Casa

So here are some recent shots of the house. It's definitely getting lived in. I quickly posted these so my saalee Gopi could have a look. See you soon on a visit Gops! And Mara steps up to the plate, and spins together a meal! Tia is inseparable from Koko.

Bentleigh

The Bentleigh Street Festival. I think the whackos are so much more interesting than the regulars...
They also look like they're always having a lot more fun.

Divali

Divali slipped by almost unnoticed. Yoo hoo Lakshmi, did you see our lights?

The Beach at Bowie

Just 5 minutes from us, the Beaumaris beach is one of the 3 top spots in Melbourne for kite surfers. This one's for you Erdem!

10 Minutes By Tractor

We all drove down towards Flinders in the Mornington peninsular. Strawberry picking. The countryside is just spectacularly beautiful and set in the rolling hills and vineyards and wooded trails. The strawberry fields were uninspiring. They aren't very pretty to look at. (That's why I got the shot of the tractor instead). On the way back we stopped for a tasting at 10 Minutes By Tractor (yup, that's the name) a great vineyard, and a very well known label (all you pinot noir aficionados will recognize it) - and ended up with a case of the ruby red magic. We thought it would hold till Christmas, but alas, Mo and myself (along with numerous friends) made sure we'll have to head out to 10X again soon! The other images are of us on that drive.

Tia raw

I suppose I can still post Tia in the raw without getting into trouble. But this won't be for too much longer.... Here she is having fun in the jacuzzi.

Mulberries, spiders and the Brush Wattlebird

The mulberry tree outside the kitchen is just flooded with these tiny sticky mulberries. They're yummy, but a real bitch to pick. Mara & Tia tried picking them by hand, and ended with purple juice running down their faces. So they held a large cloth while I shook the branches. We got just kilos of the stuff along with teeny tiny little spiders running around my bald head and everywhere. A sticky experience that I'm in no rush to repeat. BTW the Brush Wattlebird also loves the stuff and is always flapping about in the tree. This drives Sushi nuts and so she also is up the tree. Is this all weird or what? My daughters,cat, birds, spiders & me up in a tree. Abstract? Anyhow, Mo made some great muffins with the mulberries, and pies and tarts and jam....

Sunday at Luna Park

Tia insisted we go to one of her favourite spots here. Here's a special one of the girls.


I saw this wild goth-ish girl. I often think how brave it is to be able to step out and face the world (and perhaps her parents!) decked out like that!


Tia performed as a bee at her school - some event about the environment. She makes a great bee. When she was small, I'd call her 'ento' for entomologist - for her fascination for insects. I'm probably reading too much into this, but it's still insects.

Koko, Tia's new dog, and as I've mentioned earlier, the only other male in this family. He's a spoodle, a cool new breed. Sharp as a pin, cute and lots of trouble - shoes, slippers and all are no more safe.

Mara working - Gasp!

Here's Mara working hard at staining the timber for our al fresco dining area. My little prima donna angel at work, for real!

Surface so necessary

So the floors got done. Tasmanian Oak, or Tassie as they call it here. It was wonderful getting rid of all that funky carpet! Some more Work In Progress shots.

Mara & Tia at Wesley

Both the girls got fitted out for their new uniforms (oh so Victorian) and we had a fit and a battle over the 'sensible' shoes that they HAD to wear!

Aspendale

While the floors were being sanded down we had to split - so we found a great little beach cottage not far from Beaumaris called Aspendale. It was a teriffic 5 day getaway. Here you can see Mo, Mara & tia with Krikka & Koko off for a walk.

10 Reasons Why Halloween is better than Sex

10. You’re guaranteed to get at least a little something in the sack.
9. If you get tired, wait 10 minutes and go at it again.
8. The uglier you look, the easier it is to get some.
7. You don’t have to compliment the person who gave you candy.
6. The person giving you candy doesn’t fantasize you’re someone else.
5. If you get a stomach ache, it won’t last 9 months.
4. I f you wear your Batman mask, no one thinks you’re kinky.
3. It doesn’t matter if the kids hear you moaning and groaning.
2. You’ll feel less guilt the next morning.
1. If you don’t get what you want, you can always go next door!

Transitioning

Here's our place under construction.
Mara got her dog Krikka when she was 8, and soon Tia will be 8 and so she got her new doggie - Koko. Koko is a Spoodle (Spaniel and Poodle mix), and the only other male in this family!

I took Mara for a trip downtown to Federation Square. We saw this salsa band called Santos. I think they thought they were from an old western movie. The music was pretty ok, but really it was just great to be hanging out watching the world go by. I need to do more jaunts like this with Mara.

A Belgian Blast

Yoo Hoo Belgian Chocolate Person! Justin Cooper brought this bag of Belgian chocolates over, with my name on it! What a rush, quick now with some cappucino at Malt, just around the corner - they were great. Mara & Tia did some magic and had them vanish. Yum.

Toots Mo & Me

Well, I got the wheels I was waiting for and it's an ongoing blast.
The first day we spun off to Portsea in the Mornington Peninsula. Bright sun, cold and some cracking Pinot Noir....

Awaay

I've just got back from this long absence. I missed posting my thoughts and the usual introspective exercise. It's got a real linear quality about it, and a staged predictability that had some order. Terrifying hearing myself say that since I'm pretty order averse.
I've almost done with the moving bit (the living part anyhow), the animation/editing studio and office in the shed has still to be finished, and the clip below shows just SOME of the packing material being carted away!