Wax on, wax off

I probably write this quite often, but it’s been a beautiful week in Canberra…all blue skies and flat whites in the sun. This has been offset somewhat by a bout of excessive domesticity as I prepare to move out of the apartment in Barton and to a more traditional Aussie style home in Narrabundah. Now the apartment in Barton is lovely, aided by the huge windows and doors lining the exterior. These are a nightmare to clean though and I’ve seen enough cobwebs and Windex to last me a lifetime.

Windows: shiny

I also managed to take the rubbish and recycling out on Friday evening only to leave my keys behind and no way back into the apartment. So there I was in my jeans and T-shirt on a chilly Canberra eve waiting to get a bus into town to meet Steve to get keys. In the end, we had some dinner and watched a movie (Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon) so it all turned out for the good. Other exciting news on the domestic front and I actually cooked a fair bit this week, using up bits and pieces in the cupboard to great effect, Tuesday’s Mediterranean vegetable and goats cheese tart being worthy of Gordon F*cking Ramsay himself. Done.

I also squeezed in some culture, shopping and the more traditional pursuit of wandering around one of Canberra’s hills. It was a friends open day at a art studio and gallery on Saturday so I popped along to show my support, then went up to Red Hill in the late afternoon. They should rename this place Mount Australia, from the roos to the cockatoos, the white gums, red dirt tracks, and ridiculously healthy joggers asking you “Howzitgan?” it is Australian cliches in one handy nature reserve.

I was trying to pick out my new home to be from the ridge, it’s down there somewhere:

So I’ve clearly been out and about a bit this weekend, and the really exciting news is that it has been petroleum propelled in my new car! I got a 2000 Mitsubishi Magna which in the relatively few kilometres I have done seems to handle really well, is very comfortable and has a bit of a kick. Supposed to be very reliable too so can’t wait to clock up lots more kilometres in it. On Sunday afternoon I took it up Mount Ainslie to see how it liked hills and it was of course the perfect place to pose for some shots!

As tempting as it was I didn’t go for the ute…just couldn’t bring myself to do it! The car will certainly help next week as I move properly down to Narrabundah. Some stuff has gone already, but I still have some essentials to pack, such as the Devon flag, the one remaining bag of Tesco crisps and crumbly fudge, which is now being rationed very tightly. It will be good to get settled again, happy in the knowledge that at least there will be less glass to clean in the future!