Happy Australia Day !!!!! Now we are one.

A whole year of blogging and I have enjoyed it.  Here's Australia Day in Wentworth.  A bit different this year.  The ceremony was held in the Town Hall this year for fear of where the floods may be up to by now.

A bit more mellow than last year with its water-propelled rocket launch at the junction!  Wilder outside our place.

 Something different at the Royal

And as for the floods...

The lower part of the wharf is under water - much to Sis's confusion.  And the bench looks a little lonely.

The flood waters are expected to reach Mildura in about 3 weeks.  Wentworth will be a little after that.  The Shire boys haven't put up the levee system on Wharf Street yet so there's no panic.  It is a little surreal when the evening news says the 'inland sea is moving northwards and westwards' across Victoria.  And amusing to see my blog on 30 January last year...

Happy Anniversary

Thank  you to Ella for getting me to look for photos.  Ella was my bridesmaid 10 years ago.

The rivers are on the rise

Not very meaningful for most of you.  This is the road to Snake Island which is between the two rivers.  Here the Murray is nearly up to the road.

This is the other side of the road - don't know if it is the Murray seeping under the road or the Darling seeping towards the Murray.

This is the boat ramp on the Darling at Wharf Road behind our place.  The objects beside the tree are a bench, log railings and a sign.  After all this excitement it's nice to come home to our beautiful house.

 I love this view when the roller-door goes up.  I always feel I am entering an enchanted castle.  And tonight I had the perfect summer tea.

Red Sky at night

Georgia's blog featured some beautiful red CT sunrises recently.  Then one night last week out walking the dogs, I noticed our brilliant sunset.

Looking west:  the shops opposite us on Darling Street.  The place with the fairy lights is Jade Temby's Gallery, a lovely little cafe cum gallery serving organic coffee.

Looking south down Darling Street towards the Artback Gallery and the caravan park.  I'd left it too late to capture the sky behind our gallery. When I went inside and up to my room, this was the view through the verandah window to the west.

Smalls

I have started on my NY resolution.

Cunningly I timed my spree with the January sales.  Pleased as I am with the purchases, I'm intrigued.  I had a bra fitting in England (wearing sports bras or no bra for years made this a little daunting and the sort of thing I could only do on holiday) 40B.  The 2011 me walked boldly into Bras n Things in Mildura and got another fitting 14E.  How is this possible?  I think of myself as 14B, so perhaps I'm right.
Look at my Chrissy presents from Georgia

It's the print at the back - my cottage on the cliff at Porth Clais that one day will be mine...  Currently the print is reclining on the mantelpiece in my bedroom awaiting a bedroom makeover.  But there was more.

Much more actually.  But I am besotted with this seal who now basks blissfully in my blue bowl.  It is such a perfect memento of our time in Wales together.

I keep my marbles in the other blue bowl...

Good so far

I was munching on my croissant in the garden in the shade this morning and wondering what images I could use to capture the year so far.  Harping back to my previous post, I wanted to share with you another incident at the gym on New Year's Eve.  The Billy Joel song 'Days to Remember' came on.  I've always liked this song and used to use it myself for a final stretch routine when I took aerobics classes in Bellerive (it is a very old song).  This time I caught the lines 'And so we embrace again behind the dunes / This beach is so cold on winter afternoons / but holding you close is like holding the summer sun. / I'm warm from the memories of days to come.'  This, of course, is a very nice idea and very relevant to Bellerive but I also realised that it is what gardening is all about.  So I thought of the beautiful Mermaid rose I bought on the way home from the gym.  E voila.  Here it is.  I have read that it was Monet's favourite rose and I've always wanted one.  Feeling very pleased with myself as I drove (I'd also bought some new towels in a sale - first new ones for about 10 years...), I was thinking what would make the day happy for Steve.  Selling a painting, I thought.  When I got home, he had sold one of his Sand Series.  So another good reason for a glass of bubbly.  And then, exhausted from all this early morning thinking, I realised that the table illustrated how I like my life to be.

At which point Steve came in to say he'd sold another painting - a dog portrait this time.  May the year continue in this vein.