a misnomer if ever I saw one

sweet poison sweet poison sweet poison

this is so negligent as to be almost criminal

the G, how melbourne are we?

So Giggi and I had our first visit to the MCG (melbourne cricket ground) or "The G" if you're a true local. We watched a Big Bash 20 20 game and our team won. Go the Melbourne Stars! Warnie was a little underwhelming but it was great to see McKay bowl and Hussey bat. Giggi the 4yo loved it. I wasn't sure how he'd go, the match started at his usual bedtime. But the fireworks that were set off for each visiting team wicket and home team 6 kept him interested.

the fireworks

He also had a mammoth bag of Twisties and some new apps on my phone. He also had an uncle and prospective uncle to keep him entertained.

howzat! with uncle and prospective uncle :-)

Now to see how 'the stars' go in their semi. BTW he loved the mascot: starman on his segway but seriously how long did it take them to come up with that? Lame. I can, however, recommend the Ponsford stand. No sun in our eyes. Fireworks immediately in front of us. Good times.

hair style dilemmas

Aaarrrggghhh finally found a good hairdresser nearby and we're moving again. I'm wondering whether I can fit in another haircut before Christmas. Seems a little extravagant, since I'm lucky if I get my hair cut every 3 months usually, but they are such good value.

Anyway if you're ever in outer southeast melbourne, look up Rhiannon at Stag Hair Studio, Cranbourne.

Here's a picture care of the multi-talented Laurence.

I'm thinking that next time I might let the hairdresser loose to do whatever she thinks might suit. I think my only restrictions are no shaving and no colouring. Is there anything else I've overlooked?

medical melbourne

One of the things I love about living in Melbourne is the after hours medical care. Most of the general practices seem to be linked up with a medical deputising service, which just means that you phone your medical practice and after hours it gets patched through to a deputising service and a gp will come to your house. And it's bulk billed!!!!!!!
You still need to wait for a couple of hours for a Dr to come, but at least you can wait in the comfort of your own home. Something we've had to do quite a bit as our kids' ear infections always seem to manifest on a Friday or Saturday evening.

There is also a super clinic about 15mins away which also has a 24hour pharmacy. Great for when you drop your baby panadol bottle on the tiles at 1am.

louisa and julia

I had intended to start this blog 22 months ago when we moved interstate. I wanted to be thoughtful about living in a new city and make the most of this new phase of life. But of course life was more hectic than I expected and harder than I cared to admit.

Part of the inspiration for this was having read My Life in France by Julia Child.
I find reading autobiographies a bit strange, but I guess whatever you read has its own biases. Although at least this book draws heavily on many letters written at the time (and obviously not intended for publication). Anyway I was happy to go with the flow and it seemed as though Child was pretty open about some hard times. It focuses on her time living in Paris (1948-1956) and how it radically changed her life.

But what I really loved was how Julia Child really embraced her move to a new city. She really tried to live like a local. She worked hard at learning the language and the customs. It changed how she cooked, how she shopped and how she entertained and made friends. And obviously she built an enormously successful career out of this immersion.

Now, I’ll admit there are a few differences between us and our life circumstances but as I’ve been settling in to life in Melbourne I’ve really tried to emulate this attitude. It has been made much easier by having wonderful family here as well as a new church family. But I can't help feeling a bit torn. The struggle continues to be how to be conscious daily of my true home, my heavenly home while enjoying the blessings of life in such a wonderful city.

Anyway, I hope to post some reflections on life in a new city over the next little while.