Gertude Jeckyll
Gold Bunny (or Freesia?)
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| Sparrieshoop |
Just Joey
Souvenir de la Malmaison
Climbing Peace
Lady Hillingdon
Albertine
Albertine again
Gertrude Jeckyll again
Oklahoma
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| Buff Beauty |
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| Chicago Peace |
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Spring garden
Last week we had freezing cold weather with howling winds, hail and driving rain. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to go over 30 degrees. I guess that's normal spring weather, so here are some spring garden pictures!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Is it really August already?
I don't want to wish the year away, but to me August is the start of the slippery downhill slide to Christmas.
July was a rather busy month, and went far too quickly - here are some of the things I did (or didn't do).
1. I didn't watch the Tour de France, except for the last leg into Paris and up the Champs Elysees - too many cyclists getting in the way of the scenery, in my view. To celebrate the Frenchyness of July (T de F, Bastille Day), I put up an "All things French" display in the library which has been very well received by our Francophile patrons. Sometimes my job is great fun!
2. I didn't watch the Diamond Jubilee either, and am happily avoiding the Olympic Games altogether. There's plenty to see on iView or on DVD - last night's classic French horror movie "Les yeux sans visage" was brilliant. I am still traumatised by the surgery sequence - how did thet get away with that in 1959? Thank you Maddie for introducing me to some obscure but amazing movies.
3. I've been trying to finish various crafty projects. Some have been underway for more than a decade. I am determined to finally finish this one by the end of winter. (It was one of my 2011 resolutions, but we won't discuss that.)
There are also two knitted cardigans and a pinafore dress (all half finished), plus a long list of projects I've planned but haven't started yet. I decided to teach myself how to do woodwork, but haven't even looked in the books I borrowed for this purpose - I always seem to overestimate how much time I have available.
4. There appears to have been a lot of on-line shopping happening - I have added to my collection of Kobenstyle cookware (now all of two items), taken advantage of the amazing Toast summer sale, ordered various goodies from Biome, and started off the summer gardening with Digger's Club. It's far too easy to press that "add to basket" button!
5. Speaking of the garden, I've spent a lot of time weeding, weeding, weeding. Also planting seeds (spring onions, purple sprouting broccoli, tomatoes, cosmos, Queen Anne's Lace). We still have lots of broccoli to pick, and I've been trawling the net for cumquat recipes, as our tree is rather full at present. It's all looking very good right now, as there's been lots of rain. It's hard to believe that spring is only a few weeks away...
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Two weeks off
I'm back at work now after two very nice weeks' holiday.
In the first week Martin, Maddie and I went to Sydney. We managed to miss both of the storms which hit Perth, and fortunately our house was OK.
Sydney was fun - we had a great time catching up with Martin's family. We managed to catch the last night of the Vivid Sydney light festival, which was very impressive, in spite of the drizzy weather.
At the Art Gallery of NSW, I saw one of my favourite Australian paintings.
I also managed to walk all the way across the Bridge - I've never done it before as I have a bit of a thing about heights. Just to prove I did it, here's a photo taken half way across. Now that I've managed this, I can work up the nerve for the Bridge Climb!
Martin and I then went on to Melbourne. Oh, the joys of Melbourne shopping! We had some wonderful meals, including an amazing Sichuan meal in Richmond with a great group of friends.
We also caught the train to Bendigo, to see the Grace Kelly exhibition. It was fabulous, and I found Grace to be a very endearing person - at least from what I learnt from the exhibition! The dresses were exquisite, even though they didn't have the one from Rear Window I'd been hoping to see.
Finally, there was the Napoleon exhibition at the NGV. Ruthless military exploits aside, I do find him to be a fascinating figure. He has certainly left a significant legacy, and one wonders what this country would be like if we were Terre Napoleon instead of Australia.
I had another week off after we got home - I had a list of things I wanted to do, none of which I managed to finish. I probably need at least another two weeks off!
In the first week Martin, Maddie and I went to Sydney. We managed to miss both of the storms which hit Perth, and fortunately our house was OK.
Sydney was fun - we had a great time catching up with Martin's family. We managed to catch the last night of the Vivid Sydney light festival, which was very impressive, in spite of the drizzy weather.
At the Art Gallery of NSW, I saw one of my favourite Australian paintings.
I also managed to walk all the way across the Bridge - I've never done it before as I have a bit of a thing about heights. Just to prove I did it, here's a photo taken half way across. Now that I've managed this, I can work up the nerve for the Bridge Climb!
Martin and I then went on to Melbourne. Oh, the joys of Melbourne shopping! We had some wonderful meals, including an amazing Sichuan meal in Richmond with a great group of friends.
We also caught the train to Bendigo, to see the Grace Kelly exhibition. It was fabulous, and I found Grace to be a very endearing person - at least from what I learnt from the exhibition! The dresses were exquisite, even though they didn't have the one from Rear Window I'd been hoping to see.
Finally, there was the Napoleon exhibition at the NGV. Ruthless military exploits aside, I do find him to be a fascinating figure. He has certainly left a significant legacy, and one wonders what this country would be like if we were Terre Napoleon instead of Australia.
I had another week off after we got home - I had a list of things I wanted to do, none of which I managed to finish. I probably need at least another two weeks off!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Autumnal
Autumn is a very subtle thing in Perth. It's not really a proper season in the Northern Hemisphere sense. The days are still usually warm and sunny, but they're shorter and the heat has definitely lost its bite. The nights are cool, and the mornings pleasanty crisp. The light is more mellow - it's my favourite time of year, mainly because I know our much-too-brief winter is on its way at last.
Since we got back from our trip overseas, I've been working hard in the garden - filling in empty patches, pruning overgown shrubs, transplanting roses, planting new veggie beds. I think I may have overdone it with the broccoli - there are far too many plants for us, especially considering that Maddie remains resolutely pro-Bush (Snr) on the broccoli issue.
I have discovered, to my joy, that you can grow raspberries in Perth! Who knew that there are low-chill varieties which can be grown in climates even warmer than ours? Anyway, I've found a spot for the four canes I've ordered from the Digger's Club. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they go, and am already fantasising about big bowls of fresh raspberries...
It rained really heavily last night - it was lovely to go out into the garden this morning to see everything refreshed and sparkly. The snails are also loving it! They must love fennel seeds - there were several feasting precariously on dead fennel flowerheads.
As I've been typing, the sky has gone from bright blue to solid grey - it looks like we're in for a nice wet Sunday. I love autumn!
Since we got back from our trip overseas, I've been working hard in the garden - filling in empty patches, pruning overgown shrubs, transplanting roses, planting new veggie beds. I think I may have overdone it with the broccoli - there are far too many plants for us, especially considering that Maddie remains resolutely pro-Bush (Snr) on the broccoli issue.
I have discovered, to my joy, that you can grow raspberries in Perth! Who knew that there are low-chill varieties which can be grown in climates even warmer than ours? Anyway, I've found a spot for the four canes I've ordered from the Digger's Club. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they go, and am already fantasising about big bowls of fresh raspberries...
It rained really heavily last night - it was lovely to go out into the garden this morning to see everything refreshed and sparkly. The snails are also loving it! They must love fennel seeds - there were several feasting precariously on dead fennel flowerheads.
As I've been typing, the sky has gone from bright blue to solid grey - it looks like we're in for a nice wet Sunday. I love autumn!
Friday, February 10, 2012
10 (inexpensive) things I love about Paris
Paris is no doubt a fabulous place if you're very rich and can stay at the Plaza Athenee and shop in the Place Vendome. Our budget doesn't quite stretch to that, so here are my favourite things about Paris which don't cost the earth. It's famously said that in Paris, bread, wine and public transport are cheap, so I'll start with those.
1. The French make the best bread I've ever tasted. I won't say in the world because I haven't been everywhere, but if there's better bread somewhere else, I'd love to try it. Making bread is considered an artesanal thing here. Martin loves to go off most mornings to buy a baguette and croissants or brioche for breakfast. The bread is a perfect combination of a really crispy crust and a moist, chewy inside.
(Sorry about the dreadful photo.) The standard baguette costs a little more than one euro and is absolutely delicious.
2. You can buy perfectly decent wine in French supermarkets for well under €10, often under €5. It may not be a vintage Margaux, but it tastes great to us.
3. The metro - you can go anywhere in Paris for €1.25. A trip on the tube in London cost us £4.30! The trains come every 3 to 5 minutes, and they're fast. It's also very logical and easy to negotiate.
4. Window shopping - see previous post. French window displays are fabulous. There's a reason why it's called leche-vitrine (window licking) here.
5. The food - I can't comment on really expensive restaurants, as I've never been to one here. I'm sure you can get bad food here too, but we've had really good food in Parisian restaurants, and we only go to reasonably priced ones. It's also not as expensive as the same food in Perth. And the service is always very attentive and polite.
6. Bookshops! If the e-book is a threat to the traditional bookshop here, there is absolutely no visible sign of it. I've never seen bookshops anywhere like those here. They're on every street (often there are several on one street) and the range of books is truly mind-blowing. The books on display in the windows aren't bestsellers or cookbooks - they're essays on political or social issues. Even department stores have huge bookshops, and people sit around reading for hours.
7. Monoprix - like Target in Australia, only much better! (The clothes and homewares are great.)
8. The cinema - it's called "le septieme art". (The arts are numbered from 1 to 9 in France, with architecture at number 1.) You can see all the new release French or English-language movies (and other languages of course), or there are numerous cinemas devoted entirely to showing old movies.
9. People watching. The French apparently love doing this - that's why chairs in pavement cafes all face the street.
10. Just wandering. It's fun to throw away the map and lose yourself in little back streets and neighbourhoods. This city is just endlessly fascinating and beautiful!
1. The French make the best bread I've ever tasted. I won't say in the world because I haven't been everywhere, but if there's better bread somewhere else, I'd love to try it. Making bread is considered an artesanal thing here. Martin loves to go off most mornings to buy a baguette and croissants or brioche for breakfast. The bread is a perfect combination of a really crispy crust and a moist, chewy inside.
(Sorry about the dreadful photo.) The standard baguette costs a little more than one euro and is absolutely delicious.
2. You can buy perfectly decent wine in French supermarkets for well under €10, often under €5. It may not be a vintage Margaux, but it tastes great to us.
3. The metro - you can go anywhere in Paris for €1.25. A trip on the tube in London cost us £4.30! The trains come every 3 to 5 minutes, and they're fast. It's also very logical and easy to negotiate.
4. Window shopping - see previous post. French window displays are fabulous. There's a reason why it's called leche-vitrine (window licking) here.
5. The food - I can't comment on really expensive restaurants, as I've never been to one here. I'm sure you can get bad food here too, but we've had really good food in Parisian restaurants, and we only go to reasonably priced ones. It's also not as expensive as the same food in Perth. And the service is always very attentive and polite.
6. Bookshops! If the e-book is a threat to the traditional bookshop here, there is absolutely no visible sign of it. I've never seen bookshops anywhere like those here. They're on every street (often there are several on one street) and the range of books is truly mind-blowing. The books on display in the windows aren't bestsellers or cookbooks - they're essays on political or social issues. Even department stores have huge bookshops, and people sit around reading for hours.
7. Monoprix - like Target in Australia, only much better! (The clothes and homewares are great.)
8. The cinema - it's called "le septieme art". (The arts are numbered from 1 to 9 in France, with architecture at number 1.) You can see all the new release French or English-language movies (and other languages of course), or there are numerous cinemas devoted entirely to showing old movies.
9. People watching. The French apparently love doing this - that's why chairs in pavement cafes all face the street.
10. Just wandering. It's fun to throw away the map and lose yourself in little back streets and neighbourhoods. This city is just endlessly fascinating and beautiful!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Daphne Guinness and shop windows
Before we left on our holiday, my sister Annette asked me to hunt down the perfume "Daphne" by Commes des Garcons. The socialite / Guinness heiress has become something of a muse to my sister. I haven't had any luck finding it in New York or in Paris, and I've looked in all the obvious places, except the CDG shop, which I'm not brave enough to go into.
Anyway, I heard from my sister that DG has been involved with window displays for the Printemps department store, featuring 3D laser images of her made by the artist Nick Knight.
Which is a long winded way of saying that French shops have the most brilliant window displays - the ones in Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette are amazing, especially at Christmas. Even very unassuming shops take great care with their windows - we have been lured into many lovely little shops because of their windows.
Today, we went to the Musee de la Magie - name just about any subject, and it will have a museum in Paris. This fascinating little place has all sorts of old optical illusions and paraphernalia relating to magic. There is also a great magic show included in the price of admission. It's obviously a popular place for school excursions - we watched the show with dozens of eager kids, and then had to elbow the little dears out of the way to view the exhibits.
There's also the adjoining Musee des Automates, featuring many wonderful old automata. Having recently seen the movie "Hugo", we found these especially fascinating, although none were anywhere near as complex as the automaton featured in the film.
While waiting for the museum to open, we wandered up the street and around the corner. This street (the Rue St Paul) has so many great little shops (all with great window displays) - lots of vintagey / old French crap type places. I could see myself spending far too much money, so resisted the temptation to go into most of them. Next time!
Anyway, I heard from my sister that DG has been involved with window displays for the Printemps department store, featuring 3D laser images of her made by the artist Nick Knight.
Which is a long winded way of saying that French shops have the most brilliant window displays - the ones in Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette are amazing, especially at Christmas. Even very unassuming shops take great care with their windows - we have been lured into many lovely little shops because of their windows.
Today, we went to the Musee de la Magie - name just about any subject, and it will have a museum in Paris. This fascinating little place has all sorts of old optical illusions and paraphernalia relating to magic. There is also a great magic show included in the price of admission. It's obviously a popular place for school excursions - we watched the show with dozens of eager kids, and then had to elbow the little dears out of the way to view the exhibits.
There's also the adjoining Musee des Automates, featuring many wonderful old automata. Having recently seen the movie "Hugo", we found these especially fascinating, although none were anywhere near as complex as the automaton featured in the film.
While waiting for the museum to open, we wandered up the street and around the corner. This street (the Rue St Paul) has so many great little shops (all with great window displays) - lots of vintagey / old French crap type places. I could see myself spending far too much money, so resisted the temptation to go into most of them. Next time!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Chateau de Fontainebleau and Thornfield Hall
The cold snap in Europe is big news here. The cold in Paris obviously isn't on a par with Estonia and Poland, where the temperature has been down in the minus thirties.
Yesterday we took a train to Fontainebleau and visited the famous chateau. It had been snowing - just enough to cover everything beautifully.
The chateau houses a great museum featuring (amongst other things) Napoleon's uniforms, regalia and personal objets. He obviously wasn't as short as legend has it, but he had very slim feet if his slippers are anything to go by!
Outside, Martin drew his little self-caricature in the snow
and we had a quick walk to look at the gardens, much of which seem to be closed off in winter.
This morning, we woke up to a snowy Paris. It was just soft, pretty snow - not blizzard stuff. We walked to the Luxembourg Gardens - again, more pretty snowy scenery.
I'm not sure how the grass stayed green - the French are very good at making sure things look beautiful!
We then went off to see the 1944 version of Jane Eyre, starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles.
I've always loved this novel, as well as several of the film/TV adaptations, but I've never seen this version before. Although it takes great liberties with the original story, I really enjoyed this as a movie. Orson Welles is a fabulous Mr Rochester, and the gothic look of the cinematography is brilliant.
We paid another visit to Crepes a GoGo, and then walked down to Shakespeare and Company, which is still going strong. George Whitman's daughter does seem to have slowly re-organised the shop, but it's still wonderfully higgledy-piggledy. And I hope it always stays that way.
Yesterday we took a train to Fontainebleau and visited the famous chateau. It had been snowing - just enough to cover everything beautifully.
The chateau houses a great museum featuring (amongst other things) Napoleon's uniforms, regalia and personal objets. He obviously wasn't as short as legend has it, but he had very slim feet if his slippers are anything to go by!
Outside, Martin drew his little self-caricature in the snow
and we had a quick walk to look at the gardens, much of which seem to be closed off in winter.
This morning, we woke up to a snowy Paris. It was just soft, pretty snow - not blizzard stuff. We walked to the Luxembourg Gardens - again, more pretty snowy scenery.
I'm not sure how the grass stayed green - the French are very good at making sure things look beautiful!
We then went off to see the 1944 version of Jane Eyre, starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles.
I've always loved this novel, as well as several of the film/TV adaptations, but I've never seen this version before. Although it takes great liberties with the original story, I really enjoyed this as a movie. Orson Welles is a fabulous Mr Rochester, and the gothic look of the cinematography is brilliant.
We paid another visit to Crepes a GoGo, and then walked down to Shakespeare and Company, which is still going strong. George Whitman's daughter does seem to have slowly re-organised the shop, but it's still wonderfully higgledy-piggledy. And I hope it always stays that way.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Brrrrrr!
It's really cold here. It's so cold that Martin actually agreed to let me buy him a beanie. It's been below zero for days now, and snow is predicted for Sunday. I just LOVE it!
This morning we once again headed off to the Musee l'Orangerie. The reflection ponds in front of the Louvre were all iced over.
There are some truly grand museums in Paris, but the French aren't too pompous about them. This guy was hanging from one of the wings of the Louvre.
The Orangerie was wonderful - it has eight huge murals of Monet's waterlilies, plus Renoirs, Cezannes, Picassos...I loved the paintings by Marie Laurencin, who I'm ashamed to say I'd never heard of before. I liked her portrait of Coco Chanel.
I've also been to Li'l Weasel, a lovely little yarn shop in the Passage du Grand Cerf, one of Paris' beautifully restored covered passageways (which apparently are the precursor to today's shopping malls.) While I was fondling yarn, Martin was in the passageway over the road in Goodies' Records, having trouble choosing which Dino records to buy.
Tomorrow we're heading out of Paris on a day trip to Fontainebleau Castle. Looking forward to the snow...
This morning we once again headed off to the Musee l'Orangerie. The reflection ponds in front of the Louvre were all iced over.
There are some truly grand museums in Paris, but the French aren't too pompous about them. This guy was hanging from one of the wings of the Louvre.
The Orangerie was wonderful - it has eight huge murals of Monet's waterlilies, plus Renoirs, Cezannes, Picassos...I loved the paintings by Marie Laurencin, who I'm ashamed to say I'd never heard of before. I liked her portrait of Coco Chanel.
I've also been to Li'l Weasel, a lovely little yarn shop in the Passage du Grand Cerf, one of Paris' beautifully restored covered passageways (which apparently are the precursor to today's shopping malls.) While I was fondling yarn, Martin was in the passageway over the road in Goodies' Records, having trouble choosing which Dino records to buy.
Tomorrow we're heading out of Paris on a day trip to Fontainebleau Castle. Looking forward to the snow...
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Still hearting Paris
We've done a lot of walking and climbing of stairs in the last few days. We've been up and down the 70 steps to our apartment numerous times, and then there's the extra 15 steps up to the bed/bathroom. Not to mention all the steps in and out of Metro stations. We shall be very fit by the time we leave.
Yesterday, we set off to go to the Musee l'Orangerie, only to find that it's shut on Tuesdays. I sense a pattern developing here. Unperturbed, we walked up to the Champs Elysees for some shopping and a restoring drink. We then walked all the way back to our apartment - a 45 minute walk, but pleasantly bracing in the chilly weather.
This morning, we revisited the Aligre fleamarket, and the went to Merci shop in the Marais district. This is possibly the best shop I've ever been to. Great building, beautiful stuff to buy, a really nice cafe, plus they give their profits to charity!
A lot of the stuff is way too expensive for me, but I may have to go back.
We spent the afternoon seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or Les hommes qui n'aiment pas les femmes, as it's called here. I loved the books and the three Swedish movies, so was a bit put off by an English-language remake. I will grudgingly admit that it was great! I especially loved all the snowy, wintery scenery.
It's really cold here in Paris. Today the maximum didn't even get to zero, and tomorrow it's only supposed to get to minus 5. So far no snow, but it's looking good!
Yesterday, we set off to go to the Musee l'Orangerie, only to find that it's shut on Tuesdays. I sense a pattern developing here. Unperturbed, we walked up to the Champs Elysees for some shopping and a restoring drink. We then walked all the way back to our apartment - a 45 minute walk, but pleasantly bracing in the chilly weather.
This morning, we revisited the Aligre fleamarket, and the went to Merci shop in the Marais district. This is possibly the best shop I've ever been to. Great building, beautiful stuff to buy, a really nice cafe, plus they give their profits to charity!
A lot of the stuff is way too expensive for me, but I may have to go back.
We spent the afternoon seeing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or Les hommes qui n'aiment pas les femmes, as it's called here. I loved the books and the three Swedish movies, so was a bit put off by an English-language remake. I will grudgingly admit that it was great! I especially loved all the snowy, wintery scenery.
It's really cold here in Paris. Today the maximum didn't even get to zero, and tomorrow it's only supposed to get to minus 5. So far no snow, but it's looking good!
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