postcard from darwin

and the connection still mulishy refuses to upload photos...

but we arrived in darwin yesterday and it is lushly, languidly, luxuriously warm...... we are staying in an amazing breezy house surrounded by palm trees, greenery and the sort of bird sounds i thought only existed on relaxation tapes.

there are real coconuts growing on the trees, curlews stroll down the street in the evenings, dinner is taken on the verandah and there is a stately black cat to make you feel really at home....

i could stay here for much longer than a week.

off to explore

postcard from alice

a few snap shot moments from oop north

• being kissed by a blue tongued lizard being hugged by a snake, stroking a bearded dragon (see the fillum on the scrumpster's blog)

• family being (barely) patient while i squatted in the dust and rubbed red dirt into silk and khadi paper

• being beautifully warm - kids in the pool until blue and shivering

• abandoning microwave gum leaf dyeing after scorching exhibit a and drawing ire from the family

• marvelling at the rocks, the colours and the textures in the west macdonnell ranges - the ochre pits ellery creek big hole and trephina gorge in the east macdonnells

• w sustained some minor injuries during some uluru induced jocundity

• flying over uluru and kata tjuta in my first helicopter ride (which was fantastic - i didn't want to get out)

photos will have to wait i'm afraid - the connection keeps choking on them....

going, going....

• all packed and almost ready to go.....
• the scrumpster and miss em left on wednesday and are in coober pedy tonight.
• we fly to alice springs tomorrow
• i am so tired that i am reduced to dot points
• goo' night

getting excited - at last

well the realisation that a holiday looms finally hit this morning - this time next week we'll be in alice springs for 10 days and then darwin for i can't remember how many days. but they'll all be warm :)

work has been so intense i have been focused on getting through all i have to do before shedding that particular skin an being just me for 6 lovely weeks.

but real packing started today - the scrumpster and em depart on wednesday for the long drive up to alice so there was the usual 'have you seen x' and x is found crumpled under a bed then whisked into the washing machine. and i have been focused on packing my crafty stuff - watercolours, carefully wrapped brushes, a tin with various silks, needles and the small, small scissors.

young w has been a keen op shop hound and a visit to one or more of the inner north op shops has become part of the friday routine - almost up there with a visit to the bun shop and a salutation to the wooden doggie who stands metres tall outside fairfield station and continues to be a wonder to a small boy.

here is the booty from this past friday - 3 cotton cot sheets, 1 cot blanket beautifully edged in crochet, a piece of creamy wool blanketing
and these gorgeous purple buttons
and these were gleaned from a new second hand bookstore in high st northcote (brown and bunting) - apart from their exceptional quality of stock and the niceness of the proprietor, this is the cleanest second hand bookstore i have ever been in :)

and here are some gratuitous cat shots

molly gently roasting in front of the heating vent
and toby doing a lord kitchener

my creative space

is a bit late this week. thursdays are tricky as they are the end of my working week and tend to go by in a panicky blur. things are are bit rushed too as we prepare to go away for a couple of weeks.

there has only been desultory creative activity - i am still in that post creative slump that happens when you finish a piece - and connections took it out of me - i was a creative husk by the end of it

i did however snatch a chilled half hour in the fitzroy gardens at lunchtime earlier in the week and had a play with my little watercolour set. it was the first time i had really sat down and noodled around trying to capture vague shapes and colours and i was quite happy with my first attempt at capturing the subdued but intense winter colour.

Godde has a sense of humour

the building that houses one of our local Macdonalds is up for lease.

the managing agents are Gross and Waddell

:)

happy full moon

i thought the tarot quiz result posted below was auspicious seeing as it is the full moon tonight. any spare good vibes you have lying about would be appreciated as i see the gizzard doctor tomorrow with my 3 months of pain data

which tarot card?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

the winner is....

mel :)

drawn at random by An Innocent Bystander aka my 14 year old son so there was absolutely no possibility of conflict of interest

thanks everyone for leaving a comment and joining in

have a great weekend all