Day 304 - The Paragon

Skipped the market today and had breakfast at The Paragon in Rathdowne Street, North Carlton. The predicted top temperature is 30 degrees, and it was already a little too hot to sit outside.

I've always liked the handpainted illustration on one of the walls; this is a small section of it.

Later, I went on a hunt for a wedding present for next Sunday, but we didn't hang around for long because it was too hot.

Day 303 - Jujyfruits

Do you remember the episode in Seinfeld where Elaine finds out that her boyfriend is in hospital after being hit by a car and she stops to buy Jujyfruit before going to visit him.

Well, when I saw this packet, I had to have it. We don't have Jujyfruit in Australia. I have to say, they're not as good as they look when Elaine eats them. Just like, when I was young, I used to think it would be great to have someone throw a cream pie in your face. Again, not something we did in Australia. Sigh.

Meanwhile, we're chilling in anticipation of a long weekend because of the Melbourne Cup. I never watch the race, but I love the holiday.

Day 302 - Fencing

Well, we finally resolved our months-long fence issue with our neighbours. Apparently, our 'excessive and inappropriate vegetation' had wrecked a fence which in 1981, when the previous owners of our house had moved in, was already looking old. After being threatened to erect and pay for a new fence or face court, we followed fence dispute procedures and ended up facing court. Even though we thought it would be a simple resolution, we were advised not to go any further to avoid hefty court costs. We swallowed our indignation and dumped the principle of the matter, and paid for most of the fence. And here it is. As high as council would permit.




Some plants survived the building.

Others did not.

And I threw a rose in for good measure.

Day 301 - Dog in a bucket

What you can do when you're bored. Put the dog in a bucket. If you think she looks less than pleased, you're right. She wasn't impressed.

Meanwhile, food preparation can also be a diversion. You can even create art during the process. Here's one I prepared earlier. In case you can't guess, it's marinade.

Day 300 - Around the house

Day off at home. Lovely and quiet, sunny enough to fill the washing line. Peace.

Day 299 - Talk about reading

We had a whole staff welfare day today - without the students! That's the welfare part, I think. After our epic information session about Grieving, where we were showered with powerpoint bullets (one teacher actually ended up lying on the floor, sleeping, while others just braved it in a sitting position), I joined a lively discussion about Christos Tsiolkas' The slap, a provocative story about someone slapping somebody else's child at a barbecue. As you probably know, it's not actually about the slap, but a brutally revealing depiction of egotistical, greedy, selfish and petty characters. The book elicits passionate reactions, mainly negative ones. A similarly heated discussion arose after Mr 19's status on Facebook announced he was reading Twilight (ironically, he insists). Have a look at first tuesday book club for information about The slap. Or check out my post.

Today's photo captures a snapshot of some of my old uni reading material. It seems so long ago now. One day I'll re-read all my old stuff. (I have a vague feeling I've taken this photo before. Oh well...)

Day 298 - Open for business

Open Day at school today. No photos.
Moving on...
Mr 16's end of year Melbourne Youth Music concert was a joy. Firstly, we enjoyed the choirs. The human voice is a powerful instrument and even moreso in a choir. We could see the rapport between the singers and conductors. So much passion in the delivery.

Percy Grainger Orchestra farewelled their conductor (going overseas) with a selection of Dvorak Symphony No. 8, Concerto for trumpet by Arutjunian, Wein, Weib und Gesang (wine, women and song) by Johann Strauss II (the conductor, Malcolm Yuen, spent some time in Vienna and always included waltzes), and Sibelius' Finlandia.


Finally, dinner at The Den in Northcote. Very nice.

Day 297 - There's something in the air

I'll start with the end of the day first. We've just come back from Dave and Larissa's engagement party. Larissa is my husband's niece. They look appropriately happy.

The title of the post is a song which reminds me of George Constanza. Today was a fresh, sunny day, the day you (cliche coming) feel lucky to be alive.

I took a few of the market sights. Haven't seen this model around for a while.

Driving into the city (as a passenger) along Elizabeth Street, it's not always scenic. This is a mess of buildings and styles.

I took some pictures out of the car window. The Post Office.

A building I've taken before but not from this angle. I think I'd like to live there.

There's a cupcake shop in Melbourne Central. The icing is obviously too thick. Don't think I'd like to eat one of these.

Nor these.

If you want to see the chocolate ones, click here. If you don't want to, don't. If you think these will make you sick, you should have seen this big one.

Here's another giant one. And one more.

The shops are helping people get into the mood for Melbourne Cup Day next Tuesday.

Day 296 - Jesus Christ Superstar

Love Fridays - who doesn't? Sunny afternoon and piano music filling the house. Mr 19 is repetiteur for his former school's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The rest of the evening was devoted to the editing of a Romeo and Juliet essay with Mr 16 (who is to blame for their tragic deaths), as well as the construction of his new bed.

Day 295 - Pattern

Thinking back, I've always loved pattern. Remembering the happy days creating colourful, linear drawings in primary school, the unconscious thereness of our Persian carpets, gravitating towards little things with intricate design, it's no wonder our house is scattered with patterned rugs.

Day 294 - Tired

Still feeling unwell, and barely able to keep my eyes open, I think I'll just make dinner and collapse.

Day 293 - The slap

I've been trying to read The slap today, this day being my day off. If it weren't for all the distractions, I would have finished it. Apart from the addictive allure of Twitter and other online delicacies, and the little domestic duties which crop up all the more because I'm actually sitting in the house and am therefore very aware of what needs to be done, I actually think my brain is unsuited to reading quickly. For example, reading about something somebody did in the book, and being distracted by thoughts like 'I know how she feels' or 'I've thought that but I would never admit it' or 'is it true that men think about sex all the time?' - and then, a short icecream interval. Resuming the read, 'Hmmm.... no wonder I don't like barbecues' or even 'No wonder I don't like people all that much', followed by 'I can't believe I didn't realise what a misanthrope I am', 'Was Scrooge born that way or did he have an unhappy childhood?' and also, 'Are we really responsible for who we are?', and so on. So that's why I've only read 82 of 483 pages. The vacant stare is also understandable.

Oh, and in the morning, I took the predictable outdoor shots of whatever's flowering, knowing that I wouldn't see anything else. I'm not sure if I'll last until the end of the year with the daily photo challenge!

Hmmm.... this photo makes me think of icecream...

Day 292 - Slow

Feeling unwell and slowing down to almost a halt. I think it took me 45 minutes to fold and put the washing away. Dragged myself outside just to take a few shots. So happy to feel sun all day; even smelled warm grass. Proustian experience. So, the roses are blooming now. As they do.

Here's more evidence of the sun.

Day 291 - A little bit of sunshine

Happy to feel a little sun this afternoon. We had the opportunity to use our new outdoor furniture for the first time when good friends/family came over. Our little MaltesexShih-Tzu also had a 'friend' over, although the two dogs kept a safe distance between them after the initial sniffing formalities. We had an impressive variety of icecream so everyone could choose their favourite flavour.

Later in the evening, we chilled with accordian music, disjointed conversation and cheese.