Hospital events

We had a CEO forum today where they showed us the new logo for the new hospital building. No longer will we have the 'crawling slug' as some call it but a new design that takes in the fact that not all patients are babies It is a sort of stick cross shape with a circle for a head (Like a child with his arms up )and above surrounded like a shower of coloured leaves to show our link with the park and the new building design. Not a good description but it looks OK. Won't be used until we are in the new Hospital or documents relate to the new Hospital or the next few years.

As she said we move in THIS year.

The link bridge and the new lifts (blue gray on the right)

As I walked to work this morning all the scaffold had come down on the link between the old building that is staying (only 5 years old so not old) and the lifts that have been added at the end. I gather from a  comment that the lights are on at night sometimes!! Must drive past.
It was to be 39 degrees today so I had planned to get the bus back to Kensington  and not risk death by heatstroke. A parent who came to see me said it was cooler already so that was a relief.
About 4pm I thought I could hear rain and thought the change had come (no rain predicted)  but when I looked out it wasn't raining.

Gatehouse St Fire Hydrant

Part of Ronald McDonald House. Working to keep the water out.

Opposite Emergency Drive. Blowing sky high!

When I headed off home I could see why I could hear rain!!

Gallery etc

Can't work out why the Para style is spaced thus!
I have really got in to the free MYKI card weekend travel for Seniors! The card is valid Saturday and Sunday since Jan 1.
Last night I went by car to North Melbourne station (more frequent trains go there) parked at the door, and got a train 3 minutes later. However I could have walked faster between North Melbourne and Southern Cross. We stopped 3 times and crawled the rest of the time After that the trip to Flinder St. was fine. But a 7min trip took 15.  I stayed on and the train went on to the Loop got off at Parliament then just walked down  Lonsdale St to the ethnic dinner restaurant of Wendy's choice. The Seamstress. The food was superb and a great dining experience.

Our philosophy is steeped in Cantonese cuisine, representing the most famous and sought after tastes of China,but our inspiration is modern fusion, the dance of east and west on the palate.

Over the years it’s been a garment factory, a brothel and a Buddhist temple; now it’s a  many-storey bar and restaurant. Its former days show in the old sewing machines at the entry. We didn't go down to the bar which has coloured spools of thread on the wall, the lengths of fabric that make a false ceiling and the clothes hanging from the walls.

My trip home was 20mins door to door Much better! My turn next.

 Have got in another exhibition to add to my goals.  Stormy Weather Contemporary Landscape Photography  contemporary approaches to the landscape through the work of eleven Australian photographers.The blurb says that photographers’ interest in the landscape has increased in the last few years. Perhaps as a result of heightened environmental awareness, or an evolution in our engagement with Australian history, practitioners are again turning to the natural world as a site for critical practice and inspiration.These were all drawn from the permanent collection the National Gallery of Victoria 

Photographers include Rosemary Laing; Harry Nankin; David Stephenson; Richard Woldendorp; Nici Cumpston, Anne Ferran and Jill Orr.

Rosemary Laing Photo by Steve baccon

I especially loved the works of Rosemary Laing  

What looks like anthills in the front is actually office furniture!

Ultimately, her epic photographs explore the relationship between the land of Australia and the people who inhabit it. Australians, she says, are forever questioning the "right" to be here - unlike, say, Europeans for whom migration and settlement are issues buried long in the past. "In Australia, we're all migrants of one kind or another."  Steve Meacham. smh

She is also the artist who did Useless actions for grieving blonds that I have seen before. 

The pieces of Jill Orr reminded me of Celia's Journaling images. Jill is more well known as a performance artist http://www.jillorr.com.au/  but the pieces Faith in a Faithless Land I enjoyed especially.

I have had to interrupt my blog as I have gone off line ..again.. the culprit is Spencer who, lying at my feet as is his wont, manages to lie on the power points and dislodges them enough to cut it off. It's not enough to lie beside or just behind me but he likes to lie on my foot that is nearer the desk. So I have had to pull the desk further out so he is back from it. Thinking about a cover that may save the day! And I already have a powerboard attached so that's not the solution.

 Nippers compete in the third Life Saving Victoria event at Elwood. Photo: Craig Sillitoe

Beached !

I  was going to sail with Deb today and find a 3rd crew member, but our plans were thwarted, so I worked in the tower again.

But I did find a 3rd crew Hector Petroni. He was talking to Bernard when I went over to chat & Bernard asked if I knew anyone needing a crew today as Hector was looking. Turns out Hector used to sail in what is now my boat with Bernard and Jason back in late 80's  He's keen to do trapeze (big and strong ) and deb can do main sheet. So we will sail week after next. Next week is Top of the bay always terrible weather, and Hector is sailing with Bernard.

The tower was good,  but we were entertained at end of day with the Rescue boat coming in to toss off the buoys (in USA pronounced Booey) and ran aground in the  shallows.

 The tide was along way out with about 50m from shore of water only 15cm deep and Mick got caught out. 

An ignominious day to have the sailors rescue the boat!!

Sailors on shore came to the rescue!

The other rescue boat arrives to offer a tow!

Beached perilously close to the deck.

Australia Day

The day fell on my Wednesday off so no payment for the public holiday. rats! But I will get Anzac day this year as it is on 'easter' Tuesday.

Patriotic cars at the beach

I have just had about the busiest day i can remember at work on Tuesday so was exhausted, but decided to go down to Aireys Inlet that night and come back Wed night, as I needed to be back to see Bridie.

The drive down was good leaving home 630. The final bit of the freeway at Waurn Ponds is not finished yet but getting there.

It started raining overnight and was overcast in the morning but cleared by 11am, so after lunch Spencer and I went down to the beach and around the rocks as the tide was out. We had a lovely walk with Spencer enjoying all the rock pools and not requiring rescuing at any point.

It really was this colour!

On the walk back I liked the look of this gate on to an empty block, all fenced with an access gate to nothing.
The trees are all green and lush looking so every where was a pleasant cool looking walk. Even our street, almost the only paved one in Aireys!

The great sculpture at the Community Centre

Sunnier Sunday

Today was another perfect day a little warmer than yesterday but lovely!
I spent the morning doing housework! dusting, vacuuming the rugs,clearing clutter off the dining room table from when I wrapped the Xmas presents before I went away. And found the dilly bag of rechargers I had 'lost'. So now my Palm Pilot is functioning again.
After, I met Deb for lunch and we are hoping to sail together in the future. Not next Saturday though.

Heavy Work to windward

Next week is Top of the Bay a regatta between 5 clubs that is notorious for its weather. As Deb said the words chill her to her soul! Next week it is scheduled to be sailed at Elwood so we not only have the long race we sail down there and back! So we will try and team up with Maria and see if we can potter at the Club.

Stump Jump. The singer is the librarian

I called in to the library to return my Xmas library books and they had music in the Court Yard a 3 piece ensemble called the Stump Jump who were playing folksy stuff a very pleasant interlude.

The very pleasant courtyard with new seats and tables.

I returned home to prune the Banksia Rose at the front  and the weeds from the front of the drive to enable access without getting whipped in the face as I crept by, or showered with water as the wind blew it!

Sunny Saturday

The Tower  A Great View in all directions!

A beautiful day spent looking out on the bay while I did race monitoring and results at PMYC. I still haven't organised a regular crew so not sailing much lately. The day dawned very still and by end of day it was still a light breeze 8-10 knots Just right for me!!

Port 3

We launched the New Rescue boat today an Assassin, but tamely called Port 3. The yellow colour makes it easy to spot. In the boat is a new volunteer (dropping the buoys) who is a Surgical Fellow specializing in trauma, at RCH. Not an area I have a lot to do with on a day to day basis so don't know him. Excellent first aid person to have!!
We had 30 lasers out today small boats with 6 numbers on the sail.  Calling the places as they come in is a nightmare if they are close. Fortunately by the end of a long race they were only 2-3 at the same time so we had time to call write and do the time!

Coming up to the common mark The green spinnaker belongs to a Jolly Boat

 Tonight I am off to the Czech Club in North Melbourne to see Julia Messenger Quartet, Internationally and critically acclaimed singer Julia Messenger is invited to the Czech Club to explore the classics, introduce some new songs, and get back to her jazz roots. Included is a tribute to Piaf and Kurt Weil. With an outstanding line up of musicians, this is a night not to be missed! with Wendy and Royce. Was to be be Deb , but she has to collect Ruby the dog, on the other side of town and doesn't thinks she can make it. But we will have lunch tomorrow.

Northerly wind

It has been a warm day with a strong northerly wind blowing till about 5pm when it shifted to a southerly. The front wire door is doing it's job and letting int he breeze to cool the house!

 I had no private patients booked today though did do a home visit last night in Camberwell. An 18month old who did not eat and has been force fed since 10months. Surprise surprise he refused everything. It was actually dad's frustration that had him stop a week ago, and in the past week the boy has started to explore food. Nibbled on a chicken nugget happily for quite a while, and drinking some milk in a straw cup, when I was there. Parents are happy to wait and see how his interest picks up.
Two other mothers rang with updates and they are doing well.
I then used my Office works gift card to buy something to be a workbook for the Seminar I am planning on March 11th. I had thought of doing ring binding but the costs are not worth it, but found some plastic folder with a corner piece to keep the papers in and some clips to create a file all for $1.10 pp.

On the way out I was admiring the gum trees in the car park and decided to take a picture.

Thursday

 I had Yacht club committee meeting last night, and on the drive home I attempted unsuccessfully to take a photo of the city from a moving / pausing car on the freeway! There was a full moon and the view of that with the city lights on buildings was lovely.

However I did get a picture of the sky over Station Pier and West Gate Bridge. With Newport Power Station Chimney as well!

Back at Work

I started back at work on Monday and as expected faced a barrage of referrals. Lots of 'thank god you're here!" made me feel good. (but no comic routine needed (Aussie TV) ). We have had a few babies in with hard to diagnose things. Not the same symptoms just sickish babies 9-11 weeks old who  are a bit of a mystery. Had a few parents down affected by the Northern Victoria floods, in that they couldn't drive and baby came by air ambulance or they can't get home yet.  It is not as bad as Queensland in terms of area but some towns completely cut off, Kerang today, and rivers still at peak flood levels.

One of my gorgeous patients

The next few days were just as busy  I had a family with twins. One had been very sick and was not starting to feed again so i had been up to see them 2-3 times a day so that kept breaking into any thing else i was asked about. Managed to meet all demands so that was good. 

But really tired at end of day and sleep haunted by nightmares each night Never really remember them next day but were about work in some vague type of relationship. Hope to catch up on some sleep this weekend

 RMIT is renowned for it's arty facade in middle of the city

My god daughter Michelle (2 Ls) is starting fashion design at RMIT (very hard to get in to) so she is going to board with me this year. As Celia is coming home a few times this year, she (Michelle)  will probably use the rooms in the Bungalow, a good retreat for her, but when I went to look at it the other day I realize that this will be De-Clutter Goal number 2!!!
The rains and humidity has stopped here and we now have some summer days sunny and 29 welcome as the Australian tennis has started.

Hope to get in some outdoor walks in at the weekend

Exhibition 1

The rain has stopped and it's a sunny day so i decided to look at the first of my Exhibition goals.
I made use of my new MYKI free weekend travel card and went by train. I went to park behind the station and took the first, not second Road and ended up at the rear of the station, but there were 7-8 free parks there right at the door. So my lucky day. 

View of Art Centre Spire from 3rd floor of Fed Square gallery

I decided to go to the Ian Potter Gallery at Fed Square just opposite the station and see the Exhibition called The naked face Self portraits  

The portraits were all from the existing collections, and displayed in themes exploring the potential for self-portraits to re-evaluate identity. They were set in different themes of self examination, self identity and self expression  or the artist’s sense of self through identification with symbolic myth and narrative. Yet depicting the self can also be a way of camouflaging or protecting the self. Works by Clemente, Close and Sherman show how a self-portrait can act as a mask, asserting a surface or public persona and implying hidden depths.

It was the portrait of Andy Warhol with costumes by Zandra Rhodes and Coco Chanel that made me think of how one's personality can be portrayed by how we dress or other ways we express ourselves. 
It also raised the thought about how we see a photo of ourselves as "not a good shot". We obviously look like that but prefer to think we look different. 
Digital Cameras are great as we can immediately delete the 'wrong' ones!
I then looked at photos of myself that are all different and wonder what it is about each that makes me prefer one over the other.

I like this photo as I loved my red hair then!

This I feel makes me look fat, pasty and squinty! All of which I am in the picture.

This is my favourite of recent times

I am not so keen on this, but on examination I look much like the previous one.

 

As they say it is all in the eye of the beholder!!
 

Goal 11 Clear clutter

While getting things together to go to Balwyn for some Private practice today, I realised that the stuff for my business was a 'clutter item" nothing together and often can't find something.
So the goal was to create a business workspace and clear the clutter. (and it's not in Celia's room!!)

Imac and dresser filing!

 The Imac is on a  small work table so not really room there for more and it needs to stay in the dining room as that is where the phone jack is. But as you can see I have been utilising the dresser top as a filing table

Stationery on the dining room bookshelf

Booklets and clothes etc for recycling in bedroom corner.

 I use my laptop case to carry and keep things but this is not actually a practical 'desk'. It is still humid so I got very hot moving things but the end result is very pleasing.

All set up in my bedroom with a covered spot for Spencer!

Note the coffee mug a gift from Kate & Nick with Mitroshka dolls like on my Business cards!
The red box now holds my Feeding Issues Booklet that I wrote.

I realise as I write this (on the Imac not the laptop) that I could move the wireless printer in there, so it is out of the dining room, and it is my lap top that is linked to it.

Another clutter item (as in wasteful) was that with the increase in use of my mobile phone for work, my Plan was not suited. My usual  bill was $20-30, but since August when I started it has gone to $100, $170 and this month with use overseas $200.
So I went and got a new plan.. but not an IPhone yet! a Cap of $49. (for $400 of calls) and 1GB of downloads.
One Goal well done!!

Queensland rain

It dawned on 4 of us at the same time that where Eric and Char live, Esk, is inland from Brisbane and are probably affected by the flood.
So Bridie, Celia Tony and I (and this morning Andrew range me to ask what was happening) all contacted him.
The previous reports I had heard once I got home, I was unclear where it was all happening.
 In fact 75% of Queensland has been declared a disaster area. As a news commentator in England said "the size of France and Germany together!! and only 200,000 people!" Not sure that he got the figure right. I think teh 200,000 was atown.

The property is fairly big and has a creek at the edge of it.
Rick said that a local had built, with Council approval, a dam on the creek.
On Tuesday that burst, and they had a flash flood that swept up to the house and under it, then receded in about 30minutes. Taking all their fences, irrigation and all the plants he had put in in the last 6 months.
The street of Esk is knee deep but receding.

Esk is near the  Wivenhoe Dam, built across the Brisbane River that creates the artificial Lake Wivenhoe. The dam is located about 80 kilometres by road from the centre ofBrisbane and was built in response to the 1974 Brisbane Flood, as well as to provide water storage for South East Queensland

This photo was from a blog of "365days of photos" (http://surpliceofphotography.blogspot.com)

A comment under it dated Jan 11th
Hazard a guess that you haven't gone back for more photos today!? Today it's at 175.9% capacity and rising! That's a lot of water... Highest on record in the Wivenhoe by the looks of it. 
 I'm not sure how it is coping but it was releasing water in October.

Pom Pom Down..almost

Not sure if it was a coincidence, but Spencer came pushing at me about 830 and I presumed he had run out of water.
Not really likely as it has been raining all day (yesterday too) and there is water collecting everywhere. But when I went out a big branch of the Pom Pom tree had come down right over my rose at the edge of the verandah. It was OK at 630pm.

The main branch down

I think the weight of water in the dead blossoms that are still on the tree, just weighed it down. It has been hanging low the last week.

The bits I initially cut off to clear the rose

 I wanted to get it off the rose, but I couldn't get at the spot the bough had broken and peeled back the bark on the trunk. But I got the saw out and cut 3-4 branches to clear the rose (hardy thing will survive!) and cut  a few more.
Then while I was already hot and sweaty  I decided I would clear a bit of the leaves in the gutter at the wall back of the toilet, where water was rushing down from the gutter.
No mishaps except this was all done in the rain.

I cut some more to try and balance the tree Now a clearer view through it.

It has been warm and muggy all day (Thursday was 97% humidity. Fortunately only 28degrees!) and as I cut the branches and they came down I had a heavy shower of water --warmish! By the time I came in I had to strip and dry my hair.

11 Goals for 2011

For my stay in Japan I had planned 60 Days of Celebration. 30 before and 30 after my 60th birthday. I started  my daily blog with a fact of something I loved about Japan. 

I did not finish this as I came home only 7 days after my birthday. But Celia has the idea to do something similar. 

She is planning on things in the 60's before her 60th birthday in 2012.
In similar vein I thought I would plan 11 groups of things to do in 2011
So I have come up with 11 actions (looked up Action verbs on google!)
Decided on:-

 

READ 11 Non fiction books

VISIT 11 ART EXHIBITIONS 

CREATE 11 CRAFT ITEMS

 WRITE 11 LETTERS BY HAND!

PLANT 11 NEW VEGETABLES OR HERBS IN THE NEW GARDEN 

 

FIND 11 NEW PLACES IN MELBOURNE

MAKE 11 DISHES I HAVE NOT ATTEMPTED BEFORE  A LA JULIA & JULIA

WALK in 11 PARKS IN MELBOURNE

aruku
歩く

LEARN 11 NEW JAPANESE VERBS

COLLECT 11 GLASS CANDLE HOLDERS

CLEAR 11 ITEMS OF CLUTTER

The challenge will be to record it and to keep up! That's at least 1 of each group each month.

Will keep me busy!

Better go and get started with some clutter!