OUR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

 

Fifty years ago, on December 11, 1971, we were married...

two young people, looking forward to establishing a life and family together.

And we did.

Over the weekend we celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary.

There were roses, and Golden Gifts..

Our daughter sent champagne..

Alas, due to Covid, she is unable to visit from Canada.

We hope to have a party when the day comes that she can fly here once more.

Our sons arranged an exquisite celebratory cake, and lunch at a restaurant..

The toddler twins were there too, our first such event since they came to live here.

Fifty years on, and still smiling..

Would we do it all again?

Of course we would...

We loved our golden day, and we love that we are still working and active, and able to enjoy this special anniversary.

I'd love to hear about any other Golden Wedding Anniversaries out there...

XXXX

ORANGE AND A BIT OF BLUE

Hello..

My mother's orange Bohemian glass jug survived the Great January Declutter.

It definitely still brings the Joy of Orange into my life..

Dear M gave me this exquisite silk scarf for my birthday, with the beautiful heart scarf ring to wear with it.  Thank you my dear, it is just perfect.

I am still reading my lovely Freida book from Christmas - and spinning it out by reading Victoria: The Queen, by Julia Baird, at the same time, and loving both of them.  The TV series 'Victoria' is running again, so am watching more of it too.  

It was sad to read how Victoria really could not get over Prince Albert's untimely passing.  Perhaps today she would have been treated for depression.  I was amazed to read that for the last 39 years of her reign she only opened Parliament seven times, apparently not being able to face crowds any longer.

Heatwave after heatwave rolls across Australia.

We took shelter at the Mall last weekend when it hit 39c hereabouts, and may do the same this weekend.  Our simple one-room air-conditioner does not stand a chance against that sort of heat.  It does make daily walking difficult, because the heat lasts until nightfall.

What with the heat and the intermittent storms, the roses are getting on with it.

But I have to pick them the minute they open, or a few hours later the petals are all burnt black.

This enormous stick insect had the audacity to visit me...

I enjoyed Michelle Obama's interview with Oprah.

She was a very gracious and graceful First Lady, I thought, and it will be interesting to see how she employs her talents into the future.

She was quite definite that it will not be in politics!

Gratuitous look at Kate's new blue coat, as a reminder that some people live in cold climates..

You all know I love a good accessory..

Here is a late pic from Christmas:

Matching Mum's coat and clutch, and Charlotte's outfit and hairbow:

Candy canes, I salute you as Accessory of the Year :)

Stay cool or warm, and be good.

XXXXX

FLOWERS AND FASHIONS

As you may have guessed, we are once again safely home in the Red Cardinal nest...

where the red geraniums on the deck remind us of Italy..

and the rose bushes are happily in bloom -

obviously didn't miss us at all.

Spring has arrived in our absence.

I didn't spend all my time in the Art Museums of Europe, you know:

Padua: shoes, bags, and creamy cupcakes - what's not to love?

I was also out there taking really bad photos of the Fashion Shoppes..

See the Spanish steps in the reflection?

Ah, Valentino..

Apart from the red leather jacket in Florence, it was so hot in Rome I bought a Tee shirt at Desigual:

which reminds me so well of the architecture and the streets of Italy..

Loved Desigual so much, I bought this huge scarf, because I love it,

and because I need another sewing project.

Be warned scarf, you are going to become a dress..

Of course, we were determined to keep the weight of our baggage down,

but earrings don't weight much - gold copies of ancient coins from Rome,

and blue Murano glass from Venice..

Scarves are weightless, and when I saw this near the Ponte Vecchio, I knew it would be happier living in Australia with me..

We loved eating strawberries and cream in Italy;

bought a little ceramic reminder, and this fruity length of tablecloth fabric in Florence - so cheap compared to here.  

I enjoyed visiting the Petty Guggenheim Collection in Venice so much,

I bought this yellow coffee mug as a reminder..

A couple of weeks ago I enjoyed a post on Handmade by Carolyn

about the 'Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show'..
a long yellow skirt which has been going around the world from one sewist to another,each one adding their own slight embellishment.
At that point in time, I had never noticed anybody wearing such a skirt -
but then came Rome:

I saw this one in the Roman Forum, standing on the Via Sacra,
and five others in two days.
Wonder if they'll turn up in Australia?

It could work with this indulgence,
found in a foreign airport duty free, a long way from home...

Have a great week

XXXX

JACARANDAS

October in Sunny Brisbane always means Jacaranda Time.

Our city is draped in thousands beautiful purple blooming trees.

I popped into the Qld Art Gallery to revisit the painting

Under the Jacaranda, 1903, by Godfrey Rivers.

It is a quintessential Brisbane image, yet the jacaranda is not a native tree.

This painting features our very first jacaranda which arrived in 1864 and was planted in the City Botanic Gardens near the kiosk.  It was imported from Brazil and stood for over 100 years before it was blown down in 1979.  By 1875, they had given away 50,000 seeds, and the result is the mass of blooms we see ever October - this is the mother of all those beautiful trees.

The two people in the painting are the artist, Godfrey Rivers, and his wife Selena.

He came to Brisbane in 1890 and taught at Brisbane High School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School.

Through his efforts the Qld National Art Gallery opened with him as its first curator.

This pretty impressionist-style painting makes great use of the new chemical colour mauve, which had recently become available.  The red umbrella is key to the colour palette here - it intensifies the jacaranda blooms and makes them the star of the painting.

During jacaranda season, people smuggle in a few blooms and scatter them on the floor in front of the painting.  Isn't that a sweet touch?

I love the purple carpets which emerge under these gorgeous trees.

Source: Australian Traveller

During my weekly decluttering efforts,

I unearthed this orange glass vase the other day,

 hiding in a dim corner of the nest.

I thought I'd thrown it out years ago, so greeted it with the enthusiasm of

a newly liberated orange fancier!  Orange is Back!!

I treated the vase to some orange gerberas as a back-in-vogue gift:

It only takes a bit of rain, and look what appeared in the garden today:

Heavenly perfume - you could just eat it!

Princess Charlene is looking a little happier with Albert these days.

Doesn't she have a killer wardrobe?

Have a good weekend - we are off to Vinnie's with a mega load to donate tomorrow.

RED FOR REMEMBRANCE

Like many other Queenslanders, I wore red today,

as a sign of sympathy and support for the Morcombe family.

As a mother of grown children,

 I can't begin to imagine what this brave family have endured,

since their son Daniel disappeared from a bus-stop in 2003,

while wearing a red T-shirt.

While the drama unfolds with the breakthrough they have long worked towards,

the family have asked the public to wear red not only in Daniel's memory

 but to keep the issue of child protection before the public via the

Daniel Morcombe Foundation.