Ganeida's Knots

Life is too short for traffic. ~Dan BellackIt was midnight last night before we walked in our door.  I feel like I've been run over by a Mac Truck & the last boat is always a bit dodgy ~ which is only to be expected; all sane people are already home in bed & safely tucked up for the night.

Now I could grizzle about Brisbane parking ~ but I figure you've all heard quite enough of my opinions on Brisbane!  If you remove the driving & the parking, which so traumatize me, there are actually things I like about being in Brisbane.  It is, after all, our capital city.  Being a Sydney girl I sorta cringe about that.  Brizzie river just can't compare with Sydney Harbour & QPAC isn't a patch on the Opera House ~ though probably far more sensible & functional!  Given that Brisbane wasn't blessed with the pristine & glorious harbour Sydney owns as a right, it tries.  It really does.  Southbank was a brilliant conception ~ though naturally not a patch on what we live with everyday on the islands.  Still, it is an oasis of green pleasantness & cosmopolitian food ~ & it owns a most divine little chocolate & coffee shop.  Not that we could afford to buy anything in there but the smell was glorious!

One of the problems, of course, is we never go into Brisbane for pleasure. It's the city; why would we?  So when we go in it is always work related & we are under pressure before we start.  Yesterday we arrived early with several hours to waste so I shouted us all icecreams [one of the really excellent things about Southbank] &  we wandered through the gardens watching the city~cats plough up & down the river & braved the misty showers of rain.

Liddy, who had the car in the morning, had opted to come in with us & did the driving.  A rather novel experience for me to be able to give that child clear directions but negotiating Stanely street with all its overhead lights, is a health hazzard.  Star & I have this down pat now & Liddy drives with the confidence of the young so we hurtled down Grey Street & found street parking at Southbank.

 Now QPAC has a different dress code than AVAE because it is not primarily a children's ensemble.  It is a full choir with 4 sections & the ladies are required to wear a  black floor length gown or skirt.  Star has a dress.  We spotted one cheap that she liked a while back & got it on the off~chance we would eventually need one ~ & so we do.  However it needed a long sleeved bolero or shrug so we had to look for that yesterday.  My girls are typical teens.  Take them into a clothes shop & they end up in the dressing rooms with armsful of clothing to try on.  As Star invariably looks ghastly in modern fashions we rarely buy anything but yesterday she spotted this cream sun dress a la Marilyn Monroe & we actually urged her to try it on.  She looked a million dollars so I splurged & that is the only Christmas present I have bought to date!

Long rehearsal & t.v cameras in [& Star had left her media release at home so we had to do that over again] so Liddy & I visited friends at Kangaroo Point.   Wonderful born~again Christians who served as missionaries in Asia with drug addicts & as bible smugglers.  They are some of our favourite people.  I won't visit on my own as finding them requires crossing a bridge & negotiating poorly marked streets so it is something I do with Liddy in tow to do the driving.  There we were having the most wonderful time of fellowship & catching up when Bam!  The lights went out!  Only in our street!  How's that?

And while I was there anyway I picked up my ticket for Saturday night's performance ~ & sorted out my parking because the ticket office people should know all about that, shouldn't they?  Well the QPAC people do because I bet I'm not the only one who's ever had a psychotic meltdown about getting in to town only to find there is no parking to be had!

Dearest, who has barely seen us in days & has been very much left to his own devices & whatever food he can scrounge from a sadly depleted pantry, says the cats started losing it about 10.00pm ~ the time we have been walking in the door.  They are going to have to get over this ~ but they are not finding all the comings & goings easy to deal with & last night they thought none of their women were coming home.  I suspect they view us as their harem & are not impressed when we wander too far from home.

The house is scented with gardenia, one of my favourite flowers.  I much prefer them to roses & the delicate creamy petals that bruise so easily delight me.  I planted a new one to remember Issi & the most wonderful blooms have just started to open all over. 

Concert tonight.  Dress rehearsal for QPAC tomorrow.  Concerts Friday & Saturday. Gothic rehearsal Monday.  The month is slowly whittling away. I imagine Christmas will happen whether or not I am ready for it.