so much depends

so much depends

on

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens

magical thinking

i'm prone to magical thinking. i think i get it from my mum.
at the moment, i'm thinking about a house in alphington,

22 yarraford ave

the agents tell me, it's a Once in a lifetime opportunity to secure charming family spaces in this prized Riverside locale, just a stone's throw to Yarra and Coate Park

it's just up from the river, and just down the street from apte (which got a gong from the breakfast blog for a 20/20 breakfast. zowie)

between the fairfield boathouse and the chandler highway, the pretty bit where p and i like to walk

sometimes, under the bridge to the alphington wetlands, and across the river from the guide dogs training school (i love hearing all the dogs barking, it's so joyous and a bit like hearing the lions roaring and monkeys hooting when you walk in parkville in the early morning or evening)

the house has a lower ground floor with a studio and office space

where does the magic come in?

**i got the alert about the house on my dad's birthday, 27 august (i think my dad would approve of it)

**it goes to auction 2 days after my birthday (not too magical, but you see how you can tweak it)

**the house backs on to Coate Park, and Kasia and Nick took Tom and Henry to play at Coate Park on Sunday, and spoke to me while they were there (as far as i know, no-one i know has ever been there before...) it's nothing, but if you thinking magically, you can make it something...

**i've been hankering after this area for a while and recently read a story about a bungalow/boathouse which looks cute and i became envious
i remember, when i was looking for the house i have now, a friend recommended a spell for finding a house. you draw a picture of the house, and what you'd like, and then you find a body of water near to wear you want to live. you say a special incantation and then you wish on the piece of paper and let it float downstream. and your house finds you.
but where does the magic come in?? we'd need to win tattslotto to buy it

i just found some old local history, harold harless talking about a loquat orchard near Coate Park,

oh well, nice to read about the area anyway

and i can always make do, walking by the river

from walkweb, heidelberg gardens to fairfield via main yarra trail

addendum

this was funny - i found someone's blog, they'd created a very ace zombie garden in alphington but a pesky neighbour made them get rid of it - thank heavens (or zombies) for online memento mori!

p is for pilates

Studio 165 (miller st, north fitzroy)

Sessions at Studio 165 are personally designed to:
BUILD ... core strength and muscle tone
INCREASE ... your flexibility and mobility
STIMULATE ... your internal organs
IMPROVE ... your circulation and posture
REHABILITATE ... effectively and safely
ENHANCE ... your general well-being
Studio 165 is passionate about making you aware and understanding your own body; working on its limitations, constantly improving strength alignment and posture. Our aim is for you to maintain your body at its full potential, confident in managing muscular and postural imbalances and injuries. We encourage you to take personal responsibility for regenerating your body and mind

ole joe pilates said,

"In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty you will see the difference, and in thirty you will have a whole new body."

solar school

A newly opened solar powered school in Wolfhagen, Germany has repurposed an old cold war army barracks into an energy-efficient modern learning environment. The visionary design takes advantage of the huge footprint of the former tank armory to tuck a campus underneath, while the roof was replaced with translucent thin-film solar panels. The vocational school is a excellent example of green architecture that exposes students to sustainability while providing a beautiful, light-filled, and airy building to learn in.
The immense translucent roof is a marvel– 5000 square meters of the panes are outfitted with 7160 thin film solar modules. Due to their 1 micron-thick profile they are semi-translucent, which allows lots of light into the building while reducing glare and heat. Windows on the side walls open automatically to provide natural ventilation and fresh air. The 220 kW array is one of largest of its kind in Europe.
The immense translucent roof is a marvel– 5000 square meters of the panes are outfitted with 7160 thin film solar modules. Due to their 1 micron-thick profile they are semi-translucent, which allows lots of light into the building while reducing glare and heat. Windows on the side walls open automatically to provide natural ventilation and fresh air. The 220 kW array is one of largest of its kind in Europe.

let the happiness in

I went to the kinesiologist last week (helen).
she diagnosed me as having a heavy heart, and gave me sweet chestnut, and gonged tuning forks and acupressured my various points
and she told me to colour myself green,
to radiate green from the centre of my being until it spread throughout my body and protected me from ... fill in the blanks
[anger] [fear] [expectation] ... my heavy things
i imagined a little girl monika colouring in the inside of my head
i found it hard to calm myself and fill myself with green,

ground myself in green
the calmest place i found was to think of a deep green forest clearing, with dappled light

helen said i have to learn how to be still inside
that i should meditate and do yoga
the other day at sheni's i picked up a meditation card,
there are drop-in meditation sessions in north fitzroy, mark st hall (1 mark st) and in northcote (northcote town hall), 7.30-9.00 thursdays
with sessions coming up, living without stress (2, 9, 16 sept) and then self-esteem (30 sept, 7, 14 oct)
Gokula Centre, on Smith St
Hatha Yoga
This class features flowing and strengthening stretches to get energy and circulation moving. It includes breathwork and meditation to quiet the mind and full body relaxation, leaving you with a sense of inner peace and calm.
Tuesday & Wednesday Evening – 6:30 – 8:00 pm
$10 per class. Mats and Blankets provided. No Booking Required.
Easy Yoga Class
For those new to practicing yoga asanas or those wanting to get some more beginner tips to enhance their practice. We will learn basic yoga asanas, breathing techniques and meditation.
Friday Evenings – Begins 3rd September
$10 per class. Mats and Blankets provided. No Booking Required.

green places ...

donna ray, groundwork

iittala vitriini in green

other ways of living

a nice interpretation of nesting boxes

(1) pallet pavillion

i love the quality of light, as well as the sinous curve

(2) an eco-emergency house (made from pallets)

i expect it's both ecologically sustaiable in its build, and made for environmental emergencies

(3) design build bluff
houses designed by students from the university of utah, with a focus on creating sustainable, affordable housing, as well as utilising the pallet aesthetic
reading alcove

(4) pallet theatre

a recylced cardboard house!

and a "garden of knowledge" - recycled knowledge, made of second hand books

images i've been collecting and will forget about if i don't see them again

outback

subaru outback, used car review - Beware the Outback that's been to hell and back

for sale, outback 2004

new car comparison review, Country wagons: Audi Allroad Quattro, Subaru Outback, Volvo XC70. However, the 121kW and 226Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine is arguably a better performance-economy compromise. It runs on regular unleaded and, by four-cylinder standards, produces strong performance across the bottom end and midrange.

and in terms of safety!! a whole pamphlet about best used cars
ahem! current car (saab 900), future dreamy wish car, outback! (but only 2003-2008)

party diy

pretty girlie stuff to make

paper-puffs (big tissue paper pompoms)

how to make them

paper mobiles

how to make them

you scrabble my world

not all the letters in scrabble (actually there aren't that many) can describe my love for p

but this scrabble set gives it a red hot go

it's out-there, outside & BIG

down by the river side!

one of my favourite walks with p is down by the yarra riverside

it's beautiful and peaceful and smells like eucalypts

sometimes we fantasise about living in even closer proximity to the river

imagine my delight, surprise and giddy envy, when design files blogged about someone who does live down by the yarra riverside in fairfield/alphington in a boathouse/bungalow

some pictures of the boathouse/bungalow, and a snipshot of the locale,

and inside pictures, too ... so lovely