My housemate.

Merry Christmas to all my geeky or slightly odd friends: and if you don’t ‘get’ this you should probably go watch Community. Trust me.

Christmas Card Design 1: A Queensland Christmas. Merry Christmas to all my overseas or non-Queensland friends!

An illustration for Snow White. The evil queen.

Done for Illustration Friday theme: Vanity.

Pen and ink.

A clown for Illustration Friday: Fuel.

To recap: In July I arrived home from England, via a stopover in Istanbul. I was then jobseeking and doing a spot of supply teaching until three weeks ago, when I moved down to Brisbane to stay with the inspirational Kathleen Jennings, genius and bestie.

At the moment I am waiting for a job to start. I will be working in an office in Insurance at Southbank in Brisbane. I am *very happy* that I will be working, and similarly happy that it will be *not teaching* – just for now, that is all I ask of the world.

I have read some books, which I hope to review for you here.
I have seen this year’s Pratchett play, Monstrous Regiment, at the Brisbane Arts Theatre, and I shall be blogging that too.
I am also working industriously at illustration, so I will be posting links to my flickr page fairly regularly.
I also hope to do Nanowrimo this year: National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. Writer-Bootcamp. So… maybe I won’t blog a *lot* in November… but after that: sure!
In other news, my story ‘One Hundred Years’ is now out, online and FREE to read at the Aurealis Magazine on Smashwords.
Yesterday I saw the Queen all of ten metres away. I shall prove it with a photo and possibly a video.
And tonight I am going to see Midnight in Paris, so that should be fun.

Had a fine view of the Queen with Premier Anna Bligh at Southbank, Brisbane yesterday. I waited for hours, but fewer than I anticipated, and got a front-fence spot overlooking the Rainforest Walk. Spent the time sipping water, finding shade and chatting to the other ladies there to see ‘Her Madge’. Poor lady must have been so hot in her lovely outfit, as it was a gloriously sunny day! Throngs of people were there of course. How *did* I end up with such a great view? Fluke! Found a patch of shade to stand in, and the ladies said she was walking right by there. Win! So now I can say I have seen the Queen, which is more than I managed while in London. And may I say: Southbank, how lovely you were looking yesterday? Gosh what a beautiful place to spend a day! Below are some sketches I did of various things waiting for the Queen:

Photos up now on Flickr from my recent two weeks in Bali to celebrate my sister’s wedding. Enjoy!

BALI TOP FIVE:

1. Scenery. Hire a driver (I know a couple great ones, just ask me) and visit Kintamani Volcano (lunch with a view into the caldera), Tanah Lot water temple, Puri Ulun Danu (a temple on Lake Bratan with beautiful gardens), and Jatiluweh Rice Fields. If you know a local family, visiting a village is also great. Bali has stunning beaches, verdant jungle vistas, beautifully sculptured hills of rice in every shade of green imaginable. The architecture is also beautiful, as are the temples decked out in yellow, white, pink and gold, with waving flags and complexly woven decorations made with pandanas leaves. Bright little offerings in tiny baskets line the streets or pile up before shrines. Incense fills the air. Take your camera and take an extra sim card. If you’re arty, take a sketch book. You’ll want to record this place.

2. Spas. Massages cost as little as AU$5 for an hour, and for as little as AU$16 you can get a one hour massage, a hair creme bath, a manicure and a pedicure. Do it. I recommend Tahlia’s in Sanur.

3. Drinks. Fruit juice mocktails, baby coconut concoctions, full-fledged cocktails, bintang beer. But above all, you MUST try an avocado smoothie. Usually laced with chocolate syrup or coffee, these are creamy and sweet, refreshing and utterly delicious. Really!

4. Food. Cheap, yummy, and every kind imaginable! From the humble (yet delicious) Nasi Goreng (fried rice) to satay sticks to steak and chips to pizzas to sushi, Bali caters for all. If you take my advice, try a range of dishes, and the more Balinese the better! A plate of Nasi Goreng will cost you as little as AU$3 and it will come with sides of salad, prawn crackers and a couple of sticks of satay. Amazing quality, amazing value for money!

5. Shopping. Everywhere you look, there are shops along the streets of the tourist hubs of Bali. Everybody buys light dresses and bintang singlets, so just about anywhere that’s what you’ll find, along with bags and shoes and accessories, genuine fake designer gear, handicrafts, paintings, batik fabric, carved wood, silver… you name it, they sell it! And if they don’t have quite the item you’re after, they’ll go next door and bring you one of theirs. Be aware it is a barter system, and they’ll ask three times what it’s worth initially, but come down when your offers go up. Bartering is lots of fun! Take someone who knows if you’re nervous, but remember: you’re haggling over tiny amounts of money, as even at three times what it’s worth, it’s usually still a bargain…

Other than that, the Balinese are lovely, gentle people (the Australians… not always so quiet) It is an amazingly easy place for Aussies to go. Everything in southern Bali is set up for the tourist. People speak English. Restaurants serve western food on the menu. Most of the island’s revenue comes from tourism. I wasn’t bugged by mozzies or burned by the sun (though you do have to take precautions for these things). And if the weather gets too hot? Head to the beach, head to the mountains, slip into the pool or stay at home in your air conditioning. Bali is the ultimate getaway, and I will absolutely be going again.

Before Bali, there was Springtime in England.
Bali photos coming up next…