Fantastic Rock n Roll Party

My friend Christine turned 60 on Sunday 8 November 2008. For two years she planned her party. It was wonderful. All the guests came dressed in the style of the 1950s and 1960s. I made a circular skirt and circular net petticoat for her. The skirt was red with big white spots, she also wore a white t-shirt, white bobby soxes and black shoes. Her hair was done in a 1960s style with lots of hair spray.

The main Party Room was decorated with old vinyl records that were suspended from the ceiling. Full length posters of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe decorated the walls. Many items of memorabilia also decorated to Party and Buffet Rooms, for example original Coke a Cola bottle.

I had a wonderful time at the party and danced for about four hours. We also had some games and competitions. The Limbo is a game where you have to shimmy under a stick with your back bent backwards. The stick is lowered, then lowered again. The last person under the lowest stick wins.

Enjoyable long ride Sunday 24 August 2008

I was supposed to go to the footy with my friend Dan and his sons today but alas I was uninvited. Instead I rode to Southern Cross, took the train out to Ringwood and rode back towards the CBD on the new EastLink Bikepath. I joined the EastLink Bike path on the west side of Ringwood Rd just before the Ringwood Bypass. The signage for bike was confusing, I confirmed that I was indeed traveling in the correct direction when I was able to ask someone cycling towards me.

The path goes into the Mullum Mullum Creek valley, it goes up and down and a challenge for me as I STILL haven’t mastered standing up in the pedals when going up a steep grade. The trees, plants and birdlife are lovely. I wandered along this path for about an hour until it joined the “old” path. I kept riding towards the CBD finally peeling off at Middleborough Rd returning via Box Hill Station. It is hard to estimate the distance traveled as the bike path curved around so much.

I am off to wash to mud off my bike now!

Footy tribes

Following a footy team is a bit like being part of a tribe for people in Melbourne. The choice of a footy team may be a family affair, with allegiance being awarded at birth. Adopting a footy team can be part of becoming more integrated into Australian society, for people who migrate to Australia. Playing footy may lead to better economic outcomes for many indigenous Australians.

My family did not follow football. As a teenager I used to say that “football was a safe way for the masses to vent their frustration, as they yelled at the umpire or the opposition.” If asked who I barracked for I said Hawthorn, because I lived in Hawthorn and it was easier than saying I did not follow football. Nowadays I say I barrack for Essendon because they were the first club to treat indigenous players with respect.

Football became more important when I married, my ex-husband is a one-eyed Collingwood supporter. For most of the 18 years we were together, Collingwood made it into the finals, even the Grand Final but they only won the Premiership once in 1990. He loved to listen to the football on the radio and watch the replays, but he rarely went in person.

Link to history of the game. Please paste into your browser.
http://150years.com.au/History/Timeline/tabid/12089/default.aspx

Visit to the country

My friend Arne lives in a small village in the Dandenongs, about 70 km form my house. Last weekend he invited me, AND MY DOG, to visit his country home. It was extremely generous of him, as he is not a dog person and it was the first time he had met my dog. Pierre (the dog) is a very tiny, cute toy poodle/jack russell cross, who weighs only 4 kg. Luckily they took to each other very well, in fact when we were watching the DVD “Pleasantville” Pierre sat on Arne’s lap not mine!

I had decided prior to my visit to deliberately be a congenial guest, to do things at my host’s pace and fall in with his plans. The highlight of the weekend was looking at the night sky and having a wonderful view of the Milky Way. Living in Nth Melbourne I rarely see the stars.

We visited a local lavender farm, where we walked in the garden and had lunch. There were lavender flavoured dishes on the menu including lavender ice cream.