Hello, my name is Sandy. I'm an artist in Perth, Western Australia.

Winter is coming. I know this because I have a chesty cough&cold and we’ve had awesome rain. To celebrate, I’m sharing eight (8) awesome things that are awesome for awesome winter.

ONE: Furry blankets

This is a furry blanket. It is nice. It is nice to have the windows and doors open and be up to your neck in furry blanket. Forget how tacky faux fur can be. Winter makes it cool. And anyway, you’re by yourself on the couch. No one needs to know.

TWO: Onesies

Despite its lack of bumflap, the 100% cotton American Apparel onesie makes for a cosy, breatheable garment, undergarment or overgarment on any wintery evening. No, I’ve not been paid to say this. I have one and I like it. Got it on sale for cheap, but full-price doesn’t seem that much to pay now that it looks like it lasts at least a couple of winters.

THREE: Warm warm lamb soup

Add a bit of beef stock and some hot chilli sauce (maybe Sriracha or ABC chilli) to a big pot of water; bring to boil. Add lamb, leave lamb to boil through. Add potato, celery, carrot, turnip and parsnip.

By the time the veggies are soft, you’ll still have a pretty big volume of water for the amount of solids, so throw in 3-4 handfuls of soup mix pasta; this will absorb some of the water and give you more tasty things to chew while you eat the soup.

Serve when pasta is cooked. The chilli makes you feel warm. :)

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Permalink. Posted 30 April, 2011. Tagged: cats, cooking, food, music, tv, winter is coming.

Wednesday night was special.

We finally got to try Blackbird Restaurant in East Perth. My partner is mates with the restauranteur and did the branding, and every time got to sample stuff from their menu tests when he went to talk shop. So all I’ve been hearing is how lovely Son (the proprietor) has made the place, how delicious the entrées are, how amazing their ‘flowerpot bread’ looked…

And I’m like, for fuck’s sake this is not fair.

You are looking at a little bowl of table snacks – olives in olive oil – and the salt and pepper. My camera’s not very good, so please excuse the graininess of the photos.

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Permalink. Posted 23 April, 2011. Tagged: east perth, food, sandy's notes.

We got a new cat! She’s an Exotic Shorthair – we picked her up, grumbling and bumbling at the Cat Haven in Shenton Park. Her Haven name was Tinkerbell. Since joining the household, she’s not stopped complaining, so we’ve proper named her Mona.

My promotion has finally come through at work! The impact is softened somewhat by the two years of trying and promises, but it’s nice to finally get here. There’s yet another team shuffle coming up as well.

Plenty of change in my life at the moment. I’ve started many blogposts that ended up erased. Every now and then I get into moods where it’s hard to make words. Been eating many delicious things, though, so I’ll have plenty to say when I get more time to sit and write.

Easter long weekend draws near. :)

Permalink. Posted 20 April, 2011. Tagged: cats.

As I dotted the final punctuation mark on my blasted essay last night, I was overcome with a Brosh-esque wave of rebellion. However, my INTERNET FOREVER campaign was cut short after about an hour as I lay asleep on the couch, ensconced in the dulcet drawl of Neil Oliver retelling Scottish history.

I’ve had a whole bottle – yes, a WHOLE 330ml BOTTLE – of Boca Lupo, which was, in hindsight, a dumb idea as I’ve spent the last 2 months cutting down on stimulants and my tolerance is shot. What most of my friends can drink 2 or 3 of in a day has now left me exhausted and buzzing. I thought a caffeinated/guaranated beverage would give me the minerals to get stuck into my next assignment, but it’s only increased my lust for protest against getting work done.

I made the bed, though. :)

Permalink. Posted 3 April, 2011. Tagged: library course.