Ecstasy! Delirium!

Probably Miss Eagle's biggest whinge since coming to live in Melbourne in September 2004 has been the fact that there is no live broadcast of the State of Origin series between Queensland and New South Wales. Melbourne is bigoted. It is not ecumenical. Queensland supports four codes: League, Union, Soccer, and AFL. Melbourne can't get past their highly localised game, AFL.

The whinge from Miss Eagle was so bad this year, dear Reader, that Herself promised her, as a birthday present, a ticket to the final State of Origin match which, this year, is being held in Melbourne. Miss Eagle has now been saying how wonderful if it would be - and it seemed unlikely - if Queensland defeated NSW in the second game and the decider would be played here in Melbourne.

And guess what?

Last night The Canetoads walked all over The Cockroaches to win 30-6 and the decider comes to Melbourne. The tickets had already been arranged through our good friend Sarah and we are doing the whole thing in style. We have a corporate box!

Now Miss Eagle is off to see if Melbourne can produce a Queensland scarf - and to check on the supplies of Champagne and Bundy Rum.

I hope you dance...

This was written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend.

*The last line says it all. *

Dear Bertha,

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savour, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a kilo, getting the sink unstopped, or the first rose bud.

I wear my good blazer to the supermarket. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for assistants in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favourite food was.

I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and lustre to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there."

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance

Chocablogging in Balaclava...or was it St Kilda?

The Grand Finale, after the Shopblogging, ended with Chocablogging at Baked.

Now, as you will note, the Baked card says 175 Carlisle Street, Balaclava.

Why then is this celebration on the side of the Railway Bridge above Carlisle Street?

Is this the St Kilda side of Balaclava Street?

Anyway, there was more important stuff on the agenda on a cold and foggy day in Balaclava/St Kilda. And that was the decisions to be made in the face of what lies below.

Groan, groan! Decisions, decisions!

It came down to a Mocha Walnut Slice for Gina.

And Double Chocolate Pie for Miss Eagle!

And we prevailed upon a gorgeous young man to record the occasion.

Shopblogging on Glenhuntly Road

Here are some of the treasures that were discovered on Glenhuntly Road on Saturday.

The doily Gina found at the Garage Sale.

The recipe for the bikkies will be found at Food from Oz.

When Miss Eagle saw this copy of Desiree by Annemarie Selinko in its passionately purple cover, it brought to mind memories of the young and exquisitely beautiful Jean Simmons starring opposite the young and beautiful Marlon Brando in the movie. And don't the purple passion earrings go well with it.

Miss Eagle bought this decanter to hold the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The steamer is a one/two person model. Should be handy.

Miss Eagle is not quite sure what appealed with this object. Was it because Herself loves a green kitchen? What is just its shape, its age, and its function? Partly, but what Miss Eagle thinks that she loves above all is its feminist colours which are Green for Hope; Purple for Justice; and White for the Purity of the Cause.

The green edged tin was too pretty to leave behind. The Benson & Hedges tin reminded Miss Eagle of her days as an eaglet when Benson & Hedges were only seen in Australia in tins like these under the Christmas Tree. The sweet little dish is a Meakin. Who could leave it behind.

Useful tins

And below is the treasure par excellence of Miss Eagle's day

This is one of a set of four framed nursery rhyme friezes. Miss Eagle had difficulty getting its width in the frame of the camera. Really beautiful and oldy worldy.

These are my treasures.

You will have to go to Gina's here and here to see hers.

To be continued....

Gina, social history and Elsternwick

Yesterday, blogging went one step further for Miss Eagle. Miss Eagle, dear Reader, had the great pleasure of meeting one of her blogging friends face to face. Not only did we meet but we spent a whole morning together. The friend, dear Reader, is Gina: she of Patra's Place, Patra's Other Place, and Patracat's Memories.

The meeting came about because of some posts Miss Eagle did about The Collecting Chemist of Elsternwick which can be found here, here and here. Well, what a morning! Walking around Elsternwick was a social history done with Gina. She provided a fount of information.

Miss Eagle thought it was strange when she first noticed the apartment block, The Renown, in Glenhuntly Road. She thought it passing strange to see an apartment building with such a name. More like a theatre she thought - especially when the name is also displayed in an art deco font. Guess what? Thanks to Gina, I now know that The Renown was one of Elsternwick's two picture shows. Gina, here - if you scroll down this page - you will find someone else with memories of The Renown. We also had to pay homage to The Esquire - the other picture show - which has been renamed The Classic.

Then we hit the Opp Shops. Miss Eagle thinks that Gina takes the crown as Queen of the Opp Shops. Now if you are someone or you know someone who could challlenge for this title, please email Miss Eagle off the sidebar and we will have to see how the contest can be staged. Gina knows where the Opp Shops are and is determined to get there. Perambulations down Glen Huntly Road brought more social history. "Now when I walked home from school I used to go down this street because my girlfriend lived there." " This is the shop where all my brother's clothes came from." In the door, and her bee-line is for the linen. You should understand, dear Reader, that Gina is a collector - a collector of linen as you will note when you visit her sites. As well, she is a needleworker. So her first port of call will be the linen. No linen? Little interest. And we did find one Opp Shop - no names, no pack drill - who had no linen. Predominantly clothes, so Miss Eagle was not much interested either.

A bonus to the expedition was Miss Eagle's discovery of a garage sale of no mean proportions right on Glenhuntly Road. Gina might be Queen of the Opp Shops but Miss Eagle can sniff the wind for a garage sale. This was a good one. Miss Eagle was busy buying a sewing table, decorative tins, and jewellery while Gina was head down in amongst the linen. Miss Eagle wandered over and found a beautiful piece in her hand - a doily displaying a map of Australia with each state carrying its floral emblem. Beautiful! Gina let your correspondent have it, dear Reader, since she already had a similar one in her collection. Your correspondent, of course, was thrilled. Even Herself, no great lover of linen, admired it. To be continued....

Footnote: Sharon, Gina said your were working. We missed you. We think it would have been a riot had you come too.

An apology to the dear Reader

Dear Reader, your Miss Eagle did not mean to be gone so long. You see, one of Miss Eagle's many pursuits is justice advocacy. This week she had a major presentation that needed to be well-considered and well-reflected upon. Now that she is in employment, Miss Eagle has to be a careful time budgeter. Justice called. Miss Eagle responded - and blogging could not fit into the agenda.