Morning conversation with an 18-year-old — Are my jeans clean?
— D'you know where my belt is?
— Have you seen my other jeans?
— Well, did you take the belt off to wash them?
A few minutes later:
— Where'd you put all those clean socks?
A few minutes later:
— Have you seen that letter from college with all my info on it?
A few minutes later:
— Where'd I put my iPod?
— Have you moved it? I'm sure I put it here with my phone — where's my phone?
A few minutes later:
— Is it Thursday today?

Flashback FridayJen always does a Flashback Friday post, and this week M has done one, too.
I normally just read these, because all my family photos and family memorabilia are back in Australia under lock and key.
But today, M was talking about the eighties and I remembered I had my wedding photos here!Here we are, in April 1983, in the backyard of Dave's old family bungalow in Dalkeith. I had a jawline and didn't wear glasses except to read. That little tacker peering over the edge of the picture is my son, Simon, who was six, and just a few days earlier he'd got himself ready for the big day by cutting his own hair!
Of all our friends, we were pretty nearly the first to get married at home, in a civil ceremony with a registrar.
Dave was working in rock and roll then, so a couple of his beefy roadies came by and rigged up some very flattering pink spotties in the jacaranda to shine on us so we looked gorgeous while we were taking our vows.
As soon as we were wed, the skies opened and it absolutely bucketed down, so everyone fled into the marquee. And as my mate Dace said, according to the Latvians (she's one), rain is good luck on your wedding day!
I was never one for the most extreme fashions of the eighties, though there are obviously a sturdy pair of shoulder pads in my lovely silk chiffon dress by George Gross. The hat was made for me by one of the lovely Kailis women, who owned the store where I bought the dress. Roxy in King Street. I had Mum's pearls on and my grandmother's old gold watch.
We had a fab day — we had a harp and flute playing during dinner, and , when the party started, a jazz band.
There was one major drawback to having the wedding at home, though — during the afternoon, my sports-mad in-laws, en masse, disappeared into the TV room to watch Robert De Castella run in the Rotterdam Marathon.
Which, like an awful lot of the marathons he ran, he lost.
I still have my dress — in fact, my hat is here — and Dave still has his suit. Though these days, Will has claimed the wedding suit jacket and waistcoat for himself:

Turkey!
It's Thanksgiving today — so happy turkey day to my American friends!
:: It's been a week since my last post ...... and I've been productive. I've got Christmas well under control, with parcels ready to go, and Christmas cards all written and ready to post.
Lily was home for a few days, and we had family dinners at the Bondi on two nights. I'm happy to report it was jumping both times, and the new winter menu is just sensational. If I do say so myself!
At home, David got cooking and I got baking, and Lily and I got stuck into her quilt and have finished piecing the top. Yay! So now I can relax and get it layered and quilted.Lily has planned a post-Christmas road-trip with friends of hers from Perth, tying in with our visit from Dace, Max and Halina. She still has the cast on her leg, and we're all hoping she'll be in good shape for her trip, which takes in the Grand Canyon and Oklahoma City for the Flaming Lips' New Year's Eve concert.
I was devastated when she flew off back up north: I'll see her just a couple more times over Christmas and the New Year and then David, Will and I will be off home to Perth.
It's been raining — oh the very sound of it dripping on the big leaves outside our bedroom window at night ... soooooothing!
We've been to the movies — last week we saw the wonderful and widely acclaimed British film, Happy Go Lucky, which I heartily recommend. Last night, we saw Australia, which was a truly entertaining three hours if a little dodgy on dialogue and music. And with a week and a good pair of scissors, I'd be more than capable of cutting a good twenty minutes out of it. But definitely worth seeing. The first Baz movie I've liked. But why the grandiose, all-encompassing title? A great film to see at an early session so you've time for lots of talk about it afterwards.
I've been sorting out my 10,000 photos stored in iPhoto, and updating my visual diary, which is definitely one of those jobs best done when there's no rush ...
... and I've been making a few bits and bobs out of papier mache for Christmas. These have turned out strange. I have doubts. They are weird and very spooky, and eventually they will get wings and then be weird and very spooky angels. The jury is out until then!
There are a few less subversive-looking birds made with the same technique, but I neglected to photograph them. Next time.
:: Horrible, horrible reports from Mumbai. And an Air New Zealand training plane down in the Mediterranean. And an Australian killed in Afghanistan. Grim times.

SundayImagine my poor dogs flying home to Australia in these little boxes, and then, when the nightmare journey does end, having to spend weeks in quarantine.
I worry particularly about Nipper, who is very much My Dog. He sits as near to me as possible wherever I am, usually touching my feet, or leaning up against my legs. Follows me up and down stairs. Waits outside the loo for me. Sleeps at the foot of my bed. He will pine in quarantine, so I hope he at least gets to bunk up with Yoshi.
I've been put in touch with a guy in LA who will help organise their trip home. The quarantine regulations are very complicated, so I feel better to have someone who knows the ropes helping me get them home.
:: Just got back from a wonderful chatty Sunday session-style arvo at the Bondi. There were quite a few of us — the drinks and nibbles were our prize for being the top table at last year's season of quiz nights. Sounds a bit weird, I know, to have won the series when we own the place, but I assure you it was all above board!
There was lots of talk about the new Baz whatsisname movie, Australia, which opens here the night before Thanksgiving. A few weeks ago, David and I saw a short trailer for the movie and were a bit worried about it. But on Friday night, we went to see Happy Go Lucky (really really wonderful English film) at the local cinema and there was a longer trailer for Australia, and I must say it looked a lot better. So we'll see.
:: How's your Christmas shopping? These are pics of FAO Schwarz, the fabulous, enormous, magical toyshop in New York on Fifth Avenue, right next door to the big glass-cube Apple store.There are whole wings dedicated to animals, books, Lego, and Playmobil and Barbie. Then there's a huge Harry Potter section — including these 'life-size' (or what you imagine life size to be) dragons.The one in the window was half -price — a snip at $2300. The unicorn, which was, frankly, a little grubby about the hoof, was a mere $800.
:: It's been hot and sunny ever since we got back from New York. There have been terrible fires in Los Angeles, with flames whipped up by fierce 96 mph Santa Ana winds — about 800 homes lost. Ghastly.
:: We bought tickets home to Perth this morning. So I feel I have a date to work to, and can now structure the time I have left and organise the things I have to do to get home. Also, this weekend, we booked a return trip to Santa Fe for when Dace is with us — fantastic! We'll be in Santa Fe for New Year's, which is bound to be spectacular.
:: Lily has had a second opinion on her foot, and will now not need surgery — thank heavens. She has a better cast, which has already made a difference to how she gets about, and has been told that the reason her ankles give out on her so frequently is that she has short, tight hamstrings and calf muscles, which she needs to stretch, strengthen and lengthen by exercise. Then she'll stop stressing her ankles by no longer walking on the sides of her feet.

Rare airWell, we certainly landed okay when it came to the apartment we stayed in in New York. The pic above shows the view from our complex's roof terrace! Honest!
We had a very roomy two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with an enormous living room and fairly flash kitchen, and a balcony, in a historic building right opposite the NY Stock Exchange.
In the pic below, taken from the steps of Federal Hall, where George Washington made his inaugural address after becoming the first US President, you can see the NYSE to George's right, and our roof terrace over his left shoulder:The entire 40-odd-storey building and the building next door, which is right on the corner of Wall Street, were once upon a time the headquarters of the JP Morgan financial corporation. In 1998, they were both due to be demolished to make way for a new stock exchange building and office tower, but that all screeched to a halt after 9-11.
Instead, the two buildings were made over by Philippe Starck, converted from offices into very trendy condos and apartments. There was an Hermes shop on the ground floor, and in the lobby there was a ginormous crystal chandelier hovering just over the floor, recycled from the original Morgan Chase office building.
I don't understand why I have no pics of the inside of our apartment — but it was very groovy, and totally unlivable. A triumph of design over function. One bedroom was almost open to the living room, save for being slightly higher and having a half wall.
The main bedroom suite had no windows, and the wall between it and the front bedroom didn't go all the way up to the ceiling, to allow in a sliver of light and air.
And Will ended up sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a cupboard that was slightly bigger than his bedroom here at home!
The living room furniture was all very black, and very uncomfortable. You just can't lounge on a hard, shiny black leather couch with a low-slung back!
But we had so much fun, and were hardly there during the day anyway.
The amazing thing was the roof terrace, called Starck Park ...... with its water feature like a giant tap, and glorious view of the facade of the NYSE. It also had a ping-pong table, a huge dining table where you could hold dinner parties, and an open-air fireplace. Yum.
Security was understandably heavy in this area. The roads are all closed to cars, and there are patrol boxes and security guards everywhere. Ground Zero is only a short walk away — and it was really very spooky to consider what must have been happening in this area on that fateful day.
The location was otherwise excellent. It was a walk away from Tribeca, SoHo, Battery Park and the Hudson River ...... and a stone's throw from the out-of-this-world apartment of Nick's grandparents, who have 120-degree windows with a view of New York Harbour and across the Hudson River to the Jersey shore — this is just part of it, with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (click on it for a bigger image): We were also a short stroll away from the famous Wall Street Bull. How that poor beast must have suffered at the hands of our late-night revellers ...(Thanks, Iman, for your pics!)

Seven and one in a wheelchairOur five fabulous days in New York for Lily's 21st birthday (Sunday) went far too quickly, and this morning, sitting in the sunny silence of San Diego, I'm missing my girl and all the noise and excitement of being (almost) all together in that amazing place.We thought for a while that Simon would join us, and be there to buy his baby sister her first legal beer in the US, and we were so disappointed when he couldn't make it. Will made up for it, though, sticking close to his sister, sharing wheelchair pushing with Nick and Larissa for the miles and miles we walked, and helping her about.Of course, when we started planning this trip, we had no idea she'd have a broken foot and be in a wheelchair — but she didn't let that cramp her style, dampen her enthusiasm, or get in her way at all. From crowded Subway trains and tiny historic pubs, to Broadway and the top of the Empire State Building.
There were six of us to start with: Will, Lily, her boyfriend Nick, her room-mate Larissa (who turned 21 the Sunday before), David and I. Then, on Friday night we were joined by Iman, one of Lily's old school friends from Subiaco. Iman is studying in Washington DC and working until December as a Congressional intern in the office of Don Young, the sole Representative from Alaska, and a Republican to his gun-totin' boot straps.Iman (pictured above with Larissa) is staunchly un-Republican, though, and it was great fun to catch up with her and hear all her stories — especially about election night, when she was at the Democrats' sparkling celebration party in a DC ballroom.
She also really knew her way around in NY, having studied here for a while last year, so she was very handy when it came to negotiating our way through the Subway, one of the major lines of which had been closed for renovations. Chaos!On Sunday morning, early, we were joined by another old Subi mate, James, who's been in the US since August, working as a volunteer on the Obama campaign, doorknocking and 'getting out the vote' in Detroit, Ohio, Philadelphia and Virginia. More fab stories! It's a pity we couldn't have had longer with him, but at least he got there for Lily's birthday.

The big five!Happy birthday my beautiful golden boy.Nanna misses you!

Recovery
The head cold is in retreat, leaving me with the traditional cough, croak and cold-sore. Noice.
I haven't had the brain power to do very much lately, and I'd hoped to have been churning through Lily's quilt.
But all I've felt like is reading and knitting. Beanies for Will and his mates, who really like them. The endless rounds are quite soothing when you're feeling off.
And a Monteagle bag from Mason Dixon Knitting. You can find a lot of them on Ravelry, too. In my haste to start this one, I used the wrong sort of yarn and the wrong sized needles. But what the hey.It involves some fun stitches, and should all unravel when it's finished to reveal a handy string bag for shopping. It's quick, too.
:: We've been watching Mad Men on DVD. It's set in a Madison Avenue advertising agency in 1960. First episode was very clever, and the period is brilliantly created. But by the third episode, I need a break! So many hideous characters! Such rampant sexism and general arseholery. Shudder.
It won lots of Emmys, but I can see why it hasn't been a massive hit.
Plus, at the end of every episode you feel as if you've smoked a pack of Camels — without the filter tips — and downed a litre of scotch. I'll get back to it after a rest from it!
:: I wrote a story for my old paper back in Perth. felt a bit rusty at first, but as soon as I got the intro down, I was off!
:: We're off to see Neil Young tonight! Yay! With the election so close, he'll be hot to trot. I'll have to have a nanny nap this arvo to manage to keep up late tonight. Death Cab for Cutie is supporting — don't know them at all. But I've discovered — thanks to David — that the band name was the title of a song by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band from the sixties, which they performed on the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. You can see that here. I've been a huge Bonzo Dog fan, since my brother and I lovingly watched every episode of the kids' show, Do Not Adjust Your Set, when we were very young.
:: We've almost settled on another apartment in New York for next week. Despite losing all our money on the last booking rip-off.
:: Got to go — need coffee.

Gold in them hillsI was unprepared for the beauty of northern New Mexico. I think I expected dusty deserts, candlestick cactus, rocky mesas and barren plains.
But the reality was so totally different.
We went for a drive up, up, up to the Santa Fe National Forest, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where they run the ski-lift in the autumn — way before the ski season starts — just so you can get up to 3500 metres (11,500 feet) and look down on all the wonderful colours.
It was a wild day, really cold up there, with driving rain and big winds, the tail end of a hurricane that had been blowing in from the south-west across Baja California. So the chair lift wasn't working.
Now, my Dave is scared of heights, so I'd been curious to see how he'd deal with a ski-lift — and he didn't disappoint me. When he saw what he'd have had to sit in, his immediate reaction was, 'Where are the seatbelts?' So it was sort of lucky for him that rain had stopped play!
On the way down from the mountains, the wind really whipped up and the sky was for a moment filled with swirling yellow hearts as the aspens lost their leaves. It was breathtaking.Apparently, this clear hillside of aspens is where there was a big fire in the 1880s. The evergreens were killed, and the sun-loving aspens wasted no time in getting established in this sudden gap. Eventually, the evergreens will grow again and squeeze out the aspens, but for now there's this little piece of wonder to enjoy.

Look familiar?How'd you like this black widow? She was in our garage this arvo — same untidy web as the redback, same beautiful body shape, same shiny black, and look ...
... the red flash is underneath, on her belly. It also seemed a little bigger than the redback.
I hope you're impressed with how close I got. David was watching proceedings and said, "I hope they don't jump!" At which point I got up in a hurry.

:: Here's a shot Will took of himself, with big fat smug smile, leaning on the stage at the Dandy Warhols' concert in San Francisco at the weekend. We saw them here in San Diego a few nights before Will did, and they were bloody fantastic.

:: We're waiting for the US version of Kath and Kim, which starts tonight in just over half an hour. I've seen a trailer, which looked okay, but the review in this morning's LA Times was not too hot, while very complimentary about the Australian original.

:: I spied this rubbish on a table in the living room soon after Will got home from college yesterday ... ... and was about to yell to him to chuck it in the bin when I noticed the contents.It's fun having a sculptor in the house!

:: We're off to Albuquerque and Santa Fe tomorrow. It'll be cool and dry, cold even, with autumn colour ... mmm! I'll be back in a little over a week — see ya!

Added slightly later: Forget to say — Bloglines isn't very reliable is it? It seems very haphazard about showing new posts, so I've probably missed quite a few. Kind of ruins the point really.
Also — I finally posted Larissa's quilt off to her this afternoon! All finished, quilted and bound, ends sewn in ... yay!

Booking through Thursday [Another pic from my daughter's recent hike in Utah.]

This week's question:

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do?

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were ... grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember ...

First, I have to say, if you're flying Qantas, you don't need anything. The in-flight entertainment system, with TV and movies on demand, is just brilliant. Shameless patriotic plug!
But to answer this BTT, I'd buy three or four magazines on home decor, interiors, that sort of thing. Magazines with good-looking pictures and non-demanding text.
I just can't read books on planes, not even on the long flights to and from Australia, which can be up to 15 hours. I used to take books in my carry-on bag, but don't bother any more.
My kids gave me an iPod shuffle for my birthday last year — one of those neat ones with the clip — and I treated myself to some noise-cancelling headphones. So I plug in and drift off.
But I guess I wouldn't have that with me at the supermarket, would I? Or if I did, it wouldn't be charged ... and my headphones would be at home ...

PS (added later): I'd love to be able to knit on board. So soothing, so therapeutic. It's a shame my little bamboo dpns are seen as potential weapons. C'est la guerre. Sigh