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| Me, Andrew, Jackie, Nicole and Mikey |
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Bon voyage Andrew
My dear amazing friend Andrew is off working and holidaying for 3-4 months. I miss him already!! This was our bon voyage - or one of them. He refused to allow me to place a tracking device on him but says he will keep us updated on his whereabouts maybe.
Australia Day 2012
A great, fun day on a yacht in Sydney Harbour with endless huge prawns and good friends.
The Broome Cupboard
The cozy nook at Digital Pictures has a surprising amount of space even though my boss and I sit less than two feet away from each other. It has a lovely window that gets nice natural light and looks out to the industrial Artarmon, busy Reserve Road and over the loading dock for the wholesale chocolate business downstairs.
Many a good tune has been heard in the Broome Cupboard. There has been much laughter amidst the backdrop of intense post land. And of course, there has been incredibly good telly.
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| My desk |
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| The view |
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| Peter's desk |
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| The celebrity poof |
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| Proximity |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
New additions
My dear friends Milli and Dave have just had a healthy baby boy on 21st September named Atticus Dante Howson-Brown.
They are going to be incredible parents. I am so excited for them and to be a part of this little boy's life.
Not sure how their cat Rory is going to feel about Atticus' favourite sleeping spot.
They are going to be incredible parents. I am so excited for them and to be a part of this little boy's life.
Not sure how their cat Rory is going to feel about Atticus' favourite sleeping spot.
Day in the Southern Highlands with Mum
Mum and I ventured south to the countryside. Mum says its not country anymore and just an extension of Sydney. She should know as she used to live in Bowral. But for me, it seems vastly different than living in Inner West Sydney.
We began with a stop at the Bowral Country Markets. Not really much selection but I did purchase some delicious tomato relish.
Our next stop was lunch at Biota Dining and the main reason for the day trip. Mum had visited the restaurant with some friends recently. The food was really good, especially the broad bean bruschetta. The restaurant is really pretty with open doors and a lot of sunlight. Service kind of slow but overall very worth a trip.
We ventured next to the Wine and Food Festival at the Bong Bong Picnic Racetrack. Glass of vino while wandering around buying tomato and mint plants in the sunshine.
And last stop, with a not overly enthusiastic Mum, were the tulips at the Corbett Gardens.
We began with a stop at the Bowral Country Markets. Not really much selection but I did purchase some delicious tomato relish.
Our next stop was lunch at Biota Dining and the main reason for the day trip. Mum had visited the restaurant with some friends recently. The food was really good, especially the broad bean bruschetta. The restaurant is really pretty with open doors and a lot of sunlight. Service kind of slow but overall very worth a trip.
We ventured next to the Wine and Food Festival at the Bong Bong Picnic Racetrack. Glass of vino while wandering around buying tomato and mint plants in the sunshine.
And last stop, with a not overly enthusiastic Mum, were the tulips at the Corbett Gardens.
Kate's Birthday August 2012
Paddington Bowling Club!
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| Mum and Kate |
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| Vong, Jess, Steve, Mum, Ben, Kate, Amanda and Nicole |
The Milli Bookclub 2012
The Milli bookclub covered a lot of ground this year. We had a year a female authors, three new babies and a fourth on its way due around New Year's!
Book selection included:
Book selection included:
"Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
"All That I Am" by Anna Funder - I hosted this one and made borscht!
"The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters
"Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons
"AVisit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan
"Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
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| 2011 Christmas Picnic |
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| High Tea at the Victoria Room |
Annual Catch-up Entry
Somehow, it has been a year again since my last post. 4 years since I moved to Sydney.
Best thing that happened this past year is that Mum's health is stable! Her surgery last November to repair her ureter was ultimately a success. It was 7 hours long. She had to stay in hospital for another month. There were many return visits for day surgery, stent insertions and removals.
Mum also developed a heart condition this past year where her heart rate went off the charts. It might have been from all the stress or she might have had it for a long time. It was discovered one morning as Mum was very dizzy again. She had been dizzy on and off all week. She was at a friend's house and had to lie down. She left, saying she was all right and drove herself to the GP who took her heart rate and sent her via ambulance to the emergency room. She was treated in various ways, beginning with blowing through a straw. They actually escalated things to the point where they gave her a drug that literally stopped her heart and told her would feel awful. Because technically she died. And they did this twice. It didn't quite work to bring down her heart rate. So they kept her in overnight and then released her the next day saying her heart rate was stable.
Four days later, she was waiting to be called into day surgery for the removal of a stent. She was going to receive anesthesia. Her pupils were dilated and she was short of breath. Her heart rate was over 180. An incredibly nice resident and consultant attended to Mum during a 4-5 day stay in hospital. They found the right medication and she has been ok since.
As of the beginning of this month, September, Mum received a thumbs up from the urologist, the cardiologist and the gastro guy. Best news in two years.
I have moved into a new house that I am enjoying. I have been working in post production on shows like Brothers in Arms: Bikie Wars, Mabo, Puberty Blues and Redfern Now.
I also produced a short film called Only One! Hard work, ton of fun and we are now in post production!
Best thing that happened this past year is that Mum's health is stable! Her surgery last November to repair her ureter was ultimately a success. It was 7 hours long. She had to stay in hospital for another month. There were many return visits for day surgery, stent insertions and removals.
Mum also developed a heart condition this past year where her heart rate went off the charts. It might have been from all the stress or she might have had it for a long time. It was discovered one morning as Mum was very dizzy again. She had been dizzy on and off all week. She was at a friend's house and had to lie down. She left, saying she was all right and drove herself to the GP who took her heart rate and sent her via ambulance to the emergency room. She was treated in various ways, beginning with blowing through a straw. They actually escalated things to the point where they gave her a drug that literally stopped her heart and told her would feel awful. Because technically she died. And they did this twice. It didn't quite work to bring down her heart rate. So they kept her in overnight and then released her the next day saying her heart rate was stable.
Four days later, she was waiting to be called into day surgery for the removal of a stent. She was going to receive anesthesia. Her pupils were dilated and she was short of breath. Her heart rate was over 180. An incredibly nice resident and consultant attended to Mum during a 4-5 day stay in hospital. They found the right medication and she has been ok since.
As of the beginning of this month, September, Mum received a thumbs up from the urologist, the cardiologist and the gastro guy. Best news in two years.
I have moved into a new house that I am enjoying. I have been working in post production on shows like Brothers in Arms: Bikie Wars, Mabo, Puberty Blues and Redfern Now.
I also produced a short film called Only One! Hard work, ton of fun and we are now in post production!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Honest emotion
I have been reading the blog of a friend of mine who is grieving the death of her baby Max. He died of SIDS and as you can imagine, she and her husband are devastated. The beautiful thing about Abby's grief is that she isn't ashamed because she has no need to be. She is real and writing the emotions that she feels and isn't complaining, just experiencing. I am so sad for her and her husband but I really admire her strength in her honest expression of her depression.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Birthday Post and Reflecting on Mum's illness
Right. Here it is, my birthday today. Very different than last year, but in some ways better.
I woke up sick yesterday, so wound up cancelling my party. Got some much needed rest and fluids.
Today, the day of my actual birthday, my friend Jackie kindly suggested I should leave the house and came to pick me up. She gave me a massage appointment for my birthday, which was fabulous. And then we met our friend Andrew and all went for a drive. They have been so incredibly supportive and so much fun. It really did make my day.
I am making a goal for this next year to write more on this blog and to share my true feelings, not gloss over things when they are really hard. You get to do that with good friends and they don't judge you or criticise you for who you are, as I have just been reminded over the last few days.
So much has happened this last year. The biggest thing is that my mother has been sick almost all year. And while she is doing very well all things considered, she is due in hospital for another major surgery next week.
Just before Christmas last year, she accidentally slipped while moving a potted plant outside. She fell backwards and the pot landed on her ribcage. She went to bed and when my sister got home from her night shift at 4:30 in the morning, heard my mother's laboured breathing. My sister convinced her to go the emergency. Luckily, nothing seemed too broken. For a woman with osteoperosis, that was a miracle. Except, it turns out there probably was at least a hairline fracture and Mum was in so much pain. It was the first time I have ever heard her ask for a pain killer. Getting over that took months. Her muscles would go into spasm. The worst pain happened when she leaned backwards getting into bed.
Just as she was healing from that, she was diagnosed with her third instance of bowel cancer. Because she has had two surgeries before, the first in 2005 and the next in 2009, the surgeon proposed a radical operation - to remove the entire remaining large bowel and to have an ileostomy bag. Mum had been saying this is what she didn't want. But the alternative surgery would have had her in the toilet 15 times a day. She didn't ask for a second opinion or do any research - that is not my mother's style. She trusted her surgeon.
The surgery was April 27th - will have to check that exact date. Mum has been in and out of hospital ever since. And will be back in surgery next week to repair her ureter which was cut during the first surgery.
I woke up sick yesterday, so wound up cancelling my party. Got some much needed rest and fluids.
Today, the day of my actual birthday, my friend Jackie kindly suggested I should leave the house and came to pick me up. She gave me a massage appointment for my birthday, which was fabulous. And then we met our friend Andrew and all went for a drive. They have been so incredibly supportive and so much fun. It really did make my day.
I am making a goal for this next year to write more on this blog and to share my true feelings, not gloss over things when they are really hard. You get to do that with good friends and they don't judge you or criticise you for who you are, as I have just been reminded over the last few days.
So much has happened this last year. The biggest thing is that my mother has been sick almost all year. And while she is doing very well all things considered, she is due in hospital for another major surgery next week.
Just before Christmas last year, she accidentally slipped while moving a potted plant outside. She fell backwards and the pot landed on her ribcage. She went to bed and when my sister got home from her night shift at 4:30 in the morning, heard my mother's laboured breathing. My sister convinced her to go the emergency. Luckily, nothing seemed too broken. For a woman with osteoperosis, that was a miracle. Except, it turns out there probably was at least a hairline fracture and Mum was in so much pain. It was the first time I have ever heard her ask for a pain killer. Getting over that took months. Her muscles would go into spasm. The worst pain happened when she leaned backwards getting into bed.
Just as she was healing from that, she was diagnosed with her third instance of bowel cancer. Because she has had two surgeries before, the first in 2005 and the next in 2009, the surgeon proposed a radical operation - to remove the entire remaining large bowel and to have an ileostomy bag. Mum had been saying this is what she didn't want. But the alternative surgery would have had her in the toilet 15 times a day. She didn't ask for a second opinion or do any research - that is not my mother's style. She trusted her surgeon.
The surgery was April 27th - will have to check that exact date. Mum has been in and out of hospital ever since. And will be back in surgery next week to repair her ureter which was cut during the first surgery.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Been awhile
My last post was exactly a year ago. I am not going to try to recount that full year. It has been good and some parts have been very hard.
I really enjoyed my birthday lunch with my mother and sister last year at a great restaurant called Sean's Panaroma at Bondi. I then headed to a shared birthday celebration with the fabulous Milli at the Cricketer's Arms Hotel in Surry Hills.
I got to work on a couple great TV shows, Rake, East West 101, Tough Nuts 2 and The Kangaroo Gang.
I have met some great people, have some wonderful friends and am reconnecting and catching up with old friends.
Most of all, I am so grateful that my mother has made it through some very difficult medical issues so far.
And that brings me to roughly today, which is my three year mark in Sydney. This move was much harder than anticipated. But there is no doubt that I am so pleased to live closer to my mother and sister, am thankful for the support that they and friends have lent.
I really enjoyed my birthday lunch with my mother and sister last year at a great restaurant called Sean's Panaroma at Bondi. I then headed to a shared birthday celebration with the fabulous Milli at the Cricketer's Arms Hotel in Surry Hills.
I got to work on a couple great TV shows, Rake, East West 101, Tough Nuts 2 and The Kangaroo Gang.
I have met some great people, have some wonderful friends and am reconnecting and catching up with old friends.
Most of all, I am so grateful that my mother has made it through some very difficult medical issues so far.
And that brings me to roughly today, which is my three year mark in Sydney. This move was much harder than anticipated. But there is no doubt that I am so pleased to live closer to my mother and sister, am thankful for the support that they and friends have lent.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
new macbook!!!!
after 7 years, i finally found it in my heart to put my old powerbook to pasture. it will be grazing at home. tomorrow, i will take my new macbook to work. and i think i might be in love.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Longrain and beyond
Beautiful meal at a restaurant last Friday called Longrain in Surry Hills to celebrate the end of production of a TV show I worked on.
We then mosied over to the Hollywood Hotel for a drink, great art deco not renovated with a disco ball.
Up the road to an Irish pub then to the Wine Garden, which was so beautiful and so packed. It is on the site of a former water station and the result is stunning. And then home.
Updates on the banana in Sydney
Since my last post, I have had foot reconstruction surgery on my left foot to remove a bunyon inherited from my father's side of the family that I have had since I was little. It has healed remarkably well but I was not able to walk on it for 8 weeks, wore a funny clog like shoe for longer and still have a bit of pain. I was incredibly lucky to have a wonderful family who took care of me during the healing period.
I thought about posting photos but thought this might be a bit too much. But I did document the process starting prior to surgery through to just recently.
I have also immersed myself into TV production - which is hilarious as in my former job, I led teams building software for film and tv production. Two shows in now. Strange and fun to start doing something new. More on this later.
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