peony

When I was in Canberra a couple of weeks ago, I bought my grandma a bunch of peonies. During the course of the weekend, the petals started to unfurl into the biggest flowers I have ever seen. And they smelt wonderful too.

Hobart

I was in Hobart for three days. Just got back last night. I took my research group for a 'retreat' (13 of us in total).  Everyone had a great time. MONA was a definite highlight.

Many of the artworks were rather confronting, like this wall of vaginas.

My favourite artwork was Zizi, the affectionate couch. It makes noises and vibrates when you sit on it. I want one.

yum cha

...I also rediscovered this photo of Nathan from last Saturday's yum cha. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet with a two hour time limit. Boy did we eat. We were done after 30 minutes.

brunch

I was looking through my iphone yesterday and discovered some photos Nathan had taken last Sunday when we took Truffs off to Port Melbourne for brunch (well, actually, we had the brunch...she had fun playing with the other dogs in the off leash area after we finished).

cockies

We went to a quaint little cafe in Yarralumla yesterday for scones. There was a nursery next door and they had these cockatoos for sale. I miss the cockatoos foraging on the side of the roads here in Canberra. I see mostly silver gulls and pigeons in Melbourne (though I seem to be attracting the occasional native bird with the plants I have flowering on the balcony).

Canberra

I'm up in Canberra this weekend visiting family. It's been a crazy few weeks at work (hence lack of blogging activity). We've had a staff retreat, several work functions, interviewing of candidates for a new position, and am now in the midst of exam marking. I had to take a break. Dad is currently in the process of making fresh fish and chive dumplings for lunch. Yummy.