6.15

I OPENED THE CURTAINS (after a lazy half hour of lying in the dark listening to a doco on leonard cohen, interesting man)  and this is what i saw.                     

 

at this time of year as the sun comes up and hits the water, i get these
beautiful red gold mornings

this is the twisted trunk of the old tree outside my bedroom window

looking through the bamboo, i'd ventured outside in my pj's by this time

i love the birdbath the anns put in for me, it's big enough to get lovely reflections
on the surface of the water

CAL TODAY

just as gorgeous as ever :0)  look at those toes

JUST HANGIN' IN THE HOOD

I spent a lot of today hanging all the artwork i've bought and swapped over the past years.  about 30 framed works i bought with me, they've been sitting around the living room, propped up against the walls.  I couldn't decide where and how to hang them,  did i group them by artists, subject matter,  size,
association??    it's taken a year and finally  i just got on with it.   very satisfying  :0)  
I'm really happy with the result.

work by matthew roberts, janet goldman, bridget farmer, katherine hattam, martin king, 13.4.13, anne macmaster, elizabeth barnett and me.  so nice to be able to just sit here and see them all together.

work by elizabeth barnett, damon kowarsky, janet goldman, kirrily hammond, me, lauren leviston,and libby letcher

TONIGHT
i just glanced out the window and there was this lovely campfire over the river.  once i zoomed in for a shot, all these images presented themselves.

LOOKING BACK

I'VE JUST BEEN CHECKING my blog from this time last year, i was just about to have my melt down.  The pump was playing up, i didn't understand it or the whole watering of the place at all. everything was on top of me,  not that you'd know it looking at what i wrote - just  a couple of references to feeling stressed.  I remember so vividly the feeling of those anxiety attacks, i hope i never have to go through that again.  I was looking at the photo of Helen and Don's visit around november 9, i seriously burnt the apple pie, couldn't do anything properly.   

hmmm   i just noticed that glass of wine next to the oven - maybe
that had something to do with it :0)

i remember doing the collagraph workshop next day, prickly head, dry mouth, couldn't eat, weak in the legs.  at that stage i didn't realise that what i was experiencing was an anxiety attack - once i knew, i found out how to manage them (thanks to my dear friend sandra)  and it all resolved itself after a week with my dear friends down south.  thanks buddies :0)


So much has been sorted since then, although the watering is still not doing what i really wanted - to water the main parts of the garden automatically while i'm away.  all because of a tiny leak somewhere on the property. if we could find that,  i could leave the pump on all the time and the automatic system could operate when i 'm not here.   But search as i do, i can't find any spot that looks like it's getting water from a leak in the underground pipes.

I still feel overwhelmed by the size of the place from time to time, but the area around the house is all
good.  I hope some of my large shrubby plants (still only inches high) that i've planted on the big dry
area closer to the road manage to grow.  they're the things i can't water properly when i'm not here. 
Still, that's not part of my garden, it's just a big buffer area between me and the road. 

I've hung nearly all my artwork - only took a year  :0)     Today i'm going to the pics with donnie and peter, and getting back into the print studio (garage) to keep sorting it out.   the weather's cooler, low
20's and perfect for work.

Hopefully i'll get onto the swan lake project again next week when i've sorted out my various work spaces inside and in the print studio - once you change one thing, everything else needs resorting. The lounge room is in the process of being reorganised now that the prints are all up on the wall.

just thinking out loud (on paper?)   -  no, thinking onscreen here.

KATY

KATY KEENE  the FASHION QUEEN

was my favorite comic when i was young.  No one seems to know her, do you?

the comics were full of girlie stories, but what i loved was the fact that all the clothes were designed by fans who submitted them and they were all acknowledged.  i loved to read the names and addresses (all USA)  of the contributors and wished i was one of them.

BACK ON BOARD

IT'S BEEN a week of not feeling 100%, this bug i've got is in my head and chest,i feel bad that denise is here and i'm not as energetic as i could be.  but we had a fun afternoon on cup day, we  put some bets on at the Wenty club and had a champagne there, then brought home lots of yummy food and watched it all on telly - i backed the winner :0)

It's friday now, denise left yesterday and i just rested and started sorting out my framed artwork - i haven't put much on the walls since i've been here, there's so much to put up
i haven't known where to start.   I've started.

Here's a recap of the week in pics

the sun

has moved

around so

that it

comes up

over the lock.

it's blinding

in the morning

if i wander 

out into the

kitchen 

without 

thinking.

THE PELICANS have moved over to my trees on the riverbank - about eight are there every morning - they're very hard to sneak up on,  i have to walk down hiding behind tree trunks so they don't fly off - they usually spot me and make deep grunting noises to
each other.   sounds like complaining :0)

DENISE AND I visited Rio Vista - the Chaffey family home, it's a beautiful Victorian building, wonderful old textured paper walls, terazzo floors and rich leadlight.  it's  a lovely place.  

Yesterday i dropped denise at the bus at 9.45.  the driver was such a grumpy rude man, various people were commenting on it. i hope her trip was a good one.   we were wondering what all these features on the door were about, definitely no bar on the bus, and the driver was definitely not first class

jacarandas are

magnificent

at the moment.

 feeling very proud of dean who's just
won the Chancellor's prize for best PhD at
Melbourne Uni  :0)

LAY DAY

FLAT OUT  in bed today - all day, dozing and not well.  i think i ran on adrenalin the last few days with this croaky foghorn voice     it's all caught up with me, i think we'll give the wenty races a miss tomorrow and stay home to watch melbourne cup day.  put a few bets on in the morning.   zzzzzzz

WHAT A WEEKEND

IT'S MONDAY morning, i'm in bed, think i'll try to stay here for a while - i need a rest.   it's been full-on all weekend.

Denise and i headed into mildura around lunchtime on saturday and booked into the motel.  Had lunch at the rendezvous and then a beer at the brewery

ART VAULT CELEBRATIONS - a wonderful night full of great people and a lot of love in the room - we're all so grateful to julie and kev for all they've done for us.  they've produced a catalogue of the work in the exhibition and everyone's written a message under their own work.  It's lovely to read all the heartfelt messages by about ninety artists. a good thing for julie and kevin to keep and read

we were greeted at the door by these sassy girls - and a lot
of guests who were staying at julie and kev's arrived
in a huge stretch hummer and a long long limo

steph bolt, tony amineiro and pete lancaster

ros atkins, sasha grishin (who opened the exhibition) and kev looking
embarrassed as helen healy sings his praises

the party carried on into the lane

our guardians - the lane can be a pretty busy
and noisy place at night, these guys kept watch

SUNDAY  big brunch on julie and kevin's riverbank at gol gol.

martin travelling in the style to which he's accustomed

i met deborah klein and her partner shane jones - both names
i've known for so long, great to meet them and find that they're
good friends with leigh and dmetri

showing denise around julie and kevin's houseboat

deborah signs the huge art vault poster

PETER'S SIGNATURE says it all

ros and martin watching the kookaburra going in and out of its hollow in the big gum tree

Martin, susan baran, deborah klein and shane jones all came back to my place for a drink and tour of the place.  Angelie also dropped in, nice to have them all here

this lovely lace monitor came strolling across the yard

CLOGGED UP

I'm feeling pretty full up with whatever it is i've got.  croaky yesterday and today a thicker head. just in time for the art vault celebrations tonight.  hopefully it'll clear a bit once i'm up and about.
denise and i are staying at the Karr-ama motel tonight, a short walk from the vault.

yesterday ros atkins (up for the celebrations) and julie giles (here for a wedding) came out for lunch. weather was perfect and we had a lovely relaxed afternoon

guilty cal discovers chocolate

pinched this cute poster off facebook

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DENISE IS HERE - she arrived on the bus last night, a gallant ten hours of travel.  we sat on the riverbank after sunset and soaked up that beautiful time of day when the river becomes a mirror and the air is still.  And look at the beautiful colour in that sky

Ren's undergone 

a radical

change - from a 

boy to a man 

in a single

haircut.