AT JANEEN'S

JANEEN'S HOUSE is full of the most amazing things, 

i'll do a little stroll and take some details.

FROM ADELAIDE

Anne Hederics and I spent yesterday driving down to adelaide,   i'm staying with author janeen brian and anne's staying with a friend near the city.  
there were some terrific new parts of the murray river to see, dramatic cliffs along the banks and of course the odd secondhand shop here and there
today we're off to see 'Icons of Fashion'

WHOO HOO

COMING OUT IN MARCH  :0)

BLOBSVILLE

WHAT A NICE vegie kind of day i've had, spent a lot of it in bed catching up on blog, fb, email etc then more of the same, updating my new website and going through photos etc.   most of it work really, but it didn't feel like it.   the weather is so gorgeous, warm then breezy and cooler in the evenings,  i'm loving it.

SLEEP IN

I WORKED at the art vault yesterday and stayed on the for performance of Massimo Scattolin and Roberto Fabricciano, two of the musicians who are here for the international music festival.

then home to admire the new cornice that's been put up in my bathroom,  the plasterers were really clean considering it's a black bathroom :0)

it's a nice combination,  music, art and great acoustics, massimo's spanish style guitar was wonderful

tired this morning, but i'll investigate what's been happening to the papers i've been playing around with.   and think about what colour to paint the bathroom ceiling ...  palmolive green, charcoal, off white?

SUNRISE, SUNSET

bathing birds

The summer 'BATHING BIRDS SURVEY' started on the 23rd,  you spent 20 minutes observing your birdbath three times a week, photos if possible and document it on the website.  they did a survey in winter, now the summer one is under way.  yesterday i did my first 20 minutes, four visits

 first two visits, noisy mynas, native ones and very pushy. there is a large group of these living in the garden here.  first two visits, bathing in the bath and in the sprinklers, third visit a little friarbird drinking and fourth visit another myna coming for a drink.   it's a nice way to spend twenty minutes just sitting facing the river with my camera poised in my lap ready to take a sneaky shot without moving :o)

 

YESTERDAY'S WALK

All kinds of birds including one i don't know

this little fellow is a bird i haven't seen before

AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND

LOOKS LIKE A GOOD WEEKEND - it's been hot but i've still managed two days sweating it out in the studio, now the temperatures going to be a little kinder.
It's all happening on the bathroom front, nearly finished.  plasterer on tuesday to put up a cornice then jake will come back and finish off. 
dean the builder is arriving on monday to put in the laundry cabinet along the side of the house - a bit of a shock as i only asked him to do the base (putting down the footings) as i don't really have the money to do the rest right now.  but he's gone ahead and got the cabinet made - i expected him back to just double check everything, even though i'd drawn it up and he checked and adjusted the measurements.  i dont know whether my drawing had the kind of cupboard door finish i wanted ( eeek )   i won't pay for anything i'm not happy with but i hate the apprehension involved in wondering and if it's not right, i also hate the negotiating and debate about resolving things    :O{    i just hope it's all ok.  i explained that i'll only be able to pay him in instalments as i wasn't expecting to do it right now.  sigh

last night was the wentworth component of the mildura international music festival, a lute player Rosemary Hodgson.  I had dinner at artback first with a woman i'd never met before, shirley - she's a spanish dancer,  not spanish but she's been passionate about it ever since she first saw it.  and she's been doing it all her long life, she's older than i am, tall blonde and looking very fit and trim.

i made the mistake of having two glasses of wine with dinner after a day of being in the hot studio on a 39 deg day, so half dozed through the performance.

The night was

gorgeous - still

and clear and cool

after the heat of

the day

A GOOD DAY AFTER ALL

IT WAS PRETTY HOT TODAY - 38 -  so i headed off at 7.30 for a walk on the island. i got out of the car and there was a baby maggie, he ran right up to me, head on one side and looking for food. then i saw a rabbit, a mudlark and some swallows so i just stood there and thought 'how good is this for a start to the day'.
then i heard a door close - a man came out of the toilets a little way away.  he was youngish, all in black, almost shaved hair, an unpleasant stooping stance and he stopped and just looked at me.  then slowly walked over to the riverbank and headed off away from the island.  but he put the wind up me - it didn't feel good so i got back in the car and headed home.  i felt really put out - he spoiled my morning  :0{  but  i stopped at the lock and sat with the paper and my sketchbook and camera - there were ducks, plovers, pelicans, galahs, grass parrots, swallows, magpies and mudlarks so i drew some birds and then drove down to artback to do the xword and have a coffee.  
anne arrived and we had coffee and a chat and i came home and printed all day. i've cleaned up the print studio and i'm starting to just play around and see what happens. 
the electrician and plumber both came and finished what they had to do in the bathroom so it's all but finished, just the cornice to go up and i can paint the ceiling and it's done :0)
anne dropped by for a drink at 5 and then i practised the ukulele for about half an hour.   not a bad day after all

pelican preening time

WEDNESDAY

NOTHING TO REPORT, a day of working at the art vault,  tonight is a gorgeous, warm evening, not a breath of wind, no photos.   a night of watching sherlock holmes then bed   :0)

MONDAY'S WALK

beautiful colours, the scribbly 
patterns where bark has just
fallen off and the ground,
bark, leaves and cracked 
earth, so soon after 
everything was completely
soaked by the rain a week
ago. 

TUESDAY - sunrise was just like this, the whole sky and river was bright orange/gold, stunning

BATHROOM PROGRESS

LATEST pic of the bathroom, all grouted and ready 
for the electrician and plumber to finish their work. 
a new cornice and the rest is up to me

the grout is looking whiter because of the flash, in fact it's charcoal
and looks just right.  i'm really pleased with everything so far.

HANDSOME VISITOR

AS I WALKED past the loungeroom window the lace monitor strolled by so i snuck out and followed him - he was on his way up the tree towards a nest i think.  the birds were making quite a commotion but he froze when he saw me.  the perfect opportunity to get some good close up pics

 

SATISFACTION

THE BACK ROOM is cleared out, swept and ready to become a guest room  :0)

SUNDAY - first day of my working new year`

UKULELE practice with youtube before i got up, walk to the point of the island, brekky at artback (first time since xmas) and now i'm home to get stuck into cleaning out the spare room and the studio after two days of loafing around.   starting work on my book tomorrow, do or die

 These gorgeous babies

were all waiting for me

on the railings of the

bridge when i arrived

this morning and 

they stayed long enough

for me to get lots of

great shots.

MIMMO'S TREE

  when mimmo was

housesitting for

 me in october

 this tree was

 a sapling about

4" high