25.01.2008

discoveries

out the window this morning the harbour was magnificent. the whole thing had a layer of ice on it, onto which the snow had fallen, (we had a whole lot more snow last night) and then there was an amazing patterning of cracks all over it. it was stunning.

yesterday phillip, jo, simon and I went up to the kensington market area. we found this great little coffee place where the guy roasts and blends his own beans. we sat in the front window on mis-matched laminex and vinyl chairs and as the sun came in on us and made us warm and happy we drank reasonable coffee. he heated the milk way too hot, but still the base product was pretty good. he told us that if ever someone from melbourne comes into his cafe and asks for a job he hires them! it was a good line.

then we had lunch at a place the coffee guy suggested to us called aunts and uncles, (which i think we all thought was called ants and ankles) and had a delicious meal of various sorts of eggs and extras and yummy banana pancakes with baked pears...oh yeah. at last.

after the show, in which we were all dealing with second night blues and the fact that bruce had left us for vancouver, helen, from the workshop, invited us all to go back to her place for a party. it was pretty crazy in her apartment, it was this mix of hippy and arty and chintzy, and some other friends of hers came too, a woman who ran a shop selling all the items that you would ever need to be a transvestite performer or sex-worker, an actor and a man called juan who ended up doing a portrait of simon in pencil. simon was rapt, we were bemused. it was all very fascinating.

jim and I skated today. it was cold, but there was no wind and the sun was shining, and so it was delicious on the ice. there were about a thousand school kids on the ice, and although it was necessary to keep a very careful look out for them, it was also pretty fun. one little girl totally made my day but saying to me as I skated past her..."you are a really good skater!" howzat!

i had a sensational lunch at an organic vegetarian place from the vegetarian guide that shelly gave me a few days ago: dahl; a chick-pea, spinach, carrot and prune stew and a gorgeous beetroot salad.

we had a fabulous pre-show warm-up with an alter-ego of Jim's: a fitness instructor called Margaret. she takes us through a few simple step routines, without the step. we're picturing a purple velour leisure suit and immaculate, big hair. she's a great fan of sex in the city, and is very encouraging. she's a lovely lady to have around.

the show went very well tonight, which was great, and we're booked out for the rest of the season. high-fives all round.

a few additional discoveries:

~ that there is such a thing as peanut butter cheesecake...on an oreo crust ~ tim-bits...these are the bits out of the middle of a doughnut that are saved and made into a tasty snack in their own right ~ ritters coconut-filled chocolate. oh my god. it is so good. ~ that many canadians actually believe that there is some substantial qualitative difference between tim horton doughnuts and krispy kreme doughnuts ~ here, as in europe, it is possible to get this beautiful prune yoghurt by danone. alas, not in australia ~ that the grain used in the salad the other night at dinner was quinoa and it is big here amongst the healthy-living types ~ that tim-bits are not really the saved bits out of the middle of doughnuts but a propaganda exercise because there's no such thing as the middle of a doughnut...is there?