1. An old family photo - My Little Barrow Boy
My second son, Christopher, aged two .... It is now forty-two years later! At this time of our lives we were involved, as many of the same vintage were, in building an extension to our first home in a bayside suburb of Melbourne. The old wheelbarrow was being used to transport materials around and my son wanted a ride.
2. An outdoor house or garden decoration - Bird House
We enjoy day trips out of Melbourne exploring country towns and visiting interesting and historic properties. We saw this little bird-house at Buda Historic Home in Castlemaine.
'Buda' is an authentic house and garden surviving from the gold rush era in Castlemaine Victoria. Named after Budapest by its Hungarian owner, Ernest Leviny, it was home to the creative Leviny family for 118 years and houses their significant intact collection of furniture, art works and belongings and is surrounded by an historic 1.2ha garden..... Guide to Open House
3. Something pink .... Oriental Lilies
Oriental Lilies are one of my favourite flowers for the house. The perfume is quite sensuous and they last for a long time if one plucks the spent blooms. The stamens, unfortunately, drip dusty yellow pollen which stains soft furnishing or carpets so I always stand the vase of flowers on a polished wood surface, and cut the stamens away after a while.
This photo was taken years ago because I thought I would like to use it for one of my pastel pieces at art class. I never did use it
4. Something or someone cute - Woolly Sheep
This is my little grandson, Oliver. He was two years old in the photo and we had taken him to a Children's Open Charity Day at a beautiful property, Cruden Farm, the home of the late Dame Elizabeth Murdoch, mother of the famous/infamous Rupert Murdoch. Oliver was enchanted by the close contact offered with a lovely woolly sheep in the animal petting enclosure.
"Dame Elisabeth Joy, Lady Murdoch AC DBE was an Australian philanthropist. She was the wife of Australian newspaper publisher Sir Keith Murdoch and the mother of Australian international media proprietor Rupert Murdoch" .... Wikipedia
http://www.myopengarden.com.au/openGarden.jsp?id=651
5. A yellow car - Quintessentially English
We were in England in 2014, home exchanging in The Midlands. As usual we spent many happy days exploring the area and delighting in everything - cities, towns and villages along the Severn Valley,the beautiful countryside, canals ....everyday a wonderful experience and with the magic of home exchange we were able to return to our comfortable house in Wall Heath.
In Shrewsbury, where Charles Darwin was educated, I saw this yellow Mini beside a 15th century half-timbered house and said to my husband "What could be more quintessentially English!"
"With a population of around 100,000, Shrewsbury is the county town for Shropshire, England. Set amidst glorious countryside near to the Welsh Borders, it is one of England's finest medieval market towns. But stuck in the past it is not!
The town centre is packed with timber-framed black & white buildings, steep narrow streets and alleyways.In fact it boasts over 600 listed buildings including the Castle, now a regimental museum and the world-famous Shrewsbury Abbey.
Charles Darwin was born and educated in Shrewsbury and all around you will find reminders of his association with the town.
River Severn at Shrewsbury" - Tourist Guide
6. A glass of something - Beechworth Wine Bar Victoria
"Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s." - Wikipedia
http://www.explorebeechworth.com.au/
7. A bird - Little Sparrow
This friendly little male sparrow joined us at our outside table at a local beach-side cafe where we sat with coffee and cake. There were a few more and probably all hoping to find crumbs left behind by patrons.
Sparrows were once so common and we saw flocks of them. There do not seem to be so many around suburban Melbourne any more.
8. A book cover - My Own Book
I wrote about my early life in suburban Melbourne, of my family, including grand and great-grandparents, school days and activies as I remember it all. The book is for my own children and grandchildren. I wanted to write it while i still remembered it all, in case I was to "lose it" one day!
9. Smile - Oliver laughs
My little grandson, Oliver, laughs at a spinning coloured mirror ball.
10. A candid photo of a stranger - National Portrait Gallery, London
This is just one of my favourite places to visit when in London. There is often a special exhibition as well as the familiar galleries of famous faces.
11. An heirloom/family treasure - Silver Teapot
This was passed on to me by my grandmother. it originally belonged to a great aunt and is inscribed
" Presented to Miss S A ....., by her Pascoe Vale Friends. 8.9.12 " so it is now 105 years old.
12. A hobby item - My Pastel Box
One of my many hobbies - pastel art. I've tried all other mediums and this one seems to suit me and give most pleasure. There have been art classes with some wonderful teachers and an opportunity to lose myself in the activity for a few hours but I am not doing much at present!
http://www.pbase.com/barbarajoy/art
13. Something Cold - Fun in the snow
Oldest grandson, Max, has fallen off his snowboard at Mount Buller snowfields in Victoria. He is not unhappy -in fact it is all lots of fun!
11-JUN-2013
14. A garden seat or bench - Artistically Designed Garden Seat
We found this seat in the Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. There were many other sculptures among the delightfully laid out gardens. One would come across a carved stone animal or an abstract wood carving.
"The magnificent 82 hectare garden supports native plants and wildlife, and has a magic and spirit that affect all who visit. The garden includes a mix of eucalypt open forest and creek-side rainforest, featuring lagoons, rocky and palm filled gullies, and the headwaters of Mountain Creek."
... Tourist guide
14-APR-2017
15. An Easter egg - Easter Blessings!
Something different because Spring flowers are not seen here in our Autumn Easter but I thought these were lovely. I found the china pots filled with tiny jonquils at our local supermarket, obviously flown straight from Holland!
I bought several for friends - such a sweet change from chocolate eggs (too much chocolate lately!!)
These flowers mean new life, new hope and are probably all that Easter means!
19-APR-2017
16. An Easter decoration - Bunny Baskets
Found in a city department store. They are filled with candy treats. I am not enthusiastic about chocolate and candy at Easter but here they are ....
17. Your flag - Australia Day Pride
Kingston,Tasmania, on Australia Day several years ago. A small boy and his yacht proudly displaying our flag.
18. Close to home - Brighton Beach
A calm sunny morning near the yacht club and marina. The sand is actually the "Dog Beach", safely enclosed and where dogs may frolic off leash. Amazing how few there are at this time. It is often crowded with happy dogs and their owners.
19. A fruit, seed or stone - Gum nuts
These particular drooping gum-nuts are about to open into spectacular red gum blossoms and will eventually lose the coloured stamens and become "pepper pots" of seeds. They are interesting at every stage of devlopent.
20. Decorative wall art - City Sculpture
On a wall on a street corner in Melbourne. I have no idea what it represents but it was quite large and eye catching.
21. Street advertising - Melbourne Comedy Festival
These banners are all over Melbourne at present, advertising the Melbourne Comedy Festival - an annual event...
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017
19-APR-2017
22. A painted surface - Laneway Street Art
23. Shoe/slipper or sandal - Posh Parisian Shoe Store
We came across a very elegant arcade in the centre of Paris and I was intrigued by the wonderful shoes displayed - all La Boutier, which I had not seen before.
They are now in most of our own up market department stores in Melbourne.
24. Your refelection - Castello Estense, Ferrara, Italy,
A moated medieval castle in Ferrara, central Italy. There were mirrors on the floor to enable a better view of the elaborately decorated ceilings.
http://www.italia.it/en/travel-ideas/art-and-history/ferrara-and-the-house-of-este.html
25. A board game - Outdoor Chess in Melbourne
We have several board games at home and i was pondering an interesting photo but then remembered this iamge taken in Melbourne's Federation Square a couple of years ago. Our family enjoys Chess and I have taught all my grandchildren to play
24-APR-2017
26. Your currency - Australian Money
All our banknotes and coins. We no longer have one or two cent coins in use. Famous Australians are featured on the banknotes and the only one to display Queen Elizabeth II is the $5. All silver coins have the Queen's head on the face and feature Ausralian animals on the reverse, but the $1 coin has five kangaroos on the reverse, while the "smaller" $2 coin features an Aboriginal head. However there are often special editions of the coins to celebrate important people or events and the reverse will have a different feature.
This display of money totals TODAY AUD $188:85
The exchange rate for other currencies TODAY is 121:52 Euro, 111:52 British pounds and US$ 142:66
All the worse for we Australian travellers!!
08-JUN-2014
27. Something sweet - Belgian Waffles
Seen in Bruges in 2014 .... a very popular treat in Belgium, offered with a choice of deliciously wicked fillings!
13-NOV-2012
28. A hand - Scribe, Kyoto, Japan
Careful and experienced hands at work. We watched this woman at work in one of the temples in Kyoto. I think she was demonstrating, with a brush and ink, Japanese lettering. Sometimes other scribes wrote prayers or votives to be rolled and placed in a special area within the temple grounds. We saw smaller rolls tied to branches, or, on other occasions, wooden plaques with messages written by various visitors and hung on strings. Many were in English and were intriguing to read.
29. Something sticky - Jam Bubbling on Stove
Every year I make plum jam from a tree load of Cherry Plums, ripe before Christmas. The finished jars of jam make good gifts for various people.
20-APR-2017
30. A tree - Mountain Ash Forest
On a recent drive east of Melbourne through Healesville and to Toolangi we saw many areas of Mountain Ash forest.
"Eucalyptus regnans, known variously as mountain ash, swamp gum, or stringy gum, is a species of Eucalyptus native to Tasmania and the state of Victoria in southeastern Australia. It is the tallest flowering plant and one of the tallest trees in the world, second to the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)." - guide
