ANOTHER YEAR OLDER: WE CELEBRATE

 

Yesterday was not only Halloween, but also Mr Cardinal's birthday.

Naturally, we celebrated.

This is me, ready to go out to dinner in my new Frank Lyman designed dress,

sourced from our local village the other day.

 

 

It has a satisfactory amount of bling at shoulders and wrist, and I know we will have lots of fun together during the Christmas seasonal round of festivities.

 

 

I gave Mr Cardinal a new Fancy Schmantzy white business shirt and blue tie ...

 

 

and made him an orange birthday cake, his favourite flavour, from a new recipe in the November Women's Weekly.

Reader, it was Delicious!

 

 

We dined at Bucci, an Italian restaurant on James Street,

Loved these chandeliers, made up of dozens of tiny black figures.  Brilliant.

 

 

As a birthday treat, we shared the Dolce Platter - a tiny bit of each dessert on offer.

Decadent, but Delicious!

 

A highlight of the evening was a message left on Mr C's phone,

of our little grandson singing Happy Birthday from Canada.

Priceless ...

 

Happy Birthday Mr Cardinal xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPANISH BLACK

 

Hello from my sweet faced pansies.

I still have a few in bloom, but it is getting difficult these days,

what with the weather playing at Global Warming or some such:

Searing heat one day, hot wind, cold morning, rain, and that was just the past few days!

 

 

Black rose dress is finally finished.

Here she is with my new head-piece.

There is, after all, a rather important Race Meeting coming up in Australia next week.

 

 

I thought this dress was pretty.

I'll file that lace half-overlay idea away in the "to try sometime" basket.

 

 

Meantime, I am still working away on Vogue 8805.

I took fright when I reasoned that the loose linen weave would not stay firm without lining or an interfaced facing.  I don't want to line it (too hot over summer) and a facing would show.

The solution: iron-on stay tape by Vilene.

Thank you, lovely lady at Scaffs, Indooroopilly...

 

 

I took the tape right down the kimono sleeve seam, too.

It works a treat.

 

 

The purple orchid given to me by the Art Gallery is back in bloom.

I love it!

 

Today was my last day guiding the wonderful Portrait of Spain Exhibition.

 

 

I had a hot chocolate, in honour of this little still life.

That is a copper hot chocolate maker at the back, and large chocolate pieces at the front, bottom right on their wrapping paper.  Hooray for South America for sending chocolate out into the world in the 1500s.

I'll miss this fantastic walk through Spanish history, but as always, there are other excitements just around the corner.

 

 

 

Happy Halloween Everybody!

 

xxx

 

 

 

 

SCARECROWS

 

Hello there!

Well, this little red bird has been missing in action for a week during the demise of the old computer and the arrival, and ongoing installation, of the new.

And this little red bird is finding it all a Bit Scary.

Like, upgrading to Windows 7, and Outlook.

I was comfortable in my dinosaur era backwardness, but technology keeps marching forward and one must try to keep up.

So I keep telling myself.

 

 

Recently we went to good old Tamborine Mountain, to observe the Annual Scarecrow Festival.

 

 

Some of them were deadset alarming ...

 

 

and some were simply charming ...

 

 

Some were women ..

 

 

 

and one was a Snail!

 

 

A living scarecrow recited a poem about his tragedy ...

 

 

as Cinderella's coach rolled by ....

 

 

It was all rather Surreal!

 

Trust your week is going well,

and Scarecrows are not scaring you ..

 

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LITTLE DISHWASHER THAT COULD

Well Hello dear Readers,

This is going to be something new: a Naked Post!
For once, I am unable to access my photos or download new ones.  I am on a borrowed computer as, like all faithful gadgets, my computer has reached the End of Its Natural Life.
The Blue Screen of Death is about to hit, and I am saving its last scraps of electronic sanity for the necessary business of transferring my files all over to the New Puter, which should arrive by weeks end.

Meanwhile, we'll just have a little chat.
About 10 days ago there was an electricity blackout in the area, accompanied by a power surge.  I was working on the computer and it suddenly dropped out, never to fully recover.

Then there was the dishwasher.  The next time I turned it on, it went for about 5 minutes then stopped, amid flashing lights and desperate beeping sounds.  After a few repetitions of this, I emptied it all out, looked for caught or hidden items (there were none) and tried again.  Same result.  Eventually I became tired of this game and rang for a repair man.  Many days and several phone calls later, I spoke to an actual Technician, who asked for details of what it did when it came to a halt.  I turned on said Dishwasher while we spoke, saying "it'll stop any minute"!  Well, I bet you know what happend: ten minutes later it was still humming along merrily, filling itself with water and going about its business.  Polite conversation was exhausted, and I had to admit to Mr Repairman that it seemed it had Self-Healed.  Got off the phone asap, and imagine yet another technical person has written on my file "Hysterical and Delusional Old Woman", or words to that effect. 

Am I the only person, or do other people have these experiences?  and don't even get me started on the tricks of the sewing machine ...

Today I saw the optomotrist, after several years absence, and was not particularly surprised to learn that my eyesight has deteriorated in every way - short, long, middle distance: all gone off.  New specs ordered, and nice new frames, with a cluster of diamonte bling in each corner.  Can't wait for my new look face!

Hope your week is a good one, and your electronic appliances are all behaving beautifully!

xxx

FRIDAY FROLICS

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Is that why Michelle wore a lovely shade of pink?

I thought this suit was very attractive, whyever she chose it!

See that tiny figure at the other end of the Watermall in our Qld Art Gallery?

That would be moi ....

I know, you can't see, but under a black jacket, I am wearing my recent effort,

the Red Poppy Dress:

Last days for the wonderful Prado Exhibition..

Here are postcards of some of my favourites:

 

 

 

Upper Left: Maria Antonia Gonzaga, c. 1795 by Goya .

    Goya shows us the beauty of an older woman.

Lower Left:  Christ carrying the Cross c. 1565 by Titian

Titian makes Christ look us right in the eye - an amazing experience.

The Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia and Magdalena Ruiz c. 1585 by Coello.

The most gorgeous life-size glittering painting of a Princess, complete with jewellery, embroidery and exquisite lace.  She holds a cameo portrait of her father, King Philip II.

 

It is a jungle out there in the Red Cardinal Garden of Neglect.

Two Eastern Water Dragons are creeping in and around our pool.

 

The other morning Mr C went out to pick up the morning paper, and a hare jumped out of the rose garden ...

 

and took off at full speed down the street.  I don't know who got the biggest fright!

Hares are not native to Australia, but were brought here byt he early settlers, possibly to provide food.

Later we discovered a section of the garden where all the bulbs had been dug up and vanished.  Would hares do this?

In other news, our Hippeastrums are in bloom.  Love 'em ...

 

Have a super duper weekend!

xx

PUMPKINS

Long-time readers might remember that 12 months ago, in October 2011, I was in Canada visiting my daughter,

 enjoying the pumpkins, the golden leaves of Autumn, and Halloween with my little grandson.

Six months ago, I had a left mastectomy.

It's been an eventful year!

I bought this folding paper pumpkin in Canada.

At last, its time has come!

A certain amount of poetic licence is required, considering it is officially Spring round here,

but we are doing orange pumpkin/Autumn/Halloween themes.

Just for fun!!

PS Don't forget that Mammogram ..

xxx

SUNDAY IN THE HINTERLAND

My father will be 92 in a few weeks.

He must feel as old as good old Mount Lindsay, the highest peak in the MacPherson Range along the Queensland/New South Wales border.

Looks like a resting lion, doesn't it ...

We all enjoyed the country scenery ..

 and the mountains ...

The creeks were lined with Silky Oak trees ...

and we passed an art installation, a daft piece of Australian Country Conceptual Art:

aka, a red car hanging from a tree in a cow pasture!

Somebody is going to sleep well tonight!

Hope the weather remains calm,

and you all have a lovely week.

xxx