good morning

After the kids went off to school this morning, Papa (Grandpa) and I took the dogs for a walk around one of the many local lakes. About three miles of peaceful, natural beauty. The bush is really coming alive right now, everything is in bloom and all the animals are out and happily singing the weather's praises. And the smell? Divine.

If you know where to look, there are pumps like the ones above all over town. Throwbacks to the old days when people would come to Daylesford and "take the waters". They're still functioning, and we have a large canister at home we keep full of the mineral water. Great local culture.

Dog in the water!

Shadow's happy place

Loved walking under huge curtains of this wildflower

for your viewing pleasure

Here are Maisey, Blossom, Giselle, and Pasca dressed up as zombies from Halloween last week. Unfortunately I came down with a sore throat that morning and opted out of trick-or-treating with them, but still had a lot of fun helping them get ready. Painting faces, ripping clothes, splattering "blood", rolling around in the dirt, being a zombie is great!

weekly poetry

A bit later than usual, but its still here. Found at a museum this past week.

Conversation in the mountain

You ask me why I dwell in the green mountains;

I smile and make no reply for my heart

is free of care,

As the peach blossom flows downstream

and is gone into the unknown.

-Li Bai

perfect day

As stated previously, Melbourne was amazing. Just the quick break I needed. Brian has lived there before, having been in Australia for almost two years now, and took the time to show me all his favorite spots. The first: one of the many alleyways reserved for graffiti artists. There are a few around the city and they're simply amazing. Colorful, imaginative art surrounding you, towering over your head up the walls. Love it.

A small tribute to the recently departed Lou Reed

Along those same lines, we spent a good amount of our walking time around the city seeking out and admiring street art. This was my favorite, and we stopped and talked to the man for a while. His name is Adrian, and we actually had a fascinating in-depth conversation about art history and theory and methods and more. Wonderful. Can't wait to be back in the city and spend some more time with him. 

Next up: the National Gallery of Victoria. A treasure trove of art and antiquities. We spent hours wandering around, gazing at portraits, feeling like we could speak to busts and statues, drawing inspiration from intricate patterns and techniques, and just immersing ourselves in other cultures styles and other people's genius. And I couldn't have been happier that we held hands as we explored and stopped to stare. Anyone else for acting out Ferris Bueller?

Love the work itself, and the gorgeous shadow it casts

Craving to dye my own fabric

The amazing stained glass ceiling over an expanse. The building itself  is a work of art, really enjoyed it. 

One man, myriad paintings.

Monet-still my favorite!

We learned that Salvador Dali was a screenwriter, too!

Always loved the colors of Rothko's work. Beautiful.

Of course there were many more adventures and new faces and places, but I really was too caught up in the moments in the best way possible. Love this city, and spending time with my personal tour guide. And for all your curious eyes, here he is! Not the greatest picture, but I love that it radiates his fun, friendly, happy, warm personality. Cheers!

yet another happy day

Blogging in PJs while drinking tea in the kitchen. Bliss. 

Hightor has internet! The house has officially entered the 21st century. Now I can blog from the beautiful veranda, look up recipes in the kitchen, search for new patterns, tips and inspiration while sewing, and all kinds of other fun stuff. So nice. The time to Skype has officially begun- get at me!

the big smoke

Melbourne is awesome. A bright, welcoming city filled to the brink with all kinds of artistic ambition and talent. Brian and I have been spending our days wandering around, making friends with many of the impressive buskers, visiting museums and galleries, enjoying the harbor and botanic gardens, and just generally having the very best kind of lazy holiday. And our nights: either crazy and wild with all these new friends, or perfectly relaxed. Last night I cooked a simple dinner, then we just laid in bed reading until we passed out. Lovely. Haven't taken many pictures, been too busy absorbing it all with my own eyes, but hopefully I'll have a few to show by the time I'm back in Daylesford. Can't believe our time here is already up and that its back to reality for me tomorrow. Good thing that reality is a fun, creative life in a town I love!