seen up the street from me, just near shepherd St.
so did they steal the milk crates? is it a reference to the stolen generation? or did they steal the idea?
if you're visiting the carriageworks for the markets etc then stroll east along Wilson and check it out.
it reminds me of the crate man seen around Melbourne.

After 3 days of rambling in Kowloon and the islands we hit Macau. We scored a sweet deal at the 5star Sofitel at AUD$140 per night and put our feet up. From the TV in the bath to the L'Occitane toiletries with was fun to live it up a little. We caught up on the Sydney duststorms via BBC World/CCN/Australia TV. The view from our 20th floor room over the old quarter to the dazzling, gaudy casinos was astonishing (proper pix of that and more of Macau to come).

Poolside we were brought plush towels, chilled hand towels for our face and bottles of water.

The place was mostly empty with any other guests no doubt in the smoked filled casino. Macau is the only place where one can legally gamble in China and the casino industry there has exploded. We didn't go there for that, for us it was to explore the Portuguese colonial influences, the custard tarts and the cuisine.

So for the last 4yrs Mr Blue-Eyes has scored himself a sweet support gig for a roaming international conference. In past years it has been held in Sydney, Boston, Vienna and this year Hong Kong.

Where possible we tack on a holiday, last year we did Italy & Corsica as our honeymoon and this year i went over for 8 days in HK and 2 days Macau.

HK was astonishing in its scale and efficiency. My first thought when walking out into a Kowloon evening (30c+/60% humidity) was that it is just like Chinatown at home but bigger :)

We did 3 days based in Kowloon with day trips to Chung Chua island and Lantau Island. Breakfasting on pork buns, getting lost in the streets of Mong Kok and barhopping at night in Soho.

Mr Blue-Eyes is the cameraman in these parts with his Canon 40D and 5 lenses so the pix you'll see from me to start with are the happy snaps on the iphone when he couldn't be bothered hauling the beast about.

Rest assured he did get it about and is in the process of culling and grading approx 1000 images which you'll see the best of over the next week or so.

We stayed around the corner from the Temple St Night Markets, a buzzing market of knockoffs and trinkets fresh from China interspersed with clusters of openair dining establishments.

Beer was essential in the steamy nights and cheap too, about AUD$2.40 for 1litre.

And all beered up and full of amazing spring rolls and spicy prawns.

I've had a bit of time on my hands recently but it has still taken me a while to actually do something crafty with my time.
Miss Cath gave me the Meet Me At Mike's book of crafty things to do which i have used to help me with my knitting but i hadn't quite got much further than that.
I used to work with a Sussie of Sweden who was quite the sewer and when she returned to Sweden she donated her fabric stash to me (and to a BrownOwls stash swap). Part of her stash is a number of metres of quirky vintage paisleys, 2 of which complemented each other very nicely.
I figured the 'Cute as a button vintage clutch' project wasn't too daunting and I'd have something useful at the end of it too.
Plus I'm a long time reader of Kara Smith's blog and was inspired by her fab bags and clutches to have a go.

Well i've had this on the go for a couple of weeks, I have fear of cutting so it can take a while fo rme ot work up to that. Then i stumbled on the iron-on interfacing step as what i thought was iron-on wasn't. BrownOwls to the rescue with the suggesting to use spray adhesive to attach that to the material.
A few more stumbles with the sewing machine not playing nice, Mr Blue-eyes is the machine expert around here so i had to twiddle knobs until it came good.
So today i had no more excuses, I'd finished the book i was reading, read all my blogs for the day, applied for a few jobs and checked the mail.

The pattern suggests using a button and snap closure but i have metres of mauve/blue snap-button tape in my stash that i'e been saving for just this sort of project. However i had no real idea how to actually use it, hence the sort of wonky attachment below.
I possibly could have ironed the seams flat along the way and i tend to be a bit of a free-flying kind of sewer but overall i think it turned out alright.
I certainly have enough of both materials to have another go at it or perhaps make a matching tote....look out

As mentioned in my last post, I now have a desk of my own for the first time in nearly 3yrs.
Furniture in our house is a much discussed and planned thing, least of all because if Mr Blue-eyes can make something better why would he buy something (therefore the majority of Ikea furniture is abhorrent to him).
Then the making itself is planned with CAD, the timber scoped and sourced, the steel checked and prototypes made.
What you see here is actually the 2nd incarnation and the drawers and storage at the top were debated endlessly. He welded the K frame, inserted the powerpoints and constructed it out of 12mm form ply.
We still have moments about how tidy my desk is but i figure it is my desk, my space and i'll run it as i need. Obviously it is looking most tidy in this pic, perhaps one day I'll show you my creative space in action.
Let it be know that i am most delighted that i can sit at a desk, with a desktop computer and type away as opposed to the laptop on the lounge passively surfing.

After some 3 years of not having a desk/work space and using a laptop on the lounge I now have a fab desk made for me by Mr Blue-eyes. I'll show pix and details of that in another post but in the meantime i needed some neat drawers to go under it for misc bits & bobs that i collect (hoard).After being dismayed by the prices at Doug Up On Bourke for industrial drawers, a bit of trawling on ebay delivered these steel/wooden drawers that durable and considerably more afforable. A bit plain but i had some ideas for that.

A facinating piece on how colour does affect us. Which makes me wonder how people who never wear colour see themselves and others. Bring on the colour I say and watch out when I'm wearing red. How colour twists your mind - 26 August 2009 - New Scientist

Shared via AddThis

A delightful interlude from Sesame magazine & one of my fave creative peeps, Beci Orpin where you get to colour in this cute folky girl.

Some much needed blog inspiration from Pip at Meet Me At Mikes

Making : a big to do list for when i'm not working
Cooking : Lean Cuisines, Mr Blue-Eyes is on night shift so just me for dinner
Drinking : Bickfords Iced Tea cordial
Reading: Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
Wanting: a new portable home phone
Looking: for a new job
Playing: solitaire on the train
Wasting: as little as possible
Sewing: a hole that tore in my top, that's what i get for spending $10...
Wishing: the next week would go really fast
Enjoying: the first hints of spring in the air
Waiting: for Mr Blue-Eyes to come home from work
Liking: the fruit toast with dates and poppy seeds from my local cafe
Wondering: where i am going
Loving: Mr Blue-Eyes and Bruno
Hoping: there is something for me around the corner
Marvelling: at sunrise yesterday morning
Needing: to wax my legs, now the weather is just that bit warmer...
Smelling: the jonquils
Wearing: my peter alexander camo pjs
Following: my heart
Noticing: that i'm starting to get muscles from my training sessions
Knowing: that sometimes i have to make the wrong choice to know the right one
Thinking: that i should do my tax soon
Feeling: better than i did a couple of weeks ago
Bookmarking: potential jobs
Opening: my latest issue of Frankie
Giggling: at 30Rock, yes finally i know
Feeling: dazed and confused

Things have been quiet around here on the blog front because I changed my work life and not for the best.
The details have been pretty stressful and I'm reassessing what i want to do, what i can do and what i'm willing to do.
To quote the cliche this experience has reinforced the idea of working to live not living to work as it has really felt like my life has been on hold for the last month and that is not how i want to live.
I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and am looking forward to having a life again.

I'll leave you with my winter/spring jonquils from the garden. The fragrance makes this season almost worthwhile.
In the meantime do check out my shared items above, i'm still managing to check the blogs and share my finds when i have a moment to breathe.