Virtual Scrap

At a scrap booking day at Gerry's last weekend she told me about a Summer 2013 Virtual Scrap for CM (sort of summer with a balmy day 19 degrees, but rain setting in for the weekend) and a layout challenge posted on Friday night.
Some of the pages people have done are lovely and lots of ideas.
However for my first night I found the layout too fussy and I didn't have the photos needed.
Will be interested to see what people do!
So I went ahead with a rescue scrap I had started.
Rescue as in, while doing some more assessment (not really work) in the bungalow I found a box and when opened, some older photo albums were there. Many photos not worth scrapping or keeping, but a group of older ones of the family seemed worthwhile
A few of Damian, Cherry and Bridie I gave to Bridie and a few I decided to set up in a few pages
Discovered some ones of Tony to treasure!

The first one is a layout suggested but I haven't finished the details (need some more lettering, or at least sort them so i can see what I have !!) Realise I haven't identified Bridie.

The second ones I just did as the mood took me

A New Route

The continuing appalling traffic to get out of Footscray continues On Monday it took me 15 minutes to move from Droop Street to Moore St (about 150m.) So I decided to see how Racecourse Road would be In the past it was slow so I had not considered it before.
So I went along Ballarat Rd. (avoiding the traffic queue turning into said Moore St) and on to Smithfield Rd, and up to Racecourse Rd. Moderately heavy traffic but moving all the time.
I then turned at Stubbs Rd and parked there (No time zones again)

Then walked along Racecourse Rd across Moonee Ponds Creek and onto Flemington Rd where I crossed and walked along the Park

Walking up to the Hospital 

beautiful mature gums 

View from the West. The tram to the zoo runs to the left

I also decided to go in the back way to the Hospital from the Zoo side. There are no fences to the Hospital and so i walked up and came in the north end of the Main street.
A much less stressful start to the day !!

Coming in to the hospital. The green framed windows (L) are ward rooms.

Autumn flowers

The Tree dahlia blooming always catches me out. One minute I see it starting to grow next it is towering into the sky.

The iris is much the same. Hidden in the green foliage out pop the small blooms .

A lovely 18 degree Autumn day had me cleaning up after I got the branch cut down that is squeaking irritatingly against the pergola in the wind.

Presentation Night

We had a record paid-on-time-attendees this year. Might have been the reduced cost but also the big publicity drive I think.

Everyone got in to the spirit of the colour scheme and we had some great outfits but nothing to beat Steve!! He makes these inflatable things for installations and whipped it up that morning! HAs a fan at teh abse to keep it up He had to deflate to sit down! Love the seagull on top

Steve The Bouy! 

Some flashy dressers, and the low key!

Steve and I doing a presentation

Margaret our office Manager has been with us 10 years!!

The band was a club member Geoff Rowden whom no-one knew could sing let alone play guitar The band was really good and got people going on the dance floor!! We had streamlined the presentations so we were through by 930pm and had  a few hours of party to follow.

Geoff from the band joined in the colour scheme

Preparations

Friday night was our annual get-ready-for-the-Saturday-Party for the Presentation Night at PMYC, As usual Di had made plans and our theme this year was the colours of the Buoys Red, yellow and Black and white.

Di had the idea of making small buoys for the tables with candles inside After some trial and error she asked Steve to do a mould on which she, Rosemary and a few others made paper mache domes.

We had battery powered 'candles' so the buoys didn't catch fire, and as usual had a hanging installation near the bar, that greeted you when you arrived.

Because Di had been injured on the last Fun race day, and was moving on a crutch, so I went to her place to load the car with boxes and stuff.
Then drove to the Club; this on the day with the truck crash on the CityLink (a sign I drove past (slowly) in the morning said 'CityLink All Ramps Closed") but managed to make good time.

We had a few chores to do but with wine and nibbles got through by 830

Rosemary at work 

The wooden painted buoys getting in place 

My Book Club

I saw Trish from my past book club at the conference and realised I had not done any more book of the months So to prove I have been reading here is the list
February 
The Last Runaway By Tracey Chevalier

Armed only with the Bible, Dickens  and a set of quilts, in 1850 Honor Bright decides to accompany her sister Grace from Bridport, Dorset to Ohio (Grace is travelling there to marry her fiancé Adam Cox; Honor is fleeing a broken engagement and a broken heart) she leaves behind a loving extended family as well as a tightly knit Quaker community.

The sea trip over is one of we travel-sickness-prone-people's nightmare, she is sick ALL the way so realises she can never go back to England if she wants (at times this seems preferable to life in America) 

The book is a fascinating mix of stories of Quaker life as well as the pioneering rise of America, complete with Slaves.

Quakers do not support slavery, but it is against the law at that time in Ohio to help runaway slaves. Even inadvertently when they hide in your barn!!

It was interesting to read at the time that I also saw LINCOLN the movie, and the struggle for slave emancipation

A great Read 9/10

MARCH

A Darker Music  Maris Morton (loaned to me by Julie Stone)

won the inaugural CAL Scribe Fiction Prize in 2010, for Australian writers over 35, regardless of publishing history. The novel is the first publication for Maris Morton – at age 72 – a considerable achievement. Hope for you all yet!!!

Mary takes a temporary housekeeping job at Downe, a famous Merino stud in Western Australia. When she arrives, however, she finds the homestead in decline and the owner’s wife, Clio, seriously ill, barely venturing from her room. Mary’s job is to feed Clio’s taciturn and often absent husband, Paul, and son, Martin, and prepare the house for Martin’s upcoming wedding. Family secrets and quiet tragedy play out against a rural Australian backdrop. The novel is about the contrast between Clio's love of music and her husband's complete denial of any need for this in HIS house.

It is not the best book Literary wise  I have read but I did enjoy it, for its setting, and plot.

7/10

APRIL

The One Hundred Year old Man who climbed out a window and disappeared. Jonas Jonasson

The adventures in the life of Alan, a 100 years old Swede, who while waitign for his 100th birthday party in an old peoples home decides to leave, and the presumptions and missed interpretation that means he gets away.  And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. 
It is a bit of Forrest Gump and at times beggars belief (but it is a story!) but great fun and a real lesson that it's never over till it's over!   8/10

Will decide on May when I have read more 

But choices are 

Gone Girl Gillian Glynn

The Good Muslim Tahmona Anam

A Tale for the time Being Ruth Ozeki

Canberra

This year I decided to go to the MCH conference on Canberra esp as a few friends mentioned they were going.
It was just 2 days so  flew up on thursday night and met the others in Canberra Airport as they were on a Virgin flight that got in 10minutes after me and we came back together at 5pm Saturday.

It was not hard to find them as the new Airport building was empty!!!!!
 We stayed in an apartment hotel that was really great only a 10 minute walk to the conference centre.
The conference itself was mediocre. poor keynote on first day, appalling one at the end, and MC who was sexist and had people up playing games,(why need and MC???? It's not like no-one knew anyone else)
The dinner was at Parliament House and the meal was definitely moderate; The vegetarian lot had a very poor meal of it.
The entertainment and dancing was great (except for said MC) The theme of the night was I love the night life and everyone had party crowns to flashy bow ties.(not many men there )

Our grou (Borrowed Celia's jacket)

The foyer pillars to look like forest of gum trees 

The fantastic tapestry in the ball room

The Concurrent sessions I went to were good, and I took time off to visit the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Australia. A new separate  building since I was there last.

Canberra was 100 yrs in March and this was life in 1913. Great exhibition 

The Portrait Gallery was fantastic and had a special exhibition of 'First ladies" Not PM's wives but great women of Australia.

Like Melbourne, Canberra was in the grip of a balmy Autumn, day temp 24,  and I did a great walk around (well, along) the Lake and past the Australian of the Year walk

Who was the first winner??

Sir Macfarlane Burnett

Art Gallery 2

Today I  went to the National Gallery to see the Ballet and Costume exhibition. looking at Ballet costumes and links to fashion. In 2002 the Australian ballet initiated Tutu: designing for Dance, and invited seventeen leading fashion designers and labels to make their interpretation of a Tutu.

The results were varied and beautiful.

love this one by Collette Dinnigan

The white Beads are actually Japanese Shibori (tie dying)

A surprise of the visit were two wonderful exhibits.
 The first was a glass reindeer in the foyer made of bubbles of glass I forgot to get who it was.but appealing to all who walked in.

Hard to tell if there were things inside or distorted reflections

The second was an installation called clinamen by Celeste BOURSIER  MOUGENOT.
An Installation  of  chance and indeterminacy in musical composition through the use of unorthodox musical instruments

Circulating gently porcelain bowls float driven by an underwater current and sound as the touch randomly and against the edges.

It was mesmerising and people were sitting there for ages 

Art gallery

Spent some time on Sunday at the National Gallery at Federation Square
I went esp to  see the Hollywood Costumes. Well worth a  second less crowded visit.

Love to have it in the garden!

A billy cart to make memories!