SHEILA in SYDNEY: Bikes and Bakeries - or

It's been another month and I've thought about writing but haven't gotten down to it. I have a good excuse this time. I have been very disciplined with my creative free time. I am going to apply for a textile printing course/program at a technical college here, and I have been focused on putting together a portfolio application. There are several designs required in addition to an essay and selections of past works, so I have been tackling all that. I am pretty pleased with the way it is coming together so far. I only hope it is enough because if I don't get in, I will be so gutted. I really don't know what I will do to pick up the broken pieces of me and my dreams if this doesn't work out. I am just assuming, for now, that it will. Either way, I will post my designs at the beginning of December, after the application is in, so as not to jinx myself.

I also completed the Embroidery Guild course that I worked on last year. I still have to turn in my final assignment, but I got my evaluations on two of the three units, and they were favorable. I really am so glad that I did that course. I highly recommend it to everyone. It was fun and challenging and enlightening. (Watch out knitting and crochet, embroidery is the next big trend. I helped a stylish young woman at work last week who was picking thread colors for her cross-stitch of Dr. Who characters.)

Two Sydney things I did want to write about were bakeries and bicycles.

A few weeks ago we discovered two new bakeries to add to our treat network. One is the famous and audacious Laduree from Paris!! We went to the opening of their little macaron shop/ cafe which, unfortunately, is located in the Westfield Shopping Center in the city. It was beautiful but the elegance and class was diminished by the surroundings.

The other place was more of a surprise as we stumbled upon it on our local beaten path. We live on the edge of Surry Hills (recently ranked 26 in the top 50 most stylish neighborhoods in the world), and as one edges out of the stylish part, the streets get a little scrappy. One could say they are sometimes rough around the edges. Anyway, next to nail salons and pet supplies, there is a miraculous apparition called Kurtosh (there is supposed to be an umlaut over the u and quote-like marks over the o). It is a Hungarian bakery that is equal parts charm and yum. They sell sheet-cake slices by weight, ricotta pasteries, and a tubular yeasty pastery cooked on a rolling pin type thing. The staff are super friendly, the coffee is good, the teapots are cute, and the decor is cosy and clean. I am back at my Zumba trying to make up for the number of times I have been there.

I have been riding my bike a bit more as well. Spring is here (yes it is) and the "Sydney Rides" bike festival is on again. Music, crafts, bike info, and just fun showing off bikes was happening all up and down Bourke Street. That is where we live so it was quite easy for us to roll up to it. The mayor spoke about increasing bike lanes around the city, we heard a ukelele orchestra, and I got a free adjustment on my bike so my breaks don't squeak any more. One song that the ukes played was "Alright"by this strange retro band called Supergrass, and it seemed like the perfect theme song for the day. So listen to this version of it and enjoy the photos from this slice of Sydney.