Winter weekend stills.

This weekend was all about winter. Right on cue, the night time temperature dropped down to 3º C. Just the right time to wrap the bed in super soft flannelette sheets. I had all the best intentions of getting stuck into studying this weekend (and I did do some), but I really needed to recharge from a super busy couple of weeks.

For me, this meant getting outside into the garden. I've been a bit of a tardy gardener this year, especially since the chickens razed last year's garden to the ground! I checked the Alice Springs sowing calendar and decided I could sneak into winter by planting spinach, silverbeet, broccoli, rocket and parsley - all those delicious greens.

Other weekend highlights included tapas with a friend, sitting in a laneway lined with candelit tables, live music played by a gypsy jazz band - we really had the sense that we could be anywhere! I also caught a film, Rich Hill, as part of the Human Rights Art and Film Festival. It was a harrowing documentary set in a small town in rural America, following the lives of three teenage boys and their families amidst poverty, violence, mental illness and other challenges. It didn't give a lot of hope - maybe just a small glimmer - that the cycle of disadvantage would be broken.

1. On Saturday, I met friends at the Steiner fête, a famous school fair at the lovely campus set against the southern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. I think my inspiration to get the garden going was spurred on by the fabulous kitchen garden in the school grounds. I also picked up a vintage cashmere-wool blend coat, it's soft and warm and a real bargain - $5.
2. Boss of the chickens. This one is brazen and bolshy and will sprint around behind me, sometimes even pecking at my heels.
3. Broccoli...
4. Spinach...
5. Silverbeet.
6. Super snug winter bed. Sooooo warm. Sooooo hard to leave in the morning.
7. From the garden - eggs and mandarins in abundance.
8. The mandarins are just how I like them - more tart than sweet. 

Joining up with Em's weekly Stills link-up x

EDIT: Oh, and speaking of gardens, have a gander at the green thumbery happening over in Prue's backyard. Go on!

Markets, home and a(nother) head cold: A 'Stills' post.

After working in Darwin last week, Peter and I had the weekend to spend together. We tried to find some colour and texture to add some feeling into his furnished apartment. Success was found by way of a brightly coloured rag rug, a pumpkin coloured ceramic vase, coloured rattan coasters and some vivid cotton throws for the beds. Small touches but they made a big difference! On Sunday morning we went to the Rapid Creek markets, which has loads of fresh produce - in particular, Asian greens and tropical fruits. I found it a bit overwhelming, actually - very hot, lots of people and so many ingredients that I'm not sure how to use in a meal. 

I flew back to Alice Springs in the afternoon, back home to the doggies and a raging head cold. Tell me, how do I stop falling prey to the grips of the dreaded head cold? This is my second in a month. And now, BAM! Two in quick succession. Any tips to ward them off will be gratefully accepted.

This week, my team of lovely ladies has our cricket grand final! I've been a bit slack on the cricket updates (as I previously promised to do). Our last game was won with nine overs to spare. We've had some changes to our team with a couple of players moving away or out with injuries but we've also added some fantastic new players to the mix as well. My season highlight was making 22 runs - my most ever! We play 'Super 8s' format which means we retire at 30 runs, so I only had eight more to make. Fingers crossed my head has sorted itself out by then. We're playing the team we played last year in the grand final; last year they took the win. I'll let you know how it goes!


Linking up with Em's weekly 'stills' collection.


EDIT: No sooner had I posted this when this article came up in my newsfeed. Better get back into the habit of taking vitamin C/zinc/horseradish/marshmallow combination!

Stills: Weekend pottering.

This week saw me out of action early in the piece with a head cold ; fail at baking cupcakes; talking about Barracuda at book club; and lots of the usual pottering around - one of my weekend favourite things to do.

1. Green chrysanthemums are some of my favourites.
2. And again!
3. Sunday afternoon pottering and rearranging...
4. ...moving plants around...
5. ...close up with afternoon light streaming in through the blinds.
6. Toby looking wise.
7. Saturday morning bright spots and stripes.
8. Sunday morning omelette with fresh eggs from the chooks.
9. Missy came into town for a stroll around the Sunday markets.
10. Flamingoes, of course.

I hope you have a great week ahead!

Don't forget to make a pledge for Change Day, which is this Thursday 6 March. 

Linking with Em's weekly Stills.

Stills: Warmth and home.

1. Glowing afternoon light from the backyard. We had a couple of cloudy days (some that ended in a little bit of rain!) and on this particular evening, the light was dappled golden through the gum trees.
2. The story of the kelpie who wanted to be a hen continues. Any chance for Missy to be near the chooks, she's there. She just loves to be around them. It's so sweet, except that she also likes to let them into the vegie garden - which the chickens also love.
3. Lantern-like window.
4. Quiet night in.
5. Colour and pattern.
6. On the wine rack.
7. It's the first day of the official summer season, but here in Central Australia it's been summer for a while, with quite a few months of searing heat to go. Swimming pool and air conditioning make it liveable.

All iPhone pics from me this week! Please excuse the graininess. 

Linking, as always, with the stills collections at The Beetle Shack.

Stills: Another Week in Alice Springs.

1. Planting the trees and shrubs we bought last weekend along the back fence.
2. And another.
3. And...another one!
4. Watering. Growing grass here in Alice Springs is quite the ordeal. Red dirt abounds.
5. Corrugated iron back fence...
6. ...And the fence beyond that.
7. I hope you aren't eating! My filthy post-gardening feet with fruity orange/pink/red toenails.
8. If the back door is open, you can guarantee Missy is trying to sneak in.
9. Finishing a big, busy weekend (that included helping a local candidate in a by-election for the local town council) with a couple of quiet ciders at the local.
10. There's always something interesting and quirky at Monte's.
11. 'Tis me. Blurry. And a grubby mirror.

I've got a post brewing about 'pulling out the gender card' and how damaging it is for gender equity which I'll hopefully summons the courage to articulate later this week.

Weekly cricket update*: My team fielded first and my bowling was on the better side of dreadful. They didn't get that many runs off my balls but I did bowl a couple of wides. We had some catches and bowled a wicket. Then we batted and I was 'third drop' which meant that I was the third in line (but fifth to bat). I just padded up (this means putting on your leg pads and gloves to get ready to run on if someone retires or gets out!) and then we won the game by four overs (there were still four overs left for the other team to bowl but we had already caught up to their score, so we finished there!). 

How was your weekend?

Linking up with Em at The Beetle Shack - check out the linked posts, as there are always some fabulous new blogs to read!

*A new addition to my weekly 'stills' post! I play cricket in a team of awesome women. We play on Thursday nights. I know nothing about cricket, except for the rules I've learnt through playing (last season was my first) and I still don't know the 'lingo'. I love it.

Stills: Inside, outside.

1. I picked up this mirror from a trash-and-treasure stall at the local markets. It reminded me of a mirror I used to have that belonged to my grandmother. It was misplaced in a move at some point in time, so when I found this one it was meant to come home with me.
2. Bougainvillea from the plant alongisde the house...
3. ...on the mantlepiece, alongside the mirror.
4. This morning I picked this mega-zucchini from the garden. It is really heavy! 
5. Natives for along the back fence.
6. The chooks have been getting into the veggie garden and helping themselves to almost everything in sight.
7. Except, it seems, sweet basil and thyme. They also didn't care much for lemongrass and the zucchini bushes. They did, however, take a liking to corn, silverbeet, kale, Vietnamese mint, and the leaves from the chilli plant. Clever chooks left the chillies.
8. The guilty three, who now have clipped wings and a double-height fence!
9. Luckily they have been earning their keep and laying two-a-day.
10. We had book club on Sunday morning. We all rode our bikes together into town for breakfast and a chat about the latest books. This month we read Patrick White's The Twyborn Affair (which I'm still ploughing through) and The Long Weekend in Alice Springs (a graphic novel based on an essay, which I talked about in this post). Some of us also read the Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, which I'm just about to start now that uni is over for the year.

What are you reading at the moment?

Linking with the Beetle Shack.