ANOTHER TRIP TO PLAN, AND A FEW FAMOUS FACES

Prince George, looking adorable at his first Balcony appearance after the Trooping of the Colour Parade - and in his father's little blue suit from the same occasion, 1984.

Awwww....

However, do not overlook this royal cutie..

Princess Estelle of Sweden, in her country's National Dress -

what's not to love?

The Red Cardinal Garden of Neglect has astonished itself, and produced one (1) mini daffodil, aka a jonquil.

Well done, Garden.

Meanwhile, this nasturtium plant is attempting to make an escape from the pot..

and looks like succeeding.  Which would be fine apart from the fact the pot is on a balcony 3 metres above the ground, and it will never find some soil to bed itself in..

Remembering the sweet little hummingbirds in Canada..

Our daughter gave me this hummingbird window whatsie -

the photo belies the fact it is quite tiny, in fact, the hummingbird is true to lifesize, scarcely the size of my thumb.

We have some exciting news:

Our older son has announced his engagement to his Irish Lass..

We can look forward to another adventure -

sometime in the next year or so, we will be going to Dublin!

It looks nice..

My initial research suggests I absolutely have to see the Book of Kells.

Remember that feisty British actress, Hayley Mills, who played Pollyanna way back in 1960 - and went on to star in many Disney movies?

I've been to see the play "Legends", starring Hayley and her big sister Juliet, now both all grown up..

It was fun.  They play ageing film stars and rivals, with fading careers, considering taking roles in an off-Broadway play.

It is no secret that Juliet was born in 1941 and Hayley in 1946..

They both look great, having kept themselves beautifully reed slim, the better to show off their wonderful, elegant costumes.

OK, the script was a bit naff, and while I love satire, slapstick is not my thing -

but they are still superb actresses and it was a pleasure to watch them work.  

Bought some new winter slippers -

because it is cold in the mornings...

It's all glamour round here.

Love a bird with attitude...

Have a great week

XXXX

PUMPKINS AND PINK RIBBONS

While you in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying the beauty of golden leaves a'falling,

I whipped out my folding paper Halloween pumpkin, my fake autumnal leaves, baby pumpkins and a scarecrow from darling daughter ... thank you Canadian themed ephemera...

and got on with Pink Ribbon Day:

Mr C bought me this tiny sparkly angel, who holds a sweet pink ribbon emblem, at St Joseph's Oratory in Montreal last May:

Bought this pink pen - another small donation to the Breast Cancer Research cause..I have much to be thankful for, in the development over the past 20 years of better methods of diagnosis and treatment..

For me, 18 months on, and still going well..

A pink rose blossomed on my deck today, with perfect timing.

The other night I put on this dalmation print dress, and took my sparkly clutch to the Opera...

but first we devoured these at the Theatre cafe :

I know, I know: and I did two walks today...

We were celebrating the 200th Birthday of Guiseppe Verdi, 

at the Opera Queensland production of Otello..

It was quite wonderful!

Dramatic, intense, tragic - every superlative you could throw at this modern incarnation of the original Shakespearean tale..

Frank Porretta as Otello and Cheryl Barker as Desdemona brought the audience to rapt silence as their tragedy unfolded..

What made this really different was the setting - on an aircraft carrier, somewhere in the Middle East, in contemporary naval uniforms -

which all worked wonderfully well.

The story and the music are timeless.

Happy 200th, Verdi!

My father will turn 93 this week..

We kicked off the week of festivities with afternoon coffee at this French-themed eatery -

Dad and his favourite Cappuccino.  

Got my special copy of Hello!

Isn't this photo lovely:

Could be the best 'royal smiling baby' photo ever recorded..

and this is what I did with the Star Wars material - one library bag!

Have a great week

XXXX

PRINCELY BEHAVIOURS

Our friendly pair of daily visitors, the Lorikeets, brought their two fat babies today.

It was pandemonium!

The usual one baby bird is noisy and demanding, but TWINS!!

Eventually mother and father sent the children down to play on our deck, and managed to have their own breakfast.

This baby has much more princely manners...

Apparently little Prince George remained beautifully calm during his Christening - what a bonny boy he is...

I don't know which cream dress I like the best:

The copy of the original Royal Christening gown, rich in old lace,

or Kate's beautiful Alexander McQueen frilled number and sweet hat...

Questions are being asked: who does he most resemble?

I think he looks a lot like Her Majesty the Queen.

The Choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal sang, including this anthem which I enjoy singing with my choirs - The Lord Bless You and Keep You (John Rutter)

This performance was recorded at the 60th Wedding Anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip.

Our Agapanthus are coming out, working up to their annual Show-Off!..

which heralds this:

and this:

Soon........

Have you begun your Christmas shopping yet?

xxx