Annie's Blog

The ladie's tennis final

2012-01-28T20:14:00.005+10:00

these two young women battled it out in the ladie's tennis final at the Australian Open tonight
in Melbourne of course
and Victoria Azarenka won over Maria Sharapova. A good match.

Australia Day

2012-01-26T11:37:00.017+10:00

I hope you are enjoying Australia Day wherever you are
It is warm and humid here with the promise of more rain around
the tennis is on...the doubles were good this morning
there's always the cricket on also if you are interested..
wherever you are
even the kids love playing, in the backyard, at the beach, or at the cricket field
but I'll definitely be watching Federer play Nadal tonight (Australian time)
what a match that should be
of course there'll be a lot of people at the beach today, I do hope they will be careful...
and many more will be celebrating with a good Aussie barbeque
yum....
but I am watching Aussie Kim (Kim Clijsters) play Azarenka at the moment in the semi finals at the Australian Open being telecast fromMelbourne...another interesting match
I don't know why they still call her Aussie Kim when she is from Belgium, but I guess she has been coming here for many years, and seems to enjoy it here and do well. Apparently at 28 (and a mother) she is one of the oldest in the women's game.
the semi finals are always good

Hope you have a great day!

the weekend and prayers for the current flooding situation

2012-01-24T18:28:00.007+10:00

on the weekend I was able to make a skirt for my daughter
there was also a bit of dressing up
the space commander meeting the ladybug
but now there's a lot of this...
I drove home in a lot of rain yesterday, there has been an awful lot more rain today...more than 2 inches here today, 8 inches (200mm)up at Caloundra and other places in South East Queensland and more predicted for tomorrow. Already of course there is flooding...prayers for those affected, especially the little family at Sippy Downs.

blossoms

2012-01-18T10:53:00.004+10:00

the indian laburnam is flowering
and the buckinghamia is starting to also
I'll really enjoy the buckinghamia when it is in full bloom
but for the moment
I'll really enjoy this one...there isn't a lot of it!

there's a boat at the end of the street

2012-01-15T06:47:00.007+10:00

it never ceases to amaze me when a ship goes past Caloundra

how close they seem as they go around the point

this one is off down the passage between Bribie Island and Moreton Island to the Port of Brisbane.

Still waiting for a special one to arrive...this one wasn't it, though it was supposed to arrive yesterday! Hope it won't be long. They say another week. We'll see. There's a scooter on it that a little boy is waiting for.

last look at Moffatt

2012-01-10T16:49:00.015+10:00

this was our last day at the beach
we walked down to moffatt beach to buy some bread for breakfast

there were plenty of people in the water already

been though it was a little misty and rainy

but we made it back up the hill before the rain came

what a lovely holiday it was to catch up with family...from home and overseas...a great idea.
We'll have to do it again.

out to lunch

2012-01-08T21:02:00.019+10:00

went out for a very enjoyable and relaxing lunch the other day at the beach
nice to sit on the deck
and enjoythe view

and the passing traffic

and the house over the canal
there were many sorts of different water vehicles
all enjoying themselves in their own way

but all good things

must come

to an end...
unfortunately
lovely. perfect.

in the swim

2012-01-04T20:15:00.019+10:00

lovely to be at the beach and in the pool again...
having fun
looking out at the surrounding views
watching Serena play tennis in Brisbane (I think that's where she is)
then we walked down the hill enjoying the ocean views
looking out over Moffatt Beach

to have a swim
then of course there is the walk back again..
the ginger plant looked very pretty as I puffed my way back up the hill

and the bottle-brush plant too
of course enjoying the ocean views again, this time from under the pandanus palm

and the gardens
always good to catch up with family, especially when you've not seen them for a while...Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T05:41:00.005+10:00

It's that time of year
when we move on from the decorations and tinsel
back to real life...
but we remember the message and God remain with us as we go.
May he be with you through 2012.

Happy New Year to you all!

The best of the week

2011-12-29T23:13:00.003+10:00

What have you been up to this week,
Has it been busy or relaxing?

Since most of you might be at home this week, and no doubt rattling around with nothing to do (haha)

Below are some of the best stories I have read this week...most of them very funny..especially Pioneer Woman's story...and Charlie Brown's (video) the Meaning of Christmas is also very good....

but this one was also very good from the nytimes yesterday,about a family dining out twice a day for several days whenever they visit NYC....

NYC family foodies funny:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/dining/when-the-familys-foodies-visit-new-york.html?src=me&ref=style

pig dung:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-29/pig-dung-used-as-teenager-deterrent/3750568

very very funny from pioneer woman:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/12/all-i-wanted-was-a-doughnut/

and the best of all...Charlie Brown links:

(watch the real meaning of Christmas)
http://www.soupisnotafingerfood.com/2011/12/the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year.html

Enjoy, Ann

Take care and have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully I will be back to wish you a Happy New Year soon. With some new and interesting photos.

A Christmas Mosaic

2011-12-28T08:08:00.000+10:00

A Merry Christmas to you

2011-12-27T03:48:00.004+10:00

For unto us a child was born.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:27:00.002+10:00

Love
Joy

and Peace at Christmas.

more frangipanis for Christmas

2011-12-20T10:43:00.000+10:00

old houses

2011-12-19T08:23:00.002+10:00

I wasn't feeling too bad about taking a photo of this old place on my way home from the airport (I took another wrong turn). Until I saw a car in the garage out the back. Help. Does someone actually live there? I hope the back of the place is better than the front then.

it seems to be nearly Christmas

2011-12-16T21:33:00.012+10:00

and some people have decorated their places

and so where are we now? Sitting in Santa's chair?
that appears to be a man shearing a sheep
we're back at the airport
with planes coming and going

little people seem suddenly all grown up trawling Daddy's hand luggage
the flame trees are natural Christmas trees
They'll be back after seeing the other Nanma and GrandDad in New Zealand.

on the river

2011-12-08T16:53:00.011+10:00

there was a Christmas tennis breakup...on the river
all sorts of craft were seen out

the city cat ferries were regular occurrences...good to see them back in operation

the agapanthus and frangipani and poinciana served as Christmas decorations
where we sat for our lunch on the riverbank would have been under water by a few meters during the flood
yummy food and good company and coffee
a very pleasant time on the riverbank of the mighty Brisbane River...good to see that somethings are looking like they are getting back to normal. Remembering of course that there are many others that are not yet, after the mighty floods at the beginning of the year.

a walk at Currimundi lake

2011-12-04T19:43:00.008+10:00

come for a walk...
a nice view from the Surf life saver's lookout...this wind sock must be for the parachuters who regularly land here...
lots of room for everyone, and every beach and water activity...from the surf on one side..
a walk through the bush along the edge of the lake
even a scrub turkey too
multi-story apartment buildings
the lake provides lots of room and activities for the whole family...many families...what a lovely place.

2011-12-03T22:34:00.002+10:00

the frangipani have been pretty nice too lately..
always a compensation for the horrible hot weather we have sometimes, to have some wonderful blooms around!

that time of year

2011-11-30T09:04:00.001+10:00

Time of year for the agapanthus to bloom, lovely to have some blooming at last in my front yard again.

getting settled

2011-11-27T05:29:00.006+10:00

time for playing with kids
and shopping
of course it can't be long till Christmas
waiting around on the way to a fire nee naa nee naa
this looks interesting...

An Australian Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:12:00.013+10:00

Many thanks for the wonderful provision of fresh fruit around us
for dancing ladies
and agapanthus flowering
a rainy misty morning...looking out over Mt Cootha from my morning walk
cheerful bougainvillea
and poinciana blooms
for highways and freeways and byways
for the rain, even though it was very heavy in patches, and not very heavy in other places
Greetings and a Happy Thanksgiving to you from Sippy Downs, Australia.

bye bye beach for now

2011-11-21T16:46:00.007+10:00

bye beautiful Dicky Beach
it was such fun to be there
jumping in the waves
buying ice creams and fish and chips
watching the action on the beach
I'll miss you, but I am sure we'll be back.
Just as the little fellow said to me last friday after settling in to Sippy Downs, and I offered to take him for a walk, he leaned in to me with a smile and said
"Grandma, can we go to Dicky Beach"
Yes, said Mummy and Daddy , let's go back and have some fish and chips for dinner at the beach. Yum.

Good to be moved in at last. Whew. What a horrible couple of months for them all. What a lot of Hard work. And Grandma forgot to bring the camera back with her from Brisbane.

beach houses, pirate ships, old boats, moving house, water play

2011-11-14T15:08:00.021+10:00

When you wake up early in the morning jet lagged, and you just wanna go back to New York, there's nothing like a play at a playground to find some little friends to play with.

but mostly playing on the beach with the old ship on it has been lots of fun early in the mornings

being careful to call it AN OLD BOAT instead of a ship, especially when one's possessions are on a SHIP somewhere between here and NYC. Though we do read the story of the wreck on Dicky beach every time we pass the propellor, I am still careful to call it an old boat! ;-)
of course one always has to roll in the sand before walking home!
and make do with your sister's bath for a bath...and call it a boat!
It is always fun to play outside in the back yard in Australia, especially when you are used to living in an apartment.

and look the roadworks even came to visit our street, just as Mummy and Daddy wanted to shift some stuff to their new house.
Mummy decided a new beach house was in order before all their stored furniture can be organised to be delivered from Grandma's place.
Grandma likes all the bold art works hanging in the rooms, and thinks she might take up painting in her old age...if she gets time.
Baby M has been very good for Mummy. What a cutie pie.
All the while we have been getting over jet lag and shifting things, she has been discovering her Hands. I think she is even getting to know how to play peek a boo.
This beach house number two is in stark contrast to beach house number one which was clean and functional and quite large , with just the basic necessities. Here we seem to have absolutely everything. Could live here for a year and not discover everything. Not much room to move really, but oh well, it is still fun to be near the beach...and a park!
Of course we have been doing a lot of driving...and someone just loves the car. Though one day he mentioned a train. When you've been traveling on the subways all your little life it all must be very strange for a while. He'll miss catching the number 1 and the A train places I think. But there 's a lot to do here to keep him busy.
A new paddle pool and sand pit awaits at the new house. Grandma was so busy buying sand and collecting forgotten rental agreements left behind that she forgot to take a photo of the new house.

on the beach

2011-11-07T19:30:00.006+10:00

the beach which had been fairly quiet during the week, heated up a little during the weekend.
some parachuters arrived a couple of times
some bluebottles also visited on the afternoon tide, this onee seemed particularly large and nasty
so we stayed out of the water and played on the beach.

off to uni

2011-11-05T21:11:00.008+10:00

it was off to uni the other day
where the lifestyle is pretty relaxed

a wonderful installation to catch up with while Mummy had her interview

1000 leaves by Elizabeth Poole
(I think)

at the beach

2011-11-01T23:20:00.002+10:00

bubbles, whirlwinds, parachutes, tornadoes, fun,waiting and prayers

2011-10-30T14:41:00.021+10:00

Have I said how pretty the jacarandas are at the moment. I especially love the carpet of petals on the ground.
There were a few days that have been a little like a whirlwind...a trip up the mountain to Grandparent's Day at school. Involving a walk with a grandson and a sighting of an unusual cactus flower.
glimpses of fairy wings
wonderful flowers again
sightings of art works
some puzzle solving
lots of bubbles, and for this one, not without a little drama on the day
some wonderful agapanthus, seem to be flowering early

tornadoes in a bottle and a small person who had the honor of explaining it to the class
chain reactions in the library
even some newly hatched chickens to observe
another chain reaction...just sorry I missed the little parachutes out the windows...it is hard to be everywhere at once! ;-)
a glimpse of some more art work at the hospital emergency center on the way home, where a patient little patient was awaiting observation after a fall on the playground...she's all better now, (I think and hope)
I took this close up of MOSAICS for a grandson who had only just learned the word in his reading the night before!
and back down the mountain, brought this little windfall of Quandongs on my way to church across the little bridge this morning.There were many many scattered on the ground
and some of the flowers presented to me by a little granddaughter at Grandparent's Day. How lovely. Thank you Miss S. Hope you are feeling OK now.

And a little word about the waiting and patience required when our major airline has felt no alternative but to ground all flights and aircraft at 6pm last night, after being crippled by much industrial action in the last year.

Many prayers for a little family who are booked to come home on said aircraft in the next few days, who are living in a virtually bare apartment after shipping off all their possessions. and who are due to move out of said apartment soon.
And for their health, all being unwell, especially little Baby M. We love you. May baby M get well quickly, and we pray that the meeting this afternoon will deliver good news in the form of an airline back up and running again. Prayers you will be with us shortly.

the friary

2011-10-28T20:22:00.012+10:00

there was an Open House at the friary on the weekend
so it was good to be able to go back and have a look around

a labyrinth

interesting artworks

many thanks to the Anglican church. I'll have to go to one of their Taize services one day.

mainly hippys

2011-10-23T11:07:00.006+10:00

may have shown you these hippeastrums before...they just popped up in the middle of the garden without my knowing. they are very cheerful.
everything is colorful at the moment

these white flowers were just wonderful this morning at early church.

prayers for the family packing up to leave NYC....and the little ones too. May God go with them in their packing and leaving.

Thoughts

2011-10-19T23:50:00.003+10:00

Thinking of families of those departed, and others in hospital.
Especially Lyn and Olive and their families.

(window at Wesley Hospital)

World Food Sunday

2011-10-16T09:46:00.007+10:00

1 Kings 17:14 (Elijah says to the widow) For the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.

off to church
and over the creek on the way home from church
the jacaranda trees are flowering all over the city. Wonderful.
Remembering World Food Sunday.

We brought gifts for the people in a neighboring suburb who are still affected by the floods and their aftermath, and donations for the People in the Horn of Africa. May God bless all these people as they struggle to meet their daily requirements of food and other necessities. May we be constantly aware of the plights of those around us. And be caring towards them.

thursday pineapples and pine cones

2011-10-13T20:01:00.005+10:00

discovered this pineapple had a little fruit growing

enjoyed a trip out to Pullenvale
wonderful

the view from here

2011-10-10T17:43:00.008+10:00

saw this yellow duck on the river the other day
and this wheel
on the way up to the hospital
the fish were very pretty
and this wonderful stained glass window caught my eye

One day I must go find out what that wheel is all about...I pass it so often!

three of them

2011-10-05T06:42:00.004+10:00

there are three of these little guys this year, I saw them yesterday as I went for my walk
every spring these adult plovers raise their babies in an empty paddock across the road,
I hope they all survive, as they attempt to cross the busy road as they did last year!
Mum's orchids are looking pretty good this year,
I call them orchids, I don't know exactly what they are
except beautiful.

zooming in...on more beauty

2011-10-01T19:29:00.011+10:00

from the Garden City...beautiful rununculas
hollyhocks
flowering peach

primulas
and daisies
ageratum
sit awhile with me
and soak in the beauty
of the parterre garden...

For the beauty of the earth
For the beauty of the skies
For the love which from our birth
over and around us lies

Christ our God, to thee we raise
this our sacrifice of praise.

by David Evans (1874 -1948) and Folliott Sandford Pierpoint (1835-1917)

At the Gardens

2011-09-29T21:45:00.007+10:00

A quick trip up the mountain to pick up my sister, gave me an opportunity to visit the wonderful Spring gardens there

the tulips are also terrific
aren't they?
My favorites were these dark purple ones arising from a bed of white...

magnificent!

swaggies in town

2011-09-25T10:49:00.003+10:00

An inadvertent train delay found me taking someone across town to the airport instead of to the train..and an inadvertent wrong choice on the way back took me over the new Gateway bridge which required me to wind myself back through the city. As I sat at a set of lights I delightfully re-discovered the swag-men that were such an iconic part of Expo 88 in Brisbane.
Our city isn't too bad. I just don't go there very often!

sunrise and sunset

2011-09-22T08:48:00.002+10:00

We've had a lot of smoke haze lately. Fortunately it has lifted mainly now. This was the sunrise the other morning.
And this was the sunset.

glad I cleaned those windows

2011-09-19T09:33:00.014+10:00

so glad I cleaned the windows, don't you love the late afternoon light at the change of seasons, it seems to have a wonderful pinkish quality to it
a lovely arrangement of flowers for early church yesterday
and the iris were just wonderful
I just love irises
I think they are just the perfect flower
and look who came to visit after I got home from church
it has become so hot outside he must have been having a dip in the pool
hello dear kookaburra, having a bad hair day, I am so glad I cleaned those windows!
there'll always be an orchid during Spring
and look at that color
wonder why the color disappeared when I focused on it as the sun set very rapidly?
and the first jacarandas are out...lovely!

changes of seasons

2011-09-15T13:49:00.014+10:00

It is such a lovely time of year...
even the azaleas are trying to bloom at last. With the temperature going up by a degree a day from 27 yesterday to 31 on Sunday, it won't be long before they are out
this little magpie came in to say hello as I sat out on the patio one morning
I don't think he was the same one as in the previous post
but he wasn't shy. He walked right up to me...and I couldn't get to focus the camera properly for the closer shots! He walked right on by when he realized I am not the lady who feeds him!
the orchids are a delight and continue to blaze away out there

I walked down to the shops to return my library books
I asked the librarian if could I take a photo through the huge windows they have there on the west...perfect spot to sit in our new library. Lovely.
And I took this photo of this palm tree in flower at a friend's place.
Pretty sure it was a Chinese Fan Palm
and the setting sun is such a delight, the way the light falls on the foliage at this time of year, I think.
This poor flowering pomegranate got a bit of a tough pruning from me before I went away earlier in the year. I was relieved to see it the leaves shooting again. I don't think it will flower this year though.

The Magpie

2011-09-13T15:48:00.006+10:00

The other day I was sitting on the front step talking to my neighbor, when this magpie came up to us
He was very curious
and stood there for ages intently watching us
as we talked

and as I took photos as we chatted.
Who could resist.

This post was inspired by Donna at Cottage Days and Journeys today, she has the most magnificent photos, including a wonderful one of a Puffin. My poor old magpie doesn't compare really, but I was interested to hear of someone else who likes taking many photos.

The magpie revisited me this morning as I sat on the patio editing my photos.

Go Sam ... we love you

2011-09-12T08:02:00.004+10:00

She did it! GO SAM

Well done.

Samantha Stosur wins the US Open.

photo courtesy of ABC news website
thanks to channel nine for showing us ONE match of the US Open on free to air.
not all of us have cable.

2011-09-11T22:51:00.002+10:00

Remembering those who died in the events of 9th September 2001 and their loved ones. May God be with them today and always.

morning walk ...and the lorikeet

2011-09-09T23:28:00.011+10:00

Good to wake early enough to see the sunrise sometimes
I remembered to take my camera on my morning walk
I just love the bauhinias...
and this lorikeet was close enough to get a fair photo

another bougainvillea
whew, I made it back up the laneway, getting a little fitter and faster at last

some of these, and some of those

2011-09-07T09:40:00.022+10:00

It is definitely Spring here now, so there have been lots of these
to enjoy
but then I drove "up the mountain" as my friend likes to say
where there were many of these

and some of this
and a bit of that
more Spring gardens to enjoy

and a birthday dinner to prepare
a Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal...very yummy
then suddenly it was Father's Day
some of these
and even some of these as I exited the city
and back to even more of these...
delightful!

Hope you have had a great week, and another one to come!

Spring arriveth

2011-09-02T11:10:00.000+10:00

Happy (Australian) Spring everyone!

Historic Brookfield.

2011-09-01T11:27:00.006+10:00

I took these photos the other day when I went to the produce store after tennis. There used to be a very old house on a hill here, which they have now renovated drastically...
I don't remember these old buildings being down so close to the corner of the paddock near the road

next time I might try cleaning my lens first I think! I don't think these are the best shots I could have taken.

power outages ...and talking to live people..and remembering those who are suffering from tragedies

2011-08-30T13:12:00.010+10:00

On Sunday at early church, we stopped to weave some lemon grass strands into an art work, to remember the islander families suffering such tragedy this week with the loss of eleven members from two closely related families in the unimaginable house fire at Logan.
We could equally have been remembering the Morecombe family, who in the last few weeks have been advised by police that their son Daniel's remains have been found. They have waited eight long years for news of their son who at 13 years of age, went missing from a bus stop on his way to do some Christmas shopping. And the funerals of three well known, respected and loved members of our national ABC broadcaster who lost their lives in a helicopter crash while reporting on the flooding in Lake Eyre in Central Australia a week ago. Such grief and sorrow for many people in the last few weeks..
I am often surprised when I download the photos on my camera, and find the photos I have taken, when I am thinking in my mind, "haven't taken many photos lately". May these flowers be in memory of all these people and their families.
This one was at church the other day.
and tthese last two from Brookfield, when I was out there for tennis.

May God be with the families involved and assure them of His presence with them in this difficult time.

And on a much lighter and sillier note, for those of you who ever anticipate an internet outage, and fear talking to real people, here is a link for you:

instructions for awkward social moments

passed on to me by my daughter in NYC where they luckily avoided any such awkward moments, and any fallout from hurricane Irene.!

rain...and hurricanes...and relief

2011-08-27T09:33:00.008+10:00

It is raining here, a little...and prayers are going from my house to those of family in NYC and those on the Eastern seaboard of the US
may God go with you in your preparations as the hurricane Irene approaches
and as you weather the storm out.
Dear God watch over the little ones and keep them safe.

Thanks that the hurricane weakened as it got to NYC...though there seems to be a lot of rain and flooding around.

May He also be with all who find themselves in uncomfortable places, and need His help and reassurance. Including those who lost family members in a house fire at Logan this week. Eleven lives lost from two close knit Islander families. Unimaginable grief and loss. May God enfold you in his arms and console you.

High Tea time again

2011-08-22T11:35:00.022+10:00

walking past the lovely garden with the wonderful irises
and lovely lavender
come inside, it is time for high tea
first of all, have a look at some of the tea cosies the ladies made

and some aprons as well

then it is time for a cuppa...out on the verandah
or inside
jams for sale
more teacosies

and reluctantly time to go home

Thanks ladies for a lovely High Tea.
All in aid of raising funds for Motor Neurone disease association.

the photo challenge ...portraits

2011-08-21T01:08:00.006+10:00

Not quite what I was wanting to portray, but this is my entry for the photo challenge for today!

meet.....the really wild tea cosies

2011-08-16T19:51:00.005+10:00

I love these tea cosies, especially the Blue Chook...

A friend has been knitting some really wild tea cosies...and her daughter will be hosting a High Tea on the weekend ...raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Really Wild Tea Cosies are two books written by Loani Prior, of the Sunshine Coast here in Queensland.

Motor Neurone Disease is also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

more wattle

2011-08-12T20:45:00.002+10:00

couldn't resist taking a photo of this wattle as I passed it today on the way to pick up the car. It must be July August...time for the wattles to be flowering.

catching up again

2011-08-09T12:36:00.025+10:00

Still winter time here officially, some cold nights, but very pleasant days
sometimes it is cozier in bed in the early mornings...
but where are we now
going up to visit the grandchildren again is always fun..and the drive is wonderful
to get out of the city again
and off to the pool for the swimming training for a little one...
looks like she had the pool to herself for a bit there
one on one instruction must be a great way to learn fast...great to see the little one swimming...yay!
and then off to a soccer game....time to warm up
and check out the opposition
try to ignore the trains going past
and concentrate on kicking the ball
then it's time to go to the park...
time to have some more fun

a wonderful glimpse of the Japanese Gardens as we walk through
peach blossom in flower

and a stop at College's Crossing on the way home...
to see what has happened since the floods earlier in the year

not much in the way of new infrastructure, apart from the new repaired bridge to drive over
Oh, well, at least there is the bridge...that's the main thing

a party

2011-08-03T06:16:00.004+10:00

privileged to attend the 90th birthday party of a good friend, and former neighbor..
Olive had been in hospital for a fortnight with pneumonia
but with the best of care from the hospital staff and family and friends
she was very happy and delighted to be able to get to attend her 90th party!

to the gardens

2011-07-31T18:43:00.015+10:00

a quick trip over to the gardens ...resulted in a LETTER for the BRENDA PHOTO CHALLENGE...(which appears at the end of this post)...
as well as resulting in some very interesting photos
of some interesting plants

(there are also some sideways letters here for the challenge, above)

Quite a different world over there.....Did you see the letter I found above...is it an N or a sideways Z?

Visit the other contributors in the Brenda Photo Challenge by clicking on the icon in the sidebar.

wonderful quilts again

2011-07-25T08:09:00.021+10:00

I went out to another wonderful quilt show on the weekend. Is it me, or is it the building...I'll have to go out and check, but it always looks like it is on a lean when I take a photo of that building!!
and of course I wasn't disappointed
more about the bicycle later...
the quilt above was done by a friend for her friend overseas...made especially with materials depicting Australian native plants.
the quilt above I thought was quite spectacular, I loved the random placements of flowers that were freestanding
and of course the one above was interesting too...based on the statue of liberty
in fact there were very many that I enjoyed...
especially this one.....
I just love these flowers...
but then strelitzia always grab me
just amazing some of these works...all of them...
back to the bicycles....again there was a group WHISPERS challenge where one person in a group of six quilters was shown a photo (this year a photo of a bicycle in a garden)...
then the others one by one see that person's rendition of it in patchwork in turn and do their own interpretation...(I love that this one is quite topical at the moment...hooray for Australian Cadel Evans who is just this morning enjoying his win in the Tour de France)
of course, once someone did the tour de france bicycles, I guess it was an easy stretch to the Les Folies Bergeres ...
of course some didn't stay with the bicycles, but imagined where the owner was or what they were doing...
the one above was of imagining where there were lots of bicycles...in this case Oxford or Cambridge
not quite sure how we got to this wonderful sunset, but I am glad they did...very nice..
gosh, it must be time for a spot of refreshment...lovely, thankyou..
All in all a great show, just sad I missed the jazz...it wasn't on till the next day! Oh well, maybe next year for the jazz too!

raindrops

2011-07-19T14:18:00.001+10:00

I quite liked the raindrops on this bush the other day. It was lovely to get a little rain. It has become very dry again. Already. After all the floods we had earlier in the year.

making modern art

2011-07-17T23:35:00.009+10:00

at the Gallery of Modern Art
the children had the opportunity to make some art of their own..
I enjoyed the little one's sense of simplicity

and symmetry...
is symmetry allowed in modern art? ;-)
they all had great fun, and enjoyed the ability to take a photo and email it to themselves..
What fun!

visiting the art gallery

2011-07-13T18:28:00.008+10:00

We had a great morning out with the grandchildren
visiting the local Gallery of Modern Art

always something interesting...art in a sardine can

quite a wonderful morning...especially with the special activities they put on for the children.

a floral journey

2011-07-06T09:04:00.014+10:00

I arrived in Melbourne to be greeted by this lovely jar of protea in my room
and left with a present, lucky me..and lots of memories of fun with the grandkids
there was a lovely daphne at my sister's place...much prettier than the one at my place..

there were many beautiful native flowers at my sister's place

as well as these orchids
and this bromeliad

and arrived home to this beautiful unusually variegated poinsettia at a friend's place.

Eltham

2011-07-03T22:54:00.001+10:00

one of my favorite houses at Eltham, Victoria.

the concert

2011-06-30T15:14:00.007+10:00

bowing to the mums and Dads and Grandparents
pointy toes

solo skipping
the end

Grandma was very lucky to be here at the right time to see the end of term concert for their hop skip and dance class. Thanks kids. That was fun.

I tried for so long to make this part of a longer post, and blogger was being crazy, so here is my short dance concert!

Eltham

2011-06-24T19:06:00.010+10:00

I was in Eltham a few days ago
and I stopped by at Montsalvat to look at the latest art exhibition
but these geese put on a performance almost better than the art

this fence was intriguing in the shopping center
I'll have more photos for you when I retrieve the cord to download the photos...or find another! Minding the grandchildren while Mummy had her ear surgery today. All went well, and she rang them tonight to say goodnight.

Around and about in wintertime

2011-06-20T09:20:00.013+10:00

Did I mention it was raining when I arrived home from the US?

emptied about 12 inches out of the rain gauge out the back, from the 90 days I was away.

But the weather has fined up now
and the days are sunny and cold

I even managed a photo of the eclipse last week
it is quite cold overnight here
down to zero degrees outside this morning early....and not much more inside, unless I turn on a heater. At least the sun will be out and it will warm up to 20 degrees. A bit cool for this part of the world, but much nicer than zero!

Playing .... The Brenda Photo Challenge

2011-06-16T19:58:00.001+10:00

an entry into the Brenda Photo Challenge PLAYING today.

It could also be titled Boys will be Boys.

For a look at some more contributions, please visit here

catching up

2011-06-14T06:31:00.048+10:00

we never did get to see the cake did we?
a great time in the playground for a party
Mummy made a terrific cake
watching the birds one day
and more fun in the playground

memorial day wreaths at the church
and an angel watching over us
and off to Penn Station

getting reacquainted with parts of NYC

for a bit of retail therapy
before
Grandma goes home

some photos
and some fun cooling off on a very hot day
at 8.30am
an icecream
all gone
sticky hands Mum

cooling off again
love this (very old) sign in the park
stopping for the traffic
my how those goslings have grown since we saw them as fluffy little yellow things
here they come
there they go...come on Dad
we did it!
are you taking a photo of me?
this is my best side
more family photos...mothers n daughters
but now it is time to go home...very sad
every journey must end
a peaceful train trip to pick up the car
familiar sights...(a terrible photo)...

operating under difficulties

2011-06-13T07:51:00.008+10:00

some photos from around church yesterday

for some strange reason my computer laptop has decided to take life in the slow lane...and it has been a little difficult to access certain pages on the internet, including my blogs.

and so despite my off loading many of my photos onto my external hard drive, there are still technical difficulties.

So when it is possible, I will resume posting some more photos...the last from New York, since I am now arrived home again!

will see if these few photos will load before I try the last of NYC.

a day out

2011-06-05T19:57:00.026+10:00

we had a quick trip down to 116th st the other day to Columbia University's main campus
a quick look inside the famous Low Library
and the chapel

before we moved on to the Cathedralof St John the Divine nearby

isn't it great to have someone who is awed by the wonder and architectural detail

we also spent a bit of time looking at the children's sculptures outside

all just at the right height for little people to admire
and touch
and ask questions about

then of course we had to head over to the Hungarian Pastry shop
(after our hot dog from the cart on the street that is)
and ended up admiring this little community garden right near by

since a kind man on the fruit cart was very insistent that we have a piece of fruit...good choice!

thank you very much...we said, as he headed off to the pastry shop!
bye bye cathedral
we have to get home to help mum make the party cake
yum...I can't wait.