When I first saw Abbotsford Street...

I thought, those trees are flame trees and if we move here, in winter the street will be awash with bright red flowers.

Then when we did move in, I revised my initial thinking... perhaps they aren't flame trees after all, because in Cottesloe they are already flowering, yet these showed no sign. But those heart shaped leaves are so familiar...anyway, I thought no more of it, until yesterday afternoon, plodding home from work, only to look up and be face to face (give or take a few metres' elevation) with a beautiful red flower. So winter is coming, but slowly, and the street will be washed red.

Ever more things to be grateful for.

Today I'm pummelled by fatigue again, but so many good things have happened- on Saturday, after taking delivery of a wonderful second hand bed and baking three pretty bloody amazing cakes (burnt toffee in oven not withstanding) I started on the French onion soup and we headed to Lynwood. And it was wonderful. Wine and jaegermeister and soup and oily croutons and so much laughing. It was like old times. Very old times, but it was intimate and comforting, that family's still family, no matter how twisted the connection.

Balint zonked out some time after midnight (Pete was long gone) and Betty and I stayed for another hour or so, huddled in front of the laptop, humming Italian pop songs and sipping warm wine. Bliss.

Sunday we went to the Hungarian house, and I surprised myself by having a wonderful time. Of course this must have been helped by Zoli and his great kids and Di, but it was a good happy set up, the weather was beautiful and I didn't have to work. It was fantastic.

It's almost my bed time, but I wanted to say one more thing. Remember Impulse, from our school days? Well, I'm poor and my perfume is empty, so I thought, with a nod to the credit crunch, that I'd buy some body spray instead. First, in Coles I tested Illusions...whoa, did I really stink like that in high school? I remember Bud used Incense, which also hit my olfactory area like a train...so I settled on mostly musk, which is stifling and cheap smelling, but also packs a wonderful memory-wallop, and if I use little enough, it's almost bearable. Thierry Mugler eat your heart out!

...