A Weekend Away!

Life is so busy, busy, busy , busy! Busy with work, family, hobbies and occasional drama’s. It is just so nice to take a break, relax and chill out. Thanks to my amazing parents  that is just what my husband and myself were able to do. Yes my beloved parents took our boys and the dog for the weekend. Of to Healesville in the scenic Yarra Valley we went. It was only a short trip, an hour and fifteen minutes from home. So not much time at all to zip up their after my husband finished work Friday night. Healesville is a lovely country town surrounded by small tranquil hills. It is surrounded by wineries and restaurants and is a beautiful place for a relaxing holidays and enjoying good food and wines.

 

We stayed in a refurbished and renovated early 1920′s cottage. It had magnificent charm and character. It’s special features included a wood fire, spa bath and some entertaining ring tail possums. It was beautifully furnished with traditional old style furniture that had lots of charm.

Friday night we spent the evening relaxing out on the pergola sipping wine, tasting biscuits and dip, listening to music and staring at a rather still ring tail possum. We enjoyed the spa bath full bubbles, so many wonderful bubbles and candlelight. So relaxing! Latter during the night I heard the possums having a party on the roof, I woke for a while to hear them running up and down on the roof, then quickly drifted back into a deep beautiful long sleep.

As a couple it is healthy for our relationship to have a weekend away together. We try to do this at least once a year. It is our very special couple time together.

 

Artist Date~ The Ian Potter Centre

The Entrance

Last Thursday I decided to go into the city early so I could go on an Artist’s Date. I went to Federation Square in Melbourne, and spent a couple of hours admiring the art work at the Ian Potter Centre. Historically there were paintings that capture Melbourne in its earlier days, the more traditional paintings and landscapes. Then there were the more contemporary and abstract paintings. It is amazing to think that there have been so many amazing Australian artists and such a variety of work.

It was very special to see this original painting, it is one of my favourite Australian paintings. I have a print of it on my wall in one of my bedrooms. My print is nowhere near as beautiful as the real painting. There were so many interesting and beautiful paintings to admire.

Now back to the NaBloPoMo challenge.

 Today’s question is:   Talk about a tangible item you wish you had invented.

I always wish I had invented a walking frame with hooks and poles for IV poles, Urine catheters to hang off and drain tubes to hang on. So you could just hook every thing up to the walking frame and take the patient for a walk. It would save having to have one to two people plus the patient trying to squeeze through doors, tubes and lines getting all tangled, and it would free patients up to be able to be more mobile. It would just make life so much easier. I want access to state of the art walking frames. I don’t see myself inventing it, I am not a designer, I wouldn’t know where to start. I just know it is something I could use, it is something that would solve a problem.

This is another picture from my Thursday adventure which I took at Federation Square.

Wishing you all a great day!

Gusto! My Artists Date

My artist date was in the city this week. Before going to work I decided to go out on  a little adventure to the State Library of Victoria.

I love the look of this majestically old building and how the stairs led all the way up to the entrance. Inside it combines its historical look with modern ascetics. It has enticing green lawns out the front and interesting statues.

The green lawns look a fabulous place to sit eat lunch and read a book.

I enjoyed looking at the statues.Walking around examining their beauty and historical significance.

This one is so cute.

I only walked into the entrance to notice the was a free exhibition on called Gusto! I just had enough time to gone in and look.

It was all about the culinary history of Victoria.

I am just one of those Victorians who loves food.

Here is a video that explains what the exhibition is about.

My favourite part was a picture of raw food which included a cute live rabbit and beautifully colourful vegetables.

I really enjoyed exploring the exhibition that used the different mediums of

Video 
Photos 
Menus
Posters
Books
and other items on displayed

to explain the history and cultural significance of food in Victoria.

It made me realise how lucky I am to live in a place so vibrant with variety of quality food and dishes.

I am one of those people who enjoys going to a cafe for food and eating out at restaurants experiencing different tastes and new dishes.

It was a yummy way to spend the morning which was followed by a busy afternoon/evening of work.

I also realised I had only seen a fraction of the State Library of Victoria and can not wait to go back and see more.

I am loving these excursions I go on and finding new places to experience and explore. It is so interesting and so much fun.

What excursions will you go on? 

Wishing you all a great day!

An All Sorts Day!

Little Miss Popularity saying walk me! Walk me!

Another wonderful day out here in suburban Melbourne, gorgeous sunny weather today, even got my jumper off. I guess today was just an all sorts day. Running around after my son’s, of to my body balance class, filling out paper work and even finding some time to walk the dog. Yes Little Miss Popularity loves her walks, she see’s her lead and runs to the front door. Ofcourse I look forward to the day when she walks straight, she tends to prefer  zig zag walking. They say pets are you good for your wellbeing! Mine tries her best to encourage me to walk, so she is encouraging me to be a happier master.

I really love the body balance class lets me stretch out all my stress and then finish off with some guided relaxation. I think it is important for me to manage my stress levels in my life. There are always going to be stressful times in my life, that is normal. I would prefer the majority of my days to be stress free. Life is so fast and has a tendency to get very busy, so it takes so effort to control my stress levels.

The spring weather did get me thinking about how active I am, yes I go to my gym classes(only the fun and relaxing ones) however I haven’t been doing a lot of walking. So I dug through my sock draw and found my pedometer. It is time to start walking. I find walking quiet relaxing and it is also good exercise. I also think I want a little more of it into my life now that we are going into the summer months. Although it still feels like winter most of the time,still waiting for a lot more of those sunny days. Found a good web site under recommended links about walking and will be aiming for a minimum of 10,000  steps.

Had to come outside to write, too noisy inside with TV’s blaring away in two room vibrating noise throughout the house. I can not think with all that noise. So I have come outside to hear the humming of the birds and the distant noise of traffic.

Have a great day.

 

Related articles

• http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html

Exploring The Streets of Melbourne

Monday morning I took time out for my self, I took myself on an Artist’s Date before I went to work. I decided to explore some streets, shops, and even found a book shop I had been meaning to go to  for a long time now.

 

I found statue’s and a fountain at Gordan Reserve on Spring street near Parliament House. The garden was named after the man in the Statue here, Adam Lindsay Gordon. He was an Australian poet, Horseman, and  Politician. Whilst I just looked like a tourist taking photo’s

I found shops I had not been to before I mainly did lots of window shopping I love looking at all the beautifully decorated shop windows and even ventured into some stores. I found lots of lovely things that I would like to acquire however after looking at the price tags decided I much soon spend my money on more important things. Plus the bag I have is perfectly fine, and oodles of lovely clothes. I also got distracted by the plants they made smile and I really liked the way they looked.

 Found a lovely chocolate cafe that I would love to go to for morning or afternoon tea one day. Lots of chocolate on the menu, yum, yum! I really do like chocolate. It was in a lovely old building and looked very posh inside. I found its name it is Koko Black on Collins Street, just so I know where to go back to. Yummy!

Finally I went to the TS Bookstore (Theosophical Society Bookshop) on Russell Street. I kept saying to myself I really should go there one day and have a look.  The building it was in was old and dingy, and not appealing at all. Finally I did go and have a look and was so delighted with what I found. It was so welcoming and interesting. It had that bookstore smell. The shelves were full of treasures. It stocked books on religion, personal development, spirituality, psychology, health, witchcraft, new age and healing and lots, lots more. It also sold other stuff like CD’s, crystals and tarot cards. I will definitely go back to this bookshop and spend a lot more time exploring its interesting contents.

What I discovered from my journey was that I am not a very good photographer, however I am a wonderful tourist in my own city and had lots and lots of fun.

There is so much to see and do.

Related articles

• Better Read than Dead on National Bookshop Day (josephinepennicott.com)

Me the Suburbanite

I have been a suburbanite all my life. I have lived in different suburbs over that time. As a child living in the suburb was good. I spent most of the time playing in the backyard, our backyard or friends backyards. I was able to play in our friends court and where we would ride our bikes around safely. I remember it was a time when any Mum could tell you off and we would listen. I knew who my neighbours were I never felt alone. I walked to primary school, secondary school and university. For much of my life my parents only owned one car. We had a strip of shops a short walk way from our house, and always a milk bar  near by to go get, milk, bread, and paper from. Our house was close to a big park that had several ovals, running track, and play ground. I used to ride my bike around it. I had a happy childhood growing up in the suburbs. I guess I wanted this backyard lifestyle for my own children. However life is faster these days, life is busier everywhere. Children live busy lives these days. I still enjoy my backyard, the dog especially enjoys the backyard. I love the idea of a quiet garden and fresh air. My children love computer games. Thankfully the dog encourages them to venture out into the backyard and get some fresh air.