Hobart 1

I arrived on Wednesday evening.

 Jake and Sarah's house in lovely Battery Point.

 The park at the back of the house.

 The garden at the back of the house.

And the same with the nearly full moon.

Next morning we walked to Sarah's school, looking out for the cats

and having a chat en route.

The Stranger

and other New York stuff.  Steve and I had a bit of a Billy Joel festival a couple of weeks ago, so I was not overly surprised to look up during my Sunday phone call to Mum to see

 

Cuppla looks

Photo on left (can't separate them - they're Karen Walker sunglasses, images accessible from http://www.thewomensroomblog.com/2014/01/31/karen-walker-does-it-again-for-spring-2014/ ) is an ultimate look as far as I'm concerned.

And I know a beachbabe fashionista who could easily get away with this...  And make the coat too.

I think it's a photo of Scarlett Johansson (sp?).  From same link.

It's hot and I'm amusing myself.

Australia Day weekend

It's Australia Day and Sunday so I had to wash the car.  I'm at Mum's and used a bucket and chamois and shared the water with a very parched garden.  I have been very good at keeping New Year Resolutions in the last few years and am very pleased with the results.  The car washing one is the one I can't achieve.  Last year I managed one wash - in January.  I'm only trying for 2 - 4 each year because I think it's a daft waste of time and resources.  However...  It's also the anniversary of this blog.   I don't have access to a computer as I write (using a notepad and beautiful pencil - to be transposed later [now]) to check how long it's been running.
It's proving to be a beautifully lazy day.  Mum's reading a book set in Pembrokeshire and I'm reading The Hobbit which my Dad read to Helen and me as children in England.
Yesterday evening we went to Brighton to see the sculptures.  We had fish and chips on the forefront amidst the buzz of promenaders and dogs.  Lovely to feel the sea air and the buzz.

 Here's the winning entry.

Here's Mum at the most important entry - David's.

Here's one with a sense of deja vu - plate glass...

Perhaps not the most visually pleasing - Weighting for Godot.

Amusing, n'est ce pas?

One for Bronny and her Mum - Everlasting Love.

My favourite - a bendy dog.

One of Mum's favourites.

One of the media's favourites.

 And my particularly arty phone shot into the sun.

Whiling away time while waiting for the fish and chips with dozens of other people.

Our Mercato bought lunch on Australia Day. Little ripper.

National Hat Day

 If Ari Seth Cohen says it's National Hat Day, who am I to argue?  He's from NY.
Lady Jayne has got into the spirit: 'I had on my usual straw hat this morning to walk Gilby and an old McLennon (sic) Cup hat to water my treasures. I have donned Bill's Pakistani hat in your honour.'
Which reminded me of a photo I'd seen recently while searching for something else.

Me in the Philippines a few years ago.
I didn't buy the hat but was convinced to buy one of the skirts hanging on the fence.
And looking through the archives, I found this.
  

The Big MSG Shaker.
I wonder if it's still there.
As I wonder if there are still fields of plastic bags 'recycled' from other parts of the world.
Looks may fade but cynicism never.

not just cake

but shortbread too.  And a nice cup of Wedgwood tea.

Thank you Mum and Bron.

Mother knows best

For a while the kitchen looked the Christmassyest part of the house.
I had intended to clean, polish and hang the star candleholders...
The beautiful cloth is an Elizabeth David inspired teatowel that came with my Folio Society Diary.  Beneath it lies the bread Steve made last night - a big treat when you're no-carbs.  I suggested to Steve that we have tomatoes on toast for lunch but we nobly decided to stick with the ham and turkey.

We've been doing a sort of gift-tease - opening a present every cuppla hours.  Imagine my delight when I discovered this Bayliss Muscat Gourmet Cake from Mum.  Mum has never really got the idea of a carb-free diet, thank goodness.  You wait till you see the treat I've promised myself for tomorrow.

The white lantern is the prototype for the hundreds I was going to make to festoon the tree outside our house for the street party last night...  You can also see I managed to crochet one more Christmas Tree.  When I saw the wool I thought it would make a delightful forest of trees in the colours of the Northern Lights.  I'm more of an ideas person.

My poorly straightened and cropped photo does not do justice to the calendar Tamasin made.  The photos are beautiful, capturing exquisite decorative and design details.  The text is a joy to read.