Photos from March

Okay, so I have had some blog posts brewing and stewing for quite some time now. So while I work on getting one down on paper, so to speak, here is a collection of photos from March.
March!
That was SO long ago!

Art in Decay.
Applying my motto - take a photo and throw it away. :)

Rainbow Nails. Caitlin is our resident nail artist.

Our neighbour preserved our olives (That's a very big jar full.
And the olive tree in the background)

My mixed media layout that I did with Finn.
That's a photo of my paternal grandmother with a little bit of
steam punk,  including objects that my Dad found.

It's not often I get a photo of Reuben - fun times.
And there's our calendar - it's working very well.

Spaghetti in a pot. Reuben pretty much only eats bolognese!

At our Women's Network meeting.
It's always pleasing to the eye as well as a blessing to the soul.

Having fun at the thrift shop!

Rose against palm trunk.

Walking around Botany while kids are at aerial circus #1

Walking around Botany while kids are at aerial circus #2

Walking around Botany while kids are at aerial circus #3

This candle has shone on so many occasions.
This time it was for Sophie-Lee's birthday.

Annelise and Soph got planted strawberry pots for their birthdays.

Easter!

Easter Egg decoration at its height!

And that's it for March.
:D

February Favourites

Here are some of my fave ig photos (some of which are taken with Hipstamatic first) from February.

Naw!!!

Special Chocolate Fondants (Thermomix recipe)

Sunset reflected in the van windows

My birthday!

Sunset from my bedroom window.

Insomnia - see Insomnia

Sunset from the front verandah

Message of love

Sunset through textured golden glass

Mal hanging out at Aerial Circus

A bunch of beautiful kale garnished with nasturtiums.

Kale Chips

Mango Milkshakes made with mangos from our own tree!

Naked Lady (Amaryllis) getting ready for the big reveal.

And.... Voila!

Photos

I realised today that I carry 13 cameras around with me - everywhere I go.
How so?
Camera apps.
My favourite at the moment is Instagram - "It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family"
The good thing about taking photos is that I can get creative pretty much any time and that is an immeasurable blessing at the moment.
Here are some of my Instagram faves from January.*

New Year's Day

Sculpture - Bondi Junction

Saturday is Dessert Night

Maroubra at Sundown

Looking up - it's just what you do!

Conjoined Strawberries

Barbie at Brighton-Le-Sands

Dessert Night (Again!)

Hottest Sydney day EVER! That is for real!

The best smile!

Australia Day - I love Australia Day. I love Australia.

* February coming soon.

Book Case Love

I don't have much to show you but I thought I'd just show you my book case.
All these books used to be spread out on my Expedit of Colour but I have changed my mind about that and I've put them all together in a Bookcase of Colour.

That's all.
:D


Actually, that's not all - if I wasn't going to organise in colour I  might like a book case like this.

Good Friday 2013

How sweet to have an extra gathering of our church family to start our Easter celebrations today!
How lovely to have a day to take a break from work and all the normal demands of everyday life!

So, instead of washing, I made gluten-free hot cross buns.
Instead of cleaning, the kids and I decorated eggs (emptied for scrambled eggs this morning).

This is a good, Good Friday.
:D

A Few Things Found

Last week Ania Dąbrowska, aka Finnabair or Finn, taught a couple of classes right here in Sydney and I had the absolute pleasure of almost 9 hours of creative arty goodness.

Even though I have known about these classes since half way through last year I still didn't know what photo I was going to use until two days before. But then, when I found the photo, I knew it was the one! It was a gorgeous photo of my Dad's mother - a Polish beauty - and I don't know much else about it. I think it could have been taken 100 years ago!

Everything started to fall into place... Polish art teacher... Polish paternal grandmother... found objects from father. A work of art with lots of meaning - I like that!

My Dad collects bits and pieces from the road when he goes on his walks around Ballina - he picks up everything from nuts and bolts to wallets and jewellery, from car parts and kids' toys to iPods and phones.

Northern Star Newspaper cutting on my fridge

When I went to visit Dad and Mum last November, Dad showed me his workshop. It was a treasure trove of found objects. There was a mobile made from tow bar covers hanging in one corner and a couple of arrangements glued onto boards sitting on the workbench. I don't think there has ever been a time when Dad hasn't been making something or collecting something.

I sifted through Dad's collection of bits and pieces with delight. And purpose. I knew I would be doing one of Finn's steam punk-type layouts and wanted to tap into this seemingly never-ending stream of goodies. I nabbed a few pieces and tucked them away in my suitcase, hoping that my carry-on baggage would not be overweight. With another two 'loads' delivered to me I had plenty of choice when it came to doing the class.

Only in November Mum had announced, "When Dad dies I'm going to throw all this rubbish out!" 

But then, the other day Mum was ruing the fact that her own mother had thrown away many of the lovely things that her father had created and she said, "You can keep Dad's rubbish."

I told Mum that I had a special surprise for her coming soon using some of Dad's 'rubbish'.

"Thanks for sending Dad's rubbish back to me! It must be special to send it." Mum replied. 

I gave a Mum and Dad a sneak peak of the layout over Skype the other day and Mum said "Ok, you can send that!" Little did Mum know how beautiful Dad's rubbish could look! 

Insomnia

O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee,
That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?
― William Shakespeare

Hormones! O vile hormones!
You steal my sleep and wreak havoc on my soul.
Once you were precious, the creator and sustainer of life,
But now you remind me of my age, you forecast the end.
Hormones begone!
Relieve me from this living death and give me the craving of my soul.

― Diane Sylvester

I remember

Uralla Cemetery, Sunday, 21 September 2008 6:37 AM

If you go to the cemetery in a little town called Uralla you might see a headstone under a cluster of gum trees engraved with a poem.

BILLY-JEAN

She left us ere we knew her

Yet we loved her from the start.

She’s now with God in heaven

And she’s with us in our hearts. 

We will not see her growing

Nor kiss her pretty face,

But we’ll always have her memory

And in our hearts a place.

We’ll see her soon in glory,

United we will be.

That hope will ever keep us

Until with her we’ll be.

DH chose this spot to bury our little girl, Billy-Jean, born too early to live.
There are no what-ifs, no could-have-beens. That would be nonsense!
But today, 20 years on, I remember.

That's all.

Better Late Than Never!

Back in November, I did what I do each year in either September or November, I took a photo a day (or, at least one photo a day).

I found, much to my dismay, that Picasa doesn't work on a Mac the way I am used to, and so I have resorted to the quickest option I could find - emailing the photos to myself from iPhoto, ten at a time! I don't know if I had chosen a different method I could include more photos. Oh well.

But then I find that the collage doesn't stay in a collage :(

So, after a few more hours and a number of downloaded and then deleted collage-making apps, I have finally resorted to paying money for a collage app that does what I want - and easily.

Without further ado, here is a collage of my November photos.

It's not all of them but a goodly selection.
Enjoy!
:D