Guess who’s the power lifter in the family?
A woman smiles at the camera as she shows off her arms, on which the muscle definition is very clear. She is wearing a sleeveless tank top and has her arms raised by her side as she flexes her biceps.
Crashing on the couch
Sometimes, after a couple of hours neck deep in Excel and Tableau, it’s best to go crash on the sofa for a bit. (One of the perks and joys of working from home!)
A man is lying on a sofa with his eyes closed. The blanket he is covered in has the Microsoft Windows ‘blue screen of death’ printed on it. This used to be the screen that appeared when a computer running the Windows operating system crashed. (Windows 10 onwards we have a different blue screen of death.)
Expecto treatonum
A hopefully look and a little tail wag. I call this Maggie’s “expecto treatonum” pose :)
And, yes, Nadia was in the process of giving Maggie a treat. So everything worked out for the best.
A red dog is standing inside a house. She is intensely focused on someone off-camera: ears pricked, ready to bound forward. The dog’s tail is a little blurry in the photo, since it’s mid-mini-wag.
Head scritches
Head scritches requested…
A red dog has put her face between the legs of the photographer, who is wearing shorts and is sitting in a chair on an outdoor deck. The dog is looking up at the photographer expectantly.
Head scritches received.
A red dog, who in the previous photo had put her face between the legs of the photographer (who himself is sitting in a chair on an outdoor deck) is now having her head scratched by the photographer.
Australian cattle dogs gonna Australian cattle dog
Australian cattle dogs gonna Australian cattle dog.
In this case that means Maggie will happily doze in the searing hot sun on a bright, 33-degree afternoon in Melbourne.
A red dog, of Australian cattle dog breed, lies on her side on the grass of a residential lawn on a bright, sunny day.
She’ll do that for just fifteen minutes though.
Once she's soaked up enough heat she'll rub her back on the grass, shake herself off, and head back inside.
A red dog is upside-down, legs in the air, on the grass of a residential backyard. This photo of the dog has caught her in the middle of rubbing its back on the grass.
Stage three is a cool down.
A red dog lies on her side on a cool floor inside a house.
All in all, an afternoon well spent.
That's the spot
Ah, that's the spot. Head scritches are the best.
A dog rests its chin on the leg of a seated man. The man is scratching the dog’s head and the dog, with its eyes half closes, looks calm and relaxed.
Blueberry tea
Friday afternoon and it's time for blueberry tea.
Selfie of a man standing in a residential garden on a sunny, partly cloudy day holding a large clear glass mug that contains a reddit coloured liquid. The mug looks like a beaker used by chemists in the laboratory.
Making herself at home in our new garden
Last week we moved house. If that sounds like a stressful thing to do during a global pandemic, let you tell you: it is. But, we made it. And we’re now all settled in the suburb of Newport – about a fifteen minute drive from where we used to live in Kingsville.
One of the best things about our new place is the large garden at the back. Maggie took a couple of days to settle in and thoroughly mark her new territory, but even on moving day she found herself a nice spot to roll in.
A red heeler dog rolls around on her back in a patch of grass in a residential lawn. In the background you can see a garden shed and a swing.
Which she was immensely pleased about.
A red dog lies comfortably on her side in a residential lawn. In the background you can see part of a garden shed and a fence.
I guess dogs donna dog, and Maggie is making the most of it :)
Making the most of the sun
Making the most of the sun on a chilly morning in Melbourne. #LazySunday
A man wearing a hoodie and a Panama hat sits at a plastic table in a residential lawn. There is a mug of tea on the table and he is holding a Kindle e-reader. There is a dog sitting on the grass in the background.
Happy birthday to me!
Hello. I am 44 years old today. Importantly, Nadia got us Oodies for my birthday!
Selfie of a man and a woman each wearing an oodie, which is an oversized blanked hoodie.
Sadly I haven’t gotten around to wearing mine for too long because this has been a lovely, sunny week in Melbourne.
Selfie of a man and a woman on a sunny day. The man is bald, with a salt and pepper beard, and is wearing glasses. The woman has long hair and has put her head on the man's should from behind him. They both have big goofy grins on their faces.
Sunny day in Melbourne
Maggie us making the most of a sunny Friday morning in Melbourne.
A red dog sits comfortably on the grass in a residential lawn on a bright, sunny day. The dog looks very relaxed, with eyes closed as she soaks up the sun.
Important (p)update
A red dog is fast asleep on her side in a residential garden on a bright, sunny day.
New toaster. Who dis?
Yay for a shiny new toaster toaster from KitchenAid! This one even has a crumpet setting :)
A shiny, 4-slot toaster from KitchenAid lying on a kitchen counter top.
(This is a ‘4 Slice Artisan Automatic Toaster’ in pistachio colour, if you’re interested. Model 5AKMT423PT.)
Only eyes for you
Watching TV on Friday night, but Maggie is only interested in Nadia.
A woman sitting on a sofa is snuggling a dog that she is holding upright in her lap. The dog is looking back at woman’s face adoringly (though with a little bit of concern).
Happy birthday Nadia!
Happy birthday Nadia!
I’m glad we could celebrate the day with flourless orange cake…
Two-thirds of a flourless orange cake that’s decorated with almonds, orange rinds, and creamy frosting.
And with your very first drive-in cinema experience!
Nighttime selfie of me and Nadia, dressed warmly, sitting in the front seats of a parked car.
That too by watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was fun trip down memory lane to the early 1980s :)
The outdoor cinema screen as seen from the front seat of a car that’s parked in a drive-in cinema. The 1980s version of the Universal logo is showing on the screen.
Post dinner napping
Post dinner nap on her hoomin.
Maggie, our red heeler dog, is snuggled up next to my leg while we sit on the sofa. Her head and paw are on my leg.
Good stretch
Ooh, good stretch!
A red dog, lying on her side in the sun on a residential lawn, fully stretches her body — with her front and back paws reaching in opposite directions.
Head scritches
You were wanting a head that you could scritch, yes?
Maggie, our red heeler dog, has poked her head from between my legs as I sit cross-legged on the sofa.
Of course you were! You’re very welcome.
Maggie, who has stuck her head between my legs as I sit on the sofa, is having her head scritched.
You may gently scritch the very top my head too.
Maggie has now poked stuck her head between Nadia’s legs and now Nadia is using one finger to scratch the very top of Maggie’s head.
Sunday breakfast FTW!
Sunday breakfast FTW!
Featuring a spicy desi omelette, keema simla mirch with a dollop of Greek yogurt, roti, and cinnamon kava.
Good meal too have on a drizzly day after you’ve walked your dog.
Two plates on a dining table place mat. The plates contain an omelette, mince meat curry, yoghurt, and flatbread. There is also a glass containing tea.
Shall we play?!
[Working from home]
Me: Takes a break. Goes outside to stretch and get some fresh air.
Maggie:
A red heeler (Maggie) stands ready in front of a knotted rope toy. She is looking expectantly as the photographer, wanting/expecting them to play with her.
Women's T20 World Cup final at the MCG
This year’s ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup was hosted by Australia and the final was held at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women’s Day (8 March 2020).
Nadia couldn’t make it (she had a deadline), but I was there with 86,173 other people to watch Australia and India compete for the trophy. (Australia won their fifth title.)
Crowd inside a stadium. A massive screen in the background says: “Attendance 86,174. Australian record!”. A spectator in the foreground has their arms raised as they cheer this announcement.
The MCG is such a fantastic venue for both live sport and music. I enjoy myself immensely every time I go there. (Also, yay for wide angle lenses for smartphones!)
Wide-angle view of the cricket pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from just behind the seats on the lowest level.
At this match I happened to be seated behind the hundreds of girls who danced with Katy Perry in her fantastic pre-game performance. They were a fun bunch to sit behind: not tall, not rowdy, very enthusiastic, and very dancey. Even if they do look all composed and sober during the national anthems!
A view of the cricket pitch in a stadium. Everyone is standing at their seats while the national anthems play. The seats in front of the photographer are occupied by hundreds of young girls wearing all-purple sports/dance outfits.
My favorite nearby spectators, however, were these siblings. The little girl was particularly thrilled with Australia’s batting performance, pumping her fists or raising her 4/6 boundary sing every time a batter scored a boundary. In the second innings her brother joined in on the standing-and-cheering action as well.
The section I was in was mostly full of Aussie supporters, but there were a few pockets of India fans dotted about the place as well. We also had the inevitable Indian-Aussies who’d brought both flags with them.
There are pros and cons to watching a match at the venue as opposed to on the TV at home.
One of the pros of being at the stadium is that you get to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff. Watching the Spidercam zipping around doing its thing, for example. And checking out the staff as they do their jobs: like these security guards (who didn’t have much to do since the crowd was so fantastic) and the crew pulling advertising decals off the ground while Katy Perry’s roadies prepare her stage in the background after the match was over.
Arguably the best thing about watching a match in a stadium, however, is that you get to participate in a Mexican wave with eighty six thousand other people :)