How to set the budget for your kitchen reno

There are two things happening today. First, it is Melbourne Cup day* and second, I have a kitchen company coming around to discuss the possibility of a new kitchen and laundry around here. There is a very hot place that will freeze over before we can afford said renovation but I've come up with a plan.

Step 1: Find the Melbourne Cup Sweep page in your local paper.

Step 2: Cut out the contenders and put them in your summer hat.

Step 3: Draw out six horses each. It seems I have three out of the five with the worst odds.

Step 4: Hope that one of the horses comes home for the $10 family betting pool.

To supplement this I'll also pop down to the local TAB this morning to place a bet, for a place, on the five horses with the worst odds and for a Trifecta on the horses whose Jockeys have the prettiest outfits.

When the kitchen reno lady asks what my budget is I'll tell her "Wait until 3.14pm and I'll let you know".

Good luck with your flutter on The Cup today!

EDIT 7.58pm: Kitchen Reno budget = $0! I BOMBED. That'll learn me for gambling!

*Overseas readers: this is one of Australia's most sacred days second only to...well, I can't think what it's second to. I think Australia day may come a close second.

The Book Tourist's Guide to Australia

I asked and you delivered. Here are your choices for the books that would give a visitor an insight into the social fabric of your Australia.

Sydney Suburbs:

Cronulla beach culture: Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey
Surry Hills before it was gentrified: The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
Western Suburbs: Ten Things I Hate about Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah (young fiction)
North Sydney, Lane Cove (plus Canberra & Malvern, Vic): Dead Set by Kel Robertson (crime fiction)
Eastern Suburbs, esp. Bondi: The Les Norton books by R G Barrett (popular fiction)
Early Urban Settlers plus a glimpse of boarding school in the Blue Mountains: Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (written 1894)

Melbourne Suburbs:

Bayside: Sunnyside by Joanna Murray-Smith
Northern: The Murrary Whelan Novels by Shane Maloney (crime fiction)
St Kilda Road, Inner City in the 1920s: The Phryne Fisher Novels by Kerry Greenwood
Brunswick Street in the 90s: The Crocodile Club by Kaz Cooke
Suburban share house (poss. set Carlton, Fitzroy? Williamstown?) 1960s/70s: Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
Acland St, St Kilda: Cafe Sheherazade by Arnold Zable
St Kilda and the seedier side of life: Candy by Luke Davies
Williamstown & Kensington: The Watcher on the Cast Iron Balcony by Hal Porter
Suburban professionals: Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman, Three Dollars by Elliot Perlman

Perth:
1950s suburbia: The Shark Net by Robert Drewe
1960s suburbia: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
The 'iron ore state' from 1950s-1990s: Floodtide by Judy Nunn

Central and Remote Australia:

Malaya, Alice Springs, Burketown Qld: A Town Like Alice by Nevile Shute (set late 1940s)
An epic of Aboriginal Australia in the Gulf Country: Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

Other Rural Australia:

Rural WA (Narrogin): A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey (memoir set around late WWI)
Rural WA (Albany? Lancelin?): Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Goulburn, NSW: My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin (1901)
Mt Macedon area, Victoria: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (early 1900s)
Beachside country towns near Melbourne: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

Queensland:

Apart from Carpentaria above, the recommendations we have are to listen to Jimmy Barnes and Shannon Noll (for Townsville) and to watch Muriel's Wedding. Oh man, did I have to type that?

Although there was also a suggestion to read the Nick Earls novels for a taste of 1980s Brisbane.

One International Entry:

Melinda suggests that Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns gives an insight into small town Georgia.

Thanks for your entries! If you have thought of any more books that give an insight into your local social fabric let me know.

*photos by me from our trip to the amazing red centre in 2007

Off to the Melbourne Writers Festival

I'm about to pack my bag in anticipation of my trip to Melbourne tomorrow afternoon. I will be staying with Fairlie and indulging in two days of Melbourne Writers Festival activities, being a 'blow-in' at Cousin It's 30th birthday and catching up with whichever members of the No. 1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub are available to be at Domestic Goddess' house on Sat night.

When I booked this trip I didn't realise that Sunday was Father's Day. Ooops. However, KelpieBlossom assures me that she has the day fully in hand. I don't want to reveal too much in case Firegazer reads this blog; however, I hear that there is a Menu being planned. I don't recall ever giving KelpieBlossom or Padawan Learner lessons on how to make tea and toast but I guess they'll figure it out.

Luckily, the Fire Station is just up the street.

I will file a full report on my return.

Visiting your old home town - the tricky part

I have lived in three cities, in three different states, and one country town. One of the perennial issues when visiting a former city is to decide: Is this a trip to catch up with friends or is this a trip to catch up with the city. It can be both, but both can be difficult to achieve.

Those of you who live in a different city from your family (and/or friends) will understand this. When you visit your home city it can end up being a string of home visits, sometimes two or three a day just to make sure you've caught up with everyone. Add in a few country relatives and your whole time is taken up leaving no time for catching up with your memories of your former home town. Going from house to house is no fun for the kids and if we did this everytime they'd hate the trip. There has to be a holiday element in there somewhere.

So we tend to divide trips into ones to visit the city and ones to visit the friends. This recent trip to Melbourne was largely a city visit. Our January trip to Perth will be a catch up with family and friends visit.

Even though Melbourne was a city visit we did catch up with a couple of friends.

• Fairlie, The Poolboy, Queenie and Impossible Princess were great hosts and tour guides
  
• S from TeamSAK is looking fabulous despite her illness this year. The kids enjoyed playing with Kingsley.
  
• Ahubby from TeamSAK brought around his new wheels (Firegazer was salivating, and NO he can't have one)
  
• I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to catch up with my friends in the No. 1 Melbourne Ladies Bookclub this time and
  
• Domestic Goddess's family was in Canberra, so we caught up with them on the way back to Sydney.

and to everyone else, I'd love to catch up with you next time I get a leave pass. Or perhaps you might like to come and visit us here...

*images from here and here

Plotting my next trip to the Great Southern City

I don't get back to Melbourne as often as I'd like so when I'm there I like to make sure I visit certain things. Y'know, to make sure they're still there.

So as a minimum I

• Visit all the houses I've lived in. Happy to report that our first semi is looking great with a newly painted fence and nothing seems to have changed with our third house (but the neighbours are finally getting their reno done). KelpieBlossom remembers our last house but Padawan Learner doesn't, he was 3 when we left.
• Check out how the Children's Garden is progressing (great)
• Catch a tram (City Circle ride aborted due to cranky kids)
• Shop (just love the shopping strips in Melbourne - but I think Chapel St has gone off, too many chain shops now, or perhaps I'm just getting old)

Then I like to check out what's changed. Fairlie at Around the Traps has already posted about what we did so why don't you just visit here for our visit to the Eureka Skydeck and here for all the other stuff. Fairlie has great photos to check out, but here are some more:

Now must get back to plotting how to get a leave pass to go down for the Melbourne Writers Festival in Aug/Sept.

Magic Happens Here

Those of you who know me will realise how biased I am when I say this but The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden is a must-see when you are in Melbourne. It is located within Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens near the Observatory Cafe.

Did you know:

• The Magic Pudding Sculpture, which forms the centre-piece to the gardens, is the only non-plant related sculpture inside the Botanic Gardens.
• This Sculpture is designed (engineered) to be climbed on by children. If your child is ever told off for climbing the sculpture I want to know about it.
• Likewise, the plants in the garden are designed for touching and climbing. It is a tactile experience for children.
• The garden is closed everyday at 4pm so that it can be repaired & rejuvenated after all that touching and climbing.
• There is a magnificent kitchen garden where vegies and herbs can be examined by children. There is also a sand-pit full of black sand for kids who like to get really dirty.
• Some of the water features are currently turned off due to water restrictions. The pond is still full.

This is a world class garden that our children just LOVE to explore. Take your children and let them discover the magic for themselves (and let them climb on the Magic Pudding Sculpture).

Syd-Mel-Syd Without Maccas

Those of you venture out onto the Hume with children will understand the allure of the McDonald's Service Centres. Clean toilets, a babychange area, a playground - all vital to a successful schlep between Sydney and Melbourne. But can you manage the drive without stopping at a McDonald's? We are certainly veteran McDonalds customers on these trips. Where else serves food for both adults and children, has clean toilets and a place to run amok for a few minutes?

On our recent drive to and from The Great Southern City we failed to stop at a Maccas - and survived. Here are my reviews of the alternatives:



The Jumping Jumbuck Cafe
Euroa, Victoria

We first stopped here attracted by the promise of a devonshire tea. We were not disappointed. This cafe served your favourite beverage with large scones and loads of jam and cream. Sandwiches can be made to order and there is a decent choice of homestyle cooking. Clean toilets, a car park but no playground - kids could run on the lawn in fine weather.




The Submarine (and Submarine Cafe)
Holbrook, NSW

This is Submarine Town. It's 4 hours drive from Sydney, there is no major body of water nearby... but still there is a submarine. Great place for the kids to play and now there is a cafe nearby.




The Dog on the Tuckerbox
5 miles from Gundagai, NSW
Famous NSW landmark. Rumour has it that the dog didn't "sat on the tuckerbox" - he actually "s*at on the tuckerbox" but that wouldn't make for a family friendly monument. The old kiosk here has closed down but a new place selling food, fresh fruit & veg and souvenirs has opened nearby. It's a little rundown but has plenty of places to run.

The Bakery of Goulburn

Goulburn Service Centre, NSW

This is relatively new. Co-located with Maccas and Subway it showed promise as a healthier alternative. I don't think they have the mix quite right yet (too many pies, not enough salads) but the Turkish Bread here is delicious. Great toilets but no playground. However, the kids were more than happy to jump on and off the low wall out the front and the Big Merino is over the road.

So, you see no need to stop at Maccas - unless of course you can't go two hours without an un-happy meal.

Only in Melbourne: Scotchie Pants

If you live in Melbourne's private school belt and are aged 9-19 then there's a good chance that you've begged your mum to stop at traditional uniform supplier Dobsons

and buy these: the Scotchie Pant

They are so-named because, in red, they are the Scotch College track pant. Scotch College boys would lend/give their track pants to their girlfriends to wear; I guess as a token of "going together". And a trend started.

Note the correct footwear that our model (Queenie) is wearing (although to be totally correct they should be Havaianas).

Yes, I know they're baggy; Yes, I know they are not flattering for your bigger boned girl (our model is reed thin); but clearly love has no bounds and now a generation of girls are wearing them. They now not only come in school colours but in "fashion" colours as well (the fashion colours are more expensive).

Once you know about them you notice teenage girls wearing them everywhere. Horrifyingly, we even saw a mum wearing a coral-coloured pair at the Observatory Cafe, South Yarra, last week.

They are a best seller at Dobsons. I bet they can't believe their luck.

They look comfy, but would you wear these (in public)?

The Clock on the Silo Says 8 Degrees

As former residents of the Great Southern City Firegazer and I hold this famous local landmark in high regard. This is "the clock on the silo". Or the BTR Nylex sign. It lives on Punt Road next to Hoddle Bridge which connects Richmond with South Yarra.





Not long after relocating to Melbourne in 1996 we were driving up Punt Road after an AFL game at the MCG while listening to Paul Kelly's song Leaps and Bounds:

I'm high on the hill
Looking over the bridge
To the M.C.G.
And way up
on high
The clock on the silo
Says eleven degrees

As these lyrics blasted through the car sound system we looked up and saw that, like the song, the clock on the silo said eleven degrees... So Leaps and Bounds became our "Melbourne Song". Still is.

We are now Sydney-siders visiting our former town. So today as we drove along Alexandra Avenue we looked up at the silo and played Leaps and Bounds (loudly).

Only this time the clock on the silo said eight degrees. Brrr.

Restaurant Review: A Certain* Club, Albury

Thinking of driving straight through from Sydney to Melbourne? But no! Stop for the night and treat yourself to the best that club food has to offer by taking the family to A Certain Club* smorgasbord in Albury.

As you swipe your driver's licence, and sign in as a visitor, you know that you are in an establishment that cares about your safety. Proceed up the stairs and line up to receive your own plate and cutlery wrapped in a napkin before settling the children and lining up for your food.

The gentleman announces over the PA: "Children under 12 must be served by an Adult".

A sign above the Bain Marie reminds you "PATRONS MUST USE THE SERVING CUTLERY PROVIDED". It's five star all the way.

I treated myself to a meal of roast meat (beef?), potatoes, peas and gravy followed by Chocolate (?) Mousse and what was reputed to be Cheesecake. I'll let Fairlie explain further, however one member of our party was heard to say "I just hope this is not my last meal, because that would be a tragedy".

Actually, it was more animated than that but I don't want to risk my G rating.


* real name hidden to protect the innocent that actually like this food