spoon @ the billboard

damn that flash is bright. :)

peekaboo!

how fabulous are the babushkas? hmmm... i know. a birthday gift from nat and this is the first chance i've had to use them. well, one of them at least. the top half is 1 cup, it's bottom 3/4 cup. just what i needed for






and beatles on the record player. a damn good night.

anzac...

didn't make it to the dawn service. yes, i'm slack and chose to sleep. but. i give thanks for all those who stood and stand for this lucky country.

today for me was family and friends. lunch with ainsley and larissa and johnny. dvds with mum. then a risotto prepared by a sick but bored friend. get thee better al.

it was a good day.

i got to fly home.

a day of many surprises

after sleep there came the fremantle markets and a trip to my favourite reflexologist. oh yeah, massage those feet. it's something i do each time i'm back in the state. nutella crepe and then reflexology. bliss.

then onto lunch with the bronzewing girls, gail, meg, sabina and marija. a long lunch of laughter and tales. i'd not been to this part of fremantle before. the fabulous little george street tucked away in east freo. definitely worth another visit to partake from the restaurants or wander through the cute stores.

i was told i had to be available from 3pm, so a little after i showed up back at griffin to be whisked away to places unknown. but since i now know, you can call it rosemount bowl. oh yeah... the gang back together to celebrate my birthday month. woohoo!!














then a short walk down the road to the little mexican place. oh my. FANTASTIC. i love mexican food, and this place was the best. great food and service. will definitely get back there when next in town.





we lost a few people on the way to the hula bula bar. a 60s tiki lounge in the city. a couple of cocktails and a few laughs.




then the night was over. zzz....

day 3 in the most isolated city in the world

friday was hanging out with mum before heading into the city to have lunch with the bestie, marija. then onto the subiaco library. a new friend told me of a beautiful mural by shaun tan was hanging there. and yes indeed it was/ is. one of my favourite books is the red tree, written and illustrated by tan. it is so utterly divine. the mural is just as whimsical.



walked through the nearby museum which had a focus on subi in the 60s. the kitchen had a few wares that i now have, thanks to my nan.

over to melis and al's for an evening of pizza and conversation.

day 1 & 2 westside

flying back to perth was uneventful. there was sleep, interrupted by the bad smell of scrambled eggs and the offer of cereal. eww... ains picked me up from the airport, which looks exactly the same as it did 6 months ago, under construction. honestly i don't think they've made any headway at all.

i dropped by mum's work to say hello and i swear the first thing out of her mouth was something to do with proving my fertility. will it never end? come on, mum....

thursday consisted of more mum (i know, how much of a good thing can one take?) then back to ecu for lunch with sophie. how very strange it was being back on campus. absolutely super chatting with soph, and managed to bump into a few other people whilst skulking the halls.

the early evening saw me catching up with sean and claudia. the little brother is 12 next week. oh my! time and all that. totally ridiculous. there was some wrestling and tickling, and i won. victory over a little kid, love it and i'm taking the points. :)

managed to overshoot the freeway turn off on the way back to mum's. okay, some things have changed in the past 6 months. the roads have got longer.

sunday not too far away

a sleep in and waking up like i was back at nanna's house. thanks jenn. hot cross buns for breakfast and good conversation. we took a walk around the property before heading off to daylesford and hepburn springs.






yes, it took a committee to lock the property gate. ha!




photos provided by jc(m) or his camera.

go (north) west, my son!

a trip up to gold country with jenn and jamie. first stop was sovereign hill, my free entry was courtesy of jenn and chris's birthday gift. yah...


























we wandered through the gold museum next door before heading to jenn's property. there was promise of a lie down but that became a fallacy. a tour and more talking to get through. :)






then it was on to dinner at the local pub before cups of tea, boggle, apricot pie with lashings of cream and scrabble.


some of the photos courtesy of jc(m) and jc(f).