Are We There Yet?

The lead-in to the silly season begins here. We don't really do it in a huge way, but I do like the trimmings - the tree and the food. For some reason red and green seem festively-themed, so here is meal number one: roast beef with jalapeno dressing served with radish and edamame salad with horseradish sour cream.  

Roast beef with jalapeno dressing 

Radish and edamame salad with horseradish sour cream

Meal number two is also rocking the red and green theme.

Spicy Thai-style red curry chicken and noodle soup

 

On the morning of Him Outdoors' birthday, we went for a walk around a new-ish track, the Ian Loiterton Track. Named in honour of Ian Loiterton (surprise!), the walk features information boards which explain the history, flora and fauna, and geology of the land. Ian Loiterton majored in geology for his BSc degree at the Australian National University.

Another information board tells us that the first European settlement of Aranda Bushland was in the mid-nineteenth century, when Francis Mowatt was granted land here, in the distyrict known as Weetangera. There was never a homestead in this area, the nearest being at the foot of Mount Painter. Cattle and sheep were grazed, and several old fence posts are still visible on this walk, as well as two farm dams and a low stone wall, probably built to control erosion.

Finneran's Road divides the forested upper part of Aranda Bushland for the woodland and grassland below. It was one of the earliest roads in the district, servicing the farms along the Molongo river, including this area, later called Glenloch. From the 1960s, when the suburb of Aranda was established, the forested slopes behind the houses were progressively excised from Glenloch and added to Canberra Nature Park. Later still, part of the lower grassland was excised to protect a patch of snow gums, rare survivors of the many that used to grow at this level in pre-European times.

"This walk is located on Ngunnawal Country, occupied by the Ngunnawal people for tens of thousands of years. We recognise the special relationship and connection that Ngunnawal people have with this Country. For time immemorial they have maintained a tangible and intangible cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to these lands and waters.

"Within this forested landscape evidence of Ngunnawal occupancy can be found. This evidence includes stone tools, scarred trees, and a nearby 'ring tree' signposting an ancient pathway. Our walk has been designed to avoid recorded Aboriginal Heritage sites, and any Aboriginal artifacts seen must be left undisturbed. 

"The area contains a major creek running south west from Black Mountain, edged on the east by a stee rocky ridge. The predominant underlying rock is the Pittman Formation-Acton Shale, which contains bands of chert, a hard rock used by the Ngunnawal for making cutting and scraping tools. There are also bands of quartz, which also were used for scrapers, though more difficult to shape into fine designs."

As we finished our walk, we were farewelled by this fellow. 

Eastern Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata)

Later in the day, we went on a tram-based pub crawl for birthday celebrations, taking in six drinking establishments, with several friends and fellow imbibers. I'll write a full post elsewhere, but here are the highlights.

North-side birthday tram crawl

We had planned a Christmas Eve event, but unfortunate events meant we had to cancel. We did have a couple of friends (Dr Kay and Patience Itself - oddly not pictured) drop by to share in the canapes and festive drinks we had prepared. 

Salmon and beetroot bites

Goat-cheese strawberries

Truffle chocolates homemade by Patience Itself

Canapes with rosé sangria

While we had friends here, we were able to share the birthday boy's cake, which is great, as we will be eating it for weeks!

Christmas tree mud cake

Cat Walk

I am dog sitting for some friends. They are away in Sydney and their dogs need to be let out every hour or so to avoid any unfortunate accidents. They're pretty cute office colleagues.

But don't tell my girls I said that.

As well as the actual paid work, I am also working on the upcoming play I am directing. This week I met with a designer and we discussed some of the themes I would like to incorporate including weaving and storytelling; rope and sticks. Here are a couple of my inspirations

Later in the week I got together with the rest of the production team to discuss progress. I'm not saying that because we're all female, we have a better class of food at our production meetings, but...

As usual, I spent most of the rest of my leisure time eating, drinking, walking, and reading.

Chicken Noodle salad at Good Brother Cafe

I encountered this amazing mural at Dickson Shops. It is called In Our Hands by Faith Kerehona and Bohie Palecek. I felt it refers to the recent bush fires, the injured wildlife, and our responsibility towards them and our community. When I got home I managed to find out more about it on-line, where Faith Kerehona wrote,

"We created an artwork funded by cityrenewalcbr about regeneration, hope and bushfire commemoration. Arthropodium flowers bloom from her back, a species which has begun to bloom again after the fires in VIC and NSW. The girl, curled in a vulnerable fetal position, cradles a joey and echidna. She floats in water, the fire encased in her clothing. This mural invites the viewer to consider our collective, shared futures, and what our next steps in addressing climate change should be."

Half of the walking group completed our lap of Lake Burley Griffin and for once I even took photos of the walk itself, rather than just the restorative coffee and breakfast afterwards. 

The lake

Not the lake

The Luminosity at the lake

I've had a lot on my mind, and when that happens, I can't sleep. And when that happens, I need some comfort reading - and when that happens, I turn to Terry Pratchett. 

Birthday lunch

An afternoon jog takes me past the grounds of the Governor General's Residence. The house is lovely, but the grounds are magnificent. The GG has his/her own golf course, which is generously shared with the local residents. 

We didn't get the roos off the green

Rehearsals and planning continue apace for Coda for Shirley, which will be performed in December. I am very appreciative of all the work that has gone into this fine poster, featuring Micki Beckett as the eponymous Shirley. 

And here are some images of my birthday lunch at the Turkish Pide House in Woden. 

Chichek Dolmasi - Stuffed zucchini flowers with goats and fetta cheese and roasted pine nuts [sic]

Aegean Salad - thinly sliced lamb salad tossed on baby spinach, olives & fetta, roma tomatoes & Lebanese cucumbers dressed with mint yoghurt [sic]

Ocakta Balik - char-grilled Atlantic salmon, infused with garlic & olive oil, with a touch of za'atar dressing