skippa's adventures

Bad day to be a bird

2010-11-19T20:10:00.002+11:00

On Wednesday night our lovely little Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep passed away. I know you probably didn't know that I had a budgie, but we have been looking after him for quite a few months now. We gave him a nice sunny spot on a special hanging pole, collected cuttlefish for him to nibble, gave him his first favourite- broccoli, and then at the end his new favourite radicchio. Yes he did have strange taste, but he was very cute and had the loudest chirps ever. This is how we got him really.
B found him and rescued him from the back yard of her childcare centre, but he was too chirpy for the kids. Too loud and distracting, especially during nap time. So B lovingly took him home as she had the blue tongue lizards, and chickens she passed on to us as well. But when it came time for B to move in with Pip he did not approve of Chirpy at all. He barked and growled and went crazy at his cage. So we got to get Chirpy after that.
He developed what we can only assume was a tumor on his shoulder, it just got bigger and bigger. So gross to look at, but you couldn't look away. I like to think that it just got so big that it blocked off his blood flow and he had a stroke. The nicest and most painless option. So RIP Chirpy, I was never too comfortable with the idea of keeping a bird in a cage, so now you are truly free.

Part two of this story takes place at my parents place. On the same night one of the chickens wouldn't go back into her house at the end of the day, and ended up becoming the foxes dinner. I don't think we will replace Chirpy, but on Monday it's off to a free range chicken farm to find a replacement or two- before Mum gets home from her holiday!

The Sculptor

2010-11-16T18:38:00.001+11:00

http://diamond-valley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/multimedia-the-sculptor-eltham-legend-matcham-skipper/

This is my eccentric grandfather. His commissioned sculpture has just taken pride of place in a new section of the Eltham cemetery. The unveiling was a huge success and quite a family reunion. You couldn't help thinking, in that setting, it was a funeral for Matcham while he is still alive and able to enjoy it all. No one mentioned the trials and tribulations involved in getting the piece to where it is now, all the conflicts between everyone involved, the 'costume malfunctions', or how many times it very nearly didn't happen thanks to various parties. But now there it stands, nestled next to Montsalvat, overlooking all the past legends of Eltham in their final resting places.

What a lovely afternoon for it

2010-11-06T22:06:00.002+11:00

Such a nice evening for a run through the neighbourhood. That's right I'm running. On day 33 of the 84 day challenge and going strong. Excercising every day, with all good food and no cakes, hardest of all is no cakes. But so far I'm doing pretty well, just ordered some extra supplements to help keep me running straight.

So, for the first time today it was actually nice weather and I had to fit in my fusion work out in the arvo. I'm not sure what I'll do when the sunshine really sets in, it was pretty warm in the home gym today, but out running on the street it was gorgeous. So many beautiful roses and I swear every second house must have a port wine magnolia in the yard, such sweet scents in the air. It would be a shame to join a gym to get out of the weather and have to miss out on that.

New Look

2010-10-23T21:35:00.002+11:00

That's better. Just what I need to get a bit of inspiration to get back to the old blog. Thanks to the amazing Sheree Porter i have an amazing picture to use as a background. A gorgeous location of the Dandenong Ranges, blackened trunks of a bushfire past, and one chilly stilt lady. Hopefully many more adventures to come, as well as catching up on those of the past few months.

Valentines cheeseyness

2010-02-14T18:24:00.010+11:00

Although I don't generally buy in to the whole Valentine's Day commercialism "business" it is nice to be made to feel special and to have the chance to spend a lovely day together. So today was wonderful.

We went in to the NGV to see the amazing Ron Mueck exhibition. It was so amazing and awe-inspiring. What puts the idea in to one's head? They look so real that as you stare at them you swear they are moving. From the initial impact of the smaller than life, dimly lit "Dead Dad" to the giant and dazzling "Wild Man". Every object just made you want to reach out and touch it. Even though all you would get would be a stern "No touching, please", I'm way too square to go to such lengths.

After a brief break for a yummy lunch and passing through the ACDC exhibition at the Arts Centre ,we then returned for a squiz at the rest of the collection, well mainly I wanted to go and see the 'Drape' exhibition. Oh how I love being a fabric nerd!

Lots of amazing fabrics from ancient greek statues to gowns made for Kylie, but my favourite was a Versace. So simple,yet effective, and sooooo well crafted.

Then, in the permanent International Collection, I sat spellbound by a video from Yinka Shonibare. A contemporary dance piece based on the assassination of the King Gustav III of Sweden, but all dressed in his stunning creations using the Dutch Wax Print.

Unfortunately I came to the fascination of these fabrics too late to see his exhibition, I think it was at the Ian Potter Centre, but my god just the pictures look amazing.

I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend to spend the day with, and to be able to do it in such a beautiful city, full of inspiration.

Option 1

2010-01-31T20:02:00.001+11:00

Here i something I think I like. Not exactly what I was thinking.........let me know what you think.

Blankety Blank

2010-01-31T17:37:00.004+11:00

Well I've been inspired by the lovely Neen of nettle and brier to make my blog wonderfully fancy and nice to look at, but it is proving more difficult than I imagined. There is no end to the amount of free stuff-templates, backgrounds and buttons- that I can find, but it's hard to pick one that is perfect'. I think I like the more photoey look rather than scrapbooky, and I'm not particularly crafty, for a fabric nerd. So for now Welcome to Blandtown!

Thoroughly Thurra

2010-01-06T21:11:00.007+11:00

After a long drive in the fully loaded ute, made longer by an unscheduled stop over

and taking on of a whole cars worth of gear in Warragul, I took Trent on his first ever trip to Thurra River.

After a first look at the rough and tumble beach there was much to be done.

There was fishing,

And cooking,

Goannas in the campsite,

And a walk to the sand dunes- the biggest in the southern hemisphere,

the sheer vertical drop down straight in to the river,

and then the walk back to camp down the river.

We also got in some great canoe time, both on Thurra and Mueller.

And then there was New Years Eve- a whole different kettle of fish.
The day before we all drew names out of a hat of other people from our camp and were assigned our characters for the big night.

It drew laughs, stares from onlookers, shock and awe, offense between friends, but mostly just laughs. And hopefully dismissed the impression we were some sort of christian youth camp, but maybe not.

Polly and Luke,

Eri and Monty- complete with the little Nugget in her belly.

Rob,

Heath,

Ad.

A perfect week of beach weather and gourmet food and beautiful friends. Thanks everyone!

Movember

2009-11-23T16:17:00.006+11:00

My lovely boyfriend is growing a moustache this month for Movember. Raising awareness for mens mental and physical health.

His aim is to grow a glorious mo' in the style of Tom Selleck.

Doing pretty well after a week I think.

So donate now!!!!!! And wait for the final product at the end of the month.

You'll be supporting a very worthy cause, and making the transformation of my man worth something.

2009-10-21T19:09:00.007+11:00

I know I've been slack, but it's taken a while to wind down after the wedding festivities, and to just relax a little after a long period of hard work. I'm so proud of my beautiful friends Kate and Ad. The wedding was just fantastic, but I'm also very proud of all my hard work and how it came off.

We had a great girls night the night before and then spent from very early on, on Saturday, getting ready.

I was there till the last second making sure everything was in place.

A small timing mishap however saw me careening down the aisle trying not to look like part of the bridal party, even while their special music was playing. All I could think was 'Get off the hessian, just get off the hessian and no one will be able to see you.'

It really was so beautiful to see kate coming down the aisle. And no, not just because she had a beautiful gown. But she was so full of emotion. Her mum and dad clinging to her from either side and reciting the 11 times table to calm herself down (true).

Preceded by her sexy bridesmaids.

Congratulations to Kate and Ad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sicky

2009-09-18T11:16:00.004+10:00

As I predicted on Saturday night after such a huge party I knew I would be sick this week. I thought we all would be because we went too hard for our poor bodies that are getting old. So I wasn't too surprised when I woke up on Tuesday with a sore throat. Slowly this has progressed to a nose that alternates between stuffy and runny, and a head that tends to feel a little full.

I was quite happy to take on these consequences of having such a great weekend and it wasn't until yesterday that I realised it wasn't actually my fault at all. It was Maggie! She had a runny nose all night, and then the two hours of sleep we had I spent with my head right next to her stuffy snoring nose.

So I'm not getting old after all.

What a relief!

Bok Bok

2009-09-15T18:40:00.009+10:00

You know it's Spring when the smell of jasmine is in the air.

And all the chickens are out, or in this case.........hens.

Saturday/night was Kate's hens. Beginning at 9 am for some it was a full on day and night on the hottest September day on record. Ok, I may have made that fact up, but it was still 30 degrees at 8 at night. Unheard of!

The girls met B and I at the shop for little bo-peep stylie Bride action,

then eventually on to Edinburgh Gardens for the 'prohibited penis parephernalia' part of the day.

Then preparations for the most beautiful 21 person dinner ever.

Our very own private dining room at Bar Lourinha, upstairs from all the serfs who had to watch us parade through the rest of the bar.

Listening to their hushed whispers of "For my hens do NOT make me wear a veil like that". Hilarious! We were having the best time ever.

From the moment we sat down and tasted the olives we knew we were destined for something great. A seemingly neverending parade of tasty tapas and champagne and wine and then topping it all off with the blood orange crema. It was the most amazingly rich and sweet dessert ever, and I love amazingly rich and sweet but I couldn't even finish half of it.

Luckily I had the chance to dance it off at the tackiest sleaziest bar. Weirdos and sleazeballs aside it was the perfect venue for a trashy, dancey, champagney, singy, girly party.

Then one final stop to bring us back up to an acceptable level of class. A trendy art deco cocktail bar popular with people 'either trendy or gay'.

A few pairs of feet in excruciating pain, a few spinning heads, some very full bellies and a long wait at the taxi rank later and we were tucked away in our slumber party beds ready for a couple hours of sleep before the beginning of a new day.

I am in love!

2009-08-19T19:44:00.003+10:00

I am totally in love with these boots.

I was looking at the line up for Meredith this year. It is fantastic. My going to this year was dependent on the line up. (I'm sick of average bands and shit weather.) So when I got the news this morning it was great. Jarvis, Animal Collective, Kitty Daisy and Lewis and Sia. So I checked out a few and got stuck on a youtube trail of Sia, stumbling accross a video of her and Fab Moretti spruicking her craft night for TOMSshoes.

I heard of this idea ages ago in some magazine I can't recall. A good natured tourist in Argentina found kids in deperate need of shoes- to prevent injury and increase the distances they were able to walk. So when he got home he started a company where every pair of shoes sold equals one pair of shoes for these kids.

This is the general style they started off with, but now they have a huge range, including my beloved boots.

OMG!

2009-07-03T09:26:00.005+10:00

Omg omg omg omg omg omg omg!

It's really happening!

It's really really happening!

We're going to see Britney!

I had to get in to work early to go online for them.

It did not run smoothly.

First of all I had to wait 2 mins to get on to the site,

Then all the general admission tickets were all sold out,

Then it took ages to get back to the page to choose new tickets,

Then I got the tickets for standing- but my credit card didn't work!!!!!!

Oh my god, I thought I as going to have a heart attack.

I called my mum to get her credit card details- but no answer.

After being charged with the sole responsibility of getting these tickets for us die hard Britney fans I could think of no way I could explain to the girls that we had missed out and would have to pay thousands for tickets from ebay.

But then I remembered I was at work. Quickly I whipped out the work credit card and charged it for 5 tickets.

So we're in and it's really really happening. It's really really happening.

I saw Britney in Sydney in 2001. It was just a promo show and I didn't see her perform, but
I got to see her in the flesh. Now it's time to share the night of our lives with the girls. We'll be rockin it with our dances in the crowd.

I can't wait!!!!

A tour

2009-05-03T16:27:00.009+10:00

Yay. I finally did it, not so momentous as moving out, but I put my triple r sticker on my new car!

While I've got the camera why don't I show you around the place?

My favourite rambling roses on the driveway. They smell divine.

Our cosy little bungalow.

The Blue Birds of Welcome on our front door.

Our big backyard from underneath the carport- perfect for outdoor entertaining-complete with the hills hoist for ultimate aussie suburban chic.

It's the cutest street, with kids always riding up and down and even street cricket games and easter egg hunts. We haven't actually participated in any of these, but nice to know they are going on out there- except when they wake you up too early on a Sunday morning.

It took me long enough

2009-03-05T18:37:00.003+11:00

The time has finally come.......

The largest Skipper child (in age not size) is finally leaving the nest. With Lena currently in the home of parmesan in Italy, and August long gone, poor mumsy and dadsy can now stretch their wings and have their house to themselves.

Trent, ben and I have found a really cute little Californian Bungalow, all original with dark wood panelling and a lilac bathroom. We move next weekend after Golden Plains.

Let the independence begin!

Hooligans

2009-03-01T22:26:00.003+11:00

I witnessed a very funny thing today.

I was working in my studio and looked out the window to see my grandpa and his friend out in the carpark on their mobility scooters. Both of them taking it in turns doing circle work and skids in the gravel.

Proof that no matter how long you have been on this earth- you're only as young as you feel.

Adios

2009-02-23T22:16:00.002+11:00

I've been absent from the web waves for quite a while now. A combination of not much exciting going on, and too much excitement to sit still for long enough to blog about it.
But now our dear little mini skips is going out into the big broad world, so it seems like a good time to get back in to it, at least so she has a reference of activities going on back home (and so she can show all her new friends how cool her big sister is).

So have heaps of fun and know that everyone around these parts will miss you heaps, and already can't wait to hear all your fabulous tales of adventures of your own.

Love you heaps, my favourite person in the world!

Oiksta Boiksta

2008-10-15T23:07:00.006+11:00

It looks like it's all over.

The phenomenon that is my birth month has fallen short.

Although it did start early on the 30th of September there has been no birthday action since Leaving the Prom on Sunday.

What a way to finish it all off though.

The most brilliantly sunny weekend of food and fun and Bollywood.

Even not bringing a real tent (turned out when I got it out of the bag it was a beach shelter) or my lilo having a giant tear in it (first attempt at patching with flouro gaffer tape didn't go so well) or the migraine I had for more than half the time couldn't put a dampener on it all.

And the sun!

A definite highlight of my actual birthday was Mark's special dove blowing demonstration, the unearthing of a hidden super power.

Also the crepes. MMMMMMMMM Yummy!

inspired by the Colombian Pizza en el Parque the pear, bacon and blue cheese combo blew my mind it was so tasty. So tasty I've got a date tonight with the same thing again.

Thank you to everyone for all my events and happy birthday to everyone else who is sharing in the celebratory times.

Unbelieveable!

2008-09-10T11:49:00.002+10:00

On Monday I did the unthinkable.

Something I have never done in my 26 years and 11 months of life.

I went to the gym!

Not only did I go, I joined, and I'm loving it!

I haven't had an assesment yet, nor do I know how to use the machines they have in there, but I've already been twice in three days and plan to continue the pattern.

This could actually be the year that I get fit for summer.

(Status subject to change, I'll get back to you in a month and see if I'm still as enthusiastic.)

Girls' weekend

2008-08-06T22:09:00.003+10:00

What a lovely weekend!

I haven't had so much indulgence in a while..... well a few months at least.

A girls weekend away in Daylesford was just the ticket.

A day of spa and massage, surrounded by three nights of cocktails, punch, wine, singstar, love my way , Entourage and piles of fantastic food.

After months of planning and lists, a massive trip to Dan's, allocation of menu options and pretty much booking out Peppers we finally made it Thursday night, and hardly moved until Sunday.

I love my cheepies!

2008-07-17T18:26:00.004+10:00

Thanks to B and her lovely, learning work environment we now have chickens.

Little puffy balls of fluff that cheep and poo and fight and steal food from one another.

They're so cute.

One is called Chirpy, Trent has named one Foghorn Leghorn and that leaves one up for grabs.

Any ideas?

2008-07-03T18:54:00.006+10:00

Last weekend we had an unconventional Saturday night out- Roller Derby Style!

It was the last bout of the first season of the Victorian Roller Derby League out in the middle of nowhere behind Northland and so much fun! Sitting on the roller rink, just outside of the crash zone, drinking beer and eating dimsims. Watching chicks roll around crashing and smashing into one another.

We met Hippy out the front. (After the first random meeting at the Zombie Shuffle we decided it wasn't chance, but purely good taste.) She informed us that her friend Felicity Scragwell was vice captain for the Toxic Avengers, so that was our team and we rooted loud for them.

After finally getting a grip on the basics of the comp it looked like we were getting well ahead, but by the end of it the champions Dead Ringer Rosies rolled away with a convincing win.

The other freaky occurence of the evening happened when I was waiting for beer/dimsims for ages and ages.

2 random guys (to the guy in front of me): Hey Matcham, how's it going?

Me (before he could answer): Sorry, is your name Matcham? That's a very
unusual name. It's actually my grandfathers
name.

Matcham: Not Matcham Skipper?

Me (baffled): Well, actually, yes.

Matcham: Oh yeah. I was named after him.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Days are Getting Longer

2008-06-23T11:49:00.009+10:00

We've made it!

We passed the half way point and now things can only get better!

Winter Solstice has come and gone for another year, and although it's not going to get warmer any time soon, at least it's a step away from dark on the way to work and dark on the way home.

After building up to a massive pile of wood to burn (David decided it was all about the height) we lit the fire around 6. Just long enough for the sun to have gone down and for it to be getting too cold to be standing around wearing shorts.

It started slow in the patch covered in bamboo, with only the aid of newspaper as an artificial booster.

Soon it was roaring away with the flames licking 10 metres high and bamboo and privet branches happily popping away.

By 7 the fire brigade had already made a visit- even though we had made all efforts to previously alert them- and told us they had been getting calls form all over Eltham. But by 8 it had settled itself down to a nice raging size and allowed us to sit around a bit closer to it.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by one of the sleepers used as a seat being slightly wobbly and this ended up in a game to see who could wobble the other person off. Although possibly not the ultimate champion in the end, Eri's style defininitely was the most memorable effort of the evening.

Hoorah to everyone who made the effort with shorts.

Short shorts

2008-06-20T14:51:00.003+10:00

Unfortunately it's not looking good for the gold hot pants. I did look for some lycra while out at lunch from work today, but they had nothing nearly spangly enough for my tastes.

I've gotten rid of a big skip load worth of building site rubbish this week, out there at 7am in the rain, so you can actually get out the back to the fire.

It's pretty massive so we've alerted the appropriate authorities so if our snitchy neighbours decide to get at us we're covered. We've set the fire out in the back paddock so we can really get it roaring (at the moment the pile stands about 9 feet tall with a diameter of 6 metres), but it is a little more exposed than the regular venue of the drum in front of the house on stilts.

We'll put up the marquee for a bit of shelter with a tarp on top so it's water proof, but hopefully all this talk of rain is just hot air.

Bring along an umbrella if you're worried about precipitation, and a delicious platter* if you are so inclined.

See you there in your shortest shorts.

*Only platters of a delicious nature will be considered.

Winter in Melbourne

2008-06-09T22:58:00.003+10:00

I'm slowly beginning to remember what I love about being in Melbourne, especially live music. The traditional Winter Solstice party is coming up in a few weeks and at least that means we'll start seeing a bit more light in the days after that. We've been busy building a bonfire, not a little drum fire, to keep us warm through the chilly evening. Now all I have to do is mug the girl I saw at Cut Copy, steal her gold leggings and make them into hotpants!

A post script to the chickens

2008-05-10T11:32:00.003+10:00

On what was meant to be our last night in Otovalo, after much searching and conflicting time reports, we managed to make it to the special fiesta edition of the cokfights.

These events happen most Saturdays around 7pm, but because it was the fiesta of Eugenio or some other saint there were two on this day- we caught the late show.

I must admit I was ashamed of my bloodlust. For no other reason than I liked the shape of his tail or somesuch, I chose a rooster and barracked hard. Ai! Ai!

Then we made a friend and figured out how to put money on it. Pretty much just turning to the person next to you and saying "I bet you five bucks the white one will win." We didn´t do too well though. Despite every indication pointing towards our negro having kicked the whiteys arse, apparently ´cos whitey was still trying to fight when the bell rang it was a draw. Then our second bet we lost fair and square. This whole time we were drinking straight whiskey and making Ecuadorian friends. Trent even went so far as to swap a bracelet for his watch with one of his ´brothers´.

We couldn´t get on the bus next morning and had to stay another night.

Chickens

2008-05-02T11:38:00.007+10:00

The chickens in Ecuador tend to run free, until they end up roasted in a shop window that is.

We saw boobies!

2008-05-02T11:29:00.007+10:00

No not that kind! Get your head out of the gutter! The special bird-like kind.

After finally leaving Montañita we made it to Puerto Lopez and the amazing Machililla National Park. Pretty much the whole of the Pacific Coast up into Central America used to be covered by this dry forest. As it stands 95% of it has been destroyed and this park is all that remains.

Part of the park is also the Isla de la Plata or ´The Poor Man´s Galapogos´. We went on a tour out there and saw sooo many birds.

To tell you the truth I was sick of them by the end.

Before we even got on the boat though we saw sharks, squid, crabs, giant fish, eels and random guts all laying out at the tide line from the fishing boats.

Also on the Island grows an amazing plant called loofah. And yes it grows sponges. While they are green and ripe the fruit holds water which the indigenous people used to drink. When it dries out it leaves a sponge inside a skin which is easy to pick off. I never really thought about where those things came from before.

We decided to get the night bus the supposed 10 hours to Quito from here, even though the Lonely Planet says DO NOT catch night buses in this province. Turns out it was the same company on the same route as which 5 English girls were killed a couple of weeks before, but that was a crash not a highjacking. It was a sort of creepy ride. No lights or movie the whole time, we nearly weren´t allowed on ´cos we had food, it ended up taking just under 12 hours and I had a dream that ET tried to kiss me. All in all I don´t think I´ll be doing the night bus thing again any time soon.

El Castillo

2008-04-22T07:50:00.004+10:00

One of Trent's favourite past times since we've been here at the beach is building sandcastles and forts. He can spend hours in the blistering sun making these huge creations and then an intricate defence system against the incoming tides complete with drainage trenches and decorative shell designs.

This particular one was a beauty, we kept on thinking we were finished, but the water was nowhere near destroying it so we had to just keep on building.

Trent would have spent a solid five hours there, but I left once to get drinks and once to pick up our washing.

In the end it was still going to be hours until the tide came up high enough to reach it so, despite our fears of dogs and children as well as errant trucks and motor bikes destroying all the hard work, we abandoned the masterpiece to the mercy of the elements.

But when we came back in the morning it was still intact. The water had made it to the outer defences, but the main wall was still intact. A marvel of modern engineering.

The mistress unfortunately didn't make it-someone stepped on her head, the only human interference with the whole thing.

We stayed and watched the first wave breach the wall and when we came back from a stroll up the beach it had been washed away entirely, with only a pile of shells and stones to remind us of it's former splendour.

A few pics

2008-04-19T04:51:00.011+10:00

I'm sitting upstairs from the cafe we eat in nearly every day, dance music pumping out cos it's Friday and a new crowd are blowing in to town for the weekend party. I've got my camera with me and the cable to plug it in, so it looks like it's time for you to see some more photos.

We stayed nearly a week in Cuenca, south of Quito, partly because it was a really nice city with a beautiful shady river, and partly because Trent was really sick and couldn't leave.

Our hostel was on the sixth floor of a buliding full of doctors and lawyers offices, but with a broken lift. The kitchen had the most amazing view.

One morning I went out to get water and found myself in a parade- stilt walkers, drummers, clowns. I think I figured out that it was for deaf kids and kids with cancer and they had a little fiesta in the park complete with the queen of Cuenca and whole roast pigs.

In Guayaquil we found some more pirates

and a restaurant where I smashed crabs wearing a bib.

Now we're in Montañita, the Byron of Ecuador, and just can't seem to leave. We've been beaching and making castles, chilling out in hammocks, and yesterday went surfing. The waves were pretty shit,but I managed to stand up, but also get a whole lot of fresh bruises and even a skinned knee.

The hostel we're staying at is owned by an ex pro surfer, who casually leaves magazines lying around attesting to the fact. This weekend there's a comp on at the point, so we'll probably be overrun by surfers staying in the hostel and taking over our tv room so we can't watch DVD's.

We may just be able to leave after the fuul moon party tomorrow night.

Blackout

2008-04-05T06:55:00.002+11:00

When you´re in a town on the dge of an active volcano it´s a little concerting when there is a blackout of the whole town. We were walking back from the mineral baths on the outskirts of town when suddenly everything shut down. Only headlights from cars and candles in restaurants shed any light on the subject, but most people went about their business as usual, apart from the internet and phone shops. We went back to our hostel and checked if they had any info on the situation or if we should run as fast as our legs could carry us, but they said the power should return in 20 mins or so and gave us a candle. We went and hunkered down in our usual bar, with the delightful Milton, with music provided by guitars, and abience by candle light, until the power finally came back about an hour later.

Not quite as extreme as the conditions have been back home, but slightly unnerving none the less.

Las Cascadas

2008-04-01T06:32:00.006+11:00

Yesterday we hired a quad bike a did a trip out of town to see all the amazing waterfalls in the area. It was so much fun, burning around the streets of town, on the righthand side, with my man riding saddle on the back.
There are tunnels on the way that you can ride through which are pitch black, or you can take the woosy way around. Of course I wanted to go through the tunnels, but one of them I couldnt work our headlight, so once we were half way through we were in total darkness until a car passed us so we could follow is lights.
We also did a couple of full on hikes across the gorge and over to the falls, it all seems ok on the way down, but then you have to go up again. We were pools of sweat.

(this stupid computer wont let me put in apostrophes, or @, I have to paste it in every time I want to use it)

Pics as requested

2008-03-29T09:09:00.004+11:00

Santa Monica Pier- where I spent my day in transit in LA.

View from a lookout in Quito ( I can´t figure out how to rotate it)

The streets of Cartagena, Colombia.

Centennial plaza in Cartagena, Colombia.

Being a tourist.

The shores of Playa Blanca, our first pristine Caribbean beach.

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If this is all I have to complain about, things are pretty sweet

2008-03-29T02:55:00.005+11:00

Yesterday was one of those days where nothing could go right. We were all set to check out of our room and be on a bus by midday. But things didn´t work out that way. First of all we wanted to buy some T-shirts, but after 15 minutes figured their eftpos machine wouldn´t work and we would have to come back in an hour. Then the next shop we went into processed our payment, but were´nt sure if it had actually gone through and spent at least half an hour calling the boss, calling the bank, finding access codes and finally putting it through again. Then we went to send these shirts back to Australia, but they wouldn´t let us use Hanks FedEx account without a written authorisation on company letterhead. When we finally got back to the hostel to get our bags they tried to tell us that we had to pay for our last night there. There was no way they could check their records, even though it´s all computerised- just because someone didn´t write it down in the book. A couple of days before we had made friends with the owner of the place, but he wasn´t there to save us now, so this time we spent close to an hour sitting there saying " We paid" and them saying "No you didn´t" until finally they just let us go.

After all this kerfufull I didn´t feel I had time to go to the toilet, so we caught a cab straight to the bus station, but then got straight on to the bus, and although we were heading to a place called Baños (Spanish for toilet) they didn´t have one on the bus, and my pack wouldn´t fit on the overhead luggage rack so I had to have it on my lap, pushing against my bursting bladder, for a two and a bit hour journey. I thought I was just going to have to piss my pants there and then. But by some miracle I made it to the bus terminal in Ambato, where we changed buses, and caused a little confusion in trying to find the toilet and the right bus to get on in the same conversation.

It all seemed worth it though when we rounded a corner and saw the Tungurahua Volcano spewing smoke happily above the town. I actually got a good photo out of the bus window, so I´ll put it up soon. So now we are in the happy spa town of Baños staying in a $12 hotel, so much better that the one we were staying in in Quito for $15, and it has the best shower I have experienced in South America!

Quito

2008-03-26T04:12:00.002+11:00

Back in Ecuador we checked out the Old City and the virgen of Quito statue at the top of a hill overlooking the capital. We also found a band playing tradicional folk music in the square, including a heartrendering rendition of ´My Way´and a guy singing, as far we could tell, about how all tourists were motherfuckers. Needless to say we didn´t hang around there for long.

We made our way to a restaurant famous for it´s roast chicken, and when they didn´t have it we struggled to find something else on the menu which didn´t risk being served up a plate of offal. While we were in there the daily rains came down and we were forced to walk to the trolley bus station getting drenched.

These buses are a hybrid of a tram, running on overhead wires, mostly in their own special lanes, running north to south along the length of the city.

Correction

2008-03-20T03:45:00.001+11:00

Taganaga doesn´t have any water because they´re working on the pipes between Santa Marta, and on our last night there it was so windy that trees fell and took down the power lines. So we slept absoloutly sweltering in our hotbox of a room, that by that stage we had to share with two other couples.

Scuba Scuba

2008-03-16T08:03:00.002+11:00

I don´t know how you land lubbers do it. I´m feeling the earth move all around me after being in the boat today.
We had a couple of dives and then did our test, but don´t finish our classes till tomorrow. They have a strange way of doing things here in Colombia.

We´re staying at the dive centre while we do our course- but there´s no water. Irony much?
Actually there´s no water in the whole town. It hasn´t rained here in Taganaga for about a year so they truck water in, but still hose down their concrete. Us Aussies could teach them a thing or two about water conservation me thinks.

I don´t get out much

2008-03-13T08:20:00.001+11:00

On one of my infrequent walks alone in these foreign lands I got wolf whistled at by the policia as I walked past the station.

Cabo San Juan del Guia

2008-03-12T08:34:00.003+11:00

That dammned Chavez, always ruining my fun!

On the morning we were leaving to go to Ciudad Perdida we got he call from above to say it was too dangerous to do the trek. The mountains in the area were crawling with Colombian military and it wasn´t worth getting caught in the middle of it. At least theytold us and didn´t let us walk into a battlezone blissfully unaware.

It really turned out to be a blessing though, ´cos instead of a six day hike to see some ruins we walked for about three hours to see a mini version ´Pueblito´and then spent three days chilling out on the beach in the national park. It was absoloute bliss- white sand Palm trees, coconuts everywhere, a restaurant to eat every meal at- that is until we tried to sleep our first night. We decided to go the expensive hammock option for 20 grand, right up high under a cabaña on stilts with the most amazing views of the rocks and oceans, that is until it got dark and cold and windy as hell. All the spray from the ocean came up and slightly dampened evrything and then the wind had the most amazing air conditioning effect. I did have my sleeping bag so I was a bit better off than Trent, just in all his clothes, and Justine who is four and a half months pregnant in the same situation. After that hellish experience we opted for tents, which still wasn´t ideal, but a hell of a lot better than up in the crows nest. It would be great to go back there prepared for it all and take a whole lot of food a drinks and really settle in for a while, except for the constant threat of ticks.

The way back we walked up the beach past all the other ´resorts´(a camp ground and restaurant) and were glad for our choice of Cabo and that we had a beautiful safe beach to swim in every day. The beach up the coast a bit, arriceffes has really rough seas and strong currents which people regularly get swept away in.

We´re offon our next Colombian adventure to Taganaga for more beach and possibly a diving course.

Lost City

2008-03-08T13:46:00.002+11:00

Still in Colombia. We´ve headed further north and are staying the night in Santa Marta before a six day trek into the jungle to go see ´Ciudad Perdida´, the lost city of the tayrona indians. Sleeping in hammocks and crossing rivers up to your waist. Sounds like a lot of fun- Indiana Jones stylee.

It looks like the war is off. Everyone has come to some sort of agreement, but in Spanish so I don´t really have any idea of the resolution. At least we know we´ll be able to get back to Ecuador without too much hassle now. It´ll just be going through customs in the us after being in Colombia that could be interesting.

Cartegena is hotting up!

2008-03-05T05:58:00.003+11:00

Buenos,

It´s nothing but sunshine here on the Carribbean coast. Every morning you´re already in a sweat when you wake up, and it´s not till the sea breeze kicks in that you start to get some relief in the shade at least.

After a long haul flight of 40 hours in trinsit from Melbourne I made it to Ecuador, and after two days spent mainly in our exclusive ´Love Den´, Trent and I headed out again on a (10 hours for two one hour flights) trip to Cartegena, Colombia. When we first arrived we were freaking out, and even the taxi driver told us it was a dangerous place to stay. Walking down the street with all our belongings on our back, the first hostel we went to was full, and then being ushered silently into the next one we found, one room with a celing fan, no seat on the toilet and a pipe out of the wall with cold water for a shower. Trent and I sat down and just had to concentrate on breathing for a while.

Now, three days later we can walk around town with smiling faces, driping with sweat, casually brushing off the street vendors trying to sell us all sorts of touristy crap, used to ignoring the sounds of taxi´s horns reminding us that we are in fact walking, even climbing the murella and talking photos of monuments.

You´d feel pretty safe if you didn´t realise you were in Colombia.

So now we just need to concentrate on avoiding getting ourselves into a war, and watch out for the miracle fishers.

Hasta Luego

p.s. According to Colombian pesos I´m a multi millionaire!

Hello Holiday

2008-02-22T22:38:00.002+11:00

Today was my last day of work for nearly 3 months, and I did pretty much nothing. I made myself look busy and did a lot of 'supervising', but it wasn't until 4 o'clock that I realised I only had an hour to go! (I did end up staying till 6 and then working at the Vat till 9 though.)

My hot friends celebrated with me last weekend.

And I went out to a gig for the last time on Thursday to see The Process at the Corner.

That blur in the middle of the shot is my brother rocking out.

Sorry

2008-02-13T08:54:00.001+11:00

Big, Dusty, Crowded, Sober Day Out

2008-01-29T21:40:00.000+11:00

Man was I exhausted today. I could hardly get out of bed this morning after such a 'Big Day Out'. I didn't have a drink all day, but was so dehydrated from the sun and had so much dust in my lungs I felt like I'd been out on a hard night.

Even though the organisation of the day was barely minimal I still managed to see just about everyone on my list even with the time clashes.

I was very nerdy and organised for the day, printing out the schedule as well as my own personal timetable of events, I texted everyone the time they were to be on the train and I even packed a cut lunch- including mini muffins.

Getting on the train I found even more friends than expected starting with these two,

and then found the Devlins and the Parsons and the Wells', (representatives at least).

The only two bands that I saw the whole sets of were Faker

and Midnight Juggernauts, B and I were right down the front in the 'D' (that must stand for dancing 'cos that's what we were doing a lot of).

We then tried to make a mad dash to see Dizee Rascal but, even though there was heaps of space in there, the gate was so small there was just a jam of people coming in and out through the same 2 foot gate way, so we gave up.

It was then that we found the lush side of the grounds with Spoon at the Green Stage and Billy Bragg at the essentials stage. We dubbed this the Meredith stage 'cos everything was so much greener and laid back. No queues for the toilets or water, no dust and a grassy bar from which you could see the music and on the way in you passed under a giant mister and free iced tea!

Arcade Fire were another highlight except for the fact that the main stage had the worst view of all, then we eventually made it in to the boiler room to catch LCD Sound System and UNKLE.

Trying to get out of there proved nigh on impossible with 40 000 people trying again to squeeze out of a funnel towards the trains. You'd think they may have thought ahead, but there wasn't even anyone with a megaphone yelling directions. Once we got on the train it was the most ridiculously squashed I have ever been on public transport. You weren't even supporting your own body weight. I was convinced if I jumped up my feet wouldn't touch the ground again and I would just be carried by the crowd, but there wasn't even space to jump.

Promed

2008-01-22T18:58:00.001+11:00

My 'Summer of Prom' is over with a grand total of two nights clocked up. It would be depressing really if I weren't going to Ecuador in 35 days!

It was very easy to slot into total relaxation mode, especially since there was no set up to be done. My only worry with the tent hopping was that I slept in a tent with my Dad who got gastro, and then in Chris' the next night and he woke up hurling too. I'm hoping I'm just a carrier.

The short stay didn't make it any easier for me to leave, let me tell you.

I forgot the battery for my camera so I have no photos, but I'm hoping some kind souls will let me see theirs.

Tim....Berrrrr!

2008-01-08T19:41:00.000+11:00

A massive tree just fell down out the back of my place

and Lena rescued a bird which was flung from it's branches.

The drought had taken it's toll and the roots just cracked off.

It's like a heatwave!

2008-01-06T10:07:00.000+11:00

The last week and a half has been a blur of hot, hot, hot weather.

New Years Eve was the hottest of the hot, but luckily we went down to Rosebud so we had a bit of coastal breeze. It was the most perfect couple of days.

We had the fans going full on inside the house the whole time, the shade of the backyard and also the jetty to jump off when it all got too unbearable (or we had just been a little overindulgent the night before).

Everyone had a job when it came to organising food and everyone did exceptionally well. Breakfast, lunch, dinner,

dessert,

punch,cocktails,

platters, midnight snacks, all served up to us as a magnificent spread each time on the ping pong table in the back yard.

I must admit the stuffing of the chicken and the slapping of the beef were a highlight, both of these helped along by Mark's wonderful baking.

The hot weather has continued since then with not much to be done but lying around in front of the fan and swimming every now and then. Back to work for real next week which means I have the luxury of air conditioned comfort, but I miss out on fun in the sun.

The slap of soccer

2007-12-30T10:56:00.001+11:00

It's been a long time between drinks I know, but here it is.

Another Soccer injury.

Heaths housemate, Dylan, organised a five-a-side comp in Edinburgh Gardens on Boxing Day and I took a carload of Elthamites in to be my team. Mark, Heath and the prodigal Katja and Leon.

We were a shit team and the losers of the losers, but it was fun.

Except, of course, when some seriously competitive boys took us on and one of them kicked full pelt for goal when I was standing less than a metre in front of him. Thanks to the healing powers of Hirudoid, Traumel cream and Arnika it has only bruised around the edges where i missed with cream, but nearly a week later I still have hexagons tatooed on my upper thigh.

Back in the Winner's circle!

2007-12-20T22:14:00.000+11:00

Things I've won lately;

A Crumpler bag from the rrr OB,

$5 on a scratchie,

Christmas album of the week on rrr,

Things I've lost lately;

Trent- to a white Christmas in Canada.

Extraction

2007-11-20T10:24:00.000+11:00

Well, I finally bit the bullet,

Or the scalpel, drill and pliers,

And got all four of my beloved not so little wisdom teeth out.

All in the chair under local anaesthetic with the worst bit being the needles into my soft pallete. Apart from that it was really quick an easy with the whole procedure taking about half an hour. And I go to keep my teeth. Apparently it's not really allowed, but the nice little dental nurse lady gave them to me in a canister of formaldehyde anyway.

I've got minimal swelling, no bruising and not even much pain.

Yesterday was a different story though.
I came home and dutifully took my two kinds of painkillers, both just the over the counter type, and antibiotics. But after that I couldn't get out of bed. Every time I tried- to get something to suck, or just to get out of boring old bed I got so dizzy and faint I had to rush back to bed have have a cool washer place don my head by my lovely boyfriend.

I've stopped taking the strong analgesic and have just had nurofen today and I feel so much better it's amazing.

Now I just have to deal with this 35 degree heat, and still keep drinking my meals.

Mexican Fiesta

2007-10-25T23:16:00.000+10:00

The last of the birthmonth celebrations happened this weekend, with the annual trip to the Prom- Mexican themed. Lucky there were so many sombreros going around it was blue skies and sunshine all the way. Tortillas and fajitas, huevos rancheros and corn on the cob. More pictures on facebook.

Eri's birthday hoodie

2007-10-22T17:24:00.000+10:00

Short sleeves, front pockets, flouro zip and lining, personalised print on inside back neck.

Ha, haha, haha, haha.

2007-10-07T20:14:00.000+10:00

It's my birthday and I'll do what I want!

This time that includes stretching out the celebrations for as loooong as possible.

It started on Tuesday - birthday dinner with the girls from work. Cafe Bedda on High Street, Northcote.

Birthday breakfast on the big day of Thursday morning. Ice cream, ribbons, bows, pancakes and presents!

(A small interlude of work during the day)

That night birthday dinner. A Thai sensation!

The night before Trent and I were busy grilling and shredding chicken to go in the chicken basil and cashew lettuce cups,

and rolling up the prawn and pork spring rolls.

Mum had made the thai salad, so all was left to do was cook and dress.

THEN EAT!!!!

Finishing off was the birthday brownie cake,

and oiksta boiksta.

Hoch soll sie leben, hoch soll sie leben, Drei Mal hoch - hoch - hoch - hoch.

Friday brought an extra special 'small packet' all the way from England with summer frocks for the coming summer visit of joeyjojo.

Then dinner and drinks last night with all my beautiful friends. At least 25 of us at pizza, then owning North Bazaar. Only a couple of other people dared come in and out while we were there. That was until CASIO NOVA hijacked the proceedings. All came good in the end though.
Thanks to everyone who came. Love you guys. And to all those who couldn't I know you were thee in spirit. To all those who didn't want to I hate you too.

2007-10-01T13:05:00.001+10:00

Stitching the ear back on this toy bunny I couldn't help but feel like I was in surgery.

For the Greater Good

2007-09-10T10:52:00.000+10:00

It seems I'm getting better at this drinking caper.

Saturday night I had three vodkas and was fine at work on Saturday.

Yesterday Trent and I were inspired by Entourage at Cannes to drink champagne in the sun, preferably there would have been proffiteroles involved and the champagne Dom Perignon, but we settled for eclairs and Jacobs Creek (and when that ran out Yellowglen Bella). Today I'm only starting to feel a bit crappy cos at 6.30 I went in to Polyester to line up for tix for Meredith.

'Hang on', I hear you say. 'I thought you already had a ticket from HG for that?' Well I do. But for the enjoyment of all concerned I took it upon myself to go shopping for my friends.

Aww shucks it's no problem guys.

We were well looked after by the good people of Meredith, making sure we were all ok, bringing us coffee to keep us going, the queue providing entertainment in the form of people dressed up in their car seat covers, Sarah bringing me a chocolate muffin.

I'd just like to apologise t my new found line friends. Although I may have forced this friendship upon you, as soon as I had my tix I was off without so much as a wave or a nod. I hope you all have a great time and the sun shines, but not too much that you get heatstroke.

Owie, but not so bruisey

2007-08-15T08:03:00.000+10:00

Ok.

Now I know what all the fuss is about with snowboarding.
The aches and owies.
The total body fatigue.
And the inability to move without wincing the next day.

I think I was just being a woosy girl in New Zealand, not pushing myself far enough.
But when your first run away from Bourke St on Mount Buller is a black run your boyfriend tricks you into going down, you know you're going to be hurting.

AND I LOVE IT!

I had so much fun.
We just went up for the day on Monday and I actually saw it snow. Not just the snowmakers hurtling fake snow at you as you go past on the chair lift, but real snowy snow, which makes it really hard to see were you're going. But the rest of the day was beautiful.
So now I'm off to the end of season sales to get me some of my own gear.

I'm a film star!

2007-08-07T21:02:00.001+10:00

Or just a mere extra.*

But still- I'm up there on the silver screen.

"Crystal, a young Indonesian girl, is in an Immigration office being questioned about her false papers and illegal refugee application. About to be sent to a Detention Centre and deported, her allegations of multiple rape and appalling captive conditions seem to make little difference to the Immigration Officer. Brought in by human trafficking syndicates to work as prostitutes, she is one of the many modern sex slaves in Australia that are conveniently deported when they hit their 'used by date'.

Meanwhile a young Melbourne woman, Ashley Hudson, reluctantly agrees to help a Thai mother search for her missing daughter. Hooked on caffeine and bored with her job and loveless life, Ashley is unwittingly drawn into the darker edges of this sophisticated cityscape and soon becomes fearful for her own life.

Inspired by actual events and court transcripts, the story unravels the sinister workings of illegal prostitution and governmental deportation and is filled with twists and surprises."

From http://www.thepicturetank.com/jammed.html

Inspired by actual events and court transcripts,

My Aunty is the producer, my mum was the caterer, my brother was the something or other and my uncle was the runner/driver.

When the screening times come out we'll organise a session with dinner somehow involved.

For more info go to http://thejammed.com/ or http://www.thepicturetank.com/jammed.html

*May contain images of a shocking nature-(KJ's in it too)

2007-07-23T13:21:00.001+10:00

As you may have guessed from the highly visual content of my New Zealand post, I did indeed buy a camera duty free. YAY!!! So now expect a lot more posting, as I will now have evidence to back me up.

Man am I bruised!

2007-07-23T11:21:00.000+10:00

It's not so much from the constant falling down, but the constant whacking of the chairlift into the back of my leg every time I sat down on it. Maybe?

I'm just back from a fantastic weeks holiday.

I haven't even been to the snow in about 10 years, and now I've had my first time snowboarding, with a trip to New Zealand to boot.

It's unbelievable how beautiful it all is.

We flew into Christchurch, but were staying in Queenstown, no more than an hours drive to any of four amazing mountains. Our room had an amazing view of Lake Whakatipu, and every direction you looked was a picture postcard backed by the snow capped alps.

Of the five days we had in Queenstown, four of them were spent on the mountains. A pretty mean feat for a first timer, if I do say so myself. On the first day Trent cracked his head on a patch of ice, resulting in a trip to the first aid tent,

and a reminder of just how dangerous it can be up there. People with all sorts of limbs in all sorts of directions. Luckily I got away with only a jarred wrist and one mean landing right on my coccyx, plus the aforementioned bruises.

Our favourite ski area was at The Remarkables.

Beautiful views, no queues for the lift and runs to suit our varying degrees of ability. (Trent has been boarding before, and Ronni was on skis.)

The one day off we did have off, the one morning when we were allowed to sleep in, was rocked by an ear piercing beeping ripping through the silence of 3 in the morning. I had no idea what was going on until from the next room Roni's "Umm, guys. I think we need to get out" so out we got. The entire hotel evacuated to the foyer, too cold to go outside, with no one to tell us what was going on, and two fire trucks int the drive. All the while this incessant alarm that made me think my head might explode. Then the alarm finally stopped and everyone just headed back up to their rooms, still with no idea what had happened.

It turned out in the morning that the incident was of a "non hazardous nature". Read- kids fucking around.

We did still manage to get out that day though, a leisurely drive in the direction of Paradise.

After about half an hour of driving we were still by the side of the lake,

beautiful views abounding.

Then on to the Glenorchy cafe, highly recommended, and the wharf.

Very Japanesey.

Our journey was cut short before we could reach Paradise, with water over the road turning into a frozen lake over the road, and with an $1800 bill looming over our heads we decided it wasn't worth risking the hire car.

All in all it was a fantastic week of freezing cold and snow. I think I may now be addicted to boarding, so I'll see you guys on the slopes.

Not yet.

2007-07-07T14:25:00.000+10:00

Well, it turns out I am not yet a Master, but good enough to sit just below the ranks.

Last night was the awards fo rthe Australian Masters of Fashion. Our gowns in the Contemporary Bridal section were just a liitle too diferent to be judged winners, but they will be taking the tour of Australia in the Judges Finalist parades.

It was so amazing to see these full on beautiful gowns come down the catwalk at the Grand Hyatt, and to know that you created them. Such a buzz. Such a fun night.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get my hands on some.

2007-06-25T16:55:00.003+10:00

Yay for Community Cup. Yay for short shorts. Boo for hangovers.

2007-06-14T12:26:00.000+10:00

Hey guys.

I've copped some slack about not going to red futons for all my slut needs, so click on the link and satisfy Stubbsy with some extra site traffic.

2007-06-13T19:01:00.000+10:00

Have you ever seen a man drink a beer from his own sweaty boot?

Hardwareing

2007-06-04T15:03:00.000+10:00

Bunnings has opened!

The giant of all hardwares has finally opened it's new giant store in Eltham. The construction of which has caused chaos amongst the traffic, new traffic lights and consequently traffic build up at peak hour and will be taking business from the smalled individual building supply stores in the area.

A few weeks ago when sourcing materials for my new 'sluts' for my bed base I went in to Bunnings and hated it. I'd always loved going int here for odd things that i just new such a big store was bound to have, but when I actually went looking specifically for something hardwarey, ie. timber, I needed help- and Bunnings couldn't give it to me. I stood there staring at the product for ages and eventually figured out which lengths, widths and how many I would need, but still nary a worker in sight.

So I left, and headed out to the scary 'man' hardware on the other side of Eltham. I could tell that they just though I was a stupid girl who didn't belong in their timber yard, but they hid it the best they could, showed me the product, compared prices, cut it to length and I was done. Easy. Not really so scary after all. And much better than stupid old Bunnings.

But, to make it up to us (and I think this more than does it) on Friday they are having fireworks, that's right fireworks, at Bunnings.

We'll have to wait and see if the customer service is any better in this new building, but for now I'm happy just with fireworks.

Community Cup XIV

2007-06-03T19:30:00.000+10:00

Woo hoo hooo!

Community cup has just been announced for June 24th this year.

Who'd have thought I'd hang out a whole 12 months for a football game?

Anyone who's never been before I highly reccommend it.

Anyone who has been, I'll see you in the usual possie.

2007-06-02T14:08:00.000+10:00

Slight alteration. I went back through the archives and found the party should be on the 21st, not 22nd. So I'll see you all Thursday night. Shorted up to the max!

Who wears short shorts?

2007-05-29T21:28:00.000+10:00

How quickly the time goes these days.

It's nearly been a whole year since the last short shorts party, so on Winter Solstice it's time to head on out to the bonfire down the lane and party in a pair of shorts.

A 'brief' history (get it?)

I think it would have to be about 5 years ago the tradititon began. Winter solstice is the dead middle of winter, when the nights are at their longest, and the days at their shortest.

A little out of party season it's a good excuse to see everyone.......wearing shorts.

There's a big bonfire and plenty of mulled wine, so no chance of getting cold, we've even stuck it out in the rain.

This is the first time the Solstice has fallen on anything but a school night.

FRIDAY JUNE 22ND.

NO EXCUSES!!!

Be there.......
...or...
...be............
long?

NO ENTRY WITHOUT THE WEARING OF SHORTS

2007-05-24T21:51:00.001+10:00

You can't stop progress

2007-05-17T17:48:00.000+10:00

Oh my god!!!

There's traffic lights at the Fitzimons Lane roundabout.

For Real!

I don't know if this was the first night they've been in use, or if tonight was the first time I've come home early enough to catch peak hour traffic, but there they were. Making my lane of traffic slow. And just generally freaking me out.

But you know what they say......

2007-05-02T21:07:00.000+10:00

This morning I sent my sister off to play in the Australian girls team in Thailand. Here is a photo for my mum to see that she was off safely.

How gorgeous is my lovely mum?

2007-05-02T20:39:00.000+10:00

Here she is at Richard's 60th in the UK. Casablanca themed at Rick's Cafe Americain. Complete with band and the birthday boy on guest vocals. We all miss you.

random though # 1

2007-04-21T16:07:00.000+10:00

I hate it when the audience sings along to the slow, quiet, heartfelt songs.

Oui, jet'aime!

2007-04-01T13:06:00.000+10:00

If Rob dances like a rapping lizard, then Jarvis dances like a rapping chicken.

I'd forgotten how good he was on stage. Such a presence, and he actually talked to the crowd. Some guy behind us was yelling at him to shut up, but I thought it was nice. Seeing as most of the crowd was there to see him, not necessarily his music, he should have been allowed to talk as much as he wanted, even if it was inane babble.

The highlight of the night beyond a doubt though, was Phoenix. They absolutely rocked the house, and the pants off most of the female audience members.

Sexy French music boys.

Mmmm mmm! I wasn't that into their music before the show, but they did it so well live. An amazing sound, the mixing was so much better than Jarvis, and just their whole vibe on stage was awesome.

The whole night got me back into a music frame of mind, so I followed it up last night with The Drones at The Corner. Again, great show. These guys really can't go wrong, although my night was very close to ruined by a certain shot of cheap tequila.

So, two sleeps 'till I'm off to Byron. I was looking at The Apollo Bay Music Festival line up, it looks quite entertaining........... but then I had to remind myself that after Easter I'm on festival detox. We'll probably have to add a few more things to the detox list after that too.

Lord Of Magic Dance

2007-03-26T13:54:00.001+10:00

He does love to Dance, but this is nothing on the rapping lizard.

Goodbye summer

2007-03-20T21:38:00.000+11:00

I got another email today saying how great I was. When work is shit and you really don't want to be there, that makes all the difference.

Only 2 weeks now 'till I'm off to Byron. Then I guess I'll have to stay in cold old Melbourne. Today was the first day it's actually been wet, and vaguely cool. Still sticky and humid, but a chance to get into the new season fashions. Bearably wearing long sleeves is quite a change to being uncomfortable wearing any clothes at all.

Music fan found dead at festival

2007-03-16T18:10:00.000+11:00

Paul Anderson
Herald Sun, Melbourne
March 13, 2007 12:00am

A YOUNG medical student has died at a country music festival after an apparent booze binge at the Golden Plains Festival in Meredith.The student, 21, of Prahran, was found dead in his tent at about 8am yesterday.
He died in his sleep as a friend slept beside him.
Police were awaiting autopsy results yesterday, but sources said the young man may have choked on his own vomit as he slept.
The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Paramedics at the inaugural long weekend music festival worked for half an hour to try to save the man, who had a cardiac arrest, said Rural Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen.
The man was a medical student who was doing rounds at Melbourne hospitals as an intern.
News of the death spread through the scores of groups preparing to pack up as the festival wound up about noon yesterday.
Police are preparing a brief for the coroner.
A day earlier, five people were treated in hospital after a car crash near the festival.
One woman, 32, was flown to the Alfred hospital with spinal injuries.
Other patients with neck, head and leg injuries were taken to Ballarat and Geelong hospitals.
Unconfirmed reports suggested one of the
cars had been driven from the festival just before the collision.
Other music festivals experienced troubles at the weekend.
Police at the four-day Port Fairy Folk Festival broke up a scuffle between several young men as a large crowd urged them to fight.
Two men, both 21, were in hospital after they were stabbed during a brawl at the Future Music Festival at Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Sunday night.
One had surgery for seven stab wounds, but police said the injuries were not life threatening.
A Broadmeadows man, 21, was helping police with their inquiries.
The stabbings followed the arrest of 36 festival-goers on suspected drug offences.
Event organiser Future Entertainment said in a statement: "We are shocked and saddened that a needless violent incident like this could occur at one of our events.
"Our primary concern is for the wellbeing of the young men injured, and our thoughts go out to them and their families.
"We work very closely with Victoria Police and fully support their PAD (drug dog) operation, which resulted in arrests outside the venue.
"We are still working with police, medical staff and security to ascertain all the facts surrounding this (stabbing) incident."

Festy

2007-03-09T21:18:00.000+11:00

Off to another festival tomorrow.

Oh when will it end?!?!?!?

Easter.

Definitely Easter. Then I'm on festival detox 'till Meredith.

What's an ipod?

2007-03-05T11:11:00.000+11:00

Is that when you punch a jellyfish in the face?
-Matcham Skipper 2007

Good Luck

2007-03-01T19:29:00.000+11:00

This morning I decided not to wear a hat on my daily morning walk.

Normally I stick a cap over my frizzy hair, and to disguise the fact I'm still nearly asleep. But this morning I thought I didn't need it.

Turned out I was wrong.

Just over half way I felt a drop on the top of my head...

That was just water.....

It's got to be water......

Right....

Turns out I was wrong.

2007-02-28T22:39:00.000+11:00

I don't know why they had to change blogger. I was perfectly happy with the old one, and now it's all large fonts and unfamiliar windows.

2007-02-28T22:35:00.000+11:00

Only 9 days to Golden Plains! Woo hoo! Very excited. Obviously not as excited as Meredith. But hoping for just as good a time.

2007-02-21T21:36:00.000+11:00

If anyone needs Golden Plains tix, I have people.

No Jokes!

2007-02-21T21:05:00.000+11:00

Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 7:32 AM
Subject: Fantastic Service

I just wanted to write to express my thanks for making the very first day of trying on bridal dresses the most lovely experience.

Amy was very friendly and patient and her recommendations were highly valued. Her vision and skills were very impressive. Your other staff member was also lovely. The fact that every dress was stunning made things very difficult but also showed me the extreme quality of workmanship.

The level of service compared to my other appointments so far has been second to none. This made such a big impression on me as it was such a special day for me.

I have a year until my wedding but am already in love with one of your dresses and will be sure to be back, and be sure to recommend your shop.

Thanks again,
Kim

2007-02-19T14:40:00.000+11:00

It's funny where life takes you sometimes. Yesterday I spent the aftenoon talking to Zac Protopapas, at Ruebar, for Lochie Ashelford's going way drinks. I haven't seen either of those people since hgh school and I wasn't loking forward to it, but I actually had a good time. I did spend quite a lot of time talking about weddings though, not something I ever thought woud be my small talk area of expertise.

2007-02-14T19:40:00.000+11:00

I have to admit it...... I hooked up a myspace. I know I will never live it down. Now I have been burned. Evil, Evil, Evil.

Watch out for the killer palm trees!

2007-02-14T19:22:00.000+11:00

St Kilda Festival rally sucked this year. It was blowing a gale, and 'cos it's so dry dust, dirt and grass was constantly flying in your face at a million miles an hour. This did make for some funny times watching people scamper out of the way as huge chunks of palm tree came flying down at them.

We took our solace and solitude from the good old RSL. Well, not so much solitude, as it was packed when we walked in there. But we still managed to get ourselves a neat litle patch of ground on whch to park our be-hinds.

We only emerged to see 'the mighty crane' put on their rock show. I loved it! Singin' along and all.

Awesome to see Daisy too,

and hang out wiht my sister drinking vodka red bull.

2007-02-04T11:12:00.000+11:00

No matter how many times you climb Mt Oberon to watch the sunset it remans unbearably beautiful. Last Friday nigh especially.

We set off early so as to set an easy pace, so even when we got to the top it was still warm with a mild breeze floating across fom the ocean. Cardies were needed after the sun went down but as soon as we satred off back down the hill it was singlet and shorts again.

When I woke up yesterday morning at The Prom I did not expect to finish the day drinking absinthe at a burlesque show.

2007-02-04T10:30:00.000+11:00

As usual it was really hot for the pack up of the site with just Rob and I trying to figure out what to do with all the bits and pieces left over from two weeks at the beach, peaking with 30 people for dinner on my mum's birthday.

Then driving home with a trailer which sent my car down at the back on a 45 degree angle and no lights. Fun, fun, fun!

Then, just for something completely different I went to a burlesque night at the Spanish club. Unfortunately it was a little disappointing. It felt like I was at some dirty high school talent show.

Excepting of course the lovely Amelia Wood. Although I have seen her in her underwear before, part and parcel of a costume job, it was very odd to see someone you know stripping all sexy up on stage. My old 'new best friend' Marawa was there too, doing he hula thang. She is one foxy lady.

It's good to be back home, at least until I go back to work, can't say I'm looking forward to that one.

2007-01-29T12:34:00.000+11:00

The weather's looking up! So it looks like I'll be at the Prom till at least Saturday!

Snake on a Bush

2007-01-14T14:03:00.000+11:00

This is what I woke up to on Wednesday of last week. A liitle blury I know, but a big fat tiger snake, just outside my bedroom window. My bedroom window which I had left open all night in the hope that the blistering heat would subside. Unfortunately the temp outside didn't drop below 28, so I risked my life through snake bite for nothing.

This sighting made me paranoid for about a day- keeping my doors and windows shut, wearing shoes whenever outside and making plenty of noise, looking around whenever I heard a rustle in the leaves around anywhere.

Over it now though, but I am still thinking about a flywire screen for that window.

2007-01-08T14:30:00.000+11:00

Since Christmas I've been reading a book, The Kite Runner and been totally enveloped by it's story and the world it is set in.

I had to stop reading on the train on the way home this morning 'cos I kept crying. It is a seriously good book, and I'm not just a wussy girl.

Turns out they just finished a film version of it in America. If they can pull it off it should be amazing!

As promised

2007-01-04T22:18:00.000+11:00

The birthday bonnet, as expertly constructed by Dalm and I.

Ev also had a small bottle of Jamison in his tummy, hence his willingness to wear said bonnet, and play with Harry.

Another event that took place this day, which goes into the hallowed hall of fame along with Wellsie and the boomgate incident......

After sculling about 5 standard drinks worth of Jamison Ev stood up, tripped over his own feet, and fell headlong into the two terracotta pots full of duckweed and goldfish at Mel's place.

Freakin Hilarious!

Dirt and Gritty

2007-01-04T22:10:00.000+11:00

It finally feels like summer.

Hot days.

Hot nights.

Hot mornings.

Hot afternoons.

And of course, all just in time for me to have to go back to work.

Saving grace.....

only 14 sleeps till the Prom!

Ta-daa!

2007-01-04T21:51:00.000+11:00

It's taken nearly a week, but after finally recovering from New Years' and getting back to work U've gotten my phone connected to my pc.

And voila!

Pictures for your perusal.

This is the sun in the morning sky, tinged red by the fire in the air.

A small sample of the debauchery which went on at The 'Vat Christmas Party. Keep in mind that this was early, and before such events as 'nudie runs' took place.

Raph on Christmas Day.

I had a face painting gig for the kids of the English Cricket Team and when I returned to lunch it slowly degenerated into family face painting.

So frustrating!

2006-12-31T09:21:00.000+11:00

I have some sweet photos on my phone, (They include Ev in his birthday bonnet and rob in a g-string and pink sunglasses.) but I can't install the software onto my computer so I can transfer them over. Aaargh!

Hopefully that's tempting enough for you to wait and come back when they're up, ....at some stage.

Christmas Cheer

2006-12-24T13:09:00.000+11:00

Thanks for a great night kids!

I think it suffice to say fun was had by all.

A little disappointing in the krap stakes though, too many of those presents were way too kool.

Well done to Mel though with the krap gift of 'dirt in a box' for Stubbs.

Andrew and his boobs.

The most 'appreciative recipient' award definitely has to go to Harry, as soon as he got his puppy friend he was all over him like a dirty rash.

Get a room next time you guys!

Thanks B for the slut red lipstick.

Who would have thought with the weather of the past two days that a fire would have been required for warmth. I know Luke wasn't too impressed with the whole 'fire danger' element of it all. But I think it was worth it to not freeze our butts off.

Merry Christmas to all.

Keep on with the summer adventures!

2006-12-17T15:02:00.000+11:00

Check me out making chicken pot pie!

Christmas Party

2006-12-17T13:13:00.000+11:00

It certainly is party time around here. Dad's 50th was on last night, for young and old. It's so good that most of the people there were friends he's known for like 30 years or more. I hope when I turn 50 all my friends now will be there.

It's been decided that Christmas lunch will be here for the Skipper extended family.

But the real big one is for you!

NEXT SATURDAY 23RD DECEMBER

Krap Kringle is on again!

My place from 7.00, bring a krappy present for Santa to give out. Bring some booze. Bring some food. Eat drink and be merry.

Fire in the Hall

2006-12-13T18:19:00.000+11:00

How scary was the weather today?! It really seemed like a house right next door was on fire.

Same fiery red sun as on Australia Day down at the Prom. Much more smell though, and not nearly as much heat thank god. Tomorrow will be even scarier with the temp heating up again.

I can't see a way it's going to end any time soon.