A Retro post to warm you up as the snow melts

Hi R
I hope you received your copy of 'Mosman Meanders & foreshore flavours'.  A retro post to warm you up as the snow melts in Milwaukee. 

2010 - A beautiful day of 'lightwriting' on a field trip at Bradley's Head, Mosman, Australia, with photographer Christopher Maait. Thanks Chris for your expertise and guidance at the Mosman Community College- and in helping me to feel confident and aware re taking better photos; (as I hope you will agree from viewing the video below.)



Chris - Yes I know, I focused on the background
instead of on you.

Cheers C
ps - this was before we started the book -   See how much younger you look.  Only joking!

 

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To his fellow sinners - New Year's Eve

Henry Lawson has to have been the most prolific Australian poet with his down to earth comments on so many subjects - it makes one think that perhaps his language of thought was "verse". Here's one on New Year's Eve - to his fellow sinners.

Give yourself a Show: New Year's Eve

TO my fellow sinners all, who, in hope and doubt,
Through the Commonwealth to-night watch the Old Year out,
New Year’s Resolutions are jerry-built I know,
But I want to say to you, “Give yourselves a show”.

You who drink for drinking’s sake, love for lust alone,
Thinking heaven is a myth and the world your own—
Dancing gaily down to hell in the devil’s dance—
This I have to say to you: “Give your souls a chance”.

You who drink because of shame that you think will last,
Or because of wrong done you—trouble in the past—
“Nothing left to live for now,” you will say, I know;
But you have your own self yet, give that self a show!

You who want all things on earth—money, love, and fame
Having the advantage of worldly place or name—
You who have more than you want, even than you know,
In the glorious New Year give someone else a show.

You, the mischief-makers all, who in secret glee
Love to tell the villainies of a scamp like me;
There are things he’ll never tell—things you’ll never know—
Look into your own lives first—give the man a show.

You, the politician, who, for jealousy or gold,
Or for mean ambition, sell, or see your country sold,
Pandering to the hollow crowd, toadying to the low,
For shame’s sake banish selfishness—give your land a show.

Henry Lawson

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Flowering shrubs still blooming in Sydney Autumn

R's questions "What is your favorite season down under. Winter sounds lovely to me."

I like winter in Sydney when I can bring out my jackets and boots, enjoy cosy open fires, but because the cold season is short the tendancy is to not heat our homes sufficiently for comfort.   Summer is humid with lots of fun activities as it includes Christmas and January which is holiday season. But Spring and Autumn are my personal favourites.  I love the changing landscape, the variety in temperature, the crisp chill in the air with the hot sun on my back. 

Australia is so large, like USA, the full range of climate exists, so I can only speak for the coastal area of the state of New South Wales.  Because Sydney's coastal suburbs are surrounded by seawater, temperature conditions are buffered, and sea breezes keep the hot days cool. Head out west, even a few kilometres, and the extremes are greater. You won't see snow in Sydney, and even frosts are rare near the coast.

We average a metre of rain, 40 inches, each year, but few years are average years. There is no rainy season, and the rain usually goes quickly, but sudden storms can be common, and "showers" means downpours in some places and nothing a few hundred metres away. Learn to live with it.

Flowering Shrubs Still Blooming

Our hottest months are December to February, during the southern summer. Our flowers largely ignore the seasons, so you can usually see about 30 species in flower as you walk along a suburban street, and at least that number species of wildflower can be in bloom any time from May to December, with a few less in January-April. The best time for wildflowers is in August, when a walk over a headland can reveal 60 species in bloom.

 The temperature scale in common use is the Celsius scale, often referred to as the Centigrade scale. If you prefer the Fahrenheit scale, divide by 5, multiply by 9, and add 32, or use this rule of thumb: 0° is freezing, 10° is chilly, 20° is comfortable, 30° is getting warm, 40° is a heat wave.


In summer, the temperature can reach the high 30s on a bad day, and will occasionally drop down to 17 at night, but the summer temperatures are more typically somewhere in the twenties.


In winter, the temperature can go as low as 5 degrees, with a wind chill factor on top of that, and reach freezing away from the coast. Even so, a winter's day when the temperature fails to reach 15 degrees is a cause for grumbling. The temperature, in other words, is generally mild. If you need to wear a coat, be prepared to take it off later, and if it isn't coat weather, it might be handy to carry something warm, as you may need it later, especially if a southerly change comes in.


In winter, the ocean temperature falls to about 15 degrees, while in summer it can rise to about 21 or 22.

There are people who swim the whole year around in Sydney, but these are generally regarded as eccentric: few people swim in June, July or August. Board riders surf all year around in wet-suits, and people will lie on the sand or paddle in the shallows all through the year.

I have to admit that it is close to Paradise.
Clara

Capturing the light on a mid autumn day around the block

Hi R - I cleverly deleted your photo of the reeds - sorry. 
Most Saturdays I take G to lunch at a cafe at Balmoral Beach- G always has Salad Nicoise (leafy greens)  - and we share a fresh berry with yoghurt.  Reading the Saturday papers, followed by a walk along the promenade completes this very pleasant routine.  He gets slightly irritated when I stop to take photos - how could you not do so when the light is there?

Today it was yet another heavenly day and as you can see there were people still enjoying swimming and sunbaking.

Woolloomooloo...My Version

Woolloomooloo...April 24th
A work in progress...spun wool yarn knit into large wool "pillow case". Stay tuned.



C
Lunch at Woolloomoloo, sounds lovely. I love your necklace and scarf.  I have been thinking about working with silk cords and beads. My version will no doubt follow now that you have planted the seed. In the meantime I couldn't help but add my photo for today Woolloomoloo!
R

Clara - Your pillow reminds me so much of the Niddy Noddy, where you spun your own wool and we would weave loom shaped garments.

Woolloomooloo is the name given to the horseshoe-shaped valley immediately east of the original settlement of Sydney Town.  It was  thought to have been an important Aboriginal ceremonial ground, hence the name. 

'Near Sydney Town there's a place of renown,

Which is well known to you, it's called Woolloomooloo,
It's easy to say, I know very well,
But Woolloomooloo is not easy to spell.
Double U double O double L double O M double O L double O
Now make that a feature, and I'll be the teacher,
Let everyone here have a go.'
Most just get around the problem by calling it the 'Loo.

I was close but now that we have Spell Check back all is well.

It's good to take a viewing point, rather than a point of view.

Hi R
Today, I took my camera to Georges Heights  -  nestled amongst Sydney Harbour National Park, "Mosman Barracks offers the discerning business owner a unique opportunity in an unparalleled location. This centre offers fully refurbished heritage buildings with polished timber floors, state of art communications facilities, A/C and excellent staff support. Site amenities include long day childcare centre, tennis courts, bushland walking and running tracks, easy access to Clifton Gardens and Balmoral beaches and restaurants and cafes." 

A friend of mine rents one of these buildings, and whenever I am there,  it feels like I am on the top to the world; with a view to everywhere in this fabulous city, to which I am luring you.


Today was a most magical day - the kind of day you would like to put in a bottle, preserve and bring out when you need a lift.  The Autumn sun warm on my back, the air not quite crisp but without the usual humidity of summer, not a sign of smog over the city - the kind of day when you .............. I think I feel a song ...

So I took photos to show you - most  of  the photos I send to you are within walking distance of home ie Mosman, so I call them 'A walk around the Block'.  It would be good, too if you could smell  Gumtrees as I did (close up photo) and taste the Frittata I ate at The Barn, and feel the peace and tranquility.
Whenever I can I include a park bench in my photo, and invite you to sit on it and view my world as I do yours.  To end with filosophy - 'It's good to take a viewing point, rather than a point of view'.
Love Clara

S

This space reminded me of your studio, the Niddy Noddy.  I talked to the artists there today with an idea of housing my beautiful loom from Wisconsin there but they are as short of space as I am.   The studio next to it is about to be rented for $1000 per month - it would be ideal for us - come over now, you here! 

S