MARA AND CAL

A GRANNY UPDATE - recent pics from osaka

this is a spread in a photographers' directory featuring birth photos of mara

cal does michael jackson outside the giracha shop :0)

XMAS BREAKUP

LAST NIGHT'S makers meeting at my place, cars everywhere!!  we sat out on a very warm night and chatted till dark.  the fridge is full of dips of every description :-\

DECORATIONS

THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR i've really enjoyed fluffing around putting up decorations - not all at once, i've been discovering boxes of things in the storeroom and putting them up at my leisure




our old family favorite, garfield

VISITORS :0)

LAST NIGHT  martin and sonja came out for dinner - it couldn't have been a more perfect night - warm weather,  not too hot, no wind,  a gorgeous evening for us to spend the evening out on the deck while the sun set over the river :0)  very nice

ah, the joys of posing for an auto-timed group shot :0)

i do like this shot - by this stage we'd done so many auto-timed shots ( my camera does ten in a row) we felt like we were in a stop-motion short film :0)

the flooded riverbank is drying out but it's still really
soft underneath

sonja  - we went for a walk along the riverbank over the fence from my place, this is where i was kayaking two weeks ago, the river is dropping so fast

fire from the setting sun and the bbq - martin turning the chops :0)

the lovely sonja at sunset

GORGEOUS BLUE SKY DAYS

ON THE WAY HOME from getting the paper - fabulous cactus flowers that i've been watching, suddenly they're out

CHANGES

the river is dropping steadily, the weir is
re-emerging and the floodline is visible on the opposite bank






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i visited the art vault and caught up with martin who's on residency here - this beautiful book of thornton walker's work was there so i bought it,  it's his printing press that is now here at riverbank press
























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another gorgeous sunset

                     and another full moon

my little tree is lit  -
it's feeling like christmas























i was privileged and moved to attend the graduation of the Mildura English Language Centres student graduation.  A lot of these students visited me on the river for a workshop with eucalyptus leaf dyeing a couple of weeks back.  I was so impressed by their dedication to their own      education, their sense of dutry to their families who have endured  so much heartache through separation, loss and the challenges of  migrating to a new country.   in a year they have all gone from having no english to each being able to give a speech about their experiences, hopes and ambitions.  it was a heartwarming morning





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LAST NIGHT the rowing club had its xmas bbq, i dropped down for a short visit and watched the fun races, lots of santa hats

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A NEW COMMISSION

i've been asked to do a large drawing of this lovely wedding dress, it's made of de-lustred satin with french lace, beautifully made by the bride's mother twenty five years ago.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

THE TREE IS UP and i have a couple of xmas events here,  the makers group is coming monday and i've got open house wednesday next week.
it's been a couple of very hot days - 39/40deg - but today is cool again, i'm heading out to chop back some shrubs and install new hoses and fittings.

gorgeous sunsets
on these
hot nights

          tonight will be

the full moon, i

hope the clouds

clear away

i've had bigger spiders that this, but to see this very fat fella on
my bedroom ceiling was a bit much :0(      he's now living in the
garden