This is what Tuesday looked like around here...

Since I spent all last night in a Jacquie Brown Diaries binge rather than a sorting the house out for flat inspection binge I spent some time this morning doing dishes/ compost/ recycling/ bathroom cleaning. Followed by a run to the Post Office to post a pile of stuff that was teetering on overdue.

Stopped by to see Al on the way up to Craft ACT:(he seemed happy to see me)

I spent most of the morning populating marketing lists. Annette Blair came by to drop some stock off for the shop. If I didn't have a full component of glassware (and then some) I'd be stocking my cupboards with her grey range...
At lunchtime I wandered across to the CMAG Members' Lounge which was, as usual, empty so I could spread myself out on the big yellow couch, work on my piece for Knitta Pleaseand create the My Creative Space photos for this week:(a free cup of tea and biscuit, By Design on the MPlayer and I'm one happy girl) More stock arrived in the shop in the afternoon: tumblers by Dimity Kidston.This one would have come home with me if it had happened to be black and white:But, thankfully, it wasn't.I arranged the new stock on the shelves, worked on our new Facebook page while thinking how appropriate it was that the mouse mats were actually cutting boardsand then it was time to go home.

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea
Morning Tea: Zucchini Parmesan muffin
Lunch: Wholemeal pita bread with falafel, hummus, tomato and salad. Cup of tea and biscuit at the CMAG Members' Lounge
Afternoon tea: Cup of tea. Apple drop biscuits (shared with colleagues)
Dinner: Salad Niçoise

Today's purchases:

Postage of presents: $40.00
Bag of salad: $2.95

Total for Today: $42.95

Total for June: $1011.27

In which the whole "Cook from the Cupboard" plan goes off the rails. Yet again.

Sunday was good. Probably because I didn't actually leave the house. Well, I did leave the house as I hung washing on the line but you know what I mean. There was also cleaning and stuff. And cooking. And knitting. And watching of the last three episodes of Torchwood Series Two.

Today is where it all went pear shaped. It was my last day at my current contract and we decided to go out to lunch to celebrate. And in the afternoon my colleague and I caught up with a fellow Librarian up the road over afternoon tea.

Tonight I should be doing more pre-flat inspection cleaning. But since I received a late birthday present in the mail this morning I shall be spending the evening watching The Jacqui Brown Diaries. I'm rather intrigued as two people now have said I remind them of her (or is it the other way round?)

Cook from the Cupboard

Sunday's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea
Brunch: Apple drop biscuits with honey cinnamon yoghurt. Plunger coffee
Afternoon tea: Toast with freshly made hummus and sliced tomato
Dinner: Fettuccine with mushrooms and pesto

Sunday's purchases: 0

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Porridge with sultanas, wheatgerm, brown sugar and milk. Cup of tea
Lunch: Wholewheat roll with roasted peppers and salad. Chocolate mousse cake and coffee
Afternoon tea: Bottle of ginger beer
Dinner: Hummus and corn chips

Today's purchases:

Lunch: $16.50
Ginger Beer: $2.70

Total for Today: $19.20

Total for June: $968.32

Saturday: The Wrong Library, Cheese and Flick Knits

I had it all planned after the embarrassment of Friday's forgetfulness. Arrived at work bright and cheery (at 8:15am. On a Saturday) with plans to nip home for a round of freezer roulette at lunchtime. Only to be told I was at the wrong library (luckily it turned out to be not my fault.) So there was a race home and into Miss Daisy to get to Library number two before it opened. And in the rush I forgot to take the extra minute to throw soup and bread into a bag to take with me.

So yesterday was another bought lunch, eaten in the calm of the CMAG Members' Lounge and washed down with free tea and a biscuit for afters.

The other purchase of the day was a bottle of wine to take to pre-movie dinner at J&M's. As I didn't think a cleanskin was quite appropriate...

We went to see The Reader. The Flick Knit report is a good one:

* Handknitted item being worn: One nice jumper that I noticed in the movie (plus, in the ANUFG audience, one big teal jumper two rows ahead of me and a pink lacy sleeveless vest in the row behind me)
* Actual knitting being done: One of the defendants in the trial scene was knitting a sock. I believe this is the first time I've seen dpns used in a movie
* Extra bonus points: There was a scene in a library. And a Librarian

By the time I arrived home it was too late to blog, so the Perfect Italiano Cheese prizepack draw is a little later than planned.

There were only two entries! How could that be? Do none of the rest of you like cheese? Or dinner parties?!

Both entries were excellent for different reasons and so there will be two winners: Taph and Michelle. Well done!

Cook from the Cupboard

Saturday's menu:

Breakfast: Crumpets and peanut butter. Cup of tea
Lunch: Toasted vege and cheese panini. Cup of tea and biscuit at CMAG Members' Lounge
Dinner: (At J&M's) Indian snacks. Rice, dahl, vegetable curry, raita, and chutney. Wine
Pre movie dessert: Hot chocolate. Chocolate

Saturday's purchases:

Lunch: $6.95
Wine to take to dinner: $11.05

Total for Saturday: $18.00

Total for June: $949.12

Because, really, why would you turn down an invitation to have your work displayed at The National Gallery? *

I'm knitting again. It feels good.

(The black wool is the leftover Vinnies nasty Nundle from the $6.50 Pirate jumper. The white is a ball of Bendi I picked up in a $5 bag from Salvos. The spots are from the 1988 Vogue knitting pattern I used to knit my first adult-knit cardigan which seemed somehow appropriate for the occassion. I still have the cardigan. I made it in black and white. Just in case you were wondering...)

(*You can too!)

The price of forgetfulness is $13

Today was a Basement Jaxx day. Enough said.

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. That's it. I forgot to eat anything!

And then I left my lunchbag on the bench at home so:

Morning tea: Coffee and cookie
Lunch: Yummy Chocolate Olive salads. Free coffee from a colleague
Afternoon tea: Free coffee from my boss and free giant Freddo from a(nother) colleague
Dinner: Fettucine with pumpkin and ricotta sauce

Which reminds me. So far there's only one entry in my Perfect Italiano dinner party competition. (And a rather good one, I have to say). If you want to issue a challenge and possibly nab yourself a delicious range of ricotta and pizza cheeses for free then you've got less than 24 hours to leave a comment here.

Today's purchases:

Morning tea: $5.50
Lunch: $7.50
6 x glue sticks and 6 x erasers: $3.36

Total for Today: $16.36

Total for June: $931.12

A little eye candy for the weekend...

"Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of works inspired by the beloved classic, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Over the coming weeks and months I'll display a growing collection of works created by invited contributing artists and myself.

We share a love and admiration for Sendak's work and the pieces we present here are done as a tribute to his life and legacy. "

(Discovered via The Ward-o-matic.)

I knew I'd like it the moment I spotted the name...

"Black Square", the cover of the catalogue said. "Visual Arts and Design Practice Students 2009" I'd heard about tonight's opening at CIT Designspace (woefully underrepresented online) via Jas at Craft ACT and decided it was a must-see exhibition.

I'm very glad I went as it was wonderful seeing the work of people ahead of me on this road I'm taking. This time though (unlike the graphic design students' exhibition opening I went to there a few weeks ago) I didn't feel like slashing my wrists on the spot when I saw the work. Instead, I looked at it and thought it was fabulous and maybe, just maybe, given a pile more tuition I, too could achieve similar things.

It helped that a lot of friendly faces I knew were there and were happy to chat to me. It almost makes me feel like returning to creating even though it's the holidays. Watch out Knitta Please!

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Muesli and yoghurt (at work)
Morning tea: Sweets
Lunch: Vege pasta soup. Cheese toasted sandwich. Almonds
Afternoon tea: Zucchini Parmesan muffin. Banana
Dinner: Snacks at Designspace opening

Today's purchases:

Petrol: $20.01 (This commute is killing me!)

Total for Today: $20.01

Total for June: $914.76

Was that Wednesday that just whizzed past?

Work. Home. Staring at a job application which is due in tomorrow and trying to work out how to make the fact I did something 25 years ago somehow a relevant answer to the first selection criteria. Deciding to use some Just In Time management principles and leave it for the morning and head out to see a colleague perform in an improv theatre competition instead. Discovering that another colleague may know the right people to get me inside the Futuro House up the road. Home. Blog. Bed.

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Toast with apricot and vanilla jam. Yoghurt. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Grain Waves
Lunch: Cream of lentil soup. Toast. Almonds.
Afternoon tea: Zucchini Parmesan muffin. Banana
Dinner: Cheese on toast.

Today's purchases:

1 lemon: 53 cents (for a dinner I never made as I remembered I was going out.)
1 litre milk: $2.55
Ticket to colleague's improv night: $5.00

Total for Today: $8.08

Total for June: $894.75

Goodbye Grumpy Tuesday

It'll be nice to see the back end of you. But, as I reminded myself, you have to have off days occasionally to appreciate the good days.

Not that today was all bad. No day that begins with bread baking can be considered bad, can it?

And when I popped into the watch place this morning to replace my dead watch battery, they were having a one day only half price watch battery sale. Perfect timing.

At Craft ACT I stuffed envelopes, a skill I picked up in my very first holiday job when I was 15 and am still finding very handy indeed...
(Al did his best to give us a hand)

Still feeling grumpy at lunchtime, I realised I could now buy my Quantum Leap ticket since I knew I probably wouldn't be heading to Sydney as usual the first weekend of August.

And treated myself to sushi to see if that would help cheer me up. It did.

Then I went shopping since I was in town anyway. Retail therapy is always a good cure for the blahs and I had sensible things on my list (which I knew were on sale) so I could get the shopping rush without any post shopping guilt. Perfect!

Sweets shared with the rest of the Craft ACT crew brought my general mood back to Pollyannaish.

And since I'd spent quite a large amount of money already, I picked up bulk bus tickets on the way home to beat the July 1st price rise.

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Muesli with yoghurt and banana. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Cup of tea.
Lunch: Sushi
Afternoon tea: Chocolate licorice bullets
Dinner: Doorstop cheese and tomato relish sandwich

Today's purchases:

Watch battery: $5.25
Quantum Leap ticket: $20.00
5 pairs wool socks: $38.30 (30% off at DJs. My current wool socks are so old they look at my feet and sprout enormous holes)
4 pairs opaque pantihose: $44.64 (30% off again. It's quite a novel feeling stocking up in the mid year sales as I've not been able to do it for the last couple of years)
2 pairs knickers: $20.92 (also 30% off. I would have bought more but that's all they had in my size...)
Sushi lunch: $16.00
Sweets to share with work: $2.30
5 Ten trip bus tickets: $110.00

Total for Today: $257.41

Total for June: $886.67

Nooooo.........

I somehow managed to find my way into the back end of this year's Sydney Design site yesterday and had a good old rummage around to see what was on offer.

Got a bit perplexed when Krispin K wasn't listed under "tours" or "education".

Got worried when searches for both "Krispin K" and "Nigel Sutton" brought up nothing.

Last night I sent a slightly panicked email to Nigel. And woke up today to find this in my in box:

"I decided not to do Krispin this year. I think it was time for him to hang up his Calvin Kleins and retire him back to his fabulous walk in closet"

No Kripsin K? Why weren't we warned? How will I survive?

I don't know if I even want to go to Sydney Design now... *whimper*

(I'd wear all black today in mourning but no one would notice as I usually wear all black. Maybe I should wear all colour to mark the news?)

Dear 11 year old inner child...

I thought you might like this:and this:maybe this:

While we're at it how about this:and this:which goes with this:and this:Worth it for $60?I think so. Don't you?

Cook from the Cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Porridge with sultanas, wheatgerm, brown sugar and milk. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Parmesan zucchini muffin.
Lunch: Sweet chili tuna, rice, peas and corn. Grain Waves
Afternoon tea: Chocolate. Banana
Dinner: Mushrooms and pesto on fettuccine

Today's purchases:0

Total for June: $629.26

In which I have a day off which is so exciting my brain just about explodes.

It all started innocently enough. A day off! I could sleep in! So I did. I got up. I did some washing so I have something to wear for my next 6 day working week. I got the groceries. I made some soup for lunch.

And then the day took off like a train with the throttle stuck full on. I'd arranged to meet my Photoshop Tutor at National Portrait Gallery to watch the Annie Leibowitz documentary they were screening. Then we headed next door to the NGA Members' Lounge for coffee as The Portrait Gallery was tad too busy for our liking. I felt very proud that we'd done a parade through the Portrait Gallery shop and I'd not bought a thing.

At the Members' Lounge we were invaded by knitters. Drinking champagne!(Blurry surreptitious photo taken from afar...)

I would have wandered over and found out who they were and how I too could drink what looked like free champagne while knitting but alas I was late for my next appointment.

With 25 dolls houses. Owned by the person who sold me my very first Lundby house. I had a private tour. I'd share photos but I didn't take any. Not one. Mainly because I was asked not to share any photos I did take and I knew the temptation would be too great.

I came away with goodies. Details of which I'll share tomorrow when the light is decent. Put it this way: this is the second time that Wendy has fulfilled my childhood dreams...

Cook from the Cupboard

Sunday's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea
Morning tea: Sparkling ginger cordial
Lunch: Cream of lentil soup
Afternoon tea: Coffee at National Gallery and a piece of slice at my afternoon visit
Dinner: No idea yet but almost definitely something from the freezer.

Sunday's purchases:

1.5 litres sparkling mineral water: 89 cents
1 litre milk: $1.54
500g plain yoghurt: $2.98
4 apples: $2.72
3 bananas: $2.14
219g mushrooms: $2.08
1 large zucchini: $1.07
2 tomatoes: $1.12
2 packets crumpets (on special again): $3.80

Childhood dream fulfillment: $60.00

Total for Sunday: $78.34

Total for June: $629.26

Cook from the cupboard: Saturday

(A day in which my brain got so mixed up it actually convinced me I needed to be at work half an hour before I actually did and managed to borrow a book even though it was told in no uncertain terms NO BORROWING OR PUTTING MY NAME ON THE WAITING LIST FOR ANYTHING AS I HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO READ ALREADY!)

Cook from the Cupboard

Saturday's menu:

Breakfast: Cheese on toast. Cup of tea
Lunch: Fritatta with mushroom, broccoli and red pepper
Afternoon tea: Chocolate
Dinner: Fettuccine with roasted pumpkin, feta cheese and walnuts. Wine

Saturday's purchases:

10 litres of wine (on special): $22.00
3 Magazines: $32.40
(Sounds like the perfect set up for Saturday night, doesn't it?)

Total for Saturday: $54.40

Total for June: $550.92

Presents for me and presents for you!

Presents for me: A handmade Murano glass daisy lariat necklace which unexpectedly dropped into my PO Box this week courtesy of M1K1. Who seems to think it's a swap for a pear print. Which I thought was a swap for a Mini Show sponsorship. (I suspect this might go on for ever...) The necklace will be much admired at Craft ACT... And a book I won in a Canberra Weekly giveaway. I have a soft spot for Clarice Cliff even though the only items I own are in miniature...

And, more importantly, presents for you:

The lovely folk at Perfect Italiano have made another free cheese pack available, retail value $35 (delivery to Australian addresses only, sorry)

To go in the draw to win this package of cheesy goodness, leave a comment on this post telling me who you'd like to invite to a dinner party where you would use your Perfect Italiano cheese. The guest list can be a maximum of 8 people, including yourself. And preferably living (just to make it harder). If you'd like to turn this into a meme and post your answers (and reasons) on your blog please make sure to leave a link in the comments of this post! I'll close comments and draw a winner at 5pm EST Saturday 27th June 2009.

After a conversation in the comments of this I Op therefore I am - ACT post, I decided on the following guest list:

Jeffrey Steingarten (My fave US food writer)
Nigel Slater (Ditto for the UK ever since I used to read his recipes in very early editions of UK marie claire before there was a US edition, let alone a AU one!)
Terence Conran (Can't believe I put him third on the list. He'll have fun talking food with Jeffrey and Nigel)
Paco Underhill (Retail Anthropologist and author of "Why we buy" and "Call of the mall". He and Terence should find a lot to talk about)
Douglas Lloyd Jenkins ("one of the most influential design writers in the Southern Hemisphere". He and Terence should have a lot in common)
Terry Wogan (Eurovision commentator extraordinaire)
Peter Travis (Australian designer and colour expert: hopefully I could convince him to give me private colour theory lessons...)

Who would you chose? What would you feed them?

COMMENTS FOR THIS POST ARE NOW CLOSED.

Fatty-fat-guts Friday

It's on days like this that I wish I wasn't broadcasting my eating habits to the world. Or could, at least, cheat by telling baldfaced lies. But I can't and I won't so here we go:

Cook from the Cupboard (aka How my eating goes out the window when I'm dead tired)

Friday's menu:

Breakfast: Crumpets and marmalade. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Zucchini and Parmesan muffin
Lunch: Pita bread with falafel, hummus and tabouli. Grain Waves

(Looking OK so far, right? Then, as the afternoon progressed, my eyelids got heavier and my brain got slower and the apple I'd brought for afternoon tea looked like the last thing on earth I wanted to eat. So I went to the cafe)

Afternoon tea: Coke and chips

(Followed an hour and a half later with free chocolate from work. That's all the junk food food groups covered then...)

After work I went home and slid into bed for a nap. Woke up just in time to put my clothes back on (and realise the zip on my favorite boots had busted) and head out to the final night of Construct at The Playhouse:

Dinner: I forgot to eat but had a glass of champagne at the theatre...

Friday's purchases:

Junk food for afternoon tea: $4.80
Parking: $1.60
Glass of champagne: $6.00

Total for Friday: $12.40

Total for June: $496.52

Who am I where am I and what am I supposed to be doing?

It's been one of those weeks and I won't have a chance to stop (or possibly just slow down a little) for another two days. My creative space is a good indication of what the rest of the house (and my brain) is looking like at the moment:(notes here)

I have lots of exciting things to share. I've got a couple of giveaways on behalf coming up for you. I got an unexpected gift yesterday morning and was told I'd won a book yesterday evening. After I got home from a National Portrait Gallery Circle of Friends unveiling of new acquisitions and takeaway dinner at J's.

Cook from the Cupboard

Thursday's menu:

Breakfast: Porridge with sultanas, wheatgerm, brown sugar and milk. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Chocolate. Apple
Lunch: Vegetable pasta soup. Toasted cheese sandwich
Afternoon tea: Kiwifruit. Almonds
Ligging at The Portrait Gallery: Champagne. Mini quiches
Takeaway dinner shared with J: Falafel, hummus and tabouli in pita bread. Rice pudding (with enough of the first course left over for us both to have for lunch tomorrow.) Cup of tea

Thursday's purchases:

Petrol: $20.00
Dinner/ tomorrow's lunch: $8.00

Total for Thursday: $28.00

Total for June: $484.12

Cook from the cupboard: not the most balanced couple of days...

Tuesday's menu:

Breakfast: Porridge with sultanas, wheatgerm, brown sugar and milk. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Chocolate
Lunch: Spinach lentil and coriander soup with tortillas. Cup of tea and biscuits (from the CMAG Members' Lounge next door)
Afternoon tea: Zucchini and parmesan muffin. Another cup of tea
Dinner: Grain Waves. In bed. (Tut tut)

Tuesday's purchases: 0

Total for Tuesday: $0

Wednesday's menu:

Breakfast: Toasted crumpets and jam. Yoghurt. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Cheese and crackers. Apple
Lunch: Sweet chili tuna, peas and corn on rice. Chocolate
Afternoon tea: Zucchini and parmesan muffin
At Class snack: Kiwifruit. Almonds. Half a glass of champagne, crackers and dip (courtesy of a class mate)
(Late) dinner: Hunk of cheese

Wednesday's purchases: 0

Total for Wednesday: $0

Total for June: $456.12

Craft ACT today, assessment tomorrow

back blogging Thursday.

Silly

1. Madison

When I collected this morning's mail there were two letters from Madison magazine. The first was a receipt for the $79.95 I paid them earlier in the month for a year's renewal and two free books. The second was a a notice telling me that my subscription had expired (but to ignore the letter if I'd already renewed.) But the interesting thing was that it was offering a year's subscription for $59.95.

Which had me reaching for the phone before I'd finished reading to the bottom. I called magshop. Explained my situation to the lovely women who answered, who cancelled my original subscription renewal (after warning me that I wouldn't get my "free" books. But agreeing that they'd probably slipped through the system already if I was lucky) and locking in the $59.95 rate for two years.

2. Self Portrait

Take time to stop and smell the Roses. Finished.(Or so I thought until I realised on the drive home that if the cat girl had a shadow then the stop sign should have one too...)

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Toasted crumpets and peanut butter. Yoghurt. Cup of tea.
Morning tea: Cheese and crackers. Apple
Lunch: Same as dinner last night: falafel with hummus, lettuce, tomato and tortilla. Chocolate
Afternoon tea: Zucchini and parmesan muffin
At Class snack: Grain waves. Coffee (I bought it before I remembered I shouldn't)
Dinner: Reheated chili corn pie from the freezer

Today's purchases:

1 year Madison subscription top-up: $39.95
1 cup coffee: $2.50

Total for today: $42.45

Total for June: $456.12

A day in my life: June 2009

6am: My bladder lures me from bed and across the hall to the toilet. The cold and dark lure me back into the puffy mountain of feathery and woolly (and catty) warmth where I doze for another half hour or so.

6:30am (ish): Snuggling in the toasty warmth and sort out my day in my head: What do I need to do? What's the coming week looking like? How will I lay out the back of my postcards for class? What approach should I take for Wednesday night's assessment presentations? What needs to be used up food wise before it goes off?

7:00am: Get up. Turn on computer and go downstairs where I realise there's not enough milk for tea. While I'm there I put food out for Nibbs (who, it turns out, doesn't emerge from the bed for another three hours), put away yesterday's clean dishes and wander out to the mail box to collect the junk mail.

7:15am: Back upstairs, I put a CD on, check my email, read the junk mail and pull out the pages that I might be interested it. Then I write down my To Do list for the day.

7:30am: Shower. Dress. Read some blogs.

8:00am: I can't cope anymore. I need tea. So I head off to buy the week's groceries.

8:30am: Back home, I put away the groceries while the kettle boils. Make breakfast while I put a load of washing on. Eat breakfast.

9:00am: Change the bed. Do the dishes. Hang the washing out and throw another load on.

9:30am: Fire up the Mac and start working on some Photoshop designs

9:45 am: Hang out the next load of washing. Put load #3 on. Head back to the Mac. Eat sweets.

12 noon: Cook up a large pot of soup. Hang the washing out. Eat lunch while reading US Elle (one of the last print editions I'll be getting as I've just gone digital. Fingers crossed...)

1:00pm: Decide the temperature and weather is finally OK to paint the hunks of plaster we did in class ages ago (which need to be finished by Wednesday). Cut them out of the balloons they were in, sand them down and spray paint them (after super gluing one of them back together after it fell apart)

1:30pm: The Mac doesn't want to write to my Mickeystick. I'm out of CDs to write to and perilously low on ink. Time for a trip into Officeworks. I buy boring claimable business stuff but make the fatal mistake of "just" wandering down the sexy stationery aisle. Where I buy an $8.39 pencil case I don't need and certainly shouldn't be buying. I do, however, leave behind the very expensive matching A5 notebook and sticky note set after a final wistful caress and a promise to possibly come back when they go on sale...

2:00pm: Spray the second coat of paint on the plaster and head back to Photoshop to work on the back of the second postcard. Burn the Photoshop files to disc to take to CIT tomorrow night and create jpg files to blog.

3:00pm: Write the first blogpost for today before heading downstairs to the now cool pot of soup to split it into 4 containers for the freezer. Spend a couple of minutes admiring the lovely selection of lunch options that are now in there. Then spray that damned plaster again.

3:40pm: Drive to Lyneham and spend 10 minutes window shopping in Booklore.

4:00pm: Meet Cycling S for tea (her) and Antipodes water (me: I take the bottle home. Of course)

4:45pm: We're both shattered so decide to head home. I'm just in time to get the washing in before it gets dark.

5:00pm: Pull out the drying rack and set it up in the lounge. Hang up the washing that's not quite dry. Soak the sheet that got shat on by a bird. (Luckily it's not in a noticeable spot so I can still use the sheet even if the stain doesn't come out). Feed the cat.

5:30pm: Type up my notes from today for tonight's post. Wonder about the lack of pictures for my readers who just look at them and don't read the text. Rectify the situation:6:00pm: Dinner tonight includes some Falafel which has been kicking round in the cupboard for about a year as I also have the last of my latest batch of hummus to use up today. The falafel mix needs to sit for 20 minutes after the water is added so I pop downstairs to set it up. Return to this blog post to add musical links.

6:15 pm: Phone call from a friend.

6:30pm: Make dinner. Eat dinner. Read another couple of pages of US Elle

7:00pm: Put away washing. Reassess today's To Do list.

7:15 pm: Retire to the couch (with the cat) and read one of my Library books which I'm embarrassed to say I've had out since Christmas. With the speedy approach of this year's Sydney Design, I'm feeling the pressure to finally finish this book and return it to the library...

8:45 pm: Fill the hottie. Final trip to the loo before retiring to bed.

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Toasted crumpets with banana and honey
Morning tea: Sweets
Lunch: Frshly made vegetable pasta soup
Afternoon tea: Sweets. Bottle of Antipodes water
Dinner: Falafel with hummus, salad, tomato and grated cheese on tortillas (shhh... we're pretending they're pita breads!)

Today's purchases:

2 kilos plain flour: $1.85
1 litre milk: $2.55
2 kg potatoes: $2.50
500g cheese: $4.79
454g bag Frozen stir fry veges: $3.77
4 serving pack udon noodles: $2.99
145g jar Galiko basil pesto: $2.98 (my treat for the week)
6 pack eggs: $2.99
3 apples: $2.45
129g mushrooms: $1.22
2 Truss tomatoes: 97 cents
1 red capsicum: $1.41
175g bag salad mix: $2.98
2 kiwifruit: 89 cents

1 pencil case: $8.39

Total for today: $42.73

Total for June: $413.67

(Soundtrack for the day:

OMD: Pandora's Box
Pet Shop Boys: Please
Pet Shop Boys: Alternative
Phoenix Foundation: Happy Ending
Portishead: Third

Propaganda: 1234
Quench: Conse-quench-ial

Radio Groove, Volume Three
The Rasmus: Dead Letters

Rebirth of Cool Vol 1

Rebirth of Cool Vol 6

(In the car: Boy George Galaxy mix) )

Apparently I have a new name

"The Photoshopping Sherpa".

Or so I was told this morning by my tutor from last night.

Here's what I've done on Photoshop so far this weekend: Silly self portrait version two, still unfinished. I had to start it from scratch as I'd forgotten to transfer the file I was working on back into my Mickeystick before I left CIT on Wednesday...

My version of Postcard Brief 2: the painted postcard (with an illegal imported image. Sucks ya boo I don't care cause I like it!)

Front:and (still very rough) back: (Although I do like the simplified version as well):And finally, speaking of backs, here's the back of this postcard from Thursday:I figured it can be used as "marketing" but, because the type on the back is light grey, you could also write over the top of it, address it, stamp it and actually send it to someone if you wanted to...

In between creating all this I've also been madly sanding and painting hunks of plaster and wondering if I smashed the @^&%^! things could I still box the bits up and come up with enough feasible sounding art-wank to pass?

Second hand Saturday

J asked if we could go op shopping last weekend to update her working wardrobe now she's in a less corporate environment. Except I ended up working last Saturday. But this weekend we managed it: my first op shop foray in far far too long.

The Frugalling Fairy had obviously been missing me. Before I left home this morning I realised I'd have to shift my Mac before this afternoon's Photoshop lesson as I only had one high stool to sit at. But then, at Salvos Tuggeranong I spied this for $15.00: Yes I realise it's yellow but I justified it as I figured it would be a temporary resident chez TSS before possibly heading into The Craft ACT shop to replace the current chair which is on wheels and is prone to whizz off across the (vinyl) floor if you so much as shift position.

Except it would now seem that Abode Suite lessons will be a regular occurrence for the next little while. So the either the stool stays or I donate it to Craft ACT with the proviso that I can come and borrow it when required...

I also found a copy of this intriguing looking book at Salvos Tuggeranong. A tad expensive at $10 but too stunning to leave behind. The SuperJesus CD (from Salvos Weston Creek) was a $2 gamble as I didn't know their music but somehow recognised the cover. So far I'm not impressed but I'll give it another listen before deciding if I'm redonating it.

And the Jeffrey Steingarten book ($2) was a random pick from Salvos Jamison which because a must-buy when it clicked that this was JEFFREY STEINGARTEN aka the main reason I still subscribe to US Vogue.

And I also bought a little wool for Taph (not photographed). And a coffee at Chocolate Olive mid quest. And lunch at Ha Ha Bar post quest. And J went home with 3 pairs of trousers for $15.50 and a top (forgot how much it was, but less than $7). All in all a good day...

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Toasted crumpets with wilted spinach, egg and parmesan cheese.
Morning tea: Coffee
Lunch: Half a haloumi and Mediterranean vege panini, chips and salad. Glass of wine.
Afternoon tea: Apricot danish. Cup of tea.
Dinner: Penne pasta with tuna, spinach, corn, Dolmio and parmesan cheese. Chocolate.

Today's purchases:

Bar stool: $15.00
Book: $10.00
Coffee: $3.50
CD: $2.00
Book: $2.00
Wool for Taph: $1.50
Lunch with J: $11.00

Total for today: $45.00

Total for June: $370.94

An epiphany on Friday (aka: Cinderella, you shall go to the ball... what do you mean you don't want to?!)

Since I came back from my (slightly unplanned) Mediterranean cruise in October 2004 I've always thought, believed and told people that my next European trip would be a river cruise from Amsterdam (for the dolls houses and Anne Frank's House) to Budapest (so I could visit Vienna, home of the Vienna Secession)

River cruises are fiendishly expensive (especially when you're travelling solo) so the concept has been put off for almost 6 years and smaller, less expensive (but less architecturally and miniaturely significant) trips have been made instead.

Last night I received an email telling me about a 50% off offer on just the itinerary I was looking at taking. 50%! With no single supplement to boot!

I got excited. I started dreaming. I convinced myself that it was worth paying for it with credit and paying it off.

This morning I even got the OK to have leave from job #2 and my internship.

And then I stopped. And, as is my habit now before I buy anything I stepped back and asked that very important question: Is there a better and cheaper option?

It was then I realised my wish to go on a river cruise was just habit. For almost 6 years I'd accepted that desire as an important one. And, over that six years, I've changed quite a lot but not reassessed if my dreams are still relevant to who I am now.

And you know what? I feel very relaxed. I've decided I don't want to go on a river cruise. And spend two days in places I'm interested in and the rest of the trip visiting places that may well be interesting but not must sees on my list.

I've decided to pencil a trip to Europe into my calendar for November 2010 or thereabouts. By then (fingers crossed) I'll be debt free and have saved the cash I need to pay for the trip. I'll fly there. I'll be able to spend a few days in Amsterdam exploring the things that are important to me. I'll go to Vienna (maybe I'll take a train) and spend some time there. And (I'm hoping) be able to do a side trip to Dessau where, I've just discovered, I can actually stay in a dormitory at the Bauhaus school!

It should cost less, be much more meaningful and give me almost 18 months of dreaming and planning to look forward to. A much better idea all round, really.

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Crumpets with apricot and vanilla jam. Yoghurt
Morning tea: Crackers and hummus. Apple
Lunch: Sweet chili tuna with rice, peas and corn. Sweets.
Afternoon tea: Apricot danish. Coffee.
Dinner: Wine and Grain Waves. (Hey, it's Friday!)

Today's purchases:

1 takeaway coffee: $3.70

Total for today: $3.70

Total for June: $325.94

... and playing

Not quite what the brief asked for but I had fun (and, more importantly, learnt some stuff). I'm sure I can do another version closer to what's needed using the correct high resolution images requested rather than pics lifted from my blog...

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Porridge with sultanas, wheatgerm, brown sugar and milk.
Morning tea: Crackers and hummus. Apple.
Lunch: Tuna Mornay. Sweets.
Afternoon tea: Cup of tea.
Dinner: Baked tofu with stir fry veges and sate sauce, served on rice.

Today's purchases:

1 Canon IXUS camera: $42.73 including postage
1 litre organic milk: $2.55

Total for today: $45.28

Total for June: $322.24

Freezing

It's almost 9am and still less than zero °C here in Canberra (please take note anyone who thinks Australia is always warm). I finally succumbed and turned the heater on (but not before adding a blanket and possum merino hat to my existing work-from-home woolly ensemble.)

I can tell you from experience the following things are not recommended on a morning where it's minus 5 degrees:

* Vacuuming with a vacuum cleaner that has a metal pipe
* Hanging wet washing on the line
* Emptying the compost bin and rinsing it out with the garden hose.

Now do excuse me. I'm off to fill up the hottie to snuggle on top of my feet...

Feeling all furry headed and topsy turvy

Photoshopping again tonight at class. I'm soooo far behind and brain dead* and am starting to suspect it's actually a drawback that I've been bumbling round Photoshop Elements for so long. Or maybe I'm trying to do too much too soon.

Anyhow, here's where my silly self portrait from last week got to before we were kicked out at the end of class:There's still heaps to do and I haven't even started on tonight's (much more important) brief. At least I got my printmaking portfolio in for assessment**. And I have my Lifeline coming over on Saturday to give me (as she puts it) a "Let's Learn Adobe Suite course".

Cook from the cupboard

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Muesli, milk and banana. Cup of tea
Morning tea: Cup of tea. Fudge
Lunch: Nachos.
Afternoon tea: Yet another cup of tea. Apricot danish
Dinner: Crackers and hummus and lollies at class (I would have had an apple but I locked myself out and my knife is on my keyring). Still another cup of tea and chocolate at J's when I popped in to pick up my spare keys.

Today's purchases:

10 cans cat food (on special at 25% off): $9.90
2 packets crumpets (also on special at 25% off): $3.80
Parking at CIT: 5 cents (!)

Total for today: $13.75

Total for June: $276.96

(* See above statement about locking myself out)
(** It still gives me a little thrill to say "My portfolio". Just as well, there's another round of assessment due on the 17th...)

Cook from the cupboard just got a lot easier

With the arrival of a huge and wonderful combined Christmas and birthday package from Cuzzy C in New Zealand containing enough junk food to keep me (and many friends who visit) supplied for quite some time and with enough other goodies to make me feel completely overwhelmed and very very spoilt (isn't it the 43 year old aunt that's supposed to be sending the 20 year old student cousin care parcels, not the other way round?)

One of the bits I loved best was part of a scrapbook she'd put together which I've copied so I can tuck it into my Filofax to read on those days where I feel blah:Now I just need to do is stop lusting after the super dooper expensive version with book of the excellent NZ music compilation she included. I think I need to visit the site with my print screen finger poised, don't you?

I got jetlag and I never even left the ground...

It was an early start to the day today with a 1:58am Wreck this Journal project and a broken sleep after that.

A mad dash round the house getting stuff together when I woke up. A bus into town (listening to a Paco Underhill interview on my MPlayer) followed by an hour at CIT doing my first lino print:

I'm rather pleased.

Laura from the day class showed me how to use the the big scary looking printing machine thingy:

(I wish I was doing day class)

Then I trotted back across town to Craft ACT. Where I did a stock take of all the lovely things in the store

had an interesting discussion on wristwarmers with Barb (Executive Director) and Ruth Hingston (knitter and designer)

At lunchtime I popped into the Civic Library (of course) and bumped into the Manager who gave me a stack of free magazines they're de accessioning. All arty and designy. Yay! More things to read! (Oh, hang on a mo...)

After lunch I was part of a meeting to discuss Re-Loved 2. Which will be held at Craft ACT on Thursday, October 22nd. Mark your diaries now.( I'm beyond excited to have the opportunity to be part of it from behind the scenes.)

At the end of the day I chatted with Barb about my course. Braved the cold and caught the bus home. Staggered to my freezer for a little Freezer Roulette. And, after this post, will be heading to the kettle to fill the hottie and straight to bed.

Rock and Roll...

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Cup of tea. Toast and Orlando marmalade. Yoghurt. (Bolted down at an indecent speed)

Morning tea: Hummus and crackers.

Lunch: Couscous salad.

Afternoon tea: Apricot danish.
Dinner: Mexican chili corn pie from the freezer.

Today's purchases: 0

Total for today: $0

Total for June: $263.21