All Said and Done

Spice Jars

2009-07-10T02:11:37Z

Yesterday I went to Ikea.

And decided to get spicejars to organise the spice drawer which was slightly appalling. Now I can buy spices in bulk as needed (small bulk), which makes things cheaper.

I really liked these ones, but at $5 a jar decided that perhaps not, and got these at $3.50 for 4, besides at the moment and for the foreseeable future they are living in a drawer. Makeshift handwritten sticky labels – until I get my act together and make nice ones – which may never happen.

I did discover that we somehow have three containers of Paprikia… who needs that much paprika, ever! And hardly any Rosemary. I also probably needed to buy one more pack of jars, although cayene pepper probably doesn’t need to be in a jar that big.

I should have taken a before photo, there were half opened packets and a sizeable pile of mixed up spices spread across the bottom of the drawer along with toothpicks and all sorts of strange things.

Boum, a post of the day

2009-07-10T00:22:11Z

Boum, post of the day to Heather. Beautiful and honest writing.

Tour de France

2009-07-08T12:55:52Z

Before Friday I have to crash course myself in Tour de France everything. Our friends Cat and AJ are rather into it all and we are heading to theirs for an evening – I guess it’s the final (I don’t know!!!) of Tour de France everything. So we have to each pick a team: I will be going for team Columbia (because Geoff told me I should because I have Columbia shoes and a tent….err yes – besides they’re good) – no one is allowed the same team…

I will do some scouting tomorrow – but if you have suggestions for something like a quick but thorough overview, that’d be great. I know diddly squat. Except that it’s long distance team cycling through France.

Still Thursday

Family

2009-07-08T02:32:22Z

I’m married to a tall guy.

And I have lots of sisters. And my Dad really does look like this stick figure, it’s kind of disturbing.

free flash toys

Etsy and making things

2009-07-07T07:38:24Z

You may recall the rabbit, with whom I am slightly in love and would love to hang on the wall instead of prop up on top of a bookshelf but am confounded by living in rental. He comes from Etsy seller MademoiselleG. And speaking of which – Australia dwellers – now is a good time to buy overseas Etsy things.

I have a few endeavors floating around in my head – that involve making things:

The first is to have a go at some more painting – something less abstract.
To dry felt (which I have not done, but have seen done and it looks simple enough) a moe onto a grey felt laptop case – which I will also make. I’m not a huge fan of most dry felting (in how it looks) but this idea works in my head.
To finally get hold of my dad’s electric sander so I can finish the pallet coffee table
Learn how to knit better i.e. quickly and nicely enough to make something worth keeping

I really rather enjoy trying new things, making things, growing things, changing things. Would love, love, love to do a short illustration course, but not sure where to find one that lines up with what I want to do. All the uni short-courses are about traditional line drawing people and portraits and I just want to do the err, cutesy stuff.

I also need to make becmatheson.com look more presentable and update the hell out of it
Write more (of calibre and not just blog entries)
A bookbinding course would also be fun, and useful!

Other exciting things happening to indulge myself are that Cat and I and who knows who else are starting a book club based on that plethora of Penguins. I am quite excited. Although not sure how I’ll go talking about books as my short term memory is appalling. Notes Rebecca. Notes.

Things I will probably never get into:

Quilting/Patchwork (sorry ladies, I’m just not a fan – except of the very very traditional ones and then only rare cases, most of them look naff)
Tapestry/Needlework
Making my own clothes – I could be convinced, but I’d doubt I’d have the patience
Cross-stitch – had my stint of this when I was younger, now it’s like pixelly pictures but WAY less cool.

Vineyard Catalyst Network

2009-07-07T05:44:39Z

Christina has written an introduction to the Vineyard Catalyst Network. The actual site (quite empty at the moment) is over here.

So in terms of where Geoff and I are at the moment, we’re part of one of the ‘three communities’ that already exist – in it’s infancy, and meet fortnightly. We also are currently going along to Ranges Community Church.

Book covers

2009-07-07T01:44:57Z

I usually use Google Reader to “star” posts and things I find inspiring. However sometimes the rss feeder extends only so far and I had gone off on an internet tangent when I came across this. I really like this book cover. I’m not sure if it’s due to the relative simplicity, how clean it feels or that rather beautiful ampersand (being a bit of a sucker for them).

I am needing to be looking deeper into book design. There are books out there – naturally both of the how-to/example variety ($$) and some superb specimiens of books themselves. I am keen to expand my repotoire of the interesting things people do with books both internally and externally. I will naturally be doing some of my own scouting, but if you know of any great blogs or just great examples I’d be grateful if you shared!

Breakfast

2009-07-06T03:44:59Z

Inspired by Jon Huck’s marvellous breakfast series. I also have the flu of some kind (Swine? Yay? Nay? Don’t care?), it’s charming. I really admire conceptual work like this. And yes, I did only have a cup of tea for breakfast, because woke up at almost 11am and the cup of tea/coffee is a pretty much the standard routine anyway. And yes I am rather annoyed I missed the rest of Wimbeldon after I gave it a small sleepy stab. But really, 4 hours of tennis when all you want to do is sleep or cough or wallow with a sore throat is not the perfect combination. Pleased Fedderer won.

Penguin

2009-07-04T01:54:59Z

Later this year I will begin to start seriously considering options for work next year – these options will be slightly constrained by a certain other structure that will come with the next two years (Yeah that thing I can’t talk about yet again, which is a little annoying, because it’s kind of fun, but could affect location). Alongside design firms I will also be checking out some publishers – like Penguin – in some kind of weird endeavor to combine my two loves.

Speaking of Penguin Books, there have been another 50 titles of popular penguins released for the lovely low price of $9.95(ish) each. I was very pleased to see that One Hundred Years of Solitude has made the list. So get off your bum and go get yourself this rather fine piece of literature. Yes it’s a little peculiar, and a little bit of a hard slog with so many similar names but it’s very worth it.

Marks

2009-07-03T07:20:28Z

As personal blogs allow for some self indulgence, I’m happy to mention report that I went rather well at uni this semester with three Distinctions and a High Distinction. Two of my subjects also kept back my work for ‘example’ use – the grasshopper which you would have seen and my Communication Strategy assignment which was a thematic thing (I worked on one about Housing – particularly in a collective context) – where you researched and established your own brief and from that produced various design outcomes. This is certainly an encouraging terms of gauging that it was a good decision to leave work alone for this last year and just pull a few extra unnecessary things off my plate. It’s also rather nice that the HD was from my Design and Business class where I had a particularly difficult group to work with and I full well feel I deserve every bit of it.

Above is some of the Communication Strategy stuff… my client was the Salvos, want to make VERY clear that it was and is just an assignment and has nothing really to do with them. Badcouch doesn’t exist. However for the sake of something or other, like the rest of any work/photos/writing I put up on this blog it’s © Rebecca Matheson. (I confess although some of my ideas were quite thought out, lots of the Com Strat stuff happened fairly late in the assignment game so finnessing mightn’t have been quite up there, I was a little surprised at the Distinction, but he must’ve liked it or how it all fit together or something).