I know it is summer...

When the plums start to drop

Abrazos Rotos - Broken Embraces

Penélope Cruz is just the most beautiful woman in the world. I watched Volver a few days ago and was mesmerised, that's why I was so keen to see Pedro Almodóvar's new film Broken Embraces. The film weaves in and out of story lines mixing the past with the present, and I guess is a film within a film. Go see it - Pedro Almodóvar never disappoints.

It's not just because he is good looking

I've stopped watching the news. The internet put a stop to that. Though now I've found a new reason to watch ABC news...

Introducing Jeremy Fernandez

Sincere without the saccharine, excellent pronunciation, looks awesome in a suit and I bet he is an all round nice guy.

Albuquerque and beyond

Charlie Faithful sent an email the other day and mentioned him and his gal were in Albuquerque before heading off to Colorado for Christmas.

Made me go back to my travel diary to see what I had to say....apparently not much, more about the drive from Albuquerque to Texas. Which by all reports is flat and hot.

My travel diary did remind me about the public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, which is a bunch of cadillacs embedded in the ground. It was created in 1974 and the cars are half-buried nose-first in the ground at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

It is amazing what you forget...What I did remember (and this was also on the same page of my travel diary) was the massive fuck off cross we came about on our drive through Texas and coincidently this was something I'd talked to Charlie Faithful by email a few months before.

This cross appeared from nowhere, as did the man who approached us when we got out of the car for a closer look. He explained the cross was dedicated to the innocent unborn children who were victims of abortion. That kind of freaked me out.

But you know what, whatever you believe (or don't) the amazing thing is that Highway 40 led us from Albuquerque to all that stuff. Only in the US of A

x marks the spot

See the x? That was my bedroom for 3 nights. This is why I have not been sleeping so well.

Christmas is the only time of year I get to

1. Do Karaoke with my family.

Not only that, but my mum lets me sing profanities like Jesus and Christ. Awesome.



2. Sleep in a house which is stalked by Christmas lights drive byers.

I currently am typing from the room I'm supposed to be sleeping in. It is much like being in a Eastern European disco.



I tried to come up with a third but my belly filled with turkey and the hum of the outside traffic is sending me to sleep. Night night xx

Merry Christmas

It doesn't really feel like Christmas to me...partly because another year has flown by, and partly because so many friends are far away. This too is the first year in many that I won't be catching up with a gaggle of my favourite kids and their grown ups. That was one part of Christmas that I guess was my (our) tradition, and I'll miss it this year.

But on the up and up,I got to have the other tradition of girls and beers out the back, and another kind of up is that Barney will be joining me this Christmas too. He even got drunk and bought stuff on the internet for me...or maybe that was me that got drunk and bought stuff? Either way there are 3 things under the tree that have my name on them!

So anyways, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas. This whole blog thing has been a heap of fun, and I thank those of you who have stopped by for a look. I love it when you comment on stuff and for me it is a great way to share stuff with old friends and now new ones too.

So have a great holiday whatever you believe - one where your family behaves, you get good stuff, and you can relax and be happy.

Big love the yellow house in the U and Barney too♥

Welcome to the Canberra Centre

Time Travelers Wife

You can thank me later for this good deed:

I hopefully prevented a good half dozen people from purchasing this book, and ironically saved them from losing around 2 days of their lives reading this. And because there is NO SUCH THING as time travel, they would have never been able to go back in time to get those days back.

Miami Beach Today

Taffy introduced me to Alfonso a while ago when he was passing through Canberra town. Since then I've admired his photos on Facebook. He has an amazing eye for capturing the everyday and his photos a always interesting and often quite beautiful.

He now has a blog where he documents his life (currently living in South Beach Florida, USA) through photos.

The photos are amazing and this one really struck a chord. The description which goes with it is:

"To sleep under the star it's priceless...

...but for everything else there's Mastercard"

via www.miamibeachtoday.blogspot.com/ photograph by Alfonzo Bonvini

My Place & Yours - The 'me' wardrobe

This weeks my place and your comes from Sandra. She wants to know:

What's your favourite item of clothing, the one that you feel special in, the most "you" in, keep going back to, can be spotted in by friends from miles away, wear over and over and hope will never fall apart and die? Perhaps you've even had to darn it already? (There's to keeping an old craft alive!) It might be a scarf that you made, a pair of gorgeous red high heels, a vintage printed dress or even a pair of old pink flannelette pyjamas. Or it can be more than one!

To be honest I wasn't sure what I would choose and then my friend from the medieval circus was all like ' your hello kitty undies!'

So my hello kitty sequined undies were a gift from two special girls and they are my lucky undies. I wear them to important meetings, and generally on days when I need some extra luck. And now I am showing them to the internet.

For more pop over to Pips

Crush

I was out to dinner with a friend last night and we were talking about her little girl who has a big crush on an older man.

Now I've been very open about the fact that I have a million crushes on the go, and fall in and out of crush at the drop of a hat. I even outed myself in an online exhibition and followed it up by letting the world know my crush secrets at the gallery version of the show.

Day 6 "Crush" 15th June.

Today's work I'm giving to myself. Why? Because I don't have the courage to give it to anyone else!

I was thinking about crushes today and began to make Day 6. Is my work too literal, with all the words and images and explanations? Probably, but for this work when I look around my home and there are heart shapes everywhere...light fittings, jewellery, bowls, mugs, and artwork in every room - no wonder it was an easy reference point.

Then I remembered all the prints I made at uni, full of heart shapes - ripping off Jim Dine before I even knew who Jim Dine was. I'm back to where it all started. But back then it was okay to have a crush on my printmaking lecturer and every member of Sonic Youth ( even Kim Gordon), but now?

So anyways I recalled my first crush to her. When I was about 5, I had the biggest crush on a family friend who was about 20. When I was telling my friend I explained that one year I went to see his band play and he got up on stage and told the crowd it was a very special ladies birthday and pulled me up on stage.

And as soon as I said he was in a band, my friend groaned. Actually I think I groaned too.

I think this adoration at age 5 set the scene for my crushes for the rest of my life...pretty much until right now. He was a drummer and turns out I married a drummer. Oops, that didn't actually work out so well, but it is still pretty funny.

I'm kind of crush less at the moment...any suggestions?

Update: Have found new crush. Quite predictably the catalyst of this crush was someones response to a witty comment on twitter. But if nothing I'm consistent...comment came from the newish drummer of one of my favourite bands. Internet did I hear a groan?

Austin Kleon

I was lucky enough to receive this gem for Christmas. It is by Austin Kleon, who is a writer, cartoonist, and designer.

He’s best known for these Newspaper Blackout Poems—poetry made by redacting words from newspaper articles with a permanent marker. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Meghan, and their dog, Milo. You can see his work online at:www.austinkleon.com

Peter and the Wolf

By George and Karin

Awesome Radio Interview

And when I use the word awesome I am doing so in the sense that I mean...terrible, or even embarrassing? Actually mortifying - yep that's it. Mortifying Radio Interview.

I only caught half of this, and I am not going to listen to it again - but you can if you want:

Lyric Hearts on Etsy

Go look!

My Place & Yours - just five minutes peace

This weeks theme comes from Pilgrim who asks:

where do you retreat to for that sanity-regaining break? i am interested in what or where in your home your sanctuary is.

I live by myself at the moment, so am lucky in that there are many parts of my house that give me quiet time. I guess that is really both lucky and not in a way.

The thing about the yellow house in the U though, is that there just isn't much quiet time. I have a dreadful habit of not really relaxing. In between paid work, art, friends,family, and house stuff - there isn't much time to just sit down.

Though thinking about this weeks theme, my bath would be my all time sanctuary. I don't take baths often, but when I really want to do something nice a relaxing for myself I retreat to the bathtub.

This is the view from the bath. I won't show you all the chipped paint and mould - but it is an old bathroom, so with that vintage style comes the authenticity of a well worn look?

Like the rest of the yellow house, there are keepsakes in little nooks and hidey holes. Here is a Maria Kozic Blue Boy with some medicinal bits and pieces picked up from my last trip away.

Please note the star ball is not usually kept in the bathroom. It's just with the retirement of B-Dog, there has been a daily presentation of starballs all in the hope I will engage in games. This one was dropped in the shower - while I was in it. It is starball number 6. I thought he only had 3.

For more five minutes of peace, pop over to Pips!

Last years christmas card

Want to see this years?

Christmas Shopping

Us yellow folk have to stick together, so I bought a bunch of stuff from Yellow Owl Workshop.

They are based in San Francisco and create limited edition paper goods, and items for the home. They are eco friendly, make art for everyday and sent my stuff quick sticks in a pretty box. The only thing is now I'm not so sure I can give any of it away ♥

Gingerbread House

Hands up who thought that going to a Ginger bread making class, is a class where a red head shows you how to bake bread? Turns out it was a class in how to eat your body weight in lollies whilst making little christmas houses!

So first you get your little kit home all ready to build. I wanted to make a replica of the Chrysler Building, but the kit is pre-made so there really isn't much room to move on the overall design.

You then put your little house together with icing and pins. In fact the icing is useful for pretty much holding lots of stuff together like your dress to your camera.

Next step designing. And you also start learning not to take personally what appear to be pointed questions like 'you do realise they are sour lollies you are using?' or 'do you have any more red smarties?'. The smarties comment was said accusingly - I don't care what you say!

But anyway, the answer is 'yes I realise, and do you realise how AWESOME my ginger house roof is sucker?'.

I have also included the photo below to show you that lawyers can be creative, in a creative sense. We all know they can be tricky creative - like sneaky with law and stuff, but this is proof they can make things too.

I would have taken a photo of the third gingerbread house, but it snaffled away in the brady bus before you could say 'hot boob'.

Oh and you know the other thing? When you go to something organised by religious folk - the more you try not to blaspheme, the more likelihood of you developing some sort of tourettes disease where all you can say is Jesus, Christ, Hell and Fuck. Sorry Helen, and thanks for inviting me.

Vapour Trail Crazy

Lines in the sky at Canberra town today

Sometimes don't you wish it would snow?

Well somewhere in the world that wish came true.

Last night the rain stopped near Boston town and gave way to quiet white flakes of snow.