PTA Poetry

There are various of these little poetry gems currently adorning our public transport. They are very clever although I resserve my judgement on how effective they are. Humpty himself has been seen running for the bus!

Mary had a little iPod
Mary had her iPod up as loud as it would go.
And every song that Mary played she thought we all did know.
The noise was unrelenting and it made the people frown.
Oh how we wish that Mary would just turn the damn thing down.

Bemused

Today was quite a peaceful day for me, doing the laundry, chasing up lost wedding invitations and brushing up on my Jane Austen.

Still, it is difficult to escape that today is the Grand Final of Australia's favourite sport (at least it is here in WA and Victoria and possibly SA) and I was curious to see that the game has ended in a draw.

I would have thought, given the hype and the leadup to the game, that they would have a mechanism for deciding a winner from a drawn game. It seems anticlimactic for the players and the spectators to lob up in a week to try all over again. Okay, the sponsors and the broadcasters might make money out of it, but how do the players and fans maintain their enthusiasm for watching?! What happens if the result is again a draw?

We shall have to see how this week pans out.

Being a hockey player and umpire, extra time is the most obvious solution to me and after that some sort of penalty system or more extra time with reduced numbers of players on the field. Evenutally you have an outcome.

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Sanding the ceiling

My ghost of a man in renovation mode! We had a new ceiling installed in the ensuite and he sanded it back in preparation to paint.

Urban Orchard

A few weeks ago I was intrigued to discover the Urban Orchard in the Perth Cultural Centre.

An unused area outside the Art Gallery has been transformed into a garden! There are beds with all sorts of edible plants, vegetables and herbs, and many fruit trees as well.

This seems like a great concept, showing people how easy it is to grow their own edible plants and also to provide fresh produce. I hope that it does catch on and that people make use of the facility.

I wish that my office was close by, as this would be a peaceful place to eat lunch during the workday.

Pancakes for one

As a general rule, weekend breakfasts are more leisurely than weekday breakfasts. There is no urgency to get to work and I can take my time to cook something.

This weekend I felt like pancakes made myself a little picnic. Wholemeal pancakes with strawberries, bananas, sugar and fresh lime juice and a pot of english breakfast tea.

What do you make to spoil yourself on the weekends?

The Sleeping Beauty

Last night I went to the ballet with my sisters. Well, sister and soon to be sister-in-law. The performance was The Sleeping Beauty by the West Australian Ballet. I had high expections of the show, being a score by Tchaikovsky and a familiar story.

It was a lovely performance, although to me it seemed to wander around the actual story a bit - lots of padding - and the final act was a puzzle as the King & Queen were joined by characters from all different fairy tales! We played spot the fairy tale and I was hard pressed to try and recognise them all. There was Snow White and Seven Small Bearded Children, Puss-in-Boots and his wife(?), Red Riding Hood and the Wolf and Rapunzel and her rock-climbing prince amongst others.

It was great to see and hear something a bit different from the normal, and attending a classical music concert always prompts me to try to listen more often to my modest collection.

Sunday markets

Last Sunday E and I went to the Perth Upmarket and the Unwrapped Market. Two different markets, and both interesting in their own way! The Perth Upmarket is now held at the University of Western Australia. Whenever I go there I am reminded of how lovely the grounds and the buildings are. I spent a few years at uni and you take it for granted as a student. The only times we went into Winthrop Hall were for exams or graduation so it makes a difference to see it all decked out with stalls and people and happy moments.

The Unwrapped Market is held in conjunction with the Perth Fashion Festival. Every year I say to myself that I am going to attend a fashion event or two, and invariably I never get around to it. Maybe next year!

It was a beautiful day for a market, and the warmth and sunshine of Unwrapped was a lovely contrast to the cold indoors of the Upmarket.

After we had satisfied our thirst for markets we wandered into Northbridge in search of lunch. I realised that I have no idea what this tower is for, and what building it used to belong to. It looks a little lonely standing tall by itself.

All dressed up - again!

I have been with my current employer for a few years now and have been to the company ball every year. It is always a good party, with around 800 guests, and we usually have a great group of people on our table. This year was no exception!

The ball this year was at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre. The food was not too bad and I liked the layout of the venue this year. We had a theme of Carnivale and the entertainment included trapeze artists, strongmen and ribbon twirling and hula hoop lasses.

One thing that I did not understand was what they were doing with the lighting. We struggled to identify our entrees under the blue light, and our main and dessert were decidedly red!

You have to love those ribbons!


PS We left the night early because Chad had a horror cold and I had a hockey preliminary final the next morning. Unfortunately we lost our game so I could have stayed out partying anyway!

Girls Night In!

It is that time of the year again, Girls Night In for the Cancer Council!

It is great to get together with your girlfriends for cake and a cup of tea and a good excuse to raise money for research into women's cancers and support services.

For the last few years I have been hosting an afternoon tea event. Cupcakes, tarts, quiches, finger sandwiches, scones and of course tea! This year I have embraced technology and I have set up a fundraising page. As well as donating online there is a counter to see how close we are to our goal. Last year we raised a modest $600 and I am hoping to beat that this year. Every year the amount raised has been slowly creeping up!

Winners - one down, two to go

My hockey team came third this season. We played in our semi final tonight and won 2-1! We thought that 7.45pm was a fairly unfriendly time to play a game but we managed to make the most of it. Next week we get to do it all over again, for the chance to play in the grand final. Stay tuned.

Photo is not of my team, but our top team playing a game earlier in the season.

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Honey and Lemon

I have been at home for a couple of days this week with a cold. I have a yucky cough and my throat is quite raw. Thank goodness for the wonders of the honey and lemon drink! Definitely my comfort drink of choice when colds and flu knock at my door.

The lemons are just ripe on the tree outside so I should be good for supplies for a few days yet!

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Dinner with the hockey girls

Second last fixture of the season and I finally managed to get my act together to organise a dinner for my hockey team! Ten of us were able to make it, so not a bad number for a team of eleven plus reserves.

Dinner was at The Windsor Hotel. Coincidentally this is Chad's and my favourite pub and we generally have good food and a good time!

It was great to catch up with the girls socially and it is always fun to see everyone out of uniform and with their hair down. It was an especially good day as we had won our game earlier and we were on a high.

The team... well, most of us!

Kirsty and Dannii

Janelle and AJ

Marie and me

Ellen and Sara

Meg and Molly!

Adventures in the land of pineapples - Brisbane still

Back to our Pineapple adventure (1, 2, 3)! Saturday dawned and it was warm, a sultry 27C. For a midwinter temperature that was very warm to us. Neither Elissa nor I had packed appropriately for the weather so we made do. Thankfully I had packed a couple of t-shirts and skirt.

First on our schedule was a catch up with friends, old and new. A former work mate had moved over to Brisbane a few years ago and I could not leave town without saying "hello". D and I had started at the same company within a week or two of each other and she was always good value in the lunch and shopping stakes! We also met Kylie of Flying Ducks fame. Both Elissa and I had corresponded with her and it was exciting to meet her in person and hear more of her adventures!

Elissa and Kylie had been a part of a package exchange and they took the opportunity of our visit for them to exchange their packages in person. It was Christmas in July - literally! If you are curious what is in the packages then read Kylie's post for a more eloquent rundown. And photos.

We met at the Shingle Inn for morning tea. It was a mountain of food as you can see here and I failed to finish mine. I felt over sugared! High tea was served with a glass of orange juice and a pot of tea, a different twist that I have not come across before.

Here we are, Elissa, Kylie, me and D.

All good things must come to and end and we eventually had to say goodbye. Elissa and I rolled onto our next adventure and waddled(!) across to the Westend in search of some shops that had been in Kylie's guide. A couple we liked (and the only ones that I took a photo of) were Don't Tell Fannie for local fashion and Nook, for handmade and funky designs from Australia and the world. They have many brands that I have previously seen and admired, including versions of the Mattt bag that is now my favourite accessory.


After our sojourn to the Westend we caught a train to Fortitude Valley to see what was there. Shopping was the main activity on the agenda and we did a quick reconnaissance of the shops. I was feeling very poorly by this stage and resorted to over the counter drugs to keep myself feeling vaguely normal and able to still be a tourist.

The next morning we headed out to Southbank for the Young Designers Market. This market was excellently awesome and there were stalls and stalls and even more stalls of locally made and designed items. Clothing, jewellery, accessories, and everything that a girl could want. I was impressed with the size of the market and the amazing range of products. They happen on the first Sunday of the month and I would definitely recommend coinciding your visit to Brisbane with this market.

We were both feeling the pain of tired feet and lack of energy - I am sure that it says somewhere that you cannot get sick on holidays - so we headed to the Queensland Art Gallery to get some culture and also to escape from the heat. Unfortunately this also meant walking around but at least we could frequently stop as we admired the art.

Election Advertising

I have been struck during this election campaign by just how much advertising there has been in my local seat of Swan. It possibly has a lot to do with the fact that the (Liberal) incumbent won by 164 votes at the 2007 federal election and redistribution of the seats had made it notionally a Labor seat.

We have been inundated by paper in the mailbox since the election was called. Steve Irons has been the worst offender with constant bombardments and Tim Hammond also did not leave us completely alone, his leaflets including photos of him as a child!

I have been noticing posters in the most random places for Mr Irons, including trailers on my way to the busstop and opposite the local primary school, banners on balconies and posters in neighbours' gardens and in front of local shops. Yesterday morning there were also three keen youths waving the Irons message on the side of the road to passing communters! In comparison Mr Hammond has been somewhat MIA in my immediate locality.

One thing that struck me whilst waiting in line to cast my vote was the difference in the approach to advertising the candidates of the two major parties. The Labor candidate was outnumbered in posters by his leader, and even by their "scary" posters of the Liberal leader! I was not sure who we were meant to be voting for. The Liberal candidate on the other hand was definitely trying to sell his own brand and most of the posters were him, with the occasional reference to his leader. (Labor actually had more photos of TA around than the Liberals did.)

I think that one aspect that works in the favour of the local MP is that he has kept his profile up in the community during the three years since he was elected. There are usually several articles about his involvement in the community in the local paper and he puts a regular newsletter in the post to let you know what he has been up to. The cynic in me says that this is part and parcel for being the elected member in a marginal seat although I would hope that you would get this commitment in a safe seat as well.

Committed to exercise

Yesterday morning after my regular (weekly!) PT session I signed up for bulk classes. It works out slightly cheaper for me but it also means that I am committed now for 25 sessions! That is, another six months. Woah.

I enjoy the session. I look forward to it on Sunday evenings when I get my clothes and lunch ready. Usually I sleep poorly on Sunday night and when the time comes to wake up and go all I want to do is sleep. By the time that I get started it is good!

I have a one on one personal training session. There is some cardio mixed up with weights and generally my body feels achy for a few days afterwards. Today it was all about arms – I am definitely weak when it comes to the upper body and I use embarrassingly light weights!!

Now I just need to make sure that I motivate myself to pick up the exercise regime again and keep myself going to run and cycle and maintain a level of fitness.

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