Lost Aussie on the loose

In Hiberante Mode

After due statistical analysis (ergo according to my husband) if it drops below 40F then the best place to find me is in BED!  Not because I suffer from any particular seasonal affect disorder or other cute ailment...as far as I'm concerned, it's just too damned cold to leave my flannel sheets, downy comforter and purry cats - without lots of fuss and protest!

I have actually hauled my "you know what" out of bed for several hours each day this week as there have been things to do and people to see.  Last Sunday we went into town to catch up with my artpals from Texas - namely Don and Susan Madden.  We spent a happy few hours nattering over coffee, which turned into dinner and many a tale was told.  Turns out that my hubby and Don are fellow "Aggies" and Susan and I have much in common also.

Thanksgiving was spent with friends and family and we even got to spend a whole day yesterday with Rick's sister who was visiting from Minnesota.  Miles and miles we walked, from Grand Central Station to Union Square Market, followed by the the Brooklyn Bridge, onto Soho and then back again.  Good thing was all the walking mitigated the Irish Pub lunch and dinner at Salute before we drove back home and......oh yeah..headed for BED!

How many days until Spring?????????????????  ....just my toes asking...of course!

Happy Thanksgiving

To All My American friends, both near and far, I wish you the best of the Year that it is and all the blessings of the year to come!  May the winds of change blow favourably in your direction!
xoxoox

Tiggety Tag - Catch-up

Even though I travel with my lappie and an external hard drive with all my files loaded on it I seldom seem to keep pace with Blog life and it is with great thanks and heartfelt apologies for being SOOOO tardy that I catch up on the following blog favours and try and work them all into one post - cheating yeah I know...but...

   Firstly, Erika Tysse nominated me for a Brilliante Weblog award and I was heartily surprised and most flattered....thank you Erika, you are one talented artpal!  I am looking forward to seeing our work together in the "Garden" book early next year!

Then Bev Lea "tagged" me on her blog - and yes, I'd be delighted to come down and teach a class for you, anytime!

 
    And finally, Ascender nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award, which was quite out of the blue and much appreciated.
You are one of my most favourite reads out there in the Blogosphere and I appreciate you coming to visit too!

(EDIT) and the same blog award was posted by Christine Baier

Now I guess, comes the fun part - six things about me that you might not know...

• Here in New York, I have a psychic dentist - yeah really!  She is very good, does all the normal things you might expect a dentist to do, fills, drills and sends big bills, but she also has an amazing amount of insight into stuff about me that otherwise she could NOT know!..go figure
• my favourite things to eat are steamed cauliflower, a big bowl of chopped red tomatoes, caesar salad or a fillet steak (medium rare) - not all at once mind you!
• I flunked art class in the 8th grade and became a 'science' person until I was 37
• f-stops and exposure settings mean nothing, I still use my lovely expensive camera to "point and shoot" and do all of my post processing in Photoshop or Lightroom
• facebook is a conundrum to me.  I sign on, accept friends and sign off...all the plants and fuzz balls have me flumoxed
• Six..what is number six? Hmmm... I am like an elephant, I remember stuff for a LONG time.  Good or bad, it's filed away and you can be darned sure I will know it when you ask!

So there you go!  I think that most folk I know in the Blog world have already been tagged, but if not, feel free to play along.

Back In The Chilly North

I've been back in the Northern part of the world for a few days now and am having JUST a LITTLE bit of a hard time getting used to the freezing cold weather....going from 27C to 27F...not fun at all and it's so dark so early!  Oh dear!  God Bless my Mother who sent me back with a pair of funky hand knitted woolen sox..they have barely been off my feet since I got back!

Having unpacked my suitcase, I'm now wading through stacks of mail and catching up on chores.  Clearly the cats missed me (or they are cold too) as I've had them ALL vying for possession of the studio chairs and layered on top of me in bed at night.

While hanging around for the 'furnace' guys today I snuck a little time at the computer, created the Otero Christmas cards and a little art for the blog.  And it seems that Typepad has been up to some mischief while I have been gone as there's a whole new text editor thingy that needs figuring out - I was kinda happy with the old one, but thanks anyway!

cheerio for now

Seen Scenery

Hard to believe that I will be on my way back to the States tomorrow.  The last few days have been absolutely idyllic for seashore walks and sipping lattes at the beach side cafes!

Aside from tearing myself away from the boys, it's going to be hard to leave behind this beautiful balmy weather and idyllic landscape!

Yesterday I had the fabulous fortune to meet up with one of my Blog buddies, the delightful VIV of Desert Bloom fame.  Turns out we don't stay too far away from each other and despite the fact that we have never met before, managed to spend a good while nattering over coffee and comparing notes on our respective 'artful lives' I'm already looking forward to catching up with her again next time I am home!

Milestone Moments

Hard to believe that #1 son took one step further along the road to being all grown up today - he is now the proud recipient of his "Learner's Permit" to drive!  A scary thought..for all  of us hehe! 

My fervent hope is that the set of professional lessons promised by his father for his birthday will be forthcoming soon.  Much less stressful for all, at least until the basics have been mastered!

Well done honey!  I am proud of you!  xoxo Mum

And I got tagged with this fun little trivia piece...feel free to play along if you would like...

1. Where is your cell phone?    in the car
2. Where is your significant other?    new york
3. Your hair color?    blondy red
4. Your mother?    manjimup
5. Your father?    perth
6. Your favorite thing?    photoshop-ing
7. Your dream last night?    no idea
8. Your dream/goal?    to have a big sunny studio
9. The room you're in?    my 'other' bedroom
10. Your hobby?    creating
11. Your fear?    snakes
12. Where do you want to be in six years?    near a beach
13. Where were you last night?    helping #2 son with homework
14. What you're not?    boring
15. One of your wish list items?    etching press
16. Where you grew up?    uk/australia
17. The last thing you did?    cooked dinner
18. What are you wearing?    pj's
19. Your T.V.?    off
20. Your pets?    all 5 of them, in new york
21. Your computer?    1 Mac & 2 PC's
22. Your mood?    contemplative
23. Missing someone?    yes
24. Your car?   red  beemer
25. Something you're not wearing?   sox
26. Favorite store?    pearl paint
27. Your Summer?    aus' or us?
28. Love someone?    yes
29. Your favorite color?    black
30. When is the last time you laughed?    7pm
31. Last time you cried?    5:30pm

Simple & Sweet

Time with the boys is precious right now and there is little else on my mind other than taking care of what they need and delivering some much missed love and attention.

No time for art and barely any to fiddle with the pics I have taken while I have been home, but that's ok, there are some situations when all the creative stuff gets put on the back burner and you just have to take care of the day to day bruhaha!

During the short visit I enjoyed with my Mum this week I came away with several dozen photos of her amazing rose garden and in the few quiet moments I have had tonight, fiddled with a few of the pics.  Oh to have such a green thumb!

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Might seem like I have dropped off the edge of the planet, not so, just been so busy taking care of stuff with the boys. 

I did manage to squeeze in a quick two day trip to Manjimup to see my Mum at the beginning of the week and got back yesterday, in time to collect the boys from school and work on collecting gear to get #1son ready for Outdoor Venture camp.

As you can tell from the photos.....it's hay making season down here and during the 4 hour drive down South I saw many paddocks peppered with these ginormous rolls - all so precise and wonderfully engineered, hard to believe it's just dry grass!

Mom Chores

Probably like most Moms, I am not that 'turned on' by doing laundry BUT when I have the boys in my clutches, there is a certain satisfaction derived from having them all clean, pressed and ready for 'whatever'.

At 15 & 16 years of age, you could say that they are quite capable of doing their own washing, but call me soft, I don't know, it just seems like something I do because I love them.  That and sewing on buttons, fixing tears and re-hemming pants...mind you, I DO get lots of love and hugs in return!!

Anyway, today is sunshinny and gorgeous.  I've put off my early morning walk for an hour or two in favour of a bit of a lounge around in bed with my "cuppa" and the MAC perched on my knee while I check my mail and catch up on a bit of blog browsing.  It's been a busy week with 6am wake-ups, breakfasts and lunches to be made before I've had to head down the Freeway to take David to school.  James has been held captive at the "Study Gulag", apparently he can't prepare for exams under anyone's supervision other than his Father's but I will go and pick him up later today so we can all have some FUN together.  Seems there's not been much of THAT going on around here of late!  However I shan't bore you with all that stuff.

Stay tuned for some sunny day pics!
ciao for now

Birds of a Black Feather

It may (or may not) interest you to know that in Western Australia, our Swans don't come in the usual snowy white variety as seen in the Northern hemisphere, but with dark black plummage and brightly coloured red bills. 

I caught this lovely creature preening and primping by the water's edge of the Swan River the other day.

And no, we don't just see them on the river, Black Swans are featured on our State flag, coat of arms and other important iconography that reflects the State's history and antipodean flavour of the Down Under Wonderland!

A lovely creature in a lovely land!