Bluff luxury

Jill is making her presence felt

the Blue Horse and couch looking distressed, but not our Jilly

We now do a local walk twice daily.  A favourite is to Howrah Beach, the other side of Second Bluff.  There are a number of ways to get there.  One of them goes past this tempting little book cupboard.

of course this imposing house and humble letterbox amuse me

And then you're at the beach.

a generous idea

looking towards Howrah

 out to sea

looking back to Second Bluff, Bellerive

enticing steps that end at a fence!

my friends the pied oystercatchers

scallops caught at the former Gough's Butcher

(trying to replicate a dish I had with Mum at Porthgain in 2010)

Georgia and her sculpture at the opening of The School House Gallery Exhibition

the magnificent Gaia

our friend John's sculpture - the shape of the bone in one of his legs - and  his frank statement

and my sweet garden with rhododendron backdrop

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.

Evolution

My home is evolving.  For years I've been following Desire to Inspire blog and keeping a file of looks I like.  When I'm in Wales I commit to a cottage theme.  But then I also wanted a Japanese / Vietnamese theme.  And it's a small house...  And, perhaps inevitably, what's emerging is a coastal / sea vibe.  But then there's references to former houses.  So perhaps a bit boho, wabi sabi.  But more and more like home.  I now have everything of mine from the Triabunna house.  So this is it.  Let's see how it all shakes out.  I shall keep you pictorially informed but for now things are still finding their place.

As I've mentioned in a previous post I'm using gifts previously kept 'for later on'.  A lot of these gifts feature caravans - coasters, tea towels, cushion covers -

like this coaster which just makes you want to travel.  Annoying when  you're so happy at home! But think ahead.

I came across this book in my Evandale cottage and now have it from the library.  Will I ever get to the enticing place on the cover and walk up those stairs?????

But on a slightly different tack from homes, travel and caravans, I keep meaning to post this photo from my stay in Adelaide a while ago:

This image confronted me every time I caught the bus.  The irony and pathos of a homeless person camping outside this huge luxury caravan sales centre.  How lucky I am.

While there's been a lot of cleaning, thinking, changing and re-arranging, there's also been a lot of reading.

I finally read this one and better understand the title now.  The title refers both to the friend who died by suicide and the dog he left behind.  The book explores the mystery and misery of suicide to those left behind but also has a lot to say about dogs and their devotion to humans.  As a former teacher with writing ambitions, I was also intrigued by the description of the attitudes of students of writing courses.  Perplexing and worrying.

Nothing perplexing or worrying about this one, except why did I choose it?  Well, the cover of course, but also because I've been amusing myself with a seal stamp I bought in St Davids and now, when I remember, place it on the back of an envelope with a multicoloured kiss.  You'll have to wait to get a letter from me to see what I mean.

This is not one for the Floosie.  It is fantasy with a bit of mild horror thrown in.  However, as you may have guessed, it's the later adventures of Alice, now in her thirties.  It has made me want to re-read Alice in Wonderland.  I don't remember experiencing any particular horror in my reading of it (although "Off with their heads!"?????), only fascination with Alice's adventures.  Perhaps the author was influenced by the current perception of Lewis Carrol's relationship with Alice Liddell.

This one was great fun for me.  It moves from a Guest House in Cornwall to Barcelona and (spoiler alert) back again in the late 1930s.  It allowed me to retrace much of my travel through France in the 1980s.  I didn't realise at the  time how close I went to Spain and where Rosa Norte now lives.  I think the Floosie will like this one.

I am still captivated by the Perveen Mistry Murder series.  There is so much to learn here as we make our way through the challenges of race, religion and gender in India in 1921.

The weather here has been sun and showers with lots of rainbows.  I was aghast the other day to see where this one ended:

The house next door that is to be demolished and replaced by 8 conjoined units.  A pot of gold for the developer.  Today's photo looking down from the same window:

In other garden news:

looking out to Alexandra Esplanade

much the same but featuring wholesome muffin made by Hudson's Mum

the house-warming daffodils from the Floosie

Speaking of whom, a beautiful tree in the The Floosie's  garden in her former Bellerive home and when she was Mrs History.  The Big News is she'll be here in October to speak to the Bellerive History Society on its 35th Anniversary!!!