Tag: Sunday Selections

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Out of his comfort zone

Towards the end of last year, because of ‘you know what’, there were still difficulties obtaining interstate border passes which meant we stayed longer in Queensland, enjoying some other towns along the way. In this post last November I mentioned an exhibition we went to in Mackay…..(well The Golfer was persuaded to come along – or choose the option of sitting in the car while I sauntered round for an unknown length of time). I’ll be the first to admit it wasn’t his cup of tea but he did come in and have a look around.

Aircraft museums – Art galleries = give and take. Happy wife – Happy life 😊

This is a little bit more of what we saw – just a few things that took my fancy.
The wall plates explain the displayed works – I’ve added some bio info about the indigenous artists that you might be interested in – to see more detail don’t forget to Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge.
(Please note there are photos of deceased artists on some of these links.)

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Mr R Peter – https://www.jgmgallery.com/artists/103-mr-r-peters/

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Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri – https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/tjapaltjarri-mick-namarari/

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Jennifer Wurrkidj – https://maningrida.com/artist/jennifer-wurrkidj/
Josephine Wurrkdj – https://maningrida.com/artist/josephine-wurrkidj/

Fiona Omeenyo – https://www.kateowengallery.com/artists/Fio957/Fiona-Omeenyo.htm

Artspace Mackay have a fabulous page on their website where you can do 3D virtual tours of past exhibitions – the one we saw ran from 30 July – 17 October 2021.
https://www.artspacemackay.com.au/learning/online_resources/3d_virtual_tours

I forgot to snap the info on this work below but through the marvel of the 3D feature I was able to find it 😊

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But wait there’s more…..actually there is more….one room had the most unusual but marvellous handiwork on show which will have a post of its own

Linking to Wednesday’s Words & Pics hosted by Denyse …..  Denyse Whelan Blogs. 

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Another week of smiles

After the calm of last week ~ it was fun to see the ‘not so calm’ earlier this week

An early morning ‘not a soul in sight’ always makes me smile.
Thats the beautiful Rose Bay Resort in the background

https://www.tourismbowen.com.au/see-do/attractions/bowen-beaches
Foraging for a selection from the sea turned up these small (almost miniature sized) pieces right beside my chair. I left them behind so they could make someone else smile

Our weekly treat of lunch out was at the historic Grand View Hotel in Bowen
https://www.grandviewhotelbowen.com.au/about-us/

Getting there early bagged us a spot outside, pleasantly warm but windy.
It’s not called ‘ Blowin’ Bowen’ for nothing 😊
(Shutters to block the wind not the sun – look through for a glimpse of Front Beach)

The place was renovated a few years ago – all a’la’ posh now, lots of white along with ‘colour’, hardly a speck of timber to be seen, supposedly ‘good food’ ….with high prices, (caesar salad in a wrap?)
Professional Photo Link 👇

Grand View Hotel | Bowen, Queensland

unfortunately to me (and yes call me old fashioned) being nothing like it was when we first ate/drank there – just after it was used as a set in the film Australia – it seems to have lost a lot of its country town flavour.
The covered quirky outdoor ‘wet season’ smokers spot does make me smile though. 

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And I’m just popping this in because it could be a bit of fun

Just as we were leaving I spotted this. If I was an artist I might be interested.
Art classes with drinkies supplied
Angela ~ this would put a smile on your face 😊

I really have been living my life under a rock
This seemingly is world wide big business

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_and_sip_industry

I searched ‘paint and sip Australia’ and discovered they’re all over the place!

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EC hosts Sunday Selections – a meme that’s been going for a few years now. 
It’s a place to share thoughts and photos…..old and new. 
Do pop over and see what she is showing today.

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

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Boys and Dogs and the Ocean….

Most of my recent morning visits to Rose Bay have been
just before or just after low tide.
A time for youngsters (and dogs) to have fun without being knocked off their feet

13/8/22 – 9.15am

A time to marvel at a band of sea fog floating across the horizon

15/8/22 – 9.15am

A time to feel the joy – watch out, here I come!

20/8/22 – 9 am

And a time to….well, to smile and enjoy their fun

20/8/22 – 10am

Pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today. 
Sunday Selections – a place to share thoughts and photos…..old and new

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge

https://www.tourismbowen.com.au/see-do/attractions/bowen-beaches

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Things that made me smile….

Today I’m joining in with Elephants Child and others at Sunday Selections. 
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I smile each time I see these roadside tourist billboards thinking how lucky I am to be wintering in a fabulous part of our country.
Bowen is at the northern end of The Whitsundays

Big smiles all round (or rather, down the Highway) when I saw that just like last year, the ‘little yellow girls & boys’ were still working hard protecting road workers by indicating where overhead power lines were.

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From a distance I thought this was a real house gecko on the painted shed doors out the back of a Proserpine cafe – a laugh and a smile when I realised it was a decorative door handle

This is a real one!
A smile when I saw it clinging on for dear life to a dusty window frame in another shop….followed by a frown.
They are supposedly nocturnal so why was it out and about?


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Murals are a ‘big thing’ in Bowen and this is one I hadn’t seen before. Another of those drive down an unfamiliar streets and get a surprise moments!
Painted by James Ellis – the same young Brisbane street artist I mentioned last year.

Eye catching isn’t it.
Well placed and visible from a distance.
Playful dolphins make me smile any time I see them

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And finally a little scene from Rose Bay one morning last week
Low tide, the seas were like a millpond – just right for kayak lessons on the shoreline
I’m not sure who was going to have the most fun.
Dad or the two littlies brandishing their paddles

Do pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today. 
Sunday Selections– a place to share photos…..old and new

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Walking in sunshine…

Sunny not too hot days are just right for a wander round the local park, especially for my first one since getting home from Queensland.

(Photos will enlarge with a tap/click or using two finger spread)

Going in past the decorated toilet block…not too far from the playground. A load off parent’s mind not having to trail far when little ones say all of a sudden ’I need to go Mum’

Round to the fenced part of the ’lake’ where I ’met’ this lovely lady. “She’s a rescue and quite timid” ”She has a name but it doesn’t suit her so I’m thinking about another one” “Yes you can take her photo but don’t come too close”

So I stood at the railings and watched a little unnamed duck turning circles looking for something to eat before I took a couple of quick photos of the dog

But where to from there I wondered
Along the sunny straight but not narrow or along to the right and up the windy hill?

Right it was, because I knew as I walked past the wetland area I’d get a view of the hills with the TV masts sitting there on the top. There they are, in front of the clouds

And if you look really carefully you’ll see the (hopefully I’ve identified it correctly) Heron making its way past the pale green grasses near the shoreline. Then I lost sight of it (or thought I had) The bridge in the background is in honour of the person the ‘park’ is named after.

See the Purple Swamp Hens who’d come up out of the water and were entertaining me with their antics – it looked like there was a bit of ’Chase me Charlie’ ‘Hows your Father’ going on….possibly was….I’m not actually au fait with the mating habits of water birds. 😊

Anyway they didn’t seem bothered by me standing there and came right up the bank….and that’s when I saw it.

There it was – the one I thought I’d lost. The Heron
it was hiding out in the shade of that scraggly gum tree. Look how tall and elegant it is when on the lookout

And it was about that time when I knew I had to find somewhere to sit down. Sometimes the back plays up meaning my legs tingle and go numb……and because of the vagaries of the condition (spinal stenosis) sitting takes the pressure off the nerves and after a while I’m good to go. Luckily I knew just the place!

A short way on and a turn to the right brings me to the ’old trees’ ……visible in the photo showing the hills (pruned back but left standing for birds to use). Plus a very conveniently placed bench right near the bridge – short sit down, cross over the bridge and I’m there where I began near the car park. A slightly shorter walk than usual – better that than nothing I say!

This week I’m joining Elephant’s Child and others at Sunday Selections

Also Linking to Life this Week hosted by Denyse at Denyse Whelan Blogs. 
Do pop over and see what others have been up to this week

see https://www.weekendnotes.com/elizabeth-bridge-reserve/

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Things that made me smile

I’m joining in with Elephants Child and others again today at Sunday Selections. 
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Watching the antics of these two seagulls. To me the one of the right appeared to be a male, strutting and parading in front of what seemed like a very impressionable (or maybe unimpressed) female 😊


‘Come on’ he said ’I’ll take you out to dinner and we’ll watch the sunset afterwards’ Don’t you love a man who’s true to his word

Seeing the psychedelically (is that a word?) painted wall at the fish and chip shop. Soft and warm and comforting in the evening sunshine

Smiling yes, but turning these words written on the wall over in my mind. Does fast food (yes the ‘happy meal’ sort) really make children (or even adults) think that way

Turning a miniature piece of washed up coral in my fingers imagining human feelings of tenderness in the shapes I could see

Smiling as I read this warning sign at a beach in Mackay and wondering…….when you see the words marine stingers – strong currents – crocodiles listed as hazards……why would anyone want to swim there?? Your guess is as good as mine😊

Savouring the thought of Coffee and Cake always puts a smile on my face……this time it was further up the beach at the Seabreeze Hotel.

Do pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today. 
Sunday Selections– a place to share photos…..old and new

Photos will enlarge – just tap/click or use the 2finger slide

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Things that made me smile…..

It’s been a while I know.😊……..today I’m joining in with Elephants Child and others at Sunday Selections.
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But first I just want to start with a little tribute to Jill – Jill from Land of the Big Sky.
Jill left us suddenly 6 months ago – on 23rd February 2021
She would write each day about Fraserburgh, the coastal town where she lived.
Telling us about what she was up to in her shedudio, what her dear Dawn Patroller had seen on his early morning wanderings, her walks along the sea front (the prom) and the birds, boats, dogs, surfers and children she saw there.
She had a special love of Oystercatchers and a soft spot for seagulls. Gull gangs!

I smiled when I saw the gull gangs on the foreshore and thought instantly of Jill
Do you think the big boys will let us play with them today?
One size and style of shed does for all the farms nearby
High and dry at very low tide (Dingo Beach )
King prawns and crispy noodle salad for lunch
A red coloured Hibiscus flower with a very long stamen
on the bush by the cabin window
Mr Whippy visits the van park
Ooh that’s a big one 😊 Hooray for Mr Whippy 💕

Do pop over to EC’s and see what beautiful photos she has to share today.
Sunday Selections– a place to share photos…..old and new

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They come in all shapes and sizes

Close to home they are fairly simple

Montrose Victoria – nestled below the nearby Dandenongs (above)
Croydon Victoria – in the middle of a busy roundabout (below)

I have found elaborate ones on my travels
Numurkah Victoria – beside passing traffic (below)

Yarrawonga Victoria – in the town centre (above)
Mareeba Far North Queensland – on the main street (below)

And a very fine one in Napier New Zealand (below)


As well as a plain but solid one high above the bay at Twillingate Newfoundland (below)

Then there are the enormous ones 
Calgary Alberta Canada (below)

Perth Western Australia (below)

There are different interpretations
like in Akaroa New Zealand (below)

And Cooktown Far North Queensland (below)

But all are built with the same purpose
Not to glorify but to honour and remember


Today is Anzac Day

Anzac Day  is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”.  Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918). source

Linking with Sunday Selections (hosted by EC at Elephant’s Child)

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The Pink Side of Life….

I’m sharing this with Life in Colour hosted by Jude(found at Travel Words) and also with Sunday Selections hosted by EC (found at Elephant’s Child)

Jude has decided that for her ‘Life in Colour’ challenge Pink is the colour for April.
Pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity and romance. source

Thinking I was going on a wasted journey looking for Pink in my archives I ended up being surprised with what I found there

Firstly I knew there were some of those little memes and sayings I love to gather.
My favourite- obviously 😊

Always something to look forward to

I discovered it around the house….It was there in the bedroom

In the kitchen and the hallway

Window Dressing series
Flowers in the Hallway series

Out in the garden – there were Pink Camellias Roses and Succulents

Crassula Multicava – London Pride

It was on the deck -discarded after a hard day outside working planting and caring

A colour I usually reserve for littlies but
it seems I must have at some time used it for biggies as well.
Special made to order cross over scarves and winter slippers!

And of course for the little ones of mothers who like traditional colours 😊

When photographed I’m always surprised that colours never seem to be as they are in real life – the camera has a habit of changing things – here peach/apricot and even brown hues appeared
Pink is not always Pink

Source

Joining EC and others for this week’s Sunday Selections
There’ll be plenty of pink to see at Life in Colour – check out the comments in her posts for the links
Sharing your photos…old and new…black and white or colour
Why don’t you join us one Sunday!

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Painting is not my thing….

Painting or drawing – be it on paper, canvas or walls just doesn’t interest me.
Colouring in didn’t appeal as a child and I’ve never considered it as an adult.
It’s just one of those crafts I’ve never been drawn to.

Art classes at school were a disaster
‘What do you think of when you hear the wind blowing Catherine?
’My mother yelling at me to make sure the clothes are pegged on the line securely’.

‘What about leaves blowing about – maybe you could work with that idea’
It’s a shame my splashes of red and orange all over the paper weren’t appreciated. The art mistress wanted actual leaves not my interpretation.

However, because of all the preparations (or as someone once described to me as the ‘rigmarole’) connected with knitting- selecting patterns, choosing colours, deciding which sizes I’ll make, knitting swatches (little samples to check gauge) making copious notes on bits of paper….I do acknowledge how much ‘thought and effort’ artists put into their works.
I’ll admit there are times when, a bit like book genres some styles of art don’t always appeal to me….. but I’ll have a look, trying to find something I like in it…and always end up wondering what was going on in the artist’s mind at the time.
Where does any artist’s inspiration come from – how do they go about transferring an idea into reality

Two years ago the NGV had an exhibition of Hans and Norah Heysen’s works.
(Father and daughter).
Two generations of Australian art

Along with many different examples of their paintings there were these pieces
which show/explain part of the process of producing a ‘work of art’.
I was intrigued and spent time a lot of time
moving backwards and forwards between each one


The actual painting.
Approaching storm with bushfire haze

Then alongside it is this – a study taken of the actual painting.
dated the year after
(sorry about the strange angle)


It was a similar process for his well known work ‘The three gums’
The beginning of an idea and the execution



And just because….here’s my favourite of the day
Droving into the light
With a ‘closeup’ of the drover




Unfortunately some things don’t photograph well
These ‘will enlarge’ so you are able to see more clearly
Hope you enjoy them

Interesting PDF produced for earlier tour discussing exhibits.
Bluey – Nora Heysen

Joining EC and others for this week’s Sunday Selections
Sharing your photos…old and new.
Why don’t you join us one Sunday!

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Green travels well in life

It’s surprising how many shades of green you can find when you’re not really looking

It was there in Leunig art at an exhibition in Healesville
just up the road a bit from home

In beautiful stained glass windows – Rio Vista historic house Mildura.
A bit further from home – right on the Vic/NSW state border

And on travels really far away from home
Like in Hong Kong at Kowloon Park (2017)

Decorating windows and doors in the Old Town at Kavala – in Greece (2014)

On a little bit of whimsical advertising further away still on Fogo Island
just off the northern coast of Newfoundland (2013)

Then there’s the green you can see on the road

Or in the paddock

It shows up well on different sorts of signage.
For towns

Grong Grong NSW

For important companies

Near Moree NSW

For necessary safety information

Road condition signs near Condamine Qld

Travel up north and you’ll find a giant green tree frog on the giant Golden Gumboot.
The big green board has loads of information about the local area

Tully Far North Qld

But this is the green I’m really looking forward to seeing again
The ‘distance to’ sign at Proserpine telling me that after 4 days on the road there’s only 65km to go until I’ll see the green sign at the front gate of our Winter home 😊

Joining EC and others for this week’s Sunday Selections.
Linking an extra (green) edition to Life in Colour March.
hosted by Jude at Travel Words. 
Maybe you’d like to join in some time

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Green is the colour for March…

Jude’s (Travel Worlds) photo challenge for this year (2021) is entitled  Life in Colour  This month (March) the colour has been Green…….another of my favourites 😊.
And with St Patrick’s Day having just gone you may even find Sue (EC) and others have shared a belated bit of green for Sunday Selections which you’ll find over at her blog (Elephant’s Child) 😊.
Terri at Second Wind Leisure has also chosen Green for her Sunday Stills photo challenge

So with green in mind let’s see what I can find.
(In my archives or ‘newly minted)
Around the house and in nearby suburbs

A few groceries still to be put away, a little bit of green in the plastics drawer.
And a lone wheelie bin on the nature strip (waiting to be put away).

An old photo of our green rotary line – when the garden was fairly new in that spot.


There’s the old green painted kitchen chair we used on the Afternoon Tea Day

A beautiful sea green Italian bowl filled with a collection of seaside mementos
sand dollars, tiny bits of coral, shells and green sea glass.

You never know what you’ll see on the back deck.
Green tape measure, green grass, green tarp on a chair???
(as well as my much loved, much missed beautiful brown shadow)

Beautiful shades of green at my nearby park with it’s tall trees and windy paths

A wet day in Main Street Croydon – the whole street scape has now been ‘redesigned’.
So these green circular seats have been removed
Also the green benches on the other side of the street

It’s not too far to Hookey Park Mooroolbark with its magnificent green roofed rotunda
as well as the big bird sculptures

Down the road in another direction to Montrose where the green road sign
tells how far it is to the top of the hills

And lastly the little green jacket that was the cause of so much emotional stress
Is now in Grandma’s hands ready for the little one to wear coming home

Joining EC and others for this week’s Sunday Selections  
Life in Colour March can be found at Travel Worlds.
Linking to Sunday Stills where Green is the colour of the week

Maybe you’d like to join in some time

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Life in Colour on a Sunday

Jude at Travel Worlds has a new photo challenge for this year (2021) entitled Life in Colour with a different colour chosen for each month. This month (February) the colour has been YELLOW…….one of my favourites 😊
It’s a bit like Sunday Selections (found here at Elephants Child) in that photos can be old or new, taken recently or a while ago, the difference being the chosen colour is featured. Also the use of the tag #colour2021 so she and others can find you.
Jude (and others) have been posting weekly on Sundays but I’ll probably keep mine to the last Sunday only. Which is today!

I found some yellow wandering down the street – a lonely looking recycling bin.
Must have been a Monday!

Just down the road from the school.
No children in sight but I did find a Dandelion and Chinese Lantern.
aka Taraxacum and Abutilon

Down the road a bit more and round the corner a sprawling mass of yellow Gazania
making its way round another corner

And speaking of children – here’s one from many years ago.
Two happy little vegemites enjoying the rain in their yellow macs’.
Both now in their early 20s


Then there are these well known signs to look out for on the way to Rockhampton.

There’s also the one you don’t want to see

And you didn’t think I’d not include some yellow knitting.
Complete with fancy mother of pearl buttons sewn on with matching yellow wool

Joining EC and others for this week’s Sunday Selections.
Life in Colour February can be found at Travel Words.
Maybe you’d like to join in some time

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Seen Outside…..

Even though daily life activities here in Victoria are being expanded day by day, restrictions eased, doors opened that have been shut for months, we are still not able to travel long distances so I’m still reliving trips away to places far far from home. I’m thinking armchair travel is going to be a way of life for a little while yet.

I once saw the climate in Melbourne described as Temperate but quite variable…known for its changeable weather patterns …lol four seasons in one day isn’t far from the mark. It can be hot and dry, it can definitely be cold and wet but what it isn’t is tropical…..except on some really hot humid days we might get in the summertime 😎

So one of the things I look forward to seeing when we are out and about in Queensland ….because I’ve never seen them growing in Melbourne and they just seem to shout out Tropical ….are the beautiful Bougainvillea which seem to grow like weeds, they are everywhere. Bright bursts of colour climbing over and around anything and everything reminding me of the big climbing Banksia roses that do well down south.

This week I’ve been reminding myself of some seen on a trip in 2009
I hope you enjoy them as well

We saw this lovely pink and white bush in a car park of all the places at Winton.
all on its own and looking a little out of place amongst the natives.
Maybe self sown

The actual flowers are the little white ‘bits’ in the coloured bracts

But what I did like was the way some businesses used it decoratively.
This was a lovely white strain growing up an archwayin front of a cafe in Longreach
It had a really nice cool look to it and there didn’t seem to be any thorns on this one.
which is possibly why it was placed so very strategically in front of the cafe

You can see the little flowers more clearly here

Now this to me was the most appealing of all
Mountains of colour at several spots along the main street of Bowen
One side of Herbert Street is higher than the other
and there were several of these fabulous covered crossings along the street.
(sadly removed during a ‘street renovation’)

A beautifully shaded area under those enormous Bougainvillea shrubs
Those bench seats looked so inviting

Thank you Kay (at Musings) for the inspiration……for this post.
To enlarge click or use the two finger slide

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea.
https://floridata.com/plant/553
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/plant-finder/bougainvillea/9441670

Sunday Selections is hosted by Elephants Child.  Find Nature Notes at Rambling Woods. 
Denyse Whelan Blogs is the home of Life this Week
Linking also to  – Travel Tuesday – My Corner of the World – Our World Tuesday.

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It’s happening slowly…..

The warm Spring weather has been playing hard to get so the garden has been coming to life really really slowly. It was so cold and miserable over Winter I’m only just (very slowly) warming up myself so at the moment it’s‘ chaos reigns’ out there I’m managing to do a bit of weeding and general tidying around and about but …strangely I’m noticing things that are emerging from places I didn’t think they were planted. I certainly don’t remember planting those Iris in that spot.

That little piece of white flowered snow in summer (Cerastium) next to the bluey mauve Brachyschome wasn’t there last year but I’m pleased to see it. It reminds me of my Dad, he used it a lot in odd spots. Set and forget he’d say!

The lavender under the washing line has been good this year – shame it’s nearly time to cut it back….The Golfer cut the grass the other day so it looks green and tidy from this angle …it certainly won’t look so green come later in the summer when it gets hot and dry. It’s hard to plan a time to cut when we’ve had rainy days because he likes it to dry out a bit but like in all things nature doesn’t play fair!

And of course there is the early flush of Spring roses to admire. The little ‘blue bed near the line’ as I jokingly call it has been mulched so it’s right to go but there’s still a lot of work to be done on the bed at the bottom of the garden. A Bad Back limits me at times and it didn’t play fair last year so even though it doesn’t look too bad from a distance it’s when I realised what I thought were some long leaves of Iris was actually invasive couch grass that has grown tall I knew I’d be trying for half hour time spots. Rain has stopped play at the moment 😢

The little blue bed near the line 😊

And a few from the bottom bed – names unknown.
(everything opens with a tap or a click)

Today I’m joining in the fun of Sunday Selections hosted by Elephants Child.
Nature Notes can be found at Rambling Woods.
Denyse Whelan Blogs is the home of Life this Week

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Seen In Melbourne…..

I’ve had great fun discovering all these old photos….these are from 2010
(Taken for an online ‘photo challenge’ – things beginning with E)

On one of those (now rare days) when I had to go up to the city – with lots of time to spare before my train home – I was able to have a look at (and photograph) some of the landmarks in the city known in the late 1800s as Marvellous Melbourne

Flinders Street Station
One of our most easily recognised ‘Entrances and Exits’
right on the intersection of Flinders Street, Swanston Street and St Kilda Road.

For many years this was the place to meet
‘Meet you on the steps under the clocks’
was the saying.
The clocks are those above the entrance and related to each of the train lines
giving the time of the next one on that line
as well as the platform it would  leave from
‘In the name of progress’ they have been replaced
by an electronic board inside the forecourt

Diagonally across the road on one of the corners of Swanston Street
is St Paul’s Cathedral

photo source

This is the Great West Door from the street
(strange angle I know but the footpath wasn’t level!)

and from the inside looking out showing off the beautiful stain glass

Further up Swanston Street is the heritage listed Manchester Unity Building

photo source

Now just inside in the lobby was this banks of doors – are they entrances or exits??
Of course they are for the Lifts
( Elevators in other parts of the world)

Imagine waiting there and being able to admire the handiwork of the doors as well as the mosaic mural of the shield and motto of the company.

Then it was back across the road to Collins Street
I wanted to see the heritage listed Regent Theatre 
with its glamorous wide stepped entrance foyer

photo source

We’ve been to many shows/performances here and it is a grand feeling
walking up those stairs admiring the chandeliers and the striking set of windows
going through the big double doors
then making your way into one of nicest theatres in town

Time to make our way home and for some its time for a drink.
Well not for me – but right acoss from the station is the heritage listed pub.
Young and Jacksons

photo source

Nicely situated, ready to quench the thirst of many a worker on a hot day
Home to Chloe

I could see the reflection of the station across the way In the door windows
and wondered how many had walked in
‘Just for a quick one’
before crossing the road to catch their train home

I’m also wondering just how long it will take for our beautiful city
to once again be known as Marvellous Melbourne !

Linking to Elephant’s Child for this weeks Sunday Selections.
Also – Travel Tuesday – My Corner of the World – Our World Tuesday

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Afternoon Tea with a difference

Some more photos from the archives plus a little story to go with them.   
Joining in with Elephant’s Child and others for Sunday Selections

Years ago bloggers had loads of fun organising ‘virtual’ events.  
A bit like pandemic events these days – just like in real life except online😊

One of these was to be an Afternoon Tea.
So when I was talking about this to a friend she laughed and said
‘that sounds lovely…fabulous fun!
then followed up with ‘ but wouldn’t an actual tea party be lovelier?
We could have cake and little tiny sandwiches with no crusts
and cups of tea and all that!
And you know what, we could have it outside in the garden 😊

So I let her run with the idea just to see what she’d come up with
First of all she fancied ‘Low Tea’
Served on a low table on the deck
http://www.wikihow.com/Serve-Low-Tea

Low table for Low Tea!

Then it was to set a little table up down near the garden – Champagne Tea she called it.      
No cakes and pastries- just strawberries and cream and drinkies!

Champagne Tea in the garden!

Ready for Strawberries and Cream - and Champagne!

But not everything went to plan.  
It was supposed to be a nice day but somehow the weather didn’t turn out to be that good.  Just as I had everything set up a very fine rain started to come down
Strawberries ready to go – the roses were looking good

Strawberries and whipped cream!
Strawberries and whipped cream!

Then my dear friend (yes the very same one I’ve been talking about recently) walked in the door not feeling too well
No food had been prepared so she’d made a quick change of plan

And had popped into the local bakery – hey presto
Cream Tea  – casual home style

A cream tea (also known as a Devonshire tea, Devon cream tea or Cornish cream tea)is tea taken with a combination of scones, clotted cream, and jam

We ended up on the deck having scones, whipped cream and jam (with butter for me).   
Plus a few chocolate bits I had in the cupboard
Fabulous  Fun!

Scones, Jam and Cream!
Cream Tea with a friend!
Cream Tea with a friend!

Click the small photos to enlarge

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Z is for….Sunday Selections

It’s amazing what you find when you’re thinking about something else. I’d had the letter Z on my mind (yes, that book challenge) when these jumped out at me as I was going through some 2009 photo folders from an old (as in defunct) blog.

Z is for Zygocactus
also known as Schlumbergara
aka Christmas Cactus

They are hardy pot plants that seem to grow wherever you want them to
Break a piece off – pot it up in some dirt
and very soon you’ll have a new plant.

These plants were all started from cuttings
taken from friends or neighbours plants

I had them growing in containers that hung over the railing of the deck.
happy to be there most of the year.
though I did put them in the shade if the sun became too hot.


There were several plants in each of the long boxes 
and if nature got the timing right

and they all bloomed together.
 it looked like a ribbon of pink all the way along.

You know at first glance these plants appear to be a jumble of gnarly old stems
each with a flower at the end
But if you look carefully
you will see that the most delicate of blooms are growing there.

Up in the Northern Hemisphere they are often called Christmas Cactus 
‘cose thats about the time when they seem to flower. Not so down here in Melbourne these photos were taken in October
right at the end of our Winter – beginning of Spring

These are beautiful plants often regarded as common and hum drum looking
What do you think?


Joining in with Elephant’s Child and others for Sunday Selections

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlumbergera

https://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/flowering-plants-shrubs/zygocactus/

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