Croftville

Sunday Ride

Rode my bike over to the Studley Park Boathouse this afternoon, sat by the edge of the river in the sun, read my book and listened to the geese honking and the people boating.

 

And on the way back I found this awesome trail that ran right along a bit of a cliff, and was really only wide enough for just my bike. So I got to practise riding in a straight line, and going over small rocks whilst still riding in a straight line and especially practised not riding off the edge.

It's a bit hard to see how high up I was, but the river is down at the bottom left of the pic and those grassy shrubby things are growing off the trail on the edge of the down bit.

 

 

 

Happiness is a new apple-green colander

*smile*

my shoulders have iPad envy

After lugging my MacBook around, I am seriously jonesing for an iPad.

Either that or a massage.

Holiday, you've been wet, humid annd hot. But good.

It was short but sweet, my bris-vegas holiday. And it's a worry when the locals are complaining how hot and humid it is. But at least I didn't feel like a wuss for wilting every so often.

I slept, was hot, read 3 books, was hot, drank lots of coffee, was hot, ate excessive amounts, was hot, wandered down to the local shops (ie scaled almost vertical hills), was hot, contemplated doing a boxing class, decided it as too hot, went to Noosa, was less hot, went to the beach and swam in the ocean, got almost cold because the sun went down.

Excessive dusting of chocolate - the way it should be. I had coffee (several times) at the independant book store near Deb & Daniel's, sitting outside surrounded by giant bamboo.

Then I went to the local park and read for a while, talked to an Ibis...

We went down to Noosa for the weekend, staying with their good friend Serena, and spent most of our time lounging on her awesome deck that comes complete with giant modular sofa. I believe it is almost a tradition for someone to fall asleep out there and sleep out all night.

We did un-sloth momentarily to go down to Hastings St, where we cocktailed at Cato's, ate lunch at the Surf Club overlooking the Lifesavers patrolling the beach and Deb bought a bikini. (which is apparently also a tradition)

And we made it to the beach for a swim (swim being defined as: get knocked over by wave, stand up, get knocked over again).

There is something very therapeutic about being in the sea and feeling the sand between your feet.

(No photo due to likely-hood of dropping phone into sand and sea)

But here's a photo of some big frangipani leaves from Deb and Daniel's garden. I love the trees up here.

 

Pillow Travellers

I've always been a bit puzzled by people who travel on airplanes with their own pillow. Full-size bed pillow, that is. I haven't formed a view on those squishy u-shaped neck pillows yet, except that they are fun to squeeze in the shop.

I mean, I get the idea about not being at the mercy of a strange pillow at your point of destination. No one can sleep well on the possible lumpy, foreign pillow that will greet you at the other end. And if you have one of those souped-up pillows - latex, memory foam, 100% virgin goose down, buckwheat or pillow stuffed with the hair of past lovers - it's totally understandable that insomnia or excruciating neck pain will ensue if your pillow is absent.

And everyone likes to go on holiday, even pillows.

But inevitably the pillows I see being lugged around the airport check-ins are not the prima-donnas of the pillow world.

They're your basic Tontine, flat and old and sad-looking, and always swimming in a faded pillowcase displaying a geometric print from the '80s.

It's never an Egyptian Cotton 300 thread-count crisp white pillowcase (although I guess it wouldn't stay either crisp or white for long en route). It's never a unbelievably puffy down pillow, swollen with feathers.

And on yesterday's flight, not only did I see the normal examples of the travelling pillow, but the girl sitting opposite me on the flight had a decrepit body pillow - one of those long, bolster-like pillows - so old and manky that the filling pooled at the bottom, causing her to become wedged in the aisle she tried to disembark.

Of course, it could have also been the three bags and large stuffed unicorn that were hampering her efforts, but I like to think it was the pillow making its own protest at being dragged into service when all it wanted to do was go to that Pillow Heaven in the sky, where you can air your stuffing and no one will drool on you anymore.

1st bike ride

Proof that I rode my bike today!

We went to the Collingwood Children's Farm, which admittedly is not too far a ride from my house, but it was my first ride in (actual length of time deleted)  and it was also the first time Jenny had ridden with Caitlin in the baby seat.

So I'm VERY familiar with my brakes, at one point I got overtaken by a jogger and, for a while there, 2 five year olds were giving me a run for my money.

And although it's lame, I'm very pleased with myself because I went over a speed bump, over a bridge, around a corner on the downhill, rang my bell, went through a muddy bit, carried the bike down stairs, carried the bike up stairs, and pedalled standing up off the seat! All without falling off or crashing into anyone else or a tree.

ps. At the Children's Farm cafe I had the pea, zucchini and haloumi fritters and they were awesome.

How'dya take your coffee?

The guy sitting opposite from me on the tram today had a hot coffee. So hot he was doing the thing where you hold the top and bottom because the sides are burning your fingers. But then he wanted to listen to his iPod.

So he carefully placed the coffee BETWEEN HIS LEGS on the seat.

Because THAT'S where I'd put really hot coffee while riding public transport.

The tram had stopped at the lights, so it was a race against time to get the ear-buds unrolled. He fumbled, the tram began to move and I watched with fascinated horror as the coffee cup made a break for freedom - towards me, I should add.

Luckily my seatmate was quick thinking. Lightning fast, he jammed that cup backwards. Away from me sure, but closer to that sensitive area for him.

I've never seen someone get an iPod on so fast. And once he'd got his tunes in place, he balanced that really hot coffee on top of the iPod.

'Cause it was still too hot to hold, you know.

My Weekend (which could also have been told in 6 or more tweets if I could've been arsed)

Instead, an overview:

Friday night:

I felt sort of strange, sort of restless and a bit mopey after I got home from work on Friday night, but after I read a bit, watched some trashy tv and had strawberry sorbet for dinner all was good in the world.

Saturday:

Decided it was too hot to go to boxing (and I was a bit concerned that three classes in 1 week was being obsessive) so instead I went shopping in the nicely air-conditioned Victoria Gardens for much-needed clothes. I was getting dangerously close to have to go to work wrapped in a sheet.

After mucho success (and all on sale) I cruised Ikea to see if the doona cover I like was also on sale (not yet) and had lunch in the food bit. (I had a bowl of mashed potato and a free coffee)

Incidentally, it was a better coffee than some of the other ones I've had this week as I forage for DECENT replacement coffee, whilst lamenting the xmas hols closure of my regular place. Curses working in the legal district, which becomes a cafe ghost town at this time of year.

In the afternoon I de-decorated the dried-flower arrangement that is our christmas tree, with only minimal spreading of pine needles, in preparation for the council to collect and mulch it, and then did boring things like dishes and washing.

Both schnauzers had a bath to cool down. Afterwards they ran around like hairy goats and then lay down on the bed to dry off. Later, Oliver and I danced to Eagle Rock.

Then Uli and Elizabeth arrived and we escaped to the movies which only took, like, 500 texts to organise. We saw Tangled in 3D (and amazingly I found 3 pairs of 3D glasses in the junk drawer) in pleb class, as no way was I going to pay to see Little Fockers, let alone pay to see it in gold class, and someone was having a wedding in there anyway (which I guess is the ideal wedding reception if you don't want to see or talk to your guests)

But it was almost like being in gold class, as the cinema was basically empty. Anyway, Tangled. A bit too much singing, but some very funny bits, and the hero was voiced by Zachary Levi who plays Chuck, in well, Chuck. His voice sounded deeper, but maybe it's always like that, but I just don't notice when he's being Chuck in his converse sneakers, all goofy and nerdy.

Dinner was quite healthy, - I'm going on an upward sliding scale of eating better this weekend - not that you can really descend lower from sorbet - anyway, we had several salads and champagne.

Sunday:

I got eight hours sleep last night (eight hours! In a row!) did a punishing Body Balance class, then bummed around reading blog archives (which resulted in the previous ukulele post)

Then I found a recipe (also from the same blog) for a cake and so searched in vain for almond paste in Leo's Supermarket, which I'm not allowed to go into if I'm in anyway at all hungry, and even then I should not got near the Nice Man in the cheese department, who always knows what I want (even when I say "I want something soft and goat-y and about this much" and hold my fingers up a few cms apart)

And then I discovered what you do if someone runs over a can of coke with a trolley. You mark it down and put it on the discount stand. Of course, as you are Leo's, you only mark it down to a dollar.

 

Although, I'd pay someone $1 to be there when they open it, given that shape. And, yes, that is a spelt christmas pudding. It's marked down to $21. I don't know what it's original price was.

Now I've watched the Dr Who episode where he changes from David Tennent into Matt Smith and I'm moving into the field of complex carbs for dinner (spaghetti) and realising I'm going to have to get to work insanely early tomorrow if I have any chance of not drowning in work.

The End.

 

 

 

Mamma Mia on the ukulele

Reading old entries on blogs (thanks, Angry Chicken) led me to Tim Koch's ukulele covers. There's something really nice about the ukulele, and not just because it looks like a guitar that got shrunk in the wash.

 

pedal power

Santa bought my bike for me today! Or rather, I went to the bike shop and bought the bike, and Santa's going to pay me back. He promised.

 

It's a Scott Contessa and quite bling-y, because the colour scheme is white and gold. I imagine soon it be either mostly dust or mud coloured.