Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas

What a wintery week it's been. It's so cold in the house now, I've had to put the heater on. It was similar weather this time last year too, I remember having to put the heater on on Christmas day.

Well we are ready for Christmas day tomorrow. We have just got everyone small gifts this year and have also bought everyone a gift from Oxfam and we've asked that our family donate to charity instead of giving us gifts this year. You might think I'm being a bit of a grinch but the rampant consumerism at this time of year really bugs me. Buying presents for people who don't really need or want those things just because that's what you're supposed to strikes me as really wasteful. I'd rather give that money to someone who really needs it.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow. (remember to eat lightly tonight, you're gonna need that space tomorrow :)

Sunday, December 16, 2007

WAAAAKE UUUUUUP!


We live in a fairly quiet suburb. The only thing that wakes us up occasionally are the birds.

Well this morning it was a brass band! I opened my eyes and thought, that is not the alarm, that is not the TV, therefore there must be a brass band outside our house! So I opened the curtains and saw that there was! That got me out of bed fairly smartly.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Kids



We went to visit my parents in the country on Sunday. Their neighbour has a few farm animals so we went over there to see their new kids. They had three, two were very shy but this one practically jumped into my arms! She was so cute, I really wanted to take her home.

The had sheep, alpacas and chickens too but I couldn't get close enough to any of them for a cuddle. I love animals, I grew up in the country and we always had a wide assortment of pets but now we just have a dog, Sooty.



I made tomato sauce for dinner tonight. It was good but not as great as I thought it might be and it was a bit too buttery. I'd definitely try it again as it was sooo easy to make but I think I'd put less butter in and probably add garlic. (Don't you think adding rocket to any meal just makes it look instantly gourmet!)

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Done - just in time for summer?



I finished my Hanami scarf this morning and it's blocked and dried already (it is 32 degrees here today!).

I really enjoyed knitting this, the pattern is interesting and the alpaca yarn is so soft. I can't wait to wear it ... next winter :(



It doesn't really go with a singlet does it?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Dukkah Pumpkin & Risotto

I made this for dinner tonight - it was really tasty. Made a bit of a mess of the kitchen though.

Recipe from The Cook and the Chef, I love that show.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s1930652.htm

Monday, November 26, 2007

Why are people so unkind?

I caught a bus today, I haven't done that for a while, I'm more of a train user these days. Anyway, I was enjoying the trip, looking out the window and daydreaming when the bus pulled up at a stop ... and the driver proceeded to very rudely tell off the woman who had mistakenly rang the bell to early and wanted to get off at the next stop. Then when she got off at the next stop he yelled out after her "next time try to get it right so you don't inconvenience all the other passengers!".

My pleasant trip was shattered and I reckon hers was too. How humiliating for her to be yelled at like that for making a simple mistake. I was so pissed off with the driver. I was tempted to go and ask his name so I could make a complaint about him ... but then I was scared he'd yell at me too.

I get so mad when people are nasty for no good reason. Why do they have to be that way, it just brings everyone down.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

First week over

Well that first week flew by. What did I do:

- Did a few hours work each day for my husband. (He's co-owner of a small business and they needed some help while a staff member is away). I'll be doing the same next week too. It was kinda fun to go to work with him and see what he does all day.
- Got my hair cut
- Dropped Bob off at Meet Me at Mikes
- Did some clothes shopping in Bridge Rd
- Bought a print from Dickerson Gallery - it's titled "pot plant", it's a simple image of a pot plant but it's beautifully done and for some reason I just had to buy it
- Visited the Heide Museum of Modern Art, the gardens are lovely to visit on a nice day and the original house, Heide II is amazing, we sat in the courtyard for ages taking photos and just soaking up the atmosphere
- made some curtains for my craft room as it didn't have any and it got reaaly hot in there on Monday and Tuesday (it was over 36 degrees both days). They're very boring looking, but I made them from supplies I already had and they're only temporary (more about that another time) so it didn't matter much.



Monday, November 19, 2007

Bob

Here's Bob all finished. First thing he wanted to do was explore the garden.

My first day


Ahh sleeping in is sooo good! I got up at 8am though, not much of a sleep in is it?

This morning I've been making Bob, he's nearly done now, just have to do the feet and stitch his eyes. He's for the Softies for Mirabel appeal. I will put up a pic when he's done.


One of the things I'm looking forward to doing is cooking more and eating better. My husband and I are in a bit of a rut (food wise only!), we cook the same four meals all the time. I've been inspired by Dinner Daily to commit to making a new recipe every night of the week. But I'm not ready yet, have to go shopping and I'm not venturing out today, it's 32 degrees out there now. Hot, hot, hot!




But I did make it to the deli that's only five minutes walk from my house. I bought some sourdough bread, marinated fetta and basil for my lunch. Yuuuum!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

My last day




It was my last day yesterday. It was a good day. I'd made sure I'd finished everything the day before - even staying back a bit to get it all done. So all I had to do yesterday was tidy up a few loose ends go to my exit interview, go to lunch, give a little speech about how much I'll miss everyone, cry a little then go to drinks.

It's a very weird feeling. I'm not sure what I'll do on Monday yet. I've got quite a busy weekend so I probably won't get a chance to think about it either. Perhaps I'll use Monday as my planning day. Or maybe I'll get my hair cut and get a massage :)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The end and the beginning

Tomorrow is my last day at work.

I am (until tomorrow anyway) a computer programmer. I've been working for the same consulting company for eight years and for the same client for four and half of those. I liked my job, I liked the people I was working with but for a while I'd been thinking that I'd like a change of career, to do something a bit more meaningful hopefully and something I could be passionate about. So I thought about my options. What do I like?

- knitting
- gardening
- sewing (thought I haven't done a lot of it)
- cooking
- reading
- architecture and design

I don't have any great skills in any of those things - I've only dabbled in each of them so I didn't feel that I could get a job using any of those skills and I wasn't really sure what to do next.

The unsure of what to do phase probably lasted about two years. In the end I realised that I would never know what else I might like to do unless I gave it a go - so I resigned.

That was six weeks ago. Now, from next Monday I don't have a job, don't have any responsibilities and don't have a plan! Yikes!