Inside Looking Out

We have just had all our windows cleaned so I decided to takes some photos from inside looking out before the garden starts to struggle in the summer heat.

My wisteria has put out lots of new growth, which, if you go out into the garden at night, brushes against your face and feels exactly like a large spider (I speak from experience). You can see one of the culprits in the first photo.

I am trying to train it across the front of the pergola but it keeps escaping on me.

The Letter C

Continuing the alphabet series, today is the letter C.

Cotton reels.

I have been collecting old wooden cotton reels for a while and have finally come up with a use for them. If you cut a slot into them lengthwise you can use them as card or picture holders.

I will have some at my stall at the Fremantle Bazaar in early December.

Clothes pegs.

Sometimes even perfectly ordinary everyday things can look interesting if you get up close.

Caramels.

What a pity caramels don't come in these cute little cardboard boxes any more. It would be much more environmentally friendly if they did.

Old Glass

There is something about old glass that interests me. I like old glass that is etched, or coloured or uneven or has some other special characteristic that makes it unusual. There is lots of it around - in doors, windows, salvage yards and op shops.

These are some of my favourites.

Buttons, Beach, Bowls

I did a post the other day which, entirely unintentionally, had photos of three things beginning with the letter A.

It occurred to me that this could be the start of an intermittent series using letters of the alphabet.

So here is the letter B.

Buttons, which I keep in an old printer's tray in my workspace.

The beach. Because you can't pass it by without having to take a photo. I took this photo on Monday at Leighton Beach. There is even a lone kite surfer visible in the distance.

Bowls.

Most of these are hand turned bowls made by a Benedictine monk from Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. I like the way the afternoon sun was catching some of them.

For Ellie

This one is for Ellie.

Ellie was our 13 year old border terrier. She had a beautiful spirit; she was fiesty, stubborn and did exactly what she pleased. She like to chew things. A lot. Clothes pegs. Gardening gloves. Paint brushes. Shoes. In fact anything that was inadvertently left within her reach in the garden.

She is even chewing something in the photo, which is how we will best remember her.

We said our final farewell to Ellie on Sunday.

Architecture, Abalone and Accessories

This is the last of my photos from Melbourne. The only thing they have in common is that I took them all in Melbourne, but apart from that they are totally random.

Beautiful architecture in Albert Park....

An amazing selection of tinned abalone in Chinatown.....

The "must have" accessory in Chapel Street......

and the curious shop Empire Vintage, full of treasures old and new.

Things on Walls

It is always interesting to look out for things written on walls or on buildings as you are wandering about a city.

These are a few interesting ones from Melbourne.

The Essence of Melbourne

The essence of Melbourne for me is:

Fossicking in the Chapel Street Bazaar.....

A perfect coffee....

The casual elegance of the cafes.....

and the studied elegance of the shop windows...

I have just spent a wonderful three days there and not even the sideways rain and freezing temperatures (12C) could prevent me from being out and about. I have come to expect bizarre weather conditions whenever I visit Melbourne - the last time I was there we had to wade through knee high freezing floods to get back across the City to our hotel. It all just adds to the excitement.

There will be more of Melbourne in my next post.

My Typewriter

I have a new typewriter.

It is a German typewriter, manufactured in the late 1920's, and it actually works. Heaven knows where it had been because it took me a whole afternoon to clean all the dust and cobwebs out of it and to get the keys moving again but I absolutely love it.

It will be making a guest appearance at my stall at the Fremantle Bazaar which is in early December in the grounds of the Fremantle Arts Centre.

I am off to Melbourne tomorrow for a few days so I will have lots to share when I get back.

Spring Rain

After the second driest winter on record and weeks of clear blue sky it was wonderful to hear the rain drumming on the roof this weekend.

The garden looked even more vibrant after the downpour.

I promise my next post will be about something other than the garden!

What's in the attic?

I am not the only collector in our family. I have two daughters who also have bower bird tendencies. We have a little attic room in our house which seems to be where our overflow collections have ended up. It actually makes the little room very cosy.

Random Parrot

Random parrot.

Azalea.

I don't know the correct botanical name for this plant but what makes it so special, apart from its scent, is the fact that it has blue flowers and white flowers at the same time. Someone told me it was called a "night and day" plant.

I went into the garden this morning to take some pictures of all the white flowers which are in bloom and which, despite their lack of colour, all have the most amazing scent. Whilst I was there a very noisy parrot came to keep an eye on me so I felt I needed to include a picture of him as well!

Beach House

Another beautiful weekend down south.

The beach shots were taken at Bunker Bay. There was absolutely no surf but that didn't stop the locals from lolling about in the water on their body boards.