Just a quick post tonight ...

Just a quick post tonight as I am going out with friends for dinner.

I have been reading excerpts from a book over at my friend Dan Felstead's blog, Wood and Pixels Narrative... the book is written by a sweet man by the name of Ralph Gregory, he is an area historian and he is over 100 years of age.
The title of the book he has written is "When the 20th Century Was New and I Was a Boy", a wonderful book and the excerpts which Dan is kindly posting are an insight into a time that has gone by, a quieter time, when family and helping each other was important... I would highly recommend that you all visit Dan's blog and you will thoroughly enjoy his beautiful photography and narratives and the excerpts from this book.

Last time the author touched on the subject of candle making, prior to electricity.
He mentioned something about being a boy and taking his candle to his room, melting some of the wax onto his window sill and standing the candle on the melted wax to steady it.
Well this brought all kinds of memories back to me, I can remember having candle light as a child, not because I am that old but there was a time when my Dad was building our house when we didn't have electricity, so a fuel stove, oil lamps and candles were used ...magic.

I can also remember doing that with a candle to steady it in a candle holder, this would be in the time of electrical blackouts which happened quite often when I first moved here because it was a remote area at that time and we had a power sub-station, most of our electricity being diverted from a larger power station, this caused many problems for a while.
It was lovely actually, living on the edge of the bush land, no street lights, only a few houses had been built, the night sky looked so dark dotted by a myriad of brightly shining stars, a sliver of a moon and all was quiet, the silence was only interrupted by a breeze now and then ... you could hear the sound of the creek water rushing in the distance or some forest birds settling down in their nests for the night.
The soft cool air and the beautiful fragrance of many forest trees and plants and the sweet fragrance of the forest floor.
Me with my candle ... there is something very comforting and reassuring about the golden glow of candle light...

Have a great weekend everyone ... ♥

Twist In My Sobriety

All God's children need travelling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk girl
Now your conscience is clear

In the morning when I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I'll never hear you
And never do what you say

Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety

We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun that people had at night
Late at night don't need hostility
The timid smile and pause to free

I don't care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All God's children took their toll

Chorus

Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out 'til you've seen the light
Pig out 'til you've seen the light

Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you'll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety

Tanika Tikaram ... from her album 'Ancient Heart'

Something a little different from me - for my dear friend Alexander & thank you 'M' ...♥

'Colour and Light'

'Angelique'

'White Satin'

'Timeless' detail

'Auburn Spring

'Winter Garden'

'Warmth'

These powerful and evocative images of the female form, in either an intimate interior, garden or rural setting are the work of American painter Daniel F. Gerhartz, born in Wisconsin in 1965, where he still resides with his wife Jennifer and their children.
I love the sumptuous colours and textures of his canvases and the way he introduces light and shade into his paintings, the light giving them life and a glorious glow of warmth and harmony.
These are only a small sample of his beautiful paintings, some of my favourites, but there are so many more which I could post here and I would recommend you visit his web page 'The Paintings of Daniel F. Gerhartz' at www.danielgerhartz.com where you will be delighted to find more paintings such as these ... as well as landscapes, seascapes and much more ... just click on the link to 'paintings' and you will be opened up to a world of beauty and a powerful visual experience.
These paintings remain the property of Daniel F. Gerhartz and they are copyrighted, I have kindly been given permission by the artist's wife Jennifer Gerhartz to use these paintings in this post ... if you wish to use any of these paintings please contact the artist via e-mail for permission.
I have also added a link to Daniel's web page in my side bar so that in future we can all go and enjoy the paintings of this very talented artist.
Thank you Jennifer for your kind permission in allowing me to post these paintings. ♥

Flowers for my Birthday

Yes it was my birthday today... again, gosh I'm getting old, they seem to come around more quickly as the years progress ... :-)
These beautiful flowers are from Nina, my Vietnamese friend who has adopted me as her 'Mom' here in Australia. She is so thoughtful and spoils me...thank you dear Nina, Marina, Liz and Lyn.
I have had a lovely day, my wonderful daughter called in to see me this morning with my adorable granddaughter, again tonight with more cakes, cards and presents ... I am having a BBQ celebration lunch at her house on Sunday... thank you Rebecca.
My lovely new daughter-in-law to be, Nicole and my youngest son, Andrew cooked me a splendid dinner this evening, it was so nice not having to cook or do a thing...more cards and lovely presents.
Dinner was followed by a delightful birthday cake ... a torte...layers of chocolate and vanilla cake, filled with fresh cream and chocolate ganash (no, not to be confused with Ganesh), the top was covered with fresh fruit, shaved chocolate and a raspberry glaze ... there goes my diet... and no there are no photos of me the 'birthday girl', I am feeling too old.
Thank you Nicole and Andrew...
Sadly, Matthew could not join us for my little birthday dinner, he is at present in Calvary hospital, which is a palliative care/rehabilitation facility run by the Little Sisters of Mary.
He will be there for a while as the 'team' as I refer to them, that is his neurologist, general practitioner and pain specialist are trying to get his pain under control with supervision, some daily physiotherapy and gentle exercise so that his leg muscles don't atrophy from the MS and to help with some of the other unwanted symptoms of this disease ... he is quite happy there and I spent some time with him this afternoon.
I think it is a nice change from being at home, some new faces and people to talk to and mix with. He is allowed to come home for a few hours on Saturday, so we will have a small celebration then.
Thank you also to my dear friends for your thoughtfulness and kind wishes ... ♥

The birthday cake, it was delicious and despite all of the cream and ganash delightfully light!

Pre Raphaelite Women ...some tragic ... some not

Vanity - Frank Cadogan Cowper - 1877 - 1958

Autumn Leaves - Sir John Everett Millais - 1852

Guinevere - Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale - 1871-1945

Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare...She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius and sweetheart of Hamlet and a sad and tragic character.

Ophelia - Arthur Hughes - circa 1863 - 1864

Ophelia - John William Waterhouse - 1889

Ophelia - John William Waterhouse - 1894

Ophelia - Sir John Everett Millais - 1852

The Lady of Shalott - John William Waterhouse - 1888

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance -
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.

An excerpt from the poem 'The Lady Of Shalott' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

'seer' a visionary: a person with unusual powers of foresight.

Pre Raphaelite Movement - A link to Wikipedia ... ♥