There's a new badge on the sidebar! Right up the top! The red one! See????
Anna Maria aka The Shopping Sherpa has the most amazing collection of modern doll houses, and they're on display in Canberra. Follow the badge link for exhibition information, or click here to see the collection in full colour on the computer screen you're using right now....
No, this blog entry wasn't at all prompted by a comment on the previous entry on writing. No indeedy. Entirely separate. Remarkably coincidental. Etc.!!
If I could be in Canberra this weekend for the Official Opening, I would.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Writing
I recently tripped over NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month and thought, OK, I'll play. It's a crazy idea, but good crazy, and sometimes it's a spur like that which sets you on your way (and note, Sarah Gruen's novel, Water for Elephants, began as a NaNoWriMo project. NY Times bestseller now. Magic happens...).
All my published writing has been nonfiction, mainly articles, and while I enjoy that, writing a novel has always been on my somewhere someday slate.
So I've nothing to lose by playing along with NaNoWriMo come November. If you decide to play too, leave a comment so I can take an interest in your progress. The goal is 50,000 words. Not edited polished finely wrought words (you can do that in December). Just the words, because it is a place to begin.
At the moment, I have an idea, and I'm letting it burble along till November. Asking it questions, to see what answers come. Brewing, like coffee. Or soy sauce. Or beer. None of which I drink, as it happens. Fiction writing, for me, is sometimes a matter of prodding your mind, as though it's the Lion and you're Young Albert. Fish out that stick with the horse's head handle and stir it to action. Even if it didn't go so well for Young Albert. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to write until you start writing it. Such as references to The Lion and Albert.
What am I referring to?
Stanley Holloway audio of this monologue on YouTube here.
Text of "The Lion and Albert" here .
As part of immersing myself in a writing mode, I've taken the possibly crazy step of setting up a separate blog focused on writing/books/words - links, ideas and so forth. It's still new and only has a couple of entries so far, but do take a squizz at Keyboard and Pen if you're interested. Keyboard and pen, because they're two of my most important writing tools. Love that blogger scheduling tool too.
No. I won't bore you about the tooth. Maybe I'll write an entirely fictitious scene about a recalcitrant tooth instead - it's not annoying, it's FODDER!
.
.
All my published writing has been nonfiction, mainly articles, and while I enjoy that, writing a novel has always been on my somewhere someday slate.
So I've nothing to lose by playing along with NaNoWriMo come November. If you decide to play too, leave a comment so I can take an interest in your progress. The goal is 50,000 words. Not edited polished finely wrought words (you can do that in December). Just the words, because it is a place to begin.
At the moment, I have an idea, and I'm letting it burble along till November. Asking it questions, to see what answers come. Brewing, like coffee. Or soy sauce. Or beer. None of which I drink, as it happens. Fiction writing, for me, is sometimes a matter of prodding your mind, as though it's the Lion and you're Young Albert. Fish out that stick with the horse's head handle and stir it to action. Even if it didn't go so well for Young Albert. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to write until you start writing it. Such as references to The Lion and Albert.
What am I referring to?
Stanley Holloway audio of this monologue on YouTube here.
Text of "The Lion and Albert" here .
As part of immersing myself in a writing mode, I've taken the possibly crazy step of setting up a separate blog focused on writing/books/words - links, ideas and so forth. It's still new and only has a couple of entries so far, but do take a squizz at Keyboard and Pen if you're interested. Keyboard and pen, because they're two of my most important writing tools. Love that blogger scheduling tool too.
No. I won't bore you about the tooth. Maybe I'll write an entirely fictitious scene about a recalcitrant tooth instead - it's not annoying, it's FODDER!
.
.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Genteel spoonfuls
Genteel spoonfuls are the order of the day, and probably the tomorrow. And maybe the next day. So I made raspberry jelly with mandarin oranges in it (using tinned ones, because fresh can stop the jelly setting).
My aching jaw was grateful.
The tooth is still winning, however (dammit) so the saga will continue, and the plans for the next few days will have to be revised.
And prancing around in my mind are the charming teeth poems of Spike Milligan and Pam Ayres.
Spike: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/teeth/
Pam: http://www.monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/My_Teeth.htm
Neither of which applies in the current situation. But never mind.
My aching jaw was grateful.
The tooth is still winning, however (dammit) so the saga will continue, and the plans for the next few days will have to be revised.
And prancing around in my mind are the charming teeth poems of Spike Milligan and Pam Ayres.
Spike: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/teeth/
Pam: http://www.monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/My_Teeth.htm
Neither of which applies in the current situation. But never mind.
Top 100 books
Australian booksellers Angus and Robertson polled their customers again for their favourite books - here's the 2008 list they've just released. It's a curious brew of classics and best sellers.
Do you want to play along? (If you do, leave a comment and a link to your blog so I can see your choices too).
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
If you're quick, you can toddle over and see the 2007 list on their website here. It does include Cross Stitch, by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, if you're US/Canadian). Dang. I shoulda voted. There's got to be more love in the room for it than at least some of those listed above. Another note: lookee how Twilight's up there at no. 2. And that's before the film's out.
Do you want to play along? (If you do, leave a comment and a link to your blog so I can see your choices too).
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
1 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling*
2 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer*
3 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen**
4 The Obernewtyn Chronicles - Isobelle Carmody
5 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult~
6 To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
7 The Book Thief - Markus Zusak^
8 Breath - Tim Winton
9 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini^
10 Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
11 The Power Of One - Bryce Courtenay
12 Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
13 Magician - Raymond E. Feist
14 The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
15 Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin
16 Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden^
17 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold**
18 Cross - James Patterson
19 Persuasion - Jane Austen**
20 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*
21 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger***
22 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
23 Marley and Me - John Grogan
24 Antony and Cleopatra - Colleen McCullough
25 April Fools Day - Bryce Courtney
26 North & South - Elizabeth Gaskell
27 In My Skin - Kate Holden
28 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte*
29 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini^
30 The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory*
31 Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult~
32 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
33 Shantaram Gregory - David Roberts
34 Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett^
35 The Pact - Jodi Picoult
36 Ice Station - Matthew Reilly
37 Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
38 Jessica - Bryce Courtenay
39 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
40 The Princess Bride - William Goldman*
41 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
42 Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes
43 Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
44 Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly
45 People Of The Book - Geraldine Brooks*
46 Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly
47 Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards~
48 Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
49 Tully - Paullina Simons~
50 Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
51 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger~
52 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
53 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert~
54 It's Not About The Bike - Lance Armstrong
55 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
56 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
57 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
58 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell*
59 A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey*
60 The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
61 The Notebook -Nicholas Sparks~
62 Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen*
63 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
64 The Host - Stephenie Meyer*
65 Dirt Music - Tim Winton
66 Eldest - Christopher Paolini
67 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon^
68 It - Stephen King
69 World Without End - Ken Follett
70 Emma - Jane Austen*
71 Temple - Matthew Reilly
72 Little Women - Alcott Louisa May*
73 Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
74 Scarecrow - Matthew Reilly
75 American Gods - Neil Gaiman~
76 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
77 P.S, I Love You - Cecelia Ahern
78 All That Remains - Patricia Cornwell*
79 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
80 Past Secrets - Cathy Kelly
81 The Persimmon Tree - Bryce Courtenay
82 Husband - Dean Koontz
83 Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult~
84 Wicked - Gregory Maguire~
85 Spot Of Bother - Mark Haddon
86 Always And Forever - Cathy Kelly
87 The Road - Cormac McCarthy
88 Cents & Sensibility - Maggie Alderson
89 Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
90 The Shifting Fog - Kate Morton^
91 We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
92 Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
93 Hour Game - David Baldacci
94 Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
95 The Woods - Harlan Coben
96 Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
97 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
98 Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis
99 Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
100 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
If you're quick, you can toddle over and see the 2007 list on their website here. It does include Cross Stitch, by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, if you're US/Canadian). Dang. I shoulda voted. There's got to be more love in the room for it than at least some of those listed above. Another note: lookee how Twilight's up there at no. 2. And that's before the film's out.
In case you were idly wondering, according to Forbes magazine the world's ten best paid authors are:
- JK Rowling
- James Patterson
- Stephen King
- Tom Clancy
- Danielle Steel
- Nicholas Sparks
- Janet Evanovich
- John Grisham
- Dean Koontz
- Ken Follett
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Apologies
I apologise for this appalling Australiana Christmas decoration. It's quite the worst I can remember seeing. What you see here is the full abomination - a hybrid koalapine, a species which deserves extinction.
I'm sure every country produces a decoration or two with a local/patriotic theme. I'll admit to having several quite charming Australiana ones. But this? Yikes. Aaaargh. I apologise. Have you found a worse one, from any country?
The dentist apologised today too. Must be the day for it. After two hours, the tooth she was trying to extract had barely budged, despite several strategies which I won't detail here. Suffice it to say that they involved multiple needles (why are dental syringes so enormous?), knives, brute strength and so on. My Quasimodo jaw is gradually coming back to life (why is it that you always feel as though you're drooling when your mouth and jaw are anaesthetised?). Rather too much life. Not much talking going on here - it hurts to move it much at all, even with painkillers, and dinner for me will have to be something mashable and consumed in very genteel spoonfuls. And guess what? I'll be back there in less than twentyfour hours, when the dentist is determined not to come second to an unco-operative tooth (did I mention that she said she expected the extraction to take ten minutes? She apologised.).
.
I'm sure every country produces a decoration or two with a local/patriotic theme. I'll admit to having several quite charming Australiana ones. But this? Yikes. Aaaargh. I apologise. Have you found a worse one, from any country?
The dentist apologised today too. Must be the day for it. After two hours, the tooth she was trying to extract had barely budged, despite several strategies which I won't detail here. Suffice it to say that they involved multiple needles (why are dental syringes so enormous?), knives, brute strength and so on. My Quasimodo jaw is gradually coming back to life (why is it that you always feel as though you're drooling when your mouth and jaw are anaesthetised?). Rather too much life. Not much talking going on here - it hurts to move it much at all, even with painkillers, and dinner for me will have to be something mashable and consumed in very genteel spoonfuls. And guess what? I'll be back there in less than twentyfour hours, when the dentist is determined not to come second to an unco-operative tooth (did I mention that she said she expected the extraction to take ten minutes? She apologised.).
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Monday, October 06, 2008
Appliance adventures
Part 1
The picture is the easy one, in recent Adventures in the World of Appliances.
Old iron:thermostat dicky. Result: things melt. Not good. Consequence: need new iron. Thoughts in advance: nonstick surface on iron (old iron had stainless steel) and hmmm, how much is auto cut off, because when you're quilting you sometimes do leave it on a long time and don't always remember....
Solution: toddle off to shopping centre, comparison shop between a department store and two discount department stores, and luck into this one at 50% off in a catalogue sale - with teflon and auto cut off. I do like ludicrous discounts on decent quality items.
The auto cut off is tripped after 30 seconds of horizontal inaction and 15 minutes of vertical inaction. Remains to be seen if that beep becomes an annoyance, but it is safer.
Part 2.
Buy a refurbished iPod nano for carting about in the car and handbag with audiobooks on it. Refurb section of Apple site has confidence-building phrases like "stringently checked" and "quality control" and so forth.
iPod arrives. Connect to computer. Nothing happens. No battery charging, nothing on the screen, nothing at all. Connect to a separate dock. Still nothing.
Ring Apple tech support. Tech support guy suggests three things, none work, pronounces it DOA (that would be Dead On Arrival, they have a readymade term for this when they're selling stringently checked and quality controlled goods?).
Transfer to another phone operator. They expect that someone will be At Home for a whole day for pickup of DOA nano, and At Home for another whole day for delivery of replacement nano. Nope. This holiday's not long enough to be trapped at home for Apple's convenience for two whole days.
Transfer to supervisor for discussion of Plan B, connected to Friday's visit to the city. Plan B is finally worked out, and supervisor throws in a free nano case. O-kay. Supervisor says he will personally check that the replacement works.
Friday: exchange occurs.
Friday night: replacement unit connected to computer. It wants to know if I speak English, but my computer (Windows) doesn't recognise it as any kind of known hardware. Greaaaaaat! Is that steam coming out my ears? Stringent, quality-controlled steam?
Monday: Supervisor says oh, you have a Windows computer? I forgot to check that - I tested it on an Mac. Transferred to technician, who guides me through a restoration of the operating system on the iPod to Windows.
Eventually, iPod works as it should. Sigh. I've had a long term love/hate relationship with Apple and Mac and iPods. When they're good, they are fine, but when they're bad, throwing them at a brick wall is too good for them. The computer I've hated the most, ever, was a Mac (not one that I owned, but one that I had to use at a place where I was doing volunteer work on computer).
Did I tell you that the iron worked just fine, right out of the box?
The picture is the easy one, in recent Adventures in the World of Appliances.
Old iron:thermostat dicky. Result: things melt. Not good. Consequence: need new iron. Thoughts in advance: nonstick surface on iron (old iron had stainless steel) and hmmm, how much is auto cut off, because when you're quilting you sometimes do leave it on a long time and don't always remember....
Solution: toddle off to shopping centre, comparison shop between a department store and two discount department stores, and luck into this one at 50% off in a catalogue sale - with teflon and auto cut off. I do like ludicrous discounts on decent quality items.
The auto cut off is tripped after 30 seconds of horizontal inaction and 15 minutes of vertical inaction. Remains to be seen if that beep becomes an annoyance, but it is safer.
Part 2.
Buy a refurbished iPod nano for carting about in the car and handbag with audiobooks on it. Refurb section of Apple site has confidence-building phrases like "stringently checked" and "quality control" and so forth.
iPod arrives. Connect to computer. Nothing happens. No battery charging, nothing on the screen, nothing at all. Connect to a separate dock. Still nothing.
Ring Apple tech support. Tech support guy suggests three things, none work, pronounces it DOA (that would be Dead On Arrival, they have a readymade term for this when they're selling stringently checked and quality controlled goods?).
Transfer to another phone operator. They expect that someone will be At Home for a whole day for pickup of DOA nano, and At Home for another whole day for delivery of replacement nano. Nope. This holiday's not long enough to be trapped at home for Apple's convenience for two whole days.
Transfer to supervisor for discussion of Plan B, connected to Friday's visit to the city. Plan B is finally worked out, and supervisor throws in a free nano case. O-kay. Supervisor says he will personally check that the replacement works.
Friday: exchange occurs.
Friday night: replacement unit connected to computer. It wants to know if I speak English, but my computer (Windows) doesn't recognise it as any kind of known hardware. Greaaaaaat! Is that steam coming out my ears? Stringent, quality-controlled steam?
Monday: Supervisor says oh, you have a Windows computer? I forgot to check that - I tested it on an Mac. Transferred to technician, who guides me through a restoration of the operating system on the iPod to Windows.
Eventually, iPod works as it should. Sigh. I've had a long term love/hate relationship with Apple and Mac and iPods. When they're good, they are fine, but when they're bad, throwing them at a brick wall is too good for them. The computer I've hated the most, ever, was a Mac (not one that I owned, but one that I had to use at a place where I was doing volunteer work on computer).
Did I tell you that the iron worked just fine, right out of the box?
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Current reading
Travelling northwards on the pile: The Story of Edward Sawtelle, which I first heard about through Amazon publicity. It's a version of Hamlet (John Marsden's just brought out a novelised version of Hamlet too) and has garnered enough positive reviews to give it a whirl. Oprah now likes it too: although I'm not a slavish follower of her choices and haven't read many of them, as far as I'm aware. Still, I hugely respect the promotion she's given to books and reading.
The Historian. I'm part-way through this and finding it a bit of a battle. Persistently ominous without the om turning into anything else, and I'm not sure that I care much what happens to any of the characters. I've read good reviews of it, but it's yet to grab me.
The Good Thief. Another new one, well-reviewed where I've read reviews of it. Haven't started it yet.
44 Scotland St. This is the first Alexander McCall Smith I've tried - I know plenty of folks who enjoy his work but I just haven't got around to it yet. I kinda like the setup of assorted stories of people living at the one place, so we'll see how it goes.
Dairy Queen: one I'm reading for adolescent fiction purposes. Which means that sometimes you have a lovely time, and sometimes you have duty.
What's on your current reading pile? Leave a link in the comments so I can browse your choices...
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The Historian. I'm part-way through this and finding it a bit of a battle. Persistently ominous without the om turning into anything else, and I'm not sure that I care much what happens to any of the characters. I've read good reviews of it, but it's yet to grab me.
The Good Thief. Another new one, well-reviewed where I've read reviews of it. Haven't started it yet.
44 Scotland St. This is the first Alexander McCall Smith I've tried - I know plenty of folks who enjoy his work but I just haven't got around to it yet. I kinda like the setup of assorted stories of people living at the one place, so we'll see how it goes.
Dairy Queen: one I'm reading for adolescent fiction purposes. Which means that sometimes you have a lovely time, and sometimes you have duty.
What's on your current reading pile? Leave a link in the comments so I can browse your choices...
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Saturday, October 04, 2008
New china: birdsong
After mumble mumble quite a number of years, um decades of the same everyday china (nice though it is, and economically purchased from a church sale), this is the new everyday china chez rooruu, as has been alluded to recently.
What appealed? The white background, so the plain white platters etc that already reside in the cupboard will work with it. The aqua inside these two bowls, so the plain aqua pieces that already reside ditto ditto. And the silhouette - there are quite a few nice silhouetty designs around in images, homewares etc. This is simple and looks nice with food on it (some china looks like you shouldn't EVER put food on it).
The range has another bowl and of course mugs and also some other plates in aqua and white if you want to buy yet more (no). If you want the details, it's called birdsong, is made by Marie Claire and came from Myer department store and is a seasonal range, ie. they only stock it for a while, then it's gone forever. They have regular %-off sales on homewares, too. The reflection on the larger bowl is a reflection, not a shadowed design - it's just black on white.
I don't know what your kitchen cupboards are like, but few people seem to have empty ones...so this acquisition was the cue for a major spring clean of the kitchen cupboards and pantry, with exciting detours into "if there isn't a lid for this plastic container, it's not staying" and "the use-by date on this is WHAT?" and so forth. Rubbish in the bin, recycleables in the recyclable bin, several boxes of saleable stuff to the op shop (Goodwill/Oxfam/charity), a good cleaning of the emptied cupboards and the new china's out of the box and on the shelf and in use. Just have to go to Ikea for a couple of white metal shelf thingys (can't find them on the site, so I'll show you when I have them to hand) for stacking purposes.
What appealed? The white background, so the plain white platters etc that already reside in the cupboard will work with it. The aqua inside these two bowls, so the plain aqua pieces that already reside ditto ditto. And the silhouette - there are quite a few nice silhouetty designs around in images, homewares etc. This is simple and looks nice with food on it (some china looks like you shouldn't EVER put food on it).
The range has another bowl and of course mugs and also some other plates in aqua and white if you want to buy yet more (no). If you want the details, it's called birdsong, is made by Marie Claire and came from Myer department store and is a seasonal range, ie. they only stock it for a while, then it's gone forever. They have regular %-off sales on homewares, too. The reflection on the larger bowl is a reflection, not a shadowed design - it's just black on white.
I don't know what your kitchen cupboards are like, but few people seem to have empty ones...so this acquisition was the cue for a major spring clean of the kitchen cupboards and pantry, with exciting detours into "if there isn't a lid for this plastic container, it's not staying" and "the use-by date on this is WHAT?" and so forth. Rubbish in the bin, recycleables in the recyclable bin, several boxes of saleable stuff to the op shop (Goodwill/Oxfam/charity), a good cleaning of the emptied cupboards and the new china's out of the box and on the shelf and in use. Just have to go to Ikea for a couple of white metal shelf thingys (can't find them on the site, so I'll show you when I have them to hand) for stacking purposes.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Daytripper Mosaic
If you follow the link (click on the image), the largest size is there in my Flickr photostream.
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Daytripper
One ticket, one day in Sydney. What can you do?
Lots. I'm only doing one photo a day for Ali Edwards' a week in the life project I alluded to a day or three ago - except for today, which has been documented in somewhat exhaustive detail.
Starting from the top left...one daytripper ticket - so you can catch trains, buses, ferries as you wish for the day. Day wasn't entirely planned, but the cost was only a dollar or two more than a plain return, so what the heck.
Train station - nice old building. I was a bit early, so occupied myself with the Sydney Morning Herald and a cool drink - even early today, it was warm.
Mad floral shoes from the Metro section of the paper, worn by a girl in a band. You'd think the flowers would brush against each other and fall off.
Central Station - the country platforms, colourful safety bumps and the sandstone clock tower. If you haven't been to Sydney, the native stone for the area is Sydney sandstone, which just glows in the right light, and is so warm and pale (not like the heavier, darker stones which characterise other cities).
Having alighted again at Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building is right there, with its sculptures and carved sandstone, Victorian elegance against the modern minimalism of the buildings around it.
I had a message to do at offices near the Hilton Hotel, and it was an opportunity to inspect the Bronwyn Oliver sculpture, Vine, that's in the Hilton foyer. It's enormous!
The coloured glass and narrow passageway are part of TGV, The Galeries Victoria. Two floors up is the huge Kinokuniya bookshop, but I'll go there at the end of the day, not traipse around carrying any finds. The Big Issue is a magazine sold by the homeless, who keep a percentage of their takings. Anytime I'm in the city, if I see a Big Issue seller, I'll buy a copy. This man was wonderfully cheerful, and easy to spot in his bright safety vest (I didn't photograph him because I didn't like to ask - it was odd, in the centre of the city, how often one felt inhibited about taking photos, mostly because you didn't want to seem like a Bad Egg of some sort).
Wandered through the stationery Dymocks (a choice of thousands of 2009 diaries) and then the bookshop Dymocks. I photographed the home design and quilting sections where I browsed, but no purchases - apart from anything else, I have a gift voucher for Borders... On to the newish Apple Store, which I hadn't been to before. Naturally, surrounded by its friends and relations, my iPod worked fine and didn't show the on/off switch problems I'd been having. There are benches and tables laden with internet connected Macs, laptops and desktops, and they encourage you to do some browsing to see how they work. So I did, and browsed to my blog page. Because I could. And took a photo, so I could blog my blog. Because I can.
On through the Strand Arcade, admiring the graceful trusses - Victorian, maybe? I couldn't photograph it, but it's good to know there's a Crumpler shop there - they make very excellent bags from little ones through to large - I keep my digital cameras and iPod in Crumpler bags. Australian designed, wacky names, good quality.
Toddling towards Borders, I was very happy to see a big wall of one of my favourite books, The Time Traveler's Wife. After due consideration, the gift voucher was invested in two fiction books: The Story of Edward Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, and The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. If I like 'em and want tell you about it, I'll do it here, in a later blog entry. The bookshops around home aren't bad, but the big ones in the city - Kinokuniya, Borders, Dymocks - always have stuff you haven't seen.
I detoured through the David Jones' Food Hall, photographing some pomegranates and zucchini flowers on the way (so that's how they sell zucchini flower!) and had lunch at the Piccadilly food hall: Thai Mussaman beef and a view. Back into DJs and liked (but didn't buy) these Christmas cards. I seem to have a bit of a thing for silhouette designs at present. I didn't buy because I bought some cards in the sales in January (at half price).
Afternoon tea was taken in the DJs coffee shop overlooking Hyde Park. The famous David Jones' passionfruit sponge cake is not quite as good as it used to be, but it's still a winning combination - the tartness of the passionfruit, the sweetness of the cake, the richness of the cream. Yum. Started reading one of my new books while eating cake; when I'd finished the cake, I fished out my writing notebook and wrote for a time - I rather like writing in cafes and rarely have the chance. Especially not when you can look out over a pleasant view like this one. They weren't madly busy at that hour, so they let me be. It was a nice break in the day, change of pace, change of thinking pattern.
No photos of this, but I went upstairs to browse their sale racks and came away with three pieces of clothing for work (a top, a dress and a pair of trousers), for less than $50 (they would have totalled nearly $200 if I'd bought them at full price, which I didn't and wouldn't have. And it's kinda nice, when you've just gone through your summer stuff and thought, it's time to replace those cream/taupe cotton 7/8 length trousers - and have a pair waiting for you, heavily reduced in price. Yay!
Across Market St to the other David Jones' store to suss out their Christmas shop, which has opened. I know, it's ridiculous to be thinking Christmas with October barely started. But they have different things to other places more locally, and now's a good time to see that before much has been sold. The little figurines are Gisela Graham designs (or some similar name) and pricey. Some of the painted faces had unfortunately shifted from a slight superiority to a downright sneer, which isn't exactly what you want on your tree, is it? The Christmas decoration stories they have this year are not vastly different to what one has seen before: blue/white; tropical brights, such as pink/lime; traditional green and red; some handcrafted-look stuff in red/white; and so on. They had lots of Jim Shore figurines, too, and lights and so forth. I invested in two decs I didn't photograph (they're Christmas surprises) and a box of the painted red/white hearts. And have no particular plans to return for anything else. It wasn't 'orrible, it's just that a) this house has plenty of Christmas decorations and b) the selection was quite repetitive, one bauble deisign or bird might appear in different colours to suit each 'story'. Anyhoo, no trees in this house till December!
On the way back to the station, took time to browse Kinokuniya - photos here of their home design section and quilt book shelves.
So there you have it - a daytrip in town which didn't end up involving ferries or buses (did I mention it was 35deg Celsius, hot hot hot?) but did get a few messages done, browsed some bogglingly big bookshops and more. It's good to have a change of scene like that when you're on holidays - go breathe some different air (probably smoggier, but you can't have everything), mix with different folks and create some different spaces in the day.
Ali Edwards' idea is to comprehensively document each day of a week, but I've gone a different way, detail on one, and just one photo of the others. Whatever works for me! - not sure how I'll scrapbook it yet, but I'll think that out later. There were so many other things I could have added to the day today too, but it was always a smorgasbord to pick from, rather than a required list of destinations. The Powerhouse Museum and the Many ferry, for instance will still be there another time.
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Lots. I'm only doing one photo a day for Ali Edwards' a week in the life project I alluded to a day or three ago - except for today, which has been documented in somewhat exhaustive detail.
Starting from the top left...one daytripper ticket - so you can catch trains, buses, ferries as you wish for the day. Day wasn't entirely planned, but the cost was only a dollar or two more than a plain return, so what the heck.
Train station - nice old building. I was a bit early, so occupied myself with the Sydney Morning Herald and a cool drink - even early today, it was warm.
Mad floral shoes from the Metro section of the paper, worn by a girl in a band. You'd think the flowers would brush against each other and fall off.
Central Station - the country platforms, colourful safety bumps and the sandstone clock tower. If you haven't been to Sydney, the native stone for the area is Sydney sandstone, which just glows in the right light, and is so warm and pale (not like the heavier, darker stones which characterise other cities).
Having alighted again at Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building is right there, with its sculptures and carved sandstone, Victorian elegance against the modern minimalism of the buildings around it.
I had a message to do at offices near the Hilton Hotel, and it was an opportunity to inspect the Bronwyn Oliver sculpture, Vine, that's in the Hilton foyer. It's enormous!
The coloured glass and narrow passageway are part of TGV, The Galeries Victoria. Two floors up is the huge Kinokuniya bookshop, but I'll go there at the end of the day, not traipse around carrying any finds. The Big Issue is a magazine sold by the homeless, who keep a percentage of their takings. Anytime I'm in the city, if I see a Big Issue seller, I'll buy a copy. This man was wonderfully cheerful, and easy to spot in his bright safety vest (I didn't photograph him because I didn't like to ask - it was odd, in the centre of the city, how often one felt inhibited about taking photos, mostly because you didn't want to seem like a Bad Egg of some sort).
Wandered through the stationery Dymocks (a choice of thousands of 2009 diaries) and then the bookshop Dymocks. I photographed the home design and quilting sections where I browsed, but no purchases - apart from anything else, I have a gift voucher for Borders... On to the newish Apple Store, which I hadn't been to before. Naturally, surrounded by its friends and relations, my iPod worked fine and didn't show the on/off switch problems I'd been having. There are benches and tables laden with internet connected Macs, laptops and desktops, and they encourage you to do some browsing to see how they work. So I did, and browsed to my blog page. Because I could. And took a photo, so I could blog my blog. Because I can.
On through the Strand Arcade, admiring the graceful trusses - Victorian, maybe? I couldn't photograph it, but it's good to know there's a Crumpler shop there - they make very excellent bags from little ones through to large - I keep my digital cameras and iPod in Crumpler bags. Australian designed, wacky names, good quality.
Toddling towards Borders, I was very happy to see a big wall of one of my favourite books, The Time Traveler's Wife. After due consideration, the gift voucher was invested in two fiction books: The Story of Edward Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, and The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. If I like 'em and want tell you about it, I'll do it here, in a later blog entry. The bookshops around home aren't bad, but the big ones in the city - Kinokuniya, Borders, Dymocks - always have stuff you haven't seen.
I detoured through the David Jones' Food Hall, photographing some pomegranates and zucchini flowers on the way (so that's how they sell zucchini flower!) and had lunch at the Piccadilly food hall: Thai Mussaman beef and a view. Back into DJs and liked (but didn't buy) these Christmas cards. I seem to have a bit of a thing for silhouette designs at present. I didn't buy because I bought some cards in the sales in January (at half price).
Afternoon tea was taken in the DJs coffee shop overlooking Hyde Park. The famous David Jones' passionfruit sponge cake is not quite as good as it used to be, but it's still a winning combination - the tartness of the passionfruit, the sweetness of the cake, the richness of the cream. Yum. Started reading one of my new books while eating cake; when I'd finished the cake, I fished out my writing notebook and wrote for a time - I rather like writing in cafes and rarely have the chance. Especially not when you can look out over a pleasant view like this one. They weren't madly busy at that hour, so they let me be. It was a nice break in the day, change of pace, change of thinking pattern.
No photos of this, but I went upstairs to browse their sale racks and came away with three pieces of clothing for work (a top, a dress and a pair of trousers), for less than $50 (they would have totalled nearly $200 if I'd bought them at full price, which I didn't and wouldn't have. And it's kinda nice, when you've just gone through your summer stuff and thought, it's time to replace those cream/taupe cotton 7/8 length trousers - and have a pair waiting for you, heavily reduced in price. Yay!
Across Market St to the other David Jones' store to suss out their Christmas shop, which has opened. I know, it's ridiculous to be thinking Christmas with October barely started. But they have different things to other places more locally, and now's a good time to see that before much has been sold. The little figurines are Gisela Graham designs (or some similar name) and pricey. Some of the painted faces had unfortunately shifted from a slight superiority to a downright sneer, which isn't exactly what you want on your tree, is it? The Christmas decoration stories they have this year are not vastly different to what one has seen before: blue/white; tropical brights, such as pink/lime; traditional green and red; some handcrafted-look stuff in red/white; and so on. They had lots of Jim Shore figurines, too, and lights and so forth. I invested in two decs I didn't photograph (they're Christmas surprises) and a box of the painted red/white hearts. And have no particular plans to return for anything else. It wasn't 'orrible, it's just that a) this house has plenty of Christmas decorations and b) the selection was quite repetitive, one bauble deisign or bird might appear in different colours to suit each 'story'. Anyhoo, no trees in this house till December!
On the way back to the station, took time to browse Kinokuniya - photos here of their home design section and quilt book shelves.
So there you have it - a daytrip in town which didn't end up involving ferries or buses (did I mention it was 35deg Celsius, hot hot hot?) but did get a few messages done, browsed some bogglingly big bookshops and more. It's good to have a change of scene like that when you're on holidays - go breathe some different air (probably smoggier, but you can't have everything), mix with different folks and create some different spaces in the day.
Ali Edwards' idea is to comprehensively document each day of a week, but I've gone a different way, detail on one, and just one photo of the others. Whatever works for me! - not sure how I'll scrapbook it yet, but I'll think that out later. There were so many other things I could have added to the day today too, but it was always a smorgasbord to pick from, rather than a required list of destinations. The Powerhouse Museum and the Many ferry, for instance will still be there another time.
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The US presidential election
From here in Australia, it's been fascinating to watch. But now, it's also getting a tad scary (exhibit A: Sarah Palin interviewed by Katie Couric. Especially if you watch Tina Fey's version from Saturday Night Live...). Here's how the New York Times' editorial summed up the VP debate:
In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment.
In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Quiltlet: C is for Cootamundra
Here's the third in my series of quiltlets for Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine: this one, C is for Cootamundra, is in vol. 17 no. 3, out now in Australian quilt shops and newsagencies. (Quiltlet? Little quilt? Call it what you will).
Although most of the quiltlets won't have direct reference in their design to the place after which they're named, this one was too good a conjunction to pass by. Cootamundra, such a wonderful-sounding Australian place name, is very much associated with the national floral emblem wattle (or acacia). Some yellow yoyos, and a green background (coincidentally the national colours, green and gold) and, well, this one's turned out pretty patriotic. Yay to the photographer who found some real wattle to include! I was aiming for an impressionistic kind of wattle, rather than a botanically accurate one. But you've already worked that out, haven't you?
During this break I hope to finish both I and J, which will be out in issues in 2009. And no, I won't tell you which Australian places I've chosen...
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Although most of the quiltlets won't have direct reference in their design to the place after which they're named, this one was too good a conjunction to pass by. Cootamundra, such a wonderful-sounding Australian place name, is very much associated with the national floral emblem wattle (or acacia). Some yellow yoyos, and a green background (coincidentally the national colours, green and gold) and, well, this one's turned out pretty patriotic. Yay to the photographer who found some real wattle to include! I was aiming for an impressionistic kind of wattle, rather than a botanically accurate one. But you've already worked that out, haven't you?
During this break I hope to finish both I and J, which will be out in issues in 2009. And no, I won't tell you which Australian places I've chosen...
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Kiva
In case you've been looking to invest in a Kiva loan recently, and have found only a few loans to choose from, they've uploaded LOTS in the last day or so - over 500 to choose from when I looked just now. There's a link over in the sidebar with a different entrepreneur each time you load this page, or toddle on over there and check out the other choices. They do gift certificates, if you're thinking Christmas list thoughts, too.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Quilt: Festive Charm
Festive Charm is a Christmas quilt (well, Christmas table runner) I designed for Australian Country Threads magazine. It's in vol. 8 no. 12 and is out now, or any day now. This is the Christmas projects issue.
I picked up a pack of charm squares (Peace on Earth by 3 Sisters for Moda) and that was the basis of this table runner - economical and effective. And not uber-Christmassy, either, so it's useable throughout the year. Even more economical.
I blogged about it back here with a scrunched-up photo.
And I'd like to send greetings to Candy , who asked me to put whole images of my designs up when they're published. How about two in a row? That's a start!
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I picked up a pack of charm squares (Peace on Earth by 3 Sisters for Moda) and that was the basis of this table runner - economical and effective. And not uber-Christmassy, either, so it's useable throughout the year. Even more economical.
I blogged about it back here with a scrunched-up photo.
And I'd like to send greetings to Candy , who asked me to put whole images of my designs up when they're published. How about two in a row? That's a start!
.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Modern craft - article from The Age
Nice article on modern women's craft and community from The Age newspaper in Melbourne - read it here. A stitch through time, by Ginger Briggs.
I like the references to the pleasure of process rather than the requirement of perfection.
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I like the references to the pleasure of process rather than the requirement of perfection.
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Dandelion/holidays
I'm on holidays for a couple of weeks, and at this point it's like this dandelion head - trembling with possibilities, all sorts of directions in which to head. And lovely to have. Today's plan? Lunch with friends in a nice local deli - we booked the window seat so we can watch the world wag by as we talk of cabbages and kings. It's all good.
Don't you get to wish, when you blow on a dandelion head?
Oh, and here's an idea I'm playing with this week , from Ali Edward's blog. I kinda sorta do it in this blog anyway, but will focus particularly this week. As long as I don't get distracted...
Don't you get to wish, when you blow on a dandelion head?
Oh, and here's an idea I'm playing with this week , from Ali Edward's blog. I kinda sorta do it in this blog anyway, but will focus particularly this week. As long as I don't get distracted...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Spring leaves
These leaves were exquisite - small, still growing (you could see where they were headed by the larger ones on the tree - maybe a small oak?), the freshest, most unblemished green. Absolutely spring (yes, spring and autumn are my favourite seasons).
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Valley of the Waters, Wentworth Falls
Afternoon tea at the Conservation Hut at Wenty Falls, on a balmy Saturday afternoon, in good company and with this view. What's not to like?
(The Blue Mountains are blue, if you don't know, because of evaporating eucalyptus oil from the many trees. I'm not sure why other blue mountains in other parts of the world are blue, but that's the reason here).
(The Blue Mountains are blue, if you don't know, because of evaporating eucalyptus oil from the many trees. I'm not sure why other blue mountains in other parts of the world are blue, but that's the reason here).
Kiva: Jenny Chagua Gabriel
Most Christmases I've written a Christmas letter to put in with the cards, telling some of the year's stories and experiences. While I'm not writing it yet, it's around now that I start thinking about it, and what the year's stories, experiences, themes might be. One theme is certainly Kiva, participating in this microfinance venture to support entrepreneurial people from poorer countries. What better way to celebrate spring holidays than adding another Kiva loan to my portfolio? Meet Jenny Chagua Gabriel from Peru:
Look at that embroidery - isn't it beautiful?
Here's more info about Jenny . Jenny is 31 years old and lives with her parents in their house. She us a responsible young woman whose heart is filled with gratitude towards her parents. This is why she has spent more than five years embroidering the cotton skirts that are traditional in the area where she lives. She decided to launch this business because of the high demand for her work, due to its high quality. She works full-time, and for each skirt she uses many beautiful colors to achieve just the right combination. With a lot of hard work, she completes her custom orders on time. Jenny thoroughly enjoys the ability to independently work from her own home. Jenny works hard for one reason: to improve her quality of life and that of her parents. She is requesting this loan to buy fabric and thread in bulk, and thus increase her productivity. It looks as though she may be a source of employment for many people in the future, since because of the growing demand for her products she will be able to contract employees to do some of her embroidery work.
Jenny's loan is fully funded - with the recent changes to Kiva, and the return of your investment as each repayment is made by each entrepreneur (instead of at the end of the loan term), loans are being funded all the time. Just look over here and see who you can help - minimum loan is $25US, which isn't much (even if our dollar has sunk a bit against the American dollar). This is my sixth Kiva loan this year, and I'm now lending with a combination of repayments and new investment money - my portfolio's here .
Kiva's another one to think of if you have Christmas presents that you do with a goat or toilet or such from Oxfam or World Vision's gift voucher catalogues. There's a permanent link to Kiva over in the sidebar.
Here's more info about Jenny . Jenny is 31 years old and lives with her parents in their house. She us a responsible young woman whose heart is filled with gratitude towards her parents. This is why she has spent more than five years embroidering the cotton skirts that are traditional in the area where she lives. She decided to launch this business because of the high demand for her work, due to its high quality. She works full-time, and for each skirt she uses many beautiful colors to achieve just the right combination. With a lot of hard work, she completes her custom orders on time. Jenny thoroughly enjoys the ability to independently work from her own home. Jenny works hard for one reason: to improve her quality of life and that of her parents. She is requesting this loan to buy fabric and thread in bulk, and thus increase her productivity. It looks as though she may be a source of employment for many people in the future, since because of the growing demand for her products she will be able to contract employees to do some of her embroidery work.
Jenny's loan is fully funded - with the recent changes to Kiva, and the return of your investment as each repayment is made by each entrepreneur (instead of at the end of the loan term), loans are being funded all the time. Just look over here and see who you can help - minimum loan is $25US, which isn't much (even if our dollar has sunk a bit against the American dollar). This is my sixth Kiva loan this year, and I'm now lending with a combination of repayments and new investment money - my portfolio's here .
Kiva's another one to think of if you have Christmas presents that you do with a goat or toilet or such from Oxfam or World Vision's gift voucher catalogues. There's a permanent link to Kiva over in the sidebar.
Friday, September 26, 2008
White blossom
With a few warmer days, the blossom trees have really - um - blossomed. The orange orchard welcomes you with a sign that says, "Come and see our navels" (I kept meaning to get a photo of that, and they changed it a day or so ago - to the pure, all things are pure) and has other newly harvested fruits for sale too. I've some holiday time and PLENTY to do during the break. Including admiring blossom trees.
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