On a Plate

Walking in the hills is such a rewarding and simple pleasure - we are so lucky to have Mt Painter on our doorstep. 

And we have got silk camellias in our garden - the previous owners planted loads of goodies, and we get to watch them all blossom and develop. How glorious!

We had to go to the post office depot to collect a very important delivery, but when we got there the delivery truck had gone again to attempt to deliver it to us at home, where we weren't. We managed to contact them to ask them to leave it at the front door, and we went and had breakfast instead at Ona Coffee House Cafe. 

We arrived to home to the delivery on the doorstep. I've been waiting for this for a long time.

Special delivery

It's my book! I'm so happy and excited that I can see all those years of hard work captured between the covers. I got signing a few to send to bookshops and am happy to sell anyone a signed copy on request. Send me a message  and I'll get it done!

Signing copies of Mornington Crescent

The next day, Him Outdoors made breakfast - sometimes he gets carried away by the cafe-style presentation...

And this last is for all my friends who performed excerpts from The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy with me as part of International Women's Day last month, which included a pretty damn fine rendition of Salome. 

April Art

My lunchtime walk at work throws up some interesting sights. 

Happy Easter, everybody

And this is a walk from home: Mount Painter is our back garden playground. 

Not our new house

Him Outdoors atop Mt Painter

Sadly there is another item for the t-shirt cullery gallery. Much as I have loved this shirt over the last 30 years (I bought it from Affleck's Palace in 1990), its holes are now too large to conceal, and it is time for it to retire. It has served me faithfully.

As it was Easter Sunday I played with the beautiful light through the trees in the morning thanks to the Prisma filter on my phone and the natural one through the trees. Happy Easter. He is risen. 

Au naturel

Moving in!

I had a meeting at the University of Canberra, on which campus I found this rather delightful sculpture. According to the artist, Karla Dickens, it represents a warrior that finds peaceful moments and sits in reflection. "She is digging up courage and raw nerve, licking wounds, to rise once more to fight the next round. Beaten and bruised, she shines."

Second Skin by Karla Dickens

In the middle of the meeting I received a phone call to say the funds had gone through, all the necessary paperwork had been processed, and we were now the proud owners of our new home. We  moved in at the weekend and toasted our purchase with friends. 

We unpacked the glasses at least!

Morning views from the bedroom window are fabulous.

Out Walking

The walk around the lake is getting colder, but the National Carillon is still clear as a bell,even when filtered through the Prisma app... do you see what I did there?

The light is coming through the trees at an autumnal slanting angle, and I like how someone in the neighbourhood has made sure that the statues of the football-playing boys don't get cold.

Umbagong Park

From the latest books and breakfast file, here are some scrambled eggs with greens and The Graveyard Book  by Neil Gaiman.

Books and breakfast

Winter is coming to Orange

This is my latest cross-stitch. I like it.

Winter is coming

Another weekend; another bike ride - this time in Orange staying at Turners Vineyard. 

The day of the bike ride was freezing with biting winds. I'm glad I wasn't riding as I dropped Him Outdoors off at the start and had a quick walk round the park in the early morning.

I'm not exactly saying that Orange is a backward or anything, but this is what was advertised in the window of the computer store. 

The buildings in these regional towns are beautiful, however.

After wandering about to the museum and the art gallery and the park, I went to cheer Him Outdoors over the line (or under the banner) as he finished his bike race.

We finished off our visit with a lunch stop at Cargo Road Wines where we had wine and soup (did I mention it was freezing), with a quick look at the artwork there before heading home.