I'm covered in Bees!

Outrageous What?

2009-10-07T08:17:00.002+13:00

Wow! has it been a year already?

2009-09-18T19:52:00.005+12:00

No, not quite a year since I last posted, but instead it's been almost a year since I stood up in the science library, felt a wee 'pop' and all hell broke loose. What a steep learning curve - after that first unreal month spent in the hospital, to coming home to that 'oh-my-god-whatinthehelldoIdonow?' feeling. Well what have I done in the intervening year?

- given birth (well DUH!) and become a mum as a result - not perhaps the experience that I hoped it would but, but as awesome as it could be in the circumstances

- been introduced to REAL sleep deprivation (there's a reason it's used as a torture technique, that's for sure)

- successfully breastfed, thanks to the wonderful support of the NICU nurses and lactation consultants at Dunedin Hospital

- became way more intimate than I ever thought possible with poo, wee and other bodily excretions

- watched a tiny (they really are! gosh I was visiting my cousin with her 1-2 month old who was twice the size of Moe at birth and all I could think was, 'OMG he's so little!'), inert bundle develop into my current crawling dynamo cool dude of a son

- managed to use cloth nappies most of the time

- gone back to university and managed to maintain reasonably good grades

- gone back to work (part time student job, good money, hours that suit, choice!)

- sold my old house, bought a new one, moved

- watched my husband step up and excel as a daddy (thanks babe!)

- got my cooking mojo back (yay!)

- had a few glasses of wine here and there

- made some awesome new buddies in the outside and online world (you know you are guys, thanks!)

- produced a son that has the same impeccable sense of timing as his mum (chicken pox for your first birthday, anyone?)

- became, I think, a much more chilled out and accepting person than I was before I became a mummy, wow what a learning experience this is turning out to be.

Whew! That's all I can think of right now...okay what shall it be for the next year then.... any ideas?

Moe crawls!

2009-08-17T10:53:00.002+12:00

Moe says Da da

2009-06-10T20:52:00.002+12:00

Driving

2009-04-10T12:42:00.002+12:00

Sorry for the time since the last post - and i'm that finally getting off the couch merely to assault your ears with complaints about the inconveniences of driving New Zealand roads. Before I complain though, I must concur that SH1 between Dunedin and Chch has improved immensely with the addition of it seems like 50 odd passing lanes and a lot of road straightening in the past 10 years. However -
- whats up with the a$$hole sitting on my bumper when I was 3rd car behind a slow horse float, talking into his mobile phone while we were travelling at 100km an hour?
- why is it that truck drivers now have sorted their headlamps so that you aren't constantly dazzled by the oncoming traffic when driving in the dark, yet SUV drivers have stepped into the fold - I swear there were times I flicked my lights at people and they flicked theirs to show that, in fact, their lights were DIPPED!?!
- McDonalds - a family restaurant - ha! Try breast feeding in their 'comfortable' booths where there is only just enough space to squish yourself in and the baby on your lap, and teenage boys in the next booth laughing and hitting the walls rhythmically.

Rightho! - that is all... (More cute baby photos to come)

Lolbama

2009-01-23T18:15:00.001+13:00

I'm not sure who's responsible for this...
Originally uploaded by Kelly Sue

Resolving to do what...?

2009-01-14T08:44:00.002+13:00

So we're in a new year now - gosh the last has gone fast, it must be something to do with getting older (and popping out a sprog)... :)! We had a lovely holiday up north in Christchurch and Wellington for a couple of weeks, and Moe got to meet his extended whanau which was lovely. It's crazy to think that next Christmas he could be walking and even saying some words! Being away together gave us a chance to have a chill out, because there were some very helpful grandparents always happy to step in and take over watching Moe if we wanted a bit of a rest. I also got to meet and hang out with bloggy buddy Nikki which was awesome - I had had things that I wanted to discuss with her before we met up but after two hours hadn't even got onto them we had had so much to talk about anyway, lol! I came back feeling really relaxed. It's also crazy how much of a difference two and a half weeks make - Moe changed so much in that time, but also I feel like I have become more chilled out about how to look after him and how to organize myself around him and him around me and Phil.
Have made some quasi New Year resolutions, mostly around spending and money. We investigated the possibility of selling our place before we left as it is most definitely on the small side for 2 new parents and a baby (and will be even smaller once we have a toddler). Before Xmas I was really really craving a bigger kitchen, and somewhere to put a dining table, and freaking out at our backyard of death (big naasty drops onto concrete and random steps). Unfortunately, due to the wee prob of the current financial crisis, the banks have become tighter than ducks butts, and the market has dropped meaning if we were to sell, we wouldn't get a hell of a lot more than what we paid for this place :(. The mortgage broker we use does reckon she could swing something for us but it would only be worth the risk if we found the perfect place. I've come up with all kinds of hairbrained schemes that would involve the same result - doing a house swap, selling our place and housesitting for a year or two - all of which are VERY unlikely in a town like Dunners (and with a small child and cat in tow). So we're just going to have to sit tight until the market recovers and we have more $$ saved :(.
So I turned my focus on our budgeting and come up with some ideas to help our crappy financial situation. I did a big reorganise of my pantry in the weekend. Our vege garden is in full swing so I have made a resolution that I am not going to do the grocery shopping next fortnight. Instead, I am going to try and use up all the tins and packets of stuff in the pantry that are cluttering it up, so I can do a proper stock up when its a bit emptier. We have plenty of vege in the garden so all I'll have to buy is milk, eggs and some fruit. So lets see how that goes... more photos to follow but I have to go attend to Moe's needs now. Hope everyone had a lovely Xmas and New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

2008-12-22T09:07:00.001+13:00

Yay Moe Santa
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Well it's been quite a year. We're now on holiday (LOLZ! not for the next 18 years) and am enjoying time with the whanau.

Hope you have an enjoyable festive season, good luck for the year ahead - see you next year!

Moe

2008-12-19T05:19:00.001+13:00

Moe chillin'
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

In 12 weeks he has:
Gained 2.5kg (5lb 10oz)
Grown 11.5cm in length
Has his noggin grow by 6 cm
Stolen his mummy and daddy's hearts with a smile....

Moe at 12 weeks

2008-12-17T17:48:00.002+13:00

Moe at 12 weeks
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

An atheists Christmas Song

2008-12-14T12:42:00.001+13:00

Milestones

2008-11-22T12:13:00.001+13:00

Moe & Phil - 2 months
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Here's Moe and Phil - look at Moe holding his head up! And Daddy does look pleased... and yesterday whilst having a wriggle on his tummy, Moe managed to roll himself over onto his back :). We also had a sleep through on Thursday night from around 10pm to 5am! It was bliss other than I woke at 4am, looked at the time, then couldn't get back to sleep until he woke at 5. Oh well, it was nice to have around 5 hours uninterrupted sleep anyway.

2008-11-22T12:09:00.001+13:00

Moes Feet - 2 months
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

He has such lovely feet! Awwwwwwww....

Moe's first 7 weeks...

2008-11-12T20:08:00.001+13:00

Daddy about to trim my umbilical cord
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

At the behest of a few friends, here's some photo goodness for all you bloggy stalkers out there... thanks for the messages, I've been meaning to post about my experience - maybe in the next few days lol!

2008-11-12T20:07:00.001+13:00

Yes, actually, the sun does shine out of my a**
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:06:00.001+13:00

CPAP - helping me breathe on day one...
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

I had some breathing difficulties when I first came out, so this machine helped me breathe for a day in NICU

2008-11-12T20:05:00.001+13:00

Daddy and me
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:04:00.001+13:00

My first bath
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:03:00.003+13:00

My car seat test, NICU
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:03:00.001+13:00

Aunty B and me
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:02:00.003+13:00

ooooo sunshine, again
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:02:00.001+13:00

Grandad and me
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:01:00.003+13:00

Grandma and me
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:01:00.001+13:00

Thanks for the cool duds, Aunty B and Aunty C...
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

2008-11-12T20:00:00.001+13:00

Hmmm sunshine
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Hmmm sunshine

2008-11-12T19:59:00.001+13:00

What you lookin' at?
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

What you lookin' at?

Regular transmission to resume soon...

2008-10-03T11:51:00.002+13:00

Hi everyone, thanks for the nice comments. Just to let you know that I am still in hospital at present as Moses is in NICU due to his prematurity (born at 34 weeks, 6 days). He is doing really well and is getting bigger by the day, and doesn't require any monitoring. My wound (I had an emergency caesarean after an hour of fruitless pushing.. Moe was aligned a wee bit wrong so just wouldn't go through the hole!) is healing well and I am beginning to get out a bit more. The support at Dunedin Hospital has been great, but you do go a bit stir crazy after a while.

Anyhoo, just to let you know that I will post the full story sometime soon, probably when I finally get home with our fantastic wee boy. I will try and post some more photos soon, if you want to check out some in the meantime, just follow the link to Phil's blog on the right hand sidebar (Phil's photos from Dunedin).

cheers, better go get something to eat lol....

Mel

Ow ow ow.... not bees, but baby....

2008-09-15T20:42:00.004+12:00

Hmmm - 6 odd weeks to go, and gosh, I've already got an intimate relationship with Panadol going... How will I cope if I go over term (as is statistically likely)? Oh the joy of getting up 6 odd times a night (already... I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until after the birth) and having wee Bubba A regularly punching my left kidney and using my cervix and nearby organs as some kind of trampoline.

Despite being so uncomfortable, I still managed to find the energy to go slightly crazy in the weekend and decide that the washing machine needed to be thoroughly washed (including removal of the agitator and scrubbing of all the greasy crud underneath with a toothbrush). I even got excited about the geranium at the front door and spent some time this evening (ooo it has been so lovely and balmy here in Dunedin over the past few days) pruning it carefully. It is strange, going from moments when you almost totally forget that you are pregnant, to ones when you can barely move, to having your insides treated like the unlucky player at the bottom of the ruck. Perhaps this is what allows women to feel prepared for labour (light at the end of the tunnel and all that)?

Excitement tonight when I went to take a look at a blog I regularly peruse, Frugal Me to find a somewhat lengthy comment I posted a few nights ago had been featured on the blog! Hee hee, how nice!

Anyhoo, here's the latest photo, as well as a piccie of the lovely cake Mandy made for my baby shower. 33 weeks....

32 weeks and counting...

2008-09-01T19:26:00.001+12:00

Mel 32 weeks
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Hat

2008-08-27T21:12:00.002+12:00

Hat
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

I've been getting this impulse to do something with my hands. That, and the request that we take along something special that we have bought/been given/planned to the final antenatal class had me looking through my copy of Stitch n' Bitch to find something that I could have a go at knitting. This wee hat popped out (easy, cute, etc.) as an idea, so off I trotted to the knitting store to buy circular needles etc.

So here it is - my first attempt at knitting in ummmmm 15 years? It took far less time than I thought it would. Seeing as there seems to be a lot of people in my family alone that are popping out sproglets, I think I might be able to keep myself busy for the next wee while.

9 weeks to go today. I'm feeling BIG (more photos to come soon) and quite a few of the preggie clothes that I have been wearing for the past 14 weeks or so are even beginning to get tight! Went up to my parents place in the weekend as Mum organised a baby shower for us. A really lovely chance to see family. And mum ordered yummy cookies and cupcakes for the party which was awesome (I'm such a cupcake fiend!). One of our oldest family friends confided that in all her years, she had never actually been to a baby shower before! Everyone was really generous, which is such a great help (even using trade me, getting the basics is pretty expensive... though I must admit I am a sucker for slings etc in pretty fabrics).

My cousin N had her first baby in the weekend (on the other side of the world from here...). I got a few texts as her labour progressed (fantastically, she managed a 10 minute second stage of labour - I should be so lucky!), and then finally, a really neat message after she had taken her new baby girl, Emily, home, about how amazing she is.... I'm coming over all emotional now!

But seriously, the enormity of it all is beginning to sink in. I'm impatient to see what our little person is going to be and look like, but at the same time I guess a bit apprehensive about how things are going to go for the rest of the pregnancy and of course, during the labour. Our ante-natal classes are finished, and we're now seeing the midwife fortnightly. Baby A is apparently already standing on its head which is good. I like the feeling of knowing what it is that is actually poking and prodding me from the inside (I know where the legs and arms are now). So wish me luck!

Hmmm I wonder which side bubs is sitting on...?

2008-08-02T21:10:00.001+12:00

Mels belly lopsided 27 weeks.jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Movement is definitely being felt now - in fact at times it is positively uncomfortable (belly button area being esp sensitive). There is something strange about looking down and seeing half your belly sticking out further than the other side. There is still another week until we see the midwife again, so I'm counting down to be able to find what position the baby is in etc. That will be our 28 week visit, so from then on we will be seeing her every fortnight - only 12 weeks to go! I managed a good walk down to St Clair and (most of the way) back with Amy this afternoon - for some reason I'm feeling a bit more energetic than I was a few weeks ago. I have been going to preggie yoga which is really helping the sore muscles and ligaments - they just don't seem to stick around annoying me as much now.

In literature news, I have made the resolution to resolutely ignore the statement repeated in many of the baby rearing books I have been perusing of late, that it is IMPERATIVE that I follow this or that advice that they are touting. Other than it being imperative to feed, cloth, change your baby (as well as avoiding dropping it on its head of course), I don't see how any other advice can be 'imperative' - I mean all babies are different, ay? What is good advice to dealing with one baby may not work with another....so I've decided that I must view this phrase with suspicion. There just seems to be so much critical writing out there that bombards pregnant women from every direction, I'm almost at a point where I want to shut everything away, in order to avoid imploding from the anticipation of my own inadequacy!

Right - rant over, glad I got that out.... move on....

27 weeks and counting....

2008-07-30T22:47:00.001+12:00

Mel preggie belly 27 weeks
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

25 weeks and counting....

2008-07-14T23:08:00.002+12:00

Mel preggie belly 25 weeks(1).jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Yup I'm getting big now.... on the whole have been feeling a lot better than I did in the first trimester, but definitely get tired easy! Not as fast on my pins either (and I have a fabulous waddle going on too lol). Add to that a niggling sore muscle on one side of my groin/inner thigh that won't get better. Might try some panadol before bed tonight to see if it helps.

We finished tidying the study/nursery and spare room/study in the weekend finally, so will be able to put some before/after photos up soon. The cot arrives tomorrow (hopefully) and I scored a change table as well off trade me again over the weekend. So we are just about sorted in the furniture department. The wriggling does feel strange, and I still find it a bit hard to actually connect those scan photos with the activity going on in my belly. I am starting to look forward to meeting Baby A when he/she appears outside of my body though (that's my impatient side showing). I better knuckle down - there's a whole semester to go before then!

Hmmmm - keeping peace with the neighbours (or not)?

2008-07-10T10:12:00.001+12:00

So for some time now, one of the new next door neighbour's has been leaving their place at 5.30am. I know this, because to do this they turn on an external light, that shines directly into our bedroom due to those charming decorative side windows you get in 1930's houses (you know the ones, either side of fireplaces?). This is despite there being (I understand) sensor lights fitted on the outside of the house. Because they've left, the light stays on until 7.30ish or when someone else gets up and thinks to turn it off.

The question is.... do I go over and ask that they stop turning it on? Is this reasonable? I think it only annoys me so much at the moment because I'm up during the night more often, and its such.a.bright.light. which makes it hard to get back to sleep (and we have covered up one of the windows with a towel, but you have to take that down every day cause the window gets moldy, and it would be $400 for blinds, and the light also shines directly into what will be the baby's room...)

Added bonus this morning - roadworkers starting at 6.30-7am outside our place. Super good, cause I'm up 5 times a night anyway at the moment peeing. The crisp clear morning air carries the beep when the trucks back up particularly well :). They're still there - repairing the damaged section of road that appeared after the heavy rain in the weekend....

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Back to skool...

2008-07-01T22:02:00.003+12:00

Tonight Phil and I went to our first ante-natal class, yay! Run by the Dunedin Parent's Centre, I get the feeling that it will be well useful. And we have a great group - all due within a month of each other of course, but most of us around the same age as well.

Tonight was mostly about getting to know each other, but we did do a wee exercise at the end where the boys and girls went into separate rooms and filled out a big piece of paper about the physical, emotional and lifestyle changes we are going through...

No prizes for guessing what came first on the boys list ;)

How could I not post this....?

2008-06-26T00:10:00.001+12:00

Embedded Video

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Christchurch and Cupcakes!

2008-06-25T23:58:00.001+12:00

I'm off to Chch tomorrow - will be nice to visit the whanau and am taking the opportunity to catch up with a few friends. AAANNNNNDDD I get to go visit this nice shop.

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The one in which I complain loudly about tradespeople in this town....

2008-06-24T21:09:00.005+12:00

Yes, well, I've had quite a day.

Our carpet was supposed to be laid today by a local carpet company. The quote process had gone fine, measuring was all done ok, and we arranged a time for the carpet to be lifted, then another time for the new carpet to be laid.

Thanks to the lavish but random tastes of the previous owners of our house, the carpet chosen to grace the main bedroom and study was a suitably expensive Cavalier Bremworth Sisal (yet they couldn't face the extra cost for proper suede finish paint for the living room, giving us their homemade sandpaper finish instead). So when we decided to finish of by carpeting the spare room (which had the rankest, dustiest old carpet ever) we were looking at around $950 to do approx 10sq metres.

The carpet layer arrived today (4 hours late).

He laid the underlay.

He laid out the carpet to be cut and put down. Then asked me "do you want the lines of the carpet to to be parallel to the door like in the other rooms?".

I'm like "What? - match the other rooms of course..."

"Um - well I don't have enough carpet to do that..."

So it turned out that the guy that had originally measured the carpet (and who, funnily enough, is no longer working for the company) had not made the obvious conclusion that we would want the pattern of the carpet heading in the same direction as that in the other two rooms done in the same carpet. So ensued an afternoon of talking to the carpet people, arranging for the correct length of carpet to be ordered ("should take about a week"), and arguing the toss as to whether we should have to pay for the extra carpet required (which I think the Consumer Rights Act says I don't).

Arghhhhhhh! What is wrong with tradespeople in this town?

This comes on top of:
- the wrong fridge being delivered to us (box was labelled incorrectly - unfortunately a lesser rather than better model)- making the total delivery time for the new fridge two weeks.
- the insulation debacle - which continues with a price increase (from head office of course) that has occured between the time we accepted the quote and the time we actually (after 2 months of emailing and leaving voice-mail messages) managed to get the stuff delivered to us (and which I am also disputing).
- tradespeople promising quotes, but never turning up to do them.
- and of course, the garden rubbish removal fiasco of last November (the $85 quote and $450 bill - don't get me started!!!!)

I really really don't know how people think that they are providing anything approaching good customer service when these sorts of things happen on such a regular basis. And I'm assertive (but not rude, I might add) about disagreeing or pointing out things that don't make sense!

What is even more frustrating is the way I am treated when I do this... in the case of the massively increased gardening bill of last Nov, it took me 25 minutes of arguing the toss with the guy before he would accept that I wouldn't pay the amount he had invoiced me, as I had a written quote for approximately a fifth of what he was asking for. Sure, I was happy to pay a bit more than the $85 as we had added to our rubbish pile - but not made it 5 times bigger in the interim, so I wasn't going to pay 5 times the quote, especially 2 weeks before Christmas.

Even today, the carpet people were not happy with me when I said that I would not be happy about having to pay the extra for the 0.3m of extra carpet that they failed to accurately measure for...

In other, more positive news, I finally made kiwifruit chutney today (a la the Edmonds cookbook). Note to self, do not use Eve apples in cooking - they don't soften up enough...and saute the onions first. And what is with the Edmonds obsession with DYC Malt Vinegar? I diluted the quantity they recommended with some cider vinegar, hopefully to improve the flavour of the chutney. It tasted ok upon completion today, but I'm going to leave it for a week to improve before trying it properly for the first time.

So how was your day?

Question...

2008-06-23T18:39:00.001+12:00

What does Elvira wear around the house?

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Heaven is....

2008-06-23T18:21:00.001+12:00

Homemade hummus eaten in the kitchen with carrot and celery sticks....

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Painting

2008-06-22T14:22:00.004+12:00

Well we've finished one coat and the walls are looking good. I've eaten half a packet of Forbidden Fruit lollies and the floors of the hallway have a light coating of plaster dust. Hope it comes off when we rewash the floors...

Undercoat

Undercoat

First coat of Rickshaw with flash

First coat of Rickshaw without flash

What the #$^@ is Jude Dobson on...?

2008-06-17T10:33:00.006+12:00

Apparently a nice retainer...

Well now apparently we have to watch out, because get this, 1 IN 4 of us could be suffering from a condition known as, get this...'Dry Eyes'. Lovely Jude (and that gravelling voiced voice over guy) sadly ask, "Do you suffer from dry, itchy eyes?" This is apparently, a condition so dire, we must go out and spend $$$ on specially formulated eye drops to correct the terrible condition. WTF!?! I would think just turning down the thermostat, dehumidifier or heat pump might help to sort things out...ARGGGGGHHHH!

In other news, the painting has started, Phil has finished the first coat of undercoat and it'll be my turn with the VOC-free top coat sometime in the next few days... Plan is to start with the section of wall behind the door so any errors are less noticeable ;) The room looks different already! Old carpet is supposed to be coming up today so we'll get our first shifty at the dodgy bit of floor underneath too. Fingers crossed, I'd rather spend the $$ on getting lights fixed than new tongue and groove...

Half way there....

2008-06-11T22:49:00.005+12:00

Well today we have made it to the official half way point - 20 weeks gestation exactly. The anatomy scan was on Monday, and Mum came down from Christchurch to attend with us (lots of oooo's and ahhhh's - things have changed a lot since I was in the womb). It was quite awesome - the sonographer spent about 20-odd minutes zooming around looking at and measuring just about every part of Cleitus - all the while studiously avoiding 'down there' as P and I would like to have a surprise when our wee bundle enters the world. We got a good few pictures and a DVD of the whole scan as well, which I have been boring my friends with over the past few days. Will try to pop up one of the profile pics in the next few days, they are so detailed! All was well, though the sonographer did observe that Baby A is about the size of a 21 week old foetus at present - so we may have a big baby on the way! (not so sure if I like the sound of that...:) ) - I reckon it must be something to do with all the Milo I've been drinking, lol!
In other not so exciting news, only 2 exams to go (all over on Monday) and then I have 2-3 weeks of blissful holiday (aka not feeling guilty cause I should really be doing some study). It's been a hard semester, and frustrating getting to this point feeling like I can't really make up for the lack of work I did whilst morning sick. Despite knowing that, I know I will still be really disappointed at myself when my grades come in...
The nesting instinct has also thoroughly kicked in, hence the paint query a few weeks ago. For those who could see a difference, we are going with the Rickshaw as it is a warmer colour. We also have new carpet going down next week, insulation going in the ceiling, and various electrical repairs being undertaken as well (primarily outside lights so our guests don't have to embark on a suicide mission when they leave our house after evening visits). Bathroom plans on hold due to cost :(, but if the house is much warmer, I don't think I will mind so much - will try and put a fan in the bathroom ceiling to do something about the condensation though for the interim. I've also managed to buy a baby buggy (trade me), a new Fridge/Freezer (Smiths City)and sold our old fridge (trade me again). I am now an official Trade Me addict! Though when they came to deliver the new fridge, we discovered the box had been labelled wrong and now we are going to have to wait even longer for the new fridge. The delivery guys were mightily peeved, after lugging the thing all the way up our hill! Hopefully the people that bought our old one won't mind too much about the further delay... if they do, I'm bloody contacting F&P and asking for a discount to cover the lost $$ !!!

Moroccan Roasted Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup

2008-05-27T20:46:00.003+12:00

A really easy pumpkin soup I whipped up tonight. Takes just over an hour from start to finish :)

Half a pumpkin, deseeded and chopped into really large chunks
4 medium size red peppers
Olive oil
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped
Approx 500ml Chicken or Vege stock (don't use powdered stock - it is too salty)
Can of Moroccan Spiced (or Indian Spiced - its up to you) Tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 180-200C. Put the pumpkin (skin at the bottom) and red peppers into a baking tray. Brush the pumpkin with olive oil. Put the tray into the oven and roast until the peppers are blackened and the pumpkin is nicely browned and cooked through (about 30 min). Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with gladwrap. Once they are collapsed, remove the skins, stalks and seeds (keep the juices that come out of the peppers - you'll add it to the soup too)
Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute the chopped onion and garlic until transparent. Remove the skin from the roasted pumpkin and add to the saucepan. Add the tomatoes and the stock and bring to a gentle boil. Add the red peppers and their juices and heat through for another few minutes.
Take soup off element and check for seasoning. Use a stick blender to smooth the soup out a bit (leave some chunks). Serve in big bowls with nice chunky fresh or garlic bread on the side. Yummy!

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A choice to be made.....

2008-05-25T15:10:00.002+12:00

bedReseneRickshaw.jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

So here is our spare room with Resene Rickshaw on the walls - please compare and tell me what you think with the other image below....

2008-05-25T15:08:00.002+12:00

bedAlmondFrost.jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

This is the same shot with Resene's Almond Frost in the background

Pony

2008-05-22T18:57:00.002+12:00

more cat pictures

Asko - environmentally friendly...?

2008-05-22T18:40:00.002+12:00

Is it just me, or is it bizarre for a company claiming green credentials to have an ad showing not one, but TWO full size dishwashers in a kitchen....?

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Musings

2008-05-21T20:56:00.002+12:00

So...is that guy on the Instant Kiwi ad the guy from OpShop? He's somewhat familiar.....

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Hey where you been? It's been so long.....

2008-05-20T17:55:00.002+12:00

Mel preggie belly 15 weeks
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Well some of you might be wondering about the long period (ha ha, NOT! - excuse the pun) between posts. As you can see from the lovely picture attached, in the interim I have become the incubator of a baby bun! It's just that I've had this spot of bother with morning sickness (ha ha, who ever named it that - I might kill them ;) ), and haven't felt like doing much of anything. Have managed to keep it together for uni, but that's about it. Thankfully the 8-10 weeks of all-day car sick feeling and occasional random vomit seems to have ended now (I really really feel for those friends of mine that have been through worse than what I have...!)

So I'm currently at the 17 week stage. Baby A is due at the end of October (right in the middle of exams) - and no, we don't know what the sex is and do not plan to find out until B-Day.

Early days were a bit fraught - we had some endometrial bleeding at around 5 weeks which was understandably scary but thankfully we got through that okay, and all has been well at the 8 and 12 week scans. We got an excellent photo at 12 weeks which I will post as soon as I can find somewhere to scan the thing. Phil has named it 'Cleitus the Foetus' for now - don't know what we'll do if it's a girl ;) . On the whole I have been reasonably comfortable, my lower abs complain quite a bit and lying on my back just feels plain weird. At night I have quite a few visits to the loo (in preparation for night feeds they say). I went to aqua-aerobics last week which was the first proper exercise I've done for quite a few months and felt fantastic afterwards so I will definitely have to keep that up.

Our next scan is in a couple of weeks. Mum is coming down to go along with us which will be great.

In other news - we have a heat pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (large number of exclamation marks are an attempt to convey the magnitude of this new addition). I don't think I really realised just how cold our house has been until it's not any more - I mean I was finding it pretty frickin' freezing getting up to 7 degrees C in the kitchen, so now to find its 14C at 7 am is pure pure bliss! Once insulation is added to the roof cavity (I know! We have NONE there at present, why on earth the previous owners were happy to drop an easy ton a room on fancy carpet but not $1200 on ceiling insulation, i do not know...) it should be even cosier. Add to that, the new rug in the living room, plans to update the bathroom, new carpet in the spare room, preparation for a nursery etc etc, some might accuse me of having a spot of the nesting bug!

So all is well in the Archer-Orchard household at present - hope youse all are well yourselves... more photos to follow ;) - Mel

Another great video for the end of summer - The Phoenix Foundation "Bleaching Sun"

2008-04-11T17:15:00.004+12:00

A different angle on the anti-smacking debate

2008-02-12T21:53:00.000+13:00

I was interested to read this article on stuff this evening. What interests me the most is the attitude of the study's authors (or perhaps more accurately, the journalists take on their attitude - I haven't read the study myself). To quote: "Infants subjected to Supernanny-style parenting end up behaving just as badly at two years old as other children, Australian researchers say". After reading the article, I think I would prefer it if the byline had more of this sort of focus: "Children subjected to harsh discipline and verbal abuse are no more well-behaved than children who have a warm and sensitive relationship with their parents".

Falling Kiwi

2008-02-10T20:55:00.001+13:00

Found this post by random on Youtube - I like the choice of Nitin Sawnhey's "Falling" in the remix. Why do things like this almost bring a tear to the eye?

Rise up, rise up....

2008-02-10T20:52:00.001+13:00

Satellite of Love

2008-02-01T19:45:00.001+13:00

Embedded Video

Beautiful Haze

2008-01-27T22:06:00.001+13:00

"It might be good to tell the boss that I don't give a toss and to stick his lame-arse job
Now I'm sure that I can...." ;)*

*with thanks to SJD - hope he doesn't mind me poaching his lyrics - I finally threw in the job. Figured my mental health was worth more than $12.21 an hour....

Cloud

2008-01-27T21:31:00.001+13:00

Today at around 12pm on an otherwise sunny day, this cold mist came down and enveloped the hill that we live on... lasted around 30 mins then back to bright sunny day!

Blogged with Flock

Groovin to Antiques Roadshow

2008-01-22T10:57:00.000+13:00

I can't believe it but Phil just boogied to the theme of Antiques Roadshow!?!

Free Rice!

2008-01-21T13:24:00.000+13:00

I was browsing on the Snopes Urban Legends page today and I discovered FreeRice. It's not a hoax site - you really are donating rice to hungry people, by playing the word game on the site. Each word you get right donates 20 grains of rice. The advertising revenue generated by your participation on the site (you'll notice ads at the bottom of the page) pays for the rice! What a great idea! More info if you're interested on the Snopes site here.

More garden stuff

2008-01-13T14:42:00.002+13:00

Christmas voucher spend

2008-01-13T14:09:00.000+13:00

Here's Phil on our Christmas Mitre 10 voucher purchase:

Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T20:52:00.000+13:00

Not much to tell really. Went to bed before 12 as was feeling a little dodge (maybe the beer?) and I had to work at 6.30am New Years Day.

My one New Year's resolution is to try more to see and experience the positive in everything, thereby (hopefully) opening myself up to more positive experiences ;).

Hope everyone had a good one....

Christmas Meme

2007-12-28T11:27:00.000+13:00

Xmascroissant
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Is anyone else depressed by the seeming inevitability of Benazir Bhutto's assassination?

That, and what with Martha tagging everyone with a new meme, I've been forced to post a little earlier than I intended during our holiday.

So here we go: What I ate on Christmas day. And if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged as well ;)

Breakfast: Croissant from Ma and Pa's local artisan bakery, Le Pique Nique (spelling?), filled with ham, tomato and Whitestone Mt Domet brie. Glass of bubbles. Mmmm coffee...

Morning tea/nibblies: Aunty Adrienne's apricot truffles and christmas sweets, as well as some fresh cherries.

Lunch: Starter of garlic prawns and whitebait fritters *YUM*. B and Uncle Ray did a swap as B doesn't like whitebait (the eyes! the guts!) and Ray doesn't like prawns (fancy muck!). Roast turkey, new potatoes (both boiled and baked), kumara, roasted carrots, fresh peas, steamed cabbage, asparagus, yummy gravy. More bubbles(French even!) and then some sav blanc. Some time later.... Aunty Adrienne's christmas pudding (made to my grandmother's recipe) with cream. Then off for a nana nap.

Dinner: Baked ham with honey, marmalade and mustard glaze, in ciabatta baps, eaten in front of 'The Notebook' (warning! Grade 1 weepy!), then onto 'Outrageous Fortune - The Movie'. Not having followed this fab programme myself before now, I was not in the least confused by the apparent resurrection from the dead of Aurora (and I had looked at the programme listing beforehand and knew that this special comes in at the end of the 2nd series). But seriously folks - I love this show! I might have to borrow series 1, 2 and 3 next time there is some bad weather and spend a day on the couch catching up with the Wests. And Cheryl/Robyn - is - so - hot - ! Also started watching 'An Officer and a Gentleman' but was too tired and headed off to bed sometime after the motel scene. Looked up the remainder of the plot on Wiki the next day (I know - BAD girl - just couldn't be bothered...).

Christmas this year has been lovely - lots of catching up with old friends and all the family has been around for the first time in ages - so Xmas Day was a lovely relaxing affair. And unlike the rest of the country, Christchurch had fine weather all day and only had the bad weather overnight...though I must say my sleep has been a bit crap what with the drinking combined with the overnight muggy head...arghhh. And today I officially have the sorest arms and neck in creation owing to the purchase of the new Wii game - Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 - which involved me and Phil dancing round the living room like demented barrel 'o' monkeys.

So seasons greetings to you all, hope you have all been able to spend time with family or friends over this past week and hope the New Year brings good things aplenty as well...

-Mel

Po-tay-toe

2007-12-21T21:55:00.001+13:00

Ourpotatoes.jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Our first potatoes!*

....to quote Gordon - "they'll make a nice salad!"

(* this many from three plants...it might be a little early to be pulling even our early croppers...)

Wildlife

2007-12-21T21:53:00.001+13:00

SealatStClair1.jpg
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Seal seen on the beach between St Clair and St Kilda. Only spotted it when out walking when it flicked sand over itself with its flipper.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

2007-12-18T11:39:00.001+13:00

Xmas tree
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Curry night - wotcha!

2007-12-18T11:08:00.000+13:00

So on Saturday night we headed to Chris and Debbie's for a curry night, along with Greg and Amy and baby Lucy. Chris and Debbie, from England, share our appreciation of curry, so on a previous get together the idea of having a curry night was floated and we arranged to squeeze it in before Christmas. (Note to self - do not attempt to make lemon curd prior to the 3 curries that you have planned when you have to go to work as well). The night was a real success, not least because Chris and Debbie take their curries seriously and we had a real selection to choose from... Greg and Amy contributed a surprisingly mild Lamb Vindaloo (previous experience with a Korma Masala mix from the same producer led to some restraint being shown with the spice mix), Chris and Debbie did Kerala Lamb and a Tomato, Spinach, Chickpea and Egg dish (the eggs were cracked into and 'poached' in the curry). We contributed a Rajma (Red Kidney Bean stew), Sag (Seasoned Pureed Greens), Simla Mirch Aur Gaajar Ki Sabji (Carrots in Bell Pepper sauce), and Naan. I also made a cucumber Raita and got hold of some Mango Chutney and Lime Pickle (mmmmmmmm). Our curries were made following recipes from 'Amma's Kitchen' which I picked up years ago but haven't had the opportunity to use yet. The cookbook is good as it was put together and printed in New Zealand, and all the ingredients used can be found here. Phil made the Naan using a recipe from Sophie Gray's 'Destitute Gourmet - more stunning food from small change' cookbook, which I cannot recommend more highly for home cooking on a limited budget.
Here's a shot of the aftermath:

We didn't make it home until 2ish..sooo glad I didn't get the 6am wake up call from work the next day *grin*

- Mel

I wish I was a lolcat...

2007-12-18T10:55:00.001+13:00

Bella cute
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Surprisingly tasty

2007-12-18T10:44:00.001+13:00

Following my induction into the delights of SaveMart, I went shopping the other day at the local asian supermarket with Summer. She picked up these vege treats to try and couldn't help a giggle at the promotional blurb on the packaging: they did taste good - will get some myself next visit...

Lemon curd

2007-12-17T16:17:00.001+13:00

Lemon curd
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Here's a piccie of the lemon curd I made this weekend with Sue's lovely lemons (golly I love homegrown lemons - makes the anaemic lemons from the supermarket look verily poor): very easy to make using the Jo Seagar recipe (which is very similar to the Edmonds lemon honey recipe but with a little less butter), but a word of warning - it will take you a good hour to an hour and a half as you have to bring the mixture to the heat quite slowly.

you need:
4 large lemons
100g butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten

Scrub and grate the rind of the lemons, then squeeze the juice. Put the strained juice plus the lemon rind into a small saucepan (I recommend one with a pouring lip). Add the butter in wee cubes, the sugar and finally the eggs, and stir together. Heat gently over a low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens (this will take a long time), then pour into hot sterilized jars. Allow to cool, put the lids and store in the fridge until needed (ie on your toast, or perhaps some yummy tarts or even a lemon meringue pie). Its quite important not to heat this up too quickly as then the eggs will curdle and you will have sweet lemony scrambled eggs! When the butter is melting into the mixture it does take on a strange slightly eggy look but don't worry - keep stirring and eventually the butter will melt entirely into the mix.

PS to sterilize your glass jars - heat with lids in 120C oven for 30 min or boil in water on your stove for 15 min.

Garden

2007-12-10T20:32:00.001+13:00

Garden mosaic
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy

Egg & Bacon Pie, Salad (with radishes)

2007-12-09T19:23:00.000+13:00

Tonight, after a long day that began at 6.30am with the shrilling of the telephone (work asking me to go in), I made Egg & Bacon Pie - 1) because its easy and 2) they served it for lunch at the hospital today so I had a hankering for it. Remarkable too, because I managed to function through a full 8 hour shift with only 3 1/2 hours sleep (we went to Phil's work Christmas party last night and got to bed at 3am), then come home and collect myself sufficiently to make this:

You probably can't see it in this photo but in the salad (2 types of lettuce, rocket and coriander) we also had these babies:

The first radishes from our garden! I think that these are Pink Beauties. They were lovely and sweet....

Finally, the salad, following our decimation:

Why I like Dunedin - Reason No. 1

2007-12-05T22:12:00.001+13:00

OMG - Tired!

2007-12-04T17:49:00.000+13:00

Wow ! -

Am

I

tired....

Didn't sleep much last night on account of having to get up at 5.30ish as my new job started at 6.30 this morning, soooo I kept waking up every hour or so all night in that weird "i'm going to miss the alarm, strange worky dreams" type way.

Work was, well, FRICKING FULL ON!!!! - mostly lots of manual, worky type stuff which is kind of nice (ie you can just lose yourself in the sheer effort of it). The women I'm working with are all incredibly hard working, salt of the earth types who frankly intimidate the hell out of me - I am really conscious of not pulling my weight... but they were all so incredibly kind and helpful today really. I managed to keep my end up reasonably well whilst tray clearing etc. By lunch time my legs and hip were feeling pretty tender but by the end of the shift the pain had mostly gone away, to be replaced with that weird floaty 'I'm not quite with it' totally knackered feeling.

And I work with at least 3 women called Sharon ...

....I think I'm going to get varicose veins...

....I seriously need to get a full slip for underneath my fetching white smock...

I'm gonna go buy myself some fabulous comfy shoes for the purpose of standing around on concrete floors for 8 hours at a stretch tomorrow - does anyone have any suggestions?

But anyhoo, I've come home and cooked a yummy meal for Phil and I. Lamb racks with a lemon herb crust, roasted tatties and kumara, and hopefully a spinach and rocket herby salad (from our garden!). Here's a photo or two:

I think I might go to bed early tonight....

Mel -

Well I did ask...

2007-12-01T20:59:00.000+13:00

Wow - without putting any effort whatsoever, I appear to have gotten a job. After my depressing phone call yesterday morning (and subsequent post), I headed into town to top up my coffee supplies and get ingredients for breadmaking when I got a random phone call from the hospital kitchen. Was I still looking for work? So an hour or so after a somewhat casual meeting at the hospital today, I got a call from Annette to ask me to go in and fill some forms in on Monday, meet with the executive chef Sarah and that I might be starting as early as Tuesday etc. etc. OMG! Not really sure what I'll be doing exactly - something to do with the Diet Kitchen, distributing special meals for patients. The trail of good fortune that started in London continues..... I feel pretty blessed....

Giz a job - please <8-/

2007-11-30T10:45:00.000+13:00

Woken up by the phone this morning! Yay - the temp agency calling back about the MoH job - Stink! They've changed their plan and are not going to hire anyone new. Can any one give me a job - please?

Lunch

2007-11-29T13:55:00.001+13:00

Or what do you do when you're scraping the bottom of the barrel (or fridge)?

I present to you...old mushrooms on toast!

(or 2-day old bread - but it is homebaked - and the parsley is from our garden)

Arse in gear - like!

2007-11-29T13:15:00.001+13:00

Well thanks to our recent visitors (and new friends) I've finally gotten off my ass to sort out this blog (and possibly due to the spare time I may have on my hands at the moment - looking for work - if anyone needs a mean data entriest, I'm your woman) But I digress.... I'm going for gold, I'm going to post, I promise... and this is the start!

Our new addition

2007-07-17T13:52:00.000+12:00

This is our lovely new pussy cat. Her name is Bella and we got her from the Otago SPCA. She is 8 months old. So far we know that she has prickly paws, likes to know what you are doing, like, ALL the time, and is very sweet. More updates later (hope the photo uploads correctly)

Well I'm leaving, on a jet plane

2007-04-13T23:01:00.001+12:00

Portugallllll

2007-04-13T22:48:00.000+12:00

Over and out....

2006-12-04T10:00:00.000+13:00

Hi everyone. Well it is only 25 hours before I leave these shores for a time, heading back to Godzone (albeit slowly). I had a fab leaving party on Friday night - a few of the crew managed to make it *grin* and we sunk a few in the salubrious surrounds of the Landor Pub, down the road from our old flat in Stockwell. No photos for the time being as we don't have internet access from our 'puter. Phil and I caught up with Ngaere and Chris last night in Putney, checking out a band that Chris is managing. Quite a good send off really. We've had a nice weekend, looking after Luke and Cindy's place (and Squeak the cat) in Kilburn Park, and we went out for an Italian meal tonight in West Hampstead. I've managed to get all my packing finished today so will spend the day tomorrow with Briddy before heading to the airport at 6. I've had a great time in London and met some of the best people. So... bye to you all guys - thanks for being such great mates and really making my time in London so good. To all the mates back home - I'll be seeing you soon - stand by for photos from Porto, my leaving do's, and the trip home. Ka kite ano.... xox

Setting my soul to music

2006-10-14T07:51:00.000+13:00

Tonight I'm sitting in the house alone, listening to some superb but melancholic music - some songs I have found myself, some have been contributed by others at various points along the line (thanks guys!). So far it's been a bit of Manu Chao and Nitin Sawhney. Though I admit I started off with Paul Oakenfold and Madonna. I guess as my time here in London comes to a close, I've been thinking about my connections with people, place and home. It's weird to think that some of the people that I have met and made friends with here I may never see again, the UK is so far away from little ol' NZ. I've had my ups and downs (particularly in London's famous winters) but the time here has made such a HUGE effect on my life, I'm never going to forget it, good or bad. The pull of home has become too strong though. A collegue at work told me that she would be heading to NZ in a couple of months for a holiday (after some muck ups with travel arrangements) - and I got soooo excited - there were so many great places that I can send her and her partner off towards...and to think - I'll be back there soon! Britain and Europe have some amazing sights (some of which I have seen, some I have not) but I miss home. I miss driving the long straight roads, the view from Christchurch to the mountains on a cold winters day, the view of Wellington harbour on a stormy day from Roseneath, being bitten by sandflys, going out on a Friday night, and most of all I miss my old friends and family. Guys - I'll be home soon....

Angel of the North

2006-10-07T06:42:00.000+13:00

I managed to get this shot out of the bus window as we headed past on our way out of Newcastle. So my other objective has been realised, yay!

An uneventful trip back, and 5 days later, no pain or stiffness (I did have a nice massage on Tuesday morning - thanks Hans).

I'm going along to Run London on Sunday, but only as bag lady for my fellow Clapham Runners - though I could easily do a 10k run at present (at least that's what I feel like).

Great North Run, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1 Oct 2006

2006-10-02T08:45:00.000+13:00

Been there

Done that

Got the t-shirt

2hours 26mins

Photos coming soon!

(Unfortunately we have missed seeing the Angel of the North today as it took so long to get back to Newcastle from South Shields this afternoon - which was the only other thing I really really wanted to see here). Have had great fish & chips though. Oo ooo ooo and we had the BEST chinese meal last night in Newcastle's Chinatown too (but blew our food budget - hmmmm Drunken Chicken)....

Royal visits

2006-09-21T03:54:00.000+12:00

I have officially now seen up close 5 Royals (Queen, Prince Philip, Charles, Camilla and today - WILLIAM) and one leader of the opposition (David Cameron for those of you that aren't up with the latest British politics). Prince Willy was visiting the hospital today and walked past our offices. Hee hee!

Immersing ourselves in Bath

2006-09-19T10:15:00.000+12:00

Our friends Dan and Jen who we stayed with in Bath. That's Dan's yummy breakfast (close up below) - home made baked beans, perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce - yummy! Dan had preserved his own bacon which was deeelliiicccious.

2006-09-19T10:11:00.000+12:00

Balloons outside Dan & Jen's flat - on a misty evening.

2006-09-19T10:05:00.000+12:00

Dan & Jen's living room. Huge!

2006-09-19T10:00:00.000+12:00

Jen & the River Avon, Bradford upon Avon.

2006-09-19T09:50:00.000+12:00

Phil and Dan outside the Bridge Tea Rooms (or as Phil would put it, the 'Bloody Expensive' Tea Rooms), in Bradford upon Avon. The best cream teas in Britain apparently. We ordered one to share and it was yummy. Very light crumbly scones and scrummy clotted cream (sorry Dad, I like the stuff). And the tea was 'top notch'!

2006-09-19T09:46:00.000+12:00

'The Bradford Gudgeon' - a weather vane on the Bradford Town Bridge. Nice fishy!

The further adventures of Tim & CB

2006-09-07T18:35:00.000+12:00

Yesterday, Tim and Christmas Bear had a friend join them in an attempt to recreate the famous stunt from their days in the the Peabody Bros Flying Circus. Unfortunately there was no motorbike available. Practice is important - they need to keep their eye in!.

2006-09-07T18:32:00.000+12:00

4 Sept 2006 - What are they up to now!

2006-09-07T18:23:00.000+12:00

01 Sept 2006 - Further proof that I have far too much time on my hands at work ; - )xx

I love the night sky

2006-08-28T09:21:00.000+12:00

Hi kids! I thought I would post a piccie that sums up summertime London for you all. It's bank holiday weekend here. Today was fine after we've had a lot of rain in the past week. Phil and I have just been blobbing round the house really though I did catch up with Cath yesterday. Currently Phil is watching Pearl Jam on TV live at the Reading/Leeds festivals. It's quite weird to see them as 'old men' on stage. They're not quite as decrepit as Mick and Keith though. Speaking of which, Phil and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 last weekend. I would recommend that you wait for it to come out on video. It's much like the Two Towers - filling the gap between the 1st and the 3rd movies. That said, there's plenty of Johnny eye-candy to be had in the movie, and Keira & Johnny's snog has a lot more passione in it that when she kisses Orlando! xx

The countdown is progressing...

2006-08-28T09:01:00.000+12:00

South Island Place
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy.

A gentle reminder of the pull of home... about a km from our flat in South London, Phil and I spotted this street sign on our way home on a warm London summer's evening. See all you guys soon!

Tim the sheep and Christmas Bear

2006-08-28T08:58:00.000+12:00

Tim & Bear
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy.

Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, St Mary's Hospital. We really do spend our days working... we do!

Photos of us, and some of our friends here in London

2006-08-28T08:56:00.000+12:00

Mel and Phil outside the National Gallery
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy.

Here is Phil and I outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (you might see some pigeons if you look closely enough). We were on our way to see the Rebels & Martyrs exhibition (thanks Lou for the tickets!) which featured the work of artists in Europe in the 18th & 19th century. Lots of self portraits that examined the role of the artist starting with shots of the suffering 'artist-as-Martyr' through those who challenged the establishment more directly, culminating with the 'flaneur'. A good afternoon.

2006-08-28T08:50:00.000+12:00

Mel and Paula
Originally uploaded by mellopuffy.

Me and Paula (that's Chris in the background), at the local Spanish tapas restaurant at Clapham North.