Wednesday's wanderings

I don't think I've mentioned the Hotel Kurrajong on my blog yet, which is most remiss of me as it's kind of the kid brother to The Hyatt (and even designed by the same architect). It's much more homely (see foyer above) and intimate (with only 26 guest rooms - the rest of the building is taken up with a hotel management school which means the students get to practice on the guests)Today I was lucky enough to be part of a group who got to see the room where Chifley used to stay (and, apparently, died. It's said he haunts the hotel to this day...) Later in the afternoon I took a trip back to the Lost Houses of the Molonglo Valley exhibition at CMAG and the Knit 1 Blog 1 exhibition at Craft ACT to finally have a decent look at all the exhibits(And check out what Al's wearing these days...)

I'm not usually one to get excited by things philatelic

But when I spotted the new Australia Post's new Landmarks: Australian Modernist Architecture stamps on display while in the queue at the post office this morning I got quite agitated until I could scamper over and have a closer look.

I like. I like a lot. I think I'll be buying me some of these once I've decided which set I want the most*. There are even postcards, but I'm thinking stamps as they'd look best framed in a small box frame.

(*Obviously one that includes Canberra's very own Shine Dome!)

Just couldn't resist trying it out...

That Hokitika yarn had me intrigued so I did the usual "well maybe I could just knit a little bit of it to see how it turns out" last night.
You know, like I don't have anything else to do at the moment (except work out just why they named the yarn after a small West Coast New Zealand town in the first place...)

Dear weekend: how did I love thee?

Let me count the ways:1. On Saturday I had a flying visit from Taph who was laden down with droolworthy vintage fabric to add to my stash (and who also said nice things about the freshly baked bread I pressed upon her!)...

2. ...before I dashed off to afternoon tea at The Hyatt (I didn't take pictures since I already took a pile here)...

3. ..where I received an invite to join a new community market which starts this coming Sunday. I'm keen but wondering just how much stock I can whip up in a week...

4. This morning started with more arrivals to add to the stash:when JC donated 11 balls of Sean Sheep Hokitika yarn she'd bought for her daughter to learn to knit with (before realising she should start with something a little more straight forward...) So I refilled her (now empty) bag with the contents of my wool scrap bag.

5. After that little bout of swapping the 642.4 Gang headed off to Bungendore to celebrate JC's birthday with brunch at the Bungendore Woodworks Gallery cafe.

Followed by a mooch round the items for sale(which included a selection of amazing miniature vignettes of workshops with various vehicles in them...)6. As we left the gallery we spotted this sign:and so dutifully trotted off (past the Medical Centre which has a very interesting vege garden out the front!)to Bungendore Bon Bon.

Where I did the Happy Dance when I spotted theseand these!

I was very restrained but wonder how long they'll last...

7. And to round the weekend goodness off I finally went to see Scarred and Strengthened: Australians in the Great Depression at Old Parliament House.

(Anyone have a pattern for 11 balls of Sean Sheep Hokitika yarn?)

Spotted in the window of the new Koko Black shop in Civic...

It's official: I'm lovely.

How chuffed am I to be added to the list of Lovely Blogs NZ?!

And since I'm so lovely:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange.

I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

"Wubba wubba" Wednesday

"Wubba wubba" because my brain has turned to utter mush after spending most of the morning doing the final sort out of accounts and receipts and miscellaneous bits of paper for my tax return.

This year I will keep my business accounts in better shape during the course of the year.

This year I will keep my business accounts in better shape during the course of the year.

This year I will keep my business accounts in better shape during the course of the year.

etc.

etc.

etc.

Feeling quite chuffed now as I'm about 95% there - just waiting on a receipt back from Plan for one of my sponsored children and a reply from my accountant about how to deal with claiming my office.

Never fear, it's not been all work around here. Feast your eyes on my frugalling scores:
* Selling Good Design ("a fascinating study of the little-known collaboration between the Metropolitan Museum, the New York department stores, and the great designers of the 1920's"): $8.00 (Brilliant sounding book - can't wait to read it. You know, in around 2011...)

* Peter Gabriel's best of CD: $3.00 (It's rather odd hearing the original of Solsbury Hill again after only having the Erasure cover on CD for the last few years)

* Single doona cover with shoe print (eventually to be turned into - what else? - shoe bags): $4.00

And Nibbs seems to be feeling much better, except for when I try and shove a syringe full of bright pink bubblegum flavoured gunk down his throat twice a day...

An unwanted lunchtime visitor

Nibbs has been limping for a couple of days and I finally (begrudgingly) decided it wasn't going to get better by itself and so my lovely vet popped in at lunchtime to have a looksie.A quick check, bubblegum flavoured antibiotics down the hatch (why not mouse flavoured, I ask?) and there was still time for me to cook and eat lunch before heading back to work.

I love my vet. I particularly love the small size of my vet's bills.

Sometimes it's better not to know

I've been feeling cold all morning. Like frozen solid even with a polo neck jumper, The Jumper Based on a True Pattern and new merino wristlettes (and the heater!) on.

Silly me - I just checked the Bureau of Meteorology site and find it's 2 degrees oC (that's 35 degrees oF). At midday. WAAAAAH! I suddenly feel a lot colder.

I'm off to huddle in front of the gas heater with a mug of warm soup for lunch.

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...

Pear pincushions (with attached leaf shaped needle book) based on some I saw over at Meet me at Mikes yesterday.

I decided it was the perfect fun thing to do after I finished the wristlette order this morning. It's heading to Sydney next month to reside in Princess B's newly arranged sewing room/ study (not that she knows it yet!)

Saturday is...

... mandarins from the Farmers' Market, with tree still attached.
... a visit from Aunty A with giant croissants (eaten warm with ruby grapefruit and campari marmalade)
... homemade cream of mushroom soup for lunch.
... a new loaf of no knead bread cooling.
... working on an order for monogrammed wristlettes.
... noticing that Caffeine Faerie has picked up the Happy Music meme idea.
... stretching out on the sofa with Nibbs for an afternoon kip.
... putting the house back to rights.
... fresh apple and mandarin juice for afternoon tea.
... a video and an early night.

Opening

Sydney Design 07 site launched today

Here.

Happy music

The first track I played this morning is one of my favourite reminders:

that yes, indeed it is.

And since I'm showing my somewhat dark and dodgy musical taste, here are another couple of tracks that always make me happy when they land in my CD player:
(because they do)


(because we can)

(I've always found it rather funny that Black can sound so dour and depressed while singing about how it's a "wonderful life" - Ace of Base and Tina Cousins have since done dance versions which are much happier sounding but somehow not as good as the original)

I'm tempted to turn this into a meme: Songs that always make me happy (the dodgier the better!)

(For those on dial up:
1. Ace of Base, Beautiful life
2. D:ream, Things can only get better
3. Sydney Youngblood, If only I could
4. Black, Wonderful Life)

Head hits desk. Repeatedly....

So I've had a URL for over a year. Done nothing with it. Suddenly felt the need to populate it with something (however basic) RIGHT NOW!

So I go to my ISP home page and they give me a pile of links to articles like De-Sludging ASP.NET Pages with PageAdapter (WTF?!) and Build a homepage of your own (HELLO! it would be nice if you stopped waffling and told me how to do it!). Then I try this link which tells me "The most common mistake for new designers is the urge to put the c:\ in links and images" Well thanks, but you know I have no such urge as I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE GOING ON ABOUT!

So an hour later I'm no closer to having any idea how to get an itsy bitsy logo and a couple of buttons onto my home page. I thought it would be like Blogger. You know: Choose a template. Mess with it a little. Feel like you know what's happening.

Suddenly I feel old.

A day in black & white...

1. A lunchtime frugalling find. Vintage spotty beach towel with fringe. Salvos Tuggeranong: $5. 2. Also captured at Salvos Tuggeranong. Two white cotton pillowcases with faggoting: $3.50 the pair. I'm a happy little frugaller this week!

3. (Still) on the needles:my daisy hoodiewhich I'd rather like to get finished for Friday's Knit 1 Blog 1 opening. I might actually manage it as I only have one (most difficult) front to go before sewing it up and buying (and installing) the zip.

4. Except I also plan to have a number of Knitaholic bags finished by then as well....Not panicking - it's only Tuesday. Heaps of time to sort it all out!

Sunday at Strathnairn

Yesterday we visited Strathnairn after the Old Bus Depot Markets and Canberra Glassworks (which was packed - I was told over 300 people are already on the waiting list for the Off The Street program!)

I had fun taking photos of old thingschecking out the exhibitionsand drinking coffee (and eating cake) by the fire. It was the perfect way to spend a wintery Canberra Sunday afternoon!

It's a small world (or should that be "city"?)

Old Bus Depot Markets Fibre Day. We visit Lovely L's friend Lyn at her stand. "Hmm" I say "Is that a Time Thief Watch Cap I spy?" And after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing about what exactly Taph is called it turns out it is indeed.

So I took the opportunity to have a go while Lyn was eating a lovely tasty Börek (I'd scarfed mine already)And I bumped into a client and bonded over the fact I actually knitted my jumper.

It would seem that not only is a new Stitch 'n' Bitch for Canberra a good idea (2nd Monday of the month at The Front Gallery in Lyneham, starting in August) but maybe (just maybe) the concept of a 746 Information Management craft group might float. Assuming we can find a time that everyone is available.

Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb

Today's burning question in the TSS household (well OK, only amongst those of us with two legs) is why, if I've always like rhubarb so much, has it taken me exactly 41 years and 43 days (I'm not counting the hours, minutes or seconds) to have a go at stewing my own?

Now I just have to find someone with a plant who would be willing to give me a bit of it to shove in the ground thus (hopefully) guaranteeing constant supplies...

A fabulous Friday

The sun was shining (for a change), the birds were singing (when they weren't taunting the cat who was up the tree trying to catch them. I felt like I'd stumbled into a scene from Peter and the Wolf while doing the dishes this morning, but alas the camera was upstairs and I knew it would all be over by the time I fetched it). And it was warm enough for me to have the back door open all day. Bliss!

It gets better, though. Waiting at the post office was a package from dayglo days

who had offered to hunt down a NZ Music Month T shirt and send it to me. But that wasn't all that was in the package, no siree!

Also included were five bags of Grainwaves (*sigh*), a piece of "Kiwi kitch" (her words, honest!), an issue of Busted, a magazine I didn't know existed, black and white ric rac, white cotton lace (anyone that includes Grainwaves and ric rac in the same package is A OK by me!). Plus a tres groovy black white and acrylic ring and, last but certainly not least, a Toast badge.

More bliss. Now I need to get my reply package in the mail...

Other things that made today fab:

* I bought groceries (and went all out - spending a whooping $33.05 excluding fruit and vege!)

* The first of the financial year accounts are sorted and squared away.

* I did five loads of washing (which all dried except for the jumpers)

* After months of frustration with the eBay Markdown Manager and the many ways it didn't work for me I gave up and spent the morning manually discounting my bargain corner stock and this month's package deals. Tedious work but very fulfilling when I'd finished and realised I shouldn't have to touch them again!

* I loaded some more pictures of my miniatures onto Flickr for the Australian Miniature Enthusiasts magazine, Tiny Times to use in their next edition.

* After buying a jar of tahini (which seemed a lot cheaper that I remembered) with the groceries this morning I cooked up a pot of chickpeas and turned them into hummus:which gave me hot raw garlic tummy when I tested it (I haven't had hot raw garlic tummy for ages - an excellent way to keep warm!)

Unfortunately I forgot a very important fact (note to self: you live alone. You really need to remember to halve recipes whenever you can unless you want said food item to feature highly on your menu for the next week. Or two...) and produced enough hummus to (almost) fill a small bucket.

And I had some lovely beany water left over which I froze for future stock making possibilities...

* This week's bread dough is started and I'm experimenting with using some wholemeal flour.

* Taph told me we accidentally crashed the wrong opening last Friday so she and I went along to the correct opening tonight where we drank more free wine and ate free food (including some very good blue cheese)

I found myself saying seriously "I'm a bit worried. I've left my bread dough at home alone without the heater on. I hope its OK..." I'm turning into a sad sad woman.

* The nice man at Mooble gave me a free glass of organic wine to try when I ducked in there to waste some time on the way to the opening.

* Taph gave me a book! And a lift home! I got rid of some of my hummus mountain as a thank you present in return!

* And, finally I sort of accidentally bought the latest Air CD for $12 as we wandered past Landspeed Records on the way back to the car. Oops...

Still, can't complain as the whole night only cost me $16.80!

About bloody time!

Finally caught at lunchtime today: two more dinner plates for The Great Maxwell Williams Dinner Set Challenge of 2006/2007. Total cost? 80 cents. I need one more cereal plate and then I'll have a dinner set for 6.

Also snapped up (apparently within minutes of them being put out): one brand new pair of leather Miss Shop work shoes. $20.

And the background? Ah, yes.... *shuffles feet and looks ever so slightly shifty* that would be a $5 cotton fitted sheet with two matching pillows. For this month anyway. Next month it'll mysteriously turn into fabric stash...

And now I'm off to brave the dark, wet and cold (in my "new" shoes) to meet Aunty A for a two-for-one deal on I Do at Dendy. And a cheap feed.

Busy busy busy...

Things are a happening in Canberra!

The Knit 1 Blog 1 now has a web page as well as a blog.

I dropped off my contributions to the exhibition today after a busy few days creating another dozen cupcakes (duh, I forgot to photograph them before I delivered them) and met Barbara who is just lovely.

Tomorrow I need to start on some of the I'm a knitaholic range that I'd like to have available for sale during the exhibition.

And if that wasn't all, I've also been busy creating a couple of things which are part of a gift not yet received, so also not photographed.

And now I hear a glass of wine, a sofa and volume 2 of Phaidon Design Classics calling my name...

Final figures for June's Fiscal Fast

Total spent: $579.88*

vs average monthly spending for the past financial year: $2877.75

* Includes standard payments such as electricity, internet, phone, petrol (even though it pretty much all got claimed back) plus, of course, food and postage. Does not include rent and car loan repayments.

I'll work out my net debt levels on Thursday.

And no questions?! I'm disappointed!

Sunday morning shopping and spending

5:30am: Wake up, feeling like it's Christmas morning (in a good way)

8:00 am: Off to the newsagents to pick up my magazines (and the Ben Watt CD which has been sitting there for weeks)9:50am: Waiting patiently outside one of the two op shops in Canberra that are open on Sunday...10:05am: $4 Yoghurt maker spotted and swept into the basket. 10:10 am: $4 copy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter added to the basket.

10:20am: Brunch with Aunty A where I'm a little shocked to realise one meal is going to cost the same as three days' eating last week. I shrug and make sure to appreciate it as I eat it.

11:15am: Pop into Sauvage Urbain and buy a silicone pastry brush to replace the one that I accidentally melted three weeks ago. Feel good that I'm supporting a local retailer rather than going to Target or Kmart to buy it.

11:30am: Decide I've had enough of this spending malarky and go home to recover.

500th post bag draw

And the winner is:

Jejune!