one down....

yep, one week of my holidays is over already - only one more week to go...

it has been a nice relaxing week though with lots of walking the streets of st kilda and surrounds with my wee louie - i've done stuff-all reading so far, but did manage to finish the third season of true blood... now to wait for the fourth season!!!

i had visitors yesterday - finally i got to catch up with steph and pete who came around for a late lunch - we did have the 'pretend' grand final on in the background but as it was so very woeful we just glanced (winced) at it every so often - and steph is far more entertaining than the television!!!

as pete and i are both saints supporters we decided that we'd just treat the re-match with the contempt it deserved - the grand final was a draw and that's all there is to it - had there been time-on (like there is throughout the season) the saints would have won because they had come back with a vengeance and were starting to get on top... there's also the point that a draw during the season is worth 2 premiership points for each team - so what's wrong with a drawn grand final then - why does there have to be a winner and a loser (not a good message to send to youngsters!!) why can't the 2 best teams of the year end with a draw - what's the problem (and it does only happen 'once in a blue moon')!! so, in true saints supporter style, we chanted the mantra - "there's always next year" - and then continued to enjoy the company, the conversation, the yummy stuffed peppers and roasted garlic and potatoes i had made!!!

and wasn't i the lucky one... it was almost like having a second birthday when they arrived because they came  'bearing gifts'... i was given a lovely pair of earrings from malta - this is the first time i've really caught up with them since they returned from their last (but no longer so recent) trip overseas... i also got a small bottle of meletti - an aniseed-based liquor - a tasty wee drop similar to white sambuca!!! they brought a couple of bottles of howling wolves wine too - so it was a very pleasant afternoon (which turned into evening all too quickly!!)

i'll be sad to see him go, but my wee lou-dude goes back to malmsbury tomorrow - it's been lovely having him stay for the week, but it's just such a small space for the boy - no room here for him to run around in such a small courtyard - he's used to a big backyard and playmates these days... even the leash-free park isn't the same for him without his pack! but we've been on some lovely long, ambling walks around the streets though... there are so many magnificent houses in the area... and it's so green, lush and lovely at the moment... so many trees in bloom - it's just spectacular...

i've got a few things to do this week - have been thinking about getting my hair cut for ages now... so that's definitely on the agenda... the only thing with that is finding a decent hairdresser - i hate going to the hairdressers... they never listen to what you say - consequently i don't go to the same one twice usually - fuck up once and that's me not returning... and i hate all of those bright, glaring lights - and the music, and the small talk, and they're so very expensive, why??? and blah, blah, blah...

on that note it's time to go and make a cuppa and perhaps i'll do some blogging later in the week...

an early sensory treat...

what a delight it was walking into the supermarket today and being enveloped by the wonderful fragrance of jonquils...  they're known as mid-winter through spring flowering bulbs so they're a tad early - but i'll enjoy 'jonnies' whenever they want to bloom... i don't think there's anything more beautiful than scented flowers - i remember when i was young you could actually smell a florist shop 'a mile away' (my that seems like an aeon ago - huh, not the case now so i was taking the opportunity to buy three bunches - a bargain at $6 a bunch - i would have bought more but unfortunately that was all that was left!!!)...

The world seems sad

mid winter's gloom,

But all is well

when the jonquils bloom.

(from the plantanswers website)

along with daffodils, jonquils are part of the narcissus genus - their botanical name being narcissus jonquilla - narcissus is derived from the greek word narke - meaning deep sleep, numbness. stupor or paralysis - there are varied interpretations out there so take your pick... some attribute the naming of the flower to its narcotic fragrance...

of course there is mythology and folklore associated with the origins and medicinal properties of the plant...

"Myths tell their own version of how the flower came to be. Long ago, according to Greek mythology, a mountain nymph named Echo fell madly in love with a mortal named Narcissus. He was a handsome but vain youth who was preoccupied with his own interests: hunting and admiring his good looks. He rudely ignored Echo’s efforts to interest him, so she sadly hid in a cave, suffering in grief until she died and faded away. Only her voice remained, which still haunts caves and canyons today. After her death, Narcissus became so absorbed in looking at his reflection in the water, that one day he fell in and drowned. The gods changed him into the flower that bears his name to remind us of the consequences of vanity and egoism. Similar versions of this myth exist in Roman, Arabic, Egyptian, Spanish, and Portuguese cultures.

The Romans believed that sap from the daffodil could heal wounds. However, it contains tiny sharp crystals called calcium oxalate that may actually irritate the skin. These crystals keep animals from eating the plant and are the reason that when daffodils are combined with other flowers in a vase, other flowers will wilt.

The powerful perfume of the daffodil can sometimes be overpowering, a reference to the word narcotic, which is related to narcissus. Although narcissus bulbs are poisonous, they have been used for centuries in medicines when mixed with other ingredients."  from authorsden

and who could forget dali's famous surrealist representation - metamorphosis of narcissus... an article by Rosa Maria Maurell i Constans entitled "Dalí and the Myth of Narcissus" makes interesting reading on his interpretation of ovid's version of the myth...

perhaps narcissus was gay - another interpretation expounded by some - you can listen to "narcissus and ameinias - gay love story" here... and then there was the brilliant and ebullient (but now deceased) performer and 'gay icon' freddie mercury who deserves a mention here for his reputed quote "i'm as gay as a daffodil, my dear"... now he was the true epitome of a narcissist if ever there was one!!!!

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you might remember i mentioned getting new glasses a couple of posts ago... it hasn't been going too smoothly... there was a promise of them being ready within 10 days of my eye test - well, after a few phone calls and 17 days later they were finally ready for me to collect on friday - i'd arranged to leave work early, taking toil for the saturday morning (i was working the full day at st kilda!!!!) - i was soooo looking forward to getting them... i happily headed off to the optometrists, tried them on and wouldn't you know it - i couldn't read a thing with them... distance, that was okay but hey, i need to be able to read too... i was one very disappointed and pissed off womon... so close, and yet so far!!!! so i had to go through the tests again so the 'measurements' could be checked... yep, seems like the laboratory fucked up - after waiting so long i had a feeling something was going to be wrong!!!!! so it looks like another 'less than 10 days' wait... at least i got me old ones tightened while i was there - who knows how long they'll have to last!!!!

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and here's an update on stefania's and pietro's travels - they started out in malta, then it was on to italia - according to steph's latest email they're in ascoli piceno, near the apennine mountains - i'm checking out a trip tracker widget at the moment but am having problems embedding - i'll keep working on that one... she says ascoli is a lovely medieval town with a population of approximately 50 thousand... it's full of interesting medieval buildings and a roman bridge dating back to the augustan era... oh, she also says it's cold!!!!

and hopefully the next post will have an update with really good news about the land in malmsbury... things are looking good for a sale soon so fingers crossed!!!!

Public service sucks bigtime!!!!

well, makes you sick at the very least!!!! They're a sharing lot, the public - especially when it comes to their insidious little bugs!!! I've been 'laid low' for the last three days with a horrible gastric bug... I won't go into that though, suffice to say I felt like fucking crap!!! I guess there's a bit of stress happening too... me mum's just been 'officially' diagnosed in the later stage of chronic kidney disease - that's after 12 months of being ill since her not-very-successful, debilitating keyhole gall bladder surgery - part of the problem with her kidneys now!!! oooh, think there's a bit of anger there as well - we're talking about power of medical attorney stuff at the moment... she doesn't want dialysis at her age - guess I'm the one she trusts to enforce her decision if she can't - but I'll think about that tomorrow....

I received a postcard yesterday - you really have to wonder about the postal services... it was from my friend Steph who was travelling in Italia way back in june and july... dated 15/7/08!!! You have to wonder where it's been all that time - did it go on its own journey around the world?? was it sat in some mail house somewhere?? or was it just in a neighbours house waiting for them to re-direct it??

Anyway thought I'd share it - I was a tad taken aback at receiving something with the leader of that misogynistic, anti-gay, roman catholic church adorning it (and they're big on adornment!!!) - then realised it's coming up to that dreaded 'can't get away from christmas carols' time of year so thought advertising maybe - until I read it and realised who it was from...

(I found 2 different meanings for grande testa - big head or mighty loaf... both seem apt!!!)

and, on that note, I'm going to make the most of being out of bed, feeling better and seeing the lovely sunshine out there I think it's time to enjoy the garden - it's looking good - especially after the rain we've had - that's a wonderful sight and sound... we might not hear it too much more!!! It has been a pretty productive little patch this year - lots of spinach, parsley, coriander, onions, lettuce, carrots - there's something about being able to walk out the back and pick enough food if not for a meal, at least part of one... the tomatoes and beans are taking off, beetroot and zucchini have just been planted, the herbs are looking good - the grapefruit and peach tree are looking wonderful - can't wait to see what sort of peaches - everything just looks alive!!!!!

Here's a bit of a collage of parts of the backyard at the moment... if you look hard, you can just make out 'thereheis' in the bottle brush -you get a picture of Loudle (aka Louis and lots of other names) because he just happened to be in the yard at the time - of course there's no just sitting on the ground for a poodle!!!! and the old girl, well she was inside under the bed - that's another thing - she's doing a lot more lying around, sleeping... she's gettin' old.... a picture of her next time!!!

Ciao Stephania & Pietro

I've got friends overseas traipsing around Italia at the moment... thought I'd just put this map up so you can see where they've been... some of the place names don't appear on this size map - but a more detailed map didn't allow a quick glance over the whole area so I've done the best I can...



and while I'm here... whenever i hear the word "ciao" I think of a song by Lynne Randell (or Randall?) that came out in 1967 - good Aussie music - "Ciao baby"... and I couldn't believe it was on YouTube... so here it is... I so wanted to be Lynne Randell when I was 12!!!! Best get onto the 60's hey... so much to write about!!!! Soon - I'm on holidays for a couple of weeks so there's plenty of time!!!

Enjoy!!!