Oh!

No fabric for me from here (that's okay :) but oh, the colours and the sheer amount of material. They know all about presentation in northern Africa. This so reminds me of all the wonderful markets in Egypt.

Still working....getting there slowly.

Other Brilliant Brother

My other brother has just returned to London (where he is living) from Morocco. Jealous, much. Anyway, he posted this awesome pic of himself on his blog and I just love it, so had to steal it and put it here.

I love the cheeky look in his eyes and the colour of the...scarf (I'm sure it has another name). Fantastic!

Also, trying not to hyperventilate at the thought of all the fabric he *could* (but probably didn't) buy for me.

Oh, and I miss him being around.

Last Night

My house mate/best friend/all-round awesomeness cooked dinner last night. We had pasta with HOMEGROWN tomatoes and zucchini. So delicious. We also had some wine, and then the camera came out.

Yes, it was hot yesterday. 39degC. It will be 42degC today. Charming.

Brilliant Brother

Just a quick post to crow about my brother; amazing artist and musician, and his current project. He is the artist-in-residence in a vacant shop in the city.

He has to work there during the week (you can see the painting he is currently working on on the easel up the back) and at the end of his stint he has an exhibition. Today we set up the table in the foreground with some of his sketch books for people to browse. I'm trying to get him to put signs up welcoming people in too.

So, if you happen to be in Perth, go and say hi and have a look at his amazing work. He is in the little arcade at the Parmelia Hilton on the corner of Mill and St George's Tce. He is mostly there until about 2pm.

A New Year

Last night (New Year's Eve) I had some family and friends over for dinner. I've never really been that excited about New Year celebrations - only really for 2000 - and I gave up staying up for midnight years ago. The deal we all made was that the party wasn't to go on late. Most of us were tired and wanted sleep and that suited me fine.

I set up my market table on the front verandah and decked it out with a lovely red tablecloth, fairy lights, candles and a red lamp shade over the light. It was so much fun doing it and getting ready.

Our verandah is hemmed in on all sides by buildings (which is why our beautiful 1930s bungalow is so cheap!) but it never seems to matter. The setting sun comes through the two townhouses at the front and the breeze still blows there. Plus, there are no overlooking windows, so it is very private.

It was a lovely summer's evening - some thought a little cold, but I was fine. We ate homemade mountain bread chips with homemade roasted carrot dip and homemade olive tapenade then a bbq and salads, including tomatoes grown in my vege patch roasted with cous cous, basil, rocket and parmesan and a roast pumpkin salad. To finish we broke open the fruit cake my mum made my aunt for Chritmas (just three ingredients - mixed fruit, chocolate milk and sr flour!), which was delicious.

So, all in all, it was a really lovely night. We watched the blue moon rise and talked, drank and shared our resolutions. My visitors left at 10.30 or so and I fell into bed, happy to be able to sleep.

This morning Katrina and I took the dog to the beach - a glorious sun-drenched, breezy beach with dumping waves and miles of white sand. Bess chased the ball a lot, we all got wet (some of us got dumped as well) then came home and showered and ate left over salad. Yum. Such a great start to what I'm determined will be a great year.

Best wishes to all for 2010!