Tag: Melbourne

Melbourne

Yeah but no but yeah but no … DUST!!!

Anne S

OMG, my head is still spinning from the incredible stageshow of Little Britain Live tonight – it was a total blast!!  My throat seriously hurts from howling with laughter so much … I’m sure the guy who sat in front of me is now tone deaf from my hysterics!  My Mum always said she loves to hear me laugh, ‘cos it comes from my boots and is always loud and heartfelt LOL … it’s definitely true that if I find something funny, I just can’t hold it in, regardless of the situation!  The venue was the Vodafone Arena, and it was just the best show ever!

BE WARNED THERE MAY BE “SPOILERS” AHEAD FOR ANYONE WHO IS GOING TO THE SHOW, SO DON’T READ ANY FURTHER!

I can’t believe the number of characters they played out, and how quickly they changed between skits … it was exceptionally well done and I’m so glad I jumped and grabbed that ticket!  I felt a bit sorry for the poor souls who got dragged up on stage, but they gave us a huge giggle at their expense, especially with the Des Kaye sketch playing “hide the sausage”!  The voiceovers by Tom Baker were funny too, and really kept the whole theme of the show together, along with the computer generated projections that were very very well done.

What really made it too, was that at one stage a heckler called out a line in advance of the actor in the background (for the “Margaret” character in the shop), and Matt and David both lost the plot … the script went out the window and David started taunting Matt with sexual slurs (I won’t go into it here, but I was in absolute hysterics!) … poor Matt was actually speechless for a while there, while David was grinning like a banshee and loving winding him up, until finally Matt just gave up and the two of them were playing off one another – it was incredibly funny and I literally had tears rolling down my face!  Having the big screens on each side of the stage meant you could see their expressions clearly, and it most definitely wasn’t scripted!  And it made you realise they’re two individual regular guys playing dress-ups for a living … and doing it exceptionally well 😉  I bet the Directors were having a cow though haha.

Almost all the characters were covered, including Lou and Andy, Dennis Waterman, Sebastian Love (& the ‘real’ Prime Minister Tony Head was there for that sketch too, and got a resounding applause when he came on stage … not to mention the applause ‘Sebastian’ got when he stripped off totally starkers on stage haha – but very tastefully LOL), Dafydd Thomas, Marjorie Dawes, Bubbles de Vere, Kenny Craig, Dudley and Ting Tong, Mad Anne, Ray McCooney, Vicky Pollard, Emily Howard and Florence, Carol Beer (Computer Says No), Des Kaye, Margaret and the shopkeeper (can’t remember the names of those), the ‘vomiting hostess’ (Margaret and Judy?) … I’m sure I’ve missed one or two …

I just can’t rave enough how much fun it was!  I’ll be going to sleep with a mighty huge grin on my face tonight … if I ever come down from the clouds enough to actually get to sleep! 😀

Little Britain, Matt and David, I love you for bringing such joy into my life with your wicked sense of humour that is right up my alley … so to speak! 😀

Melbourne, PhotoHunt, Travel

PhotoHunt – Lights (& Round)

Anne S


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This week’s theme was a definite challenge for me while hunting through my minimal photo library (oh boy, I miss my huge pile of photos back in Auckland) … but I managed to find something that would fit the theme of “Lights“.

This photo is of a row of street lights illuminating the way down St Kilda Pier in Melbourne (well, they would be illuminating the way if it was dark LOL).

Next up are some lights illuminating the room at the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong (and a very difficult shot for me to get trying to reach up behind the barrier, and around a stone ‘dragon’, as well as missing the guard on duty 😉 Under the circumstances, it came out OK 🙂

Lucky last, here’s an archival theme – this one is “Round” … I had a few choices to use, but opted to do use this one – definitely not a great photographic shot, but I like it for the ’round theme’. Any LOTR fans will recognise this character – chasing the ring over the rooftop of Wellington Airport in New Zealand! 😀

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Very contented …

Anne S

The title describes my mood today … I got up early and vacuumed most of the flat (still have to do the lounge, and that’s it), then mopped the kitchen, bathroom and toilet floors, cleaned the bath, and started a bit of a tidy-up effort in the spare bedroom – until I can afford a new bookcase and storage cabinets (my latest plan for the spare room … one day), I made use of the file boxes I freighted my last lot of books over in, and turned them into a makeshift book storage area – not very flash, but it’s a lot tidier than having them all piled up on the floor!

Today is a most glorious day in Melbourne – it’s still a bit nippy, but the sun is shining, and it feels good to be alive 🙂 After my morning housekeeping, I treated myself at lunchtime to a walk into St Kilda and a brunch of bacon, eggs, and mushrooms at a local cafe, plus a couple of lattes to wash it all down … it was glorious to sit outside in the sun, with a gas furnace heater taking the chill out of the day, and reading a book, sipping lattes without a care in the world (insert contented sigh here …) 😉
Then I took my time and strolled up the St Kilda Pier, which I’ve never done before, and dawdled off home again taking the beach route. I really do feel very much ‘at one with the world’ today – and it feels good 🙂 Catching the train this week has been very beneficial – it’s got me back into the mode of enjoying walking again, so I’ll have to keep it up … better bring your walking shoes, Mum, ‘cos you’re coming with me! haha (yeah, I know you love walking, which is a good thing!). The next photo is a street very typical of my area with elm trees lining each side of the street – they’re looking very bare at the moment, but it won’t be very long before they’re starting to sprout spring leaves again – I just love these avenues of trees, and they make me feel really peaceful to see them 🙂 (And with my flat being on the 3rd floor, I get a birds-eye view of the ones on my doorstep!)
Nothing else to report, really – just felt like blogging about what a wonderful day it is 🙂 I only managed an hour of stitching last night, so nothing new to report. I actually did 2 hours on a Christmas ornie a couple of nights ago, but decided not to post a piccie until it’s all finished … hopefully next weekend that’ll all be done (won’t have much stitching time this week due to visitors) – but then I have 2 1/2 weeks off work when Mum first arrives woohoo … just think, it’ll be stitching heaven at my place, now there are two of us stitching haha 😀 (we might be fighting over the Ott-lite, though haha).

Melbourne

It’s the weekend again … for me anyway!

Anne S

Yup, today is Thursday officially, but for me it’s Friday, as I have the next three days off. I’m up early tomorrow morning to head off to the airport, then off socialising for the weekend. Tonight I’ll be having an early night due to only getting 4 hours sleep last night … oops. Fraze came over to stay last night, and we headed off out to dinner to a new place that was recommended to me quite some time ago – it has a special “steak night” Tue/Wed each week, and their scotch fillet steaks sell for AU$12, where it’s usually AU$18, and it’s a great meal … well worth the drive, we thought, anyway. The venue is The Grace Darling hotel, 114 Smith Street, Collingwood – nice atmosphere, and pretty good tucker (crikey, I sound more like an Aussie every year I live here! haha). We enjoyed it so much, we’re thinking of making a repeat performance next Tuesday before I go back to shift work.

We cracked open a bottle of red wine when we got home, and made a ceremonial toast before doing “the deed” … the “deed” in this case was to cut up my gold Amex card into itty bitty little pieces – that gave me such an amazing amount of pleasure, it was awesome! I’ve had nothing but grief from them since I moved to Aussie (it was a NZ credit card), but one of my key reasons for getting debt consolidation was to pay the sucker off, and cut it up – and boy, oh boy, it felt good! 😀

Unfortunately no stitching done yet again, as I was out all day/night, and tonight I’m a bit overtired to stitch (we sat up watching TV and chatting until 2am … not clever when the alarm is due to go off at 6.30am!) The great news, though, is that my batman chart arrived in the post yesterday, so I can stitch that quilt block next week 🙂 I also now have one more exchange that’s been added to my May stitching calendar – a scissors fob for an exchange on the StitchNZ Yahoo group. I’ll start thinking about what to stitch next week some time.

Thanks for your suggestions on my biscornu exchange – I have to admit, I’d already decided to add the initials etc to the bottom, but I was hoping to include a border or something … I had one idea at the start, that I’ll probably end up doing, and hope it won’t take me too long to stitch. Mind you, with luck if I get home early enough on Sunday I could get a bit of stitching done then, which would be great.

Thanks also for your lovely comments on the frangipani … I think it’s one of the most beautiful flowers in the world – but apart from looking beautiful, the scent is amazing! It’s very heady, and very tropical. I didn’t have any luck growing one in Auckland – unfortunately frangipani don’t like frosts, and we used to have a lot of quite harsh frosts turning the entire garden white … it might be OK here in Melbourne, but I have nowhere to grow one … bummer! The weather in Melbourne at the moment is far from tropical – but very very stunning! It’s been a glorious couple of days with blue skies, moderate temperatures, and the autumn leaves giving a wonderful display of reds, bronzes and golds while driving around the streets. I went for a wander at lunchtime today with my camera to try and capture a couple of shots before all the leaves fall off (unfortunately a lot have already disappeared since last week), and thought I’d share a couple with you. It seems strange to think most of you are in the northern hemisphere and enjoying the throes of Spring as we speak, whereas those of us down under are batting down the hatches for the arrival of winter weather … 🙂 The bottom photo I’ve posted is the street I’ve been parking my car in for work – I love scrunching through the leaves in the mornings … makes my heart sing! 😀

If I don’t get chance to blog again over the next few days, I wish each and every one of you a wonderful weekend 🙂

Melbourne

It’s finally the Weekend!

Anne S

For most of you your weekend is already started, but Sunday is Saturday for me this week, as it’s my first day of two days off, yippee! Just went and spent some time with Roseanne and Laure before they headed back to Auckland again – it was lovely to wander down to St Kilda and have a leisurely brunch and coffee … and managed to watch some fighter jets doing acrobatics in the sky, no doubt entertaining the Grand Prix audience just up the road – gave us some added excitement for the day! 😀 I just decided to give you a little piccie of Luna Park, a well known landmark in St Kilda, just for the sake of showing a picture in my blog … I certainly don’t have any stitching updates to show this week 😦 The photo was taken when Mum was here over Christmas – today it is quite overcast and I had to drag the winter clothes out, as the temperature has plummeted overnight … one day the weather is 30C, the next 15C – go figure!! I guess that’s just life in Melbourne! 😀

On a stitching note, if any of you are interested in canvaswork, you have to take a look at this piece on the ANG website … it’s just stunning! Called Bargello Symphony by Loretta Spears, it’s to die for … it’s even in pink, and I still love it haha.

Nothing else to report, really … I’m planning to start my next charity block this afternoon/evening, as I really want to get my commitment stitching out of the way so I can get back to my rotation – I’ve also just added more and more things into my rotation, which might work out to be totally unmanageable, but we’ll see … Fingers crossed I’ll have some stitching to show you tomorrow – I’ve got 3 DVD’s on hand from Homescreen … hopefully something will be worth watching this time – and if not, it’ll aid with my stitching, I guess LOL. OK, off to start kitting it up …

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, SBQ

Mixed bag of ‘allsorts’

Anne S

Daft title, but a bit of what this post is all about – a little bit of everything …

First all I want to send a HUGE thank you and {{{hugs}}} out to BeckySC who sent me my final birthday gift – I have to admit, I knew this one was coming, but it was still a lovely surprise to open my PO Box door this morning and find that envelope sitting in there 🙂 And not only that, but there was a gorgeous packet of cards as well, with bright blue butterflies on them – and this was extra special for me, as it reminds me of a trip I did with Mum to Cairns, Queensland when we visited the butterfly farm especially to see those big blue butterflies! Brought lovely warm fuzzies and memories flooding back – thank you so much sweet Becky, I really really love my gifts … thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Today’s SBQ is:

“Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them?”

My physical charts are all in ringbinders, in plastic sleeves – they’re mainly organised by theme, ie samplers, beading, hardanger, canvaswork, etc, and XS charts are organised by theme as well, ie marine, scenery, birds/animals etc – my ringbinders are on bookshelves. I have one ringbinder for freebie charts, and they’re semi-organised into themes as well. Where I have a lot of designs for a specific designer, eg Mirabilia, L&L, TW, they all have their own ringbinder each. I used to keep a spreadsheet in Works that listed every single project/XS chart I owned, so I could do a search by topic etc, but I haven’t kept that up-to-date for years … and don’t ask what number entry I got up to!! LOL.

Next subject … dieting! Last week I did a blonde thing, and fell asleep on Tuesday night at 5.30pm … and missed the sign-up for Weight Watchers – so last night I made sure I didn’t miss out again, and am now officially a member of the clan. We’ve re-nicknamed it “Fat Busters” … after one of our favourite UK comedy shows, “Little Britain” – very very sick humour, but extremely hilarious. One of my favourite characters in the first series was Marjorie Dawes, the leader of Fat Busters, which is like WW … she’s a right royal cow, and very rude to the members – I’d offer to share some episodes with you, but I think it would lose itself in the translation to just tell you about it. Let’s just say that it had such an impression on our household, we still keep asking if we want a bit of cake, … “cos we all like a bit of cake, don’t we?!” And don’t forget the wonderful game of “high fat … low fat … high fat … low fat … Dust!” As well as those other wonderful characters … “Computer says no…”, “Margaret … Margaret … Have we got any pirate memory games?”, and Daffyd “The only gay in the village”. Not to mention the non-stop talking Vicky Pollard, and the hysterical Lou and Andy (“I want that one … I want THAT one … I don’t like it!”) – and my latest favourite, because it’s so incredibly ‘bad’ – “Just call me Bubbles!” If you like really funny characters, have an open mind, and want to have a very adult giggle, check them out if you haven’t already done so – it might take a sketch or two to get into the characters, but once you do, you’re hooked! It’s the only TV series I have to buy the entire series on DVD as soon as it’s released! These two actors are insanely clever and funny – hurry up and come out on DVD, Little Britain 3 … I can’t wait!!!!Anyway, back to the story, I’m now keeping a track of my eating etc, and trying the points system out for two weeks, to see if it works for me – otherwise I’ll skip over to the no-count system instead. I’m paid up for 3 months regardless, so plenty of time to get into the routine of getting healthy again … and I kicked it off well last night by coming home and going for an hour’s walk up the beach (approx 3km).

Now on to something totally different (sounds like a Monty Python sketch) – do any of you clever Aussies know what this creature is? About 10cm in length, it has a caterpillar-looking thing inside that is bright orange with black stripes … unfortunately, a noise startled it and it shot back in its cocoon while I was trying to take a photo. When I got home from work it was hanging by it’s ‘top’ from the roof – obviously some sort of moth larvae or something, but I’d love to know what it actually is!

Well, I think that’s about it for now … still haven’t shaken off my headache yet, but at least it’s not a full-blown migraine yet. Took some Nurofen this morning to try to nip it in the bud, and it had eased off a bit by this afternoon – at least I get a sleep in tomorrow, as I don’t start work until 11am yippee. Then I just have to work 11am-7pm Saturday (my 7th day straight), and I get two days off woohoo. I’ve got friends coming to stay for a week from Sunday, which will be OK – just a bit difficult as I’m on 5am shifts for a couple of the days. They wanted to bring a family member from out of town to stay as well while I was on 5am shifts, meaning they’d be sleeping in the lounge, but I put my foot down … I just don’t think I could cope with it even just for a few days. It means I probably won’t get much stitching done again next week … then H&P will be leaving, and I’ll just have time to change the bedsheets etc, when a close friend will be arriving from Auckland, NZ for a couple of nights, followed by friends from Christchurch, NZ over Easter … blimey, it’s starting to feel like a Bed & Breakfast haha.

Anyway, off now to see if I can get motivated to pick up a needle – my eyes are like little slits, I’m so tired, but it’s only 6pm and I really need to stay awake a bit longer …

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Squishy mail :)

Anne S

I have to say my heart sank when I saw the PO Box worker carry my parcel to the counter before work yesterday, thinking my outstanding Silkweaver fabric was sitting impatiently for me to pick it up … my disappointment was tangible … BUT, when I took the parcel from him, my curiosity was aroused – I wasn’t expecting another parcel … imagine my total surprise and sheer joy to find a birthday gift from Bine – and at a time that couldn’t have been any better if she’d tried. It put a huge smile on my face, and I am very very touched at this generous gift. Bine, you’re a real sweetheart – and I love everything in it! Now, if that’s a “little” piece of linen for me to try, I’d hate to see a big one … my parcel contained some 32ct Permin Country Linen in the colour “shell” – I’d admired it for Bine’s DT Gameboard Sampler, and now I get to stitch on some in real life … it really is beautiful – the colour is gorgeous, and I love the feel of Permin linens (that’s what the Dratteds are stitched on). Bine also sent a gorgeous little address book, and some scrummy beads … funnily enough, I used to do some beading projects, and have been thinking of getting back into it again, so they will come in handy not just for stitching, but for other projects as well. Thanks so much, Bine, for your gift – it was very generous, and very very welcomed 🙂 {{hugs}}

I’ve been managing to keep my nerves etc under check quite well about the interview results, but my subconscious was having a harder time trying to keep itself under wraps, it seems … I was awake almost every hour last night, and especially struggled to sleep after 4am – the interview results at the forefront of my mind each time. Oh well, only a couple of hours left before I get put out of my misery and I get told either way … regardless, I still feel quite positive about keeping to the mantra “it is what it is” … I think ;P

I’m glad today is almost my final late shift for the week – I have taken tomorrow off work so that I can go to my ‘official’ birthday dinner with Ben and friends … we’re going to Cafe Platia, my favourite mediterranean/Greek restaurant with chargrilled calamari, souvlaki, lamb on the spit, various dips and saganaki etc … I’m drooling just thinking about it – I’ve only ever ordered off the menu before, and adore their food, but this time they’re putting a banquet on for us as there is a group of 15. And on the upside from last week, I’m getting the $65 back from my best friend. When asked how much I hate him, my reply was just that I was disappointed and that life is too short for hate … boy, oh boy, living on my own and ‘finding myself’ again has been fantastic – I’m finding it so much easier to ‘let things go’ again. As long as I have my stitching, I’m happy haha.

Talking of which, I’d better go dry my hair from my shower, and try to take my mind off today for an hour and pick my stitching up – I really want to get my little gift finished so I can post it off … then my next project has to be the WTC quilt square – hmmm, after that, who knows? LOL. With any luck my threads will be on their way any day now from NZ, so I can catch up on my “Marine Elegance” (I’m soooo behind now!) – and I also have two more charity squares I’ve promised, so I think I should probably stitch those first before getting carried away with other things … then I think it’s time I get my A into G and get back into my rotation again …

Thanks again for all your supportive comments – that’s another reason I’ve found it easier to roll with life’s punches these days … having the emotional support from you all, even though we’re miles apart and never met, it really does help to bolster you up. I appreciate it greatly, and love you all for your kind thoughts and comments 🙂 {{hugs}} And there was no need to send a ‘pick me up’ gift, Carol – but that’s very typical of you, you’re soooo generous, and just an all-round gorgeous person with a big heart! {{hug}} In saying that, though, I’ll be stalking my PO Box in a week’s time haha.

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Melbourne sightseeing

Anne S

It was a lovely day in Melbourne yesterday – it was very overcast in the morning, but by early afternoon the clouds cleared and it was a glorious day. We took Auntie Monica and Norbert into Melbourne city on the train, which gave us an opportunity to play tourist for the day. We went to Queen Victoria markets, where they were surprised to see camel rides available, and we bought some lovely deli items, fresh fruit, and some tourist souvenirs.

We then headed back towards the river and walked around Southbank – we had a special treat in store for us, as it was Chinese New Year, and there was a big demonstration/celebration taking place.

We had time for a leisurely coffee, before hitting the pavements again, this time heading for a short walk to Queen Victoria gardens.
After that we called it a day, and headed back home on the train and had scrummy fish and chips for dinner (very decadent, for us!). All in all, a really wonderful day out 🙂

Melbourne

I’m melting… & Twilight Zoo

Anne S

Yup, just like a scene from the Wizard of Oz, I feel like the wicked witch, calling out “I’m melting!” … another high temperature day/night – managed to sleep for 2 hours, but have woken up and can’t get back to sleep again due to the intense heat and lack of air in the room 😦

Had a fantastic day today (although no stitching) – I got a call from work at 8.23am asking if I could come in for 4 hours overtime, which I accepted. The temperature was due to be 43C today, so we’d decided to go to Melbourne Zoo later in the afternoon, which worked out well – I could go to work for 4 hours in airconditioning (LOL) then it was home to pack the picnic ‘basket’ and off to the zoo. After wandering around for about 2 hours, we settled down on our blanket in front of the band rotunda, for a free jazz concert. It was incredibly relaxing sitting with a bottle of wine, and some antipastos to nibble on – and a local dancing group called “Swing Patrol” got up and danced to the music, then did a small dance presentation during the band’s break (mind you, they said they’d tamed their show down a lot due to the high heat, as it was too hot to do their normal energetic routine … can’t blame them!) – it was a wonderful and glorious evening. I’d definitely recommend the “Twilights Festival” experience at Melbourne Zoo for anyone who hasn’t done it yet – just lovely. And to top it all off, I didn’t have to miss the nightly lorikeet fly-over ritual … as the zoo is one of the places they must go to roost 🙂 We opted to just walk round about 1/3 of the animal displays due to the heat, then just blobbed out in front of the band stand for the rest of the night. We really enjoyed walking around the monkeys – and the only photo I’ll share, since I didn’t take very many, is one of a gorilla sat very patiently near the glass of the viewing area – can’t say he/she looks too thrilled about the temperature either! 😉

OK, now it’s time to drag the big stand-up fan into the bedroom – I think that’s the only way I’m going to get any sleep tonight for the 2nd night running … I think we have to go shopping tomorrow to buy two smaller ones for the bedrooms (the large one is usually in the lounge).

Thanks to everyone who leave comments – it’s really lovely to receive and read them 🙂

Melbourne, Works in Progress

Still alive …

Anne S

… but not getting much stitching done! Been very very tired this week, and ended up with dizziness and throwing up compliments of a 24-hour virus (which also knocked Mum out yesterday too) – that meant a day off work yesterday, but back in again today. Sat here in a pool of sweat, with a temperature of 41C (if I’ve worked out the temperature correctly, that’s approx 109F!!) – seeing as we don’t have air conditioning in the flat, there will be no stitching done tonight/tomorrow!

I’ve been getting a lot behind with blogging yet again … having Mum here has upset my usual routine a bit (although I’m still loving having her here) – and she sees my time on the computer as being ‘time wasted’ … I may wait until she’s back home before I get back into the swing of things again with blogging …

One thing I’ve been loving over the last week or so, and that’s that the rainbow lorikeet population has been increasing in its fly-overs at the end of the day. There was one day during the week that there was a flock of what must have been at least 100 lorikeets – it was incredible! These are the most amazing birds to look at, although they fly over with the speed of a bullet, and an incredible squawking racket! They’re a really beautiful sight to behold 🙂 That’s one thing I love about being in Aussie – the amazing bird life. It amazed me to be driving down the road on the main roads, to see Gallah’s feeding on the median strips – and this morning we had a couple of sulphur-crested cockatoos squawking on the next door neighbour’s roof – just wonderful!

As far as my stitching’s been going, the only progress I’ve had is on my Le Jardin Silk Sampler – I just have 1 hour left before I finish my 10-hour slot in my rotation (I’m trying hard to get back into the rotation habit again!). Now I’m off work for a few days with Mum, so some more sightseeing is on the menu (although, we’re praying for an easing off in temperatures). We’re supposed to be going to Melbourne Zoo tomorrow during the day, followed by an open air jazz concert at the zoo in the evening … at an expected 42C again, though, we might only go to the zoo for a short time, and hide indoors for the rest of the day LOL.