How I spent my last night in Sydney.

Watching home videos- taken on 8mm film- while eating left over pavlova surrounded by my family.

It was glorious. Especially watching grainy, silent movies of my brother running around in a kilt age 3.

This is Mum operating the movie projector (sorry if it's a weird size). Im writing this from my phone.

 

My brother's girlfriend laughing at him in the kilt, or some other strange 80s get up.

 We also watched footage of my parents' wedding i'd never seen. Golden.

Things you can't remember buying but clearly had great foresight at the time.

From my vinyl collection...

Englebert Humperdink single Last Waltz. Hand decorated by some young lass.

vacancy

I'm going to sleep in a bedless room tonight. The first of many signs things are coming to a close here.

Other signs of my immanent departure include:

Discovering dust amassed EVERYWHERE and trying to suck it all away. A nice reminder why vacuuming is my friend and not the enemy. DUST IS THE ENEMY.

& Tonight is the first night I've eaten dinner at home in probably over a week. Saying goodbye is expensive, but tasty.

& Half my belongings are listed on ebay. In fact I'm waiting for a buyer to swing by any moment.

& Tension is rising high at the familie abode. I'm sort of trying to discreetly cart my belongings over there with a generous smile on my face, but the truth of situation is difficult to hide. I'm nearly 25 and still dependent on my parents' floor space, not to mention vertical space.

& People are writing tributes about me?! Actually, that should be a singular. Stef wrote a lovely post about me, which left me just a little bit embarrassed but so very touched. Stef, if you're reading this (in which case it's 8:10am and you've just gone for a coffee walk after starting work at 5am ... hah), you are a gem and I already miss you! Her awesome new blog continues to amaze me. Love the combination of wit and beautiful photos.

& Too many goodbyes and speeches and final looks and hugs and well wishes. I said goodbye proper to my church last night, which was pretty emotional really. They're like family, and while I feel as though in Christ we'll never be separated, it is dawning on me how many wonderful people I'm leaving behind.

& And so the countdown begins. 4 days to go.

A Reci-pie

My friend James is a pretty mean cook, and when I say mean, I mean like he's good and stuff.

He's also vegetarian. He cooked this amazing Shepherd's pie the other day that was better than any meat version I've tried. I think it was possibly all about the cream in the mash, but let's agree it's his magic touch.

Anyway, the lovely one has shared his secret reci-pie with me. So here it is. You must, must try it. And the splodging is an important step, by the way.

I think it will become a winter staple in my humble kitchen.

Shoeparts Pie


Mash spuds
1.boil spuds
2. drain + add few knobs of butter, 1/2 cup cream, salt and pepper
3.mash
Beany mixture
1.onion+garlic
2. some chilli + paprika
3. 2xtins of bean mix, 1xtin of green lentils
4. peas
5. tin of tomatos
6. 3-4 bay leaves, salt and pepper
7. when its all cooked nicely, i stirred in 4 eggs whites quite quickly so they didnt cook instantly in the mixture

Then splodge it in the dish with cheese and bake in a hot oven for like 35-40min

my new neighbourhood

I don't know much about Brunswick.

But one thing I do know is there's a cute little gallery/shop space near my house. MR KITLY. I do believe I will be having a gander when I move in a few streets away.

UPSTAIRS

381 SYDNEY ROAD
BRUNSWICK 3056
AUSTRALIA

mrkitly (at) mrkitly.com.au
mrkitly.com.au

My Day

 

 My week has been dominated by packing boxes, shifting things, vacuuming, throwing stuff out and lots of catch-ups. It's been nice to have some time and space for these things. Cleaning is cleansing, as they say. Still a way to go though.

This afternoon I'm off to see the Annie Liebovitz exhibition at the MCA with a friend from work. Tomorrow and Friday are my last days at the ABC...

Diana World Tour hits our shores

Neon paper stuck on a lomo camera. Yes.

art by Beci Orpin

I read on Beci Orpin's blog that a stack of great artists, including her fine self, Dawn Tan and Greedy Hen are involved in the Diana World Tour when it comes to Australia in February.

I'll be in Melbourne in time to see it there. You Sydney folks can catch it too, early Feb at the blender gallery in Paddinton.

Bible design?

Was just looking at Design Sponge and saw this, 1 Timothy 4:14 in wall form. Iwonder if they know the origin of it? It's old style King James translation of the bible too.

Leopard Spectacles

illustration by Charmaine Olivia

My friend and fellow journalist Stef has started a blog.

It's called leopard spectacles after her signature necklace which sports a pair of the spotty specs - see the picture on her blog background.

What can you expect from her? Links to great photography, features on new stores in town and witty observations on life and politics.

Check it out yo.

She recently featured photographer Colie Parks, who's recently featured Charmaine Olivia. Love her illustrations.

Lessons in how to say Goodbye

Goodbyes are a great excuse to have a lot of fun and eat way too much. This week has been so lovely. One of my besties who lives thousands of kilometres away in Broken Hill happened to be in town and stayed with me for two nights. I have to admit we didn't go to bed until 2am the first night, and midnight the second. Let's be honest, we could've talked for hours more, but it was sweet while it lasted.

On Monday was a picnic with her and another friend, followed by gelato and coffee at Bar (*no skim milk*) Italia. One of the best picnics I've had in a while because it involved much lying about.

Tuesday was a catch-up over high tea with a lovely, old friend from uni days. I highly recommend the T2 teahouse, specifically their Blue Mountain tea. I have to admit the High Tea did make me feel ill for the rest of the day, but whatevs, I can't exactly blame the scones. Then I drove my lovely Jane to the airport and gave her a giant hug. Who knows when I'll see her next - but here's hoping she comes to visit me in Melbourne.

That night, I had dinner with my two favourite Tasmanians, followed by the movie Animal Kingdom. We had a fruit salad intermission for a bit of light relief and put on Flight of the Conchords straight after to try and mitigate the horror of what we'd seen. It was a great movie, but disturbing.

I planned to spend yesterday with another bestie, but woke up to 5 missed calls. Oh yes, that's right, I was supposed to be working. Woops! Scooted into work, with a very apologetic tone. Spent the day glued to ABC 24 watching flood coverage, much like today. Also spent a few hours out at court.

Last night was dinner with my brother, his girlfriend and my cousins. We started at Small Bar, then went to Waqu and didn't leave the restaurant till 11pm. Yes, I started work at 6:30 this morning. I feel fine. We had lots of fun, notwithstanding the "animated discussions" which dominated the latter hours. Let's not talk about placebos and scientific trial ever again! But with my family, I wouldn't have it any other way.

As you can imagine, the social steam train continues until the day I leave. It's a bittersweet feeling as I look forward to my big move, but also take stock of the amazing friendships I won't have at my fingertips for much longer.

And then there's my family. As I was lying in bed last night, I realised my Dad is turning 70 this year, and I will be in Melbourne for most of it. I have to admit tears began to fall from my eyes. There is a lot to be excited about. And a lot to prepare myself for. But God is good.

In need of inspiration: help me

Tell me, who are the great writers of place?

Who can capture the smell, sight, sound and feel of the city, the ocean, the bush, a house, a room, a corner, a chair? Who can write how a place registers in your bones?

I hope to write more of 'place' this year, and I want to be inspired. In fact, I have a bit of a top secret idea for a writing project that will remain top secret until I've really, truly, properly got it sorted.

Until then, I just want to read the sublime words of others. So, tell me, who?

Amazing wallpapers

I like a good desktop wallpaper and for those out there with similar taste in illustration, typography and design, here's a few links you'll love.

Shanna Murray: Does collaborative calendar wallpapers every month. She gets a photographer to donate a photo and she illustrates it. I like that you can download them without the calendar bit.

Christiane Engel: Haunting illustrations in a calendar style.

Design Sponge: I think they've stopped this, but there's still a few in the archive. Guest illustrators each month.

via Poppytalk

2010: A Soundtrack

Albums I listened to A LOT in 2010. Note: they're not all 2010 releases.

Angus and Julia Stone - Along the Way
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can/Alas I Cannot Swim
Fionn Regan - The End of History
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Thad Cockrell - To Be Loved
Cloud Control - Bliss Release
Feist - The Reminder
The Swell Season - Strict Joy
Georgia Fair - Georgia Fair EP
Washington - I Believe You Liar
The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
Ryan Adams - Demolition

You've probably heard me go on about most of these guys already. But I don't think I've given a shout out to Fionn Regan or Georgia Fair yet.

Georgia Fair

Veronica and I lucked upon this Cowboy boot wearing two-piece supporting Darren Hanlon earlier this year. They're going for a pop/alt-country vibe and they have the aesthetics to prove it. I think they're heaps better live than on their EP, but what can you do? I downloaded it just before my holiday in South Australia, and played it a lot while excercising in the afternoons. So these songs will always be tied to running around the Angaston oval in the Barossa at sunset. Nice.

I came across this homestyle video of the boys singing Simple Man (not on their EP) a while back and it still puts a smile on my face. Chooks, dogs and all.




Fionn Regan

Then there's Fionn. A friend gave me this album and it's so very good. It's one of those albums you're never not in the mood for. It runs through all emotional landscapes and manages to be a winner right to the last outtro. I don't have his new album, but from what I've listened to online, it's not as folky, which (for me anyway), is a shame.

This little video is a track from the album, called Hey Rabbit. It's a lament about who knows what, but it's lovely.