I've inherited Jess and Sean's beloved 60s sofa.  Bella approves!

The invasion.

I think I must be a cat magnet.  In the past week I've had two feline visitors - a tabby tomcat and a little black girl kitten.  The kitten ran away before I could get my camera, but the tomcat graciously posed for me, while my own Bella hid under the car, glowering.

Kit.

I'm all about my cat, these days.

Vintage kitty.

Such a cute, funny, fluffy cat!

As seen on WellMedicated, via far out brussel sprout.

Happy happy birthday!

I realised today that I'd missed my blog's first birthday!

What a year it's been.

I've travelled to Europe for the first (but not the last!) time.

I've discovered a love and talent for photography and participated in my first exhibition.

I've adopted a cat.

I've seen some awesome bands.

I've met some lovely new friends.

I've cooked and eaten some yummy food!

Though not 100 percent yet, I've come out the other side from an incredibly intense, debilitating period of depression and grieving that's consumed me for most of the past twelve months. I'm now medication-free and starting to look forward and enjoy living again. It's pretty exciting!

The next year is going to bring some interesting things too, I think. Hopefully this time next year I'll have finally finished my degree. I want to keep developing my photography, and participate in a few more shows, and start getting my name out there. I want to take a holiday to somewhere tropical and warm where I can lie on the beach and drink cocktails from coconuts! I want to keep meeting new people, and listening to new music, and discovering new places to eat.

I want to find that special someone, too, but one of the things that this past year has taught me is that I have to be happy with myself before I can even begin to think about being happy with someone else. I've still got some work to do yet!

Thanks for reading this past year.. here's to the next one!

Liz xoxo

Caught in the act!

My cat, Bella, tries to pretend she's cool. Aloof. Doesn't need humans, not she.

This morning, though, I came home from the milk bar and found her deep in conversation with the toddler from a couple of houses down. Totally stretched out on the pavement, while he gently patted her head and babbled to her. As soon as she saw me, though, she jumped up and ran back into the house, totally embarrassed to be caught out!

Then, later, I heard some funny scuffling noises. I quickly grabbed my camera in time to catch her red-pawed in my craft basket.

The evidence:


Proof that even the most stand-offish of felines turn into, well, pussy-cats in the presence of babies and raspberry-red yarn.

E xo

Bella.

The past week has been a bit dramatic! Poor Bella has been in the wars - a bite from another cat developed into a nasty abscess which was operated on on Friday. She's coping well and the vets are pleased with how she's healing.



The only tricky bit is giving her antibiotics - it's normally a two-person job but because I have to get up so early every morning I have to do it myself! I've become very adept at wrapping her in a towel, pinning her to the floor and shoving pills down her throat twice a day.

Here she is with her new sockette friend, Stripes.



xox

I'm staying up late for a secret mission at approximately 0305 hours, so I'm cleaning my house and wasting time on the internet. Here's a cute thing I stole from Pip of Meet Me At Mike's.

This past week, here's what I've been...

Making: owl mittens.
Cooking: chocolate and almond torte for my mother's 50th birthday celebrations on Sunday.
Drinking: rotgut red wine with a new friend, and Cascade Green with an old friend.
Reading: Cafe Europa by Slavenka Drakulić - a series of essays on life in post-Communist Eastern Europe.
Wanting: a holiday.
Looking: at the pretty night sky in the street behind my house.
Playing: McDonald's Monopoly with my housemate.
Wasting: time sweating the small stuff.
Sewing: a missing button onto my work shirt.
Wishing: and hopin', Dusty Springfield style.
Waiting: to buy my own copy of Love Of Diagrams' new album Nowhere Forever.
Wondering: where the twists and turns of the past week's romantickal events are going to lead.
Loving: the photos of my friend Tim with a huge snake draped around his neck.
Hoping: I get into art school next year.
Marvelling: at the little things that tell me spring's JUST around the corner.
Needing: a small practise design in preparation for my big project that I'll be beginning soon.
Smelling: my cocoa-butter moisturiser. Yum!
Wearing: clothes from Australia, Brazil, Korea and Italy.
Following: Mamma Spaghetti on Twitter. She's hilarious!
Noticing: the snuffles that my cat is making right now in her sleep.
Knowing: that everything will be okay.
Thinking: about what I can say on the radio at 3 in the morning that will make any kind of sense.
Bookmarking: this recipe for dill pickles. About the only thing cucumbers are good for, in my opinion!
Giggling: with my BFF this afternoon.
Feeling: a bit ordinary, but enjoying the small details.

Ball games.

In my List of Fun Things, putting my cat into a confined space with a ball is definitely in my Top Ten.

Sorry...

Here's the reason I haven't updated this week:



Meet the newest member of my household, Bella!

xxx

Go panda go!

Not much interesting has been happening lately. Sorry for the lack of blogging! I really wanted to be able to post every day, but I didn't want this thing to become an "I did this and then I did this" type of blog - boring!

So instead, here is a roly-poly panda:


(isn't he cute! Apologies to Miss A. H. Cayley for stealing her idea..)

Ooh, so in attempt to spice up this post, I just went around the house and took some photos of things I like. Maybe you'll find something you like too!

#1: yellow tights.

This is what I'm wearing today. The pink shirt is a Love Of Diagrams tee, and the shoes are Docs that I'm trying to break in. They're beating me so far, but I am determined!

#2: silk scarves.

One of the easiest ways to add a splash of colour to your Melbourne black is with one of these babies knotted casually around your neck. Mine are all from various op shops and vintage stores, except for the skinny arlecchino one, which is from Gorman.

#3: my window menagerie, plus teapot.

Some little things I've collected over the years. Here there are in more detail:


My friend Preethi gave me this cat money-box as a housewarming gift when I moved into my last house, in Thornbury. I've never put any money in it, though.


A pig from Vanuatu, and Three Wise Monkeys from Botswana, both gifts from my parents from various overseas trips. Take note, potential suitors - this pig is my dowry, as is traditional in Vanuatu. Form an orderly queue, now.


Half a tiki, from New Zealand. My dad brought this back years ago - it used to scare me a bit.


An elephant from South Africa, and a teapot from Savers in Greensborough. Isn't it funny how teapots and elephants are similarly-shaped?

#4: vanilla tea.

My very wonderful and talented friend Pip sent this to me from Tasmania. Aren't I lucky!

(also note my baby-blue kettle!)

(psst.. Pip! I've nearly run out!)

#5: dictionary.

This Chambers dictionary was a 21st birthday gift from my grandmother, who thinks every home should have one. It's definitely one of the most useful gifts I've ever received - it gets used on an almost-daily basis. Ask me a word - any word - and I bet you $10 it's in there.

#5: organised clutter.

This is a recurrent theme throughout my house. My mother will scoff when she reads this ("Ha! There's no such thing as 'organised clutter'!"), but I swear I know where everything is, except when someone else has moved it. In this example, you will see (from left to right):

A Vancouver moose, brought back from Canada by my mother, my film camera, Bear (who was a gift from my first love), my zoom lens, a mint-green clock from an antique store in Hamilton, a robot birthday card which I was supposed to send to my father for his birthday almost a month ago, a Butch Vig drumstick, a Glomesh purse that belonged to my grandmother, and a couple of candles brought back from Malaysia by my father.

Phew!

Night cats.

One of the things I love about my suburb is that at night, all the neighbourhood cats come out to play.



I encounted this one just before on my way home from the tram stop - it didn't want to sit still to pose for the camera!



Like my shiny golden shoes?