Thanksgiving

All day on Thursday 25th November I  felt as if it should be a holiday. I woke up with the sense that it was a day off, I was even surprised that the shops were open when I went out for a short drive to get a coffee.... (feel free to insert eyeroll here!!).

I suspect it comes from being connected by my interests to so many people in the USA. Social networking can sometimes make you forget where you live. Well, if  I ignore the fact that 90% of the people who are my Facebook friends are talking about snow storms & ice while we are experiencing the most wonderfully warm & sunny Spring in a long time I might forget where I live....but you get my drift ;)

Regardless of it's origins Thanksgiving seems to me to be a great celebration. In comparison to Christmas where it appears to have become all about the giving & receiving of gifts, Thanksgiving is all about what the name implies. Giving thanks & taking a moment, or a day, surrounded by those that are important to you to reflect on all we have to be thankful or grateful for.
Not so strange then that often those things for which we are grateful also happen to be the things that money can't buy.

Whether it was giving thanks to God for the safe arrival in a new colony, celebrating the survival of a harsh winter or abundant crops safely harvested in order to ensure survival through to the next season - no amount of money could have brought them about. It took things both bigger & at the same time a lot more basic.

There is a whole lot that money can't buy - a clear sunny day, a starlit sky, sunrises, sunsets  & pretty much anything to do with nature, joy, inner peace, self confidence, love, happiness (no particular order here), a babies first smile...or any of a babies or childs 'firsts' for that matter. In fact it seems to me that there is a whole lot more important things that it can't buy - than there are material things that it can.

Friends that are there 'no matter what' rank really high on the 'what money can't buy' list to me. Many are friends that I have never met, cyber friends who take the time to email or pop by this blog of mine & just read, or leave words of wisdom, understanding,  encouragement  or even just a brief comment. These are the people I am grateful for - they keep me grounded & gently guide me back on track when I'm feeling a little lost. Over the last 3 months I've been feeling quite a lot lost ;)

I realised on Thanksgiving that these people deserve a special shout out here in blogland. It's all very well me giving thanks & being grateful - but how are you to know unless I tell you?

Resuscitating Old Skills

You know what this means don't you? It means I am going to do some sewing. This is kind of scary in it's own way as I haven't made a garment in years. Oh I've done repairs & a little patchwork & appliqué work but as far as constructing a complete garment goes - I think the last dress pattern I bought was probably about a size 4 year old.....for Gabriela, who is now 13.

What it also means is that somewhere along the way I have become blissfully unaware of the price of dress patterns, so much so in fact that when Gabriela was trying on prospective dresses to wear to her brothers wedding & suggested that she really would like me to make something for her I blithely said 'yes'. Admittedly the dress she liked didn't have a lot to it & we could both see area's where we would improve on both the style & design, but I may not have been so amenable if I'd known a pattern to get the basic shape was going to cost me $20.00!

Then there was the fabric, & the fact that I couldn't find where my tape measures were & needed new machine needles. Yep, it would have been half the price to actually buy the dress we saw. But then again she wouldn't have a unique dress, tailored completely to her tastes & made especially for her by her Mum. And that last part was the key point, she wanted me to make something for her in an age where kids are increasingly all about labels & what stores their peers shop at this little sweety wanted me to make her a dress.

I'm flattered & honoured. Lets hope that I live up to expectations!!

Workwomen & Their Tools

It is said that only a bad workman blames their tools. To that I say 'bah humbug'.

For as many tasks that can be adequately completed with basic or cheap tools, there are as many again that can't. Besides often 'adequate' just isn't good enough to do the job to the standard required...or with any great deal of ease.

I've always believed that you get what you pay for, but at the same time will freely admit that certain items will get such limited use (or wear) that it isn't worth paying top dollar for them. Shoes & tools do not come into that  category.

After struggling with a cheap disk cutter I was blessed when an unexpected opportunity to buy a better disk cutter came up.

Suffice to say that I jumped at the chance. It had it's inaugural run today & I found myself muttering such things as 'oh, yes!', 'man this is brilliant' & 'how easy was that!'...amongst sighs of satisfaction & calling it's predecessor a whole heap unflattering names in memory of the frustration it caused me, not to mention the etched copper sheets I destroyed while trying to use it.

There is absolutely no comparison between the Swanstrom Disk Cutter & it's cheap & not very cheerful predecessor. If pushed the closest I could probably come would be to compare a Rolls Royce with a Fiat...or better still a Harley with a push bike....a very cheap & nasty push bike.

This piece of equipment is an absolute dream to use. I did stop short of singing "Swanee - how I love ya, how I love ya, My dear old swanee..."  but only just!!

Truth be told I love it, in fact I think I want to sleep with it!!

REVEAL - Crush on Copper

Today is the date that Mallory Hoffman of For the Love of Beads & I chose to reveal what we have been creating for our Crush on Copper, the first of our monthly challenges. The only guideline in this challenge was that our copper wire had to be used in the form of a "Love-me Knot" & after that pretty much anything was allowed.

Since I am nowhere near as organised as Mallory I haven't shown a teaser, but I feel the urge to do so now & prolong the suspense :)

 

Somewhere in the chats we had about this particular challenge we decided that we'd deviate from making a jewelry item. Easier said than done as the second I finished those Love-me -Knots I had a load of ideas for using them  in bracelets or as an earring component & then, for the life of me drew a blank as to what else I could make using them that wasn't jewelry.

I found the Love-me- Knots challenging to use in their own way as they are very structured & I tend to favour  more relaxed shapes & styles. The temptation to make earrings or a bracelet in a nice symmetrical, repetitive design with them was almost too much....I did say 'almost'!

And just because teasing is so much fun, I'm going to do it again.

In the end I managed to resist temptation. I looked closely at the piece of copper that I showed in the announcement of this challenge & decided to go with something that was already etched onto that sheet.....if only I could find a way to cut it out.

One of my stumbling blocks has been that the copper sheet I have been able to source locally is a rather substantial .7mm thick (it would work out at around a 21 gauge - if that gauge existed), & even after etching is a little on the thick side to cut with shears or use in the cheap disk cutter that were the only tools I had available at the time. In the end I purchased some jewelers saw blades & I was away laughing.

Tease number three about to appear,  of course at this stage you could just scroll down & see the end result & spoil all my fun .....

I promise not to keep you in suspense (or suspenders as I used to be fond of saying) for too much longer.

I decided that my components could be put to good use as a key ring, blithely ignoring the fact that I didn't have the required 'ring' part on which to hang keys. I figured I could make one easily enough. 

Yeah - right! Last night while hammering my nicely coiled ring flat so that keys could be slid onto it, I also managed to hammer the edge of my index finger. Hello to a nice big blood blister,ouch!! That put the kibosh on any further hammering. Subsequently my coiled ring became just a  ring as I had to trim it back.

Without further ado I'll show you my effort in this challenge..

Meet the "I Need Kelp" key ring

I've learned a lot from this first challenge. First & foremost - keep your fingers well away from hammers. Secondly, even though only a bad workwoman blames her tools, the lack of decent ones & a scarcity of supplies can be somewhat limiting.

Just as well my new disk cutter arrived today then isn't it?!

Check out Mallory's blog to see her Reveal for the Crush on Copper Challenge.

Still Standing on Shaky Ground

I want to talk about earthquakes. Yeah, I know - so last month, or was it the month before?

Actually, in all truth, the last thing I want to talk about is earthquakes, because right now in this city it is a subject that pretty much comes up in every conversation you have with anyone no matter where you go. Everyone has been affected in one way or another & many continue to be so with every aftershock.

I don't want to sound as if I am droning on & complaining - I'm not.

Believe it or not I used to get a kick out of earthquakes. Christchurch has always felt  the effects of bigger quakes centred way down the bottom of the South Island. They'd probably register here at around a 3 magnitude & they never bothered me apart from giving me a bit of a thrill. 

But, as of 3 hours ago, we're at aftershock #2934 since September 4th &, although I haven't actually felt 2/3 of those, like many, many others I am over it. To be honest I don't know what I feel any more....apart from confused about how I feel ;)

What I do know though is that we have been so incredibly blessed on so very many levels & I will be eternally grateful for that. These pesky aftershocks aren't stopping me living as I normally would, I still go out & do the things I have always done, go into the same huge stores & old buildings I have always gone into without thought of what would happen if there were another big one & I'm not losing sleep at night from worrying about what might be.

I'm not living in fear of them & I'm certainly not waiting around for the 'next' aftershock to happen. As far as I'm concerned every one I feel is the last one. It doesn't even cross my mind that there will be another one.... until it happens. Then for a few seconds or sometimes a few minutes, depending on the circumstances, absolutely everything goes to custard.lol!

The last one was a rather decent 4.9 magnitude, that once again had me grabbing my desk to hold on as the serious shaking started. As I did that I wondered why I was doing it. Was I afraid? No, not really. So why then?

I'm going to attempt to explain.

We often hear the aftershocks coming. A deep rumble or roar is quickly followed by a sharp whip like crack as the house starts to move. Then the rattling starts - doors, blinds & such. My mind deals with this in the "s**t another freakin aftershock" manner & if it's only been a smaller (as in short sharp type) aftershock I don't have much time to think more than that before it's over & everything can go back to it's regularly scheduled program.

It's when they go on for a bit longer than the split second it takes for you to realise one is happening & have the "s.a.f.a" reaction that things come unstuck. All of a sudden you realise that your body has tensed up in anticipation that this one might be building up into something big & your mind is quickly following suit. Grabbing onto something is the precursor to stabilising yourself in order to get up & head for the nearest door frame to take refuge under.

And then, just as you make that call to take cover, the shaking slows & you know it isn't going to be another big one.... even though your body feels as if the ground is still moving when you know it has stopped. It messes with your equilibrium & for some reason has the ability to spoil everything that has gone before. That few seconds can cruelly strip the shine off of the surface of an otherwise perfect day. 

Whatever you were focussed on those few seconds earlier is instantly forgotten,  as if someone has stirred up the silt on the bottom of a pond & what you know was there before isn't visible any more. You find yourself unable to settle & refocus, or only able to focus on things for a short time in between pacing up & down like a caged animal, in the hour or so afterwards.  It's annoying - annoying & unsettling.

When everyone is at home it isn't so bad. But when partners are at work or kids are at school or in daycare it adds the element of worry to pot. Are they safe? Is the building they are in ok? 

Even though you know that the buildings were all inspected & given clearance (or not) after the 'big one' there is no denying that these aftershocks have caused both fresh damage & further damage. Then there is the concern over family members still living in homes that have been damaged or on land that has subsided, while they wait to hear the verdict from EQC.  You don't rest easy until you have made contact & hear that everyone is safe.

Life in many ways is normal.... or rather the new normal.And in many ways it's not at all normal.

I'm not alone in the fact that I haven't picked up things that fell or moved during the first earthquake. Everything large & breakable is still sitting on the floor where they can't fall any further. Although I expect every aftershock to be the last aftershock right back at the beginning I decided that they wouldn't go back up until we'd had no more for at least a fortnight. I don't see the point in adding to the list of breakages if it can be avoided. Fortunately this isn't the 'new' normal,  it's just normal for now.

In the bigger scheme of things, city wide, it's not that normal either. But perhaps that is for another post. This one has already become  quite long & I still have things I want to say.

I completely understand what this is doing to people, what it does to ones psyche - I feel that too.  I don't want to trivialise feelings or what people are going through...yet on the other hand I want to say 'get over it & count your blessings, this is life - for now at least & aren't we so fortunate that it is this great?!"

With Haiti still as fresh as it ever was on my mind it would be difficult not to feel that way.... & Haiti is what I compare everything back to. Not only the incredible loss that people of Haiti suffered on January 12th, but what they continue to suffer with Cholera now taking it's toll amidst tropical storms & everything else that is still happening.... & much that hasn't happened that should have.

A word I used to describe what I was feeling in the week immediately after the earthquake was conflicted. I still feel that way. So if you see the occasional status update on FaceBook referring to an aftershock, please forgive me - it just means that an aftershock temporarily rattled my brain ;)

The image above? That was my shoe cabinet the morning of the earthquake. It still looks that way - only a few more have gone over. The other cabinet is the same. Yes, there are breakages - but I'm not concerned. They're just things after all :)

It's Not Even Summer Yet....

and yesterday morning I picked the first of the strawberries & savoured their sun warmed, sweet, juicy goodness. There is nothing quite like the taste of strawberries grown in the home garden, for some reason they are always sweeter than when you buy them at the supermarket.

I doubt that my wee pot will ever produce the amount required to give the family a decent bowl full each all at the same time, but I guess we can take turns picking & eating them as they ripen.

A side note;

There may be a very valid reason for home grown strawberries always tasting sweeter. Commercially grown strawberries are often picked for their keeping qualities. Strawberries don't last well so pickers will pick under conditions that help them keep through the sorting, packing & shipping process ensuring that they arrive at the market in peak conditions. This often involves picking early in the morning or on a cool cloudy day.

When sun is on fruit it causes the natural fruit sugars to rise & aid with the ripening process. When the weather is cooler or cloudy fruit takes longer to ripen. So it makes sense that when you are picking home grown strawberries on a sunny day they are always going to taste sweeter.

Crush on Copper

It's that time again! No, not heading in a rush & a whirl towards Christmas, although it is that time as well!

It's time to get some creative juices flowing, time for some Artistic Growth & Nurturing of the Creative Spirit. Mallory & I have chatting on Skype about how to challenge our creativity by thinking outside the square.
Do you remember the Freaky Friday Challenges that my lovely friend Mallory of Rosebuds Lampwork Beads & For The Love of Beads Blog & I used to do? If you don't, or you are new to my blog you can find mine here & Mallory's here.

The great news is that we are at it again!! Always so wonderful at encouraging others Mallory has come up with the idea of doing something similar to the Freaky Friday Challenges. This time we aren't going to restrict it to lampwork beads alone - we are going to explore new mediums & new ways of using the mediums we work in.

Looking back at those blog posts I couldn't believe how much we have both changed & grown in our lampworking since then. This time we are going to focus on other mediums, but will bring our beads into it in   "new to us" ways at a later date.

At this point we are going to make it a Monthly Challenge as we feel this way we give ourselves permission & time to fully explore each medium we decide on. Quite possibly ideas will develop as we experiment & play with our chosen mediums & further mini challenges will result.

Since both of us have started working with copper & developed quite a crush on it our first challenge is going to be using copper wire & copper shapes. The only guideline is that the wire is to be in the form of  a Love me Knot, but after that anything goes.
This should be fun!!

The reveal will be posted on our blogs on November 24th  - so check back then. Of course if you ask nicely, we may just be tempted to show a teaser ;-)

Check out Mallorys "Crush on Copper"  blog post for her side of the story.

If You Can't Have One

You just gotta make the most of other peoples. Sunday was visiting day. I think there were humans involved but I was rather too focussed on the canine family members to really notice ;)

Odessa - a puppy belonging to a friend of Gabriela's

Missy - my Grandpuppy.

Jill and the Beanstalks

I'm pretty sure I have discovered the reason that whoever originally thought up the tale that was later to become Jack and the Beanstalk picked beans as the means of transport to a higher level. Seriously!

My beans are pretty average heirloom beans with nothing so special about them, except perhaps the story behind how they got here to New Zealand. In fact the bean seeds were rather plain, almost homely, in comparison to the scarlet runner seeds. Bob's Beans certainly displayed not outward sign of magical qualities...

At least not until they germinated.

One minute they were breaking the breaking through the soil

A mere 26 hours later they'd doubled in size.

Just imagine if they had been truly magic beans!

They do hold a little magic for me. Not only do I enjoy watching seeds germinate & grow but "Bob's beans" have a rather nice story behind them. They were originally brought to New Zealand by a returning Prisoner of War after the second World War, hidden in his socks. The soldier had been hiding in the hills in Italy after having escaped from a Prisoner of War camp and decided he couldn't return home without these beans that had become a much loved part of his diet.

In the USA they are known as Valena Italian or Kahnawake Mohawk beans with varying tales as to how they originally got there.

Drafts

Going back through my blog posts under the edit tab, I was surprised to find a few in draft mode that had never been published.

This one in particular made me smile & although it is 'old' now I still want to at least show the photo, as it is what I was working on to publish on September 4th.

My baby boy (who will no doubt thank me profusely for this) on Anzac Day when he was in Timor-Leste.

Incredible to think that he has now been back 6 months, bought a home & in 6 weeks time will be getting married to the wonderful Kerry!

That's The Attitude

Not so long ago, in the spot where this raw new concrete pad now resides, was a quaint old corner store.

It was the home of a bespoke & fine furniture makers showroom & workshop, & if you bothered to venture inside the door you could happily be transported back in time to a gentler era by the scents of beeswax & french polish.

The visual feast of softly radiant timber completed the feel.

The business name is Ambrose Heal & it has been there for almost as long as I have lived in the At Albans area. A small business using time honoured methods of crafting & resorting beautiful furniture. The store itself was badly damaged in the September 4th Earthquake, & like all bar one in the immediate vicinity was demolished.

Not to be daunted the owner kept trading out of an old house adjoining the property while plans for a new building were made. He even had a Sale but now it's back to business as usual, well almost as usual.....

Looking Closely...

Being a gardener without any real garden to speak of forces one to become reliant on gardening in pots.

Dare I say it? Yes, why not...hey, it's my blog after all!

I loathe being restricted to pots.

Don't get me wrong, I love pots as feature elements in a garden. I just prefer to put most plants in the ground & let them do their own thing as nature intended sometimes gently guiding them to work in with what I want & sometimes not. Besides, gardening in pots is far more work intensive & so very limiting in very many ways.

In other ways it is a good thing. When you are running around on a daily basis hand watering all those 'darn pots' you seem to develop more of a personal interest in the individual plants rather than a planting as a whole. Small things that often get overlooked in a larger planting often bear closer examination.

Before you know it those work intensive pots & their inhabitants have you in their grasp, bending close to look for the small stuff the wonderful details so often missed when they are just part of the crowd.

The beautiful claret veining on the leaves of Heuchera - "Green Spice"

The remnants of a morning dew on Alchemilla mollis.

Ok, so I had to kneel on the ground for this shot!

Fabulous Fungi

Stunning, aren't they?

Perhaps it's just as well I don't travel much as I'd want to bring home all sorts of strange & wonderful things. Of course the majority of them would be either plants or animals & I don't expect customs or MAF would be too happy about that....nor would the neighbours ;)

These beauties were spotted in the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, which is one of the best examples of sub tropical rainforests left on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland Australia.

I desperately wanted to touch them, & easily could have, but didn't out of respect of the delicate ecological structure for this wondrous place.

Instead I just took photo's & marvelled at how nature gets it so very right every time. Fungi that appear as vessels turned of a wonderfully grained timber growing on dead or decaying wood. Perfect.

Perspective

Some weeks just ought to be skipped. Yep, we should have a fast forward button & be able to forward ourselves right past them without the merest hint of acknowledgement. Or perhaps not.

As humans we hopefully grow from all that we encounter on our path through life & more importantly we learn from them.

I've always told my kids to try & find a career that they love. Find something that ignites that spark & inspires a passion within you & just follow it.  I can imagine few greater joys in life than to get paid for something that you really love doing, that you wake up & can't wait to get to every day. In fact I don't have to imagine it as I had such a job once. I actually got paid to be surrounded by wonderful original art & get to know some hugely talented artists during my 'work' day....imagine that!

I well know how blessed I was as it seems that so very few people that work for an employer feel that way & simply go to work in order to make a living enjoying some aspects of their job but not ever truly passionate about it as a whole. And that is where I am now...or rather was!

A week ago I was laid off, or as they term it here "my position was made redundant",  from my small part time job . I wasn't surprised, it is so quiet at work, but I was a little concerned & upset as to what the change in finances would mean.

Prior to this I had just learned that I need glasses. Don't get me wrong,  I've always loved glasses & have no problem with having wear them. I own 4 pairs of sunglasses & 3 pairs of hobby glasses, & dare I say it, but there have been more than just a few times in the past that I have thought I'd like to get some trendy frames & just have clear glass put in them to wear because they look so cool! I just didn't need the added expense right now & that was before being laid off.

To add insult to injury I went & sat at the torch for the first time since the earthquake & discovered that my kiln isn't heating up. Half way through my first bead I was already having ideas of what I wanted to do next....until I opened the kiln to put the bead in & realised that it hadn't ramped up. Somehow realising that my kiln wasn't going put everything else into perspective. 

Although I haven't really been called to torch since that little shake up & it's incessant aftershocks (read: a bit afraid), there is nothing quite like wanting to do something & not being able to do it that reignites that initial spark of passion.

Quite simply I realised what I am passionate about; creating & the process of creating. Whether it is melting glass, etching & bashing metal into shape, planning or planting a garden, knitting, needlework, painting,  doodling with intent (more on that later!!) - I need to be creating.

The truth of it was that I hadn't enjoyed going to work for some time. I didn't like working at the job just on a Saturday as there was no continuity & each week it was as if you had to start anew. I was uninspired by the job itself as there were no challenges. The worst part was that because I wasn't given the opportunity to utilise my unique skill set learned in my original gallery job, I was bored to distraction.

And I loathe the word bored! But there you have it. Passion certainly isn't found in being bored &, if I think about it, who on earth wants to get paid for being bored? It's just not worth what it does to your psyche.

So what have I learned from this?

If I live to create, then I can create to live.

While waiting to find out what is wrong with my kiln I've bought some air dry clay to play with.

Now all that remains is which spectacle frames I should choose - what do you think?

The Grass Is Always Greener....

I don't even need to finish that particular idiom. It's one I have heard many times during my life - usually by people that have mistakenly taken my expression of interest in something to be a desire to have it.

My answer, if I ever hear that again is going to be "No, it's just a different shade of green".

I loved this visit to Australia. I adored almost everything about the country from flora & fauna through to food & shopping. Without doubt the contrasts within the areas we visited had me spellbound & I didn't want to come home (much less back to shaky ground!!). Heck, I was even enthralled with the rain!! But the point is that I was there as a visitor.

So is the grass greener on the other side of the 'ditch'? No, it's just a different shade of green, but right now I'm still quite enamoured with that particular shade!

Kiwi Green

Aussie Green

Hey Dad

You would have been 82 years old today.

Imagine that, 82! Some how I can't, so you will always be 78 when I think of you.

Bet you couldn't imagine having a daughter that is closer to 50, than 40 either!

I think of you often.

Your serenity & peacefulness while you sat quietly or read a book,

or that positively wicked chuckle when you heard something that amused you.

The quiet but dry sense of humour, often slightly risqué,  that enabled you to deliver a one-liner that would have whoever was supposed to hear it trying to suppress laughter.Those that weren't supposed to hear, alerted by the laughter, would be begging you to share.

The ability to see the inner beauty that others had to offer.

Your enjoyment of all the grand kids & your infinite patience with them. Not to mention all the Japanese students that stayed with you & Mum!

The way you willingly went about helping out others, doing whatever had been asked of you & enjoying the process.

You were such a great role model to my boys & they were so blessed to have had you as a Papa for as long as they did.

Jeremy reminds me so much of you, that same dry sense of humour, the brilliant one-liners & the way he goes about things quietly with an attention to detail. He's a hard worker & puts his all into any task set before him, as you did. You & he always had such a lot of time for each other. I know he misses you so much.

If I could change one thing it would be that you had been around to see Kieran after his Basic Training in the Army.  He thoroughly enjoys the life & I've never seen anyone so suited to his choice of career as he is - it was the perfect choice for him.  He'd enjoy talking your ear off all about it too.

He & Kerry have just brought their first home & are getting married in December. Dad, you'd be so proud of him! I can just imagine the smile on your face.

Michaela is busy being a teenager, trying to find her way through the tumultuous teenage years, much like her Mother before her ;) 

Hopefully she will emerge relatively unscathed & a lot wiser. Sooner, rather than later would be good.

I know if you were still here that you'd just be there for her though, non-judgemental & your love unconditional as it always was for me. Wish you'd left some notes on how you achieved that! :)

Gabriela is doing well at school & starts High School next year! Bet that surprises you, because it does me.

She's a great kid & really hasn't changed that much in her countenance from when she was that happy toddler just cruising about with a constant smile on her face. Well, maybe sometimes she isn't quite as easy going & smiley - but hey, she is 13 now.

Mum is fine. She's been through a lot in the last 4 years, but that woman is stronger than I ever could have imagined ..especially for a little chick! She has a wonderful attitude, which has always served her well & it continues to do so. She amazes me sometimes, especially recently with this earthquake fiasco. Even  when facing uncertainty as to what will happen with the house she remains positive. But still ,without you walking alongside her it's like seeing only half of the whole.

Life has gone on, but we all still miss you....heaps. I know that my heart isn't the only one that has a big old chunk of it set aside for you.

So,  Happy Birthday to the Worlds Best Dad & Papa - Daddy Cool (remember that?). I couldn't have chosen better & I was so very blessed when you chose me.

Love always,

Deb

John Gardner Batten

Oh, To Be A Cat!!

A wonderful Monday spent pottering around  in the garden. It was such a lovely day, no breeze, a clear blue sky & warm, so wonderfully warm! I got out a deck chair & took a few minutes just to lay back & feel those rays on my face.

No sooner had I got up out of it & turned my back, than a certain Ginger Ninja made himself quite comfortable in it, thank you very much.....

A few minutes later & the heat had obviously gotten too much for him, & he took refuge in the shrubbery.

  

Soon he was joined by Bizkit, who positioned herself precisely in place for a Yin & Yang cat formation.

Polar opposites these two - so quite appropriate I thought!

Later when the sun started to dip & the patio got some shade, a certain lad thought the chair looked good for a spot of personal grooming after such a busy afternoon spent watching me garden!

Need Inspiration?

Or perhaps  you are just after your daily art fix. Either way you need look no further than DAM - DailyArtMuse

I stumbled across this website for the first time a couple of days ago & I was blown away immediately upon landing on the homepage. Of course I am most likely late to the party on this one & perhaps everyone already knows about it. But just in case there is someone who doesn't know I feel I must give it a mention!

Established in 2006 by Susan Lomuto, the website is an absolute treasure trove of talent, ideas & resources.

Images such as this paper and mixed media sculpture by Carol Cole met my eager eye within the first couple of scrolls of my mouse button.

A bit further down the page & I arrived at these breathtaking figurative gourd sculptures by Patricia Boyd

These are just the more recent articles; click on the artist names to go directly to the posts & see more of their work & read about them. With almost 3000 archived posts covering every craft imaginable, I'm sure that there will be something to delight or inspire everyone. Go, look, discover, enjoy!

If you are on Facebook you can join there as well  DailyArtMuse on Facebook

Always Take The Weather With You....

or not! This was one impressive experience - but all I can say is that I am pleased it wasn't me behind the steering wheel!

4.36pm: I've just said "wow would you look at that impressive sky, I wonder what that yellow glow is...."

4.37pm: I can't repeat what I had just said here - but down it came & I had my answer! The wipers couldn't keep up!

4.41pm: It started easing off & had stopped by the time we got home.

4.54pm: We turn into the street we were staying in.... I'd say that sky was worth a bit of rain.
Of course I would say that since I wasn't the one driving ;)

Art Promoting Art

A very nicely re-purposed VW!

In Complete Contrast

There is something about the contrasts found in nature that strikes a chord deep within me. Whether it's textures, colours or environment it matters not as it always causes an intake of breath & puts a smile on my face.

Sometimes it's a matter of looking beyond what one was originally focussed on in order to see those contrasts, or perhaps just look a little deeper to realise that they are there.

Photographs, no matter how well they are taken (& mine aren't great on the best of days) always fall short of the reality. Perhaps it's just me, but they lack the dimension & depth that was enough to cause that first intake of breath. They do, however, serve as a great way to remind me of those moments.

These two Rhinoceros Iguanas at Australia Zoo captured my attention while they were enjoying an afternoon spent basking in the (incredibly bright & warm) sun on a rock.

Their skin had the appearance of dry, thin parchment & they seemed to belong in an arid environment.

To look further & see the wonderful contrasts of sub tropical plants, in particular the stunning green rounded softness of the Elkhorn Fern directly above them, struck that chord within me.

Info on these beauties: The Rhinoceros Iguana is native to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and The Dominican Republic) and several surrounding West Indian Islands. These iguanas live in areas of open scrub, among rocks and cactus thickets. They can also be found in dry forests to subtropical moist forests. This species is primarily found near coastlines.

A Kind of Juxtaposition

I love the colours in this Iris that I photographed the other night. Small wonder that I also rather like the colours Gaffers Chalcedony is showing in this bead I picked up to photograph today.

Ducklings

Spotted earlier this evening whilst on a short excursion to take photo's of something else entirely!

A Brisbane Backyard

Waking to the sound of bird call every morning has to be one the of best ways on earth to wake up.

One of the things that struck me during our time in Brisbane was the variety of bird calls. They ranged from the soft & gentle through to the loud & raucous, & it was all music to my ears.

I was however feeling a little disappointed that, although I had seen a huge variety of birds from a distance, I hadn't seen any of Australia's wonderful parrots close up enough to get a photo of any of them.

Late in the afternoon of the day before we flew home we visited John, a friend of Allan's, & what a treat I got! We sat out on a deck that surrounds the upper level of his home & watched as gradually the birds came in to feed. For me it was an 90 minutes of absolute bliss.

First the Ranbow Lorikeets arrived & hung out in a tree surveying the territory in order to make sure it was safe to go down & feed I expect.

Then came an Australian King Parrot, I held my breath as I watched him almost scared that the 'click' of my camera would scare him away.

No fear of that! He didn't waste too much time in surveillance & quickly went down to feed.

Next the Rainbow Lorikeets got brave & left the safety of the tree, scaring the King Parrot off in the process.

Meanwhile the Galahs had sent a scout to make sure the area was safe before the rest of the team came in to see what was on the days menu.

Every now & then something would spook the birds & they would all fly off, but up on the deck we had no such problem with a fearless & very curious visitor.

 

Back closer to ground level the bird restaraunt was positively humming with a rather diverse clientele of Galahs, King Parrot & Lorikeets.

Then a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo arrived!

When he went down there the Lorikeets took off...

Our friend up on the deck seemed to think he was special & entitled to a more personalised service.

He got it too! 

The Lorikeets gradually came back, bringing a Noisy Miner to the party with them. I guess they felt a little sorry for him - being so plain & all.

With the constant coming & going of the birds I'd almost given up hope of getting a photo of all of them together. Then.....

It appears that John is quite popular with the birds ;)