Lucky old Canberra had another long weekend...two in a row...we're a bit spoilt aren't we :)  But then again we have politicians to contend with on far too many weeks of the year so I guess it evens out.  I did a lot of stuff around the house and went to an exhibition, because you know I love both of those things.

The exhibition was the Fred Williams Retrospective at the National Gallery of Australia...seriously one of my favourite places in the universe. And I have to say that I think this was one of the best exhibitions I've seen for a while. Did you know that Fred Williams was the first Australian ever to have a solo exhibition at MoMA? No, I didn't either.  Beautiful, beautiful work...the colours were spectacular.

 

 

 

 

Click on the NGA link above to see lots more.
I came home with stuff...thank goodness the 100 day challenge is well and truly over! The exhibition catalogue was a must...Buffy says hi...and that's the last orchid spray there too.

An elk necklace...I have been after one of these for ages so I had to get it when I saw it. I have no idea what it was doing with Fred's stuff but I didn't question :) And a fridge magnet. I love fridge magnets. Do you?

My very good friends Chris and Terry came and helped take the faded green fibreglassy stuff off the pergola (I have no idea what it's called apart from ugly). Well to be honest, Terry did the hard bit while Chris and I fetched and carried. It didn't take long. Terry's toolkit rivals a Bunnings warehouse with a gadget for every house or garden issue imaginable. The courtyard looks so much better...

Now the wisteria just needs to do it's work and get over the pergola. It will let so much more light into the living room in winter now too without the horrible green stuff. I also picked up the drill once or twice myself over the weekend...attached a hose reel to the back wall and moved the automatic water timer thingy to a more convenient position...and look...a coat rack courtesy of Ikea, me and a power tool. 

Quite pleased. Probably shouldn't have left my boots lying higgedly piggedly on the floor though. Never mind.

Well, this is a first for me, posting a picture of flowers on a friday :)

The lavender is from the courtyard mess garden which is slowly getting a spruce up for summer...I've given up on spring...this weather is ludicrous.
Anyway, it's another long weekend in the nation's capital and rain is forecast...what a surprise!
Still, I won't complain, and thanks to the lavender by my bed I'm assured of a very good night's sleep.
Have a wonderful weekend, long or otherwise, and thank you for spending some time with me this week. I love it when you do that :)

Sorry. A teeny bit late...

I thought that for a bit of a change, I'd give you an insight into what attracts me to the images I choose each week. What the first thing I notice is, because it will be different for each of us I'm sure. A scary look inside my brain!

No.1: textiles first, then books, art and windows. I don't like the blue coffee table, the toadstool or the creepy stuffed fawn, or the white side table in front of the tan sofa. Actually, I'd change quite a lot now I think about it!

 No. 2: the layered art and the interesting mirrored console/drinks thingy/whatever it is...

 No. 3: definitely the mirror, the black and white palette and the frilly shower curtain. The bath mat does nothing for me...I'd have a persian rug :)

 No. 4: the neon sign,the light boxes and the multiple lights...the quirk if you like. I'm not sure that I'd be doing the whole x-ray thing myself...perhaps something a little less confronting and a bit softer displayed on them to take some of the highly industrial edge off the room.

 No. 5: the art, the sofa and the zebra ottomans (or ottopersons as we call them in the tranquil townhouse...which reminds me, I have to recover mine but definitely not in zebra!)

 No. 6: the fact that it's a covered verandah...I am quite obsessed with verandahs...and that fireplace at the end. I'd have a lovely squishy armchair in here instead of a table and chairs though. Imagine escaping with a good book and hiding in here.

 No. 7: the art, especially the colours, the battered copper jug and just the elegant simplicity of the whole shebang

No. 8: that end wall and its little nook. It takes a simple and lovely kitchen into another place. I love it. Not sure about the three bottles at the end of the bench, but let's not be too picky.

No. 9: the windows, the height of the ceiling and the rustic table. It appears I have a bit of a thing for white kitchens. Actually, I think I do...I need to do something about mine pronto!

Hmm, no No. 10...never mind.

So, did you notice the things I did, or do you have a different take on what you pay attention to and what draws you in? 

images found, in order: architectural digest via design manifest; design manifest; design sponge; desire to inspire; lonny via brabourne farm; the decorista; the design files; driftwood interiors; 16 house

Happy day off to you, if you're having a public holiday that is. I am :)

I've been making friends with my new DeLonghi Pixie, its friend the milk frother and a vast array of Nespresso capsules that are a complete mystery to me. Alas, it didn't come with the optional George Clooney accessory, but it makes a mighty fine coffee nonetheless.

There's been much sorting, chucking out and organising of jewellery going on this weekend. And a bit of footie watching in between. It's been great weather to stay inside. And there may have been a bit of reading as well. Only right :)

Can you honestly believe that it's the end of September already? I'm sure it was only February five minutes ago!
I feel like I've been a reading machine this month, and boy, it's given me so much pleasure. And it seems my 'make reading a priority' message last month resonated with some of you too. I'm really happy about that. Of course, all this reading hasn't done much for my writing practice! But still, I'll take my pleasures where I can get them.
So, here's this month's book list...ten tomes. I've even impressed myself :)

The Contest by Matthew Reilly - sci-fi thriller

The Secret River by Kate Grenville - historical fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - fiction

Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott - non fiction/memoir

The People on Privilege Hill by Jane Gardam - short stories

The Writing Book by Kate Grenville - non fiction

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote - fiction

Marrying George Clooney by Amy Ferris - nonfiction/memoir

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey - historical fiction

The Tall Man: death and life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper - non fiction

It was quite a mixed bag this month; a bit of science fiction (The Contest) which I normally don't read, but have to admit I enjoyed - it was a page turner but not particularly deep and meaningful! Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The non-fiction/memoir selection was a bit disappointing to be honest. Not bad, but I expected more.
The fiction books were all sensational and I would find it very hard to select a favourite. I really enjoyed re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It was required reading for my writing course and I loved it. It never grows old. I'd never read Breakfast at Tiffany's before this...how did that happen!  Kate Grenville is a brilliant Australian author and I love reading anything she writes, but this month the fiction pick has to go to another Australian, Peter Carey. His novel about two highly unlikely companions who travel to the new world is full of delicious detail and hugely fascinating characters. Loved it a lot and I especially loved reading about New York at its genesis.
But for me, the pick of the month was The Tall Man. The story of the death in custody of aboriginal man Cameron Doomadgee on Palm Island in 2004 and the events that took place after, including a riot on the island and the trial of Senior Sgt Chris Hurley, this is a book that stays with you. I couldn't put it down. It was interesting to read The Secret River earlier in the month, a story that told of a massacre of Aborigines in the early days of the colony...and two centuries later, the injustices continue. The book paints a sad picture of a remote community. I visited an aboriginal community on Cape York a few years ago and spent one of the best weeks of my life there. In that eight days I saw both the worst and the best and considered it an enormous privilege just to have been there, but that's a story for another day. This book is not an easy read in terms of the subject matter, but it is a must read in my view. A review of the book can be found here.
So there you have it. It's a long weekend here. Bet you can't guess what I'll be doing :)

Surprisingly for me...

modern kitchen design by other metros architect Andre laurent seen on houzz

few words today...

just pictures...

bit knackered...and it's only Wednesday

enjoy possums :)

images seen on: houzz; apartment therapy; desire to inspire; 10 rooms; an indian summer; tiny white daisies; the city sage; wish you were here; design is mine; bohemian homes

It's Monday again, a day that comes around far too quickly for my liking. There was a time in my life that I lived for Mondays...sad but true. But not anymore. Nope, those days are blessedly gone. Quite often I have to work on the weekend. Not as in actually attending a workplace somewhere, but more a case of finishing something to meet a deadline that hasn't been able to be achieved during the working week.
But not this weekend. This weekend I did things just for pleasure, and it was good :)

Friday night was a movie, free, courtesy of a double pass win from the ACT Writer's Centre...the Fred Schepisi adaptation of the Patrick White novel The Eye of the Storm...brilliant stuff.

As soon as we stepped out of the movies I hightailed it across the street to a favourite bookshop The Paperchain in Manuka and bought the book. I haven't read Patrick White since the enforced reading of The Tree of Man in high school.  He's easier to read when you're a bit more grown up I've found. Loving the book. It's scary reading a book after you've seen the movie don't you think? There's almost always disappointment one way or the other, but it doesn't seem to be the case with this story. Movie and book are both excellent.

It was lousy weather on the weekend so I did a lot of reading and I even had an afternoon nap on Saturday. I never do that! It may have been because I was a bit exhausted after hoofing it around the Lifeline Spring Book Fair. I came home with a few pre-loved books...20 to be exact...but such a bargain, ending up at around $4 a book. Yep, definitely a bargain :)

A trip to the Grower's Market near my place on Sunday morning yielded the week's supply of baby spinach, rocket and coriander and some plants for my new veggie patch from Bunnings that I put together last weekend...all by myself with only a few minor injuries involving a concrete paver.

 

And hallelujah the wisteria is finally sprouting. About time!

And last week's poppies hung in there really well and can now be joined by this week's new bunch from the markets...seven bucks well spent.

Do you like ivy? I know some people don't, but I love it. My grandma's name was Ivy, so perhaps that's why. This has appeared over the courtyard wall and there's no way I'm getting rid of it. I'll just have to be vigilant and not sit on the bench for too long lest I be strangled by it!

And the orchid was disappointing this year...a bit ratty, but still lovely in all its imperfection.

And before I forget, because I can be such a lame-brain sometimes, a big thank you to Jennifer, the blog mistress over at A Sampler who gave me the versatile blogger award a few weeks ago. 

Please go and visit Jennifer...she's a writer and a reader (so you can see the attraction!), who, as she puts it "fled the film and TV industry a few years ago to give motherhood a second whirl...". Gotta love that!
I hope the week ahead brings lovely things your way.

I can be quite opinionated. I won't lie. But I don't get on my soapbox much. Really, I don't. 

But yesterday I saw this...

and it really got on my goat; goats having horns 'n all.
In Australia there has been much recent debate after commentator Mia Freedman dared to say we shouldn't call Cadel Evans (Aussie winner of the Tour de France) a hero.  I agree with her, totally, although her timing may have been a bit off. Misuse of the word hero has long been one of my pet hates. To prove, I previously wrote about it here...
And while Jonathan Adler may be a design guru, and I dare say some will be ludicrous enough to call him a design 'hero', I really wish he or his marketing minions wouldn't use a word with as much gravitas as heroic to label a porcelain horn or three. Please leave it to describe acts of courage, which this is not, unless of course people hate them. If that's the case then I can probably think of a few other words, like dopey.
This hijacking of hero/heroine/heroic makes me crazy!
They are quite nice though, those horns :)
Have a lovely weekend while I put my soapbox away in the attic. Which I don't have. Wouldn't mind one though.