TGFIO

That stands for thank god Friday is over. Tres busy day. Got to uni at 8:30, taught till 10:30, which included an altercation with the rudest ever IT guys who kicked me and my students out of class in the middle of their test despite me saying we would only be another 15 minutes at the most. no please, thank you, sorry. I feel a complaint coming on. Anyhoo. I took some photos from the classroom, it has a pretty good view.

The city skyline from a kinda unflattering angle.

The architecture building, possibly one of the least attractive buildings at uni. Which is a worry really. And I say this with my most open minded, I respect all periods of architectural design, kinda hat on. Still fugly.

This arvo I worked like a (slightly confused) demon and (almost) sorted a wordpress site for one of my projects. Helped by the lovely shilo of yikes machine I now have a much much better understanding of what is going on behind my easy as pie wordpress admin panel.

I then madly emalied english art collections about some reproduction rights that I am hopelessly behind on.

That all called for two enormous glasses of wine and pizza at my local.

Behold my zinfandel and behind my recently finished chablis. My local has both these by the glass, which is one hundred kinds of brilliant in my mind. Plus it is 5 minutes from my door. Win.

Now I need to get some sleep so I can have energy to deal with whatever tomorrow brings election wise.

Hmm

I seem to be quite bad at this 365photo blog thing. I think I will keep trying though. So in the spirit of it here is a photo I took this evening. Just some nice building that seems slightly derelict, I think I would like to have it for the huge library I dreamed I had last night. It was like a neater version of the strange Kunsthistorisches in Florence, which has a main library but the collection has spread into people's offices. I used to be too scared to go in and get the books I needed. The whole garden history collection was in the office of a very scary looking German lady.

Now I am mooching on the couch with wine and thinking about what clothes to take to Venice in April. I am determined to travel light and also look stylish. I need conference clothes and it will be about 16-18 degrees with the potential to be colder and maybe wet. Hmmm.

So far I have settled on my blue skinny jeans and brown boots. So far so boring....

Saturday Relaxation

I headed over to Mum and Dad's on Saturday as Mum had offered to help me do some mending. I also took over some shoes as the local shoe repair man is incredibly cheap and incredibly good. He may well be one of the happiest people ever. He always looks at my shoes (which I tend to wear for that bit too long after they need repaired) and shakes his head and says 'how much do you love em? this is gonna be pricey." Then proceeds to quote something like $30 each for shoes that need the soles completely rebuilt and leather tears patched. Less than half what people in the city usually quote. I always try and explain that the shoes in question cost a lot more than $30 so that will be fine but he always looks skeptical.

I then found a pair of awesome vintage patent heels at the op shop. Only $10.

I drank lots of tea and had some pumpkin soup and did my mending. I think I did well, it wasn't too tricky but it really needed a machine and I don't have one. Also mum tends to encourage me to take care and do things properly rather than trying to just do everything as quickly as possible.

I also hung out with Hamish the Wonder Dog and Abby. They say hi.

I also checked on my Jerusalem artichokes. I originally planted some about, hmm, 8 years ago and they have produced bumper crops ever since despite mum's attempts to not encourage them. This year she moved them to a different position and they just grew in both the new spot and the old spot. Mwahahahah!

So in about a month or so I will probably have many many to give away. One of the plants is about 8 ft high. They are a type of sunflower but despite their height and enormous leaves only produce tiny little daisy-like flowers.

The top is up there somewhere but hard to see so Mum helped by giving perspective.

I also found a curvy zucchini. It is waiting to be cooked up.

Beginning and ending

This is how Friday began...

Ohh look red lines under things, I'm sure they were there for a reason but I can't for the life of me remember why.

And this is how Friday ended...

Wine at the City Wine Shop, I also had some polenta chips but they didn't last nearly long enough to be photographed. Before this there was a lecture on curating art and a reception at the Ian Potter museum where I stood in stilettos for too long and drank too much champagne (which for me really means any champagne) and ate lots of little fig tarts.

Satdee

Decided that Saturday would be a day-off day. I always feel guilty but I was so frustrated with my thesis all Friday that I wasn't achieving anything at all. I went for a run first thing as I hadn't been for a few weeks, there were time trials on the tan so it was a bit annoying having loads of men (not very attractive ones) with their shirts off pelting around too fast. Then I caught up with Katie and Elena for coffee and a spot of shopping, which became lunch, which became getting soaked from the storm. I took pics specially for Bri as she decided for some reason that it was too far for her to come from Glasgow to catch up for coffee, pretty lazy really...

 

Cafe on Gertrude can't remember the name, it was good though the guy behind the bar seemd to be on another planet.

 

Coffee, can't have these too often these days as they make me shaky and anxious, but as I love it I make exceptions on the weekends.

 

Katie's breakfast.

Some lovely tartan and velvet dress, perfect for bri's next highland dance ( we assume she goes to them every weekend).

Sparkles, I always grab these things like a magpie and then realise I don't actually want to dress like a drag queen.

 

Only $20, what a bargain.

 

Some of the great headwear available at the Clear It warehouse.

 

The rain. We were actually having lunch at the vegie bar when the storm hit and the hail put holes in the roof.

 

Hiding from the rain in T2.

We ended up quite wet by the time we got back to the car. But I thought it was fun.

Zucchini risotto

I sort of made this up based on a salad I had at the City Wine Shop, which is zucchini, white beans and goat's curd. I fried the zucchini first with some garlic then added the rice and made the risotto, I also put mint in the stock. When it was done I served it with the goat's curd on top so it sort of slowly melted into it and some finely chopped mint leaves. Was delicious.

Thursday skirt

Short and sweet today.  A picture of one of my favourite skirts at the moment. I wore it to drinks at Section 8, which I have to admit I'm not super keen on as a bar. Possibly that makes me uncool but I find it uncomfortable and I usually drink wine and it is pretty bad and basically the same price as somewhere with nice wine. Oh man I sounds like such a grump!

Anyhoo I love this skirt, I bought it at one of my favourite markets in Rome on Via Sannio. Italy doesn't really have op shops so most of the second hand clothing is sold in markets. This market has a whole range of prices from rip off to 'um do they realise this is only 1 euro better buy it before they notice.' Apparently there are even stalls that have 1930s ball gowns stashed out the back but you need to know the right people. It has a cashmere only stall where you can buy second hand cashmere and it brings out my inner middle aged Italian lady. I also like to bargain with the more expensive stalls though one of my Italian teachers in Rome sternly told me that bargaining at these particular markets is not at all the done thing. But it seems to work for me!

Today was a bit shit

I think someone switched my brain off. I wish I could have got back into bed but I was in at uni and wanted to stay for yoga at 5 so I went through and proof read my bibliography, all 13 000 words of it.

I raged at a passive aggressive email from someone who is doing my head in.


I also enjoyed clinking my new beads that a friend bought me in Rome. They are very very very blue.

Amazing cucumber monster

Another day, another slog at the thesis. To brighten my day I decided to make a smiley face out of Goji berries and apple and also a monster out of the remains of my lunch. I thought they were hilarious. I am especially proud of my cucumber monster.

 

 

Monday

Today was OK. A HUGE book on Caravaggio arrived. I put my hand ( which looks oddly wrinkled) on it to show the size. It was only $40 from the book depository and free delivery. It is loverly.

 

And a picture from Melbourne Uni where I am most days. Not a very interesting one, there was a very loud fire alarm going off at the time though. So just make that sound in your head and it will seem more exciting.

Sunday, beady Sunday.

Beady Sunday sounds a bit like it was watching me with little beady eyes. I have to say I'm not entirely convinced Sunday wasn't hiding under the couch and watching me. It certainly didn't seem to actually appear.

I meant to work today, honestly, but somehow I didn't. I slept in and rolled from tea and toast to tea and turkish delight to catching up on blogs to reading The Guardian online to making necklaces and watching Mad Men to feeling a bit sad and down for a while and gazing out at the grey sky to making another necklace and watching Poirot and suddenly it is the evening. Maybe I needed a day off. I was very tired (though that was probably because I stayed up late last night drinking white port and reading about tsunamis).

Anyway here are the fruits of my labours, two new necklaces. I haven't trimmed the ends yet as I have lost all my flexible beading needles and need some more before I can finish off, but you get the idea.

 My sister have me the patterned glass beads for Christmas and I have been playing with them for ages but I think they work well with the black and all grouped together.

These are some beads that I have had for ages, the stripy ones were off an old necklace of Mum's. They look like lollies.

Dinner, cupcakes and winter olympics

I went to see 'A single man' in the morning with E. I had actually planned on Bright Star as I had a free pass but of course you can't use it on the weekend. Pah. But 'A Single Man' was great, sad though not depressing. I did spend about the first 10 minutes crying. It is also very visually beautiful.

In the evening I had dinner with the lovely C. We drank red wine and ate her delicious beetroot risotto and gossiped and decorated cupcakes that she had made (which were scrummy). Check out our efforts, be afraid professional cake decorators, be very afraid.

 

 

My HILARIOUS food wit at work.

 

Actually trying to do something pretty.

C says the I love you was for her man but clearly it was about me.

After that heady excitement we watched the Winter Olympics, or as I like to call it the DANGER OLYMPICS. As it seems that only 1 in 3 people actually complete their attempts without being on their heads or asses or both. Exhibit 1. The bobsled.

This was the only time I saw them the right way up. Actually I think the aim was to finish upside down and these guys had failed dismally.

And talking about failing dismally here are some photos of Eddie Maguire and the figure skater Johnny Weir. Eddie was hoepless, clearly worried he might catch a 'camp' attitude or else he perhaps had electrodes on his balls that were buzzed every time he veered towards homophobic. Anyway Johnny Weir was hilarious. I think he should have his own show.

 

 

Friday

I was about to write it was a long day, but it wasn't really. I was home by 3:30pm! Maybe Friday always seems long regardless of what I do. I did my usual 'work at uni until after lunch and then head to the market with Mum'. It is our routine and we catch up over tomatoes and lettuce and I get a lift home with my shopping, which is always helpful. I took some quick photos at the market.

Beetroot leaves, I love beetroot. I always try and eat the leaves as well.

The biscuit shop, I often buy Turkish Delight to have with my tea over the weekend. OM NOM NOM.

Thursday

It has suddenly occurred to me that simply using the days of the week as titles might not work so well after my first week. I will have to think it through.

Thursday I studied hard, I am experimenting with a new approach to study called 'Getting up at a normal hour'. Seems to be working, somewhere along the way I had forgotten that I am very productive in the mornings.

I decided to get coffee, I don't drink it much these days as it makes me hyperactive/anxious.

In the evening I went to an opening at uplands gallery, the art was good. The artist is Michelle Ussher. The paintings (and one sculpture) are quite dark. There were some on canvas and some on paper. I liked the ones of horses walking away partly because as a child I used to draw horses walking away all the time. I liked the shaped of their behinds, I even used to draw it on everyone's birthday cards.

I also caught up with J and T and e (e is the baby so lower case geddit?)

Here are my pictures, I don't like to take photos of the art as it isn't mine and you should go and look at it but you get a glimpse via the invite card. You can also see it here.

 

First I had a campari, I always eat my orange slice afterward.

  

Then I decided to have a Peroni as it is one of my favourite beers simply because it has good memories associated with Rome. It made me burp a bit.

Then I decided to take a photo of people's legs in case you were wondering what kind of shoes people wear to gallery openings in Melbourne.