Arthur's Seat ... oh for godsakes ... surely this is the end now???!!!

Ok ... yes yes yes enough already .... I know ...

 

But we really had a great time ... so even though there were days like these:

 

 

For the most part we were rugged up and cosy looking out on breathtaking views:

lounge room

 

bedroom

 

 

backyard and balconey

And if you are ever up on the hill and stuck for a place to go eat .. head to the Pig and the Whistle on Purves road ... reasonably cheap and good fare ... great vibe ... massive outdoor are out front for summer libations!!

 

 

Arthur's Seat Pt 3 - Of trash and treasure

Ok ... so what else did we discover on our away day - the Tyabb packing house:

 
Near the train station this area seemingly went on for miles ... jam packed full of crap that surely is someone's treasure somewhere ... you could literally spend days here ... it certainly is worth a visit.

I nearly died when I turned the corner and discovered the rows of books ...

 
And just before closing time we stumbled on the Art Deco section ... will certainly have to come back and look at these at leisure ...

 
There's a whole bunch of antique themed stores along the Tyabb road ... including the Mornington Antique centre which follows the same format as the Tyabb packing house but perhaps a little less organised and, believe it or not, a little more full of crap ... you have to be patient at this one but I'm sure there are gems waiting for the persevering ... we, and by that I mean M, scored a standing lamp with a simple base that we both agreed was really cool ... shame about the shade ... but that can always be changed ... it does kinda of fit though ...

Oh and as about PC as a golliwog ... but we were very tempted by this stone statue for the garden ... but we decided that $120 was just a little too much ...

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Comments:

Temasek wrote:

 

well that can be easily remedied ... you know what to do!

29 July

dan cope wrote:

 

oh man. soo jealous. x

28 July

Arthur's Seat Pt 2 - of prime ministerial and military matters

Ok ... M has always wanted to go to Point Nepean ... he can remember a time when it was one of those childhood mysteries .... no one was allowed transverse this hallowed military ground ... what were they up to over there? Was it purely defence? What about all those quarantine shacks? ... and of course it gained further notoriety with Harold Holt's supposed drowning ... ooh more conspiracy aaah!!

 

Anyhoo, let me just say it was Freeeeeezzzing !!! But we had fun combing through the underground bunkers and looking at the dissappearing gun and the amazing vantage points the soldiers would have had. I took some amazing shots ... well they are to me ... and of course a foot photo to commemorate the occasion ...

 

 

I was desperately trying to psyche out some semblance of paranormal activity ... but nothing ... I don't think I'm open to these sorts of things. You can actually walk the length and breadth of Point Nepean, it does narrow down considerably at one stretch. There are areas that are off limits as there is still unexploded ammunition lurking in the undergrowth. They are slowly picking their way through and making it safe. You can also pay extra and take the transporter which takes you to 4 different designated stop points. We took it right to the very end before alighting and having a wander:

 

I'm really not au fait with all that militaristic stuff so I was more interested in camera angles and unusually framed shots (I know ... I am seriously deluded), but I do love tunnnels and bunkers ... there's something seriously sexy about these spaces ... (and yes I am thinking of the floor manager again as I type this)

 

 

and the bauhaus brutalist elements are quite cool ...

 

 

and of course there is always time for an action shot:

 

 

I'm not jumping out of my skin raving about this ... but it is something to do and the area is seeped in historical relevance and the beauty in its remoteness is stunning.

 

 

Arthur's Seat Pt 1

Ok ... lets start with whats important ... FOOD!!

I know I've crapped on about Merricks before but there's just something about the place that is so welcoming and also I'm oddly attracted to the floor manager (ssh ... secret squirrel!). I could spend a whole day there .. hell I could live there!! And the food of course is the main attraction.

We arrived on the Peninsula at about 1.30-ish, rather than taking the wiggly road up Arthur's seat, we came in from the Red Hill end ... much more civilised but a little lest picturesque. After opening up the house, dumping our bags and taking in the view ... we headed down to Merricks for lunch.

We generally don't go in for big lunches, but after seeing what was on offer, we decided to make a meal out of it. So M went for a Lamb and Rosemary pot pie which was served with a creamy celeriac mush (no that is not a spelling mistake or misused word!!). He was terribly excited about the roasted parsnip that this was served with (he fair wet his pants ... the man and his root vegetables ... I dunno!!!). A pot pie is perfect for a sunny wintry afternoon, its homey and its comfy and when you first cut into the crust to reveal the hot steaming creaminess underneath ... HEA-ven!!

I went all Masterchef-y and ordered Pork Belly with scallops. Negotiating the layer of pork crackling was a little tricky at the start, but once I managed to break it down into pieces and had my first mouthful I thought I was going to come right then and there (don't pretend you haven't had the same feeling before) ... of course I also had my eye on said floor manager.

Accompanying all this yummy goodness was a glass of previously mentioned 2007 Queasy Rageous and a glass of Baillieu Vineyard 2006 Shiraz.

 
Now Merricks is not really big on sweets, but what they do do they do so well (heh!). So we opted for some kind of pistachio ricotta mess ... it needed the cream but it was scrumptious!
 

Oops ... twisted sister took this photo .. sorry!

Arthur's Seat - Epilogue

Ok ... I fucking want a holiday house peoples!!!

I took 2 days off and we spent 2 blissful wintry nights at Arthur's Seat courtesy again of A & R's generosity.

And of course we went to Merricks and pretty much blew our wine budget on a case of Queasy Rangeous (well its actually Quealy Rageous but you would fell queasy too if you saw the price tag on the case we bought) Sangiovese/Shiraz/Pinot Noir/Merlot blend. So no further trips to wineries, we did however discover the delights of Antique (read crap) shopping along thee Tyabb road - but more of that later as this is just a prelude - but here's something to tantalize:

 

 

And I have to say that music is starting to get very very interesting - cue Florence and the Machine, Bibio, Dirty Projectors, Sunset Rubdown and Deastro. Will fill you in shortly (no not like that!!)

Of Rogues and sneakthieves - rogue anti-virus software

Ok ... so we were hit by some kind of rogue anti-virus software ... and hit Baaad!! It basically shut down our internet connection and as we later found out registered a password change with our ISP!! (it changed a single letter of our password - Bastards!!)

 

But we have learnt that the IT support of our ISP comes in two flavours:

 

(i) Useless

(ii) Not as useless

 

AND!! Still no sign of ADSL2 capability i our street!!!! The damn cable must be snaking round the whole of the western suburbs before it reaches us!!

 

 

Of Cutlery and Pencils - when artistic leanings cannot be forced

Ok ... I had an entry sitting in draft from when we went to the John Brack's exhibition at the NGV recently. Rather than try and show off about how artisitically savvy I am when in actual truth I just love the pretty pictures, I have decided to reveal a humble poem that I have also kept in draft which is both an apology and a warning to those who happen to stray onto the pages of this blog, accompanied of course by some lovely Photos from google of John Bracks paintings:

 

Here goes.

 

 

Apologies for naught and scroggin’

Time to rub the faithful noggin

waving goodbye as it slams the screed door

A dust mite quivers then shivers some more

Its time to quit this lazy bitch

For better climes and lives enriched

With information pure and true

Comedic turns and maudlin hues

 

Sometimes yellow, sometimes blue

And sometimes masticated poo

In short, a fun time to be had by all,

Pray by this blog you never stall

Big Screen Madness

Ok ... going from this:

Back to this:

Is like driving without power steering, and then driving with power steering, and then going back to driving without power steering

 

Me Sad ... but I did do a good deed as a result ... so props to me .. yay!!

Sucked in!!

Ok ... so I admit it ... I was Sucked in by this whole 90 mill "lets throw our money away but you have to be in it to win it" lotto frenzy that has gripped the nation!! Suffice it to say I am typing this at my desk which means one thing and one thing only ....!! My life is E-XAC-TLY the same as it was pre the 8.30 Tuesday draw as it is now.

 

It would have been great to have some good news as I am feeling a little Sowwy for myself!! This does occasionally happen in our makeshift Barbie dreamhouse of a life ...  after all you can never be too happy all the time ... there has to be a few face-shovel-hit moments to make you appreciate the rainbow farts in between ...

 

Suffice it to say, the lack of updates is symptomatic of the general self-pitying malaise that has shrouded proceedings of late ... so it is now time for some random point form updates just so we can all keep abreast until the next earth-shattering event comes smack on round the corner:

 

(i) Apologies first to P - sorry to have dumped my mess on you at drinks yesterday - thank you for being so supportive despite trying to shush me at one point

(ii) Finally met D's new bf C!! Lovely. We worked out that we hadn't seen each other since last year - which is too fucking long!! I miss you very much D.

(iii) I'm still hating on the little people I'm afraid!!

(iv) Loving the new Gossip and Bibio CDs - have decided to buy the next round of EMI Radiohead re-packages for the b-sides - looking forward to scoring the new La Roux release.

(v) We have decided on some French Doors for the house - YAY!! We should have them installed in about  a month's time if all goes well.

(vi) Spent Sunday arvo measuring up the spare room for shelving - trying to decide how we can configure it all in order to fit the space - the aerobed is currently on special which is great timing.

(vii) Bumped into L who we haven't seen for more than 4 years - he is still the same!! I think his squeals of recognition could have been heard the length of Bridge road

(viii) Hector's burgers are still the same - yummy!!

 

Oh and we're off to Arthur's seat at the end of this week - Merricks here we come!!!

 

(you know what - things aren't so bad after all!)

Baby got back!!

Ok ... since everyone's popping one out I might as well buy into this mess. And since we currently have Japanese visitors, this is absolutely the kinda thing that goes down well in the land of the rising sun ... so everyone lets shout out together ... KAWAII!!