had the lovely mountain spice and baby B come stay for some low key city hanging out, and just last night traversed the back streets of my new suburb with the ever funky and entertaining angel and drJ. Fun to discover bits of the burbs that you haven't seen yet and do it with a few beers under your belt and the moonlight making everything look long shadowed and meaningful.

Speaking of new yeariness, resolutions and all - have vowed to get more active this year. When desk bound for work it's easy to clock up way too many sitting hours compared to moving hours. Went on a giant foreshore walk and even (gasp) run this morning and returned hot and sweaty and feeling very proud of myself. Complimenting this with concerted efort to eat large volumes of fruit and veg (which you think would be happening anyway as am nominally - ie mostly but occasionally let slip if out and accidentally eat random meat infested item... gallery openings with unnamed nibbles the worst offenders - vego) but funny how a day can pass where I find myself having eaten only 1 piece of fruit and a few veg and the rest somehow being grains/cereals* (and a bit of dairy, but not heaps really). Did some funky cooking while mountain spice here as she was interested in learning some new vegie/vegan meals that she can make and her partner will also eat (partner being a delightful and happy to try new things kind of bloke but from a fairly traditional family foodwise and before I lived with them and got the house hooked on vegie curries wasn't so keen on meat free dinners).

Other new years resolutions / new leaves to turn? Oh you know, changes every 5 minutes. Last night as we walked past a fab furniture and homewares shop with vintage / recycled / funky bits I got all excited about turning my bedroom into a boudairre with a slightly Fench Salon-ish air, complete with a fabulous candellabra and wallpaper, possibly some black and white bed linen, but in the cold light of day I am less convinced - surely all my dirtly clothes strewn on the floor will look less toussled rock chich and more 'I'm thirty and still a bit of a slob and not a sleek glamorous sex kitten after all' if surrounded with fiercely sophisticated decor? Maybe the candelabra can just sneak it's way in and nestle in with hot pink sari silk and 1950's suitcases and book towers and pot plants and fight it out with them for a corner in the treehouse**.

By the way full moon today. in cancer apparently - all very emotional and feminine and possibly something to do with Uranus and neptune for synchronicity and fabulous coincidence. Read Mystic Medusa for more...


* Compared with the recommended 5 serves of fruit and 4 of veg daily (or is it 4 fruit 5 veg? Can never remember - Mery Risa, you know this one..?)
** upstairs bedroom that is entered via tightly curled spiral staircase and looks out over tree branches so feels like and I now call the treehouse