Class Three: Charcoal!

Modern Miniatures on Monday: and then there were sixteen

Whoops.

It's all Taph's fault. Really!

You see, she called me the weekend before last to say she'd seen a dolls house I might like at Gorman House Markets. It had Triang written on the back and she knew that was a brand I had. She'd taken a photo. She'd send it to me when she got the chance.

For three days I was on tenterhooks. Three days! And then the photo arrived last Tuesday night: And I went into conniptions of panic, delight and amazement as I realised it was a rather rare Triang S house and contemplated the possibility that it wouldn't be there last week. Or be way out of my (non existent) budget.

Saturday morning, as soon as I'd finished at the Salvos opening, I was in the car and heading for Civic. Trying to stay calm and tell myself that it was probably sold. I arrived. I headed to the spot where Taph said she'd seen the stall. There was nothing there! I scuttled round the other stalls in the hope that I'd spot the house. Then, finally, I stopped at a likely looking stall and asked the owner if, just possibly, he'd had a dolls' house for sale last week?

And bingo! He had. And it was safely tucked away back at his place. We talked. We did a deal. And I picked it up that evening:I believe it's a Triang S, produced between 1958 and 1961, based on some basic internet trawling. It's missing the chimneys and two of the windows, so the hunt for replacements is on (can you help at all?)

Inside it has 4 rooms and a garagewith built ins glued into the bathroomand kitchen(no idea if these are original or added later. I don't recognise them which doesn't help much. Maybe it's time to finally buy a copy of Marion Osborne's book on Lines and Triang dolls' houses...)

The house is featured on the cover of this undated Triang catalogue, with different colouring:and here's a version which was listed on eBay recently (with the more recognisable yellow door and no built ins...):also from eBay, a larger version (the "R"? The "T"?) which has been remuddled (those look like Hobby's doors and windows)

If you know anything at all about the Triang S house, I'd love to hear from you!

One thing leads to another...

It's a sleepy, overcast, drizzly Sunday. My favourite sort. Add the fact that I don't need to be anywhere until 2pm and I'm a happy chappess.

I decided to spend some time moving the final four dolls houses off the lounge floor and back to the sideboard upstairs where they're supposed to live. Except the top of the sideboard has somehow become covered in stuff in the time the houses were gone.

So I started clearing it off. The first thing to deal with was a stack of books that I'd dumped there because I didn't have time to make space for them on the shelves next to the sideboard, where they're going to live.

Then I noticed that the shelf had collapsed. Which meant I pulled all the (rather heavy books) off the shelf and stacked them on the floor. I fixed the shelf. I started putting the books back. The shelf collapsed again.

So I stopped to ponder. And thought I could shift the last of the damaged Lundby stock out of my office, into The Room of Shame, and onto the broken shelf since it was all very light. And move my design books into the office where I could see them and get to them more easily.

Brilliant!

Except, as I moved the books, I realised the collection had grown somewhat in the ten years I've been here and I just keep adding books to where similar books are without thinking about what I'm doing. And I can't quite remember the logic behind my arrangement (although I vaguely recall it was based on the fact my mini mags were on the shelf directly above, so interior design and architecture books came first.)
And it slowly dawned on me. I think it might be time to start adding Dewey numbers to the spines. Crap.

(Oh yeah: there are still four dolls houses sitting on the lounge floor in case you're wondering...)

Seven Things Spring/ Summer 2008 Week 24: I needed to get rid of more...

In:

* 2 CDs (newsagents)
* 2 magazines (newsagents)
* 2 magazines (subscription)
* 12 balls wool (op shop)
* 1 art smock aka man's shirt (op shop)
* 1 art supply caddy aka tackle box (Big W)
* 2 CDs (Target)
* 6 items from Swap-Bot swap
* 2 water bottles (Fringe Festival bar)
* 2 sets of curtains for fabric stash (Salvos opening)
* 10 balls mohair (Taph The Enabler)
* 1 dolls' house (see above)

Total In this week: 43

Out:

* 1 magazine: lunchroom at work
* 1 tray: donated to work kitchen
* 7 bottles of ancient craft paint, 3 bottles of ancient nail varnish for craft: bin
* 1 dead trouser sock: bin
* 1 birthday vest: posted to Dad
* 23 pairs knitting needles, 2 balls yarn, 1 pattern and 2 pairs wrist warmers: donated to Happy Spider for her school knitting group
* 2 CDs: op shop
* 3 books, 1 comic: donated to Lifeline Bookfair

Total Out this week: 48

Shake-it-all-about:

* Katina pencil tin
* This year's winter jumper

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring/ Summer 2008: 237

Happy Op Shop Lovers' Day!

And what better was to mark the day but with the opening of the new Woden Salvos super store? Some people were peachy-keen to be the first through the doors*and the queue was well formed by ten to nine.There were speeches, of course (Jo, The Woden Manager, looked fit to burst with happiness and pride the whole way through. And rightly so too. I hear she put in very long hours getting the shop ready for opening and it looked great)
We knew it was going to be big but there's big and then there's massive. This was definitely in the later category...They'd obviously been keeping aside some nice stuff for the last little while. The range was excellent and in very good order.We found some treasuresas did everyone else, by the looks of the length of the queue...(*There's about a 100% chance this photo just might have been staged...)

Sometimes too much of a good thing can be... too much.

I'm talking about culture here.

After spending some time yesterday morning sketching, I trotted off to The National Library at lunchtime to see their free screening of Ronin Film's documentary Why Me?: stories from the stolen generation.

By 5:30pm I was at the Canberra Museum and Gallery's opening for the travelling Ocean to Outback exhibition. We also popped into the Open Collection area to view the staff collections on display and M, bless him, sidled up to me and whispered "The dolls' houses were much more interesting..."

And if that wasn't enough, after the opening was over we picked up some takeaway and settled in at The Fringe Festival until the cold and the bad sound drove us homeward at a time far too late to be out on a school night.

And now I think my poor brain has gone into meltdown. Luckily today's a quiet day with the highlights being a combined Black Friday/ Library Lovers' Day morning tea at work. And an early night...

Meteorological madness

This time last week I was a hot sweaty mess in 37 degree heat. And I had to have a cold shower before bed to cool down enough so I could sleep.

Tonight J&S had to make a mercy run home to pick up jumpers and coats for us so we didn't freeze to death at the Fringe Festival. Right now it's 11 degrees and I'm about to have a hot shower to warm up enough so I can sleep.

Crazy...

Swap-Bot sketch

My January Swap-Bot package arrived this morning, all the way from... err... New Zealand (Oh sweet irony). Rather than take a photo of it I thought I should draw it instead.(No charcoal, you'll notice. But no Artline pen either...)

Visual diary, class two

(Click on picture for larger view)

Visual diary, page one...

(Click on picture for larger view)

Back to school

My TAFE course starts tonight.

Whenever I get too nervous about the concept I think of this photo of me taken when I was working on a drawing for the Worsley's Art Competition in Rotorua back in September 1970 (aged 4):The drawing was an aerial view of the mud pools and I remember being rather disappointed the newspaper photographer turned up on this day rather that the day before when I'd worked on something much less risky which had turned out how I wanted it to. The aerial mud pools didn't...

While I was finding the photo above to scan, I stumbled across this picture I drew of my cat Katina the following year (I suspect I'd just received a new box of crayons):I've always loved this picture and in an "aha!" moment realised this is what I'd been searching for to put on the lid of my new pencil tin. A 20 cent find at an op shop a couple of years ago, it was originally a DVD tin: lovely and plain and black except for the lid which advertised some action movie. I transferred my charcoal and pencils into it a couple of weeks ago and have been searching for the perfect image for the top since then.

This afternoon I used the same technique I used here and now I have a one-of-a-kind pencil tin to make my first night at school slightly less scary...
(That is definitely a non-scaredy cat!)

The art of living well on less: frugal entertainment...

We spent yesterday evening at The National Gallery of Australia, arriving around 4pm to escape the incessant heat before heading to a free wine tasting in The Members' Lounge at 5pm. We lounged round in the cool (splitting a bottle of wine between us: $5 each) before heading back into the heat for the free Summer concert in the Sculpture Garden.

Being at the Art Gallery, there was art involved and many people joined in on its creation. The sun went down (but, alas, not the temperature) as the music and painting continued. It was a lovely treat to be hanging out in The Sculpture Garden at night and be able to explore the cooling mist of Fujiko Nakaya's Fog sculpture when the heat got too much... The creativity continued

until, finally, just after 11pm, both the concert and the painting were complete. It was an excellent night.

Seven Things Spring/ Summer 2008 Week 23

In:

* 1 CD (free with the Sun Herald. Except I didn't want, or get, the paper so it was just free)
* 5 lots of wool (op shop)
* 3 magazines (subscription)
* 1 magazine (newsagents)
* 2 spare camera batteries and charger (gift from friend)
* 3 CDs, 1 button jar, 3 books (Thursday's op shop trip)
* 1 scarf (gift from Cycling S's trip to Indonesia)

Total In this week: 20

Out:

* 21 magnets, 1 book, 3 lots of wool, 1 small red change purse, 2 black Rock 'n serve containers: given to Taph
* 1 broken tape measure, 1 dead trouser sock, 1 snapped coat hanger: bin
* 2 black face cloths: given to a friend who says she only uses black ones
* 1 book: posted to another friend
* 3 ancient unfinished craft projects: bin
* 1 Dress me up Venus set and 1 spare clothes set: sold
* 5 pallets from behind the garage: picked up by a friend to take to a friend of his who plans to use them to build a compost bin
* 1 pile of junk from the garage: dump.
* 1 magazine: donated to the lunchroom at work.

Total Out this week: 46

Shake-it-all-about:

* Dad's vest (now finished!)

Net items out so far during Seven Things Spring/ Summer 2008: 232

Plum tuckered out

We got the call last week that the plums and apples were ready. (I think I forgot to mention that the owners of the apricot tree also had two plum trees, an apple tree and two fig trees they were happy for us to pick)So last night we converged and prepared ourselves to spend one of the hottest weekends of the summer locked inside steaming kitchens making jams and chutneys and sauces. *sigh*

But when we arrived we discovered two things that made us very happy:

1. There weren't as many plums as we'd thought. In fact, we could probably deal with them by distributing them for eating.
2. The apples aren't quite ready yet. Eta is now two weeks away giving us a breathing space before we have to deal with them.I don't know about everyone else who was there but I'm pretty happy to have an unexpectedly cleared weekend. Especially as it means I escape hovering over a steaming jam pot in 40 degree heat. Maybe I can catch up on some sleep instead...

Speaking of Greg Johnson

I got an email from him this morning (don't panic: so did many other people...) offering:

"A Personalized Greg Johnson Song for Your Valentine!

Sick of giving roses, chocolates, and the usual Valentines Day cliche's*?
How about a Personalised Song recorded especially for your Wife, Lover, Girlfriend,Child, Pet Pig, lawyer or Mother-in-law? Send a brief biography about your loved one to: valentinesdaysong@earthlink.net

You will receive
* An Mp3 by email before Feb 14th
* A CD copy by snail mail
* Kudos and probably much more from your better half

Pricing:New Zealand customers NZD $250.00
USA and Elsewhere USD $200.00"

The site says it's:

"A First - In what is one of the first offers of it's kind by an established recording artist, Greg has initiated an affordable and unique way of personalizing his songwriting talents direct to his fans! For the week of Feb 3-10th subscribers and fans can have a personalized Valentines Day tune recorded and delivered.

Says Greg "It struck me with technology as it stands there's no reason why I shouldn't have more direct contact with those that like my music, and this seems like the way of the future.. I intend to add more of these designer services to the company in the near future"

For the pretty version of the announcement click here

I'm so very tempted to pony up the money and order one for myself...

(To the tune of Looking out on Monday)

"The Shopping Sherpa, you're so fine
Always drinking cheap cask wine
You played me on the radio
The other DJs didn't know
The 1980s, they were good for me
But not as good as LA can be
I'm a married man, you can forget me now
And Australia didn't work out somehow..."

(* ARGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!)

A day in the life of the gainfully under employed...

Up at 6:45am after a bit of a sleep in.

An hour spent checking and sorting out emails and seeing what was new in the blogosphere while eating breakfast (muesli with yoghurt and fruit, in case you're interested...)

Another hour packing up various parcels, both business and personal. Shower, dress and across to the Post Office (to get rid of the parcels and, alas, pick up the expected letter from the real estate agent putting my rent up again) then the newsagents to see what they had in the cupboard for me. I share "my" cupboard with someone who puts aside gay magazines and someone who buys florist magazines. I often wonder who they are and if we'll ever find ourselves at the counter at the same time waiting to see if there's anything new for us: "Oh! You're the gay mag guy!" "And you must be Ms Wallpaper, Living Etc and Urbis!" Anyway, I digress...

At 9:30am I drove over the J's to pick her up and act as The TSS Shuttle Service. Dropped her off at her appointment and swung over to Y's Buys and Salvos in Belconnen while I waited for her to finish. Spent $5 on three tea towels (gift wrap for presents later in the year), 2 books, 2 vintage postcards and some more jars with black and white lids for the expected plum jam making frenzy that will hit Chateau TSS this coming weekend.

Picked J up and we went to the mall so she could run her errands. I accidentally bought a copy of the latest Presets CD while we were there. But did my usual frugal/ green/ local two step: first stop Flipside to see if it's available second hand then up to The Music Shop (locally owned and, I heard this week, they are one of the distribution points for Big Issue sellers. So double brownie points for them!)

I also bought a copy of a Greg Johnson CD from the bargain bin for $3 as it seemed so sad to leave him there. I offered it to J and she's happy to give poor old Greg a new home...11am: an iced coffee each at Ha Ha Bar overlooking Lake Ginninderra. Then, when the smell of the next table's lunch became overwhelming we headed back to J's for deliciously fresh and frugal sandwiches made with mustard pickle (aka Chow chow) and cheese with lettuce & cherry tomatoes from her garden. Followed by freshly cracked nuts:And, for the first time ever, I saw an almond in its shell and realised how scary it was that I'd never actually wondered where almonds came from or what they looked like whole.

After lunch we checked out a new-to-me op shop and a couple of ones I've not been to for a while then finished the afternoon by dropping into Vinnies Belconnen where Patricia greeted me like a media star and I bought a copy of the latest Kathy Lette for $3: Which Patrica was half-way through so we had a chat about Kathy Lette's other books.

J and I headed back to my place just before 3pm for afghans and tea. Then we swung past Lyneham IGA for groceries for J and I dropped her home and picked up more freshly picked cherry tomatoes:Tonight's big plans involve knitting (Dad's now overdue vest), cooking (the gazpacho I didn't get to last night as I was out with a friend from Brisbane who was in town unexpectedly), house cleaning, lawn mowing and bread starting. We'll see how many of those I get through before I collapse in a puddle of sweat...

Frugal February: The zucchini report

Brunch: Frittata made with onion (I have a pile leftover from my apricot chutney making), grated zucchini, smoked salmon and feta cheese. I ate it all in one sitting because it was so delicious and washed it down with free organic Papua New Guinean coffee.

(It seems that this is common knowledge but I figure if I didn't know, you might not know: if you buy your smoked salmon in a 100g packet at the supermarket it will cost you $5.99. But buy the same amount from the deli counter and it comes to $3.69. I feel like such a doofus for not knowing that all these years!)

Evening (it was supposed to be dinner but I ended up at Tilley's): Aforementioned ratatouille made with the addition of eggplant and capsicum from the 99 cent table at the greengrocers in Dickson. Which is why it had to be cooked tonight. I stretched the recipe so am guessing here: 2 servings for lunch with Taph tomorrow plus 6 for the freezer (still waiting for it to cool down)

And I still have 1 3/4 large zucchini in the fridge. It would have been less but I forgot to load some off onto Cycling S when she dropped me off this evening...

Tomorrow looks like it'll be all about* Gazpacho as two of the zucchini turned out to be giant cucumbers and I've been given more tomatoes since last Friday.

(*Can I just say I really hate that phrase?)

Linguistic lunacy (a tantrum on Tuesday)

A couple of years ago Roruu published a blog post which I believe is a classic.

But I think it's time for an update. Here are some misuses that set my teeth on edge and make me lose track of what you're actually trying to say in your post:

* It's should HAVE not should OF (you should have picked that up already...)

* What's this new word "Segway"?! I've seen it used several times recently. Today's was a sentence that went "He was the son of a farmer and became a brick layer who segwayed into a large company..." Fine, I thought. He was a lazy git who didn't fancy walking. But this was in 1920 so the Segway most definitely wasn't invented yet. Perhaps you're looking for the word segue?

* As for peaking your interest? What are you, a mountain?! Pique, people, please!

* I know envelopes don't usually move but that's not a good enough reason to call them stationary. Just remember E is for envelope and therefore it is stationery!

* And, while I'm out here on my limb waiting for the Flame War, can we talk for a moment about apostrophes? They're not that hard to work out. Either they show ownership (my daughter's carrots) or missing letter or letters (should've). I get confused when I read about "my daughter's and son's". Your daughter's and son's WHAT? (Happy Spider will confirm my crusade against the rogue apostrophe: while in Wangaratta we popped into the pub for a drink. I perused the page headed "Bubble's" and, of course, said to the barman "your bubble's what?". He looked blankly at me and I suspect Happy Spider would have kicked me if I'd not given up the fight and just ordered my drink.)

Do you have any to add to the list(s)?

Monday munching

First up, if you're a slightly homesick Kiwi in Canberra get ye to Sam's Warehouse (ex The Warehouse) in Phillip where you shall be able to feast thy eyes on this:I was so intent on the very cheap penne pasta across the aisle that it took me a moment to realise that it wasn't usual to see such a thing in Australia. Unless it was at ridiculously marked up prices.

I bought Krispies ($1.59 a packet), Afghans ($2.59 a packet) and Meal Mates (can't remember how much and the wrapper is now in the bin as I delighted in having meal mates with cheese and cherry tomatoes for afternoon tea today.)

In other food related news the zucchini glut is being dealt with. I made zucchini parmesan fritters yesterday (one lot to eat right away, six lots for the freezer) and zucchini and sundried tomato risotto today (one lot for lunch, five lots for the freezer). Tonight I'm thinking of making some ratatouille. Or maybe I'll save the pleasure of cooking that for lunch tomorrow and just eat Meal Mates and cheese for dinner while reading my latest book and knitting that damned vest...

Relishing the thought of being cool

After vacating the beer fridge yesterday (we figured they might throw us out if we set up camp with fold up chairs, books and maybe a radio) we did the only sensible thing we could think of to stay cool.

We made tomato relish(well, to be precise, Taph made relish and we watched and then helped bottle it)Wait! Before you think we've completely lost it, there was method in our madness. We made tomato relish at Taph's Mum's place. And Taph's Mum has air conditioning!

We finally had to leave the air conditioned comfort and head back here where, knowing that The Old Flame loves a challenge, I set him onto my not-quite-oscillating-properly fan which the stupid electrical fixit place said couldn't be fixed.It's not perfect but it's working much better now...