sleepless in st kilda...

sleep – a casualty of living in st kilda at the moment…they’re raising the tram lines in fitzroy street between canterbury road and the esplanade and working through the night - i can’t imagine what the noise must be like closer to the heavy machinery – the noise reaching my place is constant and annoying – that pesky beeping of trucks and the rumbling and crash banging of the earthmovers and jackhammers (even shadow isn't venturing very far from home - he sits in his courtyard with his ears twitching and his eyes enormous orbs) – and this is going to be happening for the next week… which means no public transport running to balaclava or the st kilda shopping precinct… what a bummer – it’s going to be very hard psyching myself up for work this week – i’ll be walking – hope it’s not too ‘brrrrr’ chilly… but i’m not as bad off as the elderly people in me mother’s block of flats who have mobility problems due to age - there's no transport to get them to their various hospital and doctors appointments, let alone to the shops…

my weekend has been tinged with a bit of concern for me mum though - she isn’t well at the moment – she had a malignant growth removed from her face a few weeks ago that she's only just 'coming good' from, but then on thursday she had to have her cornea reattached (a quite common outcome apparently months after a cataract operation amongst the aged) - since then she's been really unwell – seems the eye drops they use affect her kidneys badly – she suffers constant nausea and fatigue – all she can do is stay in bed (which she hates) – she was almost at the point of ringing an ambulance saturday night but persevered with her pain instead… she has a fear that if she goes to hospital she may never get back home - at 82 and suffering chronic kidney failure (and her hospital experiences over the last couple of years) it’s an understandable fear…

apart from that it’s been a lovely weekend… i had dinner cooked for me last night – an array of vegies baked in a delicious garlicky tomato sauce… good, hearty winter fare – made even tastier i’m sure by the fact that I didn’t have to cook it - i did make some garlic bread to go with it though…  (nah, this isn't a photo of what we had but it does look similar - just add beans and carrots too)...

to top that off I came across a new recipe for a lemon tart I just had to try – and it was sooo lemony delicious – and so very easy to make (and yes, this is a photo of my version!)…  it comes from the sweet treats section of veggie.wedgie  but i cheated with the base... i just made a crushed biscuit base because i didn't have the recommended oats and spelt flour - but the filling was 'by the recipe' and deeeelicious, so here's how to make the lemony yumminess...

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 400ml light coconut milk
• 2tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• in a pot combine agave, coconut milk and cornflour. whisk until the cornflour is completely dissolved. add lemon zest. bring to boil whisking continuously and once it starts to thicken remove from heat. add lemon juice and continue stirring for 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely and pour over the crust. chill until set. enjoy!!

i'm sure this recipe can be adapted with many variations - any other citrus (tangello, grapefruit, lime, orange), chocolate,  vanilla bean, caramel.... yummm, the list goes on - a definite must to repeat in the very near future...

and now it's to the kitchen and a sink of dishes... and then maybe i'll read some more of denise scott's memoir 'all that happened at number 26' - or perhaps listen to a few chapters of ruth park's 'swords and crowns and rings', centred around two young people growing up in an australian country town between 1907 and 1931 and read by deidre rubenstein, a narrator i really enjoy - it also won the miles franklin award in 1977...

herstory - a contemporary tale...

i worked yesterday so was looking forward to a quiet sunday morning to just ease into a lazy day - me and the gang had the place to ourselves last night and so far today it's just been us, so how else would we spend it but quietly relaxing!!!!... but alas, 'quiet' is not to be had around st kilda apparently... i was 'rudely awoken' this morning around 7 am by fucking helicopters buzzing and hovering overhead - it's after 10 now and they're still there - the noise is deafening... i'm pissed off - so's shadow (he's not going outside) and allie is already deaf or she'd be 'freaking out' - noise pollution to the max!!!!

i'd had plans to read today - but it's soooooo hard to concentrate with such surround sound noise - so i did a bit of 'surfing' to discover it's the great australian run today and it's being televised - far out, the residents of port phillip have to deal with a lot of disruption over spring and summer - cycling, running, car racing, festivals - and as part and parcel of these 'activities' there are planes, jets and helicopters - so many road closures and re-routing of public transport, so much noise, so many tourists...

but i guess because of the cacophony i've immersed myself in cyberspace and discovered an interesting event just over the yarra - an 'herstoric' occasion...

the women's circus turned 18 this year... their aim is 'to inspire and empower through contemporary circus', with a "strong focus on creating a safe, supportive and stimulating environment in which participants can extend their skills, build confidence and have fun, and in presenting engaging, high quality public performances of social relevance."

"The Women’s Circus began as a project of Footscray Community Arts Centre in 1991. In 2003, the Women’s Circus became an incorporated, non-profit organisation and remained at Footscray until relocating to the Drill Hall in West Footscray in September 2006." you can read more here... or just have a wander around their website...

if you've got some time between now and december 6, you might like to check out "Herstory", their major production for 2009 at the Living Museum of the West, Pipemakers Park on the Maribyrnong River - which, according to an article on onlymelbourne.com.au "will take the audience on a wild ride from the Circus’ own birth to her coming of age" - sounds grouse!!!!

or maybe you've always wanted to run away and 'join the circus'??!!

oooh, it appears the noise has abated, so now i might just try and get into my read of the moment...

'the fire' by Katherine Neville... i just 'happened' upon this when i was doin' some shelving at work... it was released in 2008 - it's the sequel to a book i read over 20 years ago(!!!) - "the eight" - one of the most memorable novels i've read... part historical fiction, part medieval mystery, it's an action packed thriller, a tale full of suspense - it has two storylines set centuries apart, spanning from 1790 to 1972 - the fates of both major characters - Mireille, a novice nun at montglane abbey at the time of the french revolution, and Cat Velis, computer expert and 'dabbler' in mathematics and chess - are intertwined as they both try to unravel the mystery behind the montglane chess service, purported to have once belonged to charlemagne, a gift from the moors - a chess set that holds the key to a game of unlimited power... interested??? sorry, not giving anymore away except to say it's rivetting and well worth the read - and having only read a couple of chapters of 'the fire' so far - there's more suspense, cryptic riddles, secret societies (the carbonari) and 'players' such as shelley, byron and keats - a tapestry of historical references - it certainly holds the promise of a worthy sequel!!!!

and later on today i might watch "the puppy mill" - "a documentary that explores the domestication of dogs and how our demand for the ultimate family pet has led to increasingly inhumane treatment" - i received my copy only 3 days after ordering it online (see my last post 'how much is that doggie in the window') so my day is sorted - no doubt it will be a heart-wrenching film to watch and the tears will flow...