Blue Mountains Knits

Everything in the Garden...

2010-04-22T11:19:00.011+10:00

... is lovely. Despite Autumn coming on the garden is still looking wonderfully green. This is mostly due to Chris's sterling efforts snipping, trimming, mowing and mulching.

I've tried to do my bit by planting lots of Green Mulch in our small designated Veggie patch. Woolly Vetch, Fenugreek and Fava Bean seeds were bought from Green Harvest along with Soya Beans for the Spring.

I really had no idea what I was doing so I tried to recall the wonderfully productive garden of my childhood. We had a quarter acre plot that fed a family of eight, full of potatoes, peas, cabbage and gooseberries, but it required many hours of hard digging and maintenance. I read directions, checked labels, scattered garden lime and mushroom compost, planted seeds and crossed my fingers. This is just for a mulch!
In the Spring I hope to put in beans, tomatoes, basil, spinach and lettuce, not quite-self sufficient but enough to supplement the grocery shopping.

A bunch of the wonderful ferns in the bottom of the garden come from our neighbour in Bondi - we obtained from them 3 Dicksonia Antarctica that were used in a photo shoot then disposed of. They are thriving under the big River Gum and the Toona Tree, joining a Tasmanian Dixonia and a couple of Tree Ferns to make a Bower of greenery worthy of the New Zealand West Coast.

Out the front of the house is another little Dixonia. The smaller, less invasive fern replaces a large Cyathea Australis fern that was a hazard to the Gas Meter Reader. I was very sorry to see it go as it had a large sweeping crown of leaves that complemented the nearby Cabbage tree, again reminiscent of favourite NZ landscapes.

Nora Heysen at The Ervin

2009-12-02T09:41:00.009+11:00

Yesterday I read a small paragraph in the paper that the S.H. Ervin Gallery was presenting a retrospective of the works of Nora Heysen. Even though I was tired from an early start and a rushed and stressful morning Speech Day performance I made a point of stopping in.

"Born in Hahndorf, South Australia, 1911, Nora Heysen was an artist of extraordinary ability and tenacity and is best known through her exquisite still life paintings and absorbing portraits. Nora was the fourth of celebrated artist, Hans Heysen's eight children. As the first female artist to be awarded the Archibald Prize in 1938 her skill as a portraitist also paved the way for her appointment as the first Australian woman to be appointed an official war artist in 1943. Until her death in 2003, at age 92, the artist lived and worked in her Sydney home, 'The Chalet', in Hunters Hill, where she painted and drew with boundless energy and an amazing vitality of colour."

The Ervin is one of my favourite galleries because it tends to show a lot of Artists that don't quite make it to Blockbuster status. Many of these artists are, of course, women.
"The exclusiveness of the gallery lays in the fact that it showcases works from Australian women artists and thus provides a pedestal to many talents who might otherwise have gone unnoticed."

I first saw Nora Heysen back in 2001 in the "Modern Australian Women" Exhibition touring through the Ervin. Like many women artist of the time there are many obligatory still life with flowers but it's her portraits that capture my attention.

The painting of Florence Miles, a transport driver during the war, wasn't included in this exhibition, which is a shame. I think it has far more relevance and meaning than the posed images of the higher ranking female officers she was required to produce as part of her appointment as official war artist.

Captain Blondebeard

2009-11-10T10:13:00.000+11:00

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Apple and Blackcurrent juice. Here be a pirate from the end-of-year school performance. A fine display of youngsters performing for the entertainment of parents and carers. We watched from the audience and tried not to focus on the wonderful antics on stage and not notice the lighting or sound. It was a marvelous effort from all concerned.

The next 'big do' for the local community is a repeat of the hugely successful Brook Community Theatre Radio Plays at the Faulconbridge Community Hall on Sat 14th. 'The Case of the Dead Adventuress' and 'The Musgrave Ritual' are 40's style Sherlock Holmes radio plays performed with style and enthusiasm by the local talent.

Garden Matters

2009-08-23T22:58:00.009+10:00

It's been a while since the garden had a bit of attention so it's getting an early Spring clean in this unseasonal bout of warm weather.The vege garden has been restyled and lettuce, beets,marigolds and alyssum planted, the beans and peas under a frame made from an old Futon base.

The entire crop of NZ Yams (Oca) was put back in the ground although I was sorely tempted to roast them in the oven. They are not a pretty vegetable, looking like fat pink grubs, but they have that special sharp nutty flavour. I'm a bit concerned this Summer is going to be very hot but the Mandarin tree may give them some shade.

After all the hard labour is done for the day the workers relax in the hammock under the giant River Peppermint gum and read Dirk Gently.

Snack Attack

2009-08-04T10:34:00.006+10:00

Over the past few years the variety of birds in our backyard has increased; Bowerbirds, Crimson Rosellas, Wattlebirds, Honeyeaters, Butcher birds, and Cockatoos are common visitors. Last weekend we had a new visitor and it wasn't interested in seeds.

This is the atermath of a Collared Sparrowhawk swooping upon a poor King Parrot. It was a swift attack with a very efficient dispatch. The Hawk then dragged the remains onto the gravel and consumed it leaving only a few pin feathers. It wasn't phased by the close proximity of humans and only huddled over its meal when we ventured into view.

Melbourne

2009-07-21T12:38:00.006+10:00

Federation Square

I like Melbourne - a lot.

It's like a rich chocolate cake compared to a Sydney Sorbet. The past 5 days have been spent exploring the laneways and tramways of the Melbourne CBD. We visited Salvador Dali, Pompei, the wonderful Melboune Museum, penguins at the Aquarium, the Bendigo Wool and Sheep show, the Yarra river, the Docklands and Pelligrinis - several times, the State Library and lots of restaurants and eateries.

As soon as we went it seemed to be over - it was only a 56 minutes flight from Mascot to Tullamarine but it was enough to give the lad an experience of flying in a jetplane - a compact little 737, and for us to experience living with Room Service for a week.

I came back with lots of photos, very sore feet from all the walking, several skeins of wonderful yarn and a desire to go back - maybe next year.

Pericles

2009-07-07T11:52:00.009+10:00

I think I've mentioned before there are some shows that are a chore to work on and there are others that are a delight. Pericles is in the latter case and makes up for the nights of angst I had to endure on my last season in the Drama Theatre.

This Shakespearean play performed by the Bell Shakespeare Company is big, loud, melodramatic and as convoluted as a soap opera.

It has a lot of energy and is obviously fun for the cast. There's drumming and singing and dancing and a big Bollywood style scene that only needs a shower of rose petals to finish it off.

The reviews have been varied because it's not the type of play that can be rationally analysed - the plot-twists and coincidences are worthy of any modern day melodrama and the actors are sometimes required to switch from serious, heart-wrenching soliloquies to mundane and seemingly trivial statements - all in the same breath.

The one scene that stands out for me is at the end when poor old King Pericles, after enduring countless shipwrecks (that man should not get in a boat), the loss of his beloved wife and then his daughter, finds them again. He has aged 20 years since his first appearance and so is required to portray a degree of pathos suitable for the occasion.

Marcus Graham does this well I think, and is a very appropriate hero for the occasion but... why is it that every single time he says these lines;

Now, blessing on thee! rise; thou art my child. Give me fresh garments; the audience cacks itself?

No matter if it's a matinee , a school audience, an evening blue-rinse set - they all spontaneously laugh.

I have a theory that it is a combination of comic relief from the seriousness of his reunification with his daughter (who is so virtuous and pure she transforms rapist to saints) and the slight embarrassment at the out of place request. Deep Drama and Emotional Outpouring interrupted with a request for his laundry. Strange.

I have been busy during this show and have created one pair of socks already - saturated colour worthy of the richly coloured hues of the lighting, costumes and sets. I think I will be able to get another pair finished before the end of the season.

Wee Stig - 15 seconds of fame

2009-06-30T15:56:00.005+10:00

Here is the Wee Stig's 15 seconds of Fame, snuggled up with Warren in the back of the luxury car.
I nearly missed this spot on the final episode of the Top Gear Australia season so I was very relieved when eagle-eyed Ravelry members told me he had been on.

Wee Stig has now been retired to live with Jules and Marianne among the lobsters. He travelled a lot further than I ever imagined when I made him so I can say he absolutely fulfilled his potential.
What more can a knitted doll ask for.

Orange Grove

2009-06-22T12:14:00.008+10:00

It's been a long week at work seeing out the last few performances of "When the Rain stops Falling" so I needed a bit of time away from the inner city and the dark angst of the theatre.
We went orange picking at Penrith Valley - that's the groves in the distance with the mist-covered Blue Mountains in the background and a very cosy horse on the side.

We picked and ate lots of juicy oranges and took enough home to ward off colds and flu, and to make some Marmalade. I had to return to the city that night unfortunately but I felt a bit refreshed and cheered by the fresh air and green fields.

In the packing shed this object was hanging on the wall and it was immediately labelled as the world's largest Knitting Needle Gauge.
I think we need to get out more.

(It's an Orange Sorter - big to small)

Festival of ...Socks

2009-06-15T09:39:00.011+10:00

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/778163

Last night saw the final of the Vivid Festival at work - the wonderful images that had been projected onto the sails were turned off, the Opera Theatre started resetting for the Opera season and the ambient soundscape in the Studio was silenced.

The entire Opera House had virtually been handed over to Brian Eno to play with and the majority of performance spaces were featuring something he had curated. Normally this period between the Ballet and Opera Season is a quiet time but the past few weeks have seen the Opera Theatre ringing to the sounds of Heavy Metal Rock and esoteric performances. I think quite a bit of dust was shaken out of the fly tower in the process.

One of my favourites was the 77 Million Paintings in the Studio which, I'm afraid, reminded me of 77 Million Quilting Blocks, but it was still soothing and pleasant to look at.

In keeping with this atmosphere of creative energy I've started on my own Festival of Colour and Texture with an unparalleled outburst of Sock Knitting. One pair finished, three more on the needles and a growing queue of potentials.

The recent Darling Harbour Craft show helped fuel this with tempting skeins of Jitterbug in rich gold and deep greens, Noro Sock yarn and Touch Yarns Merino.

I thought I was remarkably restrained in my purchases at the craft fair but that may have been because I was (once again) juggling work and social obligations and as always, had to be somewhere else.

I missed out on the wonderful WWKIP curated by Sally - another Festival of Yarn and Magic attended by numerous devotees and, other than a strange threat from the Darling Harbour Event Organisers to call the Knitting Police if any "teaching of Knitting techniques" occurred, it was a great success.

Wee Stig Rules! OK

2009-05-21T15:07:00.010+10:00

After his supporting role at the Sydney Easter Show Wee Stig has made it to the top - a feature appearance on Top Gear Australia. His presence there was a very roundabout sequence of events originating from this post and ending up with a request from the production manager of the show. She wanted to know if I could make a few more Wee Stigs as gifts for her hard-working production crew. I explained that if I accurately charged the full amount of time and labour it would cost $300 per doll! To get round this I offered to make some String Dolls - I had never made them before but I decided to give it a go. Two weeks later I travelled to the Bankstown Studios of Top Gear Australia to deliver this:
A dozen Mini Stigs made of string, cotton, glue and felt. They are exclusively unique but I won't be taking orders as I've moved on to my next obsession - Socks.

Here be knitting...

2009-05-14T17:17:00.005+10:00

A cold concrete Lindsay Lady gets a Scarf

There hasn't been much knitting in these posts lately and that's partly because of my recent increased workload and partly due to a lack of knitting mojo.
I decided that I wouldn't be disheartened by the ever present pile of UFO's and have embarked on a totally new project - Socks!

This is a whole new world for me as I have never had any desire to cross to the other side - I've heard that it is totally addictive and once entered you can never leave. Last weekend - just before Mother's day I dug through my pile of yarn and found a ball of Tofutsies I had won at the Sydney Summer WWKIP. Recent experience with the Stig made me very proficient with a set of DPN so the smooth silky Knitpick Harmonies were a joy to hold. I originally had ideas of creating a complex lace pair but the fact that my short term memory is worse than a goldfish meant I wisely opted for a very basic Patons rib pattern. No frills, no challenges - just get the thing finished.
They got their first outing at Lindsay's cafe in Faulconbridge on Saturday morning. We had just finished putting up a small lighting rig at the local High School for a forthcoming dance piece and happened upon this very nice restaurant a the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum.
It was sort of a pre Mother's day treat and was one of the rare occaisions that we were together as a family so we made the most of it. The food and service were good in parts, the lamb shanks were delicious, the barramundi a bit dry, and the apple and rhubarb crumble didn't live up to its promise but the setting in the little studio cottage was perfect, as was the big bowl of Latte.

The sock has progressed and is almost at the heel - I know that this has been a challenge to sock newbies before but after the Stig - nothing fazes me.

I'm all out of ...

2009-05-07T01:07:00.007+10:00

I survived the 11 year old's party and the pack of marauding boys playing guerrilla games in the garden to lurch into this mass display or Adulation and Nostalgia.

I am not a great fan of Air Supply's music - it reminds me too much of angst ridden Teenage years and swelling chorus lines that somehow embed themselves deep in the psyche.

I cannot fault their performance though. For two nights they captivated the 2000+ audience and totally held them in thrall. The two 80's icons gambolled, skipped and posed around the stage and auditorium of the Concert Hall and, despite being accused of having " the faint aroma of Mother's Day music" around them, they gave the audience what they wanted. There was a mosh pit full of arm-waving devotees and a chance to grab a hug or a quick snog as the two stars ventured into the stalls amongst their adoring fans.
Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell seemed pleasantly surprised that the entire audience knew all the words to all of their songs but they should have known better. This was their homeland and they were the local heroes with their easy listening lyrics and repetitious musical phrases.

All of this smooching aside it was a very busy show for me because of the last minute change as baby-sitting the house lights turned into "make the Strand board a Whole Hog so the LD can work her magic". Luckily we had the rare luxury of a six hours of plotting time the day before so I programmed the Concert Hall 500 from its standard static orchestral states into a flashing, pulsing, moving light control console. I knew it could do it and I knew I could do it. I must admit it was a lot of fun rising to the challenge and on the final curtain everyone was happy; 2000 baby boomers, the idolised performers, the LD (who admitted to being a knitter and crocheter!) and me.

End of the Working Week

2009-05-01T00:16:00.003+10:00

Dylan Moran in his one and only show in the Concert Hall. Setting the levels for a simple design using one follow spot and 9 lights plotted into a slow colour change over his 2 hour stand-up performance.

He was very true to his Black Books character, grumpy and garrulous in that wonderful Irish brogue. He told the audience off for laughing at him, for clapping, for photographing him and for bothering to come at all. A wine (or two) at Interval made the second half flow much more assuredly than the first and the entire show was very funny and true to form.

Fanpics

2009-04-29T10:38:00.005+10:00

I was like a 15yr old fan when David Bedella (Satan in Jerry Springer) gave me his autograph.

I found it hard to restrain my enthusiasm and admiration for this very talented singer but I tried my best to retain a professional composure as I proudly told him I was his Follow-Spot Operator for the entire show and how much I liked his singing.
He is a very nice fellow and took my gushing compliments graciously but his wonderful talent really did make working this show a pleasure.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

2009-04-27T08:55:00.004+10:00

"The fat lady has sung"

Sunday – six pm in the Opera Theatre Control Room.
This time last week I had just finished working on an interesting lecture by Alain de Botton on his new book “The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work”. I was looking forward to having the following week off with maybe one small Duty shift – this was not to be.

Alain said that work was “an impulse to impose order in a Chaotic world” and sitting here once again behind this control desk I can attest to that. The last seven days have been at their most chaotic; fun, demanding, entertaining, at times frustrating but overall very rewarding.

Two days before its opening night I was called in to follow-spot “Jerry Springer – The Opera”. It should be noted I haven’t been on a Dome for over 10 years. I knew little about the show other than it had been preoccupying a lot of Opera House people for over six months, had a minimal amount of on-stage production or rehearsal time for such a large scale Musical, that it was controversial and needed more crew.

Despite this I survived – the doming skills were still there – I still knew how to pick-up and follow my target, fade off gently, switch colours and size, change from full-body to pin spot before the next entrance. It was gratifying to find that the muscles remembered the skills required and I could “zone in” to the show amongst all the noise, calls and music that comprised it.

I received the request at 11pm Monday night and haven’t been home since that time. The late finishes and early starts made travel to and from the Mountains an extra trial so our rooms at Bondi came into their own.

Sunday afternoon, after only 6 days and 7 performances Jerry finished. I switched off the Robert Juliat “Cyrano”, said my thanks and farewells to the crew, ran downstairs and across to the Opera Theatre for the totally different show I was operating in a different capacity, that night.

Sitting here at the Control desk after quickly focusing and plotting the small recital and lectern state required for the Corporate Function the sense of Déjà vu is strong, tinged by a growing exhaustion as I start to come down from the rush of the past six days.

In the final paragraphs of his book de Botton says:

“Work does not by its nature permit us to do anything other than take it too seriously. It must destroy our sense of perspective, and we should be grateful to it for precisely that reason, for allowing us to mingle ourselves promiscuously with events, for letting us wear the thoughts of our own death and the destruction of our enterprises with beautiful lightness, as mere intellectual propositions. …We function on the basis of necessary Myopia. Therein is the sheer energy of existence...

“If we could witness the eventual fate of every one of our projects we could have no choice but to succumb to eventual paralysis.”

On the closing night I see” the eventual fate of most of [my] efforts” and are very aware of their transient nature and insignificance in the greater scheme of things. But in my case there is a very small gap between Work and Play and for that I am thankful.

Knitting - the new torture

2009-03-31T14:03:00.005+11:00

The last week has only proven to me that people who say that "Knitting is the New Yoga" are vastly deluded. I was up until 2:30 am Saturday morning trying to meet the deadline for the the 2009 Sydney Royal Arts Show aka The Easter Show. I made it but it was not a pleasant experience.

My entry was a version of The Stig base roughly on a Knitty pattern with adaptations for the overalls and helmet. I was knitting in the round with anodised aluminium DPN, acrylic/viscose yarn and slightly damp hands due to the humidity and my stress. It was not a smooth process of repetitious movements generating alpha waves of contentment but a sticky, erratic, jerky process punctuated with muttering, cursing and cries of pain as I jabbed myself.

I made the deadline and Stig is now sharing a display cabinet with cute clowns, fluffy ducks and teddy bears. I trust he will remain unfazed throughout this experience while I, on the other hand am definitely in need of rehabilitation.

Timeless and Priceless

2009-03-17T19:38:00.009+11:00

Look at what I received in the mail today! Totally unexpected but so, so welcomed.

In my previous post about Cressida Campbell I mentioned she recently had published a limited edition book of her woodblock paintings. By the time I came to her exhibition the first edition was sold out and they were not sure of a second printing.

I put an order in with Readings on the off-chance and thought no more about it.
This afternoon I received a big parcel in the mail and inside was this wonderful, huge, colourful, exquisite book.

Nearly three hundred images have been assembled here, carefully edited into nine distinct sections. It’s a book that displays a sensitive and introspective imagination at work, a book which allows the pictures to speak for themselves.

"It took about three years to put together," Campbell says of the book. "I initially said I couldn't be bothered. I just wanted to keep doing what I was doing rather than endlessly sifting through my old pictures.

"I eventually drove the book's designer completely mad, of course. I treated it like a picture in and of itself."

Nonetheless, Campbell is happy with the result. "We chose thick, high-quality paper because we wanted the book to have a real tactile element to it," Campbell says, handing me the weighty tome. "There's nothing glossy about my work and we wanted that lithographic feel to the pages."

It's heavy and smooth and has a lovely new smell to it - I'll have to make a slip cover to protect it and keep it away from the bookshelves that have paperbacks and coffee cups deposited on them.

This has been one of the nicest surprise I've received in the mail for a while.

The Slums of Glebe

2009-03-16T23:49:00.005+11:00

I've been doing some digging in the photo vaults because a friend is retiring and I wanted to make up a record of images from his time at The House. In the process I have been uncovering a lot of interesting and sometimes poignant photos of long ago. I'm going to post some over a period of time just to get them out there in the ether. My ultimate ambition would be to have an official site for the social and working history of the Opera House that would add a human dimension to the iconic architectural and political story.

This clump of ramshackle huts is located on canal banks on the west side of Jubilee Park in Glebe. It is supposed to represent a slum in Djakarta and was built for Peter Weir's film "The Year of Living Dangerously" after they had to leave the Phillipines because of death threats. The final scenes were digitally altered to remove the viaduct and add a city skyline.

I lived in Northcote Rd on the opposite side of the park at the time and it was my first experience of a location shoot. Because of the last minute decision to relocate the shoot it all seemed to happen overnight. I came home from work late to find the walls of the street lined with political posters denouncing Sukarno and a lot of trucks with noisy generators parked everywhere. It was fascinating to watch a suburban Sydney park be transformed into an Asian slum with soldiers and street hawkers. I never saw Mel Gibson or Sigourney Weaver or the Oscar winning performance of Linda Hunt as the Cameraman Billy Kwan.

It was all over within a week but the sheds and the posters stayed around. The area has now been transformed into Bicentennial Park and the buildings, posters, walls and even the roads are long gone.

Jazz and the Bayou Teche

2009-03-02T11:26:00.007+11:00

What's Nice: listening to The Mingus Big Band performing jazz in the Concert Hall, knitting the finishing rows of the Linen Mode Jacket while reading James Lee Burke .

I came to this author via the First Tuesday Night Book Club on the ABC and am fascinated by his descriptions of the life and land of Southwest Louisiana; places like New Iberia, the Atachafalaya River, antebellum mansions and the Gulf coast.

..the light was never harsh, never superheated or smelling of tar roads and dust as it was in other neighborhoods. Instead it filtered through Spanish moss and bamboo and philodendron that dripped with beads of moisture as big as marbles, so that even in the midst of summer the morning came to those who lived here with a blue softness that daily told them the earth was a grand place, its design vouchsafed in heaven and not to be questioned.

His language adds a poetry to the hard, brutal, subject matter of his crime stories and makes me want to find more about this French-settled part of America - it fills out the stereotypes and corrects misconceptions, even though his characters may not seem the best choice to promote safe travel.What's not Nice:

At the end of the Mingus Big Band the Big Bump Out; derigging all the box truss, the tri truss, the moving lights, cables, shackles, slings and bolts; packing it all up to leave a clear stage for the SSO performance the next morning; taking it all down to an already packed Central Passage and squeezing road cases and lead trolleys into tiny spaces; driving the long road home after midnight, feeling desperately in need of a shower and another cup of coffee to stay awake.

Apparently the name "Teche" is "a French word meaning "snake" based on a story about a large snake told by the Chitimacha Indians to the settlers in the area." It refers to a tributary of the Mississippi.

The common Koel

2009-02-24T20:25:00.006+11:00

This noisy raucous creature spent all morning yelling at whoever would listen from the Blueberry Ash in the backyard. I had seen her at the birdbath a few times but didn't realise what a big noisy presence she had.

It's an Australian cuckoo or Koel and in the background is the little wattlebird that has been raising this impostor ever since it forced the other eggs and hatchings out of the nest. The demand for food is constant so the poor surrogate parent doesn't get much of a break. I don't know if its a male or female as the stripey yellow plumage is juvenile but I hope it gives us all a break soon.

Timeless: The art of Cressida Campbell

2009-02-23T11:01:00.008+11:00

As is my wont I put off going to this wonderful exhibition and therefore queued with many other procrastinators on the last day. Cressida Campbell's woodblocks appeal to me on so many levels. Her crisp lines, translucent hues and seemingly mundane interiors have been a favourite since the the 90's when I cut out a mgazine print of From The Balcony and stuck it on my notice board. This tattered paper finally fell apart last week so I resolved to see the originals and if possible buy a copy of her recently published book.

The Sydney Morning Herald review puts it succinctly;
Over a career of almost 30 years there has been surprisingly little written about Campbell, most probably because she does not produce work that fits the rhetorical blueprint of our times. In other words, she does not employ obvious themes, theoretical or political ideas, making it hard for shallow people to find much to write about. However, one need take only a little time to look, and there is no space to say all that might be said.

When I look at her images of 'pedestrian' scenes of a room or a balcony I am inexorably drawn into her space. Her colours relax me and even a simple image of nasturtiums draw my eye with their compact perfection.

Images taken with a mobile phone do not do justice to these wonderful artworks but I am very glad that I did make it to the Sam H. Ervin Gallery to see them live.

Holidays

2009-02-02T20:58:00.011+11:00

Leonard Cohen at The Vineyards at Bowral.

Big natural amphitheatre surrounded by gum trees and grapevines. Lots of grass, shade, space to stretch out on the blanket; kids everywhere, no agro or boofheads or drunks.
On stage this amazing, gentle man with a resonant voice and a wonderful stage presence, singing songs from my past .

We left early towards the end of the second half, just after Hallelujah, to beat the traffic jam and because the lad had fallen asleep despite the music and the light rain.

After months of juggling work and shows and who is where, doing what, we finally got to go on a holiday. We took the weekend off because we had a new toilet installed courtesy of a very generous offer from the Sydney Water board and we couldn't use the loo for 24 hrs.

We went to Kiama and revisited all our favourite spots - the blowhole, the lighthouse and the playground in the town centre. There was swimming in the rock pool in the morning;

and a visit to Bombo Headland for the first time.
I had seen this dramatic and exotic scenery on various music clips and vintage shows like the Power Rangers and The Aunty Jack Show but it is a lot prettier in real life.After all too brief day on the coast we headed inland to The Centennial Vineyards at Bowral and the Show I had bought tickets for way back in november '08. Well worth the wait.

A Break in Transmission

2009-01-13T23:16:00.002+11:00

Due to a massive blow-out of data allowance because of a Trial version of World of Warcraft, (evil game) the modem has been unplugged and put away on a high shelf until it has worked off the ridiculously obscene amount of money 2Gig worth cost.

In the meantime enjoy Goodnight Kiwi - a quietly comforting bit of nostalgia.

Horticultural Faith

2009-01-05T14:55:00.007+11:00

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a chainsaw must be in want of self control.

Apologies to Jane Austen

I have been assured that these ragged stumps of the Melaleuca Hypericifolia will be soon be covered with many fresh green shoots and will once again provide flowers and nectar for the little Honeyeaters. The plus side is the open view to the North East from the newly installed garden seat and the extra light that the Yam bushes now receive.

I only hope that the recent cuttings struck from the bush will grow as well as their parent - a survivor of droughts and backyard bushfires (from me throwing out embers in the ashbucket!)

New Year 2009

2009-01-01T18:43:00.005+11:00

After staying away from the crowds and chaos of New Year in the city for several years we ventured down to experience the fireworks close up. We were able to get access to the coolness and quietness of The House and so miss most of the crowds.

I didn't feel up to staying for the full midnight experience, stunning though it was, so we decamped after the 9pm show - working our way up MacQuarie street against the tide of merrymakers heading to the Domain and Botanic Gardens. It was a perfect night for it - balmy weather and a gentle breeze. We walked to the back streets of Darlinghurst and had a coffee at Bills before catching the bus home.

New Years Day was a swim and snorkel at Clovelly with a bit of sandcastle building on the side.

A great way to start 2009.

I am ....

2008-12-28T17:21:00.005+11:00

Working: On the The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

Being Called: Amanda Muggleton, Bob, Ruth, Tracey - by the characters of TCWWS during the course of the play.

Sleeping: at Bondi over the past three nights, during the bump in and rehearsals of TCWWS, because of the late finishes, early starts and Trackwork.

Reading: James Ellroy - The Big Nowhere as recommended by Jennifer Byrne and team on the First Tuesday Book Club; An intense, complex and enthralling read.

Watching: TCWWS and Life on Mars Series 2, the first because it's so funny and the second because it's a damn fine drama.

Knitting: the lovely Touch Yarns Angora into a scarf and mittens for a friend who admired the yarn - the bunny fibre is sooo soft and smooshy. I have to complete it by tomorrow lunchtime so one more show should do it.

Buying: 1 skein of Debbie Bliss Silk yarn from Morris and Sons sales to supplement the 6 balls of cotton/silk, Classic Elite Patina I'm using for the Stashbusting sideways Jacket. Any excuse to go and browse a sale.

Waiting: for Virginia Farm to reopen so I can buy dye suitable for colouring Linen fibre - then I can finish the Linen Jacket.

Sheltering: in the dark, air conditioned, coolness of the Playhouse Control Room away from crowds of hot tourists.

Missing: the cool Blue Mountains air, the King Parrots on the back Verandah, and my boys.

Christmas Trees

2008-12-25T16:14:00.004+11:00

There's the big one;

the little one;

the ones growing in the garden;

and the bush.

They all have their place but I know the most popular is the one in our house.

Happy Christmas!

Social Events

2008-12-16T13:46:00.012+11:00

The past few weeks have (once again) been busy but this time it hasn't all been work. It is the time of year for social occasions but most of mine have centred around family and the odd bit of knitting.

Just looking through Picasa (the only way I seem to keep track of what I've been doing) I've found our day at the Zig Zag Railway;
We travelled on the last trip of the day and they let us ride in the cabin while they shunted - Big thrills for the whole family. Because it's only 30 minutes away I've joined up with them - the whole organisation is run by Volunteers and they do a damn fine job - as well as being a lot of fun.

Then there was the Star War s exhibition at The Powerhouse; we arrived very early and left before the crowds became too much.

It was a great display of Props and Costumes and it showed the amount of detail required before the days of CGI and Green Screens.I loved the costumes while The Lad was more into the robots and the villains.

On the same day we caught the last performance of The Umbilical Bros. These two guys are the most talented and funny performers I have seen for a long time. Despite rushing to catch a taxi to the airport after their last show they still managed to find time to sign an autograph for a 10 yr old fan and his pushy mother. (Dave was still in the shower but signed it as he packed up the props)

Is it any wonder I yearn for the green tranquillity of the back verandah after a few weeks of this?

Blossom

2008-12-03T11:17:00.008+11:00

I know that Summer has officially started and that the time to celebrate Spring blossoms has passed but our garden was never one to stick to convention.
Several trees have been putting on a beautiful show for the past three months so I pay credit to their prettiness.

The Blueberry Ash is a mass of pink tutu flowers surounded by bees and insects. I've given up on the blue berries surviving because the birds always get there first.

Its neighbour, the Lemon Scented Myrtle , is a bit more subdued with clusters of soft cream and lemon blooms.

Next to them the Black Wattle is past its best but its creamy flower puffs can still be seen. Despite its name this tree is not an Acacia;

"Callicoma serratifolia is a plant of historic interest as the first timbers used for the wattle and daub huts of the early settlers were cut from these trees. This plant was common at that time around Sydney Cove. Because of the close resemblance of its flowers to those of Acacia it was then known as black wattle, a name which is now applied more appropriately to some true Acacia species."

We have plenty of real wattle trees in the garden but their flowering period is long gone. The Big Boofy Cockatoos are having a great time ripping into the new seed pods and scattering the cuttings over the front garden - there is a layer of mulch about a foot deep over the lawn and the path and the car and the postman, if he stayed still for 10 minutes.

The one plant that is thriving is the Oca - so far my attempts to ward off snails and possums and birds have proven successful. The recent rains have been extremley beneficial to my Yam trials so I'm keeping my finger crossed for a good crop.

Adventures in Colour

2008-11-21T19:54:00.009+11:00

Moss - a wonderful gold, green colour from Landscape dyes on Moda Vera Linen Mode and a skein of "Natural white Merino ultra soft boucle yarn in 100g skeins" from Virginia Farm.

The boucle shows the true colour despite the linen blend simmering in the dyepot for about half an hour.
I got tired of waiting for the dye to exhaust so I popped the merino yarn in for a few minutes while I rinsed the linen out. The results were impressive - it really does live up to its "dyes beautifully" description.

The reason why I was dying the Moda Vera was to get an alternative to the lime that was the only green shade Spotlight had in this fibre. It wasn't as successful as I would have liked but I can still use it to complement the taupe shade I'm using to knit this loose-flowing swing cardigan. Big needles, simple pattern and budget price yarn.

On the other set of needles I am nearly finished another swing cardigan - this time in lovely silky-soft, Atlante bamboo yarn from Naturally. It's 4ply and very slippery so its not a relaxed knit - I have to ensure my tension is constant as it doesn't allow for any mistakes or variations. the end result is worth it though - a slinky, cool summer top in rich Gold.

The other colour adventures we are having are Royal Blue. The Boy Bowerbirds have been practising - even though they are still without their mature, deep-blue plumage they've been dancing and preening, building bowers and collecting bits of blue booty. The bowers are a bit scrappy, their dances and songs obviously need a bit more work and all their booty is constantly being pinched by the adult bird, but they keep on trying. One of these days they'll be off their 'P Plates' and doing it for real.
In the meantime we get a lot of entertainment watching them rehearse.

Our Visitor

2008-11-16T11:42:00.009+11:00

This chap is a regular visitor to our balcony. Of the many King parrots who use the bird feeder, he is the only one brave, or foolhardy, enough to venture near the house. Just how near I discovered a few days ago when I left a container of seed inside on the coffee table.

His unique wing markings readily identify him so I know he's gradually getting more and more bold in his adventures.

The next day he attracted a female to join him but he wasn't too keen to share the spoils.

Although it is nice to have such a close association with the local wildlife I won't be promoting this behaviour because it's probably not good for the parrots to get too complacent with Humans. My experiences with local possums and the Big, Bold, Boofy, Cockatoos also show how much damage some of these lovely creatures can create.

On a completely different topic I do hope to post some pictures of my latest knitting project. The Bamboo yarn I bought with the help of my Guild Raffle prize voucher is 3/4 finished. It has produced a lovely silken drapey garment which attracted a lot of attention at yesterday's Branch meeting.

Once I have cleaned off the bird seed, bird poo and silkworms from the table I'll take some photos to post.

Bloody Titus

2008-11-11T00:21:00.010+11:00

For I must talk of murders, rapes and massacres, Acts of black night, abominable deeds,Complots of mischief, treason, villanies Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform' ActV:Sc1

Books, blood and a bucket; apart from the nine male cast members they are the main components of the Bell Shakespeare’s production of Anatomy Titus Fall of Rome, a Shakespeare Commentary.

Adapted by Heiner Muller, translated by Julian Hammond, directed by Michael Gow and dramatically lit by Matt Scott, it is a fascinating modern/period/Australian hybrid production. The play's misogyny, cannibilism, racism, and implicit violence are gruesome and extremely confronting, even with Mullers modern commentary and its context of it being a typical 'revenge tragedy' of its time .

This 2 hour long performance has a mixture of period language and contemporary references that deviate between absurd blood letting, a la the Braindead, schlock-horror of Peter Jackson, to acts of violence and rape that recall Abu Grave and Janine Balding.

The whole performance is an antidote to the steretypical "men in tights" perception of Shakespeare and graphically prove that Quentin Tarintino and The Texas Chaisaw Massacre brought nothing new to the stage.

Despite this there is humour and meaning to what could be perceived as an indulgence in graphic violence and bloodletting. Most of the reviews have been positive although the audiences have not been huge. I've watched several people leave in the first hour because it is so disquieting but this is no reflection of the quality of the performance. As Rosemary Sorensen aptly states

"Concentrate on the words, director Michael Gow is telling us. Listen to how eloquently Shakespeare writes these speeches, allowing us to enjoy the elegance of the argumentation and the clever imagery right in the teeth of the monstrous situation we are witnessing."

The play ends with most of the protagonists being dispatched in a bloody game of ‘tag’ while the curtain call looks like the line-up from “Day of the Living Dead”.

This is a powerful play, skillfully directed and performed and, in spite of the big clean-up job for the Stage hands and the ASM, a pleasure to work.

Award Night

2008-11-04T10:34:00.009+11:00

An obligatory bit of Knitting with bespoke stitch markers

I'm afraid I'm not the best with Blogger Etiquette. Several times I've been sent memes or other bits of Blog socialisation that I've neglected to answer and then felt bad about. The trouble is after reading all the feeds I have on my Blogline account and then (sometimes) commenting on them or checking out the interesting links they suggest, I find I'm all blogged out.

My Blog's upkeep is erratic to say the least. If I'm snowed under with work or life then I don't feel up to documenting my day-to-day trials of life. Despite this, while I'm travelling (or in the shower) I often find myself writing posts in my head about things I've observed or experienced.

Happyspider has written an interesting post about blogging and the Knitting 'Verse which does encapsulate my feelings about these interconnected activities. There seems to be a bit of a global "comment drought" about at present so I'm not too upset if my posts are not acknowledged. I've even stopped reading the Sitemeter statistics because I couldn't see the point in it.

Notwithstanding all these blog musings Lynne has nominated me for this Award and I feel very honoured, thank you Lynne.
In keeping with the spirit of the award these are the conditions I must fulfil to truly earn the Blue Ribbon.

1. Please put the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

Witty Knitter
What I do, what I think and what I knit.
One of the first blogs I started reading from a very internets savvy, witty, knitter.

Birdchick Blo g
To show the world that you can be a birder without being a geek.
I found Birdchick Sharon via Neil Gaimans Fanblog. I am fascinated by her bee posts and her wonderful bird photography

Knitting and Chocolate
Because they go so well together
Chocolate Trudi combines two of my favourite pursuits and always has something interesting to read about.

Disco Knitter
Knit One, Hug One....
Lara has been through some big life changing events in the past year - most of them centred around a little Spawn by the name of Inigo - but cute with it.

I could also have mentioned Pom Pom (but she already has the award) or web-goddess, or missyfee, or KnitTatPug or ... but I'm restricted to 4 choices and that's pretty good out of the 92 I have on my Blogroll. It's no wonder I don't have enough hours in the day.

Sad tale of the Flaccid Fern

2008-10-30T14:21:00.011+11:00

The beautiful Tree Fern that grew in our front garden has been transplanted to the back with varying success. It was growing so well out front that it became a hazard to the Gas Meter Reader and the verandah.

Tree Ferns are apparently not as easy to move as their cousins the Dicksonia fern so we are hoping that the new location below the Red Cedar and surrounded by other ferns will aid in its recovery. At the moment it looks very flaccid and dejected but the soft mist and gentle rain of the past few days may prove beneficial.

The rest of the garden is bloomin' marvellous. The Native Frangipani is in full fragrant flower, the Isopogon and Mountain Devil are looking pretty and the Port Wine Magnolia fills the late afternoon with its rich scent.

The Fruit Shop cont...
The most recent information about the exciting "park your car in the shop" incident is that the driver was wearing THONGS which became caught in the accelorator resulting in the potentially fatal collision with the shopfront. Even after the car had travelled as far as it could into the building the motor was apparently still running at high revs. I was on my way to buy something for dinner and sill get a cold shiver when I think what might have happened if I had been 20 minutes early.

My Local Fruit Shop...

2008-10-28T13:24:00.003+11:00

is not a drive-through.

Call me Alec

2008-10-27T12:39:00.004+11:00

"*Alec! - Bring up the lights so I can talk to the people""

While I'm not a big fan of Jerry Lewis I cannot fail to admire his sheer tenacity and professionalism. Last night this 82 year-old Comic veteran performed his stand-up act to a big crowd of adoring fans for over an hour.

It was a very, very, simple show technically, so I had plenty of time to watch this American Icon deliver a routine that would have sounded hackneyed coming from a younger comedian.
65+ years of experience on the Boards has given him a slickness and ease of delivery that belies his age, though his jokes and comments often bordered on the offensive.

After watching the rehearsal earlier in the day I was impressed by his transformation from an aged geriatric in slippers and comfy trousers to the tuxedo-clad, suave Hollywood star. Despite the many omissions and deviations from the running sheet I was given at the top of the show his performance was constantly engaging. The only indication of his advanced years was his increasing breathlessness and a director's chair to sit on towards the finale.

In my advanced years I could only wish for a fraction of the energy and alertness of Jerry Lewis at 82 and he joins the ranks of Super Troupers I have been privileged to work for.

(*Electrician - boomtish)

Yams are Go!

2008-10-24T11:41:00.009+11:00

The yams, aka Oca, aka Oxalis Tuberosa, aka Yummy Sweet Things, have been planted. the seed stock started to sprout in the storage box so I took the hint that it was time to put them in the ground.

Here we have several bags of Mushroom Compost mixed with some Peat soil and generous spadefuls of homegrown compost all mixed together in a sunny spot below the kitchen window.

I needed to have them close because of the antics of these fellows - the Bowerbird tribe are always on the lookout for a quick feed and I've heard that Yam flowers are considered a delicacy.

They are not short of a feed though - we left a full bed of lovely strawberrys for them to munch on in the vain hope they would leave our raised beds alone - you can see they're not keeping to their side of the bargain.

At the moment there is a squabble going on between the pushy Wattlebirds and the Bowerbirds over a bit of sourdough I tossed out - they match each other for noisiness though the Wattlebird is the winner in the aggression stakes.

An early trial of Yam horticulture is already showing signs of success - I put a tuber in a tyre bed with lots of compost and mulch and a little shoot is coming through. The leaves bear a strong resemblance to its relative the nasty weed Oxalis so I'll have to ensure I'm not nurturing a crop of them.

Whales and Other Wonders

2008-10-20T16:29:00.019+11:00

Back in the city, working the weekend (me, 2am Saturday night finish, the other, 7am Sunday start) so I had a chance to see Sculpture by the Sea.

The day was brilliantly fine with a deceptively cool breeze that disguised the fierceness of the sun. Past experience at this event has shown me that too much SP30 sunblock is never enough. The local Surf Life Saving Club had stands offering zinc cream and sun block for the price of a gold coin donation.

Despite this there were a lot of bare headed, lobster-faced people near the end of the walk that just had not got the message.

As with the past few years the sculptures were wonderful, some quirky and cute while others were graceful and elegant.

The delicate lace-like filaments of Kozo Nishino's dragonfly wing well deserved the Kinetic Artist Prize .

While the Whale Helicopter was a big hit with the kids about 100 metres out to sea we watched a whale, preceded by a pod of dolphins, gracefully travel south, rolling over now and then to wave a flipper in the air or arch down into the smooth blue water.
I wasn't able to catch this wonderful event on my little camera but it just made the day perfect.

Green Grass of Home

2008-10-15T21:49:00.007+11:00

I don't know if it was because I was working away from home for a week or if the Spring weather has kicked in but everything in the garden is looking so lush and green. The rain of the past few days is obviously doing a lot of good - I swear some of the plants grow a few inches overnight.Down the bottom of the garden one of my favourite trees - the Red Cedar - is starting to replace the foliage it dumped in early Spring. It looks a bit skeletal at the moment but the new leaves are a rich red that will gradually darken to green and fill the space. It's an Australian deciduous tree that is native to the area but was aggressively logged in the past. I planted this 11 years ago and now it is over 10 metres high so I hope its seeds spread far and wide

The rich resources of Australian red cedar (Toonaciliata var. australis), which European immigrants found as they displaced Aboriginal Australians along the northern two-thirds of Australia’s east coast, catalysed the colonial exploration and exploitation of forests in this region. By the early 2oth Century, red cedar had been exploited to economic extinction in much of its range..

Fyfe and Patricia Bygrave

all about pitch ... black

2008-10-10T18:06:00.008+11:00

"The Sydney opera theatre's aging lighting desk could use a drop of [magic] formula after a malfunction during the opening night last night of The Makropulos Secret, which plunged the stage and orchestra pit into darkness." SMH October 8, 2008 - 1:00PM

That could have been me (but it wasn't) - I've had the lighting desk crash before but not so publicly nor with such media attention - front page of the Herald no less! The whole incidence was a result of a Series of Unfortunate Events - main desk falls over - back up desk falls over - remedial action doesn't quite work for a few minutes - darkness on stage.

The article doesn't mention the fact that the Diva was lit by a follow spot and that the orchestra wasn't blacked out so there was no danger of her disappearing into the Pit.

As an "Aging Lighting Desk Operator" I can empathise with the Opera Theatre's Lighting Board, its long record of dedicated and reliable service obliterated in one night.

I know it's only an inanimate piece of electrical component but I really feel for this board and the bad press it received. For over 300 days of the year this "aging lighting desk" works hard to put complex shows on the stage, rarely getting shut down for longer than an hour. After 15 years of service how many other computers (or people) could claim this record?

One of the reasons it has taken so long to replace is there is no present-day equivalent that can match it for stability or flexibility. All five theatres here at the Opera House have a Strand 500 series controlling the lights for different productions with different requirements. It can do Rock & Roll, Orchestral, Avant Garde, Moving Lights, Special Effects, Audio Visual and anything else you can think of.

It may not have the glamour or Street Cred of the Whole Hog or the Grand MA but like our old '65 Chrysler Valiant Safari it just does the job to the best of its ability.

Spitting Distance

2008-10-09T22:43:00.003+11:00

There are some shows that are a privilege to work on - this is one of them.
Minimalist set, simple but precise lighting and an engaging and moving solo performance by Khalifa Natour.

The tiny stage of the Playhouse is the perfect venue for this short (60 min) performance. The actor speaks in Arabic throughout, with the odd line in French and Hebrew, while condensed English subtitles are projected behind him. The words are soon overshadowed by the intensity and passion of his performance and even though the subject matter - the Israli/Palistinian troubles and the after effects of 9/11 - is not funny, there is a wry humour and irony that manages to creep through.

I finally managed to watch the whole show tonight without being distracted by technical issues and I found it engrossing. Khalifa's rich dialogue and expressive body language make up for the lack of staging and props and the few sound cues present only supplement his words with atmosphere and music. The lighting rig of 30 channels and 26 cues is tiny but so skillfully applied it is a joy to work.

Soggy Cardboard

2008-10-05T16:32:00.004+11:00

My working week has been a bit preoccupied with cardboard.
The final of Special Delivery, a wonderful kids show from Patch theatre, was on Sunday, while out the front of the House Polyglot Puppet Theatre braved the wet windy weather to entertain kids with piles of boxes.

Being part time I usually do 'swing' shifts covering the odd RDO or the initial Bump-in but I've been working consistently on the Patch production for over a fortnight and it's been wonderful working in the same venue for several weeks - especially the Playhouse. Special Delivery was special - a bit of mild slapstick, legerdemain and some wonderful music and sound effects from the Foley Artist made for a simple but highly entertaining show.

The down side of working every day has been more juggling of Home and Work demands, especially with the School Holidays coming up, but so far all the flaming torches have been kept up in the air. I've even manged to fit in a Knitting Meet at Gordon and a visit to the sadly, soon to be closed Rubi & Lana's.

Outside the forecourt looks like a shanty town. Even though there was a mild drizzle kids and adults had lots of fun building towers and tunnels, some complex, some just for the joy of knocking down. It only runs to the 7th of October as part of the 2008 Sydney Architecture Festival but it looks a hoot.

Escapist Literature

2008-09-06T14:30:00.010+10:00

A stack of Books, a pile of laptops and some knitting - some things to distract from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. I should also include a nice glass of red in there and a bit of dark chocolate. Life has been frantic, to say the least - the strain of daily juggling work, child, home and commuting has resulted in my retreat into the world of books and fantasy.
I've always been an avid reader - one of the stories from my past tells how I was seen riding my bike to school and reading at the same time. It was on the grass verge of a quiet suburban street but it gave people who only read the racing pages something to gossip about.
My recent reading has been very escapist, comprising quick and easily digested stories I can finish in a few nights; Science Fiction and Fantasy feature strongly along with the odd biography.

Most of the titles were inspired by a poll run by SFX magazine to find the Top 100 SF and Fantasy books. There are so many titles in this genre that I normally wouldn't know where to start and this was a fantastic source of information about authors and titles.

The top 4 were,
1. Terry Pratchett
2. JRR Tolkien
3. Neil Gaiman
4. Douglas Adams

All are names I am well acquainted with and I was pleased to see my favourite author at no. 1 postion. It was also good to see the number of Australian writers included in the list, especially Australian female writers.

With the help of my local libraries I was able to indulge myself in discovering new writers and characters as well as trying out books I had seen on the shelves but knew little about.
So far my book bag has contained;

Jim Butcher: The Dresden Files - Constantine meets Harry Potter in Chicago. Lots of Buffy style biffo and Matrix style greatcoats.
Richard Morgan: Altered Carbon series - Body-hopping mercenary with a conscience and (of course) a big gun.
Mike Carey: Felix Castor series - another Detective Exorcist with a limited wardrobe - this time an ex-army great coat with big pockets to hold important weapons like chalk and string.

On the Edge - Richard Hammon d's tale of how he recovered from the massive crash of a Jet Car and how it affected his family and friends. I bought this book instead of waiting for it to become available at the library because I was amazed that he survived, seemingly unscathed by it all. The book showed the reality of his recovery and the 'normal' face he presented to the world.

Up til Now - William Shatners autobiography - imagine Danny Crane writing this with the odd promo for the his website and Captain Kirk action figures. The style is light and tongue-in-cheek but pretty honest about his triumphs and failures in his very long and busy acting career. "Get a Life"

Waiting on the pile are;
Light - M. John Harrison, The Cure of Souls - Phil Rickman, Son of a Witch - Gregory Maguire.

Last but not least is Matthew Riley - the ultimate adventurer in the grand old tradition of hair raising escapades - pursued by the dark forces of Russian, Chinese or American bad guys with guns and whiz-bang electronics devices that would make Q jealous. A James Bond meets Indiana Jones type of fellow that doesn't make any demands on the reader - except for the huge suspension of disbelief. Ripping good yarns!

Backyard Birds

2008-08-15T17:38:00.005+10:00

Just a quick post about the backyard birds - since we asked the Cockatoos to move on (with limited success) the King Parrots have been more numerous. The fact that it's the middle of winter may be one explanation for the increase in numbers but I'd like to think it's because they like us - feeding them.

When we came back from our week away they greeted us with tapping claws (Where have you been? Why haven't you been feeding us?) so I put out an extra tray of food to make up for our absence.

I love watching the Bower birds, Wattle birds, Crimson Rosellas, Sparrows and occasional Currawong from the kitchen window in the morning .

That and the mountain air always helps to dispell the city malaise.

Here be Yams

2008-08-10T20:50:00.002+10:00

New Zealand Yams - Oca - Oxalis Tuberosa
This precious package arrived in the mail today - 7 little tubers rationed out from Green Harvest and now stored in a cool dark spot in the laundry until the frosts are over.

I'm nervous about how and when to plant them - the website says in Spring or at the start of the wet season. "Tubers start forming 4 months after planting and production peaks at 6 months."
If they get planted in September they'll be ready next March - still pretty hot here in NSW so I may try and hold off 'til October.

They're not the prettiest looking things but they have a wonderfully unique flavour. I was very tempted to put a couple of the yummy yams into the roasting dish but I know you shouldn't eat the seed crop. Hopefully in 9 months time there will be enough for a snack at least.

The 39 Dips

2008-08-07T22:15:00.010+10:00

Silverton has wonderful light - it's on of the reasons it is often used as a location for inumerable ads and a lot of Australian Films . The horizon is vast and the landscape dramatic - perfect for those long panning shots of 4wd's raising dust down empty roads against stirring sound tracks.

It was quiet when we briefly visited on the last day of our Outback adventure but we managed to visit at least three of the four or five buildings that make up this little town. One pub, three art galleries and the information centre/gallery called "Beyond the 39 Dips"

I thought this was a quirky name but didn't get the true significance until we were heading back along the Highway and saw the "DIP" roadsigns. We tried to count them but lost track when we were distracted by the camel grazing by the roadside. The halter gave a big clue as to its origin .

Broken Hill and beyond

2008-07-28T21:56:00.010+10:00

I like Broken Hill - it has big wide streets, (speed limit 40k - oops) most named after mineral type things like Argent, Oxide, Iodide, Bromide, Kaolin and Silver; and lots of dirt.

The town is centered on the Line of Lode - a massive deposit of silver/lead/zinc ore that transformed a boundary rider into a very wealthy man. It took me a while to realise that the hills around the city were mullock and slag heaps from the years of mining activity and that the 'Broken Hill' was part of those heaps.
Art galleries and Mineral museums and Industrial landmarks are everywhere as are references to the town's strong Trade Union history.

The fact that it was the middle of 'winter' when we were there did make the visit a lot more pleasant than it would have been in a 38C Summer, the accommodation was reasonable and not overpriced and there was even a Local Yarn Shop to visit.

We went West...

2008-07-24T10:40:00.013+10:00

to the NSW Outback.

At White Cliffs we stayed underground in the Dug Out Motel and explored its winding corridors and rooms.

We carefully travelled through the strange landscape of dugouts and mullock heaps and fossicked for opals through the huge piles of stones (with no success)

We drove hundreds of kilometers down long straight highways with Kangaroos and cattle - (alive and dead) - and admired the huge Wedge Tailed Eagles as they soared overhead or fed on the plentiful roadkill carrion on the roadside.

We travelled "interstate" to Cockburn SA and went border hopping.
We had Spiders and Waffles at Bells Milkbar
(To be continued...)

Hubris

2008-06-27T12:49:00.005+10:00

Hubris - a great word. It appeals to the Pessimist and annoys the Optimist in me. Just when one is getting along nicely and thinking all one's affairs are being managed, along comes The Fates/God/Life and sticks a stick in the spokes.

I thought I was managing our household accounts very efficiently, juggling credit cards and savings accounts to make sure no excess account fees or interest were being incurred, looking for the best deals when buying the new consumer item, keeping a watch on statements as they came in.

I obviously wasn't paying the right amount of attention when I filled in a monthly payment slip and instead of $xxx.10 I wrote $xxx.01. The credit interest vultures were circling and when they saw my 09c mistake they swooped to the kill. Two months later I see my little error cost me several hundred dollars in debit interest charges but was this obvious? Was the failure to pay off the full statement amount highlighted in the next communication with the bank - of course not! That's how those big billion dollar profits are made.

I'm going to put this slip of the digits down to my current slodgy brain which I attribute to hormones. My get-up-and-go is on a go-slow so there isn't much happening on many fronts. The knitting sits in its basket looking forlorn and unfinished and the pile of books beside the bed stays unread.

The only success I can claim is finishing Neal Stephenson's brick of a book Cryptonomicon. I can't say I understood all the math or the code unscrambling but I did enjoy his complex story line and interwoven plots, especially the reference he made to Athena as the goddess of weaving (and by association Knitting). The book wasn't as pacy as Snowcrash but maybe it was just right for my present mental state - not particularly focused and prone to wondering off on complex bits of interesting distractions without any real outcomes.

Phishing for God

2008-06-26T15:38:00.005+10:00

Dear Parent,
you may be wondering how we received your child's name and (home) address.
It was sent to us by Children for Christ who ran a Craft Club at the XXX Primary School Hall recently. They thought our lessons would be a big help for you child and have asked us to send lessons....

No! No! and No! I did not provide anyone with my child's name and address, I did not give permission for anyone to pass that information on anywhere and I certainly don't want any lessons of any kind - especially not in these circumstances.

This is the 21st Century where the safety of my child is paramount. I let my son attend what was advertised as a Craft Club run by a local church where he could play games and make models. I didn't expect him to be evangelised or preached to or for sensitive information about him be passed on to other groups to target him. The School where this "craft club" was held was also unaware of the underlying purpose of the group and certainly would not have agreed to information about their students being passed around.

I regard this as an illegal and dangerous practice and am very, very angry.

In these days of cult groups and cunning pederasts in all occupations (especially religious institutions) one cannot claim an innocent desire to have fun and spread the good word at the same time. There is a clear obligation of all groups interacting with children to protect their safety and privacy.

My complaint to the the Office of the Privacy Commissioner was acknowledged but unable to be acted upon because the legislation is limited to Government organisations and private businesses with an annual turnover of more than $3 million.

This seemingly innocuous looking ship is a constant reminder of the need to be ever vigilant in a world that is not as simple and carefree as many would like it to be.

Saturday busyness

2008-06-15T10:45:00.008+10:00

The NSW Knitting Guild's stand at this year's Darling Harbour Craft Show was arranged by Veronica - she is sitting on my right wearing a Princess Leia hat she knitted. It was a busy and fun afternoon spreading the word about the Guild, about Ravelry and the various knitted items we had on display. There was knitted fruit, my Vintage Twist Hot Water Bottle cosies and the big favourite, a curly wurly crochet scarf from Yarn magazine by Guild member, Carolyn Murtagh.

At the same time on that busy Saturday afternoon the Sydney rep of World Wide Knit in Public day was taking place nearby at the Bayside Lounge. As I rushed to the Craft Fair I stopped by to pick up my WWKIP bags that Kris had printed for the event. I love the "No War" reference on the sails on the Opera House and I hope this will be the permanent logo for all the Sydney events.

The day finished with me rushing (again) off to work for the Playhouse performance of Possessed. A funny, slapstick but poignant show performed vigourously by Frank Woodley. It borders on painful sometimes (coccyx pain!) but it is a fast and entertaining show - think Mr Bean meets Buster Keaton with Vegimite.

Nice to be Home

2008-06-04T23:52:00.008+10:00

Today was the first time in what seems to be an age that I've been home for longer than a night. The past couple of weeks have been busy with shifts and commuting and overnighting in the city.
I find I really pine for the Mountain air if I spend longer than a few nights away from home. The cool green view from the kitchen window is such a respite from the fluorescent lights and air conditioning in the concrete building.

Its grey and misty at present and the poor parrots are sitting in the tree looking bedraggled and hungry but they won't be getting fed until it stops raining because their tray is so waterlogged.

Inside, the combustion stove has been taken out of hibernation. It's so efficient that the whole house is heated from a few loads of wood and the big brick chimney stays warm all night. Above the fire, in pride of place is my first original art purchase.

When I was at Otago University in Dunedin, many years ago, I somehow managed to find $30 out my meagre bursary to buy this Still-Life with Gas Stove from a coffee shop in Stuart Street.
It was very similar to the enamel gas stove in the student flat I lived in and it always held this place in all my subsequent flats. It has no name or artist signature and is simply painted on hard board. I would love to find more about the person who painted it even though it was over 30 years ago.

Bunny in the Backyard

2008-05-13T13:21:00.007+10:00

This little darling turned up in the backyard while I was hanging out the washing . S/he was very cute and very fast. I tried to catch it with grass and tomatoes but there was too much fresh food around to be distracted by my vain attempts. I presume it belongs to a neighbour nearby so I hope it finds its way back home safely.

I just buried a young King parrot that had run foul of a neighbour's Moggy. I try not to put too much food on the birdfeeder because the big Cockatoos spread it everywhere (they are such mucky eaters) and the smaller parrots forage on the ground below - perfect prey for a big fat ginger Tom. Whenever said feline is spotted in the garden a volley of clothespegs, applecores and the odd shoe greets it. One of these days it might get the idea that it is not welcome at our place - especially with its unsocial habits.

On the knitting fron (yes there is one) a lot of progress has been made with various WIPs but the most fun has been had with this pattern. The Bainbridge Scarf. Quick, stylish, economical and a perfect gift for patient teachers of hyperactive lads.
It has enabled me to use up the single skein stash of Eki Riva Baby Cashmere, the Mi Inca Baby Alpaca and the Rooster Almerino DK, all lovely soft yarns. There will probably be a few more on the way.

There has also been a 10th birthday celebrated at Teppanyaki in Double Bay - this is starting to become a bit of a tradition - with the requisite bursts of flame and omelette acrobatics.

Ironfest

2008-05-02T12:20:00.006+10:00

Ironfest is always fun. We went late this year - just managed to squeeze in on the last few hours of the three days it ran. Despite this it was well worth it.

The Battle of Lithgow started just as we arrived so we braved the gale force gusts of wind to see the British and the French forces fight it out with cannons and muskets. I think the French force was vastly outnumbered but they fought bravely - right to the last soldier. There was an courageous (one might say foolhardy?) challenge by a French/Maori contingent in the form of a Haka. It was swiftly dealt with by the English but much appreciated by the audience.

Inside, out of the squalls, there was belly dancing, market stalls and art displays. The lad bought an Anvilchick while I made do with a skein of Alpaca from a farm in Little Hartley and a Dichroic Glass pendant from a Glass Artist in Wentworth Falls.

Sadly the weather stopped the Jousting as the horses were spooked by all the wind gusts but I was assured that next year an international contingent of Jousters would feature with combatants from all over the globe.

Driving home we travelled behind the storms as they progressed eastward to the coast. It made a spectacular sight with the clouds banked up above Victoria Pass and the rain falling in huge sheets.
The next day it was cold enough for snow to fall in Blackheath and Bathurst - and for me to realise that quite a jumpers had to be pulled out of the WIP pile in time for winter.

Those Who Forget History Are Doomed to Repeat It

2008-04-27T18:02:00.005+10:00

I missed Anzac Day at our park this year - a shame because I find the ceremony very moving and poignant, especially the small local gatherings which have strong connections to the names on the memorial stone.

As I was driving to work that day I listened to Philip Adams talking with author, Peter Ewer and 93 yr old veteran Frank Cox, about a group of Anzacs that I, and probably a lot of other people, never knew existed.

The Forgotten Anzacs were Australian and New Zealand troops that fought in the Second World War under the umbrella of the "Anzac Spirit", in another battle that proved disastrous for the soldiers involved and which reinforces my low opinion of the British Military Command of the time.

"The campaign in Greece turned out to have uncanny parallels to the original Gallipoli operation: both were inspired by Winston Churchill, both were badly planned by British military leaders, and both ended in defeat and evacuation. British bungling at Gallipoli was one thing; but in Greece, Churchill authorised his commanders to leave the Anzacs to their fate if their rescue compromised wider British interests.

Just as Gallipoli provided military academies the world over with lessons in how not to conduct a complex feat of arms, Churchill’s Greek adventure reinforced fundamental lessons in modern warfare — heavy tanks could not be stopped by men armed with rifles, and Stuka dive-bombers would not be deflected by promises of air support from London that were never honoured."

Frank Cox was one of those soldiers and spent 3 yrs as a prisoner of war after he and thousands of other troops were left on the island to fend for themselves. Despite his very advanced age he tells his story with a clarity and sureness of memory that I envy.

The Late Night Live episode is still available on line and is well worth a listen.

Bmos

2008-04-15T11:44:00.005+10:00

Here is Bmos, one of the Ensemble of performers in Moving Target - a wonderful, loud, physical collaberation with Malthouse Theatre that's just finished in the Studio. It wasn't a difficult show for me - I had an hour between Cue 1 and cue 2, - but the 6 actors were really worked hard. Lots of running and lifting and bashing against walls.

"The children's game of hide and seek has rarely been so physical, rough, exhausting and repetitive. The improvisational skills and breakneck intensity of Moving Target make for a wildly unpredictable, strangely unsettling experience." Bryce Hallett, SMH

The plywood box set was designed to take the punishment and accentuate the sound and movement but it had a few worried managers fussing around it, concerned about Risk Management. That's ironic because part of the underlying themes, which were many and complex, was the modern obsession with risk and potential threats and "Being Alert".

Bmos is the sibling of Amos who unfortunately didn't last the season - he was regularly thrown across the stage and had pillows stuffed over him.
I loved the action of this play - the lights and sound matched the physical intensity and the first half, though seemingly unintelligible, had me laughing every time.

In this production I saw some great lighting with LED washes (intense, quick colour) and discovered M83 Car Terror. Played LOUD it makes the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, playing a nice bit of Strauss in the Concert Hall, ring up and complain.
Noisy bloody neighbours!

The Birds are Back in Town.

2008-04-06T22:29:00.012+10:00

I know Cockatoos are engaging creatures - they can charm the birdseed right out of your hand - but like a bunch of unruly teenagers once you invite them into your home they put their feet up on the furniture and start trashing the place. We were warned several times of their bad habits but had to learn the hard way. We were a bit late in putting out the food so they gave the newly built hand rail a good chew - just to teach us a lesson.

Consequently they have been banished back to the bird feeder and if more than 4 congregate they get sent off. This gives the King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas a chance and they've been showing their appreciation by paying us a closer visit.

It could be they are also admiring all the wonderful work on the new verandah. This handsome King Parrot checked out the post, the steps and the cane chair one afternoon and invied a mate along for a stickybeak as well.

There has been much wonderful work been done on The Back Steps as shown by the before and after shots - in best Backyard Blitz style.
The strange outward opening door from the kitchen has finally been blocked off (much better for the Feng Shui apparently) and the steps have been moved to the verandah. A spot of paint here and there and the transformation is complete - provided the Cockies don't come calling.

My Beautiful Bag

2008-04-03T10:49:00.005+11:00

This is my wonderful bag created for me by Trudi of Knitting and Chocolate fame. It was part of a Ravelry swap mentioned earlier and I was so swept up with trying to create the best bag for my Swapee that the fact that I was going to get one almost slipped my mind. That made getting a big brown box in the mail all the better - especially when it cried 'Exterminate' as I placed it on the counter. I knew I was in for a treat!

The bag itself is felted and wonderfully lined with a heap of useful pockets. The lovely scroll work, inspired by a medieval post I had made early, flows into the sturdy handles which are also lined. Note the little green LED torch on the right side! The bag is big enough to take tools, notebook, diary, ipod and knitting, and I've already been using it daily. I don't lose my little coin purse so often now because it has a dedicated storage soace.

But wait! There's more!
A talking Dalek Chocolate Easter Egg, Merino et Soi yarn, chocolate Bilbies, a book and stitch markers. One spoilt knitter I am.

The egg has been eaten but its voice box is destined for this knitted Dalek pattern - maybe for next year's Easter Show?

Inspired to Dye

2008-03-28T11:20:00.002+11:00

This is the result of a brief experimentation with some kettle dying I did a few nights ago. The yarn was from Virgina Farm Woolworks and I originally bought it to try out colouring with Kool_Aid in a microwave. The resulting mix of Yellow, Red and Purple was pretty average and the whole process of Glad wrapping and zapping I found to be fiddly and messy.

The gorgeous colour is from a deep enamel pot mix of Landscape Kingfisher left on the stove on a rolling simmer - a few rinses later and this rich hue resulted. I had heard that Kingfisher is a difficult colour to make fast so I made sure all the dye was exhausted before taking the yarn out.

I think there may be more skeins heading for this pot and the lad wants to tie-dye a few t-shirts while I'm there!

Looking at the Chooks

2008-03-24T10:58:00.007+11:00

The next best thing about the Easter Show besides the Craft are the animals.

We were rained out of the Woodchopping so we sought shelter in the Poultry Shed. That's where I met this beautiful breed of Chook known as Laced Wyandottes. I didn't think a hen could look this pretty.

Some of the more exotic poultry breeds with poofy hairdos and strange protuberance were a bit too much but these fat colourful girls caught my eye.

There was also sheep shearing for the kids, both machine and hand,

three little piggies and a few more,

corn,

cows and

gentle fairground rides (as different from the ear-splitting, in-your-face carny kingdom at the other end of the Show.

Going to the Show

2008-03-22T10:23:00.017+11:00

We went to the Easter Show yesterday. We bought our tickets from the Post Office a few days before, checked out online which show bags to buy and took all our own food and drink. It still cost us over $100 for the day which is why it's not an annual event.

My main aim was the Craft section to see how Captain Underpants was faring in his Creative Knitting category - as I expected he didn't win any ribbons but he did stand out among the nice Cardigans and Sweaters.

As is traditional we went to the CWA for Scones and Tea, bought some of their preserves (no Plum Jam left but I did get some Quince Jelly) and then checked out the baking and cake decorations.

The displays were mouth-watering, entertaining and magical.

I'm still at a loss as to the criteria and standards for judging - among the knitted categories they seem to be a well-kept secret known only to those who have been initiated but that won't stop me from trying again next year. Subtlely subversive is my motto.

Bliss

2008-03-18T22:28:00.008+11:00

The garden is coming inside - the traditional built-in sunroom of our fibro cottage has been replaced by an open verandaha that brings air and light into the rooms it once enclosed.

The process has been gradual as work commitments and weather allow but the difference is wonderful. A fence has yet to be put up but in the meantime I enjoy the uninterrupted view through the doors and down the garden.

I've mostly been an observer of all the hard work that's gone into this process but I appreciate the skill and commitment that has broken down the barrier between inside and outside space.

While all the hard labour was going on the background I tried to gain some leeway on the Bag Swap I entered in Ravelry. As I don't really trust my sewing skills I've been making a test lining out of calico to make sure it will fit. The postal deadline is only a week away but I don't want to rush this project.

The past two weeks busy-ness has finally slowed down but it seems to have taken its toll on my brain. I knitted a full 6 inches of a new project only to find that I was making a mobius strip. You'd think that 5mm needles and bulky wool would make a twist in circular knitting obvious but I did it twice. I do like this soy/wool mix rich colours of this yarn but the Hourglass Sweater and the Moda Vera Mousse is having a little respite until I get my brain back.

Perhaps a few hours sitting amongst the greenery will help achieve this.

The 306K

2008-03-07T23:45:00.007+11:00

This is the favourite of my many Singer sewing machines - it is in full working order and has just finished seaming up the lounge curtains.

It's not a pretty machine and it has obviously seen a lot of action in its working life. All the shiny enamel has been worn away and the timber veneer is paper thin but the motor purrs like a kitten and the shuttle action is smooth as silk.

The action of this machine is so simple and straightforward that I think it would easily match the output of a modern counterpart. It brings to mind the comparison audiophiles make between the warmth of analog valve amplifiers and the clinical sound of modern digital equipment.

This lovely machine reminds me of the big old Steam Engines of my youth and it has a similar warm smell of oil and metal once it gets into its stride. I can't remember exactly where I got this robust workhorse but it came with some valuable additions - lots of strange and wonderful attachments and full set of Bakelite stitch templates.

I've not had an opportunity to use the Ruffler, the Foot Hemmer, the Multi-Slotted Binder, the Edge Stitcher or the Shirrer but it's nice to know they're there if I ever require them.

Captain Underpants

2008-03-05T11:42:00.005+11:00

This is what is keeping me occupied when I'm not doing mad hours at work. The deadline for delivery to the Sydney Royal Easter Show is the end of this week and Captain Underpants Mark 11 is still missing a goofy smile and a red cape.

If I had bothered to read the entry form several months ago I would have noticed the category I applied for was "Creative Knitting: of Original Design". Captain Underpants Mark 1 did not fulfill this criteria because it was someone else's pattern. I could have entered him into the "Soft Toys; class 202" section but this was several pages on, past the "Slipcast Ceramics" and "Mosaics" sections. Bleedin' obvious.

Nil Desperandum as they say, so rather than forfeit my $10.00 entry fee I set to and made my own Original Design. The body is knitted flat with a back seam and the limbs are a combination of i-cord and Double Knitting. Some parts are not as neat as I would like but as I'm not planning on winning any prizes with this fellow I'll let it stand. His entry is a mild protest against the clowns and toilet roll cover dolls that seem to make up the vast majority of knitting at the Easter Show.

One of these days the permitted entries may be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century and ipod covers and funky handbags will be allowed to see the light.

Big

2008-02-24T23:21:00.017+11:00

Big Bird;

This is what greets us in the morning with a big sqawking complain if we don't put some seed out quick enough

Big Mushroom;

A big patch of Horse Mushrooms growing in the front garden because of all the recent rain - large but tasteless.

Big Boats:

The QE2 crosses paths with the Queen Victoria this afternoon so we all stop work to check it out..

Big Day:

Another 0700 til 2300 working day. Put in the Ornette Coleman Quintet, then take it out.

Amazing Jazz but a tiring day.

Big Mistake:

Got a new wireless router because the old one died (probably a lightning strike) and then forget to put on a password - wondered why all my Data Allowance got sucked up so no blogging until I got it back.
Live and learn.

Love and other bruises

2008-02-14T19:47:00.010+11:00

Happy Valentines day - without the hype and pink hearts. I only realised what day it was when I saw a van selling roses parked on the M4. Anyone stopping on the freeway with B-Double's speeding past at 110k must be desperate.

This is Romeo and Juliet from the Shakespeare Place sculpture opposite the Mitchell Library. It's an island also surrounded by roads or "an isolated wasteland between on and off ramps of the Cahill Expressway." Nicely put. It is an interesting monument to explore if you are willing to negotiate the traffic.

Yesterday was an historic occasion that has been recorded and written about in many media - I watched Kevin Rudd's historic speech and applauded his Government's prompt resolution of an outstanding wrong.

Yesterday was also the 30th anniversary of the Hilton Bombing.

February 13th, 1978; I was on a bus travelling to work in a Sandwich bar in the CBD. I didn't understand the enormity of the event at the time - it just meant that I got to work late because my bus was held up. I had been in the city for 2 weeks and was heading back to Dunedin the following week to finish my final year at Otago Varsity. Coming to Sydney was a good way to make a bit of money to fund that year and to experience life in the big city.

Several years later I worked as a Guide for the Opera House (among many jobs I've held in this place) with Rosamund Dallow-Smith. I didn't know then that she had been on the street at the time and had narrowly missed being injured herself. I also didn't know that "it was the Hilton Hotel bombing that finally led to the formation of the Australian Federal Police on October 19, 1979."

The cause of the bombing was never satisfactorily resolved and resulted in the arrest and subsequent acquittal of several members of the Ananda Marga sect - an easy target.

"There was a lot of rumour and innuendo going around at the time we were on the scene. The strongest being that ASIO had stuffed up. It was common comment around at the time that ASIO had in fact planted the device and planned to find it for whatever purpose, but the garbage men were early that morning. " Keith Burley

Today I was very pleased to read; "a new plaque will be unveiled in Sydney's George Street today at the site of a bomb blast outside the Hilton Hotel 30 years ago that marked Australia's entry into the age of terrorism" or the age of Conspiracy.

Computer says No!

2008-02-11T22:24:00.001+11:00

This afternoon I spent 2 hours trying to upgrade my Mobile and Landline. A simple thing in this digital age one might think? Just go online, browse through the numerous communication packages available, bundle them all together, press the submit button and have a cup of tea.

Reality: do all the checking and filling in of forms then press the submit button and "Computer says No!"

"This service is not available to your area" in fine blue print at the bottom of the last page. AAArgh! I don't get it - I'm already on this provider - mobile and home phone.

Another 20 minutes on the phone listening to the saccharine tones of a fembot until I can get on to the Calcutta call centre to find out that all those cute little raccoons and penguins don't apply to my phone - I'm in the enemy territory no less. I therefore have the privilige of paying an extra $30 a month in Line Rental and can't get any of those tempting discounts for subscribing online.
Bring on the competition I say so the Mega Communication Oligopolies will get their due.

Hone Tuwhare

2008-02-05T12:20:00.000+11:00

To Kath

I like ya smokes, woman

They kind of ease the
knot in the belly?

Like, before I go on
and read out the boiling
in the gut. And

when the smoke swirls
like dreams, I come
easy. Oh sure...

Ah, Kath, the meeting
is okay. And now
you've only got two
left!

Time I moved on.

New Zealand's "most distinguished Maori poet writing in English" Hone Tuwhare.
He passed away on 16th January 2008.

From a Poetry Reading in 1977 when I was at Otago University and he asked me for a cigarette in exchange for a poem.
I got the better end of the deal.

Treasures in the Rain

2008-02-03T22:41:00.001+11:00

We went exploring a treasure trove today.

The Victory Theatre in Blackheath is an Antique Centre just full of old and new goodies .

Outside it was bucketing down with rain but inside there was two floors of little alcoves to explore with teapots, jewellery, chairs, books, records, chaise lounges, magazines, and lots and lots of memoriabila, collectibles and knicknacks.

This Green satin embroidered ball gown caught my eye but the price was a bit prohibitive. I could see it being displayed on a wall to show off the embroidery flowing down the front. It must have made a striking impression in its heyday.

I got lost among the haberdashery section and 40 year old copies of Woman's Journal, pretty little pinifores and a stack of handbags. The only thing I actually bought was a few bags of vintage buttons and some commemorative spoons for the lad but the mass of shapes, textures and colour was inspiring.

Edward Scissorhands

2008-01-30T12:04:00.000+11:00

"How did you get the Scissors through Customs?"
That was the level of questions at yesterday's Media Launch for Edward Scissorhands. I don't know why I was surprised. Maybe I was expecting in-depth discussions about the dance aspect of the production or more artistic based questions. The main thing is I lit the show, photos were taken, interviews done and I could go home.
I was a little impressed with how it looked in this morning's paper - I missed seeing the Channel 10 news clip but I'm presuming it all went well. There was enough smoke being pumped on stage to mimic a small bushfire so there was plenty of 'atmosphere'.

Now I'm in the middle of more mundane matters - three loads of washing, a young lad to get off to the first day of School and overdue DVD's to return. Ahh, domestic bliss.

To Date

2008-01-28T17:24:00.000+11:00

Would you buy a used lighting rig from these women? Here is Roxie, Kate and Christine in the early hours of Sunday after a fun time taking down the curvy Murundak rig in the Concert Hall. Yes, we all look mucky and sweaty because we are.

I went home that ~~night~~ morning to pass Chris coming in for his 6am rig, in the same Hall, of the Korean Christmas Youth Spectacular. We did finally manage to catch up with each other on Sunday night around 9pm.

Tonight I'm looking forward to a relaxing bout of non-technical knitting. I have several projects on the go at the moment but I only have one with me in Sydney;

This is The Bag from No Sheep for You and I'm making it from Corn. Once I got my head around the slip stitch pattern it is a proving to be a fantastic knit. The Corn is a bit like a ribbon cotton yarn without the splittiness and the texture is fantastic. When it is lined it will make a lovely bag. It is destined for a Handbag swap that's been run on Ravelry and I have three patterns that I am trying to choose from. I may end up doing all three if I can finish this in time.

The problem is that de-rigs like the aforesaid keep using up all my energy but the Sydney Festival has finally finished, school holidays are over and I have three days off after the Edward Scissorhands media launch tomorrow, so I should be back on track anon.

Form over Function

2008-01-24T22:19:00.000+11:00

Helen Mirren has a wonderful memoir called "In the Frame" in which she makes the observation "I love to see design that does not fight with the materials or performers but informs and frames the production in an outstanding and imaginative way."

These sentiments were echoed in a recent discussion in the Entertainment trade magazine CX, when John Weston, a technician of long standing, observed "Acts are no longer complemented by their light shows, they compete with them...The modern lighting designer has forgotten how to trick the human eye with subtlety and contrast."

Many of the shows I have seen in theatres over the past year have been guilty of this - the designers and programmers seem to be seduced by the special effects of computer-enhanced state-of-the-art control boards and moving light technology. Somewhere under all the flashing lights and strobing colour changes is a performer who is often in the dark, figuratively and literally.

John mentions a few lighting 'greats' that never let the technology supersede the art. Designers like "Mel Conder (the Czar of Darkness), (the late) Bill "Angel" Akers, (the late) Roger Barrett, Peter Rooney, and Sue Nattrass," could make a set, costume or performer seem so much more without resorting to excess or extravaganza and with a lighting design that would draw a fraction of the power of present day rigs.

I had the pleasure and the honour to work with most of these and other skillful lighting designer who didn't need pre-programmed macros to create magic on stage and understood that the name on the theatre billboard was not Wholehog 3 or Grand MA.

This post may seem ironic considering that many of these shows take place in the ultimate example of form over function - an Architect's Dream and a theatre technician's nightmare.

Meanwhile, back at The House...
The Grand Circus has moved on to be replaced by the relative quiet of the SSO and Joanna Newsom. Her amazing ethereal voice and harp have no need of flashy lights or strobing colours but it was expedient to leave Murundak's big Lighting rig in the air and use the Mac 2000's and Vari-Lites in a more restrained way than usual. I must say it is a very pretty rig using wavy lines of truss to recall the lines of the Rainbow Serpent. Once again I'll be taking it all down on Saturday night to make way for a much smaller side-bar arrangement for Sunday's Korean Christmas Spectacular and International Youth Festival; that's for the other half to sort out.

Dismantling the Wheel of Death.

2008-01-21T01:48:00.000+11:00

I took the lad to see the acrobatic spectacular Le Grand Cirque and it was absolutely stunning.

Once I got over my annoying tendency to make disparaging comments about the unlit areas and the dark spots I really started to enjoy the whole theatricality of it. The acrobatics and daring feats of strength and agility were very impressive.

Tonight I had to help take it all down. The magic and colour all disappear once the House Lights are up and the Star Cloth has been struck. Smoke and mirrors - that's all it is - but it works.

These are some of the tools of my trade and lately they've been getting a lot of use.
The Festival Factory has all the venues in the House working hard - as it should be. I recall several years when there were no Sydney Festival events happening in the House - which seems strange considering its flagship status for the city and the state.

Now I have to constantly check my diary to find out what I'm doing and which theater I'm in; Playhouse one day with Construct; Concert hall bunp-out of Spanish Harlem Orchestra next; back to the Playhouse and put in Akmal; - prep for the Media Release of Edward Scissorhands in the Drama; What day is it? Where am I ?

I think it will all calm down in a few weeks when the SSO comes back to the Concert Hall and a good dose of Shakespeare is installed in the smaller venues. Then I can look forward to swapping my Shifting Spanner for a set of circulars.

Bags, Bags, Bags.

2008-01-14T12:47:00.000+11:00

I've entered a Bag swap on Ravelry - just because.

This has caused me to review my Bag situation and it's a sad prospect. Not being a handbag for every occasion type of person this is the total of my current usable carriers. The big Backpack at the back is for commuting to work and staying overnight in the city. It usually holds enough to support anyone shipwrecked on an island or stranded in the bush for a few weeks; Books, Laptop, change of clothes, toiletries, snacks, tools (spanner, Leatherman) and at least 2 knitting projects and supporting paperwork. Needless to say it is not light.

When I'm just going to the local shops the magenta bag in the front used to suffice - until the strap broke off - for the 4th time - probably because I started to overload it. It is looking very battered because it has served me for many years since I found it in a Mt Victorian Treasure shop for $20. (Maybe I should go back up there and see if they have any more). The short term replacement is the lovely marmalade paper raffia bag in front - again from a treasure shop in Charing Cross for about $20. (I don't spend big on my bags). The problem is that paper raffia is not a durable product - especially when they are ~~mistreated~~ handled a lot. I give this bag a few months at the most.

The final bag is the "my husband went to New York and all he bought me was a Macy's Store Bag" which I really do appreciate and which I use for my Knitting Guild hold-all. I know if I put it into general circulation it will start to look as tattered as the others so I'm trying to keep it for 'good'

Getting back to the Bag swap I have been impressed/overawed by the number of free bag patterns in the Knitting 'verse and have reduced my choice to two - guided (I hope) by my partner's preferences. The final choice of pattern was partly decided because I wanted to try Cascade 220 - a knitting staples overseas and now finally available in Australia at Yarnsonline along with a few other goodies I am trying hard to resist.

What happened to the week?

2008-01-12T21:22:00.000+11:00

One minute it's New Year's Eve and the year is brand new - then it's the middle of January.
What have I been up to?

I have been reading: - The Golden Compass Trilogy,
watching DVD's: Randall & Hopkirk (deceased)
Playing PS2 (badly): Lego Star Wars I & II
Knitting: Captain Underpants and Wicked.
Sitting: at the Pool
Online: Ravelry

I've also been working some mean shifts and doing Big Bump outs. It's Festival time so that means a constant stream of shows across four different venues all lasting about four or five days - a real production line of theatre.

My current show (being performed even as I speak/type) is construct, a beautifully choreographed, wonderfully lit, very clever dance piece that just reinforces that tragedy of the accidental death of its creator, Tanja Liedtke.
The production is moving to the Riverside at Parramatta next week, I recommend it highly.

A Fresh Start

2008-01-01T12:59:00.000+11:00

As a positive start to 2008 I'm going to get rid of my Stash - not the Yarn stash, the Fabric Stash, harking back to the time, many years ago, when I thought I could sew.
I have about 12 sewing machines or more but they are more an indication of my fascination with vintage Singers than my ability to construct a garment. The pile shown here is about half of the total and I am going to donate most of it to the school to sell at their next Market Day - if they will take it. I have put aside a few choice pieces for people I know will be able to make better use of it than me.

The positive side of this divestment is that it will make me feel better about the Fibre Stash I have (much easier to use and manage) and maybe make some room for future (yarn) expansion.

They say it's your birthday...

2007-12-30T09:33:00.000+11:00

...We're gonna have a good time.

It was a great time. A big thank you to Lara and Mark for hosting the Western Suburbs Affiliated Branch of Rubi & Lana's Knitting group.
Despite having to work in the morning I was able to make it in time for Cake cutting and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday".

Mary-Helen and Sandra were there, as was Jenwren, Sally and her ever-so-patient David.
Young master Inigo was a bundle of dark-eyed cuteness matched only by the soft bunnies in their hutch.

Much knitting was done, books and yarn admired and cake consumed. Sally's assertion that she was not a lace knitter was completely contradicted by her wonderful lace scaves while Mark quietly knitted his Intarsia .

Ravelry meanwhile continues to impress. I received numerous birthday greetings through gmail and ravelry mail because a little birthday cake icon had popped up on my avatar - it is very nice to get good wishes from afar.

After the Storm.

2007-12-27T22:32:00.001+11:00

It rained and it thundered and flashed, not once but twice in the day. The Hailstones were big but not devastating, the rain was fierce and loud on the corrugated iron roof and the poor old gutters couldn't cope. All the critical electricals were turned off and the blackouts only lasted a few minutes each time. I think the rainwater tank was about to burst its seams because the overflow sump was flooded.

I went out about 6 o'clock to admire the rainbows and in the process discovered that the bottom of the garden had turned into a bubbling stream.

Luckily a lot of the plants were on raised beds or were established enough to hold their own but by the spread of the mulch it was obvious that the stream had at one time been a raging torrent. This is our pet concrete Goanna sitting in the new water feature - I don't think the Pittosporums are enjoying it though.

After the storm the sun came out and gave a colourful display as it set just to reassure the world that all was well.

The water flow does not come as a surprise because it's all got to go somewhere and there was a lot of it. The forces of Nature do not respect man-made fences or manicured gardens. If the changing climate is going to make heavy rainfall of this kind a feature it may be time to adapt.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all

2007-12-25T10:00:00.000+11:00

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Christmas Colour

2007-12-20T20:36:00.000+11:00

This stunning example of the West Australian Red Flowering Gum or Corymbia ficifolia is not in my garden. I tried growing it when we first moved in but it didn't survive. This marvelous specimen is in a suburb at the base of the Blue Mountains, much hotter and drier than my backyard and its saturated colour just takes your breath away.

My Christmas Bush has started to turn a subtle shade of red as the younger white blooms mix with the older red sepals. It is not as showy as this hybrid I saw in a garden several stations to the East but I think I prefer the demure blush to the brazen scarlet.

Ceratopetalum Gummiferum is native to this area so the bush is full of showy red trees and shrubs - especially on the wriggly, windy road of Mitchells Pass. Its funny to see the flowers of this abundant tree on sale at florists for $6.50 a bunch but this probably accounts for late night raids of front gardens and nature strips by secateur-wielding entrepreneurs.

While the focus is on the garden this is the result of the constant rain and misty cloud we have had for the last six months:

here is the feral Strawberry patch

and the feral Tomato patch:

and the feral herb patch with rosemary, lavender, chocolate mint, common mint, and lots of so-called annual flowers that have resurrected themselves. Not shown is the feral potato patch.

After the Cockatoos and snails and possums and parrots have all helped themselves there might be something left for us.

Qatlho'! ISE5 Partner

2007-12-18T15:41:00.000+11:00

A fantastic package arrived in the mail today! It's from Jenn, my ISE5 partner, and may I say she has done herself proud.

She knitted this beautifully soft and squishy scarf from Knit Picks Gossamer and there is an extra skein included! As one of the Knit Pick untouchables (not deemed worthy of overseas postage) I am glad of the chance to see what their yarns are like. The pattern is of her own making so I am going to try and deconstruct it to knit a matching hat (or she could take pity on me and send me the stitch :-) )

Here are all the goodies laid out on my local coffee shop table - I couldn't wait until I got home so all the other patrons shared in my pleasure as I unwrapped each little package. Even the fact that Australian Customs had obviously been there before me didn't spoil the fun.

As well as delectable chocolate, tea and locally spun Alpaca yarn there was a beautifully hand-crafted notebook and matching star ornament, both in my shade of green. The two candy canes peeping out the top have been claimed as tax by the young lad (he says, 'thank you very much')

As to the Klingon reference in the title of this post - well that was inspired by this pattern in Elsebeth Lavold's Pattern book The Embraceable You Collection which was included among the goodies.

Everything in this book resonates with the historic, sci-fi, theatrical nerd in me. I mean - patterns inspired by the Terracotta Warriors, 4th century Scythian uniforms, Tristan and Isolde, and Star Trek! Oh, be still my beating heart.

So, Thank You Jenn, for this wonderful, thoughtful exchange,
reH nay'meylIjyIn Dujablu'jaj.**

(*Thank You!) (**may your dishes be always served alive)

Me being a Groupie

2007-12-16T16:54:00.000+11:00

This is me and (gush) Tom Stoppard- one of the best playwright in the English language in my humble opinion. The man whose Rosencrantz & Guildenstern made Hamlet readable to all those English Lit students.

I was very privileged to be able to focus and plot some lights on him for the "Tom Stoppard in conversation with Andrew Upton, interrupted by Geoffrey Rush" talk in the Opera Theatre today.

It was a very casual, free flowing discussion among three very interesting theatrical types, nothing too dramatic (excuse the pun). During the set up Mrs Upton was there giving hubby Andrew a bit of moral support. I'm afraid to say her stage presence is a lot better than his but I suppose that's why he's a playwright and screenwriter and she is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress.

Windscreen Principles

2007-12-13T21:25:00.000+11:00

From adversity comes The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmes Hiatt.

It started out as "One of Those Days" - I had to drive into the city to get the car windscreen replaced because of an exponentially growing 10 cm crack. The city had been deluged by hailstorms and high winds so I was very, very lucky to get a booking at the glass repair shop.

The fact I had to drive over 100km to get there was a minor inconvenience. I had planned to leave early and pick up the replacement wireless router that had died the previous week and do various little chores on the way down the highway.

Ravelry got in the way! At 10:15 I got a polite suggestion that maybe I should get off the computer and head off to Mascot to make it for noon.

With the help of the M4 and the Cross City Tunnel (I do like those tunnels - am I the only one?) I pulled in on time. I wasn't impressed when told the job was going to take over two hours - it was too far to travel to work so I was stuck in the small shopping precinct of Botany Rd, Mascot a place not renowned for its relaxing environment.

The Council Library came to the rescue - and with it the discovery of a book I have heard about but never read until now. I was very impressed with its wealth of information, the detailed, clear illustrations and the quirky bias that June Hemmes Hiatt has towards certain knitting techniques.

Even though she states "The most important thing to understand at the outset is that there is no one way to knit" she clearly has a bias towards "Right Handed Knitting" ie 'drop and throw' style and knitting straight instead of in the round.

As for "Pencil Knitting" aka 'English' she has this to say;

"While I can understand how it must have evolved, I have yet to discover any modern justification for the version I call Pencil Knitting, in which the right needle is held from underneath in the crook between thumb and forefinger. This is most certainly a system that requires it to be learned in trusting and uncritical childhood because with out the aid of a knitting belt or stick it is quite clumsy - I don't think many adults would put up with learning it.

If someone you know knits this way and offers to teach you how, decline as politely as possible, but do decline. If this is the way you knit and you like the results, by all means continue to do so: the world needs its eccentrics to make it a more interesting place."

And to that last phrase I say 'hear, hear"

We Sheep

2007-12-08T18:27:00.000+11:00

It's that time of year again - it's amazing how time flies!
I did the Messiah rehearsal this morning and opened the windows wide so I could hear it. I love the trumpet solos, and the Counter Tenor, and the Bass - I just love the whole thing.

As was last year both KnitTatPug and Julie were performing in the choir - I was the annoying person shining lights in their eyes. (I have a theory that if you can't be seen you can't be heard - sound operators may disgree with me.)

The soloist in this quick snap is Stephen Bennet - a Bass singer who played a fantastic Achilla in Opera Australia's Julius Caesar - another wonderful composition by that talented George Frideric Handel fellow.

The Power of Rain

2007-12-07T16:42:00.001+11:00

Thunderstorms - I love them. They really give you a sense of perspective about the huge potential of nature and how pitiful humans and their electronic devices are.

Over the past hour there's been a big one rolling around the hills and I think it's safe to finally go back online (I have been caught out before by this false sense of security though).

These are a few snapshots of one of a flock of Cockatoos that took refuge in our Gum trees at the height of the deluge. The force of the rain was so great it kept knocking the poor old Cockies out of their branches.

This one just gave up and stayed upside down for several minutes until the worst was over.

When the rain had passed they flew off loudly complaining in their raucous voice about the injustice of it all.

At least they have stopped ripping apart the Acacia tree at the front of the house - the car was covered in a blanket of leaves, branches and stripped seed pods plus a few strategically placed blobs of Bird Poo on the windscreen. I'm afraid I took a bit of delight in seeing these in-your-face- birds get their comeuppance from Nature.

Call me Marvin

2007-12-05T10:56:00.000+11:00

"The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million years I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into sort of a decline" - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Here's a thing:
without looking in your wallet/purse list the entire contents; the credit cards, membership cards, discounts vouchers, lottery tickets, library cards etc, etc, and then imagine life without them.

This is what I have been doing for the past 24 hours because between using my wallet to purchase petrol at 2:30 pm on Monday and going to buy dinner with it at 6pm, it went missing.
I left my bag unattended on the Concert Hall stage while I focused the roof for The Bjelke Peterson School of Physical Culture (that's worthy of an entire post by itself but I don't want to relive any of it or inflict it on you.)

I don't like to think that there are people in my workplace that would help themselves to a wallet but it looks like I have been a bit naive and am now paying for it. I have been on the phone all morning stopping cards, arranging replacements, filling out forms and trying to remember where my Birth Certificate is so I can get my Driver's License replaced.

This has made me very, very depressed. I can totally empathise with Marvin and the grey rainy day outside is reinforcing the gloom.

"Life? Don't talk to me about Life."

I did it!

2007-11-30T19:02:00.000+11:00

The last Strand Galaxy in the Sydney Opera House

Whew - I made it! A whole month of blogging.
I don't think I'll be doing this on a regular basis though it did bring a bit of discipline to this erratic weblog.

30 days of revelations about my work, the garden, my knitting and various excursions and historical memorabilia.

I hope for some it was interesting, entertaining and even educational.

On the eve of World Aids day I would like to dedicate this last post of November 2007 to the late Ron Nelson - workmate, Comrade, past president of the Australian Theatrical and Entertainment Union and friend from a time when we were all passionate and dedicated to the cause of Workers Rights.

I would also like to welcome into the world Inigo George Nettle, the beautiful son of Lara and Mark - may he bring them happiness , joy and the odd sleepless night.

Sweet Blueberry Ash

2007-11-29T22:43:00.000+11:00

And here it is in all its pink petticoat glory - the lovely Blueberry Ash. Like the Christmas Bush the lovely thing about this tree is that it will have a second colourful display of blue berries as soon as these blooms are done.

A Night On

2007-11-28T19:14:00.000+11:00

7am start in the Concert Hall for a one-night performance of Dionne Warwick. Finishing at 11 pm and just catching time to do a post.

It was a gentle show, the audience knew all the words and sang along in the Chorus, Ms Warwick was entertaining but restrained, as a woman of her vast experience has a right to be. I only had the care of House Lights for the show so was able to make wonderful and hopefully final progress on outstanding UFO's.

The downside is that the goods lift that makes getting the hardware out of the Hall easy, is broken. I am so glad I don't have to carry all that truss and all those lights down the stairs and into the truck.

Instead I'm going to load my car up with a few lights for the School end-of-year concert and once again, head on up that mountain road.

A Night Off

2007-11-27T22:15:00.001+11:00

The end of a long day at work - a hot sticky evening - the rain has finally stopped. I had the night in the city to myself so I headed to Little Korea and Elizabeth's bookshop. Bought Volume One of Preacher, and a couple of other Vertigo comics.

On to Makotos, inspired by Grab Your Fork's reviews of this busy chain of Sushi bars.

This is dessert, a juicy strawberry wrapped in sweet dough, after several plates of Mango and Salmon, Shark fin boats and Edamame.

There are so many wonderful restaurants in this small area it's often hard to choose - "Mr Dduckbocki and Miss Kkochi" were high on the list for their novelty appeal as well as an interesting menu. I may save that for next time/

Wicked

2007-11-26T22:12:00.001+11:00

Despite having several WIP and UFOs on the knitting front I went ahead and started up a new pattern after impulsively buying the yarn from Little Knits.

I am on their mailing list and the mere suggestion of exclusive offers and '50% off' pushes my bargain buttons. The catch is that the postage is often as much as the yarn although they do try and reduce the overall cost. Despite this some of the best I have knitted with has come from Little Knits.

The wool/silk Mondial Giada I'm using for Wicked is light and smooth to knit. It has the same twist as Zara, another nice yarn, and although the colour is a bit lighter than I expected it is knitting up to a lovely garment. The last Zephyr design I knitted was Green Gables in Classic Elite Provence and that was a great success.

I love these designs, the way the top-down technique is so easy and quick and their flattering shaping . I might have to try Rusted Root next.

Paparazzi

2007-11-25T22:35:00.000+11:00

This is a female Satin Bowerbird's bum - not the most flattering shot but the result of several minutes skulking around under the Mulberry tree hoping she would give me nice close up. After I retired back to the garden seat she did finally come close enough for a profile shot. The dark blue male was much more elusive and quite territorial. He shot off in pursuit of a Currawong that fancied a mulberry feast as well.

Hisses, creaks, pops and rusty hinge noises alerted me to the birds presence while I was weeding. They also can sing quite melodiously and often mimic other birds, which can be confusing sometimes. I don't know if it's the absence of the cat, or the rain and plants flowering but the number of birds we have in the garden seems to have doubled. There's even a Wattle Bird nest in the Blueberry Ash. Now if only the Blue Tongue lizard would come back the ecosystem would be complete - we've got plenty of snails to tempt it.

A Little Voice is Heard

2007-11-24T23:12:00.000+11:00

It was a big day here in the mountains, the local school held a market day, the Brook Theatre opened its new play and there was an election where the Prime Minister lost his seat to a female, former ABC reporter. Oh, how sweet that is.

The Green Party, the one that keeps the rest on their toes, had a major presence in most electorates and seem to now have 5 Senators in the Upper House. It is so good to be able to have a choice when the main parties are a bit Tweedledee and Tweedledum. The fact that preferences make a vote twice as valuable is a great way to express this dissatisfaction.

The local polling station was in the School Hall and I was in there the night before rigging the lights for the forthcoming school production. It's so good to see the Hall finally being used for Drama so it was a pleasure to help them look the best it could. I cringe when it's suggested that the fluorescent lights could do as good a job - "where is the magic" I say.

The Brook on the other hand did do magic - with a tiny rig that ran on a 10 Amp fuse and used less power than most people's Air Conditioners. Mouna Stone directed and stared as Little Voice as well as designing and making the sets. She has an amazing singing voice and she and the rest of the cast gave a wonderful and entertaining performance.
I was disappointed to leave at interval because of the hyperactive 9 yr old. I think he wanted to be up on the stage with them. He'll get his chance.

Sweet Jessamine

2007-11-23T23:43:00.000+11:00

The scent of this Orange Jessamine is like Opium - the perfume not the drug. It is so rich and powerful that on humid summer nights it fills the house sometimes to the point of nausea. It always reminds me of Paddington when I first arrived in Sydney and lived in a Terrace off Five Ways. The sticky heat was a real shock for a girl who had spent the last three years in Dunedin - not a city renowned for warmth or sunshine.

This bush is by the back door and is one of a few exotics we have in the mostly Native garden. Some were here when we came, some like the cabbage tree and Pohutakawa, were planted as reminder of past lives, and some were planted by my Mum when she lived here 10 years ago. Of the introduced species they are the most precious.

Down the side of the house are two large roses, a deep Crimson Red and a flowsy Pink with a lovely perfume. They were surrounded by concrete and fibro but still flowered profusely every year. The concrete boots are gone and instead they have a mulched bed with regular doses of Cow poo - I wonder if such kindness may reduce their hardiness. I value and admire their tenacity and strongly repel any suggestions that they be replaced by something less prickly, as they do have a mean thorn.

The garden is also productive; cumquats, mulberries, strawberries for the birds, beans and just today we saw our first Apple!

This is on a tree we called Lady Penelope because it a triple grafted mix of Pink Lady, Royal Gala and Granny Smith. I don't know what variety this first fruit is but it will definitely not be picked until it is well and truly ready. Its close proximity to the bird feeder and the rowdy group of Cockatoos that have recently moved in do concern me a bit but I'm hoping they haven't got a taste for Apples, for their sakes.

Wet

2007-11-22T23:52:00.000+11:00

Eek! Another squeak in. Just like the mice I can hear scratching above me in the roof. At least they're quieter than the Possum - it sound like he is wearing Doc Martins Boots, the way he pounds over the corrugated iron roof.

It's raining steadily on that roof and the sound is so reassuring. I know our poor old Valiant Safari will have a mini swimming pool in the front tomorrow but I would not give this steady rain away for anything.

This morning there was mist every where as I caught the train to work and the moisture has made the rocks bloom with colourful algae.

The journey home was met by an thunderstorm in full force so there was no computer work happening while the lightning cracked above that iron roof. I wonder if that is why we have had two printers and one Modem zapped by lightning strikes?

It looks as though La Niña has well and truly arrived and I welcome her.

Youse are Great

2007-11-21T22:16:00.000+11:00

This is a little indulgent I know but I think all the people who read my blog are Geniuses and I thank you all for your patronage.

Lara also came up with another wonderful time absorbing Link here - the highest score I have manages to achieve is 45 out of 50 and I have earned quite a few bowls of rice getting there. Did you know that laconism = terseness. I do now.

Hopefully on Saturday there will be good news on several fronts both for Lara and the nation at large. I am hoping we see the safe arrival of young Inigo and we see his Aunt elected into the Senate with a large number of her colleagues.

I'm not sure where I saw this How to Vote link but it was very useful in confirming something I knew already - "Bob Brown for President".
Failing that, as M-H says "Kevin, don't FIU".

Bees in my Tree

2007-11-20T22:35:00.001+11:00

This post is dedicated to the wonders of the Ceratopetalum Gummiferum or as it is more commonly known the NSW Christmas Bush.

The tree is in full bloom at the moment so there is another scent to rival the Native Frangipani (which has almost done its dash). In a few weeks this mass of white flowers will turn bright red and just before Christmas, will be sold for extortionate prices from Roadside Stalls for last minute guilt gift giving.

An official explanation for the colour change is: " the white flowers of New South Wales Christmas bush are fairly insignificant. However, after flowering finishes, the sepals usually develop a pink to red colouration and produce the massed display that make it one of the most popular Australian plants in cultivation."

I don't think the white flowers are 'fairly insignificant' - they make an awesome display, especially when they are covered by Bees and glowing in the late afternoon light. This tree is about 10yrs old and has been kept trim to encourage flowering. It aspires to great heights though and maybe one day we'll just let it go - the sky is the limit.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Garden a rival for showy display is preparing itself - the melodious Elaeocarpus reticulatus (Blueberry Ash) has buds on every twig and branch and is going to explode in a mass of pink very soon. Just watch these pages.

Cosy

2007-11-19T23:45:00.000+11:00

This is a "squeak in by the skin of my teeth" post as another long day comes to a close.

I present two teapot cosies that were knitted for a Ravelry Tea Cosy exchange and which were dispatched last Thursday to their Tasmania recipient. Australia Post came through with flying colours and delivered the parcel of Cosies and other goodies today. I have it on good authority that Emma was very pleased with all the contents and I now look forward to receiving some little Tea Pot cover from my upstream exchange partner over the next month. (No pressure!)

Both the patterns came from the seemingly infinite pattern database that is Ravelry:
The Red and Black Skull and Crossbones is an adaptation of the Pirate Gal hat by Erssie and the Fulled Autumn Leaves comes from Autumn Tea Cozy by aemmeleia. My thanks to both of these generous knitters for making their patterns available.

Sculpture by the Sea

2007-11-18T22:14:00.000+11:00

We made it for the very last day of Sculpture by the Sea on a brilliant blue sunny day. There was over one hundred sculptures along the 2km of cliffside walk between Tamarama and Bondi beach and double that number of people walking the track to see them.

The sculptures were so varied in size, shape and composition and were placed up cliffs or over banks and down on the sands of the beach.

Since moving up to the mountains I have missed the last two years of SbtS and I had been a regular patron from way back in 1997 when it first started.

It's a big deal now with lots of big names in the art world and it draws thousands of people from all over the world over the several weeks it's held.

It was interesting to see that 7 days away from the Federal election both the major parties made an appearance for the final prize giving.
Peter Garrett MP and Malcolm Turnbull MP were both pressing the flesh, though not together. I didn't stay for the full Media event though I hear The Chaser team turned up to poke fun at them.