Saturday, September 26, 2020

SPRINGTIME CARNIVALE AND TWIN UPDATE

 



Who loves the Carnival of Flowers?
Held annually in the regional city of Toowoomba, the Carnival this year is different - just like everything else in this strangest of strange years!





We enjoyed the Public Garden displays at three venues, as well as a special exhibition at St. Luke's Church.

Sadly, there is no home garden competition, let alone the opportunity to view the beautiful private gardens.

Of course, this was due to Covid19 restrictions, but in fact, the crowds were so dense at the public places, not to mention the difficulty of finding a parking spot, I could only think it might be safer to have the thousands of visitors dispersed across the city in smaller numbers as per usual.
Surely a requirement could be simply a one-way path marked around the garden, as is required everywhere we go these days.









At Picnic Point, we enjoyed a special Carnival treat:
a Violet and Wattle seed ice cream sundae:


Yes, there really is violet ice cream under that fluffy cream!









This is fun...seen in a kids' playground...


Last week I returned to my volunteer guiding role at our GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art).   It was a real joy to be back, meeting my guide friends again, catching up on the news and the exhibitions.

The gallery was closed for months during lockdown, and of course, everything is very different.  Social distancing is absolutely essential.
Our tours are reduced to a maximum of six people, and for only 30 minutes.



Brian Dunlop, Australia, 1938-2009 'Room With a Visitor' 1979

Prominently displayed as you enter Goma is Brian Dunlop's 'Room With a Visitor', 1979.  Doesn't it look like our new 'social distancing' world?
Dunlop studied in Europe as a young artist, and was inspired by Renaissance art.
He himself commented that when he finished this work, he thought it looked like an Annunciation painting, and indeed it does.  
Dunlop was known for his interiors, usually bathed in beautiful light, and offers no explanation for the mysterious scenario.  We make of it what we will, and what a good example of how interpretation of a good art work can change over the years.


It is school holiday time in Queensland, and as the border to the Northern Territory is now open, lucky Little Aussie (our eldest grandson) has been on a trip to Uluru - what fun..




And our beautiful new twin grandsons are doing wonderfully well.

They learnt to breathe unaided in the first week, and have moved from ICU to Special care, visited daily by their parents.

They have regained their birth weights, and moved on to other goals: learning to suckle, enjoying a bath or massage, and the maintenance of body warmth.  

Also, wearing clothes :)

At the moment, I really don't have any photos suitable for publication - but eventually we will.  

Taking photos is difficult because of infection control, and their phones have to be zip-locked when they enter the hospital.  We have seen a few tiny videos taken by kindly staff.  It was wonderful to hear a little voice murmuring....


Be safe and take care


XXXXX







23 comments:

  1. Uluru, my sister climbed that when she lived in Australia many years ago. She said that the Aussies told you later how many had died climbing it! And I would very much love a Carnival of Flowers, I can only wish to live somewhere that would be possible. ART! Isn't art an amazing thing? How something that is painted can then become something else entirely to another generation?
    AND so happy that the twins are doing well. I can't tell you how it pleases me to see happy baby news, especially these days! Stay safe. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Climbing is no longer permitted on Uluru, which is a good thing for many reasons. Aussie is posing at King's canyon which is nearby, and part of the attractions. He also had a camel ride! Hi from the Twins :)

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  2. I love the combination of colours in your first flower photo of the foxgloves and pansies.
    Lucky little Aussie having such a fun trip to Uluru - he will be making great memories.
    Lovely to learn that the twins are making good progress - I bet you can't wait to see them.

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    Replies
    1. The flowers colours were beautifully and artfully arranged - I wondered if the designs were painted in watercolour first, which would be fun to see. Aussie is well travelled for an 11 year old - having seen much of SE Asia, the UK and some of the US. At this stage we do not know when we can travel to see the twins, but I really hope it is before Christmas.

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  3. Hi Patricia wow what beautiful pics of the gardens and they are so colourful,thankyou for sharing them with us,take care my friend xx

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed, I know you love flowers too. Be safe xx

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  4. Toowoomba in spring time is always ao beautiful and I agree with you about the social distance....just not on some folks radar! Lovely you are back enjoying your guiding. Wonderful news about your little ones x

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    1. Funny how SD is not on all radars - it sure is on mine! Loved the flowers, as always. When something is taken away (guiding) it is especially sweet when it returns. Fingers crossed we can resume normal business soon. Hi from the twins, they are little champions :) xx

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  5. Oh Trish! How exciting!! Just catching up finally. Congrats on the twin grandsons. You're getting quite a brood there. 😉 And how fun for big brother. So nice to hear your back to your volunteering. It's wonderful to hear good news and some positivity that is still going on in this crazy world! Prayers for the twins to get home safely soon.
    Love the flowers too. SO beautiful!! Stay healthy dear Friend. Blessings to you. 🙏 ♥️

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    Replies
    1. Dear Carrie, thank you for dropping by. We now have five grandsons! We enjoy the twins so much, and prayers are always appreciated. They have a way to go before they can leave hospital, but every day new goals are met. Be healthy too, dear Carrie. Blessings. xxx

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  6. Blue Mountains open garden would be so fabulous! We miss these things, and appreciate them even more. We went to an orchestra concert last week, and it was such a joy after all these months of cancellations. Thank you, prayers are most appreciated. Little twin has a few more goals to reach, but he is working on it :) xxx

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  7. I'm so far behind. Twins! How exciting. I went back to read a bit about them and I'm thrilled to read that they are doing well. We live under smokey skies here in NoCA, surrounded by wildfires once again. What with still being shut down to a good extent due to Covid and not wanting to breathe the air outside it feels a bit like being in jail. I'm going to go look at all your pretty flowers again and cheer myself up.

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    Replies
    1. Hello there Darla, the twins arrived a month ago, and it sure is exciting. They are still in hospital but gaining weight well. They are of course adorable. So sad that you have the fires again, you have had more than enough of that. I remember when we had the fires last Summer not wanting to go outside and breath the smoke. Best to stay in. The flowers were very cheery, in what is a pretty dull year all round. Be safe, on every front! x

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  8. What a lovely, upbeat post, Patricia! I'm so sorry I'm late here, but it's been great to read how your life is getting back to some kind of normal. The flowers are just stunning and it was lovely to see little Aussie enjoying the outing in that stunning scenery. Keep well, Patricia!

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    1. Great to see you Val. We loved the flowers in the sunshine, so uplifting. Central Australia sure is stunning - I have never been there but live in hope! 😍

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  9. The Carnival of Flowers sounds wonderful, Patricia. Look at all those beautiful flowers! I like that they limit the amount of people going. That makes it safer. The girls mentioned taking me to something like that here, the botanical gardens. Is that little Aussie between that rock formation? What a great photo that is. I'm so glad to hear your twin grandsons are doing well. What a blessing they are in your life. Enjoy your volunteer work at the art gallery. That sounds like an interesting job. Take care and stay well, dear Patricia.

    ~Sheri

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    Replies
    1. I do hope your girls take you to the botanical gardens, they would be lovely. Yes, that is our Aussie, posing among the rocks. He is quite the big boy now! Our grandsons are looking more beautiful every day in the photos - we so wish we could fly to Sydney to meet them in person, but the borders remain closed :( Be safe dear Sheri.

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  10. We are still in lockdown so the idea of a Carnival of Flowers sounds amazing to me. Wouldn't mind a scoop of that ice cream as well. A fun post!
    Amalia
    o

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    1. Hi Amalia, wow, still in lockdown - it just goes on and on doesn't it. Our State has been covid free for many weeks, but we are isolated from the rest of Australia, including Sydney where the twins live. It was lovely to go to see the flowers, a distraction from strange times. The icecream was so delicious!

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    2. Glad to hear the good news about the twins. Hope Little Aussie is stays happy and content also. A field trip! Now is the time I wish I were in your part of the world. I could always return to New York in time for our spring. :) The flowers are amazingly beautiful!

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    3. Even better twin news: they left hospital yesterday and they are now in their own home with Mum and Dad. They were 39 days old, and doing fine. We are lucky to have low transmission of Covid here, and therefore can move around but not leave the State. The flowers were spectacular! We have a State Govt. election on October 31, and are hoping the borders open after that so we can fly to Sydney to meet our beautiful Grand-Twins :)

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  11. Adoro tutte queste bellissime foto, complimenti!
    Abbi cura di te
    Emanuela

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