The kitchen dresser rejuvenated

I had a long hard think, whether I should take the plunge and give my dresser a freshen up with white paint, so eventually , I decided to head down to the corner paint shop .  I last painted our trusty dresser some 14 years ago, but , felt it needed a bright lift as it was looking rather heavy and dark , together with our dining setting. A lift in color mood was needed. 

The new coat of paint has brightened up the dining room no end, and  it looks just right with my blue and white enamel ware and ceramics too. I decided to leave the bottom shelf free of paint to provide a relief from the all-white scheme, and to coordinate with the rest of my setting. I have distressed the surface here and there, and I will probably distress it a little further as time goes on....

Collections of flotsam of jetsam , driftwood, sea glass, a starfish and glass float reinforce the nautical mood.

I'm quite happy I 'took the plunge and dove in'.

Washing on the rigging

A little ingenuity, and I feel like i'm on board whenever I hang out the washing......

The student's field trip

Photo courtesy Australian Traveller

My seventeen year old son left bright and early today, on a bus trip to Phillip Island, a mere 90 minutes from Melbourne. There he will be studying the processes and characteristics of the coastal environments and changes in landscape. What a lucky kid he is - I wish mum's could come along too!  Until the very unlikely event that we may acquire a hybrid car ,  the next best thing is google earth, or a web cam for me I'm afraid.

Hoping he'll bring back a beach side souvenir or two.

Knitting with love.

Am looking forward to the cooler months. It is starting to feel a little more like autumn now and we have had some cooler weather of the past week. So much so, that I even felt like pulling our my knitting needles and taking up a bit of knitting once more. I'm really liking  cable knit patterns of late, just simply because the non fussy and down to earth connotations implied by the basic cable appeal to me. I came across a couple of nice handmade knitted jumpers in the cabins of the Pollywoodside, and admiring the homespun quality and craftsmanship took a few photos as reference. The vest above is one of my own hand knitted vests that I made last year knitted in a very soft grey woollen yarn found most cheaply at a second hand shop. Such a large bag full of balls of yarn! I was also able to make a beanie and gloves for my son, and I still have more left over for this year! I think some robust, hard wearing socks will be next on the agenda. 

Andrea

Optimism is the true moral courage

....a quote by Ernest Shackleton, and my a portrait of the great explorer on a postcard.

Thank heavens the heat has finally subsided and once again, life can move on.

I only wonder how the old and sick manage to cope in such conditions , as many are without adequate cooling in their homes. I know for a fact  that it's not  unusual for the elderly to head down to the local shopping center for relief during such times. 

The more knowledgeable  you become about climate change, the more hopeless it can seem......these words by Ernest Shackleton, of course remain at the heart, else we may as well just give up the fight. Optimism to me, means actively living in a way that serves that purpose, and not blind faith that everything will turn out right no matter our lifestyles. There's a big difference between the two ideals.

 I leave this post today with a coupla pics of my paper mache art.

Andrea

far too hot, for too long

early morning clouds

hand colored preserving jar

in keeping with the sea themed interior

so hot here

this heat wave is un-natural

and we have been bombarded with heat waves this summer

if only
modern society would
take this predicament
more seriously

when i get tired of society
i look to people of the past and the present
to find solace and comfort
in art is one such way i find respite

a recent drawing of Henry David Thoreau
juxtaposed over  my cloud study
and a quote -
'Thank God men cannot fly,
and lay waste the sky,
as well as the earth.'

Painterly.....

Let me introduce to you , the el-cheapo wardrobe I purchased from the junk shop many years ago.  It's doors are askew, the shelves bow a little in the middle, resulting in loads of imperfect character. It has seen many washes of various shades of paint too over the years....white, tinted white, warm grey . 'Tis always evolving, so the patina is very interesting .

I've rubbed it back here and there to reveal the soft blue beneath.

Atop this wardrobe, some favorite books  include

Shackletons Antarctic , The Country Diary of A Lady, Ludwig Bemelmans 'La Bonne Table. ' and Tricia Guild 'Flowers' .

(Having fun with my new camera - Canon S95.)

A treasure discovered along water's edge.....

Leagues, leagues over the sea I sail
Couched on a wallowing dolphin's tail.
The sky is on fire, the waves a-sheen,
I dabble my foot in the billows green.
In a sea-weed hat on the rocks I sit,
where tern and sea-mew glide and beat,
and where dark shadows the cormorants meet.
In caverns cool when the tide's a wash
I sound my conch to the watery splash.
From out their grottos at evenings beam,
the mermaids swim with locks agleam.

- Walter De La Mare -

Handmade 'mermaids tiara' and sand dollars .

Enchanted by various handmade tiaras on the net, I just had to sculpt one for myself.
Wire , wrapped in cotton strips, fixed with glue and embelliished with pearl beads , miniature shells and string beads encrusted with paint.