outdoor living and the new deck

Charles , Helen and Bec have been working for the last few weeks on building a deck at the back of their house, which will make a new living space outside, an essential part of living in a climate like Brisbane's. Helen offered to do some dental work for Charles at the same time, but he declined. The decking is actually on now, and the steps complete, but I have no pics yet. Remi kept a close eye on all that was going on and had many questions.

gillian, bike riding and master chef

Gillian's 2 week visit has ended and she has returned to chilly south-western Victoria to begin preparing to move up here. Two weeks of sunshine, with some rain, has her convinced. "This is winter?!", she kept exclaiming. We did lots of walking, rode the ferry, communed with pelicans, sampled coffee from a wide range of outlets, ate out, ate in, and walked some more. On one foray we ran into Rudi & Niuska, who had driven in from The Gap for a coffee at West End, so we wiled away an hour before heading off for Southbank.

A few days after Gillian left, Remi took off on a 2-wheeler, no wobbles or hesitation, just fierce concentration and determination as he manoeuvred the corners round and round Mitchy's back yard. A mighty effort for a 3 year and 2 month old (can you see me glowing with love?)


And on a different note, I wonder if anyone else I know is watching Master Chef with the same obsession that I have developed. My passion for cooking and food is ensuring the TV will be on this program every night of this final week, only it's Bec and Helen's, as Charles has no interest in it, so I scoot over to their place for an hour. I've got some great ideas for new food combinations. Go Po.

getting my etsy together

Ever since the Stitches Fair I have been working on and off to get my Etsy online shop up and running. What I really need is someone who has done it to run a workshop for people like me who manage to get the photos the wrong size and shape, and bad quality and spend for ever trying to get through the shipping details without losing the whole thing and having to start all over again, at which stage the lid goes down and stays down until I have summoned the courage to try again, some days later.

In the meantime, I am practising by putting pics here with some of the latest creations, but I am not happy with them. I need some props, so will go and raid Remi's toy box. I will publish more when I have it right, and in the meantime will try not to grind my teeth down too far.

visit from charles' mum

Yesterday we put Edna, who will be 92 in Sept, on the plane after a stay of 10 days, having successfully managed the steps and the bath, the two things I had been dreading as accidents waiting to happen. Her visit coincided with Charles working on a deck at the back of Bec & Helen's house, so when he left in the morning we had breakfast, then an assisted shower, and got ready to face the day. Most days we ended up at Bec and Helen's either for or after lunch, so Edna could spend as much time as possible with them. She took us all out to brunch last Sunday, which was great fun. Also along for the event were my sisters, Claudia & Gillian, so it was a great family occasion.
She also went on a ride up the river with Charles on the CityCat which she loved, and managed it all very well.
Gillian is up here for 2 weeks holiday, and I spent today with them ... knitting! We decided we were all turning into mum in our own ways which, I think, is inevitable.

of paul kelly, jindabyne and brunswick heads

Last weekend Charles & I went down to Simon's for 3 days, and, as has happened every time I've been there, it rained for most of the weekend. This, I'm pleased to report, did not stop Charles and Simon from fishing, with both magnificent results (as far as a feed or three went), but also an unexpected and disturbing one. Those of you who are familiar with the film Jindabyne, and the Paul Kelly song based on the Raymond Carver short story, may have aready guessed. On Saturday morning they set off at 6am and had been fishing for close to 2 hours from the south wall at Brunswick Heads, when they identified what they first thought was a dog, then a turtle in the sea, as a human body being blown towards them across the water. I will spare you the details, but, unlike the Carver story, it put an abrupt stop to their fishing and they reported it immediately. It turned out to be that of an Irish backpacker who had been missing for a week from Byron lighthouse. His poor parents had flown out, and were about to go home, so it was good timing for them, although no doubt also heartbreaking. Needless to say it consumed our thoughts and discussion for quite a bit of the weekend, one that will not be forgotten.

friends, food and wine

Have just had Kate & Lance up for the long weekend, which saw us trial taste a number of restaurants, all within walking distance of our place. First night was Indonesian, and developed in to an hilarious celebration, with Lance taking over from Mono Man on his casio, and entertaining all patrons with Bridge Over Troubled Water. Everyone got in to the swing of it, waving their arms above their heads and singing full throttle. I got it all on video. Lance & Kate made sure they were on side with Mrs Makanan before Lance took the stage.

Next night was the Mecca Bah, which Kate was very excited to find, being a regular at the one at Docklands. Delicious food but no singing. The last night was Indian - again top food. In between we introduced them to West End, including Avid Reader where we sat and read the paper and drank coffee while Lance found books to buy.

We did also do some exercise. We live very close to the river, and enjoyed a not-so-brisk walk along its banks to offset the oral intake, managing to resist the exercise stations along the way - well, almost. Lance did give us a demo of the challenges of chin lifts. You can see from the photo how close we are to the city. All in all we had a great weekend.