Sprig Cotton Sun Dress

This was the fabric I decided I could definitely wear and therefore shouldn't leave in Spotlight:

Mystery of the Silver Container

Yesterday, Mum and I headed into town to check out a small exhibition of antique Georg Jensen pieces. We'd been exceedingly fortunate to even hear about it though a jewellery designer friend who happens to work at Georg Jensen, because it was not advertised anywhere.

Sculptures by the Sea - 2015

I know it finished a couple of weeks ago but I've been busy, or lazy...

Mum and I headed down on the final afternoon to check out the sculptures and in my case, critique some of them at least. 

The weather was beautiful, neither too hot nor too windy, in fact, perfect for wandering across the sand and then rewarding ourselves with frozen yoghurt. 

Breakfast Dessert batter pudding (Clafoutis)

I haven't made a clafoutis in ages, but upon raiding the fridge decided it was the perfect way to use a number of old and wrinkled nectarines.

Illuminated Rabbits of the South Perth foreshore

I first saw the rabbits in London, in and around Royal Festival Hall. One of them lay outside the door lazily ignoring the stream of people entering the hall. The others were indoors (out of the rain) wedged into the foyer between the pillars and cantilevered upper levels.
Though they had space, they still managed to look cramped and somewhat bored.

Recently, and somewhat appropriately,  they migrated to Perth and are spending this week on Sir James Mitchell Park enjoying the fresh air and views of the city. Managed by a number of staff, they are open to the elements and to the visitors who swarm all around them and crawl between their front legs.

Sunshine sundress

Combining my preference for 1950s/1960s style dresses, my growing collection of appropriately aged patterns and a desire to replace an old yellow cotton sundress, I rustled up a new wrap around dress in a becoming shade of yellow.

Beach Shack Renovation Two

When we finally got our hands on the beach shack and could implement our own vision on the place things started to change. Mum and her sister had the final say, but suggestions were tossed around and pressures were exerted to ensure some things were removed for good.

With access to the skip bins we were using to clean out Granddad's home, my cousin and I made a trip down to remove any and all of the larger pieces that could be fitted into the skips.

The kitchen counter was dismantled and it's complete destruction relieved a lot of built up tension and frustration as it too went in a skip bin.

With hygiene issues of some concern, we took great pleasure in tossing all of the old, used plastic kitchenware. Bin bags were filled over and in moments of hesitation, the response was always 'bin it'. Given how cheap kitchen utensils are at Kmart, and how long these pieces had been sitting here, we weren't willing to risk it. Besides, Granddad had virtually new stuff at his house that we could easily rehouse here instead of sending to the Op-shops.

The beds were dismantled and thrown away, along with all the other excess furniture, chairs and mildew-ing beach towels. It was rather nice to get a true idea of the size of the shack and discuss what we would be able to achieve with it.

With the vast majority of the contents removed it was time for a lick of paint. Something bold, with a little bit of brightness but without the fading properties of the former colours.

We'd already spent considerable time perusing paints as by then we'd repainted the inside, outside and outhouses at Granddad's. With some discussion, we reached a decision. I have a decent eye for colour and one that closely matches my aunt. Mother on the other hand has far more muted tastes.

Between the three of us we came up with grey and red, with furniture in black and a golden pine.

With the paint chosen, we went fabric shopping for the curtains. We'd been looking for something that incorporated the grey and red but wasn't too nautical or too depressing. The shade of red had to be right, and it couldn't really have a cream or blue background as neither would work with the grey walls. After raiding every fabric shop we could think of and not finding anything bright and colourful enough we finally ended on a delightful choice from Ikea.

13 metres later and we now had to measure, hem and sew these 12 curtains.

With Mum busy and my aunt having no skill on the sewing machine, I undertook the actual sewing of the curtains. However my aunt was roped in to help measure and cut, before Mum ironed the pieces down and I raced them through the machine. There may have been a few arguments as to how long the curtains needed to be and by how much they should overhang the edges of the windows to ensure they blocked out as much light as possible.

Now time for the furniture...


Beach Shack Renovation One

Beach Shack Renovation Three
Beach Shack Renovation Four

Revitalise

When Mum and Dad got home from Europe, the garden in a sorry state; the reticulation had failed so we had patchy grass, a sad looking herb garden and a few dead prize plants.

It wasn't too much of a surprise as our garden water is pumped from a mill stream which can run dry over summer and some plants end up dying anyway, despite Mum's hawk-like attentions. It was devastating for Mum though as it was somewhat more severe than usual.

By the time I returned a week later, some things were in the process of being revived.

Through the Lattice Window

A recent discussion with a friend made me realise that in addition to Gargoyles and Grotesques, there is another thing I have a tendency to take photos of when touring old cities and old buildings. That of a landscape through a window, but with elements of the window incorporated into the shot. Sometimes it's unavoidable as the lattice is so small it's difficult to capture the whole view without getting some of the window into the shot. On other occasions though it adds a reminder of the location of the photo, making it more than just a landscape shot from a higher viewpoint. Instead it adds an element of the building, drawing the inside out, as opposed to the outside in. 

So here are just a few, some with lattice windows, some without the glass at all. 

From the Castel Sant'Angelo towards St Peter's, Rome, Italy

Looking in to the Bath Assembly Rooms, UK

The grounds of Fontainebleu, France

Cup of Tea Biscuits (Tea Biscuits)

Not only are these biscuits great to have with a cup of tea, but they contain tea leaves which add an interesting added element to the taste.

The original recipe calls for Lady Grey tea, but I find that so long as the tea is a very floral tea or a tisane, it doesn't matter what exactly you use.

If you want the biscuits to have an even more intense flavour, leave the dough overnight before baking, or freeze the dough and bake it at a later date, allowing the leaves time to absorb moisture and infuse the dough with flavour.