30 April 2010

Vale Barry... (hello Noosa)

Hmm. Where to start? Life has been chaotic, in good ways, and not so good. K has had a trifecta of crap luck... starting with him sitting on (and cracking) the screen on his phone, escalating to his camera dying while we were (luckily at the tail end of) a (paid) photogig at Wivenhoe a couple of weeks ago. Fast forward a week from then... the Friday before the Anzac long weekend, his car (and some might say, four-wheeled companion), 'Barry', was stolen. Barry was all packed for a weekend of beach camping at Straddie, with the kayak on top. And a lifetime's accumulation of tools and other man-stuff in the back (there's no garage at the 'Hill), and sentimental bits like dot paintings from the desert. Vale Barry...

We were sooo in need of a break so I ended up splurging on an apartment at Marcus Beach, a stone's skip south of Noosa. And I mean literally 'at' the beach... a barefoot stroll through the sand and heath to the shoreline... 


We had barbecues, seafood, wine, swam in the ocean, walked on the beach and through the national park to the headland... rounds of morning coffees with multiple weekend papers... and a spa bath with bubbles and more wine! There were even once-in-a-guitar and every-other-harmonica appearances! We even arrived in brand new little flashy hire car courtesy K's insurance... it was all rather extravagant and we felt like different versions of us!


It was an incredible contrast to the ultra crazy blur of life in the new work gig, with its never-more lunch breaks, days that resemble Tetris on 11-speed, drowning in emails, deadlines, inordinate Commonwealth requests (oops probably not supposed to say that) and the revolving door to my desk (I don't have an actual door - I'm still a pleb cog in the machine). I feel very much the parody of the ineffectual middle manager but am optimistic things will get better (though my brain has clearly turned to mush this week after three goes at posting this baby)... ho hum...

Anyway, despite the gripes, there have been equal amounts of goodliness. Here's some snaps from recent celebrations, and meanderings at Wivenhoe to prove it!

15 April 2010

once in a lifetime

Several lifetimes ago (actual time, about six weeks), I ordered a new laptop. Dell charged me for said laptop immediately upon receiving my order. Then made me dig through their website to find my order details, which upon kindly revealing to me (the one whose credit card got hit up lifetimes in advance of receiving anything for the privilege... grrrrr!), didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. Which wasn’t much. When I tried to phone, they kept me on hold for insane amounts of time and finally, after a few tries, I got some joy (I use this word loosely), a month into my wait, from an Indian lass who told me there was a parts shortage. Her niceness saved her from hearing about several kinds of shortages I was experiencing.

In the intervening lifetime I've been limping along painfully with my crusty, old, fickle malfunctioning Dell. Double grrr to the power of grrrrrr! It would have done me a favour if it had just carked it outright. But nooo. It lulled me into thinking it was halfway operable. And me, like a moth to the flame, limped along while it drove me halfway round the bend.

Anyway, this week it f-i-n-a-l-l-y arrived. My new Dell - hereafter referred to as ‘Kit’ because he is a slimline glossy black number and though he doesn’t talk to me with synched blinking red LED lights, he has ... facial recognition technology!

[chorus of angels appears while marching girls in top hats and stilettoes parade under a spotlit shower of glittery tickertape and a booming voice announces the beginning of... a new world order]

Well. Perhaps not quite. But a very big leap back into the land of things that just work. Oh the joy!

And. Since I'm told the relics now must tune into the blog to find out what’s going on in my life...  a work update. Nearly three weeks ago I finished doing the latest acting stint and went back to the policy desk. I barely warmed the seat before being offered the opportunity to return to the acting post, which I did this week. The one with the team (and a stuffed dog called Poochie, who in my absence, has been elevated to bona fide team member status with his own capability and achivement plan - woof), in a foreign land where numbers and data rule. 

Thankfully they have words there too.

Oh, and on the weekend we went out to Wivenhoe (Brisbane's now very full catchment) for a photo shoot at a property with big rolling paddocks and eyefuls of water... photos to come. I wonder if Kit can install his own Photoshop?

02 April 2010

introducing... one small kitchen

After several months of dreaming, plotting and building (and endless tweaking), I finally felt brave enough this week to send my new little web project out into the world. Introducing... one small kitchen. Yes, it's a food blog. Yes, another food blog. I know. And, more to the point, another blog, when I can't even manage to post regularly to this one.

Friends have been suggesting for ages that I do something more with my photography. Over Christmas K suggested I start my own food blog. I was a bit hesitant at first. Does the world really need more food porn? Probably not. But you know what? That shouldn't stop me from following my passions. Besides, I think I can breathe my own style into it. At the very least it will be a record of the things I like to cook, and of my own journey exploring food. Maybe others will take something from it - and if not, that's okay, because I'm doing this for me. But I've been quite chuffed and astounded with the enthusiastic response in the first day and a bit. (Well on my way to having more Facebook fans than friends!) Thank you to everyone who has left a lovely comment, passed it on, or just stopped by. It's nice to know it's resonating with people!

But the biggest thanks goes to K who kicked me in the butt and gave (and continues to give) a humungous amount of time, web-nerdery and design nous behind the scenes (not to mention endless patience and calm when I have wanted to chuck my ailing computer out the window) to make this happen. (He is also a web-nerd for hire.)

Anyway, if you haven't checked it out yet, please do! I'll be posting a follow-up to the sourdough Easter buns with a slightly tweaked recipe.

Happy Easter! x