London Singapore Frankfurt

Hong Kong Stewie

2007-09-29T11:35:00.000+02:00

Hong Kong was HOT, steamy and incredibly polluted. My skin broke out like I was ~~seventeen~~ thirty-four all over again.

Work was tiring - I was giving about 7 hours of training and presentations each day but everyone was so friendly and enthusiastic I forgave them making me lose my voice.

I went wandering a little bit around the Causeway Bay shopping area where my hotel was. It was completely chaotic and it was quite exciting to be in Asia again.

My favourite thing of the whole week was the supermarket next door to the hotel that sold trays of tropical fruit, for about a pound. Papaya, watermelon and pineapple was my favourite combo. YUM.

I love this street art I saw in an alley, just around the corner from a string of designer stores

...Hong Kong Banksy

Cycling Weekends

2007-07-22T20:07:00.000+02:00

A few pics from a couple of kinda recent cycling trip. Smithy cycled and I was ~~support~~ knitting crew.

In June we went to Italy near Milan/Lake Como to meet up with Smithy's hard core cycling friends (we're talking 200km a day for a week...in mountains). It was fun observing the action though. The gang had assembled from Canada, Singapore, London and Dubai for the event. The scenery around Lake Como was beautiful. I always love being in the mountains. It was a lot more populated than I expected though.

This church is at the top of a steep climb and is dedicated to cyclists. It is kind of a cycling museum as there are bikes from famous cyclists over the years hung all over the walls. Bikes haven't changed very much in 100 years.

We had lunch in Bellagio on the lake. I had the best icecream I've ever tasted. It was the flavour of Baccio chocolates. Ahhh.

T in the Park

2007-07-21T18:48:00.000+02:00

When Nic first mentioned this festival I imagined it was spelt "Tea" and was intended to be a bit ironic. Or cosy. Or something. I didn't realise T was for Tennants lager of which copious amounts were drunk over the weekend. Not so much by me incidentally, as I had truly written myself off on the Friday night before (accidentally, like, oops) and almost couldn't make the flight to Glasgow. Luckily I rose above the pain and constant spewing (sorry Mum, I really don't do that much any more) and made it up there as it was an awesome weekend.

Not having been a festival goer before I didn't really know what to expect. What does one do for two days while stuck in a muddly field with thousands of other unwashed people? It was all pretty chilled out. We alternated between watching bands, queuing for drinks and eating dodgy burgers.

The mud was horrendous when we arrived and I had to chuck my work shoes out that I was wearing due to being too drunk the night before to remember to change them. But they gave me blisters anyway so it was a good excuse. Happily N had purchased wellies for us which I gratefully wore for the entire weekend. It dried out over the weekend as it didn't rain at all after Friday night and the weather on Sunday was really nice.
The music was really good although noone was very impressed with Babyshambles and Amy Winehouse was a total shambles and didn't even show up. We saw Razorlight and the Killers on Saturday night for a fun headline show. See you next year for a nice cup of tea.

PS. I think it would have been a lot cooler if I hadn't been wearing my glasses but then I would't have seen the awesome view up there. Note to self - wear my contacts more.

Its been awhile

2007-05-28T19:08:00.000+02:00

And some silliness via Kimbofo for my return. Apparently I'm a rarity among personalities! OK stop sniggering you guys. I will have to check this against the full test we did at work a while back - I think its the same from memory.

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive.

Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men

You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Lyme Regis

2007-04-24T21:26:00.000+02:00

We loved it here so much I wanted to bring the Robbos as they started their roadtrip to Cornwall and Wales. On Saturday we walked around Lyme Regis and had a lovely devonshire tea at a cafe terrace overlooking the beach. Then we went for a stroll along the cliffs at neighboring Charmouth beach.

Lewis is captivated by the grass - he loves it.

We stayed at a lovely cottage - very cosy with a beautiful garden. There is a summer house and a deck with a creek running by. I only took this quick snap which doesn't do it justice at all as we were leaving.

It was a lovely relaxing weekend and we didn't do much except eat, chat and read (and knit for one of us). Smithy made an exceptional dinner, inspired by the River Cottage cookbook. Butternut pumpkins hollowed out and baked with a soup inside. Yum.

Topped off by a three hour drive back to London and no delays - incredible for a Sunday.

Hampstead Village Walk

2007-04-17T21:45:00.000+02:00

I had a dream week off work last week, hanging out with the Robbos, sleeping in and eating nice food. Ahhhh.

On Tuesday we had a lazy day and hung out in ED (East Dulwich for short). We went to lunch at the Bishop and I noticed for the first time what an excellent veggie menu they have. Said hi to Clarence the pub wiemerana who is just beautiful. Robbo and I managed to do a bit of shopping, while they boys patiently waited.

I tried out this Delia Roasted Veggie and Brown Rice Gratin which received the seal of approval of the veggies and even the carnivores.

On Wednesday we ventured far afield north of the river and went for a London Walk in Hampstead Village. It was a gorgeous day and our guide Peter was excellent. It wasn't until the end of the walk that I realised Peter was the same guide as I had for the only other walk I had done (half of) with P over a year ago.

We went through an atmospheric church graveyard. Almost every second house had a blue plaque and we learnt some interesting London history.

Bebe Robbo slept through half the walk and enjoyed the second half very much...

Paris continued...

2007-04-11T11:31:00.000+02:00

On Easter Sunday we started the day with some treats from the Boulangerie. Delicious!

I had one of the scrumptions rasberry tarts on the left.Then we went for a marathon walk from Marias to Musee d'Orsay via Isle St Louis and Isle de la Cite. We hadn't discovered Isle St Louis before but were completely charmed. Notre Dame in the sunshine was spectular.

More photos of the weekend here at flickr.

Easter in Paris

2007-04-10T21:22:00.000+02:00

We jumped on the Eurostar on Thursday afternoon, excited to be escaping work for a few days. In Paris we found our appartment in the Marais district and met up with the Robbos who arrived earlier. We experienced a weekend in Paris at baby pace. Which meant doing and seeing much more than Smithy and I ever would have, left to our own devices...

Friday:

We walked down past the Bastille, through Place des Vosges and had lunch at Cafe Hotel de Ville.

Pompidou centre where we spent more time in the cafe than looking at the Art. Robbo and I went to visit the baby change facilities and came out to find R & Smithy looking down from the balcony bar, beers in hand looking quite pleased with themselves.

Saturday:

Designated as shopping day. We went back to the amazing Marche St Ouen full of treasures and interesting things.

La Fromagerie

2007-02-26T23:56:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago we were invited to a cheese and wine tasting at La Fromagerie. Three courses of cheese with accompanying wines. Fromage-tastic.

It was such a fab shop I went back with Tim on the weekend.

We stopped for a flat white and brunch at the Tapa Room. Here we are loving the flat whites....

Then we wandered up the road to La Fromagerie. The cheese room is incredible.

Goats cheese selection

Le Weekend

2007-02-11T18:59:00.000+01:00

Its been a recovery weekend of eating, cleaning, washing, crafting and blogging. No socialising and very little leaving the house.

Except on Saturday when I ventured across the road to the hairdressers for a much needed colour and trim. Somehow a trim turned into a major lopping of several inches.

I'm very happy with it and it has passed the Day Two test of looking ok without salon expertise. This is with no product and no blowdrying which is pretty much how I run out the door every morning so I'm relieved.

How does it compare Robbo? (My friend Robbo and I have an uncanny ability to get the same haircuts despite living on opposite sides of the world and not discussing styles).

Wales v Ireland

2007-02-06T20:39:00.000+01:00

Wales v Ireland

On Sunday afternoon we drove from Lyme Regis to Cardiff for the Wales v Ireland in the six nations rugby. The city centre was buzzing and the stadium is right in the middle of the city next to the beautiful Cardiff Castle. We joined over 74,000 people in the stadium and enjoyed the fine weather with the roof off.

It didn't seem like a particularly dramatic game to me - a complete non-expert when it comes to rugby. I asked Smithy if it was a good game - he said it was "ok". I was cheering for Ireland who won 19-9.

Smithy convinced me to go to the game by saying the atmosphere and singing is great and it was very impressive. I would have liked to spend more time in Cardiff but we had to drive back to London (very slowly due to one or two traffic accidents - Sunday night joy)

Weekend at Lyme Regis

2007-02-05T22:50:00.001+01:00

I booked a cottage in Lyme Regis over Christmas in the dead of winter. I never imagined that when we were there it would be the most beautiful winter weather I've ever seen here.

I also had no idea that it was right in the middle of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for dinosour fossils. At the beginning of our walk along the coast I popped into a dusty, dark fossil shop and was awestruck by a dinosour fossil. We had a rather leisurely walk along the beach and over the cliffs. I definitely didn't need my new waterproof jacket that I rushed out to buy at lunch on Friday. We enjoyed sarnies and Beths yummy chocolate and banana cake. A Bill Grainger recipe - apparently the secret is to double the recommended amount of chocolate!

Beth was looking for fossils...

She found this one

NYC

2007-02-02T10:23:00.000+01:00

Taxis & St Pauls

After an awesome weekend in NYC with Miss Jo I have been struggling all week.

We mostly shopped and ate. This photo is taken from the World Trade Centre area where there are huge photos of 9/11 on display. It is still very emotional to be there and see it. There were a lot of people in tears and I was feeling a bit choked up.

Then we went across the road to Century 21 for a bit more shopping. What a fabulous place - great bargains if you have the patience. On your receipt they have the total spent in small font then how much you have saved in massive print - very satisfying.

It was very very cold and there was much talk on the news about the first snow of the season.

Back in London its a balmy 11 degrees. Hardly even coat weather!

Brrrrrrrr

2007-01-24T10:31:00.000+01:00

A rare sight in London this morning. Snow covered trees in our back garden when we woke up. After weeks of mild weather we are finally experiencing winter.

Windy city

2007-01-18T22:43:00.000+01:00

Chicago has nothin' on London today. I almost got blown off London Bridge walking to work this morning. Lunchtime was even worse when I ventured out to go to the gym. A girl walking past me in the other direction was blown into me and we both almost landed on the street.

Tonight almost all the tube lines were suspended. Information on the web said trains were operating from London Bridge but by the time I walked there, the whole station was cordoned off and closed. I jumped on the number 40 bus which took about 50mins but at least got me home.

On another topic, we've signed up for the Reading half marathon in March to really kick start the fitness thing. I've been for a few short runs but am yet to get into a routine. Its a start.

Staying resolved

2007-01-09T21:25:00.000+01:00

Lifehacker has an article on web sites to help you keep your resolutions. I could probably use all of them but am going to take a close look at using Fitday to help track weight loss goals and the online running log at Coolrunning.

There is a definite fitness theme running through my (non-environmental) goals. As usual. But since my recent fitness test revealled that my fat percentage is 34% which is off the scale, beyond 'very fat' and even beyond 'really really fat' I have been even more motivated.

The personal trainer I have enlisted to help bust the fat has assured me the only way is to create more muscle. This is because I am not all that big - well a UK 12 is considered pretty big these days next to bloody Posh's size zero but not compared to 50s starlets at least. But I admit there are still a couple of kilos to loose in any case.

I think if my PT really knew the situation she would probably say "create more muscle and eat A LOT less cheese". I'm addicted to cheese. And recent experience shows that if I cut out chocolate and alcohol the cravings just get worse. This latest episode falling off the wagon started on New Years Eve when the choice was chips (crisps) or a massive block of Blue Stilton. Well it was conveniently located near me and the half of the block I consumed unassisted (ok ok more like 3/4) was divine. Ever since then I've had cravings. I'll be in the middle of a meeting at work and drift off thinking about the cheese on biccies I'm going to have in the evening. It has got to stop! From this point forward I am going to replace Blue Stilton with carrot sticks.

Yeah right.

P.S. sorry if this is all too much information.

Resolved

2007-01-08T23:27:00.000+01:00

I have some environmental new years resolutions this year:

Turn things off more (computer, work and home, TV, lights, heating)
Only buy veggies without packaging. Harder than it sounds, but more than half the veggies in our local big supermarket are wrapped in two layers of packaging. Possible solution - buy elsewhere - this will definitely take more organisation and planning.
Recycle more - I have been lazy about this in the past - No longer!
Use environmentally friendly products in our renovations
Consume less generally
Avoid flying and catch trains whenever possible

And this is not a resolution but I am going to at least think about cycling to work. But that would mean getting over my fear of the Elephant and Castle roundabout which is not going to happen in a hurry. But I think I will start going to spinning classes so at least the concept might be physically possible!

I'm sure there are more things I can do and I will also get more educated.

PS tonight we went to the supermarket and managed to buy all the vegies we needed without any packaging Yay! - there were packaged versions for everything we bought though.

Delicious Sunday

2007-01-08T21:12:00.000+01:00

Delicious not just for the food, but also for the chance to savour time spent with friends.

We train and tubed it in to Marylebone High Street to The Providores. This cafe & restuarant, wasn't hard to find as we spotted the queue of people out the door from halfway down the street. The Tapa Room which is the cafe downstairs was heaving. Happily we had a booking in the restaurant upstairs and swanned past the anxious, drooling queuers.

The Kiwi roots of Chef and Owner Peter Gordon are revealed through the menu by gems like Boiled eggs with Vegemite soldiers and FLAT WHITE coffees! Probably only an Aussie or Kiwi living in London can really appreciate the excitement seeing those two unassuming words on a menu can bring. It is fresh fusion style food and impeccable yet warm and friendly service. Apparently the wine list is a winner too.

I find it hard to resist French toast on a brunch menu. But when it is French Toast stuffed with Banana and Pecans with grilled, smoked streaky bacon and vanilla verjus syrup there is no chance of me passing it up. Ahhhh.

When we left the queue had grown to about twenty people waiting with anticipation outside.

After that we made our way to far north London, having been invited to Afternoon Tea. The day just got more and more civilised. We had a lovely afternoon chatting and enjoying German style Honig cake and another delicious creation with lemon butter icing. With cups and cups of tea from a teapot. Yumola.

Year in Reflection

2007-01-03T21:28:00.000+01:00

Recent years have been dominated by travel, long distance relationships, running, moving countries and upheaval. In contrast this year has been distinctly domestic with house buying, wedding and planning renovations. My cancerian homebody soul definitely is happier with the recent trend!

Its been an incredibly busy year with some amazing highs but a lot of hard work in between. I'm looking forward to a quiet year with just a small renovation project in 2007 ;)

January:: Australia::hot::London::cold::February:: 10km "Love Run"::House surveys::March:: Paris ::Impatiently waiting for house::April:: Completion:Moving:: New house::Switzerland:: May:: Painting rooms::Making Curtains::Cricket at Lords ::Jo Visiting::Wales::June:: Birthday::Istanbul::Turf::July:: Backyard BBQs::London TOAST::Isle of Wight::August:: Provence cycling::Indian Monsoon wedding::Started Craft Actually::Wedding Invitations::September:: London Girls Night Out::Dancing Lessons ::October:: Australia::Mum’s 60th::Noosa Wedding::November:: Maldives Honeymoon::New job::December:: Architect plans:: Wedding Thankyous::Christmas parties

Happy Christmas

2006-12-25T18:04:00.000+01:00

Joe the Christmas dog

Cheers! Hope you're having a lovely day and thanks for dropping by here throughout the year.

We're having a very low key day today. After breakfast we decided to go for a walk in Greenwich Park. We were joined by a few hundred dog walkers. This festive guy is called Joe.

As you can see its a bit grey but still a nice day.

Smithy is now prepping the turkey to a soundtrack of cheesy Christmas carols and I'm getting really hungry.

At Last

2006-12-18T20:40:00.000+01:00

On the day of the wedding time behaved in a very strange way - speeding up, then slowing down to almost slow motion at times. I had expected this to some extent - everyone had said it all goes very quickly - it just didn't happen when I expected.

The preparations were very relaxed and leisurely, apart from some pre-exam like nerves from still working on my speech at the last minute I felt great. All the girls were chilled out and our make up and hair guy set up at about 8am and worked like a demon to get us all ready in time.

In the end we were ready early and had to wait in the bedroom for ages while the guests arrived. When we finally got the nod to head down, I was so impatient I was practically sprinting. Jo had been the one really keeping me cool over the past couple of days and said "er, Hels....aren't we meant to walk in front of you?!" Ah yes, you go ahead!

I don't really know what I was feeling during the ceremony. It was a bit sureal that it was actually happening at last, I was worrying about Smithy as he was as white as a ghost, and I was also quite distracted as bead after bead of sweat trickled down my front in the 30+ degree heat. At this point time slowed down and I felt that the ceremony took a really long time.
The setting was stunning. I tried to take in the details of people's faces and how cool everyone looked gathered in the rainforest glen surrounded by the massive gum trees. And listen to what the celebrant was saying and get my vows out coherently.

I'm pretty happy at this point, walking down the aisle together. Ready to get the party started.

All in all it went incredibly smoothly. The flowers were stunning, the food was sensational, the weather was perfect. I think my favourite part of the evening was sitting down to dinner and having a chance to draw breath and enjoy the amazing surroundings and see everyone around us having a good time. I think we had the perfect number of people there. Everyone there was very close to us, but any more and I think it would be too many to really speak to. As it was I felt like I missed out on speaking to people I would have like to spend more time with.

We had a great time dancing to our first dance "At Last" by Etta James, despite me forgetting most of the steps. Luckily I had a long forgiving frock.

I think I spent most of the night on the dance floor. I certainly felt like it the next day!

Thank you

2006-12-10T15:36:00.000+01:00

Looking at all the photos of the wedding is bringing back such great memories. We are so grateful for everyone who was able to come and share the day with us. And of course so many other friends who have given us best wishes and the most beautiful gifts. I wanted to make some thank you cards in the same style as the invites. They turned out to be much quicker and easier to create as I wasn't writing any wording for inside. We will spend a cosy evening or two writing messages instead.

Party season

2006-12-10T15:20:00.000+01:00

On Friday night we did a quick change in the work loos into sparkly tops and black trousers for our work Christmas party. Except for the one girl who attracted plenty of attention in sparkly hotpants and a black top.

The venue was a boat and we cruised and boozed on the Thames up to Parliament house and back. Most of our team was there and we shared a big table for the sit down dinner. It was a clear crisp night, making it chilly, but we remained on deck for a long time taking in Tower Bridge, the Tate Modern and other iconic buildings. The art deco style interior and the fantastic views outside made it a glamorous evening.

Wedding stories: The day before

2006-11-21T20:49:00.000+01:00

Our wedding venue doubled as our holiday house for the week of the wedding. This was perfect as it was in such a beautiful serene setting we couldn’t help be relaxed. The day before the wedding we had yet more girly indulging planned. Two fabulous manicurists came to the house and we lounged around having toenails and fingernails painted. My bridesmaids made sure I was spoilt rotten and ensured I was supplied with a steady stream of fruit, champers and chocolate. For me getting married was all about the treatments.

Lewis still managed to steal the show and no-one wanted to have the nails done as that meant giving up cuddling rights. Eventually both he and Zannah succumbed to the strain of it all.

I was feeling pretty chilled until our wedding planner (love saying that even still) mentioned that all FIVE weather sites were predicting afternoon storms the next day. There are five weather sites?!! As my eyes bulged on stalks and bridezilla started to make her first murmurs, she calmly said “Now you don’t have to decide right now, but we need to know soon if you want a marquee?”. My guts sank to my feet as my vision of tables with glowing candles under the stars was dashed by a potential tropical downpour.

Eventually I caved in and let them put one up – but just to the side out of the way as I was convinced it wouldn’t happen. After all, every day for the past week had been completely cloudless.

Steve had also organised a lunch with his extended family who had flown in from all corners of the globe, NZ, London and Shanghai. I know his Sis and Mum pretty well but there was an element of stranger danger as I met his Dad and wife, and brother and girlfriend for the first time. After the initial awkwardness – “Hi I’m Helen, I’m crashing your family ... tomorrow”, all was fine. We went to the Spirit House at Yandina. Set around a lake full of waterdragons and turtles, it’s a lush exotic restaurant and cooking school for Thai food. Luckily everyone was too busy eating the divine food for there to be any uncomfortable silences.

That evening we had drinks at a Noosa pub for a reunion with the Singapore gang, mates from NZ and some Brissie locals. It was shaping up to be quite a party but our “minders” aka best man and chief bridesmaid made sure we didn’t turn into pumpkins. As it was I think I might have been a bit enthusiastic with the mojitos. Steve went to stay with his brother while I went back to the house and pottered around aimlessly, amusing myself trying on my Nubra - possibly the sexiest underwear ever (if chicken breast fillets are your thing) and panicking about my lack of coherent speech and the predicted cyclones. Yeah I know, it was just a storm before…but still!

autumn colours

2006-11-19T23:11:00.000+01:00

autumn tree

We had lovely weather this weekend although the temperature is now dropping after being mild so far. I think the winter coat will be out this week.

It was a quiet weekend with little to do. A lovely dinner with friends on Saturday night at our favourite local curry house and a visit to a friend and her new bebe on Sunday.

A completed project and a lazy afternoon nap. A perfect weekend.

Some wedding pics from the photographer came through too so more on that later.

Newbie

2006-11-16T21:00:00.000+01:00

Have almost survived first week in the new job. It is a huge company compared to my last job but has a really nice, friendly vibe. In fact everyone is so nice I can't quite work it out. It is a law firm after all. Maybe they're putting something in the water.

The routine is not any different from before as I'm only around the corner. The only difference is that it is now dark when going to and coming home from work and the trains seem to be a lot more packed. Possibly due to cyclists putting away their wheels for winter?

We reconvened at Wednesday night knitting this week with great enthusiasm. It has been a small but select group for awhile but two lapsed members (who were regulars, but before my time) arrived this week so it was great to meet them and we celebrated with a couple of vinos (bottles that is).

PS: I have been ~~harrasing~~ begging our photographer to email me a couple of wedding shots to no avail (probably most of those who were there have plenty but we don't have any!) but no joy yet. But have posted a some pics from Robbo which slightly embarrasingly, is really a tribute to Bebe Robbo. But he's so cute - go check them out ;)

Wedding Lead-up

2006-11-12T14:13:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted about the wedding yet - I'm not deliberately withholding, but we are still waiting, v. impatiently, for the (professional) photos to arrive. I can't wait to see them, as predicted by those who have been there, the day did go in a bit of a blur. I want to see what actually happened!

We had a fantastic time in the lead up to the wedding as well as the day itself. It was Mum's 60th birthday while we were back which was a wonderful event to be home to celebrate in itself. On the day we went to Eve's on the River at Teneriffe for brunch. Being a school day morning, we were the only ones there for quite a while so were able to have a neighbouring table for flowers and presents. We reverted to typical family gatherings with general silly behaviour of us three girls.

Following breakfast Dad left "the girls" to go off to an incredibly indulgent spa day. I had a couple of half day passes as part of wedding makeup stuff so Mum, Kirsty, Suze and bridesmaid Robbo all luxuriated in the spas, saunas and each had a treatment. Afterwards we lounged around having sushi, fruit and a chatfest.

On Saturday, Dad and Kirsty had organised a party for Mum. I was impressed by the guests being from all stages of Mum's life from primary school, high school, uni, about three locations around the state where we had lived and work. Dad had secretly organised for someone from each 'era' to make a short speech and it turned out to be a major highlight with photos and a LOT of teasing especially from school and uni friends. I had a tear in my eye several times at the lovely comments people made and it was pretty funny to hear the old stories we'd heard over the years but now coming from the alternative viewpoints, and not from Mum's carefully censored versions :)

Back in London (home)

2006-11-08T16:14:00.000+01:00

We arrived back in London from our wedding and honeymoon extravaganza on Monday night. With all the suitcases and various handbags and plastic bags of bits and pieces to get inside, we were both too distracted for any of the carrying over the threshold stuff.

Steve walked in first. “I thought we had tidied up before we left?” he said sounding very confused. I followed him in and had to admit it was a bit like the scene from the yellow pages add (in Aus) where the girl thinks her neighbour’s flat has been broken into and ransacked when in fact it is in its normal state.

Most floor areas were covered with clothes, papers and in my study all the books, papers and other items (rubbish) I couldn’t bear to throw out from my desk at work which I had cleared in a huge hurry the day before we left. At least we had thought to chuck out any perishable food before we left. (Unlike the time we went away for four days to return to the rotting chicken carcass Smithy had been making "stock" out of, still waiting on top of the stove!! iyeee)

Spending the first day back from such an amazing trip cleaning the house was not very romantic but surprisingly effective in keeping the post holiday blues at bay. The blues are bad but its really the insipid watery winter light here that gets to me. See photo above taken at 2pm today (although it could have been anytime all day). Ooops - whinging already!! Noooo!

But I admit, part of me is glad to be back (home). It has felt a lot more like home here since we took the plunge and bought the house earlier this year. There has been more of a sense of at least semi-permanency (sorry Mum!) and I think we will feel even more settled now.

When we flew off, me armed with my master wedding spreadsheet and Smithy with his list of people he wanted to go drinking with, we were full of excitement. Not just about the wedding but having over three weeks of holidays all in one go. It worked out perfectly having two weeks beforehand to recover from jetlag and recent work stress and enjoy the lead up to the wedding then a week afterwards for a bit of a romantic getaway.

While Steve continued on from Brisbane to NZ to catch up with family and mates for a few days, I stayed in Bris to get going on preparations. Important stuff like hair and make up trial, a final dress fitting and of course the second Not-Hen's.

We put on our best frocks and joined the cool young things at the Cru Bar. It was a bit tamer than the London girls night as we didn't end up at a heaving nightclub. But we were still kicked out of the place in the wee hours with champane cocktails fueling about 5 conversations cutting across the table at once. We had a lot to catch up on! Here are some of the gorgeous girls...

Some more pics over at flickr here.

Interruption to normal services

2006-10-10T18:10:00.000+02:00

Apologies for the interruption to the Monsoon Wedding series but other events had taken over somewhat. My job hunting which consisted of applying randomly for one job was unexpectedly successful so I have been distracted by the details of finishing up current job this week and once again going through the work visa application process (my version of hell). That and preparing for wedding and holiday, presents for new babies and mum’s 60th, and not very effective attempts to get into beach honeymoon shape all before Friday. I’m feeling a bit anxious as my spreadsheets are NOT up to date any more!

Monsoon Wedding - Part I

2006-09-29T16:46:00.000+02:00

We arrived home in London at about midnight from our road trip to Provence. A quick check on the web for the current hand baggage allowances (at that time changing on a daily basis). Packing a borrowed sari and trying to imagine what else would be required for an Indian wedding in between trying to use BA’s excellent online check-in. Usually excellent but for some reason access was denied. I thought maybe it was due to heightened security and decided to focus on important clothes decisions instead.

We left for Heathrow at about 10am for our 2pm flight, not knowing how chaotic it would be. Again we couldn’t use the fast track terminals to check in so it was the horrendously long queue for us. When we finally got to the front about an hour and a half later the check-in guy said it was because the were doing a security check on the credit card we had booked on….but that he would make it up to us with an upgrade. Woohooo! Premium economy, not quite business but very nice all the same.

We walked out into the heat and dust at Bangalore at four in the morning, disoriented by the sudden chaos. Even at that hour of the morning the streets were teeming with bright yellow tuk-tuks, cars and bicycles, converging and diverging in front of us, seemingly controlled by some magnetic force.

We arrived at the Bangalore Club, a colonial compound of light blue buildings where most out of towners were staying. Nick, the Groom to be met us at this unsociable hour and his excitement was infectious. I don’t think Nick actually slept for the 3 days we were there – he was constantly hosting and organising, making sure everyone was ok. Sonali, Bride to be was also working behind the scenes making sure all the events (yes there were quite a few) were perfect. They had guests from all over the world from the US to Australia and many countries in between to coordinate so it was an impressive feat.

We checked into our room, the rather grand ‘Brigadier Hill Suite’ with rooftop terrace, two bathrooms, and as we discovered later a bed on the migration route of a colony of little furry black catapillers. It was a bit unnerving to wake up to find Steve with extra furry eyebrows on unexpected parts of his face each moring but we got used to it after a while.

Laughter is the best medicine

2006-09-19T22:46:00.000+02:00

For all my loyal fans, those two of you out there, big apologies for lack of posting. Three weeks and three days til we fly out for the wedding means not just lack of time for writing but also lack of inspiration. I know, poor excuse.

I'm loving this time actually - especially getting REAL mail in the form of RSVPs. Its very exciting getting envelopes with handwriting and no plastic windows. I'm getting all emotional now - I can't imagine what a blubbering mess I'll be on the day. Lets just hope to God it doesn't co-oincide with PMT. I should probably do some calculations. Get on the medication now if necessary.

Work has been a shambles. I don't usually post about work at all on policy, not fancying being dooced and all that. But with a round of protracted redundancies, and several people taking maters into their own hands and resigning, leaving about two of us to do the work it hasn't been a barrel of laughs. Thats why I'm adding job hunting to my list of to dos before we go away. Just to add that extra little frission of excitement to the next few weeks.

Anyway to cut a long whinge short, I just wanted to share two things that gave me a sore stomach from laughing so much this week. Go see Little Miss Sunshine for an off beat warm fuzzy feeling. Kind of like a cross between Monty Python and Muriel's Wedding.

And read v. funny blogging and one of the best spewing stories ever from Nic over at Craftapalooza.

Pre Wedding Activites Taken Up a Notch

2006-09-11T20:13:00.000+02:00

While Smithy headed off with the lads to a mysterious location in the Cotswalds for the girls took me out for a rather large one in London.

It started off extremely sophis at Hakkasan. Everyone looked totally glam and I managed to take a few sneaky photos while the eagle eyed waiters were looking the other way. We had divine food with wine especially chosen by the attentive Somelier with the gorgeous French accent. "I would rrrrecomend for you zis one with just a leeetle sugar" Hmmm...."OK!!"

The party organisers had even got me a GNO cake!! Still no sign of anything henny - so far so good.

But they were just lulling me into a false sense of security.

Once we got to the fabulously cheesy Strawberry Moons it started to get a bit messy. Especially after Beth started handing out the penis straws and the stickers.

Beth and Bec did an amazing job of organising the evening and giving me a suitably rowdy farewell to my single days. Love youse guys.

Girls Night Out on the Town

2006-09-08T17:45:00.000+02:00

Interruption to holiday reports to say I’m feeling very excited as a bunch (flock, gaggle, band, brood?) of us are going out for a “Girls Night Out on the Town” tomorrow night. I couldn’t quite face calling it a “Hen’s” even though Steve is going on his Stag this weekend and its kind of for the same purpose (I think).

The venue is Hakkasan, recently voted one of London’s top restaurants. The attire will be black. Hair and nails will be done. Eyebrows already dealt with.

I really really hope there will be no sign of pink veils, matching t-shirts or penis shaped straws.

Provence - L'Ancienne Cure

2006-09-08T08:52:00.000+02:00

We had such a lovely time staying at L’Ancienne Cure. Martine and Erik welcomed us at the door and helped us find a car park in the narrow windy streets nearby. They have spent several years restoring the 16th century house by hand and it shows in all the details throughout. The wide stone steps lead up to the bedrooms from the entrance

We were staying in the “Forte” room overlooking the garden with a private terrace for soaking up the sun under the gaze of St Maria, sitting atop the spire of the church across the road.

We wandered down to the garden for dinner and met two other couples staying at the hotel. Its amazing how lively a conversation can be had with very little language in common. Erik begged us to speak more slowly while holding his nose, imitating our nasal accents. First up was the very important matter of the aperitif – a selection of local fruity liqueurs and champagne. I had a Violet Kir – sweet white wine with a dash of Violet liqueur – very floral and purple.

Martine served an amazing Provencal meal she has spent the afternoon cooking – aubergine terrine and Lamb cassoulet served with buckwheat. We were having a lively conversation after the meal over the obligatory cheese course when Martine jumped up with a shriek and dashed into the house just in time to save the baking Peach tartes for desert. Thank god! – they were divine!.

The ceremony of the meal not yet over, Erik appeared from the house with another armful of bottles. The digestif – another important part of the meal. I had a thimbleful of Elixer de Tyme – Thyme Liqueur. This was delicious and strong. I appreciated the 150kg of thyme that goes into making just a litre of this stuff. We toasted St Maria as she watched benevolently over the garden.

We retired up to our room with some very Gallic sniggers and suggestive comments from Erik following us.

A half a week in Provence

2006-08-31T22:02:00.002+02:00

It has been a hard week at work coming down from the high of our holiday last week. You can probably tell from the previous post we had a lovely time in France. Then India was a complete contrast and also spectacular.

We drove as far as Paris on Friday night after a few tense pre-departure moments fitting the new bike racks. As it started to drizzle. At one point a springy bit pinged off into the garden, and I dropped the bike I was meant to be holding on the car roof, while a deranged lady with a headscarf like Princess Margaret and a case of Tourettes (no I don't mean me, ...no really) stood on our driveway watching us shouting "F*ck, f*ck! f*ggghhhhrrrrr". I looked on smiling encouragingly (at Smithy not the crazy lady).

The Chunnel was great – we arrived half an hour early and drove straight on to the train. It takes about 35 minutes for the crossing and we were off again. I was wondering if Vanessa (our satelite navigator) would have a French accent once we crossed the channel but we were disappointed. She maintained her bossy, slightly posh Englishness. She guided us without a hitch to our roadside hotel near Orly airport around midnight just as the restaurant and bar were closing.

The mini bar yielded one beer, one coke and one water. Steve rang reception to say that our mini bar hadn't been stocked up. The hotel guy arrived and looked confused at two people talking incoherently yet excitedly in a strange language and stranger accent "whayne, there's noaouw WHAYNE!!". We convinced them to send us a bottle of wine up to get the holiday underway in the style we fully intended to carry on. That the bottle stayed sitting on the bedside table between our two singe beds half full is a testament to its pure badness. There is not much wine I don’t find drinkable and we were a bit disappointed to find it in France. Even some of the cheeky Slovenian numbers I've tried in the past were good compared.

The next day we continued on France’s fantastic motorways (compared to the UK – note article in today’s paper about a scheme to let people drive on the hard shoulder to relieve the traffic congestion) for about 7 hours until we arrived in the little town of Buis-les-Barronies. At L'Ancienne Cure where we stayed we were greeted by Martine, Erik and their black poodle. Martine asked if we wanted dinner. After a day of car snacks, butterscotch and chocolate eclairs washed down with vending machine coffee, I couldn't get my acceptance out fast enough.

to be continued....

Provence

2006-08-24T11:02:00.000+02:00

We arrived home last night after 13 hours of driving from Provence back to London. This is Gordes, the village we stayed for a few nights. I now understand why Provence is so popular - amazing weather and scenery - but really this area is all about the eating and drinking.

You can see many (many) more photos over at flickr and just to warn you there are a lot of food related ones.

Road trip

2006-08-18T17:13:00.000+02:00

Road trip

Got the roadmap, got the cycling gear, got the snacks. Mont Vontoux here we come! See you in a week or so.

Tower Bridge London

2006-08-17T22:24:00.000+02:00

Tower Bridge London
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

It was a lovely evening after a rainy day. Although evenings seem much shorter all of a sudden. Am not looking forward to daylight saving ending at all.

Sitting in my study tonight I noticed our friendly garden fox had almost come right up to the study window. As usual I scrambled for my camera but then the phone rang and he (or maybe she) was off through the hole in the fence. He's a regular visitor so maybe sometime I will be quick enough. Maybe I can capture him one morning as he seems to have a regular sleeping spot on the grass.

wedding update

2006-08-15T20:59:00.000+02:00

Am very excited as the invitations went in the mail today and will be soon winging their way to 10 different countries. I hope people aren't as slack as I am when it comes to RSVPing.

I told our wedding planner that numbers might by slightly up - an increase in initial estimates from somewhere between 20 to 40. The reason I love her so much: her response to this piece of information was " wow the place will be really jumping!"

Craft actually

2006-08-10T22:53:00.000+02:00

I like a bit of a challenge so I've decided to start a new blog. Craft actually is for the crafty, knitty, sewing stuff. LSF will be for the London, travelling and general rhubarb. I think this will mean more posting overall and a chance for me to do something a bit different in the new hood. Come over and visit for a cuppa and let me know if you like it!

tube puppy

2006-08-08T00:07:00.000+02:00

As part of the mission to produce some wedding invitations I visited Oxford Street yesterday, targeting Selfridges as the source of all things good in stationery. Such a beautiful place. It really is shopping heaven. Downstairs through the food hall is the source of some great stuff including ordning & reda stationery and who’s latest stock included the lovely and unique letterpress invitations from Elum. I did price these in a flight of fancy but when the quote came back at twice the cost of my dress and shoes combined I decided plan A - DIY was the way forward. I went around to the section where they have several walls of blank cards and paper and made a sales assistant help me count out 100 cards and 100 envelopes.

I am very happy with the design I've come up with but last night discovered there is a fatal flaw. I insisted that Smithy carefully wash his hands to view the prototype; while waiting for this to happen a drop of condensation from my water fell on the prototype. Disaster. Ink everywhere. I’m considering sending them out with a warning. So Smithy came in to my study to find me frantically making prototype Mark II in the hope that he wouldn’t discover it was my carelessness that destroyed Mark I. Unfortunately I was busted.

On the way home from Selfridges I got on the Jubilee line at Bond Street and was delighted to spy a seat in the middle of the carriage. Only when I looked down I realised why no-one was sitting there. Two drooling dogs – one a very cute puppy who seemed keen to sit on top of anyone’s feet and shopping. The other a stud with quite large balls. His owner looked like he’d had a rough Saturday night as he sat with head resting on his skinny knees.

WIP Wedding Invitations

2006-08-04T18:50:00.000+02:00

I freaked out a little bit when P told me on Wednesday she had worked out it was 12 weeks to the wedding.

This actually means TEN weeks today that we leave for Aus. V. Excited.

I MUST do (start) our invitations. This weekend. Or else!

IOW cycling trip

2006-08-03T23:45:00.000+02:00

South coast
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

We got off the ferry at Ryde (how appropriate you say) and met the group at the station cafe. We got off to a shaky start down the wooden pier, trying not to get thin tyres stuck between planks. I was pretty relieved when the couple in front got off and walked. I figured if they in their matching racing gear and clip shoes could walk it then it was fine for me too.

On to firm land and we all saddled up again. Round the corner and up a big bloody hill. They all took off like it was flat, except for racing couple who appeared to be cycling downhill. I found out later Lisa is some international biathalon champion. Great. Anyway that left me at the bottom, frantically trying to remember how to use my gears again. Bugger.

Anyway we finally lost most of them, as they cyled gaily off into the distance. "You.....go.....on......too......." I gasped at Steve. Luckily he told me get a grip and my lungs eventually started working again.

We cycled around to Cowes and had lunch there, watching the yachts sail in. It was a great atmosphere and I would have happily stayed eating burgers and drinking shandies but everyone else was keen to "get some miles in".

50km later we finally arrived at Freshwater, me legs burning and shaking a little bit, Steve carrying my backpack. The shame.

We had a lovey dinner at the hotel. Most of the group were younger and more than half were Aussies.

The next day thank goodness everyone left before we got on the road so we could take it at a pretty leisurely pace along the south side of the island. They were all doing an extra side trip to the Needles (gah) while I was trying to figure out if Smithy would notice if i hailed a cab back to the ferry. Unfortunately he was on to me and made my cycle in front.

We finally got back to the ferry after a short break for sugar laden food to get me up the last couple of hills. It was a lovely sight back to Portsmouth with the sails dotted out accross the channel.

I.O.W.

2006-07-28T19:41:00.000+02:00

This weekend we are heading down to the Isle of Wight for a cycling trip with a bit of a gang from Smithy's work.

I am looking forward to it. We are staying in what looks like a very nice hotel.

But I am a bit nervous for a few reasons:
1. I haven't been on my bike for over two years. I had to get it serviced last week and the back wheel straightened as it went a bit wonky on its latest flight from Aus.
2. The tone of the girl organising the trip. In her emails she says v. worrying things like "a short 35 mile ride to the hotel at Freshwater" and, "day two we can take it easy on the 30 mile return". What the?!!

3. I don't know these people but I suspect they are very fit and sporty. Stranger danger.
4. It wasn't until yesterday that it dawned on me that catching the ferry over = no car. ie carrying stuff for the night in a back pack! I'm not sure if I can cope with any excess baggage.
5. When I mentioned IOW at work everyone started chanting "Cows, Cows....for Cows?". This made me very confused until they explained Cowes week is some major yachting thing. So it will be very busy there.

But on the bright side, today when I went to the bike shop I discovered these excellent cycling pants that have the regular cycle pants with the sexy padded bit on the inside and regular shorts on the outside!! I can appear in public in these things without dying of celulite/muffin top shame inside. YAY!

WIP

2006-07-22T17:43:00.000+02:00

WIP Bebe Robbo Quilt
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Making steady progress with Bebe Robbo's quilt. I can now confirm he is no longer nameless. Lewis Alexander is very very cute. And perfect.

A couple of thunderstorms have broken the record breaking heat. So now it is hot and humid. Still loving it though - as long as I can avoid public transport as much as possible. I have taken to buying a Calypo at either the beginning or end of my journy home. I can give you the fascinating information that a Calypo at Blackfriars Station snack bar is £1, at the corner shop at East Dulwich its 75p and at the offie a bit futher down the road they are 65p. But they are all slightly melted whereever you get them at the moment.

Welcome Bebe Robbo

2006-07-19T20:11:00.000+02:00

inspiration
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

You beat me to it...I'm still making your pressie. But it might be finished before your parents choose your name.

Congratulations Robbo & Robert

divine

2006-07-19T20:03:00.000+02:00

lucky
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Bebe Robbo

2006-07-17T21:49:00.000+02:00

This little fellow is definitely taking his time getting here. To be fair he's only a couple of days late. His parents are a little impatient but I'm secretly (not any more) quite relieved. It will give me some more time to make a bit more progress than this one patch.

London T.O.A.S.T

2006-07-17T21:31:00.000+02:00

We went to Regents Park for the TOAST festival on Saturday for the NZ day of food and wine tasting. We went to the North Is vs South Island wine tasting. I like the "younger" South Island reisling but was completely out of sync with the rest of the crowd. Everybody liked the Pinot Noir.

We regrouped in the afternoon for the Dave Dobbin concert. Being a uncouth Aussie I didn't have a true appeciation for his genious but he does have a few goodies. To be honest the only one I recognised was Slice of Heaven that they play at the rugby ;)

Great weather, great wine and a fab day out in the sun. Loving summer this year. Apparently its due to be THIRTY EIGHT degrees here tomorrow (about 100 degrees for those working in the weird system).

Tower bridge from London bridge

2006-07-12T23:48:00.000+02:00

I haven't posted much for awhile as I started my "60 days of exercise" (on the day that Australia was evicted from the WC. By those ch**ting....ha well we'll never really know. But anyway). So that night I obviously didn't exercise but it has been going pretty well since then with at least a 80% hit rate. Conversely, since that point I have been socialising randomly more than I have since...awhile (one or two quiet ones).

Last Friday night after afore mentioned one or two (LARGE) quiet ones I decided it would be best if I walked to London Bridge before heading home (damage limitation). Somehow I thought the alcohol might be diluted by the exercise. Unfortunately it had the effect of the alcohol levels rising to the point of "peaking" as I arrived home (another story). Anyway. If I hadn't decided to do my daily exercise on the way home I would have missed an incredible sunset over the Thames and "beautiful light". At the time i thought it was possibly a divine nod to the aniversary of 7/7. But thinking back I'm not sure if it was "beautiful light" but "diesel fueled light". I'll let you be the judge.

Second bedroom reborn

2006-07-02T20:10:00.000+02:00

Second bedroom AFTER

The new curtains in the second bedroom - and the Icelandic Blue walls. I still need to paint the skirting boards but it may be awhile before that happens but thought I'd show these off in the meantime. I love this fabric its so glam and pretty. Steve came to the rescue with his power tools and helped me put up the curtain rail.

Second bedroom BEFORE

This room wins the award for "most improved carpet" although you can't see that in the picture above. Just be comforted that this minging stuff has gone, along with the scary weapon.

Istanbul Birthday Weekend

2006-07-02T16:53:00.000+02:00

Its been a bit quiet around here because I've been busy celebrating my birthday week. Last weekend Steve took me to the cool city of Istanbul for my birthday. We stayed in the old city around the corner from the Hagha Sophia and the Blue Mosque (above).

We took Friday off work and caught the three hour flight early Friday morning. On Friday night we went to Rami - a restaurant with a roof terrace overlooking the Blue Mosque. There was the sound of turkish music floating up from the coffee shops in the markets below and later in the evening the eerie sound of the call to prayer sounded out from it and other neibouring mosques in answer.

We set out on Saturday morning to visit Haghia Sophia but the Armenian Arch Bishop was visiting so about 1000 police were out in force keeping tourist away. We made our way down to Topkapi Palance instead. The highlight was a tour through the Harem, although our militaristic tour guide (necessary for this part of the palace) kept us going through it at a trot. "Ladiiiiies and Gentlemen we have only 20 minutes. Follow me please. NOW!" was her mantra throughout. I managed to take a whole lot of photos still and am very grateful for the invention of digital camerals yet again. There are apparently over 300 room in the harem but we only ran through about 20 of them - but all spectalularly tiled and decorated with stained glass windows and inlay wood cabinets.

We also went underground to the cool, dark Cisterns where I moronically asked Steve why there was water everywhere. huh?!! Well the Cistene Chappel doesn't have water all over the place! This was a massive underground building with 336 columns supporting the roof. It was built by the Romans at the same time as the Haghia Sophia and forgotten, only resdisovered in 1545. The purpose is obviously to store the city's supply of water and it is mind blowing that it still works 1400 years later.

In the afternoon we went to the Grand Bazaar after being waylaid by a hopeful carpet seller on the way who was disappointed when we didn't snap one up. We did enjoy the apple tea though. It was good preparation for bargaining in the market though. After saying "no" a few times the prices came down dramatically. I used this technique to snap up a couple of leather handbags at great prices.

We made it back to the Haghia Sophia on Sunday morning. I don't think I've been to another building as old - built in the 6th century which makes it over 1,400 years old and its spectacular. Originally a Byzantine christian church, converted into a mosque in the 15th century and then deconsecrated and turned into a museum when the Greeks and Italians were trying to turn it back into a Christian church at the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1934.

Finally we went into the Blue Mosque for a brief gawk after removing shoes and covering hair and shoulders. Most of it is roped off for men only, women are allowed to hang out at the back.

Taste of London

2006-06-18T18:32:00.000+02:00

Nomes invited me to go to Taste with her in Regent's Park yesterday. We wandered around in the heat alternating between snacks and wine tasting. We tried dishes from Fifteen, Le Gavroche, Hush, Zilli Fish and Zuma. The crispy fried squid with green chilli salt from Zuma was very tasty and Hush's mars bar cheese cake to die for.

We tasted 5 different Piper Heidsieck bubbles and noted some had more of a "biscuitty and almondy" taste than others, The Vintage 1996 was "alarmingly fresh" and the Sublime Demi Sec was nice with cake. Noice.

Grass

2006-06-18T18:11:00.000+02:00

Steve's been busy in the garden this weekend. We now have some turf which has transformed the garden. Time for a BBQ.

BEFORE

AFTER

Hopefully it will rain this week. Never thought I'd say that!

quilts japan march 06

2006-06-15T00:09:00.000+02:00

This mag arrived today.

I flicked through and found.....Japanese Kaffe Fassett!

Here is REAL Kaffe Fassett with his beautiful quilt in Liberty last November.

Travel

2006-06-13T08:59:00.000+02:00

I came accross this world map meme via Buzzville and couldn't resist. Its been popping up all over the place and I like seeing where people have been. I haven't yet made it to whole regions/continents - Central and South America, Middle East, most of Eastern Europe and Africa. I really want to go to Patagonia in Chile, walk the Inca Trail, more of Africa and India. And and and.....

We have done very little travelling this year as i developed an aversion to planes and airports last year communting to Frankfurt. In two weeks we are going somewhere new and exciting for my birthday though.

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Back Tack III

2006-06-11T12:15:00.000+02:00

My lovely Back Tack III gift arrived from the talented Lexi at Adventures in Home-making. Its made of the softest cotton with very cute details. I think the initial detail is clevery hidden as her mouth (am I right ?).

This little rabbit also came bearing gifts - some Iced VoVos (wow that takes me back) and some very cute buttons.

Thanks Lexi - what a treat!

And it looks like the bunny I made (same pattern and white...how funny) arrived for Molly over at The Secret is Letting Go.

Summer

2006-06-09T23:35:00.000+02:00

This week has been relatively busy at work with lots of deadlines converging at once. Most of the week it was pretty routine. *whinge*

But today we went to Cambridge for a couple of meetings and had four hours of 'free time' in between. I was expecting it to be interesting, but having been to one or two English towns - how different could it really be? Starbucks and ubiquitous high street stores make everywhere look the same.

I was blown away by the architecture and atmosphere of the place. Cambridge Uni, founded in the 1200's, has an incredible sense of history. I felt inspired and intelligent just walking around. I was surreptitiously people watching, looking for high foreheads, pocket protectors (or high spec laptops) and other signs of brainiacs.

The effervescent feeling in the air was definitely enhanced by the weather (amazing) and an alleged uni ball (which I imagine to be exactly like the QUT Law Ball). Although I haven't been able to find any details on Google so that may not be true.

But some kind of event was going on...

What the?!!!

Seen at about 2:00pm.

They really do mess about on boats on the river...

What an enviable student life (again - just like QUT ... "university for the real world")....

but can't but help noticing the killer muffin top/whale tail combo on the right....

And, conscious of not finishing on a bitchy note, I defo want to visit again soon. On a sunny day. So I can sit by the river with a cold beer, not worrying about a 4 o'clock meeting and take photos to my heart's content without feeling like a total provincial tourist in front of my colleagues.

PS it makes me smile that I'm not the only Aussie around here noticing the rays. Pauline and Shauny are way ahead of me....
PPS we had bugger all of a summer last year so please bear with us......

Grand Designs Live

2006-06-05T21:54:00.000+02:00

On Sunday, we had a school trip with Steve, Pauline and the Great Danes. That's Pauline speak for Loba and Flemming (which i thought was very catchy) as they clearly are great. I actally ran into Loba at the staff caf in Lausanne (and I never run into people I know). I usually only see her at Wednesday night knitting. Anyway Grand Designs Live was crowded but fun - especially when we found the gourmet food section!

entering the kitchen and bathroom hall....

We picked up some practical tips such as "under floor heating does work with wood floors, yes indeed". Steve found something to go in the garden with the BBQ (the kitchest sauna ever for anyone who's wondering) .....

And vegetarians avert your eyes now...but I couldn't resist this mohair goats skin from a company that makes rugs but occaisionally has a hide to sell. Soft and squishy. And un-u-sual.

Saturday in East Dulwich

2006-06-04T17:16:00.001+02:00

It was a sunny day yesterday and we went for a walk in the hood to the North Cross Rd markets. A random collection of flea market, food and craft stalls along the front of cafes and housey shops. I bought this jug - vintage 'look' but have to confess not vintage at all and yes, more poenies. What an amazing colour. At £3 a stem they would want to be special. They also had succulent blood red ones. Next time.

On Lordship Lane there is an organic butchers where there is always a queue. We decided to see what all the fuss is about and had a BBQ in the evening.

Le Truc

2006-06-02T21:54:00.000+02:00

Alors.

Have been in Switzerland again for a few days this week for a little R&R...opps, I mean work. It was my third trip out there and it seems to be developing into somewhat of a routine.
6:15 taxi to Gatwick for the 8:15 fligh to Geneva.

However, the cat was put among the pidgeons and the cozy routine interupted when I got an email from my colleague who got there the day before, with the news that Nicky on reception had forgotten to book our usual hotel. That we really like. Oo la la. As I left work that night and she was still there at 7 trying to book somewhere, anywhere, it wasn't looking good.

The Crystal Hotel didn't have a gym, but then likely-hood of me using it close to nil, but it did have retro Olympics posters gracing the full five levels of stairwell and some funky retro furniture. I'm still undecided whether it was cool or just old. The highlight was the view from the 5th floor petit dejuener room. Lausanne is very hilly.

In a nutshell - pros of going to Lausanne:

Out of the office
Nice weather
Spectacular mountains
Fantastic French food
Sexy French accents

Cons of going to Lausanne:

EasyJet
Smoking office
Missing home

So overall its not too bad. As long as its just for a few days.

peonies

2006-05-30T21:19:00.000+02:00

My new favourite flower (although if I look back to this time last year I might have been saying the same thing back then). Can you get them in Australia? Can't remember seeing them in Brissie. My faves used to be gerbras but their bright colours can't compete with the romantic pink of these delicious blooms.

They are really expensive when the first come out at the beginning of the season (£2 per stem) but come down from platinum prices to silver after a while. This bunch was £5 at the stall at Blackfriars. I bought them up on the way to work on Friday and they're still going strong today. I love the way they start as a little bud and open up to this.

(Inspired by Anna's pics but without the dreamy delicate quality of hers)

Drowning in curtain fabric

2006-05-29T20:43:00.000+02:00

When we moved in I got quite excited about the prospect of a bit of decorating and went a bit crazy on ebay with the curtain fabric. It started off under control but quickly decended into a a frenzy of stalking and bidding. The problem was I had discovered Romo fabric. It is simply beautiful.

There happens to be an interior design shop around the corner from our house and I spent about two hours one afternoon going through all the Romo sample books. And i was relieved to discover that the fabric looks even better in the cloth than it does in photos on ebay as I'd bought considerable metres of the stuff at that stage.

I had thought that I would use the Oriental Bird fabric below for our bedroom and this Cranberry Simonii Romo for my study.

But then there was some reluctance from Smithy for pastels and he fancied the red for the bedroom. But I felt it was a bit bright for the bedroom being a big fan of 'calming' neutrals. And by then I'd fallen in love with the chocolate colourway.

So now the chocolate is the plan for the bedroom - which I think will have the added advantage of keeping out the 4am sunshine.

But the flowers on this are quite big and I think too big for my small study so now its going to be the red in the living room and I'll just have to find something else for my study ;)

Confused?

Experiments with tile paint

2006-05-29T20:14:00.000+02:00

The ugly fireplace in our bedroom has been annoying me for weeks now. This picture shows the grey tiles but its hard to see from the picture just how offensive it is in real life.

Fireplace BEFORE

Well, no more! The tile paint worked a treat. Its very gooey paint and there is a litte bit more on the carpet than I would have liked - but look! Lovely.

Fireplace AFTER

We bought the painting at St Ouen Marche aux Puces in the northern suberbs of Paris. I never get bored of looking at it.

I also had another spurt of painting this morning and covered the guest room in 'Icelandic Blue'. I got as far as buying curtain lining in John Lewis this afternoon but no curtain sewing yet. I think that is enough for a bank holiday Monday.

This is the fabric that the curtains will be made of when i get around to it. Its the most girly of the curtain fabric I've been snapping up on ebay. Which is why I can only get away with it in the guest room. I think its Lovely.

Back Tack III and a generous sneak preview

2006-05-24T23:37:00.000+02:00

Back Tack III and a generous sneak preview
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I cavalierly ignored the dire warnings from the girls over at BT not to participate if you had too much going on....busy at work....gadding about with friends .........moving house....but was still a bit shocked with the "halfway there" post.

But now things are a less nuts and I have my fab studio/office going on I was able to concentrate for more than two seconds and sew something for my buddy. In LOADS of time. phew.

There is still the Post Office at Lunchtime challenge yet to overcome.

Jo's last night

2006-05-22T22:42:00.000+02:00

Beth Jo & Helen
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

One of our great friends from Singapore days, Jo has been here for six weeks on a project for Lonely Planet, the lucky thing. And lucky us as we had a great time. Regressing several years, drinking too much, being silly and laughing a lot.

But we'll see her again in October as she's MC at our wedding!

Prototype Backtack III

2006-05-22T22:38:00.000+02:00

Prototype Backtack III
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I finally started on my Backtack project on Sunday. It was a grey rainy day and the christening of the new BBQ was cancelled. You can see the view from my study of the back garden through the doors.

I can show you this prototype because the real thing is turning out nothing like this.

Topiary Curtains

2006-05-17T11:15:00.001+02:00

These were the once green, floppy curtains in the dining room, minus the top pelment frill that Smithy ripped off after about two minutes of moving in.

BEFORE

And after i got busy on Saturday and made up these with some bargain e-bay fabric that came in the perfect amount. Am still planning to attack this room with the white paint but not as urgent as the grey fireplace.

AFTER

Dining room - new curtains
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

The Home of Cricket

2006-05-12T20:22:00.000+02:00

Jo, Chris, Smithy and I went to Lords for the first day of the England Sri Lanka test yesterday. The atmosphere was fantastic and the weather even better. From what I am told the cricket was pretty good too. We had awesome front row seats and Chris came prepared with sarnies and wine.

It was *really* hot - at least 26 ...

eating Ice Cream for England

You can tell who the *real* Aussie is by her tan....

Me Jo and ET
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

House

2006-05-11T01:00:00.000+02:00

So far we have re-carpeted and painted a few rooms incuding this one....

and this one.....

It was fun slapping on litres of white paint without any regard to preparation, skirting boards or carpet. Before my Dad rolls his eyes in horror - painting over wall paper that has already been painted over several times can't really be that bad. In fact the paint was helping it to cling on to the wall in places. Its sooo much better but I still have some work to do before the "after" pictures.

There is more painting to be done - an "Icelandic Blue" coat in the second bedroom and some more white everywhere else. There are curtains to be made and general arranging to be done. I also have some tile paint to deal with the lovely grey fireplace in the photo above. Although I'm wondering if it might be protected under some listed building laws. Some kind of regulations protecting sheer ugliness.

PS - I make it sound like I'm doing all the painting round here but actually Smithy, Nomes and Pauline have joined in the slop slapping of white painty goodness. I think its very important to recognise helpful DIYers in case they come back for more. Although before she would do any painting Pauline insisted I go through every unpacked box to find a knitting pattern she wanted. And insisted on regular cheesecake breaks. But you have to make allowances for creative types.

Herbie

2006-05-08T19:49:00.000+02:00

K and Herbie Modelling his cardie
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Due to my incurable cluckiness I had to start with the baby story. K and Charlie came over yesterday for a Sunday Roast and while it was very nice to see them I couldn't tear my eyes away from the little bundle of Herbieness.

Especially when K dressed him up in the cardie to prove it does still fit and that i was right to increase the sleeve length by a few centimeters. I was very gratified, especially to hear that he had his passport photo taken in the cardie.

New Equipment

2006-05-08T19:43:00.000+02:00

so two posts in April and none in May so far - not looking very good is it.

But now I have my own computer (thanks Smithy and Amex) AND broadband (wireless no less) for the first time ev-ah there will be no end of blogging I'm sure.

There's so much to catch up on I don't know where to start!

Quick update

2006-04-23T19:22:00.000+02:00

7 minutes on internet cafe left so in a very small nutshell:
- went to switzerland for work last week
- house completed on wednesday
- moved in yesterday
- painted 1 1/2 rooms to cover the horrible wallpaper
- would be very excited if I could move
- especially about studio room
- should be packing for another week in switzerland
- Lausanne is very pretty and is cigarette capital of the world
- Back-tack 3 is on and matchups out
- Very cool theme and looking forward to unpacking and setting up sewing stuff to start
- photos of house and trip to follow next time I can get onto web

Lovely Day

2006-04-06T20:20:00.000+02:00

St James Park
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Its a lovely day today....

I went to a client near Westminster today and severly embarrased my young(er) trendy colleague when I insisted on stopping to take pictures of St James Park in full spring bloom like a tourist.

Isn't it pretty?

Daffodils
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Halleluja

2006-04-06T18:52:00.000+02:00

We have.....EXCHANGE!!

Which for the uninitiated means we have a contract to buy a house. In WRITING!! Whoohooo! Its only been ...(stretching the memory back here..)....over four months since our offer was accepted!!

After completion in a couple of weeks we will be in our "new" (over 100 years old) house. I have a feeling the carpet is even older.

Its not really a house in my definition as its stuck on the side of another house but we're not in Kansas (or Brisvegas) anymore so it is a house, specifically a "semi".

This is definitely one purchase I'm not going to go there on the conversion to Aussie dollars.

patience...

2006-03-31T19:08:00.000+02:00

.... is they key.

I don't feel like I have a whole lot of news as we are very much waiting at the moment for news on house purchase. I'm not very good at concentrating on other things (eg work) when i just want other things to be moving along. I can't handle not getting any updates...even if there is no progress. I need constant reassurance that there are things happening on the other side. HOW can the lawyer have a day off at this point in the proceedings?! ack.

Basically I just want to know if we are going to have somewhere to move into in LESS than 14 days or not!! Because if not I feel that alternatives should be considered. I know we're not going to be in a cardboard box under Waterloo bridge but still....maybe the people we're going to be dossing with would like some forwarning. heh heh.

On other news i was excited to get a call from K last night. Herbie seems to like the cardie and booties and they fit. yay. (I just wrote that so I can say Herbie again. Herbie.)

Un-real Estate

2006-03-30T17:55:00.000+02:00

I remember thinking when we put an offer in on a house here last November that it might be a bit early and I would have to break my lease which expires in a couple of weeks. What a babe in the woods I was. Naïve. Optimistic. Innocent to the inner workings of the UK property market. Of course I’d heard about the problems of “chains”, the expense of surveys, the difficulties of getting mortgages. But I still somehow thought if you had one party wanting to sell a house and another party wanting to buy it that six months seemed like a long time to complete such a process.

WRONG. Sooooo wrong.

However it seems like we might be getting close. Although we still have nothing in writing and it could collapse with no recourse on either side…..the agent has got a sniff of her commission and I have a feeling will be working very hard to make sure she gets it. Well you would think so anyway.

The latest comment from her was that “the vendor was signing contracts and was going to his solicitor today. We know you are keen to complete (settle) before Easter and he is very keen for that too. I’ll give him a call about dates” So that was yesterday morning and we haven’t heard anything back. Now by my calculations there are now 14 working days before Easter. Surely it can’t be that hard to pick one of them?!!!

Weather Report

2006-03-28T17:34:00.000+02:00

We are having the weirdest weather here today. Morning – lovely blue skies, a bit windy but not too cold. The daffodils in St James Park have dared to make an appearance at last but no leaves on the trees. But on the way back from a visit to a client this afternoon, a sudden rainstorm tipped it down and we ran past the tourists (who had thoughtfully packed umbrellas in their backpacks along with their Lonely Planets) to the tube.

Blue skies again 10 minutes and 4 tube stops away. But now we have just had a hail storm and the sky is back to interminable grey. But it’s a darker, more menacing grey than the usual soft light grey.

I’m especially conscious of the weather since we turned the clocks forward to summer time on the weekend and arriving home last night in daylight was sheer joy. But I don’t think it will make much difference today.

The weather is not the only unpredictable thing around here at the moment. We are having a bit of a restructuring at work. I have heard a rumour our team will be moved to the hot desks on the internal wall. I like my window seat with a view of a small patch of sky above the building next door. How will I be able to give you weather reports if that happens?!! I know….. gutting isn’t it?!!! Not happy Jan.

booties

2006-03-24T17:04:00.000+01:00

booties
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I finished these for Herbie finally and sent them off with the cardy yesterday. I hope he likes them.

Back to the Games

2006-03-23T14:28:00.000+01:00

Hearing the news from Mum that Jana Pittman has won the 400m hurdles so everyone can relax now is very amusing. I’ve been away during both the Olympics and now for the Cth Games so have missed most of the media hype and commentary. Although its impossible to miss all of it. But over here. ….not a mention. I’m worried it will be too hard to go back and live in Aus eventally as I will have missed so many references. Whole sporting events and seasons of Big Brother, Idol etc…. and all my knowledge about Jade Goody, Jordan and the OK! regulars will be wasted.

Here are a couple of hilarious photos from Commonwealth Games history. Talk about Gold!

The official 1970 Australian swimming uniform

And memories from Brissie 1988 - I think I still have my own stuffed Matilda somewhere in storage.

Pics from the Bulletin. More gems there.

LOVE sport?

2006-03-22T15:05:00.000+01:00

I’ve been watching quite a bit of the games here – mostly highlights from the day before but if I stay up really late (after 10!) I can watch a bit of the morning stuff.

It is both very frustrating and quite funny getting the UK commentary – any of the races where we have placed one,two,three are not shown at all and they only show results of the top 3 and UK athletes for any event. I have managed to get some glimpses of the aussies. Of course the men’s swimming came in for quite a bit of gloating over here (yeah get over it – we still had more than double the medals in the pool ...sheesh). The funniest thing though is the commentators going on about how we’re so good because “Aussies LOVE their sport” “they just LOVE it” “EVERYONE LOVES it here!!!”. Apparently its because of the sunshine.

In my opinion it’s the excess sunshine that makes me not want to leave the house for most of the summer. I have to admit – sport did play quite a part of the primary school routine… Netball was a constant activity up until about age 11 but then moving schools from teensy Flying Fish Point SS in Innisfail (spare a thought for the cyclone victims and banana farmers) to the big smoke of Brissie was a bit of a shock. Those city girls played dirty! The sledging of would put Warnie to shame. I started to volunteer for reserve position. By high school it was pretty much down hill - I stated to wag Wednesday afternoon sport on a regular basis (unless I could sign up for something they put on for the geeks and nerds like bowling or school magazine).

I realised at some stage during uni that I definitely defaulted to sloth when all remotely sporty activities ceased altogether. Apart from a bit of dancing at Fridays (on Fridays) and City Rowers (on Saturdays). Sometimes the Underground (the new one) if we wanted to branch out.

It wasn’t until I had been in the UK first time round and the Heathrow injection started to bite that I cast around for a solution and started jogging around Tooting Bec common. Five minutes jog, Ten minutes walk. Back home for East Enders. It gradually got better was still a bit of a struggle to be honest.

That’s where the greatest invention of all time for sloths comes into it. Star Rewards was created by the lovely AND talented Robert for Robbo and has been adopted internationally. The equipment is minimal – a calendar and your choice of star stickers and smiley faces for the advanced version. Any exercise over 20mins earns you a star and three stars in a week means a smiley face. That’s it. The beauty is in the simplicity. I didn’t believe it at first but the motivation for getting those smiley faces is a powerful force for the good of exercise. I wonder if the women’s swimming team use it? The men obviously don’t.

OK I admit it – we really do LOVE our sport.

star rewards
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Meme

2006-03-20T17:35:00.000+01:00

Did you notice I posted every day last week?! I know ....there's nothing on Friday....I did post but it just got lost by some server upgrade thingy at blogger. But it wasn't very interesting so don't worry.

I can't upload any photos at the moment so here are some fascinating facts about me ;)

Four Jobs I've Had
1. Waitress
2. Trainee lawyer
3. Ski bum (waitress, nanny)
4. Consultant

Four Movies I Can Watch Over And Over
1. La vita e bella (A beautiful life)
2. Braveheart …”they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!!”
3. When Harry Met Sally …”Repeat after me. Pepper. …Pepper…..Pepper”
4. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels… “Its been emotional”

Four Books I recently enjoyed
1. The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
3. The Shaddow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4. Paris Lonely Planet …this shows how little I have been reading lately …I can’t even make it to four novels.

Four Places I've Lived
1. Brisbane, Australia
2. Whistler, Canada
3. Singapore
4. London, UK (a few times)

Four TV Shows I Like
1. ER
2. Grand Designs
3. SuperNanny ("thats not a-septable")
4. Location Location (obsessed with UK real estate market)

Four Places I've travelled to
1. Siam Reap, Cambodia
2. Beijing, China
3. New York, New York
4. Bled, Slovenia

Four of My Favorite Dishes
1. Bread and Butter Pudding
2. Curry (any)
3. Lasagne
4. Sashimi & sushi

Four Sites I Visit Daily
1. Bloglines
2. Amazon.co.uk
3. hotmail
4. google (not really a site but ….see #1)

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
1. At the Resort (with the folks at the beach)
2. Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia
3. Koh Samui
4. ANYWHERE sunny

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging
1. acechick
2. Sister Sets Sail
3. Mamie Makes
4. Kimbofo

oh I see Friday's entry is back...see not very interesting....

quilter st

2006-03-17T12:53:00.000+01:00

quilter st
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

A couple of weeks ago i went to Columbia Road flower market in East London. I couldn't choose from the vast selection of tulips, orchids, pussy willows (so cute) and loads more. "3 for a fiver, three for a fiver" was cried out from every stall. Mid morning and the vendors were keen to get their flowers to new homes.

Walking back to Bethnal Green tube i came across this street. how apt.

BTW I'm not sure if my blog is actually working at the moment...I can't access it at work. maybe they're on to my excess web surfing? or the site is just down. hmmmm.

Herbie's cardie

2006-03-16T18:22:00.000+01:00

This is the finished cardie for Herbie. Its made in Rowan Summer Tweed which is mostly silk (pretty glam for a baby eh) and the pattern is from Erica Knight’s book Baby Bloom. Kindly modelled by Charlie the Monkey.

Charlie modelling the cardie
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I am finally knitting something for myself (other than a scarf). It’s a cardigan – in a blue wool tweed. Probably for next winter, but considering its back down to zero and sleeting today I may still get some use out of it this season.

Gay Paree

2006-03-15T16:19:00.000+01:00

In the afternoon after our wander around the Louvre we decided to check out the Marias district which is a jewish/gay/generally really cool area a couple of metro stops on the number 1 line from the Louvre.

We were in desperate need of coffee and eventually found AND agreed on Tresor (Rue du Tresor) which was perfect - cosy lounge chairs (it was rainy and v. chilly) friendly staff who pretended my stumbling French with a smattering of German made sense, excellent cafe and a very tasty apple tarte.

I had lured Steve to Marais on the basis that it was a groovy area of Paris where we would be sure to find good coffee (is there any part that you wouldn't?) but I had a hidden agenda - the "ribbon shop". Pauline had tipped me off but had failed to emphasise what an Aladin's cave Entre des Fournisseurs is. Not just ribbons but the biggest range of buttons I've ever seen, wool, felt, and a few bolts of Kaffe Fasset fabric. I may be the only person to go shopping in Paris and come back not with fashionable clothing or French cosmetics but a bag full of buttons (I don't want to disclose how much they cost me to protect the guilty) and some felt (what for - not sure yet but the colours have great possibilities).

Have a peek through the window.....

Entre des Fournisseurs
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Louvre

2006-03-14T14:57:00.000+01:00

wings
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

My fourth visit to Paris and I finally made it to the Louvre. This is an achievement as I have previously completely by passed the wealth of art on offer in the city of light. Although there was the one time where I decided I really should see a gallery and arrived at the Musee d’Orsay at closing time, convinced them to let me in and passed by the amazing Rodin sculptures at breakneck speed. But I don’t think it really counts as art appreciation.

Of course once I got over the overwhelmingness of such a massive gallery and got through the doors I was wondering why I hadn’t been before. We started with the Sully wing which wasn’t very crowded or intimidating. Mostly concerned with the Egyptian collection – I found it possibly one of the best “non-painting” collections I’ve seen. Every piece was stunning and the creativity of those ancients just so cool.

majestic lions
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I was impressed by the scale of the room of Big Art (ok so I can’t remember who the painter is…details details).

big art
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

We weren’t planning on seeing the Mona Lisa due to Smithy’s impatience with crowds and my sheer laziness but reflecting that it had taken four visits to get to the Louvre at all, I thought we should seize the moment. It is small, it is surrounded by heaving hoards of tourists but it is well worth a peek. There’s definitely something compelling about it.

Paris on the Eurostar

2006-03-13T15:38:00.000+01:00

I booked myself onto an earlier Eurostar than planned on Friday and skived off from the office with a little bubble of excitement fizzing inside. Over the fence….under the walll….freeeee!!

The Eurostar is a great way to go. A short tube from the office, no queues (not at that time of the afternoon anyway) and sitting on the train with my magazines and knitting in no time. The 16:10 from Waterloo is definitely the family service – lots of kids and what I figured were expat families with Dad in his suit intentlylooking at his blackberry and Mum juggling stroller, drinks and kids.

Walking down the carriage to buy my mini vin rouge and brie baguette I was struck by the amount of technology being used. I counted 7 people in one carriage watching DVDs on their laptops, every second person texting and all the kids glued to little games thingies. The majority of people only taking their ipod earplugs out just long enough to answer their phones.

And yes, I was the only person knitting. And sans iPod. No street cred whatsoever.

Smithy met me at Gare du Nord and we swung by the hotel before going to Boeuf Sur Le Toit for dinner. Art Deco, delicious, definitely touristy but in an enjoyable way. The table of English rugby fans nearby obviously had a few Welsh among them judging by the quality of the singing that struck up around midnight. I think they got away with quite a few numbers only because they were actually quite good but the suave maitre’d stepped in when the volume became roof raising.

dreams

2006-03-03T18:29:00.000+01:00

The last three days I have looked out the window beside my desk and watched little flurries of snow float down. Its bloody cold but we’ve also finally had some patches of blue sky to lift the spirits.

Last night I had a dream that I had a big cardboard box full of pets delivered to my flat. One of the pets was a lovely black Labrador. No surprises there – I’ve been wanting one for a long time. One of the other animals was a really cute baby elephant.

I told one of the girls about my dream and by the end of the day half the office were sending me pictures of cute animals. That’s the kind of place I work. Random.

projects projects

2006-02-28T19:29:00.000+01:00

I am working on a couple of projects at the moment that I’m quite excited about. Since the beginning of the year I have been concentrating on finishing/starting projects that I have the makings for already on the basis that home buying and wedding in a year could work out quite hard on the budget. I’m working on a quilting project that I started about two years ago and is coming along very nicely. But I can’t say any more at the moment as its for a gift. There is another quilt that I started before that one which I’ll probably keep as a) it’s the first quilt I started and b) it’s a sampler and its bloody fiddly so I don’t think I’ll be able to give it away. Then there’s a few little knitting projects – some really cute booties and a scarf.

But the project I’m enjoying the most is the one I went out recently bought yarn for in a fit of comfort buying at Liberty last Friday. I’m making a little cardie (Erica Knight pattern) in Rowan’s summer tweed. Its really nice – smooth, fast and colourful.

yum yum

2006-02-24T13:40:00.000+01:00

First I discovered blogs – initially as a great way of filling in time in boring temp jobs while looking intensely busy. It was only after I started LSF that I started really appreciating the inspiration and creativity involved. Recently I’ve discovered del.icio.us really which I had known about this when doing my masters and keeping track of tons of websites and sources. But not only is this site great for keeping track of favourites – it can keep you occupied for hours discovering new sites. Which is how I came across this great article 50 Strategies For Making Yourself Work (boy do I need this at the moment). I notice they already have “ban yourself from web surfing” as a suggestion (how???!!!) but really should add sub-clause “especially de-licio.us". But then I never would have found this article. A tricky dilemma.

2006-02-22T13:54:00.000+01:00

My mind is full to the brim with thoughts, ideas and to-dos at the moment. Its all going on here – house buying (in London – not for the fainthearted), wedding planning (in Australia, from London…also quite challenging), re-assessing job career opportunities (self reflection and CV – ugghh!) while trying to keep up with the day to day and make time for those things that inspire and uplift.

My new year’s resolution of being more sociable has been more successful that expected. I’m hardly a social butterfly yet but am at least leaving the house and actually seeing people on weekends now which wasn’t happening (without the use of implements to prise me out the door) at the end of last year. This weekend we went out BOTH nights – 30th birthday drinks for the lovely Beth on Friday and a couple-y dinner at Bam-bou (quite flash - food nice but not sensational) on Saturday.

I’m still not quite up to coping with much on School nights. Although last week I went on one of the famous London Walks with Pauline. It was really great but they made a tactical mistake including so many pub stops in the walk and we didn’t quite make it out of the second one in the gorgeous Leadenhall Markets (designed by London city architect Horace Jones in 1881 and more importantly, full of wine bars if you look up to the second floor). Plus it was freezing. Plus there is only so much of a big group of tourists a girl can take on a Thursday evening.

2x2 and the Chinese Man

2006-02-15T21:41:00.000+01:00

2x2 and the Chinese Man

I had a surge of craftiness on the weekend and finished off this "Berry Quilt" which was the girl twin prototype. This quilt has New York connections as I bought the stripy border fabric there and if Mary is still reading she will recognise some of the fabric from our swap. I've also included some Kaffe Fasset fabric as its his soft pastels 2x2 quilt from 'Patchwork' that I was attempting to emulate.

I had to scan the web to find some more of the perfect stripe as I had only bought a small amount and managed to track it down...from the moda wuthering heights collection. I ended up using other fabrics from the collection for borders, binding and backing.

The Chinese man sits over looking Steve's coffee corner. He seems to be enjoying his new home since his move from the Cottage.

Berries on the back

Maya Scarf

2006-02-13T18:57:00.000+01:00

Maya Scarf
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

About three months of gentle moss stitching along I've finally finished this scarf for my good friend who promises to come to live in London with me. I thought she might be here a bit earlier...but I don't blame her for wanting to avoid January and February weather here. For those observant people you will notice that "finished" is a bit of an overstatement seeing as I have yet to sew in the ends. An ER project for tonight.

I think she reads my blog about once a year so its pretty safe to say she will get the scarf before she sees this.

And as i don't feel complete without a scarf project on the go...I have started my fourth in a row with this lovely yarn from a Secret Pal.

I did try to branch out into something more complicated - some very cute booties - but have come to a halt about halfway throught the pattern. (Debbie "what are you talking about" Bliss strikes again)

Colinette Scarf
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Mostly slow jogging

2006-02-12T20:58:00.000+01:00

We finished the run on Saturday in a slow and slightly hungover 1:03:39. Battersea Park was lovely and flat but was getting a bit boring by the third lap. The problem with doing laps is that its very dishartening to be lapped by half the participants. About halfway through the second lap I was having very strong words with myself for the previous night's socialising (why large wines??! so dangerous) but by the end most of the alcohol was sweated out and I felt better than I started. Until I stopped running and every muscle in my legs siezed up. Must get to those yoga classes sometime this decade.

Running, Jogging, Walking

2006-02-09T20:22:00.000+01:00

Warning: Shameless Charity Promotion to follow !!!

Just when I thought it was getting warmer - its bloody cold again here -1 tonight. That warm start to the week was such a tease.

But the BBC is promising me its going to be fine on the weekend (for a couple of hours on Saturday anyway) which is lucky as this Saturday Steve and I are doing the 10km Love Run (I didn't make up the name!) in Battersea Park. Calling it a run is definitely ambitious, if I can manage a slow jog for the whole distance I'll be quite amazed.

Its for a good cause -
"Parent Project UKParent Project UK was set up by parents and friends of boys with Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy. DMD causes severe muscle wasting so that without treatment boys will die before they reach 20. It urgently needs funding for new research and to continue its campaign for a cure."
so if you are feeling so inclined you can make a donation at my online site (it goes straight to the charity)
http://www.justgiving.com/stewie

As you can see I've completely left fundraising til the last minute but better late than never. If you don't feel inclined or flush...just send me good vibes around 11am on Sat.

I'm hitting up my work mates tomorrow too just so no one feels left out :)

Sock?!!

2006-01-26T18:40:00.000+01:00

Sock?!!
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

Or yet another entry where I attempt some knitting and then publicly wonder what the hell is happening and why it just doesn't look right.

I bought this special wool exclusive to Purl in the NYC foray for the challenge from Mary (start blogging again Mary!!) to knit some socks. For the first time.

About three months later on an autumn afternoon in a pub in East London I finally attempted casting on. However the wine was flowing and as my co-ordination and ability to count deteriorated, any hope of casting on using dpns (double pointed needles, aka trying to juggle four little pointy needles in two hands) ultimately failed.

However, my knitting guru came to the rescue and cast on for me (I have a sneaking feeling I shouldn't be admitting to this).

The lonely cast on row then sat on our kitchen table for anther couple of months while I eyed it off nervously.

Recently I took it up again and the ribbed top bit went fine. I then changed to bigger needles as per the pattern. Unfortunately it may have got a little lost in translation between US and UK sized needles as I'm sure that weird bulging isn't really meant to happen.

Time to consult the guru again (and eat pavlova, lamingtons and kangaroo)

Happy Australia Day youse.

Charlie

2006-01-25T15:11:00.000+01:00

Charlie
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.

I have been meaning to post this photo for awhile. Before Christmas I bought this for myself (based on the "one for you, two for me" christmas shopping methodology) from Fiona at Hop Skip Jump. He is even cuter in person. Fiona has been making such lovely cats and monkeys for sale - check them out...but you have to be very quick!

Its Over...

2006-01-25T14:48:00.000+01:00

....The worst day of the year - as greatly publicised in several papers here. I'm still cranky though. Its not Monday any more obviously so now I'm blaming sugar deprivation caused by my attempts to stick to the CSIRO diet (modified version....no way my system can take even half that much meat).

Have been sorely tested recently as according to office tradition if you go away for a holiday you must return bearing sweets, chocolate or other yummy edibles. Unfortunately about 3 people just got back from Australia so there has been incredible tempation with Violet Crumbles, Jaffas, Minties and Twisties taunting me everytime I go to the printer.

I have mostly been able to resist by having Aussie day celebrations at Pauline's to look forward to (she has been preparing) but I would estimate that at least a quarter of a packet of Violet Crumble bites have snuck through.

Warning: A bit of a whinge to follow

2006-01-23T18:59:00.000+01:00

I think I’m in the midst of a blogistential crisis. Its started with a growing ambivalence to my blog name…too clunky….not very interesting….definitely not quirky and chosen at a time before I even started with the crafty stuff again. It deepened with feedback that some people don’t really like the “knitting stuff”. Maybe I need two blogs? At the very least a rebrand. I feel like I need a more definite theme (or two). Have any other bloggers had these thoughts?

I would like to have more time to play around with stuff like this but am facing a lot of grown up stuff at the moment. Buying houses, organising weddings and trying to build some kind of a career type job thing (in the face of corporate f**kwittage). I’m supposed to be excited about all this stuff and I am when I think about things one at a time, but when I think about the year as a whole I just want to hide under the doonah/duvet/quilt/all three. But then it is a Monday.

Maybe I should get me one of those life coaches - a personal cheerleader would be good for Mondays. Or maybe I should become one and rake it in bossing people around!!

Holiday roundup

2006-01-03T17:40:00.000+01:00

I’m finding it a bit hard to write after so long. I didn’t intentionally take the whole month off blogging but it was kind of nice to have a break. We got back yesterday after two weeks in Australia and am recovering from flight and adjusting to lack of sunshine after a two week overdose of the stuff.

Highlights of an excellent trip were:

A night of luxury at Shangri-la in Singapore
Hot weather (damn hot!)
Sunshine the WHOLE time
Swimming in the ocean (ok so it was only once and it took me almost all holiday to work up to buying swimmers …but it was a better effort than last year)
Emma & Finn being born while we were there
Hanging out at the Resort (aka Mum & Dad’s)
Lots of catching up with friends
Dining at Roberto’s
Bollywood NYE party
Eating kilos of prawns and mangos (and of course the “great prawn debate” ie the best place and method to procure the Christmas prawns)

We have come back so relaxed that our bus sailed past this morning and we didn’t even think about running for it. Hopefully the feeling will last for a couple of days at least.

Christmas Lunch - Prawn & Avo salad
Originally uploaded by Hells Bells.