« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »
February 28, 2007
Chook-cam
Just in case there's any doubt, work wasn't going well today.
Having earlier rummaged through directories I then resorted to actual drawers and found a little Minolta Dimage (bleugh!...) that DOES take video, albeit without sound. No wonder it was stuffed in a drawer. Jacob being at creche I had to settle for the next best thing and so here it is; the first LIVE but-eerily-silent Brunswick Chookcam!
Starring in order of appearance: Bluey (the red one), Willemijn, (the black one), Floortje (the blonde) and Olive (the dull lavendar coloured one lurking in the back).
Posted by Faith at 04:58 AM | Comments (0)
Join the dots
While procrastinating with work and doing some suddenly urgent cleaning out off mysterious directories on our laptop I discovered some old movies.
Since replacing our digital camera with a digital SLR we haven't been able to make any movies. An enormous loss to the world I realise. So I've posted the handful we have to youtube. Just what the world needs, more baby home movies.
Here are Jacob's chicken pox in motion. He wasn't quite 1.
Posted by Faith at 04:39 AM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2007
Hanging Rock
A very lazy Sunday was spent last weekend at the Harvest Picnic at Hanging Rock.
I discovered a particularly nice sparkling shiraz from somewhere-that-escapes-me-now, Ron and my sister did some damage to a local pilsner and we snacked on olives, Milawa cheese and fresh bread while sitting under the gum trees listening to some pretty decent live music. And by the way, is there ANYONE left who hasn't been to a latin dance class?
Jacob coloured in a dragon, accosted some rabbits, sat in a CFA firetruck to have his photo taken and befriended a three year old boy with a toy he coveted for mutual toy-swapping and dancing.
I ended up feeling soooooooooooo relaxed it's halfway through the following week and I'm still not back in work mode.
Posted by Faith at 05:56 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2007
Scarecrows
We have been planning with Jacob to make a scarecrow for a couple of weeks now. I blame the ABC and Playschool;
Dingle dangle scarecrow
with a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hand like this
and shake my foot like that.....
Anyway, Saturday we spent gardening again. Because it had rained the night before, (it seemed like more rain in one night than we'd had in the previous year although I can't vouch for it), because we're all really enjoying it at the moment, because it wasn't 38 degreess. How many more reasons do you need?
While practising my beginner pruning skills on one of the apple trees (summer pruning the week before autumn starts....) we noticed the neighbour's scarecrows. Obviously the birds are making merry with his fruit trees and THIS is the only rational response.
Jacob wasn't impressd and seems certain our scarecrows, once they move from concept to realisation, will be much better. I just hope he isn't expecting them to spontaneously dance.
Posted by Faith at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2007
Oh yeah!
Posted by Faith at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2007
Damien Rice
Monday night we popped out to see Damien Rice at the Palais. Folk is not normally my thing but Damien's voice is so amazing and he is soooooo damn good at what he does that it tends to transcend the limitations of any one genre. The place was packed and despite the stifling temperature indoors everyone was really enjoying the concert.
We had booked tickets late and ended up in the second-from-the-back-row of the Dress Circle so we especially happy when a Palais employee approached us and asked would we like to sit a bit closer? He swapped our tickets for two in the stalls, centre and about twenty rows from the front! Can't complain about that! Even so, for my tastes, the graphics are still the best thing about his albums.
In the space of ten days we've gone from The Scissor sisters to Damien Rice via Stravinsky and the Victorian State Opera so excuse us we're feeling a bit giddy!
Again, it's not my own film.
Posted by Faith at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2007
Bucket back
'Bucket-back' is now an official term it seems for what is happening to Melbournians as they cart water from their bathrooms, laundries and kitchens to their gardens each day. Medicare should take note and build in the requisite budget-increments for the chronic bucket-back cases that will haunt the medical system in the future. And if you're looking for a career change then training in remedial massage may turn out to be profitable!
Bucket-back may even surface in the Netherlands as during my in-law's 8-week visit Oma was an indefatigible and sorely-missed member of the bucket brigade. The saddest part is that the mountains of passionfruit under which we are now vanishing are too a large extent due to her efforts. As are the grapes, come to think of it!
Posted by Faith at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2007
Richard Gill for PM
Thanks to a babysitting-crisis I had to go to the VSO's performances from Stravinsky's Les Noces and Oedipus Rex without Ronnie. Luckily Adrian and Helen were also attending. It was a great performance and invigorating to see people prepared to really be brave and take a few risks.
Personally I think Richard Gill should be Prime Minister.
Posted by Faith at 04:37 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2007
FUN in caps
One of the 'funnest' things we've done recently was pop down to the Vodafone arena a week ago to see The Scissor Sisters. It's a very long time since we've danced so much and despite all the drawbacks of the venue we had one of the most fabulous evenings we've had in a long time. Danced the knots right out of my neck!
This is not my film, just found it on YouTube, live was definitely better!
Posted by Faith at 04:34 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2007
Gardener's feast
Too busy to blog. Work, garden, house, life etc etc.
Despite the drought we are managing to keep much of the garden going, and most of the fruit and veg. Jacob's bath water, the shower water and the kitchen water 'do' the front together with some water from the raintanks. Like peasants we spend an hour a day carting water, only we are taking it out of the house, not bringing it in!
We are currently in Phase 3 water restrictions and save the two nights per week we are allowed to water for the vegie patches.
You can see some photos of what we are currently feasting on on from the garden on Flickr. Pesto, passionfruit curd, tabouli, tomato paste and banana and passionfruit ice-cream seem to be all we make these days.
Posted by Faith at 02:57 AM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2007
Grandpa dropped in yesterday for sausages and potato salad with Jacob, the legacy of last week's BBQ. Jacob explained carefully that Oma and Opa had flown back to IJsselstein (flights are direct it seems....) and that now Jacob has his room back to himself Grandpa can't sleep in it. Luckily Grandpa was feeling flexible and agreed to sleep in the dining room.
Posted by Faith at 01:39 AM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2007
Oma and Opa have returned to the Netherlands and we're all busy getting back to normal. Jacob has re-claimed his room after very nicely sharing it for eight weeks and is very excited about the prospect of having friends over to play in it now that he has some floor space again.
It's taken a few days but all the strange piles-of-things that accumulate in odd corners when you're squeezing in two extra people have been sorted and everything is back in it's place. Even my work area is tidy again!
It was great having Oma and Opa here but it's nice having the house to ourselves again. We've been making plans for the garden and will be going of to St Erth again this weekend to buy lots of native grasses, echium's and a few more vegies.
We may even get sociable in the near future and start inviting people over!
Posted by Faith at 06:22 AM | Comments (0)