Lost Aussie on the loose

One View or Two?

There are not too many roads around Perth that leave you devoid of something to look at while you drive. Be it some tranquil piece of bushland, the vast coastline, lakes here and there or the Swan River that neatly cleaves this lovely city in two.
And at this time of year, the resounding theme is blue. Clear crisp skies of such brilliant hues that some art companies even make a specific pigment variation "just" for Australian sky. Water that varies from pristine clear to a deep dark cerulean blue. All topped off with a touch of green gold, lavishly supplied by the gum trees that abound.
What better than the palette of nature?

Birth Days

Being in Australia for my Birthday is always a treat as it falls on the day after Australia Day - a day when all and sundry hereabouts commemorate the modern birthday of this fine land! There's always a fantastic display of fireworks on the river, backyard parties and barbeques galore and lots and lots of folk who just take time to celebrate their enjoyment of this special holiday. Jumping on that bandwagon can't be all that bad!
And to all of you who have emailed and sent cards... thank you - you are very special friends...xooxoox

I'll leave you with a little art created using one of the pictures of the magnificent roses that fill my Mother's garden.

A Little Birdie said...

Finally a little time to make art, albeit of the digital kind.
I also spent a few hours catching up on email and blogspotting today and if you have a few minutes to spare you should check out what Seth is up to. I'm very flattered that he thought to include me in his original group of artists to survey!
I loved reading the interesting and varied responses to his "head of the class" post and spent quite sometime following all the links I had not previously visited.

Downunder Wonders

I spent this past weekend driving 4 hours south of Perth to visit my Mum. As much as I love to go to see her my camera also loves the opportunities that come it's way. Being out of the city adds another perspective to things, one that you don't see every day!

It's very hot in Perth again. I've been taking refuge in the swimming pool and enjoying late afternoon walks along the beach to cool down.

Preparations for getting the boys ready for the new school year are almost complete and in a few days time I hope to be able to focus on a few artsy pursuits that have had to be put on the backburner.

Hoping that all my northern hemisphere friends are not buried too deep in the fluffy white stuff!
Ciao for now....

Hot Hot Hot

Well I can't complain about the weather.... we've had temps in the upper 90's and 100's these past few days and my suntan is coming along in leaps and bounds (and yes I AM using suncreen!) So wonderful though to feel warm on the inside and out whilst scrunching my toes in the sand and floating dreamily in the lovely cool waters of the Indian Ocean!

I am taking time to sort out domestic chores. We've procured new school books for the boys, got shoes and trainers sorted out and next week will come uniforms so that we are all ready for the start of the new school year.

Today I also had the wonderful opportunity of meeting up with a fellow artist and stamp designer Joyce to exchange artbooks in a Round Robin we are both working on. It is always a delight to put faces to names previously unmatched, and Joyce and I passed a happy few hours nattering about art and the business of rubber stamp making.

Tomorrow I am heading down south to see my Mother. She lives in the little town of Manjimup, famous for it's tall trees and lovely fruits of the forest and farms...can you say tomato heaven?...if you know me at at all then you can!

I'm planning on giving my camera a good workout over the next few days, so stay tuned for more pics.

My Kind of Beach

.....no paying for parking, no pricey little tag to attach to your swimsuit to allow you to pass...just simply beautiful and absolutely FREE!

The Eye of the Beholder

As my birthday looms and I get towards the end of the "40" something digits I find that I am getting more comfortable with my 'older' self - in most ways at any rate.

Inside there will always be the teenager who liked to flirt with the cute boy at the front of the Physics class and who snuck off to the locker room to hike up her gym slip just a bit further than Mother allowed..the twenty something girl who thought the world was her oyster and travelled and partied hard, the thirty person who "thought"? she had it all figure out enough to have a couple of children and be totally grown-up and self-sufficient and then the 40'ish gal, all sophisticated and sorted out (ha!)...

So mentally I am comfortable with all that has been going on, what I did not count on was that the "machine" might fail along the way, and in places that I had not imagined!
I'm ok with the laughter lines and shopping for bras that have more ah-hem 'support', what I CANNOT deal with is not being able to SEE properly!

I woke up about a year ago and was quite unable to read the phone book...oh hell and darn, so a pair of flash new spectacles was the only solution. But even a year later I find it to be the most frustrating deterioration of what has been a perfectly good bod' up until now.

How do you read the tiny fine print on the back of the bottle of goop you have bought for your hair, sopping wet in the shower? and I never remember to take the 'specs' shopping, so in the book store today all I can do is look at the pretty pictures and heave a sigh of relief when it's time to go elsewhere. So frustrating!

Eyeeyeeye...if only to have 20-something eyes again!

Home Among the Gum Trees

There is a wonderfully popular song by John Williamson that goes like this...

I've been around the world a couple of times, or maybe more,
I've seen the sights, I've had delights on every foreign shore,
but when my mates all ask me the place that I adore,
I tell them right away.

Give me a home among the gum trees,
with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a ka-kangaroo.
A clothes line out the back, verandah out the front,
and an old rocking chair...

and so it goes...
(the complete lyrics can be found here)

So, as you have guessed, I have made it 'home' - well, to the downunder one at any rate!
Yesterday was a bit of a blur, with the good old jetlag taking it's toll after the long journey. I did manage to sneak a walk on the beach before I fell into bed! Gotta get one's priorities right!
Today I was up early, and crossed the road to visit the lake and take in some early morning sunshine, together with the birds.

I seldom feel that my photos do justice to the beauty that I see. I'm not much of a landscape photographer and prefer to find interest in the details.
So, a few pics from the morning stroll.

Not sure how much art will get done this time I am away. My little studio was packed up a few weeks ago as we sold the other house we have here. The boys will be in school in Perth from now on and it did not make much sense to keep the other place empty for so much of the year. I'll have to see what I can find to play with after I dig through the current spread of packing boxes.

Off and Away

Well, the artwork does not match, but I cooked this one up a few nights ago and have not had time to post it!  Just a bit contemplative at the time, I guess.

Now it's just past midnight and I am almost finished packing...we have to be up in 4hrs time to make it to the airport at 5am for the first of three flights that will get us 'home'!

I'm looking forward to the time when it takes less than 23hrs with my rear on a plane seat and more than two good days to get there - connections all being well! 

Unfortunately there is no quick or easy way to get "down under" and more particularly to the West Coast.  Everyone seems to think of Sydney when you talk about travel to Australia, but in fact our continent is just as big as the olde USofA and were I to fly to Sydney, I'd be faced with a further 6hrs on the plane to get to Perth....so we fly to London, down to Singapore and then even further down to Perth.

Good news is that it's warm and toasty down there, I've got my bikini stashed away safely in the luggage and am looking forward to my usual long walks on the beach.
Mullaloo here I come!

The Icing On The Cake

Hard to believe that the boy's time here in NY is drawing to a close and I will be flying back home with them on Thursday!

To "cap" off a fun and wonderful Holiday Season we headed off to the snow this weekend for a spot of skiing.  It's a sport I fell in love with during the years that I lived and worked in Switzerland and have happily passed on the fever to my sons and more latterly my husband - though at times I am sure he wishes I liked to do something a little less dangerous!

We had a great weekend at Hunter Mountain, not the Swiss Alps by any means, but only a few hours drive from Long Island and enough white fluffy stuff to soothe the need for speed and exhilaration.

With all the crazy snowboarders out there and less and less players who know the "rules of the piste", helmets are still mandatory for the boys, however David managed to jazz his up significantly this year with a way cool helmet cover which collected him quite a few compliments along the way.  It also meant that he was really easy to spot, tearing down the hill!  James I think preferred the more grown-up effect and considered his Aussie Eagles scarf to be sufficient adornment!