Cead mile failte*
A Very Happy St Patrick's Day to ye all,
to be sure...
As is our tradition, my friend M. and I went off to the city for morning tea at the Mater Hospital Committee's annual St Patrick's fundraiser..
Enjoyed the Irish dancing lasses, the balladeers and the flautists -
then went back home to Australia...
Enjoyed the Irish dancing lasses, the balladeers and the flautists -
then went back home to Australia...
The other night Mr C and I took our selves off to the opera,
specifically the Opera Queensland production of Rigoletto.
Which seemed appropriate as it is sung in Italian, and written by Verdi.
But did it look like this traditional opera poster??
Not at all:
This old and tragic story was brought right up into the 21st century...
Here's the Duke of Mantua..
and here's the saucy wench depicted on the left in the old poster,
doing a strippers dance on top of a bar, singing perfectly operatically at the same time - Impressive!
What happened next cannot be shown in a g-rated blog...
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I dug out this navy lace dress from 2011, and spent an hour or two taking it in quite a bit...well, 4 inches actually, the only form of mending I quite enjoy..
It works a treat with my new navy shoes and clutch, and enjoyed the outing..
So did the Cardinals.
So did the Cardinals.
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And now, as promised, today is Giveaway Day:
I put everybody's name in a basket, closed my eyes and turned around three times, thought of St Patrick, and pulled out the winner:
Congratulations to the lovely Kristie, of North of 49, a really nice blog -
Pop on over and have a look. She lives in Canada, but the opposite side of the country to the Red Cardinal grandsons.
Kristie will receive the elk red bird brooch, and a bundle of Red Cardinal related goodies. If we ask her nicely she might show and tell when she receives her package.
Pop on over and have a look. She lives in Canada, but the opposite side of the country to the Red Cardinal grandsons.
Kristie will receive the elk red bird brooch, and a bundle of Red Cardinal related goodies. If we ask her nicely she might show and tell when she receives her package.
and have a great week
xxxx
* A hundred thousand welcomes
And what a grand day you had yourselves dear Patricia!!!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved the special fund raiser at the Mater too.
I just can't get to grips with the modern interpretations of the old operas and ballets - it's obvious I'm too old to change my ways now!!!
The arts are food for my soul too so I'm looking forward to winter as that is when the best artists for the orchestra, opera and ballet visit our shores!
I wish I had more time to tell you about Italy. On my first visit we drove from France via the St Bernard tunnel and stayed at some wonderful hotels around the lakes, magical and I'm hoping we will return there one day too!
I loved Santa Margherita, Portofino, Rome, Florence and my favourite of all Venice.
You will love it everything and the Italians are such generous hosts!
Love your navy lace dress - so elegant.
Hugs
Shane
We love the winter season for the arts, and are starting off well this year. Too bad the weather has not yet got the hint, and it was 37 deg again today here :( I am glad you loved Venice best - I am really looking forward to it, and it is good to hear they are generous hosts. Navy lace dress thanks you, and wishes it was going to Europe too - but it's not! hugs xx
DeleteWow! sounds like you have done some serious weight reduction there, if you're taking the dress in four inches. Congratulations! I somehow missed the giveaway but I shall check the blog out. Lovely cards, some of the old ones are so gorgeous! Do you have Irish ancestry? well I suppose that's a silly question :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny, the dress is 3 years old, so I have lost a lot of weight in the interim, gradually. Just been too lazy to get it out and fix it! Loved those nostalgic Irish cards too. I am 3/4 English, but 1/4 Irish so do the Irish bit on St Paddy's day :)
DeleteI love your vintage images, Patricia. I saw a segment on Irish dancing on the CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. Fascinating and I love to watch them. I do love Ireland and the Irish people. I visited there in the 80s and had a wonderful vacation. Your navy dress is beautiful! Congratulations to the winner in your giv-away.
ReplyDeleteIrish dancing is really quite unique, isn't it? Their feet fly like the wind but their arms stay firmly by their sides - I wonder where the idea originated? I enjoy watching it too. Lucky you, visiting Ireland, which I hope to do some day.
DeleteI think I'd enjoy the modern version of the opera, looks so interesting. What a lovely lace dress, great that you could take it in and make it fit. Congrats to Kristie, I'll check out her blog.
ReplyDeleteDarla
I enjoyed the opera, Darla, and I think the modern setting actually made the story easier to follow. However, I would like to see it in period dress now, just to see the difference. The lace in my dress was too good to waste - I had only worn it twice and it's been sitting in the wardrobe. I'm glad I finally made the effort to fix it!
DeleteI'm so excited to have won your giveaway! I can't wait to see the goodies! I'm glad your time at the opera was so nice. And wow - 4 inches is a lot to be taking in dress seams! :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Kristie, looking forward to sending off your parcel in a few days. Yes, the dress was much too big, made before I had my big surgery in 2012.
DeleteI love the idea of going to Ireland for coffee and seeing the dancing! :) And that opera! Wow! It looks more like a hot broadway musical! Did you enjoy it in such an updated form? Well done for the 4 inches (that's a lot!). the dress looks lovely! I smiled when you said I looked smart for my talk, Patricia. I come here to read about glamorous clothes and elegance. My wardrobe hasn't seen any elegance since I first donned overalls for the barge! A lovely post as always and well done to Kristie for winning your prize.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the updated opera Val, and yes it was absolutely like a hot broadway musical (especially the bits I can't show!). Not to say I don't enjoy olde worlde performances as well - I certainly do. Val, you are an elegant woman, and would be any day, in your overalls too!
DeleteHappy St Patricks day Patricia and glad you enjoyed your trip out for morning tea. I'm not sure about these modern takes on opera. We went to see La Boheme a few weeks ago and was surprised to see it set during the 1940s' war years. We've been several times to more authentic showings but I guess we should be more adaptable to change. A shame but there we go. I love your lace dress.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
La Boheme during the war! That would be surprising, but I guess the idea is to attract contemporary audiences and be innovative. I love operas in period dress very much too, and try to find a bit of both. Lace dress says thank you xx
DeleteYour w/e sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI know by now, that you are very interested in art, music and traveling.
It feels great to dress up from time to time, yes?
Blue is perfect for you, and like everyone else here : How have you managed to lose all that weight in your hot climate?
I do love to dress up Mette, and we are spending our latter years catching up on all the music and theatre we could not do when we were raising our family. My rule is to try to go to any performance I have never seen before, but we tend not to spend money on shows we are familiar with. That is my take on budgetting! It is hard to lose weight in the hot weather, and I don't. It is during the winter months I always work off a few kilos because the exercise is so much easier. The dress has been too big for several years, I was just too lazy to fix it!
DeleteCongrats to Kristie! It's lovely to see you going out to plays and musical performances. I hope to do that again someday when my kids are older because I miss it. That looks like an interesting way to perform Rigoletto, I'm intrigued!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean Jennifer. When we had three little kids we had a lovely life, but theatre was not part of it. I remember some years we only made it to one movie, all year! Now we are making up for it as we are empty-nesters.
DeletePatricia,
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick's Day! Lovely photos.
I love vivid green, but have a fair complexion, so must be careful not to wear it close to my face. I have to settle for a pin or wear green pants if I want to join in to be festive today.
I adore your pretty navy lace dress. That would love good on me too! Being able to sew is a terrific skill. You can make all your dresses fit you perfectly.
That would "look" good. "Love" is obviously a Freudian slip.
ReplyDeleteHi Debra, by your colouring I agree the navy dress would suit you too. I feel very elegant in it. I like a bit of green but it is quite strong as you say. I wore my big green Christmas earrings with a black/white dress to the morning tea, and noticed other women doing much the same with green necklaces, or tops with other colours mixed in. Didn't see any green pants though - perhaps because it is too hot!
ReplyDeletePatricia,
ReplyDeleteThe St. Patrick's Day fundraiser sounds fun. I would have loved to seen the Irish dancers. Your navy lace dress is lovely.
Congratulations to the winner of this sweet red bird. Happy St. Patrick's Day.
love,
~Sheri
Hi Sheri, You would enjoy the Irish dancers, I'm sure.
DeleteHappy St Patrick's to you too! xx
What a great St. Patrick's day you had Patricia. I wish I was able to be with you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Kristie of North 49.. I KNOW. she will love her giveaway.. I wear mine on my summer tops..
Cant imagine a Verdi opera sung in modern times. But always something new around the corner.
Thank you for your kind comments over at my blog Patricia..
happy Tuesday.
val xxx
Dear Val, it is nice to hear that you are using your red bird brooch; I think they are cute and am looking to get a few more. It was strange to see the modern Verdi; I think they try to do something new every time, as you say. Have a great week, and happy gardening. xxx
DeleteHi Patricia,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to tell you that the picture on my post is a squirrel, I believe. It was hiding, so I couldn't see its furry tail.
It was the first day of spring yesterday, and loving the sunny weather.
~Sheri
Hi Sheri, Aha, that little squirrel tricked me, because as you say the tail is hidden. We don't have them here, so I always enjoy them when over in America and the first squirrel sighting is always a magic moment! Enjoy the springtime. x
DeleteIsn't it funny how the operas get modernized? We went to see Don Giovanni in Prague and it was completely modernized. I wish we were able to see it as Mozart had intended! It was still fun though.
ReplyDeleteKnow what you mean Khammany - they are fun, but you also want to see the 'original'. If I was in Prague I'd want the olde worlde version too!
DeleteWhat a great weekend and your giveaway couldn't have gone to a more deserving recipient, Patricia. I say that as the proud owner of Kristie's giveaway copy of her book Ting Ting. :-)
ReplyDeleteHello Perpetua, you have reminded me I keep forgetting to buy a copy of Ting Ting. Must rectify that immediately!
Delete