I see red

I was going to regale you with tales from our Tai Chi Chinese New Year celebration but, as usual, I was having such a good time that I forgot to take any photos. While we usually tai chi at the Community Health Centre, for this auspicious occasion we went to The Colonial restaurant and danced in their gardens under a large oak tree.  Then, I must admit, some had coffee and a couple of us had Jantz.  Most of us wore red hoping to attract good luck in the Year of the Rat.  It was lovely tai chi-ing out of doors.  The downside was we couldn't hear the music and another punter, tourist, apparently needed to talk with his stockbroker, or similar while we zenned.  But I feel filled with oak tree chi (and  little Jantz) ready to face the rest of the year.

In my own garden, this little poppy offsets the corn tassle.

We've had 3 days with the Red Umbrella in the garden, but only one day when we left it fully unfurled all day.

And, in a little upwomanship aimed at that cycle tour racing nut and reporter, Fleurieu Floosie, my friend Gisela gave me a photo of her son-in-law, John Degenkolb.  Apparently he is now with Lotto Soudal.  Check him out https://www.facebook.com/johndegenkolb/

Totally unrelated to red but giving me an inner glow, is this note someone left in the honesty box at the Gatehouse.

Top night in Tribes

Fran at the mike, Pan and Ange

Leah and new lady to town

Only know these ladies by sight

Top birds, Cheryl and Chris

Phillipa on the right and a lady I don't know but I want her hair

Jenny and Gail

Pan and Ange

Leah's groovy shoe heels and worn out own heels - she's just  back from Boot Scooting in Tamworth

The two unknown to me but well known to most of the audience

The fabulous  Chris and Cheryl - they are so gorgeous

Lady with fabulous hair and Philippa

Jenny and Gail.  Steve's art on wall behind them

Ange and Pan, the 2 great horse lovers.  Steve's art behind them

New lady and Leah,

the only ones sporting tatts

The 2 unknowns and a glimpse of Her Majesty's tunic

The two lovelies, Cheryl and Chris

Philippa and the lady with the lovely hair, swept up this time

Gail and Jenny

Last items - Ange and Pan

The finale

Final strut en masse

and back again

It has been a great evening.  Unfortunately numbers were down this time.  Some people chose to go to the bingo instead!!!!!

Perfect Day(s)

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life.  It was the inaugural Spring Bay Mill Sunflower Celebration.  I had volunteered to co-ordinate the stall for the Pulchella Community Nursery Landcare Group.  While there were some activities at the Mill site, the horticultural stuff took place at Paddy's, the Mill's produce growing area.  A bush track had been created to link the 2 areas and there was also a shuttle bus.  They do things well.

Here's a glimpse from where I spent most of the day.

Lots of people turned up for Tino Carnevale's garden talks.  Marcus Ragus also pulls a crowd.  He is the garden and landscaping guru for the Mill, and runs his own design company Verdant Way

Our tent is the one on the right.  Les Payne brought plants from the original Pulchella Nursery and was greeted like a long lost hero.  My job was to promote the new Pulchella Community Nursery Landcare Group which was created around November last year and will raise local native plants for sale, and provide workshops so that people can learn to gather and propagate their own native plants and seeds.  I had a trusty band of volunteers to help me, and we were very well looked after by the Mill - provided with lunch and coffee.  Things got quiet around 3pm so I joined the Bush Tucker walk and learned so much.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day.

This morning I woke up  and felt like toast for breakfast.  And realised I must have vegemite because it's AUSTRALIA DAY!!!!

And now for a short tour around the garden.  Above is orach and an alleged iceberg lettuce.

Yippee.  Yippee.  Yippee.  Figs!

I have a new plan for some irises so am getting them ready for a transplant.  It amused me to see them in the bowl - looks like they're climbing out of the primordial swamp.
There have been enquiries about The Red Market Umbrella.  I suggested to Steve that it could have its own blog.  He laughed wrily...  So here's today's chapter.

Fixing some spokes.  At least the ones that Steve fixed last time have held.  The original spokes are too weak for the size of the canopy, which is like a spinnaker once the wind gets under it.

As Steve was sitting quietly, endeavouring to fix the brolly so we could have it up for Chinese New Year, a totally unforecast rain squall came through.  What does it all mean???

We retired to eat silverside sangers made with slup-slup bread.  Very Australian.

Happy Australia Day.

and

Happy Year of the Rat

XXXX

The Big Time

Yesterday, big excitement in Orford.  The stage was set, and the piano shone golden.

The man himself arrived and Cheryl, Kath and I, who happened to be passing as he alighted from his car, each got hugs and kisses.

TBH I'd never heard of the man and jazz piano is not my thing but I like to support whatever comes to town, and Steve was genuinely enthusiastic.  Unfortunately, Steve was in too much back pain to attend so I went solo and sat next to Liz (obviously not sister Elizabeth) whose husband also was too ill to attend.  To my astonishment the hall was packed.  Kirk only played for an hour (which was enough from my perspective) but the audience seemed thrilled.  He is a very likeable man but, to me, his music is about impeccable technique and self-indulgence as the player takes the music to wherever he feels like.  It was a bit like Spics and Specks where you have to identify the number being played on only the sketchiest clues.  I need a bit more hum along melody.  Pleb.

'What!', I hear you exclaim, 'Bruce Springstein was there too?'  No no no no no, this is Steve getting dried fruit and nuts for his tea,  I, however, had some of the spanokopita I had made, with home grown tomatoes and a bubbly.  Note Gold Bunny.

Starting Over

You may recall the John and Yoko song from the Double Fantasy album (dim dark history).  I always liked it and it seemed to describe my relationship with Steve prior to the stroke.  The song keeps earworming me now that I have come to the Z of the alphabet posting - nothing left (and curiously Jools Oh contacted me today for the first time in months). I have toyed with the idea of future posts about people who have influenced me.  I got excited when I was working with the Zampatti idea and realised I could work backwards through designers:  Zampatti, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, etc.  Perhaps I could just work the alphabet backwards.  Numbers, perhaps?  Or maybe there'll be no theme.  I'm still thinking.
The Floosie terrified me with her My New Garden blog post .  I couldn't imagine starting a garden from scratch.

This book fell into my hands at PUBS and, though I have my garden mapped in my mind and it is approaching reality, I found this book quite thought provoking.

And then I got this book recently from Rosa Norte in Spain.  I had seen it when the original first came out but, mostly having had largish gardens, hadn't really thought it necessary.  This second edition has miraculously arrived at just the right moment because I had decided to start the vegie garden all over again, and now I have a guide.  I intend to build up the soil quality over winter, and then keep the productive garden beds small but intensively cropped.

Yesterday was both the 20th anniversary of the stroke and our 19th wedding anniversary.  When Steve came over to Triabunna in 2014 to check out the housing situation and the likelihood of us enjoying living here, he rang me excitedly one evening to report that there was a  fish van on the waterfront and people were sitting at tables drinking wine and eating fish and chips.  'You'll love it here', he said, and he was right.  So yesterday we had fish and chips from The Fish Van for our anniversary dinner.

Z is for Zero

I couldn't quite get Z.  I had just about decided on Zampatti and Zucchini when I noticed that I'm currently surrounded by zeros.   The first clue came when I realised I had started this blog on Australia Day 2010.  So a 10 year anniversary on Sunday. Tomorrow (21/1/20) will be 20 years since Steve had the stroke - what he called his own Millennium Bug.

And then there's this book I'm ploughing on with while reading other books in between.  It is a fascinating book and I'm learning a lot but I can't sympathise, or empathise, with someone who just needs to buy Shakespeare First Folios regardless of cost.  I think the title is a little misleading.  I was expecting a detective type hunt to find a First Folio.  But no, once he had one, he had to have more, ie obsessive hunt for Shakespeare's First Folios.  I guess you can get addicted to anything, but I'm not addicted to this book and have to read it in instalments.

So to take a break from all those 000000s, Jill PD and I went to Stapleton Beach today looking for the perfect rocks for a new project I have in mind.

There are many to chose from,

though a hovering Maria Island proves a distraction

and a certain dog would rather be chasing sticks through the water.

I was rather taken with this petrified flop-eared rabbit.

This sort of venture is what the Crocs are all about.

And here are the chosen ones.  Not exactly what I was looking for but potential, potential - for nothing will come of nothing.