a week of welcome and wallowing

hmmmmm  I titled this blog post nearly a month ago... so will try to do a catch up.  It may be best if I start with today in honour of the Floosie who will be here next week to engross the Bellerive Historical Society with tales of how we started the Society 35 years ago.  She'll be here for a few days and I can't wait to rediscover Bellerive with her.  Today I went to a travel promotion at the Bellerive Yacht Club and afterwards Jilly Pup and I stretched our legs along the forefront.

looking towards Victoria Esplanade and Bellerive Village from the new jetty

looking to the left, Bellerive Village and a glimpse of the Floosie's former home, Glenfield

and looking towards Hobart, The Spirit of Tasmania IV and, I think, an Antarctic vessel

So now let's go back to where this post was supposed to start.  My Mum died on 30 August 2023 and would have turned 97 on 2 September 2023.

there were candles for both days

but cakes only for Mum's birthday

one of Mum's magnolias obligingly bloomed on the day

The Van Diemen's Band Winter Lunchbox Series has finished

sitting behind the same lady with beautifully cut hair, but at 2 different concerts

the final concert was magnificent with music written by Quinn (hair in bun)

and sung by the VDB Voices.  All the singers are baroque instrumentalists who have chosen to explore the link between the  human voice and those earlier instruments.

which freed me up to attend Malcolm's Tuesday Lunch at the Village and stay on for the Triabunna Tivoli.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and Georgia won the lucky door prize - a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

Sarah has visited after school

and taken Jill PD for a romp in the 'meadow' opposite.

Jill PD and I drove to Kingston during Adult Learners Week to see Jean Green Bean and Botaniko in action at the library.

here are some Botaniko members hard at work capturing their botanical treasures on paper

the Bean looking coy before her own work

and looking supremely confident after presenting her commissioned painting of The Cloth of Gold Rose to the Governor of Tasmania a while ago

Afterwards a very patient Jill recovered from the library on Kingston Beach, a dedicated Dog Beach.

snow view from bridge over Browns River, Kingston en route to dog beach

There has, of course, been reading too.

I have omitted to tell you that I have retired from my ballet career.  I don't think it was doing my body any favours...  But I saw this book during that short lived career and had to read it, not just because of those shiny shoes but also because Hildegard von Bingen considered herself a feather on the breath of God, which I think is a lovely idea.  I can't actually remember much about the book but Sigrid Nunez also wrote The Friend which I do remember.

 

I saw this book in my favourite Adelaide library and opened it expecting to be appalled - not being a maximalist.  But I loved it so ordered it from my local library so I could wallow in it.  It is the most inspirational gardening book that I have seen in a looooooong time.

I'd seen the tv series and now, having read the book, understand events much better!

More beautiful, apparently effortless, writing from Charmian but the drudgery of domestic life starts to kick in once the family is settled in its own house on Hydra, and Charmian's life is much the same as it would be in England or Australia.  Tourism and the film industry also start to take their toll on the island.

I don't know where I read about this one but I put a hold on it at the library.  I have to admit to be fascinated by the sex lives of some gay men.  That lifestyle is totally beyond my comprehension.  There is more to this story but I don't  understand the ending or the title.  It is far too modern for me.

This is something I do understand.  The power of an Espresso Martini.  Thank you Weilly Fox!

The other news is I am now fully moved into Bellerive and have Jill PD in residence.  Steve is living happily in Benalla.