A blessing for the home.

.......found trinkets, a plastic ballerina,

an old key, glass bead, string, silver thread and crumpled tea stained paper,

hapazardly bound together. 

With love ....

and blessings for...

the home.

Safety Beach, Rosebud, Victoria

Colorful and vibrant beach huts along the shoreline.

Trio of Silver Gulls......

Southern view of Safety Beach looking towards the opening to Port Phillip Bay.

 Northern aspect , Mount Martha in the distance.

 Today I wanted to show you some photographs 

taken during the summer holidays at Safety Beach here in Victoria.

Safety Beach is located in the Port Phillip Bay area , on the easterly

coast, and is a wonderful calm beach, with access to walk out far, without

it getting too deep. As you can see , on the day , it was quite deserted

you could almost be the only person on earth.

Abundant in wildlife, we swam amongst little schools of fish, crustaceans and

the odd sea star, one of which was about the length of our feet.

Not so pleasant was the close encounter with a large jelly, of which species

I was uncertain, and not willing to get close enough to find out. 

A sting from it, would have finished our day there and then.

There were the typical Silver Gulls hoping for a scrap of food,

and even a wary Southern Petrel was seen at a distance- floating calmly on

the tide but keep a watchful eye on me, the observer.

The Southern Petrel is a large bird,

similar in appearance to the albatross and migrates from the antarctic to warmer

australian southern waters.
So , we spent a few hours here, slowly taking our time, taking in the views,
swimming, collecting shells and sea glass......

and what a great day out we had.

We are grateful to our children's uncle who kindly drove us 

to this location, for without his generosity of spirit, trips 

such as these would not be possible for us.

Finally, I've heard so much about this magazine on various blogs,

that I thought I would treat myself to an issue of Jean D'Arc Living Magazine.

It arrived in the post , beautifully packaged in tissue paper and string.

A pleasant morning was spent , outside, in the shade,

perusing the pages of this unique magazine. 

I was impressed to discover the paper is all recycled

and it seems too, the inks are used sparingly as the photographs

are of a soft , faded quality. Quite different to the many garish, glossy

commercial lifestyle magazines so readily available these days.

Still dreaming of the coast....

sigh.

A

Quiet reflections on Australia Day

A nice quiet Australia Day here in Melbourne.

Started the day with a good clean up around the house.

What is it, that makes the atmosphere suddenly change

after a good clean? It seems with the dust, goes all the stagnancy,

all the 'invisible' weight that might be accumulating around the home

...either way, as the prime caretaker of the home,

I 'feel' the difference after a good clean.

After all, mother nature knows when a good clean is needed

as her rains and  winds relieve the environment of dust and grime.

And as it does outdoors, so does it feel better indoors too.

The photos show views of the place I call 'home'.

'White Cloud Drift' hangs above the sofa in the lounge room,

while a couple of new op shop finds, sit displayed on my grandfathers 

beautiful hand crafted cabinet. I have a penchant for old sewing memorabilia.....

...spot my sons' 'feet'! :-)

The cushion I fashioned from old pieces of cotton fabric,

adding  detail with pin tucks and free embroidery in abstract designs.
sigh.....what i wouldn't do for a new camera tho'.

A

Watching the clouds go by...........

 Xmas passed smooothly, being a wonderful catch- up 

with relatives. Lots of laughs, chatter , good food and fine company.

I feel very fortunate to belong to a loving and accepting family.

Holiday time for the kids and the living is easy.

 The weather has cleared and it finally feels like summer is here.

Today, a mild 25 degrees, conditions just right to relax out in the backyard

under the shade of our tall gum tree with the company of the local birds.

Among these were Noisy Miners, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos and Musk Lorikeets

twittering high above in the tree top, all the while I, reading a little natty book

I picked up long ago for 20 cents, and a favorite ever since. 

I have learn t much from this humble little publication.

 Proof that the best things in life don't cost money but instead, feed your intellect -

which I think, is priceless.

With loads of information on cloud formations and weather patterns,

I have been able to study and 

document some of the cloud species found drifting past over our neighbourhood...

all conveniently photographed from our backyard.

A few retro looking diagrams from

the little book published in 1971 by Green Ltd

Eucalyptus in the backyard

lorikeets hiding in the uppermost branches....

Windswept high altitude Cirrus clouds indicating more fine weather on the way.

Cirrostratus - high , windswept clouds made up of  mostly ice crystals

and Alto Cumulus or 'Mackerel Sky'.

And like so many artists before me, the sky is a source of inspiration.

Hence the paintings that I am currently inspired to create.

A

Early morning here in Australia.

A ridiculously cold 13 degrees outside.

The weather has been really cold of late, and this is 'summer'.

Hail yesterday at midday. My little girl so surprised,

she yelled out 'SNOW' at the top of her voice.

You know I wouldn't be amazed if that did happen,

given the global weather uncertainties now.

Anyway, we bring in our Xmas tree a week 

before Xmas day, as it is a living tree that we nurture outside

in a pot all year round. We have had her now for 11 years,

and she started out as less than a metre high.

She now stands at nearly twice that height.

At the base we arrange the nativity scene, and presents

for friends and relatives.

Lots of hand made toys and dolls clothes for my neices.

I am sickened at the amount of plastic produced by 

the large corporate companies, and my hnad made creations

beat them hands down anyway, in terms of quality and aesthetics.

Today, off to the shops to meet Santa and buy some ingredients for

a gingerbread house.....

A