GOLLY A MONTH'S GONE BY

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING?   Looking back thru my photos, looks like mainly swims in the morning and who knows what else.  

JUNE 17 was etta's fourth birthday and on the 22nd sunny and luke had a nice family and friends afternoon with cake and presents, low key and really enjoyable.  

   the bay was looking beautiful as i drove up to melbourne

    my present - rainbow bedding for when 

   etta's new 'big girl' bed arrives

On the 28th i headed off for five days writing retreat at isobelle's house near apollo bay.  i'm not sure how much i got done, but the head space was great and to be away without the distractions of home meant i got to think about the book ideas.  and i did a bit of writing.  now i'm home with the indesign program i'll do more.   it's hard tho, without an editor i feel like i'm losing my way.  uncertain.

i was really carsick by the time i arrived after driving around all the hairpin bends of the otway road.  it was cold and i was miserable and thought the whole stay was a mistake.  but of course in the morning i felt fine and the five days was just delightful. 

the surf was huge, big rolling sets of waves and rainbows throughout the day, every day.  i caught up with chrissie's ex ian, who's moved down there.  it was really nice to see him - we had some laughs over dinner.

FROM APOLLO BAY TO THE GRAMPIANS

I drove up for our family weekend straight from isobelle's, four days this year which we all decided was perfect.  time to just hang out, no hurry to do anything. in fact the pool table hardly got used and the scrabble and boggle were left on the sideboard.   it's always lovely to be there, have the firepit going outside and take it in turns to cook.  now i'm home and having a very quiet day, heading off tomorrow to geelong for a chat to the bank and a night at gails, then to melbourne to babysit etta on thursday, back on friday.

                               another birthday cake

JUNE 12 already

 JUNE 12 i obviously made a start on a post and never finished it. now it's nearly a month since i wrote anything, i'll have a peep at my pics from the past four weeks and see what i've been doing :0)

STILL SWIMMING - most mornings.  it's getting mighty cold but once the shoulders are under it's fine.   such an invigorating thing to do and the company is always great.   and no shortage of glamour

I love it when the

water is like this,

crystal clear and

pale green

these three trees greet me when i turn into Helen street on the way to swim. 
they make me think of three dancing sisters




i'm collecting photos of these trees in the hope they
may become prints one day

this tiny visitor has come in two mornings in a row.  very cute.

first time was monday after the Yacht Club AGM, i attended to meet some of the yachties and find out what was going on.  it was good to see that the Salties are very much considered part of the place and we're included in all their forward planning.  they say they really appreciate knowing that the club rooms are being used on a daily basis by such a positive group.

i went for a drive around the unsealed backroads of Indented Head the other day and the new lambs were everywhere.  lovely eucalyptus plantations too. 

Had a lovely meeting with erica in melbourne to talk about my book ideas and get some feedback from another editor at A&U.  encouraging enough to keep me going. and some tips on what might be needed. I've talked to the other editor since and am working on getting synopses of my ideas on the riverbook, swimbook and bird book.  

I've sent this photo off to officeworks to be printed A2 on 10mm thick board with a black edging.  it's been nearly 3 weeks, still waiting. if it looks good i'll go ahead and book Hatrock Gallery for an exhibition,

THE EASTERN ROSELLAS

i finally had a look in the birdbox - held the iphone over the top and here are unhatched eggs from last year.  now i've thrown a handful of pine needles in the bottom,  hopefully making it easier to sit on a number of eggs, it looks like these rolled down to the edge on the smooth wood base.

the Peasant Prince symphony was performed by the MSO in melbourne  and sunny luke and i took etta to her first theatre experience. then on to the Ian Potter for a look at Grace Crowley.  this screen etta is on had an abstract piece from the show that you could scroll around and enlarge and match up to colours.  etta had a good time, thought the theatre was a carpeted playground i think.  the tubular ceiling lights were a favorite.

Came home to meet Denise and see the Cressida Campbell/Margaret Preston exhibition at Geelong Gallery.  also a wonderful room of Japanese woodblock prints.

I'VE BEEN AWAY

 A WEEK AWAY in the Grampians and Sunraysia.  Don's got a broken collar bone and has had a cataract done so the kids have been doing some relays to look after him.  I had two nights on the way up with some lovely time with Jenny K, walks to the lake and lots of talking.

then four wonderful nights with sue and derek, wandering and driving around wenty and mildura, seeing sam and di, missing sonja :0( but running into lovely mia. beautiful autumn weather, cold crisp nights and sunny clear days.

i'm back in the gramps now and really ready to be home, i'm getting a cold i think and i really want to get home and rug up.

   Don seems to be doing ok, great to see jenny :0)

     Lake Lonsdale is brimming with life

                        Harvest time at sue and derek's

The beautiful

little pardalotes

at don's

BEFORE I LEFT  nothing in particular, swimming clinic in absolutely crazy weather 

sadly the weather was so rough, 

our 'little green boat' broke up and had 

to be pulled from the water.  RIP LGB