Tinkerblue

Pretty as a Princess

Now, I'm on a roll.  Playing catch up but still on a roll. Initially this was supposed to be a February birthday present, but it wasn't finished in time.  So it became my March project for Christmas in Progress.  It wasn't done for March either.  But it's done now. So one Christmas present is done.

Christmas 2007 my in laws, sister in law, neice, hubby and I went to Disneyworld for Christmas.  It was, then, 3 year old Taylor's first trip to Disneyworld.  It's an album of a selection of photos and memories to commemorate her first trip.

(yep, that's hubby wearing the princess tiara and wand.  He was a good sport!)

The album I got with a coupon at Michaels, and I had a lot of the papers and stickers already.  Not entirely sure why I have so many princess stickers and papers.  I put it together in about 3 hours while catching up on some Ellen episodes.  The pages are very simple, but hopefully it will help Miss T remember her first Disney trip.

Excuse the crappy photos, I couldn't get any good light.

Sydney's Pubs: Liquor, Larrikins and the Law

larrikin n. Australian A person given to comical or outlandish behavior.

larrikin n. Australia & NZ old-fashioned slang a mischievous or unruly person.

Back on March we were all in town (Sydney) for Anna and Michael's wedding.  Hubby and I asked Doug to set up a tour/scavenger hunt of the historic pubs in The Rocks area.  Who's Doug? A very friendly, informative, easy going, and funny tour guide.  Hubby and I had been on one of his tours 2-3 years ago, and he was the first person we thought of to create an entertaining evening for a bunch of Aussies, Brits, Canadians (Did I get everyone?), ranging in age from 20's to 60's.

Painting in the exhibition

We started at the Justice and Police Museum.  Why? Anna, the bride to be curated the exhibit...Sydney's Pubs: Liqour, Larrikins and the Law.  I hope everyone was paying attention there will be a test later.  Really.

So what exactly does a pub tour entail?  Lots of drinkong?  Well, there was that but also a mix of trivia, useless information, historic facts, funny tidbits, stairs, friendly competition, bribery, more stairs, ploughmans lunch, laughs and yes, lots of beer.

Glenmore Hotel - A Sydney icon established in the early 20's, with a rooftop bar with awesome views of the city and the harbour.

At the 160+ years old, Hero of Waterloo there is a tunnel running from the pub cellar to the Harbour. It was used for rum smuggling and involuntary recruitment of sailors. A fellow might have a few too many, be chained up in cellar until a Captain came (see photo below) and dragged him through the tunnel, then awake next morning at sea shanghaied aboard a ship.

The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel claims to Sydney's oldest pub.  It has it's own brewery.  My favourite is a beer called Three Sheets.  Three sheets in the wind being an old sailors term for very drunk.

A poster in the bathroom at The Lord Nelson promoting Anna's exhibition.

The Australian has had a license continously since the early 1800's.  They also serve great pizzas and after the tour we came back here to eat pizza.  But not your ordinary pizza, gourmet Australian pizza - Pepper Kangaroo, BBQ Emu, Saltwater Crocodile, Roast Duck, Moroccan Lamb, and Australian Sausage.  My favourite were the pepper kangaroo and the Moroccan lamb.   

We finished up at The Mercantile Hotel.  We had another beer while Doug added up our trivia/scavenger hunt scores and accepted some last minute bribes. 

Did you know?

• Pubs had tiled floors and sometimes the bottom 3rd of the walls was tiled to make them easy to hose down (men peeing, blood from brawls etc)
• There was a rail under the bar that men could loop their belts around so they wouldn't fall down

A great night out with friends, old and new.

Good things come in small packages

My February Christmas in Progress project is done too.   

For some bizarre reason, unbeknownst to me, I have been collecting small tins.  No idea why.  They just seemed like a good thing to hang on to.

With a little help from my various crafting boxes - scrapbooking papers, ribbons, brads, wish tickets etc it's all done.

They will be used a Christmas for gift cards and small gifts, jewelry maybe.

 

Have you seen a barefoot elf?

Because I have 11 elf clogs.  That's at least 5 barefoot elves, and one wearing only one clog. The pattern is from Jenny at Allsorts.  They were on my list for last Christmas, and never made it past the cut out stage.  Then I was going to finish the in January for my first 2008 Christmas in Progress project.  But that didn't happen.

Well they're done now.  Red wool felt.  White embroidery floss. White grosgrain ribbon, until I ran out, then white with red polka dots ribbon.  Snowflake brads out of my scrapbooking box. White pom poms. Gold bells.

They will be gifted full of some combination of chocolates, a scratch and win, a $5.00 giftcard to Timmies, Starbucks or some such caffenated place, a Christmas decoration, a small gift.  Whatever I can find that will fit in a tiny shoe, and hang on a tree.

Yep, Mum, Shaun, Kelly, you'll probably get at least one of these to go with the santa, the snowman, the wagon, and whatever other Christmas crap I've sent you!

Meet my 3 newest friends

Yep, I have a sinus infection.  My face hurts, my jaw hurts, my ears hurt, even my teeth hurt.  Enough whining.

I finished this book last night before the drugs kicked in.  It was a long read. For me it wasn't a "can't put it down book."  It was an intense and difficult read.  I'd read a couple of chapters, then read another book, come back to this and so on.  It's taken me about two months to read it.  Maybe longer.  Was it worth it?  I don't know.  I don't think I'd read it again.  But I also don't want to say don't read it.  I'd rather say read it and decide for yourself.

The author, Azar Nafisi taught at the University of Tehran.  She was dismissed for refusing to wear the veil. After her dismissal she invites 7 of her students into her home to study western literature, most were books that were banned. They're more than a bookclub, and the book is about more than whatbthey were reading.  It's about the affect of the revolution, the Iran vs Iraq war, life under Ayatollah Khomeini on educated women in Iran.

I prefered Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez.

The author was part of a humanitarian, non-government aid mision to Afghanistan. The visit changed her life and she returned to start a Beauty School.  To teach women, to give them a way to support their families.  The book details the financial struggles, cultural misunderstandings, government road blocks, political manuevering, a glimpse into the lives of her students and her marriage to an Afghan man.  This, I would read again.

I Love a Sunburnt Country

My Country was written by Dorothea MacKellar in 1904 while she was living in England and missing home, Australia.  One of the most popular verses in the poem is:

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror -

The wide brown land for me!

Most Australians can quote the first line of this verse (it's actually the 2nd of 6 verses). In the 90's Bill Bryson authored a book using a play on the iconic line I Love a Sunburnt Country.   In a Sunburned Country became a best seller but received critical reviews.

I read it and for the most part I liked it.  As an expat Aussie, parts of the book made me laugh, and parts made me cringe.  It's not a life changing book, but maybe it will make you want to visit or go back a second time.

In the meantime here are some more images of My Country, from our recent trip.

Blue skies and gum trees

Penguin crossing

The Hazards, Tasmania

Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

Sydney Harbour Bridge, ferries - part of the public transportation system in Sydney.

Sydney Opera House and another ferry.

Sunset, Wynard, Tasmania

A Taste for It

A Taste for It by Monica McInerney.  Ms McInerney is Australian, and even lived in Tasmania for awhile, so that makes me partial to her books. A Taste for It is a novel about travel, wine, friends which makes it a hit with me.  I read this while we were in the Hunter Valley for a friends wedding at the Tamburlaine Winery.   It was a good choice for a wedding weekend.  A quick, easy read.  Not life changing, but fun.  3 out of 5.  Summer mind candy, as Kelli would say.

Hubby and I enjoyed our weekend in wine country, although it's not quite as much fun when you can't buy crates and crates of wine.  Canada Customs only allows us to bring one bottle each home without having to pay big $$$ in taxes. It didn't stop us from tasting many, many wines, cheeses, gelato, olive oil, dukka and the beer.  It was definately a gourmet weekend.  Good thing we didn't have to roll far from our hotel

The wedding was beautiful.  The ceremony took place in the vineyard on a gloriously warm and sunny day.  Anna looked gorfeous in her dress, which I think she made.  I remember hearing a story of Anna beading the dress on her morning train commute.  The ceremony was stunningly simple.  It was all about Anna and Mike. 

Home

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews.

Julie Andrews is one of my favourite actresses/actors.   This books covers her childhood years, and starring as Eliza in My Fair Lady on Broadway and in London.  (Audrey Hepburn played the part in the movie).  Did you know her mother and stepfather were alcoholics, or that she found out when she ws 14, that the man she thought was her father was not?  Did you know who voice covered 3 octaves?  That she was part of a vaudeville act with her parents?

Home. Where is home?  Home is where your heart is.  Home is where you hang your hat.  We've all heard the cliches.  But where is home?  In the last 18 years I've called the following places home: Tokyo, London, Sydney, Cuernavaca (Mexico), Carnation (near Seattle) and Vancouver.  I never used to get homesick, but the older I get the more I feel it.  This quote has never been more true...Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.  ~John Ed Pearce

So where is home?  It's Hobart, Tasmania.  And we just spent 3 weeks at home.  It flew by way too quickly.  I'm already counting down until we go home again. In the meantime here's a few memories that I'll share...

My little brother, Shaun

Bicheno, the coastal town where we spent many, many summers as kids.

Wineglass Bay.  Hubby and I had lunch down on the beach, then hiked up the hill to the lookout.  Stunning isn't it?

Clothes drying in the backyard - I miss the oddest things.  See how dry it is?  The drought, I do not miss. 

Where were you?

Alibi Man by Tami Hoag.  Great airplane read, quick, easy, not a lot of concentration needed, holds your attention.  It's a crime thriller, the lead character, Elena Estes has been the heroine in a few of Ms Hoags books. I like them.  I read this and two other fluff books (can't remember the titles, so obviously they were page turners - not!) on the flight between LA and Fiji.  Nope didn't sleep, couldn't sleep, too uncomfortable.  And very annoyed with hubby and his parents - they all slept!  What do read on long flights?

Next stop?  Three glorious days of sun, sand, sea, and relaxation at the Westin Denarau Island Resort and Spa in Fiji.  We ate, drank, relaxed, swam, slept, ate, drank, relaxed, swam, slept, ate, drank....you get the picture.

View from our room

The photo above is the view from here:

Sunset

There's actually quite a bit to see in Fiji but we didn't move far from here

...or here.

That's hubby and I in the pool.

But that's okay.  We were here to relax, recover and recoup.  And that we did.

Remember Me?

A easy, fun read by Sophie Kinsella.  I read it in two days.  Not annoying like the Shopaholic series.

I took a break!  Unintended and far too long. So a quick catch up might be in order.

Hubby and I went home to Australia.  For three very short but fulfilling weeks.  Hubby's parents came with us.  We did quite a bit in the 3 weeks, starting with a day at Disneyland.

Flights from LA to Australia and the South Pacific normally leave late, around 10pm.  Because of customs etc the airlines always have us layover in LA for 4-5 hours.  There is nothing worse than spending 5 hours in LA airport. So we always fly to LA the first flight of the day (or the night before), spend the day at Disneyland, then hopefully sleep on the 18 hour flight home.  Chris and Andrea, friends from Vancouver, were able to join us as well.  We had an really fun time.  Who says adults without kids can't go to Disneyland?

The small animal with us is Miga.  She is one of the Vancouver 2010 mascots, and she had quite the travels with us.

Can you enjoy Disneyland when you're only there one day?  Sure you can.  We spent the morning at California Adventure - We all enjoyed Soarin', I loved Tower of Terror - not sure about everyone else, we got soaked on Grizzly River Rapids, and had a good laugh at the 3D movie, It's a Bugs Life. I took a time out to do some shopping (I needed Princess Tater, Luke Frywalker and Yam Solo potato heads for my brother), while everyone else continued with the rides).

We headed over to Disneyland around 1pm.  We'd all been to Disneyland before at various times in our lives, so we set out for some favourites.  Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear...

We also managed to squeeze in lunch at Blue Bayou.  It's the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  It's a little on the expensive side, the food was okay to good, the atmosphere was good, and it's definately worth one visit.