Someday He'll Come Along

I've been trying to find the perfect (for me) travel journal. A book with blank pages would suffice, but I somehow feel I need more than that. I know I have a list of qualities that I'm mentally ticking off each time I find one. Sure, there've been ones that I would have been compatable with. But there's always something not quite right. I'm starstruck by the "as used by Ernest Hemmingway" moleskin. I had a slight dalliance today with the reproduction Wizard of Oz diary. Some seem perfect until I dig a bit deeper and find the attractive exterior hides unattractive heavy lined paper. I nearly picked up one on the rebound at the checkout of Borders. I need to find The One. Up 'til now...well, I'm just not that into them.

Strange

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog that can be used to record the Big Trip to Europe - and lo and behold, I was told I already HAVE a blog...and here I am again, at "Time Flies", where a bit of my life from five years ago has been preserved in cyberspace.

I remember years ago, getting a postcard from one of my cousins that had come from Kathmandu. The postcard itself was a reproduction of an old print, there was a strange stamp on the back, the postmark was in another language, it was a bit scuffed around the edges and of course it had taken ages to reach here. That postcard had seen a lot of Life. Just holding it, I felt as if something exotic rubbed off onto me.

And now, here I am planning numerous ways to keep communicado while I'm away - there'll be this blog, and facebook, skype, e-mails, uploaded photos, postcards and of course my own journal. Just reading that list is exhausting. Will it have that whiff of the exotic, I wonder?

I'm starting a sketching course on Saturday. This is so I can sit by the Seine and sketch Notre Dame. If that's not exotic, or at least romantic, it's the best I can do.

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside

The boys and I went to Sculpture By the Sea yesterday. It was a perfect day - sunny, breezy, incredibly blue sea, everyone smiling, a new walk to explore, drummers, pine lime splice, funny/beautiful/strange/enormous sculptures. We saw the melted Mister Whippy van sculpture, the picture of Icarus made by a plane in the sky, the steel tornado etc. All three of us loved it. Well, us three and the several hundred people who were also there. But everyone was happy to meander so it didn't feel too crowded. It was summery, it was Sydney, it was....it was the vibe, just the vibe....

(Once in a ) Blue Moon

The holidays have been jammed packed so far. I've done a few things that I only get to do once in a blue moon....
1) Bruce and I went to a wedding, and we did get to dance.
2) We stayed for two nights in town, to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary; bookshops, bushwalks, ferry rides, live music, luna park, an African restaurant, breakfast in a ballroom, photography and the Observatory.
3) We're painting the back spare room (as opposed to the front spare room. Sounds like a big house, doesn't it? ) And we're doing a feature wall tomorrow. Olive green. Bold olive green. If I don't chicken out!
4) Bruce invited three of his astronomy friends over for tea. We got to look at the sun through a solarscope, some tried the barbequed kangaroo, and Bruce had a personal crash course in manipulating his star images on the computer.
Oh, and I've finished reading "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby and "Secret River" by Kate Grenville.
I wonder what the second week will hold....
Bruce's moon shot.

Dancing Queen

It's such a busy last week of term...Stage 1 camp on Monday, school disco on Tuesday and then bellydance tonight.
I jumped at the chance to go in the "Nutbush" dance competition at the disco last night and I was going fine until it was played at super speed!
Bellydance tonight, after missing last week through pure exhaustion. Of course, just in that one week they've started a new dance, so I stumbled through our new African number. The Sahara Belles have a big(ish) repetoire now.
Bruce and I will be dancing on Saturday at the wedding. I don't know if I'll be able to work in the Nutbush and the hip drop, but I can try.

Downtown

I spent most of today on Lesley's annual shopping trip.

I only bought a handful of things, going mainly for the company and the lunch; but one thing I've bought and really like is a dress to wear to the wedding next week. It was the first thing I tried on. It's has a cream underdress with rose-coloured flowers and a see-through black overdress with delicate embroidery. It's straight and close fitting and I think it looks very grown up!

I have visions of my hair in a french roll and wearing strappy sandals, nibbling finger food in some gorgeous reception room. We'll see...

Sunday in the Park

Today the sun was shining, the sky was blue, spring was well and truly sprung, so we all went to Cecil Hills for a picnic lunch. We forget that this park exists, for months at a time, but it's really very nice and very close to home. The lakes look muddy and a bit greasy if you look too closely - but they're full of birds and the water changes with the light.

Paul took this picture of ducks by himself. I like the colours! We tried to feed the birds bread, but they were either too full or expect better, because they fled loudly across the water when we tried. Today was the first time that we've spotted a giant orange koi in the water. At least, we think that's what the shadowy shape was.....

Simon took the photo of Dinosaur Island. We don't know if it has a real name but it seems very mysterious simply because we can't get to it, and there's so much vegetation that we can't see what's there. Maybe if we lived in one of the houses around the lake we could have a canoe and go sailing there at sunset with a picnic hamper and a bottle of wine.