Some success at Health Centre

I achieved two things at the Health Centre this morning: my blood test for Tuesday's Genie appointment and getting some pills. The third: a renewal of my referral to Genie is more elusive. The blood test was a bit elusive. It took three goes for new vampire Casey to find a vein as mine kept hiding. It wasn't very painful though. Now I await a call from a cancelled appointment which hadn't come by the end of the day. I hope it comes on Monday. Meantime, it's more tidying and washing of sheets not helped in the drying by last night's severe downpour. Meanwhile, P. is having lunch with Robin S. After a nap (for me), P. and I went to the Pope Joan pop-up where Pei Modern used to be. We had a good meal and ran into Cathy L. (we seem to often meet in Collins Place). We then went on (P. and I) to 45downstairs where we saw Cock by Mike Bartlett. It is a gripping four-hander about a young man who can't decide whether he is gay or heterosexual (or both). Beautifully performed with no sets or props, it was a gem, though P. and I agreed neither the boyfriend nor girlfriend was a prize, and the prize certainly wasn't. Home for another Mad Men. We're nearing the end of season five.

Stay inside

It's a scorcher today so it's more tidying inside after the usual computer things (Luminosity, Facebook, the news etc.). I also did some more booking for the overseas trip then P. made asparagus soup for lunch from his traditional mother's recipe. After a nap, he made some more vera bolognese which was very nice. Teev was horrible, but P. likes Rosehaven. At least we had another Mad Men episode. In other not so staggering news, the MUP board and CEO have all resigned after the MU Council put the screws on, describing some of their output as 'airport trash'. And Dr Bob Montgomery has been extradited from the Gold Coast to NSW on historic sex charges.

Another tidying day

This morning, I continued tidying up for the visitors (not too much though). Last night, I had a distressing phone call from the author of the biography which I drastically cut over Christmas. She is in palliative care with only a few days to live. The good news is that a publisher has made an offer on the pruned manuscript, so I promised her and her husband that I would help in any way I can to bring it to fruition. It is a great pity that the publisher didn't put their hand up earlier (and that I didn't do the cutting earlier). The autobiography author dropped in to pick up her memory stick and hardcopy manuscript, and, after a bit of discussion, has gone off with my notes to revise it. We had leftover chicken for lunch, then a nap, and P. is making steak and vegies for dinner which were delicious. Emma Alberici (back from the dead) informed us of chemical poison at rocket ranges in Italy, then more Mad Men, then more Fakes or whatever on ABC. What would we do without it? Most of the time.

Darth invader

I spent most of Invasion Day holiday doing administrative tasks and started a bit of tidying preparatory to having our three visitors on Friday. We had chicken noodle soup for lunch in defiance of the '30 things you shouldn't eat when you're over 30' list on Facebook. Our other sins include iced coffees, potato chips and processed meats (love that hot sopresso). For dinner, I made sweet potato and chickpea curry, which wasn't bad, then more nature programs and Mad Men.

Gay history walk

Up early this morning to do the crossword which wasn't quite finished when we had to join Frank to go to Luna Park (just for fun: eh-heh, eh-heh) to start the famous Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives history walk. This one was up to the usual high standard with lots of interesting information and a surprise talk by Peter McEwen about the upcoming 2020 Pride Centre in Fitzroy Street. Let's hope it does what the Council hopes it will and revivify the area which is looking on the skids at present. After thanking the presenters, a much wider range this year, we had brunch at Leo's Spaghetti Bar which is the same age as P. Home again to complete the crossword, Luminosity and have a nap. P. then made Vera Bolognese for dinner, and, at last, free-to-air teev was okay and we watched Vera bookended by NZ slow journeys on SBS followed by an episode of Mad Men.

Admin. morning

AFter a short peruse of the papers, correctly delivered for once, and the welcome return of The Saturday Paper, I did some admin. tidying including travel planning. We now have everything booked except for a couple of operas which aren't open for booking yet (Covent Garden and La Scala). After soup for lunch, we had a nap then I made beer-battered fish for dinner and after an exploration of Austrayia-day teev we settled for a few episodes of Mad Men. How unpatriotic.

Shop, hot, food and Tex-Mex

This morning, P., Franz and I but not Frank went to Victoria Gardens to shop for us and Noel. After delivering Noel's goodies we came home on this sweltering day for salmon cakes for lunch (P. had radishes as well), then off to the Recital Centre for an early dinner which turned out to be very good at Blondie. Thence to the main hall for Calexico, a kind of Tex-Mex fusion with some rusted-on fans. The Mex was better than the Tex but it was a very enjoyable concert. We whizzed off before the encores and had a dose of English Wallander at home.

Pills and clearing up

Today I went to the Health Centre to finalise my journey of getting my anti-rejection pills which was a bit of a trial (thanks Federal government for making it more difficult). Then we had leftovers for lunch and cold Hainan chicken for dinner. It was excellent and good for the hot weather. More Mad Men plus some architectural trivia on Country Living and Grand Designs.

Notes, pills and lunch

This morning I finished the notes to the autobiography. I'll re-read them and send them off tomorrow. The Health Centre was able to come good with a slot at 3pm this arvo so I should be able to get my pills or at least the scrip. That time will allow me to join the S. sisters and P. for lunch in Carlton. We had an excellent and cheery lunch, then I made it to the Health Centre where a new doctor, Andrew, wrote out my scrip lickety-split. I have to pick it up in the morning. P. is making Hainan chicken for dinner, which was delicious, followed by a night with the teev including more Mad Men plus Butterfly (a bit soppy, I thought).

Pills, art and music

This morning, I went to the health centre assuming I could stock up with pills. I was alarmed to find that my Tacrolimus scrip had run out. I'm going to try to see a doctor tomorrow or Thursday to get a new scrip. Meanwhile, the pharmacy is ordering some more. I checked with Genie the Nephrologist to be sure any GP can prescribe Tacrolimus which runs out on Friday. P. made leftover Vera Bolognese on toast for lunch. I've also made good progress on the autobiography and am now about halfway through making notes for the author. After a nap, P. and I went off to 45downstairs, not for a play but for the launch of Barry Dickins' exhibition of drawings. It was fun and I caught up with quite a few people like Louis, Maureen, Barry (of course) and Mary-Lou. We then went to the Recital Centre for The Fretless, a Canadian quartet (conventional) who play versions of Irish music. They swap over the viola in a seemingly random fashion and their music is superb. Afterwards, we went to Yoyogi for a good, cheap meal.

Moving

After the usual morning things on the computer, I went off to Brunswick Street to get Cade the Van to help with Michael and Mollie's moving. When I got there, no Cade, so I scooted home, rebooked with GoGet and picked up Cosgrave (!) the Van on the corner of Gertrude and Brunswick. After a quick familiarisation (it's a long time since I've driven a van) I headed for L&L's flat where the goods were. They were soon packed in the van and moved further down St Kilda Road. Home again for lunch. P. is at the U3A office. I made anchovy pasta for dinner (not bad even if I say so myself) then we watched Bob Hawke wreck Australia and more Mad Men.

Finishing the autobiography

The crossword wasn't quite finished before 9am as I slept in a bit having read my book a bit long last night. It was a fairly easy one this week with no wobblies. Then I finished reading the autobiography which was a lot better than I thought initially. I now have to go through it again and make some notes for the author as well as clear some things up in my own mind. P. made a delicious advocado (thanks Mum) and fetta salad for lunch which we had with smoked ham. After a nap, I cooked salmon for dinner, followed by baby cheeses and dips and chocolate (very fattening) with Vera and more Mad Men.

Tickets, trivia and autobio.

This morning, the papers came (Age and Australian) with a slight glitch of some bits missing which were restored after a complaint. Thank goodness the Saturday Paper resumes next Saturday to restore a bit of balance. I got tickets to a Richard Mills opera talk and a Midsumma event at the Convent (Orpheus) then went on with the autobiography. We had salmon fritters for lunch, then after a nap, Frank came round and we had a very nice dinner chez Noel, who seemed a lot chirpier than lately. Home again for more teev including the magnificent Wolf Hall.

Shopping, brunch then Voice Over

This morning, we picked up Franz and Frank and went to the Mall, did our shopping and Noel's, then dropped Noel's off at his place. We followed with a good brunch as always at Dr Morse. After a nap, P. and I headed down to Chapel-Off-Chapel in a nightmare of nail-biting. I'd allowed an hour-and-a-half for the journey and we just made it due to cancelled buses and looney passengers. When we got there is was worth it for a one-hour show of Eliza Jackson channelling Marni Nixon, the voice for many non-singing actors like Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Deborah Kerr. The best story was Wood, who fancied herself as a singer but wasn't, so they recorded all the songs twice, once with Wood and once with Nixon. The first that Wood realised she had been tricked was at the premiere of West Side Story. It was a great performance though not perhaps 'pitch perfect' as per the publicity. Afterwards, we went to Greville Street to White Oaks bar for a cajun-style dinner. It was quite tasty if a bit heavy, then home on the train which we should have used in the first place.

Fixing up

I spent most of this morning fixing up thing which had accumulated while we were away (for less than two days but more than 100 emails, admittedly many of them were promotional things). We are now booked into the Yorkshire Dales and our wine deliveries are fixed up though. Now for lunch and a nap. P. went off for secret U3A business. In the evening, he made delicious roast lamb for dinner, followed by dismal NY teev so we watched more Mad Men.

Anglesea

Yesterday (Tuesday), I picked up Franz the Corolla, brought him home, dumped the babyseat and headed off with P. We stopped at Geelong to view the art gallery which had some of its usual gems from the permanent collection, including Heysen and Streeton. They also had some drawings of water by Akio Makigawa plus some rather (I thought) meaningless videos, not by him but by two rather pretentious sheilas. They also had a small showing of foreign (mainly Arabic) exotic paintings by Europeans and some (mostly) quite impressive new acquisitions. We then went on to Anglesea where we stayed with Lesley and Louise. After I had a nap while P. and Lesley went to the beach, Lesley cooked a yummy meal including salmon from Tassie where they had just been. In the morning, after breakfast, we went to the beach with Lesley while Louise worked on her artworks. We had a pleasant morning on the beach, not getting too sunburnt, then went back to their place for an alfresco lunch of pasta and nibblies. Off to Melbourne with a brief stop at the cake shop for coffee and passionfruit cake. The only downside to a very pleasant couple of days was coming back into incredibly bad traffic in Melbourne. It took almost as long to get from the Westgate Bridge to home as it took to get from Anglesea to the Bridge! We had leftover fried rice for dinner and mostly travelogue for teev.

Bio. plus

I went on with the autobiography while P. went off to do some banking for Noel. I am about halfway through the autobiography, which poses a few puzzles. In the evening, I used lots of leftovers in the fridge to make fried rice which turned out to be huge and will do for another night's dinner as well. More Mad Men followed owing to the parlous state of holiday teev. I thought this series (four) was the last, but there is five or six to go. By the end, we'll know the characters better than our own families.

Changing of the guard and the Scottish play.

This morning I composed a report for the biographer and sent off the trimmed text. I then went on with reading the autobiography ms. and am about one quarter way through so will have a break and lunch as a reward for which we had salmon patties. The biographer got back with a very appreciative response and I booked all the European trains which I can at this stage (the French trains are still unavailable). Oddly, it costs nearly twice as much to get from Manchester to London as it costs to get from London to Paris. In the evening, P. and I went to the Botanical Gardens (entrance) for the Scottish play. Alison Whyte was excellent as the 'good' lady and the whole thing moved along very well. They also provided (for a fee) dinner which was not bad: P. had risotto and I had lasagne. The trees and the moon were good too.

New ms. and old

Early this morning, the new autobiography turned up in the person of a very nice author bearing a memory stick and an ms. We chatted a bit and she headed off. I've now completed cutting the biography by nearly 60 000 words, meaning it is still a weighty nearly 150 000 words. I'll let it sit till tomorrow then send it to the author. P. and I had leftover chook, pork and chorizo for lunch. P. made pork spare ribs for dinner as we settled in for the new Family Law and more Mad Men. I think we will have to call this the Mad Men summer.

Shopping and brunch

This morning was our usual shopping routine with Frank and a drop-off to Noel's place. Frank, P. and I then had brunch at Addict which was, like the whole area, fairly quiet but up to its usual high food standard. Home again for a nap. Before shopping I got down to 154,000 words for the bio. I still have four more parts to revise so will probably lose a bit, though not much, more. The author of a new autobiography is dropping in the text over the weekend for assessment and maybe quote. I made beer-battered fish for dinner, then we continued our binge on Mad Men. We now just have the last series to go.

Bio still going

This morning I went on with the bio. and have now cut 52 thousand words. I now have to check through and see how the narrative flows and maybe trim some more. We'll see. P. went off to have lunch with Robin S. In the evening, P. made frozen vera bolognese for dinner. Yum! Two more Mad Men followed a trip round Sicily on the teev. We're getting close to finalising our overseas trip.

More bio.

I've made great progress on the biography. I've now cut 46,570 words. Only about 12,000 to go, though they might be the hardest ones. The final copyedit will take care of a few more. P. and I had soup for lunch and I got a call from Tony Taylor who is in Calamity Jane (I left a note at the box office). He is amazing to do such a physical show; he is a year older than I am. We had a curry smorgasbord for dinner (beef and pumpkin and cashew) followed by not very inspiring teev.

Bio soldiers on then Calamity

I got on with the next tranch of the biography which is going well. Two more to go. In the middle I went up to Smurf Street to the bank, supermarket and chemist. The Age didn't even provide a pamphlet for the Epicure today, just two pages! I should have checked before buying but I didn't imagine they could be so mean. I also bought egg and ham brioches for lunch at the French place whose name I can never remember. After a short nap, P. and I went into town to have a good meal at Yamato (Exhibition Street) then went across the road to the Comedy Theatre for Calamity Jane, the musical. It is a good production though a bit confused (is Jane a lesbian or not?). We enjoyed it nonetheless and its energetic performers.

Active Monday

Started this morning with an energetic attack on the biography and it's going well. The cleaners arrived lickety-split and P. went off to the Nova in Carlton for the current royal pic. Their PR machine is in top gear. We had delicious leftover summer chicken for dinner and P. made his famous potato salad to go with it. More Mad Men after a Heather Hewitt mash-up of Backroads.

Sunday peace

We started the day with the giant crossword, then I did some more biography. I'm starting to get the hang of it, at last, in following the narrative thread rather than being obsessed with minutiae. We'll see how I go on the rerun of the first part. We had quiches from Coles for lunch which were quite tasty and I got on with preparations for Annabel Crabb's pumpkin and cashew curry for dinner which turned out to be quite tasty and a good one to put on file for vegos and even vegans. Vera was excellent as always followed by a smidgeon of slow trains (the bit of the journey of the Indian-Pacific we haven't been on) then more Mad Men.

Quiet Saturday

The papers arrived and were perused, then I got stuck into the biography. I've cut over 20,000 words so far, but it's not nearly enough. On the second pass, I'm going to have to be more ruthless. I got to the end before lunch and have now cut 26, 500, at least half what I need to, but second time around I need to concentrate on the narrative flow, rather than the number of words. Today is a reasonable temperature, we had salmon patties for lunch and P. is making his delicious summer chicken for dinner. Awful summer teev repeats again, so two more Mad Men, then the end of Brokeback Mountain (sob!).

Hot day which we survived

This morning we picked up Bill the Corolla and Frank the person and went to Victoria Gardens. We did a small shop and shopping for Noel then had brunch at the Murray Street eatery which was good though the serves were too big, an odd thing to complain about. We then dropped Frank and went to Noel's to take him to the doctor's, then dropped him home with his small shop and went home for a nap. Now for beer-battered fish for dinner as the cool change runs through.

Biography moving

This morning, I got lots of work done on the biography, though still not enough cutting to reach the word length necessary. P. went off to have lunch with Robin and Elaine S. In the evening, we had leftover beef curry and more teev and Mad Men, going slowly but with good plot complications.

Lunch out, dinner in

Because of having lunch with Barry D., I had a look at his current ms. again before going out and still had time to do a bit on the biography and the memoir. A little a day keeps the deadline away. Although there is no real deadline in either case, I'd like to get them finished sooner rather than later. We had a very nice lunch with Barry in the sun outside Mario's for a catch-up. Then P. went into town for some shopping and I went to the Health Centre for some pills. In the evening, I made 'free range Warrnambool' lamb cutlets for dinner (I've never seen a lamb that wasn't free range, but perhaps there are) which were nice with mash, peas and caramelised onion, very traditional. More teev to follow from the ABC Christmas/NY shelf followed by Mad Men. It is inching its way through the story but we'll get there eventually, maybe.

A very quiet day

Today, New Year's Day, I sent off the non-fiction work with a report. We had leftovers for lunch, finishing off some things out of the fridge, then I had a good chat with Bron in Stawell. P. cooked a very tasty beef curry for dinner. More Mad Men followed as the teev was dreadful as it tends to be at this time of year. The royals PR machine has gone into top gear with Princess Di's wardrobe in the spotlight.