Cecil Beaton

For our anniversary my beloved gave me some books, the main theme of which was nostalgia. Flipping through one of them last night I was prompted to revisit the incomparable work of Cecil Beaton, and boy, was it a delight to do so!

The man was a genius.

Persuasion

- threat or promise?!

Can you help?!

I'm sending out a couple of pleas for help this evening ....

1. We have been 'offered' a cocker spaniel who is currently rather neglected and alone, and we're considering taking him in so that he can get out of his current miserable situation. Apparently his family are renovating their house at the moment but not living there, just throwing a bit of food over the fence for him in the evenings and leaving him by himself, and they want to give him away.

We've already booked flights to travel interstate from Christmas Day until January 2nd, and we'd be extremely grateful if we could find someone to look after him during that time. Please let me know if you're in Melbourne and would consider giving him some Christmas holiday care, or if you know anyone who might be willing to do so ...

(our little Gus has put on a serious expression to try to convince you!)

 

... and another little snippet:

2. The Diamond Creek Donkey Shelter seems to be in significant financial trouble at the moment - donations of any size will be gratefully received. Just thought I'd better spread the word....

We sponsor this little chap, whose name is Dudley.

Boomcase love

Oh, these lovely Boomcases would only feed my vintage suitcase habit ....

... but I'd still love to have one.

Growth spurts

As children, my sister and I had a beloved board game called 'Watch Your Garden Grow'. Maybe it's not so surprising, then, that this is now one of my favourite pastimes - every day I wander outside to observe the small changes in my garden .... I could spend hours just sitting and looking at it quietly!

*** oh dear! I wanted to post some photos here, but Blogger isn't cooperating today. In the meantime perhaps you might like to pop over here to see a couple of pics of our drab garden when we bought the house a year ago, here for some pictures from the end of January this year (in the middle of a hot, hot summer), and then a couple of pics here of my (now rather crowded) young plants enjoying the benefits of long-awaited Spring rains ***

Trying to cook

when we don't have a kitchen is not always easy.

At least I can turn to June Bride (1939) if I need advice ...

An elegant solution

Ha!

(via The Affected Provincial)

Dreaming of soft light

... and a place for quiet contemplation ...

Peaceful days could be spent in this Greek getaway:

(via Pure Green)

Telling tales

I'm in Tasmania at the moment for Interpretation Australia's national symposium. My head is filled with wonderful ideas about creating evocative, compelling stories and meaningful experiences ...
* hmmm! so much to ponder! *

I recently found a collection of photos that reminded me of the potency of imagery in this context. Sarah Hannigan works for an NGO that redevelops forclosed homes and provides low-cost housing -  through her project 'Reclamation', she documents the personal artifacts left behind in these homes by previous owners, leaving us to wonder about the experiences that brought these spaces to life in an earlier time ...

More slow bicycle goodness

.... from Copenhagenize.com (via the Slow Bicycle Movement)



You don't get much more gloriously slow bicycle than this.

Bicycle rush hour in La Rochelle, France. The drawbridge was up and roughly 500 cyclists waited patiently in the evening sunlight for the bridge to go down.

Back from Brisvegas

We went to Brisbane for a few days .... I saw the Valentino retrospective exhibition (oooh!) and lots of beautiful animals, landscapes and architecture. It was hot and humid but we had fun!

 Turtles in the local lily pond.

 Ibis were everywhere, like seagulls in Melbourne...

 This guy was posing nicely but crouched to take off just as I pressed the shutter button. His legs look weird.

A young water dragon - such an expressive little face!

I loved the range of artworks installed in the Botanic Gardens

These chaps were waiting for handouts outside a seafood restaurant.

Perfect posture!

A sweet little project, although the idea of knitting in the hot weather makes me feel icky!

I love water dragons!

Paperbarks in an ephemeral wetland

I particularly enjoyed looking at all the beautiful old Queenslander-style homes (my father-in-law lives in a lovely one) - they're perfectly designed for the climate, raised up high with large, wrap-around verandahs, high ceilings, and extensive breezeways, and their turn-of-the-century timber detailing can look very elegant and pretty.

 Here's one that was featured on Apartment Therapy a couple of years ago (click for the slideshow)

*swoon!*