Christmas - not shabby darts

Having a top time at R's place even though the weather hasn't really been good beachy weather. Enjoyed Christmas without any family fights, even when the hefty snapper for dinner took longer on the Weber than was hoped for. 


Prior to our beachside idyll, the rest of our trip to SA went well. After dining out in Deni we returned to roadhouse sweet roadhouse to enjoy the highpoint of foxtel sports - the English darts championship. Watching darts has given me a new phrase of distain - from now on if something is not up to scratch it's 'shabby darts' which the commentator was fond of saying if a competitor's shot was, well, shabby. If you can say it with a Yorks or Lancastrian accent, even better. 


And we got to see a ute on a stick as we were leaving the next morning. 

And enjoy some strange sights on the road... 

Creative petrol pump covers in Moulamein: his... 

and hers.  

And some fun at the old folks home.

This is just a tribUTE

Here we are in the ute capital of the world - Deni (Deniliquin). 

Not only do they have the ute muster here but also plenty of be'ute' art work. Check out the mosaicing (sp?) skills! 


Had a lovely dinner at Crossing Cafe and currently enjoying a very balmy night. Much warmer here than it has been in Canberra!

turtle!!

Ok so this is probably the fuzziest photo I've posted. I have to show you though because this afternoon I saw a turtle swimming in the lake! Its shell was covered in moss and it was paddling around quite happily. Sometimes the lake water looks so dirty - it's good to know that wildlife can survive in it. 

From this shot I could pretend it's the Lake G monster...

that kidney bean dream

What does it mean? 

Lake Ginninderra graffiti

Went for a walk this morning before work. It was calm and still - very relaxing. Work is going well but I'm looking forward to not working for a couple of weeks. Does everyone realise that it's Christmas on Sunday??

Weekend!!!

Another blue sky day in Canberra

Civic art work

Well I made it through a whole week of work - and of course one of the wonderful things about working full time is how exciting your average weekend becomes - just because it is the weekend. 


Today I made a few more gift purchases, and am feeling very happy about the pile of presents I now have under the blow-up christmas tree - the extent of our christmas decorations. 

Tomorrow we have guests coming for lunch. We're hoping for good weather so we can eat outside - even though we've ordered a dining table and chairs, only the chairs have arrived...

back in the saddle

Today is my first pay day for a looooooong time. (Only one day's pay, but I'm still feeling pleased). Being back in the office is kind of strange, but there are good things about it too. My computer and social skills are both benefitting. But I am looking forward to Christmas and seeing in the new year. 


And on Tuesday I had another interview - this one for a permanent position for an office close to home. I have no idea how I went - for the first time I wasn't nervous at all but I'm not sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Only time will tell. 


This week our other exciting news was that we bought a car. Second hand but still looking good and it should suit our purposes at the moment. We take possession on Monday if all goes to plan. 

Doe, a deer

A busy weekend car hunting and furniture hunting. We also managed to fit in a walk at Kama Reserve today even though the weather was patchy. The last half of the walk we were racing to beat the advancing storm cracking above us. Luckily, we didn't get struck by lightning.

Climb through friendly gates 

Molongolo River

Blue devil (native)

A deer ran across our path!

Giant dandelion (weed)

dunno, lovely

the office

I can hardly believe it but today it was back to the coal face. 


It all felt alarmingly familiar. Although my pod is a little like a national park. You have to take your rubbish home with you - or at least to the end of the corridor, where you have to decide what kind of rubbish it is and which out of three bins it needs to go in. No prizes for guessing which department I might be working for. 


and everyone seems quite friendly, and I'm working in the city, and I can drive and park for the whole day for $8 (only $3 more than catching the bus - no contest - sorry earth).


Anyway, here is a picture from the Parliamentary Zone. 

Old Parliament House Gardens

hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

I know, I know, I've been slack - but I have been busy. I now have not one but two jobs confirmed - the first is a temping job until mid February, and the second will start in Feb and continue for about 12 months.  The second job I've been offered without an interview! In this government town (where it takes the usual application to take about three months to go through the process) I am amazed and feeling pretty happy with the way things have turned out.  I have to be security vetted for the second job - to a level where I can access 'confidential' and 'secret' files. However, 'top secret' files will still be off limits. Damn! 

 On Sunday we intended to go for a walk at Gininderra Falls - which is now definitely closed to the public. So we went for a bit of a drive instead to Uriara Crossing and then up to the Brindabella Hills. A lovely day out. 

scream

 Belco stencil art

I did some Xmas shopping in Belco and in the city. Had my potential job confirmed but still nothing in writing, although I'm pretty confident it is going to happen. I can't start until I have my Federal police clearance but I'm hoping it won't take the two weeks that they say is usual turn around time.  

busy

Well it's all been happening in the last couple of days. I had someone checking on my referees for one position yesterday, and went to an interview for another today. The interviewers today were keen so once the temping agency lets me know what the deal will be I'll know for sure if it's going ahead and will post details. 


Yesterday I went for a lovely walk to The Pinnacle Reserve with a friend. It was threatening to rain but we took a chance and were lucky to dodge the heavy rain that set in later in the day. Gorgeous views and all just a ten minute walk from Macquarie.

And I made some little banana cakes. 

And another great sunset tonight. 

the one where I see if Dad is reading this

An exciting day today. Had an interview with another temping agency. By lunchtime they'd invited me for one interview on Thursday and had sent my CV for another. Even though Wayne Swan announced public service cuts today...


Then tonight we had a storm, which started off as heavy rain and developed into hail. Usually we park our (borrowed - thanks Dad!) car outside, as the garage space is a bit small. However, M's great parking got the car to safety once the hail stones started to get bigger. 

10/10 for parking

M took this one

A preliminary examination shows no damage to the car. Unfortunately we can't say the same for M's tomato plants, which had been coming along nicely. Now they have been shredded. 

serious coffee

Had a fun lunch outing today meeting new members of M's family - cousins recently married off.  Also got in a bit of pool practice in preparation for Christmas.

Our other exciting news was that today we finally purchased a coffee grinder so we can use some of the Thai coffee beans we purchase on hols. M did the research so we have one that performs a 'conical burr' - which apparently is the best cutting action to get a uniform grind without burning the beans. I think it would be a great name for a band... and now, live on stage, CONICAL BURR!!!!

soggy

Yesterday's visit to the Botanic Gardens was fun, although it was too wet to walk anywhere but to the cafe and then to the bookshop. Unfortunately the cafe suffers from the location effect - ie, the location is great, therefore the food doesn't have to be - so it isn't. Had a tasty florentine though. I'm looking forward to going back to see the gardens when the weather is better. Rain again today and more catching up with old friends, at breakfast and at dinner. 

chilly

The last couple of days have been a bit chilly - under 20 degrees. I've been hard at work on a job application for a position in the House - Parliament House - which I'm sure would be interesting and I'm sure hundreds of other people think so to. In about two or three months I guess we shall see whether I'm in with a chance. Meanwhile another temping agency would like to interview me - that will be early next week. 


Tomorrow I'm going to the Botanic Gardens with a friend so I might have some photos to post after that. 


PJ Harvey fans, check out this link that M found. Following her winning a British music award she appeared on a breakfast show, on the same morning the British PM was also a guest. The tv presenter asked her what she thought of the government's arts funding policies - and she tells him - only to be cut dead and told to run along to get ready for her song segment. Go Polly! Not sure about that hat though. 

celebrity spotting

Well, I was hoping to have a photo of Princess Mary to post here. I spent most of the day at the National Library and was planning to walk down the road to see Mary and Fred in the afternoon, as the Crown Princely Couple were (was?) going to be at the National Portrait Gallery. And in the past few weeks I've missed Liz, and then BO. But at the appointed time it was raining heavily and I discovered that my celebrity stalking urges were fairly minimal. 


All was wonderful at the library. I love the place. Today I saw the small but lovely Women's Weekly exhibition on Level 4. There is a selection of front covers, expertly chosen. My favourite was one with a model with her face covered by a full face knitted mask - classy. Hopefully you can see it here. The National Library, through its fantastic resource Trove, has most Women's Weekly magazines saved digitally. You can browse the covers collection if you just want to look at pictures.  And if you have any old Women's Weekly magazines, check out the NLA's wish list of missing issues.


So far, this is the only celebrity I've seen in Canberra. 

Oh, and I have seen Michelle Gratan at the airport. 

callistemon = bottle brush

Saturday was perfect weather - around 30 degrees but with a breeze. M and I spent a wonderful afternoon in a friend's spectacular garden enjoying a bbq lunch and plenty of catching up conversation. Then today it was rainy, but not that cold. After a trip to the Fyshwick markets in the morning, it was a great afternoon for working on job applications. The sky cleared in the late afternoon and we took the opportunity to have a lake walk. Good to get some fresh air, even if it was slightly marred by idiot boys throwing a paint tin up from below one of the bridges onto the road and narrowly missing a passing car. 

Also very excited as we've booked tix to see Fleet Foxes in the new year. 

more strange sights

Went for a walk early this morning and saw a scene out of Hitchcock's The Birds - the Australian version. About 50 sulphur crested cockatoos were eating callistemon buds, covering the ground and perched on gates, fences, houses. 

Then later this afternoon, I found a moustache!

More job applications going out today - nothing much coming in. 

POTUS is coming

Nothing much to report. Job applications blah blah blah. Lovely weather. Another great sunset. 

Obviously spending too much time on the web - this excerpt from a story on the ABC website struck me as very, very funny. Who says Canberra doesn't know how to show someone a good time? 


quote: Gary Rake from the National Capital Authority says parts of Canberra will have a distinctly American feel to mark the president's visit.

"We'll be lighting the Kings Avenue tunnel in red white and blue and rather than the striped colour arrangement that we had for her majesty's recent visit this time we'll be lighting the entire hand rail in a single colour," he said.

"The tunnel will be blue for 30 seconds, white for 30 seconds and red for 30 seconds. It'll cycle through the colours." end quote


Well, I hope the president appreciates the effort. 

The full ABC story here

to market, to market

On Saturday we checked out the Murra markets - at Murrumbateman, about 20 minutes out of Canberra. They're on four times a year, so we thought we'd give it a try. It was a very small market, but we did get some good fruit and veg and some plants there. We also saw some baby alpacas. 

Alpacas at the market

On the way home we called into Jeir Creek Winery and used our first Entertainment Book voucher. So far the riesling and the sparkling shiraz are favourites. 

Jeir Creek winery

Jeir Creek winery cellar door

As you can see from the pics, the weather this weekend has been fantastic. This morning we tried out the Jamison markets (mostly trash and treasure, with some fruit and veg too). Lots of stuff and plenty of potential, but no major purchases made today. We then went for a walk around LBG (Lake Burley Griffin), had an affogato, and had a look at the newly opened National Library's Treasures Gallery. 

Lake BG

The promo collateral for the gallery features Patrick White's glasses, but there were many (more) interesting things to see there, including Australia's earliest surviving printed document - a theatre flyer from 1796.