Curtains!! 226/365

Yep, at last I’ve finished my curtains and they are up. I went to Ikea between Christmas and New Years. Amongst the things I picked up was this fabric, I had planned to purchase a more “demure” fabric but there was no way I could say no the slightly kitsch, slightly folksy fabric that is Annamoa Fabric … I picked up lining at Spotlight a week or two later… Then the wait happened whilst I tried to find curtain eyelets, eventually I found curtain eyelet tape at Lincraft. I made one curtain at my house on a Saturday. Yeah, let me tell you it was quite an adventure using the kitchen floor as a cutting table. The next day I headed over to Mums and borrowed the kitchen table (such bliss for cutting fabric) and some of her advice. I didn’t quite get the other two curtains finished that day but did the rest of the sewing the following Sunday when I was next over.

They make my room feel so cheery! And oh for lining as well now my room isn’t so bright in the morning and slightly warmer at night.
Yay for new curtains!

Patterned Legs, 227/365

There a few fashion rules I have for myself, one of these is no tights/stockings in Spring and Summer. Really because unless they are 8 denier or less it is just too damm hot to wear stockings in Brisbane during those months. I picked this pair up from Coles over the New Year for a very nice sum of $3.something!

Romatherapy Tomatoes???? 228/365

Yeah this is what Woolies calls baby Roma tomatoes…

Peach Upside Down Cake, 229/365

At what point did it seem like a good idea to make an upside down cake in a spring form pan….. Common sense did question it but no I was going to be good and follow the recipe. Let’s just say I had a ball cleaning a black sugary mess in the oven…. Upside down cake + spring form pan = mess!

Other than it was quite a success. The recipe is off Taste and here is the link Peach Upside Down Cake. I had almonds on hand but really didn’t feel like breaking out the blender to make almond meal so used hazelnut meal I had on hand instead and I think it made the cake even nicer. Had a slightly nutty flavour. One thing to note though is that I made this cake Thursday night to take to work on Friday. For morning tea, the cake was fantastic, just the right amount of moistness. When it came to divying up the last few slices for afternoon tea the cake was a bit dry.

Looking Up, 230/365

I saw The Blind Side on Friday night – man oh man what a movie. I was happy to see Sandra Bullock win the Oscar, man oh man that dress was gorgeous and the hair!
I was kicking back on my bed when I got home with a million thoughts going through my mind and I was struck to a degree by the way the posters look from below.

A single flower, 231/365

A single flower, a single plant. This dahlia is the only thing in the front garden at Mums currently.

Sore Toe, 232/365

A change from photos of metal adorned teeth… For the last week or so the tip of the toe next to my big toe has been quite sore. I thought my toenail was digging in but trimming the nail didn’t help it all. I just tried to ignore it, thinking that yeah it will get better. It’s no longer sore but when I decided to change my toenail polish on Sunday I discovered why it had been so sore! Check out that bruise! Four days after taking this photo, I can tell you it is a bit darker as well.

Welcome Lights, 233/365

On the same trip to Ikea as the one when I got the curtain fabric I also picked up these Welcome Lights/Christmas Candolier from Ikea for something like $3 after Christmas. I love them! I’m keeping these out all year! A much more modern version than the set my parents brought out from Iceland with them.

Melbourne snow dome, 234/365

I picked up this snowdome for next to nothing at Borders one day. I was going through photos the other day and finally found the perfect photo. In saying that, I’m still trying to decide what photo to put on the other side!

This hat, 235/365

I’ve posted photos of this hat before but I love it too much not to share more. I’ve moved it from hanging on the curtain rod to a hook on my door. Now it greets me when ever I walk into my room! I do wish my head was a few cm smaller so it did fit me.

Yeah, that is a whipper snipper, 236/365

Our lawn had a hair cut today or really it got a buzz cut. I’ld call it a number 4. Before it could be mown they “trimmed” the lawn with a whipper snipper!

It’s hard to believe that I am 236 days into my 365 day quest! When I tried in 2008 I lasted 75 days. I’m just about two thirds of the way through now, really happy with that.

And that is a wrap!

10 and a bit km in 1:27:04.9. At the end of the race I wasn’t happy with my time as I did the Bridge to Brisbane in 2008 in 1:24:16. Talking to people after the race and comparing times when they released this afternoon I feel better about my time. Still I want to my next 10km in under 1:20:00.

Leading up to the event, my #1 concern was the humidity in the tunnel. Turns out that concern was very well founded. It was an absolute stinker in the tunnel, the fans are quite spaced out and they were operating at different speeds. It was an aboslute relief passing under some of them and no relief passing under others. This is what it says on the Clem7 website.

Will it be humid or uncomfortable in the tunnel?
Conditions inside the tunnel are dependent on conditions outside the tunnel. There are a number of jet fans inside the tunnel which will be operating to keep air flowing through the race.

Yeah the tunnel is designed for motor vehicle traffic typically with aircon not 5000 people completing a 10km!

These are the time comparisons I mentioned before. Quite interesting to see, would be cool to do a bigger comparison but it is a slow task.

Name_______________Clem7 2010_____Bridge to Brisbane 2009
HINTSA MEBRAHTU_____00:32:56.2 _____00:31:25
PATRICK NISPEL________00:37:19.7_____00:32:25
KEITH WILLIAMS_______00:36:49.8_____00:34:50
DENNIS FITZGERALD____00:36:35.2_____00:34:52
MASAYUKI ATSUMI_____00:36:40.0_____00:34:58
ROB GARDNER_________00:39:15.2_____00:35:57
MATTHEW BOURKE_____00:38:30.4_____00:36:04
TONY SHAW__________00:42:45.8_____00:36:13
JOHN TUCKER_________00:40:04.3_____00:36:30

My time also might have been a little quicker if I didn’t take photos (I only took one photo doing the Bridge to Brisbane) but we have to have photos!

Waiting for 6am to come around, isn’t the dawn light glorious?

And we are off

Halfway point

Ohh shiny!

To those who sponsored me a really big thank you!

Till next time

This is not your ordinary 10km run, it’s in a tunnel! I’m going to be jogging under the Brisbane River! How cool is that?

Whilst the fun run is been held to celebrate the community opening of the Clem7 tunnel, it is also been used as a fund raiser for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Since it is a fund raiser, I would of course dearly appreciate any donations. If you wish to support the cause, you can head over to my fund raising page.

I’ll be back tomorrow, most likely slightly exhausted!

And because there is always something else, have you seen the Tsunami Warning that is out for SE QLD tomorrow? Far Out Brussel Sprout!

As history would predict, here are the last two weeks of photos.

Sunlight on Sandstone, 227/365.

I have had one hell of a week this week. A week that has me questioning my morals in ignoring immoral behaviour of others. A week of trying to decide when to rock the boat and when to keep my mouth shut. One of those weeks that really drains everything out of you. After work yesterday I headed down to the mall to unwind in the library, enjoy the music on the mall and just wander around.

The view from my chair in the library.

Swing, Swing, Slide, 226/365.

The playground in our park.

Chocolate from Melbourne, 225/365.

It is a bit of a tradition at work that if anyone goes to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide they will bring back some Haigh’s.

The long view, 224/365.

One of the many things I adore about this is house is the central hallway. Standing at the back door you look straight out the front door and vice-versa.

That time of the fortnight, time to restock the pantry drawer and fridge.

BBall, 223/365.

I don’t play Basket Ball and don’t think I have ever managed to land a ball through the hoop but with a Basket Ball stadium round the corner, it plays a part in my life.

Sex on Wheels, 222/365.

One of the cars that my Uncle owns, a car that whilst supposedly crap to drive, I would quite happily own it. Oh to drive it round the streets of this town!

Old Curtains, 221/365.

Why are these old curtains? Because soon I will have new curtains up. They are just about finished and then my room will look quite lovely.

I ♥ this skirt! 220/365.

Is this not one of the most adorable skirts you have seen?
I’ve looked at this skirt a few times in Alannah Hill but never tried it on (you can also get it with black ribbon instead of red). Last Friday I had time to spare waiting for Georgie and I just couldn’t resist trying it on. I adored it! Not about to shell out nearly $300 for a skirt though… Here is to hoping that it appears on the sales rack….

Dan Sultan, 219/365.

Went to see Dan Sultan with a mate from work and his partner. We had a ball. Man oh Man that man can move his lower body!

Here I rest, rest one one leg, 218/365.

Mr or Ms Ibis chilling outside work.

The view from a window, 217/365.

I was watching the light on the house next door and then looked at my louvres and thought mmmm improvised tripod. Photo taken with camera sitting on open louvres.

Even Wars Have Laws, 212/365.

This was quite a sight to see outside work on Monday morning. Like everyone else I work with our first thought upon seeing the children with guns was it was a protest against us, however it was actually part of a Red Cross campaign (link 1, link 2). It was quite effective, it bucketed that afternoon though so all the cardboard would have turned to mush.

Collection, 211/365.

I love the sewing room at the farm, shelves filled with wood turned by Grandad and crafty bits from Grandmum.

and what better way to close this off than with a video?

I’ld quite enjoy cooking and baking like this!

This is cracking me up – Angry Norwegians

I adore the ability to JFGI or the more polite JGI, if I want to know something, it’s just a matter of tying in a few words and seeing what I get in return. This Google ad makes me smile.

I like this news. Really not at all liking this news. As much as I love this “urban wasteland” as it is for want of a better term, it could do with some developing. This proposal though is soooo not the answer. A scaled down version perhaps, I would like to see something like the Kelvin Grove Urban Village, a mix of public affordable and private housing, a vast green space and without the grocery store – so many options around here already.

When I first saw this on Mad Men, it really irked me but the more I see it, the more it makes me smile.

The last *few* 365 photos.
About time, 210/365

I’ve been thinking about a better way to store my shoes for awhile, mainly to free up some more space in my wardrobe. Went to Indro yesterday and picked up a rack. Love it!

Not my train, 209/365

After work on Friday, I caught up with Georgie for a browse of the shops and a movie, saw Valentine’s Day. Lots of laughs and a teary moment or two ie *that scene with Julia Roberts*.

Waiting, 208/365

QR to say the least is having a *few* problems with the trains and signals at the moment.

Mr Pelican, 207/365

From my Origami a day

Breakfast partners, 206/365

I’m subscribing to The Australian again and wondering why I stopped!

Back in the Orange, 205/365

SES went back last week after the summer break. Monday nights now mean orange overalls again.

It has rained, 204/365

Not even one bite pears, 203/365

Found at the Kelvin Grove Markets

Matching Nails, 202/365

All of a sudden noticing that your nails match the binding tape on a PM004? pretty funny, nails are Changeling Midnight by Kit.

Oh Toowong Library, 201/365

The feeling when all your holds come in at once? Overwhelmed at which book to read first.

Dude, that ain’t a car park, 200/365

This ning-nong, couldn’t be f’ed finding a car park, so decided to just park on the footpath instead.

What a view, 199/365

They are doing a fit out on the ground floor of our building and the plans are spread out on this bankers desk. I have a feeling if I sat at the desk doing my work I wouldn’t get much done!

Such a lovley colour car, 198/365

I adore this shade of blue

rain, rain, rain, 197/365

Care to bowl? 196/365

A set of lawn bowls with very lovely markings for sale at the Salvos at Alderley.

a drop, 195/365

Starting Friday we have had on and off rain.

Knit Graffiti in Stones Corner, 194/365

Wilted, 193/365

Summer is here and the plants show how I feel.

I want to say, 192/365

There has been some stencil poetry popping up round Auchenflower/Toowong in the last month or so. I quite like this one.

Breakfast, Dinner, Desert, 191/365

Breakfast/Dinner – fruit salad, yoghurt and toasted muesli.
Desert – replace the yoghurt with frozen yoghurt!

Puzzling about, 190/365

At the bookfest I picked up a few puzzles to occupy my time instead of bumming round the net. Since I don’t have a space where I can keep a puzzle out, I picked up a puzzle mat as well This puzzle is just about all done now too, I only have the sky left to finish.

Fishing Cake, 189/365

Grandad wanted a plain fruit cake with no icing for his cake. I couldn’t leave it undecorated though! We used to play with this fishing set when we were kids at the farm..

Gorgeous Sky, 188/365

Last Friday we had a gorgeous sunset, this however was the view to the east which I much preferred.

And that’s a wrap!

The jacket would fit like a glove but I am not sure how I can take 4 inches off my hips to fit the skirt! I just love that detail on the waist.

Equally as stunning and really more so is this dress from the same seller – COUTURE 1960s SHELF BUST DOLL DRESS

My phone just rang, it was Matthew, my younger brother does not typically call me so I was a little concerned at first as to what might have happened. However, Mums voice came over the speaker wanting to know what my back yard looked like. After I gave her the run down she told me that her and Matthew were at the Toombul car park observing it in all its flooded glory. Matthew must have gone out last night as Mum had picked him up from the bus stop due to the rain. He had told her that Kedron Brook was over the banks. They then proceeded to check out Kedron Brook at as many vantages as they could to watch the flooding. They are now headed on to Downfall Creek to see what it looked like.

Mum was telling me they were taking photos on Matthews phone of the flooding. I didn’t comment then but I will now since I know Mum will see this fairly shortly, that is why I take my camera with me wherever I go!

Yep, that’s my family, well really the Stephenson part of us, straight down the line from Grandad, a man who has kept weather records dating back to the war. The family for which the first thought when it buckets, is “mmmm I wonder how high the creek is?” or Mum’s favourite idea when it has rained is to go waterfall chasing. Yeah, we like our weather.

I got up close to 5, thinking there must be a fair amount of water in our backyard by now, sure enough there was. (A fact of life when living at a bottom of a hill on three sides, is when it rains our backyard will fill with water.) Our street is more convex than most streets to help the street drain in such events. There was probably about 10-20cm over the “top” of the road and about 30cm at the kerb. In our backyard, the water was over the retaining wall. I took a few photos but was not in the mood to get the tripod out so they have been pushed a little bit in Lightroom.

204/365

I went back to bed for a little while but wasn’t in a mood to sleep, instead I took my book (it seemed quite fitting to be reading a tales of Brisbane, whilst watching the water drain off the street) and my quilt and cozied up on the couch on the deck, watching the taxi drivers trying to decide whether or not to drive the street. By 6ish I was ready to go back to sleep and returned to my bed to doze to the sound of the drizzling rain for you know, oh 45mins or so. I’m not one to sleep in!

The street now just has a little bit of water in the gutter and the water in our backyard has gone down a wee bit, it’s no longer over the retaining wall. I won’t have to water the veggies for a while….

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, as a child when I first saw My Fair Lady, I thought they were referring to a plane not a plain and could not for the life of me figure out why the rain would stay in the plane!

The rain in ‘Bris stays mainly in our yard!

I went to see Bran Nue Dae tonight and it has been a long time since I have heard so many laughs in a cinema. The movie is a total crack-up, the songs are fantastic and oh the landscape! The film is an adaptation of the stage production that toured Aus during the 90’s and the movie reflects that, in that there is very defined scenes and of course the musical numbers and dancing. Tap dancing in a church??? oh yes!

This scene had me cracking up, such a hoot to see Deb Mailman in this role.

I’m hoping to buy the soundtrack on the way home tomorrow. The film has had some very mixed reviews, a lot of the “real reviewers” have given it a very lukewarm response in regards to the story line, the acting, the production etc but have missed the magical musical fun it contains. Margaret and David both gave it four starts though. The “general population” reviews though are the complete opposite to the “real reviewers”, more in line with my joy at seeing it.

Nothing I Would Rather Be
There’s nothing I would rather be
Than to be an Aborigine
and watch you take my precious land away.
For nothing gives me greater joy
than to watch you fill each girl and boy
with superficial existential shit.

Now you may think I’m cheeky
But I’d be satisfied
to rebuild your convict ships
and sail them on the tide.

I love the way you give me God
and of course the mining board,
for this of course I thank the Lord each day.
I’m glad you say that land rights wrong.
Then you should go where you belong
and leave me to just keep on keeping on.

I can not tell you enough how much you must go see this movie! I’m hoping to see it again in the next week or so and will be buying the DVD.

You can read parts of the the stage play here on Google Books
Some really interesting clips on the Australian Screen Office site, which include interviews with Jimmy Chi.
Wikipedia entry

In tribute to the rain we have had on and off this weekend, today we have a video instead of a photo.

Unless you are reading this via the RSS feed, you might (well should) have noticed that I’ve changed up the design a little bit. Swapped some new colours in, changed the photos in the header and made it a bit more 24 something me instead of 22 something me. Not 100% settled on the background colour yet but we will see. I’ve also been thinking of renaming the blog most probably just changing the words round a little but who knows.

Mum and I went to see Bright Star this afternoon, it was slightly sad as expected but gorgeous nonetheless. I have some questions regarding the historical accuracy of a few aspects of the costuming, mainly the earrings that Fanny wears and the machine knitted jackets/cardigans. I did adore however the ledge that ran at waist level round Fannys room in the house that the Brawnes shared with Mr Brown and Mr Keats. I loved the shots in the fields of wild flowers and in the orchard, all those flowers! Oh to be able to bask in a field of flowers like that.

The U.S. Angostura distributor says the production line ran dry in June, telling The Guardian in November, “There has been a shortage. You can’t just turn on and off supply of bitters. It’s not like producing bottled water – it’s a very delicate, intricate process.” Invented in 1824 by a German doctor and made from a secret recipe of herbs, barks, roots, spices and rum, bitters became popular in Britain as an additive for gin, partly to conceal quinine in tonic water. Today most serious cocktail makers can't do without them; as London bar owner Tony Conigliaro explains, “What bitters will do is stretch the rest of the flavours across the palate”.

via Will Bitters Shortage Finally Kill Old Timey Cocktail Trend? – Gothamist.

I came across this post earlier this week and after reading a lot of articles across the web came to these two conclusions; one part of the problem to an inability to source bottles at the plant and the other is that the shortage is restricted to UK/USA currently. There are some articles that indicate USA will have fresh supplies in a couple of months but who knows.

My younger brother uses a fair amount of bitters, if he has cordial, he adds bitters. I don’t use it so much but I still love a dash of bitters. At the shops yesterday I picked up two bottles for myself and four bottles for Matthew. If the shortage hits Australia, we will be fine. If it doesn’t? well we have bitters for a while to come.

Lawrence Pryce Stephenson, born 29 Jan 1920.

Grandad is Grandad and for all that he is, I quite treasure the time I spend with him. We typically go to The Farm, once a week to visit and have dinner etc.

This was the cake.
The week before when we were up, Mum asked Grandad what sort of cake he wanted, his answer was a plain fruit cake with no icing and that is what we had. I of course couldn’t let it go undecorated though! We used to play with this fishing rod and fishes when we were younger and spending time at The Farm. Grandad is a fisherman, not so much at all in recent years unfortunately as it is hard for him to keep steady on his feet in a boat.

Just like we have done in the past for other milestone birthdays, Mum had taped together 90 party poppers in bunches of fives. With a slight breeze in the air, they looked fantastic when they popped.

Grandad with streamers all over him.

Pabbi

Max and Ian

Jim – Such a Stephenson face!

Of course, whilst historically hailing from the Northern Rivers district we are a Bundy Ginger Beer family.

I can tell you all since Grandad does not read this blog. Today he is having a surprise party in the shed with all the workers. The workers all call him Poppy, which is just so different from Grandad. There will be a big BBQ lunch and who knows what else.

Happy Birthday Grandad.

The Kitchen, 179/365.

The Sails, 180/365

This is it, 181/365

Day 182 or My big trip to the Gympie area to check out Antique and Op shops.
The Lifeline Sunshine Coast sale at Gympie – the reason for the trip. I came away with a pair of jeans, a few tops, a cardi, a tunic and a few other bits and bobs.

A canister set that I found adorable – they had one for oatmeal!!

Isn’t the design on this wash set just so perfect?

Fat Hen Creek, 182/365
I’m guessing the creek is full of super nutrients that produce fat chooks?

Day 183, Lifeline bookfest and cocktails.
Fish Lane, I just love this for a street name, I wonder if at some stage there was a fish market here? Taken on the way back to the car from the bookfest.

Sapphire Sunday at Libertine with Sam and Katherine.
A matter of what to say here. The cocktails were amazing, the food was quite good but the service was beyond belief.

I do believe it’s Mango time, 183/365
I decided to walk home from The Barracks and stopped to smile at the squashed mangos on the road.

Coro Drive, 17:48, 184/365

A fold a day, 185/365
I’ve had this calendar on my Amazon wishlist for a while, imagine my delight when I found it amongst the $5 2010 calendars and diaries at Borders???

Supersize Loftkökur, 186/365

Contrails, 187/365
I was on the way to work and looked up and saw this , can you see the birdies in the bottom right of the frame?

Today is Friday! Yippea! We are celebrating Grandad’s 90th! Birthday tomorrow. It will be quite a bash, with lots of extended family coming.

Have you seen this? – Love Project. I love it

When I moved out of home, I used these old jars to store my spices in. They were free, they matched and it worked.

Hello New Spice
178/365

Before Christmas I came across an auction on ebay for these pretty spice canisters. The auction was only for the green canisters but the lady added the blue ones as a treat. I quite like the green ones but I adore the blue ones!

The blue ones do contain what is named on the outside. The green ones though? Only the oregano one contains oregano. The garni one contains garam masala, the sage one has turmeric in, the rosemary one has cumin in etc. An additional upside is that they fit better in my spice box as well.

Other topics
I am having a great time discovering the 100 things we didn’t know last year over on the BBC site. I especially like #85, #63, #39 and #48. #48 was drawn on LSED today as well!

I would love a pair of these tights, I’m thinking the vein/artery ones, though I do adore just about all of them. So Quirky! A lovely change from the standard patterned tights.

I’m 24 and you think by now that I would have learnt that if you put hot water in a container, put the lid on and shake. The odds are very much stacked against you if you think the lid would stay on… The most recent demonstration of this phenomenon was on Monday morning, I was washing out my yoghurt container. Let me just say hot youghurty water all over the kitchen at work and all over my black dress…. Yeah great way to start the week Helen!

After many months of eating boiled eggs by wrapping a towel round them, I now have an egg cup. Not just any egg cup, a Figgjo Lotte one. Mum has a Lotte “casserole” dish that I have always adored. As my own collection grows from one piece (a little milk jug) to two pieces Mum has been telling me about all the other pieces she used to have. Sigh if only she still had them… Karl – if you happen to see any Lotte pieces round Iceland/Europe where ever you venture, you will collect for me, won’t you?

177/365

One thing that I adore about Toowong Village is watching the cloud reflections on the glass. If I happen to be at the right spot at the right time for the right sunset, the colours on the glass are amazing. I was walking back from the post office today and just paused for a moment to watch the clouds.