OLYMPIC GAMES 2032 - BRISBANE

Yes, It's BRISBANE !

The decision was announced last night.

Crowds of people had gathered at Southbank Parklands by the Brisbane river to await the decision.

and cheers and fireworks erupted when the decision was announced.

Lots of money will be spent to provide the facilities needed for the Olympics.

Let's hope that we can showcase our beautiful city to the world.

Cheers,

 

A DAY OUT AT THE LAVENDER FARM

Spring , in Queensland, is very short.

We are lucky if it happens at all.

The temperature goes from low twenties to low thirties in around four weeks.

So if you want to see some flowers you have to be quick !

On Monday we set off on a photography mission -  to capture the lavender while it was still in bloom.

There is a "Lavender Farm" on the outskirts of Brisbane.

Actually it is part of a "winery" operation where wine is produced ( not very good), tastings offered at the Cellar Door, a very nice expensive restaurant caters to diners and weddings can be performed and celebrated in delightful surroundings.

A commercial operation and tourist destination in other words

The lavender fields are not large but certainly well tended and we had arrived at precisely the right time.

You can see the vines on the hill in the distance though I think they are more for effect than actually producing wine.

A couple for the family album too !

Never-the-less it was all quite pretty though not exactly Provence !!

And luckily for the photographer there was a perfectly dressed subject wandering amongst the lavender.

Straw hat, floaty dress blowing in the breeze....

Anonymous.

Photos taken we wandered to the "Tuscan Terrace" for a light lunch

It certainly felt just like a leafy square in the South of France if not Tuscany

The shared pizza was pretty good too though we missed the rosé because of the hour long rive home.

However the view was purely Australian

and so was the wildlife !

Cheers ! 

GARDEN CRAFTY STUFF

This awful Covid  Pandemic has meant that we have been unable to visit family for six months even when they live only  an hour's drive away, so we were happy to load ourselves into the car and travel up to

to Mt Tamborine to visit Tony's sister recently on a lovely Spring day..

Tony's sister is very artistic ( she makes those wonderful tea cosies which I showed you here ) 

and mosiacs  like this .

 

She has been keeping herself busy while in lockdown.

 doing lots of work in her tiny garden and it is ablaze with flowers in containers.

Not just the usual pots of flowers I have to  tell you......

but quirky chairs painted pretty colours with  pots set into the seat part 

and filled with colour - coordinating flowers

Like these !

She also decorates the chairs with small flowers, butterflies and hearts which she makes from pottery.

Aren't they pretty ?

But her creative energy doesn't stop there.

She has been creating tiny gardens in large shallow containers

planted with succulents and using pebbles

tiny minature houses, toadstools

people

tiny garden furniture

 and sometimes tiny animals to complete the scene

There is even a tiny  tea set .

You just need to have a creative mind, don't you?

Cheers.

 

LOCKED DOWN IN BELLBOWRIE

Like the rest of the world  we have been locked down at home during this world wide pandemic caused by the Covid19 virus.

No visits from friends or family, 

no outings to the city or shops,

 no visits to cafes or restaurants ,

no haircuts , perms or hair colours to hide the greys!!!!

no visits to elderly relatives in Aged Care Facilities.

Luckily , I can add to that,    no sickness .

It seems that all of that and the actions of our government in closing our borders to the world have finally started working and the outbreak in Australia has been contained and not developed to the awful stages in has in many other countries.

We are still locked in our homes but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and some restrictions will soon be eased .

In the meantime during the last 8 weeks of lockdown we have cleaned  and cleaned and cleaned this house.

Boy, did it need it !

The back of cupboards that have not seen the light of day for more than ten years has been exposed and washed down, linen cupboards have been tidied, old blankets cleared out to new homes where they will be needed in the coming colder months and the floor in these cupboards  - oh my  did they need a clean up!

 Dust, dust, dust like I have never seen before !!!

Anyhow it's been done and it is all sparkling now !

Added to this Tony was in the throes of renovating the two back bedrooms

and they have now been completed with paint refreshed, new carpets, beds and bedding and windows that slide properly.

Lovely .

It seems that all plans for this lovely holiday to see the Northern Lights will have to be cancelled. 

Such a shame but the finances have taken a considerable hit and travel is out of the question until the world is safer and a vaccine for this awful disease has been found.

So what else have I been doing?

I've been clearing out my stash of yarn.....

all those bits and pieces left over from other  past projects.

I made a vow not to order any more online and just try to do something with what I had.

This is what I have come up with so far.

It became quite difficult towards the end when I didn't have enough of a colour to get all the way around and would have to join in a colour that was not the same so I called it  day.

It has ended up a good size though and nice and bright and will be well received in front of the tv in the coming months.

My next project is now on the go.

Here is the palette.

I've since added a couple of tiny bits of a darker blue and brighter pink 

and I've got rid of the little bit of grey (I think ??)

That's it !

Hope there will be enough there to come up with something pretty.

I'm off to a good start.

Cheers.

SATURDAY EVENING IN BRISBANE TOWN

During the day it's HOT in Brisbane in late November

but

 if you are lucky, 

in the afternoon a breeze comes up and turns the evening into a balmy summer night.

Just right for a stroll through the gardens in the city centre,

along the manicured banks of our winding river.

These gardens were once our Botanic Gardens and so are planted with a host of lovely old trees 

and wide stretches of lawns - the only green lawns to be seen anywhere in Brisbane at the moment. 

There are also some scattered patches of colourful garden beds

The whole garden covers several hectares.

 It's not semi-wild like Central Park or Hyde Park

or nearly as big

but it's a lovely manicured oasis in the centre of the city never-the-less.

The best thing about it is that when you exit through the big, wrought iron gates you are right in the city 

and it's easy to find a lovely quiet spot for dinner with your fella.

Cheers.