Hello
It's time I flew in for a chat
At last a few days of cooler weather have arrived, and I hear the gentle patter of raindrops outside. Lovely.
I've been nesting lately...
and shocked myself by falling for the K-Mart blush pink velvet chair..
only $49 at a store near you...
It must be the heat. I keep furniture for forever and a day.
That little settee and its two matching friends were given to us just after we married, and the pair of gossip chairs (see one with green cushion) came from my father's home, so are very much older.
You can see my piano beside the pink chair.
My parents gave that to me on my 21st birthday.
Valentine's Day last week too.
I was a day late what with one thing and another, but as usual I made Mr C the Annual General heart-shaped sponge cake to celebrate.
I don't think I have ever missed a year, so did not want to spoil my record...
The heat brings on the tropical storms...
and sometimes a rainbow...
I thought this was a snake, but thank goodness the photo reveals a back leg (see foreground) which means it is a blue-tongued lizard.
Only several days later did I notice there is a second one in the photo, looking straight at me. You can see its face to the left of the big head. The upright branch covers the centre of the face and the eyes are to either side. It is clearer if you enlarge the picture.
I've been fossicking at the Antique Centre.
And I always did like a barnyard scene..
and was taken by a little blue glass vase for our bedroom...
After a long cultural drought, last week we went to the first QSO Maestro concert for 2018.
I remember years ago my piano teacher telling me about Ravel's Concerto in D for Piano (Left Hand) and Orchestra, 1931. Ravel wrote it for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm at the Russian front in 1914 but who resolved to continue his career as a concert pianist. He commissioned many works for left hand alone, and Ravel's Left Hand Concerto was published as Wittgenstein's 'exclusive property'.
A long held wish to see it performed came true at our concert, thanks to French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. What an incredible performance, and amazing composition it was. A well-deserved standing ovation followed for Bavouzet.
And it will surprise absolutely nobody, that when I sought some new pendant lights for above the kitchen bench, I chose these:
Stay out of the heat, or the snow, depending on your latitude.
XXXXX
After a long cultural drought, last week we went to the first QSO Maestro concert for 2018.
I remember years ago my piano teacher telling me about Ravel's Concerto in D for Piano (Left Hand) and Orchestra, 1931. Ravel wrote it for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm at the Russian front in 1914 but who resolved to continue his career as a concert pianist. He commissioned many works for left hand alone, and Ravel's Left Hand Concerto was published as Wittgenstein's 'exclusive property'.
A long held wish to see it performed came true at our concert, thanks to French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. What an incredible performance, and amazing composition it was. A well-deserved standing ovation followed for Bavouzet.
 |
| Google image: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performs the Left Hand Concerto, Ravel. |
And it will surprise absolutely nobody, that when I sought some new pendant lights for above the kitchen bench, I chose these:
Stay out of the heat, or the snow, depending on your latitude.
XXXXX
Hi Patricia wow I love those pendant lights and I love love love your pink velvet chair .We have had rain today it is nice to hear it landing on the roof and filling up our water tanks.Love your new purchases from the antique shop the vase is pretty.Lovely post my friend xx
ReplyDeleteHow could I go past those lights? They were difficult to install complained the electrician, but he got there in the end. Glad you enjoyed the pretties - remember the pink velvet chair is only $49, lol
DeleteI love you new blush pink velvet chair! Every home should have one.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I think so too Amalia - I could start a chair movement here :)
DeleteI'm also one for keeping furniture forever! Older stuff is better made ;) Love the pendant lights and your cake tradition is very sweet. I'm rather glad we don't have lizards here ... only very tiny salamanders that will fit in your hand and look like cartoons.
ReplyDeleteWendy
PS thank you for your encouraging words on mine Patricia :)
You put your finger on it, Wendy - older stuff is better made. Any bits of modern furniture which we buy does not seem to last the distance. I have never seen a salamander - something to look for next time I'm over in Canada! Thanks for dropping by.
DeleteLove the colorful lorikeets Patricia - wish I could swap some of my cardinals for your parrots, haha! But, the lizards you can keep - they look too much like snakes which I'm afraid of!
ReplyDeleteSweet blush chair - a favorite color for this year according to the decor magazines. Love that you have kept some family heirlooms - the history is definitely comforting to have around the home.
Of course the bird pendant lights are my favorite - what a great find.
Take care in the storms.
Hugs, Mary
A bird swap would be good, they would look gorgeous all together. Happy to give away the lizards any time too, gave me quite a start lurking there in the garden. Even if only transient, the blush chair is a winner! I was so happy to find the bird lights which are just inside the room near the area of the bird feeder, so it all sort of harmonizes. Hugs to you too Mary.
DeleteWhat wonderful light fittings - you do have a lovely home, so nicely decorated. AS for blue tongue lizards - they frequently give me a scare! Their heads are a little different to a snake, but on first unexpected glance...And the chair is pretty...
ReplyDeleteHello Sarah Liz, thanks for popping by. Those lizards are lurkers, I find, and this pair did give me a start. I always grab the camera first and ask questions later - when I noticed the different head shape. Everyone should have a pink chair - the blog has spoken :)
DeleteAs always, a lovely post, Patricia! I especially love your pendant lights! And the light in your photos of stormy skies is stunning. What a wonderfully exotic land you live in!
ReplyDeleteThe light after a late afternoon storm is always interesting here, as we live high on a hill. Camera time for me! We don't feel very exotic, but then it is familiar. I'm thinking Europe is exotic atm..
DeleteLovely post today!
ReplyDeleteYour home is so beautiful...
The cake looks divine. : )
Thank you Billie Jo. The house is always a work in progress, which I enjoy, always having a new idea. Mr C loves his sponge cakes....
DeleteSo pleased that you flew in for a chat Patricia - love the magical and different light effects created from the tropical storms.
ReplyDeleteSuch a Pretty pink chair - sometimes an unexpected purchase can yield more pleasure than something that has been planned.
I love the after-storm light, late in the day too. It is always great for photography. The chair is providing much amusement and livens up the room. We will enjoy it as long as its pretty self lasts - which might not be so long!
DeleteLovely post! We must catch up soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes time for catching up - time flies and took a while to recover from Canada. Have you bought a pink velvet chair yet??? lol
DeleteLovely post Trish. Our raindrops seem to be getting a lot heavier overnight! Love all your antique fossicking and the pink chair is sweet. I for one am very glad for a nice bit of "cool"
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, so nice to have a cool day, even if the heat is on the way back. No prizes for guessing where I was fossicking - you know it well. Love my pink chair which someone suggested looks like a pink flower in the room....
DeleteBeautiful post.. are this your pet birds?
ReplyDeletePlease visit: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com
Thank you. The birds are wild, but we feed them each day so in that sense they are our pets. I wonder if they have noticed the bird/lights, just inside the house near their feeding station?
DeleteWell thank you, it is pretty uncivilised out in our garden, let me tell you!! I had to think re the bird question - born to it, I'd say. My father loved them, had lots of bird books and taught us as we grew. In later years he was a reporter of birds to some organisation which counts wildlife and each month went to specific locations and could identify all the bird calls and species there and send it in. I have always been attracted to the look of birds, and the fact they sing. The red cardinal attraction probably started with Christmas birds, and when DD went to live in Canada, it became a bit of a 'thing'.
ReplyDeleteHello sweet Lorikeets. That's special that you still have your piano, Patricia. The Valentine sponge cake looks Yummy - how nice of you to make it for your husband. Yikes, that lizard is creepy! It would have scared me a bit. I love the lady figurine in blue. Those are the porcelain figurines that I always look for, but they're hard to find. Your new kitchen lights are very cool. And a beautiful rainbow to start out my Sunday morning, thank you.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
Hi Sheri, and the lorikeets send their regards. I'm glad you enjoyed all my bits and pieces. The lady figurine is really tiny, hardly two inches tall. It was a gift, and I love it - of course :)
DeleteYou have a pretty and comfortable sitting room, Trish! Great for a social. From your blog, I'm seeing what a beautiful country. Australia is.
DeleteHere in the States, I'm starting to see a few signs of spring. Although still cold, the sun is starting to stay out longer and some of the apartment buildings have set out some of the more robust plants. Soon they will set out tuliips. That means spring here.
Love your lights, Trish!
Thank you, you are very kind Debbie. Ah the northern Spring, it is always so pretty. I am thinking of the lilacs and the daffodils which I love, and then those gorgeous tulips. Aren't they amazing, so many colours. My lights seem very happy here, no complaints yet :)
ReplyDeleteThose lights are very pretty! And my grandma had a dressing table set in that faceted blue glass, it always makes me think of her to see that style. Well done on the valentine's cake record. I think I've made T a card every year, I don't think I could manage a cake too!
ReplyDeleteChecking in with you. The new lights are unusual and "so you". I can easily see why you bought them. We are having lots of cold rain here at the moment but spring can't be too far off.
ReplyDeleteHello Darla, so good to see you. Yes, the lights are unusual, and of course I loved them instantly. Cold rain sounds miserable, and I hope Spring is just around the corner. It is spectacular in your climate.
DeleteHi Trish! Your living room is beautiful! You live in such a gorgeous place, but I don't know if I could ever get used to all the lizards, snakes, spiders etc. Lol ONe good thing about the cold of the northwoods - a lot less of those kinds of critters. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe concert sounds like it was wonderful! And I adore those pendants!! I've never seen others like them. Have a blessed weekend my Friend. xoxo
Hi Carrie, I don't ever really get used to the snakes, as we rarely saw them when I was young. It is because of urban development on city fringes, and they seem to have adapted to the new surroundings. Glad you like my birdie pendants, they are quite the talking point. Happy Sunday.
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