I heart my mum (and my scarf)

Cher maman

Merci pour le, um... scarf... de couers. J'adore le... um... scarf.

Miff xoxo

________

So pleased it is freezing cold today so I could wear my new heart scarf mum bought me at NGV when she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. I heart it so much!

Poor Little Plumpy

My poor little plumpy dog Buster had to go to the vet yesterday because she has an infected dew claw. I also wanted the lump on her eyelid checked out again (you can sort of see it above her eye on the left of the piccie).

The dewie is fine (got some ointment for that) but the eyelid lump is an impacted glad which is starting to rub on her eye. And this means surgery. And general anaesthetic. Which means $300 off the bat, plus whatever they charge for the actual surgery, vet's time etc.

I'm wishing it was an impacted anal glad, which a quick squeeze would solve - much cheaper if not grosser!

I'll be taking her in on Monday morning (I've got RDO's Mon & Tues) and then she'll be bucket head girl for a week or so until she's healed. I can just foresee that Beans is going to be a total pain in the arse and keep trying to lick her eye or something.

So, house deposit remains ungrown (is that a word?) again as savings keep getting dipped into for random costly things.

All cyber hugs, pats, treats and kisses will be forwarded to Buster post haste.

Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with B and that stands for Beer.

Husband and I walked to HP's new Preston palace yesterday via the drive through grog shop. It was all a little bit too easy.

A six pack, some red wine and a glass (or two?) or champers later we walked home.

All too easy.

I'm in trouble.

So much for drinking less...

Drive Straight

I was bemused this morning to find myself driving behind a girl who was straightening her hair as she drove.

Do they make these so that they can now plug into the cigarette lighter or something?

Can they make anything plug into a cigarette lighter?

'The Island' farewells big blondie

Have had RDOs the last two days after working the weekend. On Tuesday I had a few errands in the morning, had hot cross buns for morning tea, watched the start of Dr Phil, realised I hate Dr Phil and then went to the gym on my own (this is v significant).

Got home stinky and sweaty to find messages from husband wanting to be collected from the city and go to South Melbs to see Glen & Michelle off on the Spirit of Tassie as they make the move off 'The Island' (apparently this is what the mainland is referred to by those very well bred Taswegians).

The boat is effing huge! I mean, I get that is takes people and cars across the water, and that it takes a lot of people and cars, but it really is enormous!

The 12hr trip saw them arrive safe and sound is Tassie at 8am this morning.

Hope y'all are settling in OK and that your cabin in Snug is nicer than the deluxe boarding kennel your cats are in.

Run Fatboy Run

I heart Simon Pegg, which is perhaps why I was expecting a lot of Run Fatboy Run. It was... good. Nowhere near the brilliantly funny Hot Fuzz, and not as clever (or gross) as Sean of the Dead, and not as many gold moments as in the TV series Spaced, and no Nick Frost.

Still, it was... good. I enjoyed it but it was a leetle bit predictable and far more safe (perhaps even formulaic?) than Simon Pegg's other movies. Not one you have to see at the movies, but worth watching.

Simon Pegg was Simon Pegg, it was nice to see Dylan Moran out of Black Books, and I was pleased to spot Noel Fielding as an extra.


I must say my favourite bit was the banana flavoured choc-top, but I ate that in the previews... it was really yummy.

National Sports Museum

This week I went to a preview of the new National Sports Museum, located at the MCG. I am perhaps not the best person to appreciate the NSM, based on the fact that I don't like sport, but hey, if that's your bag then check it out. Just don't ask the little old man in the MCC exhibition a question or you'll be there for hours!

The layout was nice, and the lighting was good, but then that's the sort of thing I say when I go to a theatre show that was a bit shit and I don't want to tell the actors they were a bit crap or that I hated the text!

It is a very museumy-museum - lots of text panels and glass cabinets. I did enjoy the Olympic exhibition, which is apparently one of the largest collections in the world, second only to on in Lucerne.

An ex-colleague now works there are he took us up to the top of the MCG after the museum viewing (and nice cold beers). Everyone was a bit excited, but again, I was probably not the best person to appreciate it as it seems to be something in the blood of born and bred Melbournians.

I'd never been to the MCG before even though people keep telling me they will take me to a game of cricket or football (depending on their preference) - I clearly haven't shown enough enthusiasm for them to follow through! What would excite me is being part of such a huge crowd, the sport itself isn't really a draw card.

Nonetheless, it was interesting to visit, and special to see it completely empty. I just wanted to get down on the field and sing!

Garden Guilt

Yesterday we had a 40 degree day and a 38 degree day before that. One of the only times I'm happy to be locked up inside at work! The heat was pretty stifling, but thankfully a cool change came through in the evening so sleeping wasn't too traumatic (it only got down to 27.7 degrees the night before which was not pleasant). I like to check the weather patterns at the Melbs Uni earth sciences page and it is quite scary to see just how small a drop we had on Thursday night.

But the garden guilt - oh the garden guilt! Our tree ferns (which have been cleverly planted in full sun by our land lord) have survived the last two years of you habitation without much love and care - despite my mother's best guilt trips about them needing water every second day. But the heat of the last two days seems to have been the last straw - they basically went brown over the day causing me to water them with grey water last night, and before 8am this morning with the hose (we can only water between 6am and 8am on Saturdays and Tuesdays).

I'm hoping to rejuvenate them as we have already killed a birch tree and my land lord is such a nice little man! Even though I think that it isn't a very good use of water (particularly because we don't own the house) seeing those brown fronds yesterday guilted me good.

Watch out Tuesday morning, here comes the hose!

To the husband

Hello baby

I know you don't often check in because you think I need my own private space, but really I'm too much of an exhibitionist for that.

Anyway, if you do read this I just thought you should know that I think you are lovely. This probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to you, seeing as I proposed to you and then married you, moved to Melbs with you etc etc, but I thought it worth saying.

Also, you cook great bolognaise. The first time you cooked it for me, you used sauce from a jar. I almost died of shock! I didn't know that people didn't cook bolognaise from scratch. But now you have that absolutely glorious recipe which I lurve! I never thought anyone would cook it better than how my parentals do, but you do (sorry parentals!) so go team you.

So, basically, I think you are tops. And I love you. Mwah!

love Miff xoxoxoxo

PS Thanks for baking such yummy shortbread this week too. mmm, buttery goodness....

PPS Also thanks for having such a nice bum.

PPPS And arms. You have nice arms.

Miff in Brisvegas - Girl goes to karaoke

Last weekend I had the pleasure of travelling up north (thankfully on Qantas) for work. It was only the second time I'd been to this fine city (last time was in Dec 06) and managed to snaffle up two days of time from my ever lovely, shoeless, cute flat owning Sherdie.

Last time the blind date was with the city, this time I had a blind date with a potential new friend (who is moving from Brisvegas to sunny Melbs) and a karaoke room.

The meeting of new friends is always nice, and much giggling about boys, grumbling about jobs and drinking of beers added to the enjoyment. Certainly a person I'll be happy to see again.

The karaoke room was an interesting experience - nine people fighting over two microphones drinking beer and wine for three hours and everyone screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs (not sure why we bothered with the microphones to be honest). Certainly something I'll be happy to experience again.

I liked the private atmosphere - no one (except one boy who was named 'Vain John' in a Carly Simons burst of song) was too shy to get up or take over, everyone picked songs and some of us (read: Sherdie) shook our booties and blocked the TV screen...

Car Trip Traditions

Spent a weekend recently in Bendigo at a friend's winery bottling wine (shiraz mostly) - about 9,500 bottles all up.

We drove up on Friday after work, eating cheese and bacon balls in the car. Traditionally I'm a chicos car-trip-treat kind of girl (thanks to Lan), but I was happy to try something different.

It put in me in mind of all the car trip traditions I've experienced over the years.

From a young age my family had lots of car trips (much to my motion sickness delight) - mostly to Potato Point and Melbourne. I have always been a big fan of singing (der) and have many fond memories of forcing my siblings to sing rounds in the car...


Miff: OK, so you are going to sing 'one bottle of pop'. Do you remember how that one goes?

Nell: Yes... *rolls eyes*

Miff: And you will sing 'fish and chips and vinegar', alright?

Hugh: No. I'm not playing.

Miff: Yes you are. You are singing 'fish and chips and vinegar'.

Hugh: But I don't-

Miff: 'Fish and chips and vinegar'. And I'll sing 'Don't throw your muck in my backyard'. Ready?

*resounding silence*

Miff: 1, 2, 3...


Other car favourites (according to me) included singing the theme song from the Pippi-Long-Stocking movie but starting every word with the same letter of the alphabet, and then running through each letter. Favourite letters included 'B' (you got to say 'Bum') and 'P' (saying 'Poo').

Not long after this, for some reason, my parents started playing audio books instead. Not sure why the singing, and arguing about singing, wasn't entertaining enough. The ongoing favourite was The Hobbit (I still have the cassettes) and for years I believed that the Clyde Mountain was one of the misty mountains from the Hobbit (or wanted to believe that anyway).

Least favourite audio books were War of the Worlds and Day of the Triffids - stories which frightened me so much that I stole them from the car and hid them in my bedroom. I found them about 10yrs later when I moved out of home.

Another great car game is randomly yelling "Ow! Hugh! That hurt!" and then watching him get in trouble for whatever it is my dad thought he'd done. We also used to be able to earn money by spotting number plates from different state and territories.

These days husband and I tend to stock up on lollies, Redskins, Starburst, Mentos etc. Because husband is particularly fond of soft Redskins I oblige my warming them up in my bra. hmmm, breast-toasted Redskins... I just have to remember to take them out when we have a pit stop. Husband and I try to avoid listening to music as our tastes differ wildly (I love Regina Spektor, he loves AC/DC) but we have enjoyed listening to random podcasts of late - Ricky Gervais care of Hugh (I do enjoy Monkey News), Dr Karl care of husband.

Although I don't really enjoy car trips (motion sickness, woo!) I do enjoy experiencing other peoples little traditions as well as making up new ones.

For some reason I can't get any buy in from people to sing rounds anymore...