flowers (still) in the loft

These pineapple lillies sure have staying power. They are the same bunch I blogged about several weeks ago and they are still looking fresh (albeit a bit greener in colour than when I first bought them). Great value for money.

New acquisition

Nathan and I bought this little side table yesterday. Still haven't decided what to put on top of it yet so Wal and Norm (my bird sculptures from Central Australia) are having a go at perching on it.

Dinner tonight is...

...Thai green curry crab.

I was at the Queen Vic Markets and couldn't resist getting some blue swimmer crabs for tonight.  Can't wait to tuck into them. Yum, yum.

art well hung

The Leopold museum in Vienna recently held an after hours showing of their exhibition 'Nude men from 1800 to Today', where visitors were allowed to tour the exhibition naked. I wonder if similar showings would do well at the NGV? Perhaps at the nest 'winter masterpiece'?

The joys of pet ownership

Nathan had been away in Perth. And I had been left in charge of the dog for the week. Total disaster. The dog had an upset tummy and left a mess on the balcony. She also had dingleberries. Yesterday I decided to clean up the balcony...which involved a pair of latex gloves, reams of paper towel, two garbage bags and several kinds of cleaning products. It was not a pleasant experience. I had intended to leave the dingleberries for Nathan to take care of but they were starting to gross me out so I decided to give the dog a bath.  I donned the latex gloves and carted the dog off to the laundry sink. She was not very cooperative. I ended up washing her under the shower instead.  I ended up wetter than the pooch. Oh well, at least she smells nice again and the balcony looks presentable.

Happy year of the snake

Nathan and I are back in Canberra celebrating chinese new year. As is typical of any trip back to Canberra, the menu for the entire duration of our stay has been meticulously planned out by my parents. And because this is chinese new year, the meals have to be even more spectacular and elaborate than usual. So far, we have been treated to a gluttonous feast of (among other things) braised whole duck stuffed with eight treasures (I could only count 5 but have been assured there are, indeed, 8); lobster with ginger and shallot; a raw salmon salad which we have to toss around with our chopsticks for luck (don't ask me why); another salad that would sit comfortably in any episode of fear factor (picture a plate of jellyfish, chicken feet, century egg); and dumplings (some of which have had coins or dried dates hidden within to symbolize wealth or luck for anyone fortunate enough to get them, which inevitably means over-eating in a quest to nab a wealthy/lucky dumpling).

Phew...

Been watching the havoc being caused by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald as it moves south. In hindsight, I think I was lucky to have been in Townsville and to have flown out when I did. Although the rain was quite intense and there was some minor flooding, the weather system seemed to have caused far less damage in Townsville than in other areas.

flowers in the loft

Went and bought these today. They are called pineapple lilies (I guess because of the leaves that sit on top of the flowers). The plants are native to Africa and look rather exotic don't you think?

Back from Townsville

Wow, we sure picked a good week to head to north Queensland. Trying to collect aquatic animals in streams during a torrential downpour was an experience I won't be forgetting too soon. The "highlight" was having dozens of cockroaches and spiders crawling up our legs and perching on top of our heads to escape the rising waters.

savage garden

Check out my new pet. It's a Nepenthes (also known as a tropical pitcher plant or monkey cup). I have to give it water and the occasional housefly but I won't have to worry about it pissing on the carpet.  

heading north...again

I've been back in the office only three days and I'm once again heading off...this time to Townsville. I'll be going up with a couple of my grad students for fieldwork. I haven't been up there since my own PhD days and I must say I'm kinda looking forward to it – even though Townsville isn't quite as lush or glamorous as Cairns. I'll still have to keep a look out for crocodiles though...but fortunately the areas where we will be going are only meant to be inhabited by freshwater crocs which, unlike the salties, are not known to consume humans. I am more worried about bumping into red necks (in the course of my research, I've been subject to more xenophobic comments in North Queensland than anywhere else in the world). On the plus side, I'm looking forward to spending some free time gorging on ice cream at Frosty Mango.

sexy stag...

I bought this from a vintage shop last week. I think it's made of brass and only has one antler. I'm trying to figure out what it might have originally been attached to as there is a chain near the back leg. The shop owner thinks it might have sat on top of an old clock. Any ideas/guesses?

Sydney

There was the obligatory trip to the Fish Market for lunch and a visit to the Art Gallery of NSW to see the Francis Bacon exhibition. The highlight, however, was a giant 'rubber ducky' moored at Darling Harbour.

On the whole, it was a flying visit...we decided to go back to Canberra super early on the Tuesday due to the catastrophic fire warnings. Am now back in Melbourne enjoying some cooler weather. Truffles seems to have turned into a giant in the week I was away.

the holidays

My folks have been in town for Christmas and New Year. There has been a lot of wallowing in excessive feast, from turkey and ham on Christmas Day to pho in Springvale a couple of days ago. So it was nice to finally spend some quiet time at home last night. Nathan and Truffles went to a friend's place at Point Cook for New Years Eve, while I spent the last 24 hours or so home alone, eating pasta and cleaning up the apartment. I'm heading back to Canberra tomorrow with the family and will be making a flying visit to Sydney while I'm up 'north'. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see the Francis Bacon exhibition at the AGNSW. It's going to be a busy 2013 but I'm going to ease into it slowly (I'm on leave until mid January...hoorah...no bloody research grants to write or worry about this year).

rewind

Am back from my tropical island escapade teaching course. But here are some pictures (just received from my friend via email) from my trip a few weeks ago to Norway.

We went to a fancy restaurant in Oslo for a lavish Christmas lunch. Here I am in the snow.

Here is the lunch.

Here is the poor musk ox hanging over the fireplace.

And here is the monkfish I saw at a fishmongers back in the city.

the birds

The island is full of bird life – and they are not shy of humans.

The white capped noddies are currently nesting all over the island. Despite their fishy-smelling droppings, I think the are a very beautiful bird.

My favourite, however, are the rails. They are very mischievous and try to get into the research station kitchen (one did manage to get in the other night and it took quite some effort to get it out again).

Speaking of the night time antics of birds...the mutton birds make the weirdest noises at night...a bit like wailing children.

pictures from paradise

Been here on the Great Barrier Reef since Tuesday for an undergraduate field course (did I mention I love my job?). Here are some (bad) photos taken using Photo booth from my laptop.

Me by the beach. Only a couple of nights earlier, a loggerhead turtle had come up to lay her eggs only meters from where I am standing.

A beautiful giant clam at the research station aquarium.

A view onto the reef.

I'm off again

Barely recovered from the jet lag, I'm already preparing for the next trip. Fortunately this one is just interstate...a week and a half on a tropical island for work. Before my trip to Norway, I had arranged to get prescription sunglasses made so I could take them with me. I went to collect them yesterday but when I put them on, everything looked blurry. At first, I thought I just needed time for my eyes to adjust but it soon became apparent that they had made a mistake with one of the lenses. The store manager said she'd try to get them corrected for me before I go. Otherwise, she offered to courier them to me. Not sure what kind of courier service they use but I doubt they'd be able to easily get it to me.

I'm back...

The flight was uneventful (which is a good thing I guess). There were grumpy toddlers sitting behind me and a baby screaming in our section of the plane but, alas, I couldn't hear a thing thanks to my Bose noise cancelling headphones (the best Christmas presents ever). Currently at home with Truffles trying to relax (and catch up on sleep) before work tomorrow.

the grand buffet

Well, having just returned from my breakfast, I can certainly see why it is the best in Norway. In fact, it is the best breakfast buffet I have ever had (and the best thing is that I'll get to have it again tomorrow morning, and the morning after that too). It was bloody amazing. They had separate 'stations' dedicated to cereals and breads, waffles and pastries, eggs (e.g. fried, scrambled, poached, custom-made omelette), fresh fruit, freshly squeezed fruit juices, chacuterie, fromagerie, poissonerie (and pretty much every other kind of '-erier' you can think of). Apart from one poached egg, I pretty much spent the last 40 minutes gorging on the wide selection of Norwegian smoked and cured fish.