You may recall that I was lucky enough to go to New York earlier in the year where I met up with my friend Mary from Canada. It was a side trip following a work visit to Washington.  I took lots of photos, but this one, taken from the top of the Empire State Building is one of my favourites, and I finally got around to having it enlarged and framed. Here it is just propped up in front of the meat safe...

Now I just have to work out where to hang the darn thing, because it's probably going to mean a major rearrangement of what's already in the living room. In fact I'm sure of it! One of the jobs that will keep me occupied and out of mischief once I get to the Christmas break :)

Here are the real creatives...over here. Pop on over if you get a chance.

I have to say that the little townhouse garden is excelling itself so far this spring...

I wouldn't call myself a brilliant gardener...I'm certainly not very knowledgeable about trees and plants and flowers...not like Sarah

But I am completely convinced of one thing...

  ...there are few things more restorative to a sad heart, a tired body or a worried brain than spending some time in a garden...

 admiring the perfect loveliness of a simple little flower and being grateful for the chance to sit for a while and just look

 even if it's only in the confines of a small courtyard garden. Actually, especially in a small space...it reminds me that we don't need all that very much to be happy.

Gardens allow us to just 'be'.

...even if that small garden is inhabited by a mad cat :)

The slayer and I send you our best wishes for a wonderful, serene weekend. Go and smell some flowers  if you can. And as Elvis says...

 This week for the first time I'm joining in with maxabella loves...

all images: a tranquil townhouse

The lovely Rachael left me a comment  the other day saying 'you do love your exhibitions!'. And it's true...I do. I definitely do.

brian duffy - jean shrimpton

While we didn't get close to seeing all 72 exhibitions when we went to the Foto Biennale in Ballarat a few weeks ago, we did manage a few. There was a brilliant retrospective of Brian Duffy, who died last year and was almost as famous as his famous subjects...

brian duffy - ziggy stardust

The next is by one of Richard's portfolio reviewers Cynthia Karalla...

We met the next photographer Heather Dinas when we were having breakfast at the Bibo cafe. She was lovely. Just as an aside, Richard chose 'the dog's breakfast' from the menu!

heather dinas - i carry your heart

 heather dinas - at your feet

heather dinas - lucretia

The next one by Judith Crispin, who is also a poet really captivated me...

 judith crispin - self diptych

judith crispin - soliloquy

judith crispin - afternoon of the cartographer

...and while I was looking at them I had a discussion with a photographer who'd also been having her work reviewed, about how I thought it was the height of laziness for an artist to label an image 'untitled'. And then she told me that's what she did! But she was very good about it and promised to think about what I'd said and why I thought titles were so important. I wonder if she went off muttering to herself about ill informed, amateur art critics! Probably. But, you know, it's all about the words for me, and how they can enhance the visual. Although I do concede that it's probably very easy to get it wrong.

Love, love, love these next ones by Lisa M Robinson. It's not often that the bloke I and agree on art, but we did with these from the Snowbound series...

 lisa m robinson - phantom

 lisa m robinson - verandah view

 lisa m robinson - running fence

lisa m robinson - echo

alfred 'greg' gregory - blackpool

There's still a few more weeks of the festival. Or if you can't get there, plenty of images on the website.
What do you think - titled or untitled?

Have a great weekend whatever it is you're doing...I might just go to another exhibition :))

Hi there friends. I've been a bit absent I know, but I've been popping in and out of bloggy world whenever there's been a chance. I wouldn't want you to think it's been complete neglect. No, not at all.

One of the reasons for my absence was a lovely four day break in Ballarat. Although to be precise it was one day driving there, two days in situ and another day getting home. It's a long way between Canberra and Ballarat, it is indeed!

We went for the Foto Biennale. Richard was having his portfolio reviewed so I went along for the ride...and yes, he got some great feedback and encouragement to carry on. Yes, very pleased about that :)

But oh the irony, here we were in a lovely town for a photo festival and I hardly took any snaps. This meagre offering is it I'm afraid. 

Oh well. Next time. And maybe I'll show you some of my favourite works from the 72 exhibitions in another post. Yes I will. Hold me to that. There was some very fine stuff and it's definitely worth looking at. 

Oops...a bit late this week.

seen on abigail ahern

Work. Don't ask.

seen on decorology

Consequently, a smallish collection...

seen on the style files

only five...

seen on pretty space tumblr

but...there's a bonus...

seen on the diversion project

A few weeks ago...in one of my regular top ten posts...there was this picture...

by peta rudd and seen on the design files

It was of a very cool Canberra house, and as I said in that post, yes...Canberra can do cool. Not often. But sometimes...

by peta rudd

It certainly does cool people, because Peta Rudd, the photographer and stylist and artist who took that shot wrote to me and very politely, incredibly politely in fact, asked if I wouldn't mind crediting her as the photographer in that post. Hell yes, hang my head in shame, of course I wouldn't mind. So I did. You can go back and check if you don't believe me :)

peta rudd

I felt really bad that I hadn't done it in the first place. You know me...always running on empty, trying to get posts up, do the very busy day job, to say nothing of the Cert IV (yes, let's say nothing about that!), wanting to do stuff around the townhouse, drag out the sewing machine, the crochet hooks, the knitting needles, the brushes...yada, yada, yada...

peta rudd

So I thought the next best thing was to highlight some of Peta's work for you to see...and so I have. It's a bit lovely isn't it. You can find more of her stuff here and here. Phew, one thing done that I told myself I'd do. 

peta rudd

Only eleventy-seven more to go! But they'll have to wait. I'm off to watch MasterChef :)

Every Friday Chania from Razmataz has a photo challenge. This week's was to photograph your dresser...

which was slightly problematic for me...

as I don't have one. Did you see the frou-frou juju in the mirror...never mind...another look coming up. It still makes me laugh every time I look at it :)

So I thought I'd photograph the closest thing I have, which is a bookcase I rescued from the bottom part of my bedroom when I started doing up the boring beigedom that I inherited from the previous owners. I painted it of course. I painted the mirror too.

Chania wanted us to keep it real...but quite frankly you weren't going to get it in its untidied state...the fake silk flowers might disturb you enough! And I didn't straighten that world history book either. Or take out the unpainted ikea box. Never mind. 
...and as it's now Saturday, clearly you weren't going to get it on time either...the post I mean.

I use the mirror and the top of the bookcase to deposit the jewellery I've taken off...so quite a bit of it lives here permanently. It's handy and just a little bit decorative. On a good day. 

There are always books...and of course you know by now that there's no room in my house that doesn't have a buddha! 
Pop on over to Chania's to have a sticky at other people's dressers. Or better still, take some photos of yours and link up :)