Learn something new every day!

Some time back I saw a beautiful Chinese film set in a boarding kindergarten.  The children all had split pants and when they wanted to go to the toilet, they squatted over a drain.  I'd never heard of such a thing, so of course googled it and came up with lots of photos.  Here is one:

Tell me, did YOU know about this?

Ordinary life

Ordinary life, is, of course, exactly what I want.  Even so, it's always busy, and just getting through a day is taxing enough.  I recently dragged out all my sewing gear to make this hat for Emma:

She loves pink and flowers, so this fabric was the obvious choice and the reversible side is different coloured stripes (leftover from the summer dress I made her last year).


Frank and Winifred, it's always good to find your comments.


I spoke to the Finnish lass and her grandmother this morning and am looking forward to meeting them both soon.


Am off to HeartMoves (exercise class) shortly, after which I'll take Emma and her hat to the  park over the road.

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Yesterday I drove two friends from Hornsby to Palm Beach, as far east as you can go.  I loved the fact that ducks wander round freely, drinking from a cut-off milk bottle some thoughtful person has put there for them, at the foot of high hills sprinkled with million-dollar houses.  Check it out for yourself on this website, where you'll get lots of views as well:  
http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/property-house-in-palm+beach%2c+nsw+2108%3b+/list-1

The foundations of this round house amaze me - they look just like matchsticks!


There's no doubt about the ingenuity of mankind.

Spring brings out the best in us all

Had a beautiful weekend - Hugo's birthday on Sat, then lunch chez a friend who lives in a magnificent home overlooking the ocean.  We sat down at table at 1pm and were still there at almost 7pm.  There were 10 of us and we had to shout to be heard, the conversation was so animated!  Here's the view from the balcony of their three-level home::

It was a hazy day, so you can't see the ocean very well, but it's there!  This is where the Hawkesbury River, that begins near our house, runs into the sea.

Here's another pic by a professional:

Where does time go?

While I've been busy doing other things, this blog site has been updated, which probably means I'll get lost.  Anyway, here goes!

So far, so good.  This lovely pic of indoor geraniums belongs to Olga's aunt, who lives in a village in Russia.  I had never seen geraniums indoors before.  I'm planning something colourful for my place, but with little sun till late afternoon it's going to be difficult.


Olga was so impressed with my last blog, she came down by train to visit David Jones to see for herself, and I was more than pleased to go again.  Here are a few more pics:

Winifred and Frank, you've both won prizes for your flowers, but I doubt you have the thousands of dollars of DJs at your disposal!  I don't think anybody could beat this annual show.  I can't even begin to imagine how they do it!  The flowers were just as fresh on Day 10 as they were on Day 1.

Sydney in spring

Every year David Jones puts on a flower show.  No words needed.

Time is what stops everything happening at once.

I think I've used this quote before - it really amazes me how life seems to flow steadily and everything doesn't happen at once!

People are coming and going all over the world.  Philip's father (from LA) arrived upstairs on Friday for a fortnight and my sister and niece left on Monday.  They were meant to go to New York, but with the hurricane they might have to stay in LA.  Then they'll go on to London.

A Newcastle friend spent the day with me on Friday while her husband headed for Madrid (having recently got back from Bonn).  These lovely white roses were brought by another Newcastle friend on Saturday:

On Sunday I drove a Sydney friend to Fingal Bay (188 km each way) for our annual delicious curry luncheon.  The hostess, as well as one of the guests, has just got back from UK and other parts.

What GFC? one may well ask.

The old and new

I took this the other day when I went into the city to sell a gold bracelet.  I was thrilled with the price I got, and decided to use the money for special treats.  So far I've bought two necklaces with it.  The building is the General Post Office (GPO).  In times past, the whole place was used by the postal department, but nowadays only a small part is, with the rest  given over to shops and restaurants.  It's the same the world over - the old buildings are so beautiful, compared to the boring glass and steel of the new ones.


Your Paris photos are soooo beautiful, Michael.  I've never seen such interesting shots of the Eiffel Tower - you make it look like lace.  (The second lot are still downloading.)


Frank, that morning in the Rose Cafe I had scrambled eggs, bacon and tomato on toast.  There was enough food for about four people and I had to leave some, unfortunately.  Next time we will ask for half serves.

Another favourite cafe

Can you have more than one favourite?  I'll have to check the grammar books.  I don't really think so, so I will qualify this by place.  This one is in Goulburn - Australia's first inland city - where my sister lives.  I went there by train on Thursday and came back on Friday.  We went to this heavenly cafe for breakfast.

It's almost next door to the courthouse and as we walked past I wanted to take a photo but   couldn't, as it was pouring rain, so here's one from the Web for you:

Check out these photos:  http://www.photographsofaustralia.com/index.html


Goulburn was in drought for years, with severe water restrictions, and now it seems to do nothing but rain.

Another day, another little trip

A few days ago I went to meet a friend in a place called Woy Woy (where Spike Milligan lived). It's about 30 minutes north of Hornsby by train, along a very scenic route:

The wattle is so pretty at this time of year (though this is slightly out of focus as I took it from the moving train).

The whole journey is through high bushland, then down beside the Hawkesbury River (which begins very close to our house, in the opposite direction).

This is the local pub, a rather quaint building.


To my eye, nothing is as beautiful as Britain and Europe, though the Australian bush does have its charm.  No castles or cathedrals or pretty thatched villages, though.  Michael, thanks for your email - I'm just about to download the photos, which, as usual, will be amazing!