The avalanche of wardrobe photos threatened to overwhelm me and any readers into a boring trance of white walls and glass doors in various stages of construction so I elected to post just the single shot, which sums up the appeal of the new additions. Dozens and dozens of tired old shoeboxes were broken down to an essential end piece with shoe details listed, to be placed behind the pair of shoes as a tiny piece of nostalgia. The shoes are encased in their new abode, all shiny, dry and warm and at their owners beck and call, being able to be plucked from their shelving at a moment's notice. The owner is happy!
We've been happy with the new additions, and still plan to embark on some further renovations but inertia has become our drug, and it's quite addictive! There's a great appeal in delaying decisions till tomorrow because we can, but we'll have to shake ourselves into action pretty soon. We've become exasperatedly "busy doing very little" and the old adage of "posting a letter" being seen as a day's work, not to be added to lest we become overworked and overtired, has become less of a joke and more of a reality!
We have luxuriated in that most decadent of pastimes, the long lunch on a weekday through the working week, a few times lately, however! Sister Sue's birthday gave us an excuse to visit the always wonderful Paymaster's Café on the harbour foreshore where we wined and dined ourselves into a pleasant state of satiation! Chris had a birthday as well, giving us further excuses for meals out and he requested Mexican as his preferred cuisine. After a little research we identified Antojito's as the hippest, coolest, top-rated new Mexican in town with the added bonus that it was just a hop, skip and jump away from their place. It turned out to be a great choice for food quality and freshness but maybe we were a bit ambitious in terms of hip and cool. It was crazily popular, full of young trendies so fresh and vibrant and lining up down the footpath to get in! The kitchen was a re-used cool room plonked in the middle of a concrete warehouse and the meals and drinks were ordered at a central serving hub then delivered to the table all packed up for takeaway! We were way overdressed as the décor was more distressed industrial than fine dining, all shabby chic, peeling paint on stained concrete and mis-matched Formica and Laminex: nevertheless we had a great time!
Hamilton has been a destination a few times too, and Jen and Vince invited us to a lunch at the revamped hotel round the corner from their place, The Exchange. It was lovely that Ellen could join us before wandering back to the train station en-route back home to Sydney and work after we enjoyed lunch together. The veranda was a perfect venue on a sunny afternoon that broke through what had been days of intermittent cloud and rain. Vince's painting marathon had taken a few hits from the inclement weather! Just today, we met up again with Chris and Val at one of our favourite old haunts, The Northern Star Café. This place never disappoints and the go-to veal dishes of different types are consistently delicious and of a first class quality.
On a whim last week, we dropped in to Scratchley's for a lunch, and were lucky to get in for yet another seafood feast with the working harbour seemingly almost dining with us. The floor to ceiling windows were opened fully to the grunting tugs and sleek giant bulk carriers, who stealthily crept by our dining space, overshadowed us briefly, then headed up the harbour to have their own hungry bellies loaded with coal.
There's a theme developing here! Our final fine eating experience was last Saturday's "gourmet vegetarian hamper for two" which we ordered to accompany the incomparable and undiminished Midnight Oil, who presented the Makarrata Project. The Oils collaboration with First Nation's songwriters and performers highlights indigenous issues and struggles bringing them to the attention of a wider audience. Their own quality and extensive back catalogue of work illuminating these issues along with catchy and thoughtful contemporary works made for a truly memorable show. After so many years in the "Taipei wilderness" in terms of rock concerts of Australian bands, we despaired of seeing our aging favourites ever again: it was pretty emotional when they blasted onto the stage with the iconic "Read About It"! After catching the coach up to Hope Valley Estate, grazing on our hamper delights and drinking Hope Estate basalt shiraz, the Peter Pans of Aussie rock presented a magnificent and memorable show!
We're off to Sydney for four days next week after a thwarted attempt to book at Uluru, we're doing our daily walk in weather great and "squall", Mum's out of hospital tomorrow after a recent fall, and the Knights have played and won their first game of the season....what's not to like?!!
I'm reading the first of Benjamin Black's (John Banville of "Snow" fame's non-de-plume) "Quirke" novels: it's called "Christine Falls" and follows Quirke, who is a pathologist in London in the 1950s. Cass is reading the book I read before this current one, the quirky, different and compelling novel by Swedish author Hakan Nesser, called " The Secret Life of Mr. Roos". It's a classic!