a beautiful addition....

things have been busy, so this is a bit late, but here are some photos of the gorgeous Ellie who was born to my dear friends Emma and Aidan on 30th June. (right on schedule in typical Emma fashion!)

What a cutie....I can't wait to meet her. Right now even Queensland seems too far away.

the happy family

moments in melbourne

captured moments in my beautiful adopted city

after the rain in Fitzroy North

double rainbow at the hockey

I couldn't be more in love with this house..... it's simply amazing

Melbourne Ice

The NHL may be over for this season, but that still leaves me with - guess what - AIHL!
Yes......while some may consider it crazy, Australia does indeed have an Ice Hockey League. And if Saturday's game is anything to go by - it's not so bad. Melbourne Ice is still top of the league after beating Newcastle on the weekend. It was a bit of a nailbiter though with the result being decided by penalty shoot-out. Happily I was able to witness a win at home and left quite content indeed to go out and enjoy a very pleasant Saturday evening of good food, wine, tunes and interesting people.

amen....

random house photos

the only images we managed to get from the last house party.

the new man in my life

who'd have thought I'd fall for a ginger?

george

finally.....Wedding photos

It's well over a month since the happy event that was Kristen and Greg's wedding, but that doesn't mean it's too late to put up the photos. What a great treat for us all to go down to the coast, dress up and celebrate this most excellent of pairings. It was just as fun as everyone imagined, starting from the moment the groom strode rock star like into the church (almost upstaging the bride). The church service was hilarious and really fit the mood of the happy couple who were in top form all day and night. Nice work guys!

the work contigent

the very happy couple

congrats guys!

Clap your hands say Yeah!

Thankfully I managed to fit a concert in amongst all the study - some things just have to take priority!
Read about on my music blog if you are interested.

offline.....

no I'm not dead....

just had no internet connection at home for a while (or a reliable one at work for that matter) and even if I did have the internet I would have not had time to post as Uni was going mental. the usual no sleeping for 72 hours at a time and all that. same old story every semester. Almost all done now which is a relief.....and then it's Indonesia time!

I have been too sad about the Canucks departure from the playoffs to really write much about it. At the moment it looks as though the Stanley Cup will go to Anaheim (who forced my fave boys out) as they are leading 3-1 to the Senators going into game 5 tomorrow. I'm not saying they can't come back (I would dearly love a Canadian team to take the title) but it's a pretty tough ask at this point. Unfortunately the Ducks are actually just playing a good game of hockey.
for what it's worth anyway - GO SENS!

Canucks to Round 2!!

It was an exciting game at home in GM place today but the Canucks are through to round two of the NHL playoffs!! YAY!!! The stars came out strong and led early, but in the end even super performing Stars goalie Turco couldn't hold the Canucks out. They managed to win 4-1 with goals from (Henrik)Sedin, Linden, Pyatt and Smolinski.The game winner really was the goal early in the third by sentimental fave Linden. As the Canucks home page will testify the stats show Trevor knows what he’ doing in game 7s. He has played in all of Vancouver’s game sevens in their history (nine in all) and has six goals and six assists in those - a new record for the Canucks in the playoffs! Of course I can't forget to mention Louie who performed consistently yet again - making some stellar saves in this his first playoff series. What a star this guy is.

CBC is streaming the games free in Canada - but unfortunately all of us internationals are still stuck with just internet radio!! aaargh. I hope this changes soon. I have to say though - hearing the roar of the home crowd tonight when the Canucks were taking it home still gave me goosebumps, so it's better than nothing. What an exciting way to finish round one. Am looking forward to the next game Wednesday night (Thurs 12 noon Aust EST time) when they take on the Ducks to kick off the next round. Go Canucks Go!!!

Human Sign at Sandringham

Despite some early morning rain threatening to hinder the event, more than 2000 people made it down to Sandringham on Sunday morning to show their support for climate change action. Many schools, action groups and community members got together and used their bodies to spell out the message "HALT CLIMATE CHANGE NOW!" (I was in the second E!) The event made ABC national news Sunday night, but if you missed it check out this article from today's Herald Sun. It's great to get such media coverage and to get so many people out on a weekend to make a strong statement about how concerned they are with the issue of climate change.
Let's hear it for grassroots action!

there's a cat in my room!

sure it may not sound like a big deal - and certainly nothing to blog about - but let me set the scene.

it's 1:30am in the morning and I'm trying to write a short essay so I can actually enjoy my upcoming weekend when suddenly I hear a loud thump behind me.......knowing that I a) always have the window to the street open and b) there should be no extraneous noises in my freaking room I was momentarily sent into mild heart failure until I turn around and find this :

a veritable horse of a cat (who does not reside here obviously) exploring the environs of my comfy abode!
don't get me wrong, I love cats to the point of obsession, but there are ways and means of introducing yourself my feline friend and they don't involve scaring the beejesus out of unsuspecting studiers!!

(anyone who suggests this post is just another ridiculous and overblown procrastination attempt - begone with you and your wickedness - I was truly enjoying writing my essay until he came in)

and onto game 6

my beloved Canucks had a chance to secure a spot in the second round of the NHL playoffs on home ice tonight....but unfortunately it just wasn't to be. a desperate Stars team saved themselves from elimination in overtime with the only goal of the match, so it's back to Dallas for game 6 on Saturday. (how much do I wish I could actually see it and not just have to make do with live internet radio?? Don't even ask.... Australian TV really has to get its act together!!!)
GO CANUCKS GO!

beautiful Melbourne

Easter Weekend

What a weekend it was! Uni has been so full on this year I was determined to have some time off and do something fun (since I couldn't go to Adelaide....grrr) Things kicked off spectacularly well with a fab evening with Evan Dando (sorry to the rest of the Lemondheads, but he's who I'm there to see) Despite being at a venue which is fast becoming my least favourite in Melbourne (The Corner) I managed to nab a seat on the stage and sat there all night like the ridiculous groupie I am and be happy as a clam. I last saw Evan solo and acoustic in Vancouver which was divine and probably my preferred way of seeing him, but the night was rocking and brought back all those teenage years.


The other huge thing that dominated the 4 days was that we were babysitting gorgeous kittens! awww so adorable
At one stage we had three kittens in the house which was a delight, but for most of the time it was only two. The very beautiful Trinity and Tobago. The other kitten Charlie was with us only briefly -but we loved him just the same.


Of course then came our big house night out which was tonnes of fun - just so great to be a little bit silly for a change and not worry about study/work etc.


Easter Sunday brought too much chocolate and a lovely house lunch full of yummy roast lamb, apple crumble and lots of other goodies. My fellow bunny flatmates and I had much fun preparing (especially Elly) and we all indulged a bit too much - but it did feel awfully good.



Last but not least I got to see one of my favourite men in the flesh - Dylan Moran. He's out here in Melbourne as part of the comedy festival and being that I think he is the most divinely funny and perfect male (no it's not an oxymoron) I couldn't miss it. As I was sitting in the 3rd row he didn't miss the fact I was taking his picture and then launched into a rant about people and technology - at which point I told him it was just because he was beautiful then he swore at me and left me alone. What a guy! ;) Seriously though it was very funny. If anyone doesn't know him I urge you to go and rent Black Books.....it's awesome.

The next morning I was up super early taking the lovely Heather to her plane (which she then promptly missed) and then back home to the reality of my situation -i.e that I had just frittered away 4 whole days of potential study/design time and I had a ridiculous amount ahead of me to do..............at least for once it really was worth it!

a night of fun with my wonderful housemates

to celebrate our house finally settling down after all the moving and shaking we decided we all needed a night out to let our hair down and enjoy each other's company. a fab time was had by all - as you can probably tell!

YCAN!

In response to what we think are very real and important issues, a group of us have set up a Climate Action group in Fitzroy - Yarra Climate Action Now (YCAN!) I will be setting up a page and blog very soon where we can discuss the group, lobbying ideas, opportunities for action and education and much much more. For anyone interested in getting involved drop me a line - hopefully we can establish something worthwhile and effective in our community.

Awwww

A night at the Palais

as some of you know I can be a sucker for a nice irish boy - and Damien Rice is no exception.

the pint sized lad from the emerald isle charmed his way deeper into my heart with a warm, heartfelt and entertaining performance. I don't care what any of you say - or how sick you are of blowers daughter - Damien live is a wonderful experience.

(read more on my music blog)

valentines