Saturday 24 November 2018

A WEEK AT HOME

NOTHING SPECIAL happening here, i handed out how to vote cards on monday and thursday,   36 deg on mon and a duststorm all day on thursday, incredible dirty winds and muddy spattery rain.  crazy weather.
just moochin' around, feeling flat some days, gardening, waiting waiting for my canvas and stretchers to arrive, australia post doing its usual half arsed job.
the rainbow bee eaters and kingfishers are here, up in the tree
overhead as i do the gardening. and today a gorgeous butterfly has been in the backyard all afternoon having a lovely time :0)




 the grandies are as cute as ever
   
    pretty rose from the garden, not sure what it is

peaceful dover - first one i've seen in my garden
 the disgusting dusty windy day on thursday


     with helen healy  - pre-polling



    in the garden today



 


Saturday 17 November 2018

SINCE UBUD

I DIDN'T GET TIME TO SETTLE BACK IN after ubud.  haven't even shared my photos with susan, gail and isobelle yet.
the morning after we arrived back in torquay we received the long dreaded news that helen had died early tuesday morning so melbourne cup day was spent together, me, jenny and susan at jenny and freddie's.  i'm so glad we were able to be together, with our good friends dropping in throughout the day.
the week back here in wenty was a lot of collecting photos for the farewell celebration, feeling flat, emails sending memories of helen, thinking about what i could say about her life as a painter of the grampians and gradually unpacking from bali and repacking for halls gap.
susan rented us rooms right in the heart of the gap, a perfect spot with plenty of room for me, sunny, susan and sean with gail and ian next door.


it's lovely to be home now in bed looking out through roses at the rising sun shining gold on the redgums, with time to write this. today i'll just spend time emailing photos and getting the studio ready to start painting.







Helen's service was so beautiful, the hall looking out onto the grampians in both directions and along one deep windowsill jenny and claire had arranged personal items - helen's favorite cup and saucer, the scrabble set and helen's crazy huge old dictionary, paints, her box of pastels, flowers, sketchbooks and photos and there were paintings of helen's all around the walls.   a local lady had done native flowers in huge arrangements and the celebrant gilda had been a friend of helen's for 33 years so everything was perfect - it really felt like helen was in the room.














the hall was packed, standing room only right up to the back wall, it was everything a funeral should be.  the girls did an amazing job.





the gardens
around the
pomonal
hall, such
a beautiful
setting in
the grampians





The weather was perfect and we had some good family and friends time in halls gap down at stony creek in the sun, a swim in the pool and fabulous meals at the kookaburra.   I spent the last night at don's with jenny and freddie and the family and drove home yesterday.

now to deal with my prowler who reappeared the night before my trip down to the grampians. after the police had gone at 1.30am i couldn't go back to bed so ended up driving off at 3 am with lots of naps along the way.   wouldn't it be lovely to just sprinkle the lawn with rabbit traps  (:0+
















Saturday 10 November 2018

LAST BALI PICS

A SAD WEEK after Helen died peacefully in Stawell hospital after a few weeks there with the best of care.  susan and i missed seeing her a last time on getting back from bali, we were due to drive up on the day she left us. but we've all had good last times with her and now it's the time of thinking about her farewell celebration. i've been going through mum's old photo albums and collecting some pics.




pics of our last few days in bali, it really was a special holiday.



so many places to
sit and look out
over ricefields,
beautiful in the
evening with
torches and
lights in the
gardens


 very happy with
my room at the
ubud inn -
roomy, light
and a great view
from up high
over the lush
gardens



resident friend,
the flying fox.
he was here
six years ago
when i was
last in bali.



great to spend
time with
isobelle, we
don't see each
other often
enough