Cath Kidston hits the shelves in Target

It is not only Stella McCartney who has invaded Target.

Herself and Miss Eagle were in Target for some winter clothing shopping. Of course, we had a browse. Herself and Miss E would have you know, dear Reader, that we have great admiration for the eye and the skills of the person who does the homeware and manchester purchasing for Target. Good stuff priced well! Then, in our browsing, you could have knocked each of us over with a feather!

There before our eyes was the magical name of Cath Kidston!

Now, dear Reader, if you have done any exploring you will know that Cath's wares have a certain cachet and are not available just anywhere and everywhere. In Melbourne, the very few number of stores who stock Cath's fabrics are only to be found in the "better" suburbs. So, to find her famous name even on toiletries was a surprise. So we spent the princely sum of A$7.99 to get our souvenir - a hatbox will have to wait until later!

Glass and style

You will recall, dear Reader, the recent opp shop expedition with Gina and Sharon?

Herself, ever the stylist, took the small selection of glassware that Miss Eagle made that day, put it together with some from a previous solo expedition and added it all to our existing collection and this is how it all looked.

Shopping: therapy, festival, compulsion, illness, manipulation

Ramada - Mall of America

Shopping is better than sex.
If you're not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like.

Adrienne Gusoff

Shop Til You Drop Magazine

What is it about shopping? What is it about shopping and the female of the species? Can we live with it? Can we live without it?

We talk about retail therapy. There seems to be a word for shopping til you drop: oniomania. Melbourne - which has more than its fair share of bread and circuses - is contemplating, as Miss Eagle has mentioned before, a shopping festival. Dubai actually has one and so has Hong Kong.

It is lovely to walk through beautiful shops selling beautiful things - even if one doesn't spend. Miss Eagle can still dream about Prada and Bulgari even if she can't afford it. This is why, even though she has not spent a cent there, Miss E was thrilled by the refurbishment of the Ground Floor at David Jones' Burke Street Mall store.

Could there possibly be a down side?

There is the illness. The cultural distortion which sees Hot Cross Buns - an Easter tradition - on sale before Epiphany. Advertising manipulating our children. The sexualization of our children. And for more information on how, when we consume, we are consumed go here.

Then there is the economic impact. Some see the globalization of retail and commodities which it sells as a positive thing. This article - brief as it is - comes out on the positive size while mentioning social disruption and the loss of jobs in some sectors of the economy.

We need to remember that when we purchase all that stuff from China and India it is great for their economies. And they really do need jobs. But when we lose jobs in this nation, we also lose skills - skills that are not always readily replaced with new ones. We can also lose access to jobs and personal economic development for women and young people.

So what is the solution? Miss E has none except the caveat emptor (buyer beware) provisions. Be aware! Demand accountability - not just from individuals but from governments and corporations.

If we become aware and demand accountability, we will become smart, ethical shoppers.

And for increasing numbers of us, we will go this way to the opp shop.

Miss E's unique eaglet name

Gina, did this quiz. Pop over and check her result. Gina seems to think she will be able to do a little bit of blame shifting. No such luck for Miss Eagle, dear Reader. As you and I always knew, Miss Eagle is quite unique - well, almost! The site claims that there are 301,758,144 people in the U.S. Wow! And only one has my name! Miss Eagle tried out her maiden name, the name she had as a young eaglet! And guess what - there is no one in the whole USA - no one person in all those 301, 758, 144 people - with my name. Wow! When you google my eaglet name, I am the only one who comes up - with the except of someone who was married in 1896. Howzat! How ever with the name Miss Eagle got from the dear departed Dearly Beloved, a lot of google space is devoted to an actor whose work Miss E has never seen.

So, dear Reader, should Miss Eagle - in this age of identity fraud - resort to her rather unique eaglet name? What do you think? Please let me know

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

A jug or three...

This is The Trad Pad's Jug collection - not counting a few enamel ones.

Favourite Fan

This is my favourite purchase from the PWP Opp Shop at Upper Ferntree Gully.

It is made out of card which appears to have been glued together and shaped and cut with pinking shears.

It is held together with a split pin of the sort used to hold documents together and a pretty pink ribbon is inserted in the hole.

However, the gluing (if it is two cards glued together) is so well done that it cannot be detected. The other thing is that the card seems to be uniformly of a high quality - not, methinks, as thin as most cards.

It folds up, needless to say, which makes it easily portable - but as you can see, dear Reader, looks beautiful standing up and spread.

Never mind the weather...a sunshine-y opp shop day

What a lovely day was Sunday. The weather was overcast and rainy making for very damp conditions. But Gina of Patra's Other Place and associated blogs and Sharon of Beyond the Blank Page and Miss Eagle met in Upper Gully for a day together and everything was sunshine-y bright. Lee-Ann from Pear Tree Cottage! had hoped to join us, but this was not possible.

The day started with a visit to Craft Fair on Burwood Highway at Ferntree Gully. They have a lovely coffee shop so after a long and thoughtful browse we indulged and refreshed ourselves as this photo of Sharon and Miss Eagle taken by Gina shows.

So after that, it was off to the Market at Upper Gully.

Stalls were somewhat depleted because of the weather but we saw what there was to see.
It was then only a hop, step, and a little jump to walk across to the PWP Opp Shop down behind the Royal Hotel. Miss Eagle has posted previously on the wonderful art on the facade of this opp shop. See here, here, and here.

So we followed the Paws into the shop.

Miss Eagle discovered that the art work does not stop at the front door. The dressing room is a delight with this wonderful work on one corrugated iron wall.

Gina left no item unturned...
...while Sharon searched the racks.

We looked at the ties to make a selection for Woof Nanny. Miss Eagle tried to convince Gina that you need an AFL tie, Barb. Miss E knew you wouldn't have one of these from the Australain Football League. But do you think Miss E could convince Gina....!

So here, Barb, is the selection!
Here is some of Miss Eagle's treasure. This was $3 worth including a facewasher (unpictured).

A stencil set for $3 was also purchased.

Optimizing towards simplicity...and a wild mushroom

The optimization of the domestic portfolio has been deemed a success. Quite a lot of stuff marched out the back gate yesterday. One couple took quite a bit of our good stuff and left quite a few hundred bucks behind. Some stuff we let go for nothing. Other stuff went dirt cheap to a good home.

Our thirteen year old miniature fox terrier, FootFoot, enjoyed himself immensely. Some of his friends - who lavish pats upon him as they walk past - dropped by. He made some new friends. One woman, in particular, he seemed to be falling in love with. Turned out she was a dog trainer!

The result is that cupboard space has been freed up. A little less to dust and maintain and store. But oh, dear Reader, with what is left over plus the stuff we just didn't get a chance to put out because we were so busy, there is enough to do it again another day. Divest, divest, divest is the motto. The aim - simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

And, our neighbour Betty came over with these....

...wild mushrooms.

A friend, she told us, had given them to her. He picks them wild in his paddock. She had a warning though. They had to be eaten to-day. If they couldn't all be eaten, then throw the rest away because on no account were they to be eaten the next day.

So lunch was funghi on lovely Italian bread, toasted, which Miss E purchased in North Carlton ten days ago and which is still wonderfully fresh. Scrumptious, simple and just the thing after a busy morning running a garage sale.

Portfolio optimization

The domestic porfolio is being optimized. There has been some downsizing since Herself and Miss Eagle took up housekeeping together two and a half years ago but there is still far too much so further divestment is to take place next Saturday, April 28, at a garage sale. Don't wish to publish address details but if you are to be in the vicinity of Ferntree Gully next Saturday between 9am and 1pm email Miss E ahead of time for the details at miss.eagle@yahoodotcomdotau.

Portfolio contents include:

• Leadlight kitchen cabinet
• Art - original art including Aboriginal Art - and Pictures
• Couches
• China
• Furniture
• Children's stuff including a lovel set of four old nursery rhyme pictures - just dreamy in the shabby chic nursery and wooden toys
• Leaf blower/vaccuum
• Garden pots and planters
• Matchbox (and other brands) cars

This list is open-ended and there will be all sorts of interesting stuff.

The new spatula is put to use...

Come in. Pull up a chair. Let's have a cup of tea. Coffee if you like. To celebrate having a spatula once more (see here), Miss Eagle made this traditional sponge cake. Would you like a piece? If you would like the recipe, click over to Food from Oz.

Anzac Day 2007

To-day is Anzac Day.

This is a significant day in Australian life.

All around Australia from the Australian War Memorial (below) to every tiny country community, Australian and New Zealand war dead will be remembered.

All around the world, Australians and New Zealanders will gather.

They gather for the Dawn Service in Gallipoli in Turkey.

They gather in Flanders Fields.

The troops in Iraq and every place on earth where there are Australian and New Zealand military personnel, there will be solemnity and memorial.

After the solemnity, there will be the traditional two-up game

"Two up" game in progress troops returning from service H.M.A.T. MAHIA

Museum Victoria Collection

When Australians remember those who died in the service of their nation, on Anzac Day, at the going down of the sun in RSL Clubs across Australia, the verse below is said as a sort of prayer, a testimony of sacred intent:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

A flippin' good time ahead

Miss Eagle has been thrilled and much cheered, dear Reader, to receive a wonderful parcel from Lee-ann at Pear Tree Cottage!

The story of the parcel began with perfidy of Herself who surreptitiously chucked out this wonderful implement which had been in use for forty years flipping pikelets and pancakes and folding air and flour in lovely light sponge cakes.
Miss E was unable to locate a replacement spatula. They are not in kitchen shops or the kitchen section of supermarkets. Searches of opp shops in eastern Melbourne had not turned one up. Lee-ann, the opp shop aficionado, to the rescue all the way from country Victoria.
Not only was there a spatula there was a set complete with long blade spatula, a masher, and an egg lifter. All in Miss E's old school tie colours! And don't they go well with Miss E's collection of
T.G. Green's Cornish Blue.

Now Lee-ann does not stint. Along with the spatula set came a beautiful card (standing), and - to help in the restoration of Miss E's health (she has been a sick old bird for quite a while) - the March 2007 edition of Romantic Homes, a favourite at The Trad Pad. The magazine came with its own tea-dipped tag. Lee-Ann is clearly a romantic herself.

Thank you Lee-Ann you - and your blog - are a blessing.

Miss Eagle wishes you and your Dearly Beloved well since you have had poor health experiences lately yourselves.

Into the Everlasting Arms

Each morning, I look across from my sunroom to the Dandenong Ranges National Park.

Sadness has come to my heart since news broke yesterday afteroon that two young women (unknown to me) named Jodie Gater and Stephanie Gestier were found dead high up in the park.

Reports indicate that Jodie and Stephanie, who had been missing for a week, had taken their own lives.

The tragedy of young lives cut short and the overwhelming sadness that must have engulfed their families haunts me.

What a society, what a world have we built for our young that they cannot feel secure, creative, and hopeful within its bounds?

Ten years ago, this very month, a young woman came to my home who I had never met before. I only met her for an hour or so.

One month later she was dead by her own hand.

The poem below was written then.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of Jodie and Stephanie.

These young girls/women are now in The Everlasting Arms.

PERCEPTION

How did I not see
the troubled heart and spirit?
Did I only look at you
to see myself
reflected back?

And if I
thought you carefree
was that only the perception
of my own comfort?

Why could I not see
through your body frame
to the pain
of old time’s torment
in your soul?

Eyes to see
a heart to understand
are what I need
to see the wounded Christ
in your life

For help or information visit beyond blue.org.au, call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251 or Lifeline on 131 114.

Sunday: a prelude

Went a-walkin' this morning - to the patisserie. Yesterday afternoon brought rain to Upper Gully. Miss Eagle was in bed early but presumes that it rained through the night too. This morning was fresh, there were dripping trees and bushes and the sun was trying hard to shine through the cloud. It did succeed.

At the moment, some eucalypts are in full flower - those with a red/pink flower.

This delights the birdlife who are noisy and partying.

Like this fellow

The patisserie is Arena Boys Bakehouse at 4/79 Glenfern Road, Upper Ferntree Gully.

It is open every day - except Good Friday and Christmas, methinks.

Above are some of their wide range of goodies.

Below are the goodies Miss Eagle purchased: one each for Miss E and Herself.

• Two ciabatta rolls
• Two cannoli
• Two rum baba

Home again.

Here is the creek in front of our place. Ferny Creek.

And this beautiful red parrot was feeding quietly in a neighbour's bush

while his partner fed in a tree above.
A lovely prelude to Sunday.

Miss Eagle loves paper, loves printing, loves print, loves font. It is with great joy that she has discovered that this year is the 50th anniversay of the introduction of that famous and ubiquitous font, Helvetica. There is a movie. There is a blog.

Miss Eagle is a would-be-if-she-could-be calligrapher and, since the introduction of the personal computer, has transferred this love affair to fonts. She loves fonts: fonts to suit the words, fonts to express a mood, fonts just to lie beautifully on the page. Be still, my beating heart!

One of the limitations of Blogger, is its ultra-limited choice of fonts. No Helvetica. Neither MS Word nor MS Publisher has Helvetica. To download it, it has to be purchased. So ubiquity doesn't travel free, more's the pity!

So Miss Eagle, who has a penchant for sans serif fonts, tends to prefer Trebuchet in Blogger. Where there is a wider choice, the equally ubiquitous Gill Sans in all its variety is a favourite.

The movie is not due in Melbourne until 21 July - the Kiwi cousins across the ditch are getting it first.

In the meantime, happy birthday Helvetica!

Art will out

Entry to Estevao's home in the favela: Photo Tuco Reines

Estevão Silva da Conceição at work

Estevao's Garden

Miss Eagle watched again this morning the wonderful documentary, Gaudi in the Favela. The blogosphere has a large slice of it dedicated to home making, home decorating, home renovation. A lot of this has a significant consumerist element. In other words, one of the hallmarks of a major proportion of such blogs is consumption whether it is the furniture, the appliances, or the DIY stuff from the hardware shop.

Estevão Silva da Conceição's home in a favela (shanty town) in the centre of Sao Paulo, Brazil is quite a different and brilliant twist on making a place home and decorating it. The favelas of Sao Paulo are the domicile of the poor: the very, very, very poor. In a nation with huge demarcations between rich and poor, the favelas are a testimony to economic isolation.

At some stage in his life, Estevao started doing things to his place. Estevao's home, in the favela of Paraisopolis, has a small footprint so, at times, Estevao has gone up. He has mosaic-ed everything. A lot of Estevao's materials are found not purchased. They are then covered in concrete and whatever goes into making a colourful, interesting and artistic mosaic. His work is reminiscent of the work, in Barcelona, of the great Spanish architect, artist and designer, Antonio Gaudi.

The film, Gaudi in the Favela, depicts a man, without schooling or knowledge of Gaudi, who has built a Gaudinian castle with next to no resources. One day a young architectural student walks through the favela and discovers Estevao's home. She cannot believe that Estevao has never heard of Gaudi; that he is not consciously attempting to imitate Gaudi.

This meeting, in time, results on a trip for Estevao to Gaudi's city, Barcelona. Here Estevao comes face to face with the work of the master - from the great mosaics of Park Guell to his great unfinished Sagrada Familia.

Gaudi in the Favela is about the triumph of the human spirit. In the darkness of the slums, the glowing light of creativity can transform, console, encourage.

Finally, Miss Eagle has to say that well-executed and innovative mosaic has a penetrating and uplifting quality. It relies on colour - usually bright and exuberant. Its pattern rewards exploration. It makes one's spirit sing and soar. Melbourne, at the bottom end of this island-continent, is a long way from Park Guell and Paraisopolis but there is a lovely work in Bairnsdale, Victoria which, for Miss E, is evocative of Gaudi and Estevao. It is around the perimeter of a roundabout in a busy street. It is public art full of colour and joy.

Susie, chai and the green bean

Miss Eagle wants to show her favourite tipple. It is a tea-based chai that comes from Cafe Green Bean in Belgrave. There is chai that is a mix of herbs and spices but no tea. It is made by boiling/infusing in milk. This could be done with tea-based chai too but Miss E, dear Reader, prefers just to make it like tea - by putting the leaves, herbs and spices in a teapot and pouring over boiling water. Miss E then drinks it without additives - no milk, lemon, no sweetener. Miss E delights in the fragrance so much so that, when drinking the chai, it is as if one is drinking the fragrance too.

The cup and saucer is one of a set of six Susie Cooper "black fruit" coffee cans inherited from my aunt.

Orderly journey: orderly death.

Miss Eagle hopes KM was able to prepare for death as if for a journey and that all was in order.

Miss Eagle has just come across this enlightening article about New Zealand writer, Katherine Mansfield. Miss Eagle often thinks about Mansfield because of this quote that is attributed to her (if you, dear Reader, have precise details please share with Miss E):

Whenever I prepare for a journey I prepare as though for death. Should I never return, all is in order.

Your correspondent, dear Reader, has prepared for many journeys. The preparations were never just a case of packing ports (yes, Miss E is a Queenslander). It meant leaving all in an orderly manner. Not only nice to come home to, but what if one didn't come home ever again!

(Miss Eagle knows how many housekeeping experts - some could get their PhDs in the topic - are out there in the blogosphere. Miss E could never be placed in this category!)

Then one day, Miss Eagle came across the Mansfield quote and though "Aah! Know exactly what she means." Do you identify with this, dear Reader? If so, please add a comment.

Tupperware and a Drag Queen. But, oh, the Decor!

Over at The QueerPenguin, Sam has got himself into Tupperware. The hostess with the mostest for this mushroom-quiche-and-champagne event was Portia Turbo, a drag queen. Sam got bewitched, entranced and enthused and has purchased two hundred bucks worth of Tupperware.

Miss Eagle, dear Reader, finds this an absolute hoot! Tupperware and drag queens! The latest hot and gay thing to do! LOL, Roll, LOL, Roll, LOL, Roll.


In spite of only living two blocks away from a huge Tupperware distribution facility discreetly laid out in a landscape of white standard roses, Miss E has never been a big fan of Tupperware. In fact, she has only managed - in her long existence - two Tupperware parties. At one of them, many decades ago, she purchased this item.

Miss E thought this a good idea at the time for the honey and jam etc on the breakfast table (long before Rachel Ashwell taught us to do better). This item turned out to be a b-i-g nuisance in the pantry cupboard. It took up space. It was difficult to accommodate other items around it. Miss Eagle thinks she should have taken a clue from her friend Heather who had a cupboard specially built to accommodate all her Tupperware!

Miss Eagle is not the biggest fan of plastics except in certain limited situations. She prefers glass. The pantry is full of large glass jars for the flour, sugar, rice, etc. Small glass jars for the herbs and in between ones for the caster sugar and the lentils, etc. She rarely buys new. It is clear that everyone does not share Miss E's passion for glass in the pantry cupboard because she has picked up glass jars not only in opp shops but when left out for the taking when people shift houses.

But there are times when plastic is desirable - for storing left-overs in the fridge; taking lunch to work and so on. Miss E's favourite bit of plastic is Australian engineered, Australian made. These are the Decor products and its distribution centre - sans landscaping - is only a suburb away!

Miss E always recalls what her mother used to say about party-plan products that were not available through retail outlets. Phyllis always used to say "If these products are so good, why can't they be sold off the shelf where they have to compete against other products." Now, Phyllis was no market rationalist. Just very practical and full of the wisdom of good, old-fashioned common sense. So, yes, why can't party plan products compete? When you ask yourself that question, you might be surprised by the answer.