2014 In Retrospect

For our country, 2014 has been a dramatic year to say the least - to the point that by the end of the year I refused to listen to or watch the news.  I have also found world news too much to bear. I have therefore made a conscious effort to not comment, in my blog, on many current news events throughout the year.

So I sit here, with only minutes left to this year, and, for the first time since I started this blog, I have decided to do a year in review.  I will not do a month by month review but rather pick out what I believe to be major highlights of my and my family's year.

In January, I made a new year's resolution for the first time in decades; to speak less and listen more.  This has been, at times, difficult, and only this morning, during a reflective moment, told myself I need to continue with this discipline, so I will.

In January, I also read Gone With The Wind for the first time when a friend offered to loan me her copy of the book.  I loved the book and regret not reading it a long, long, time ago.

In May my sister visited Sydney and extended family to celebrate her 60th Birthday.  It was a special time for us all.

Mr Honey Pie and I headed off to the desert in July...winter being the only time to spend time in the desert and although we visited some exotic places, it made me feel so appreciative of our home comforts. 

August saw the family pull together as we moved our Mum out of what had been the family home for the past fifty three plus years.  Poor Mum suffered a mini-stroke the week of the handover.  It was an experience we would have wished she never should have experienced. Especially at her age.

In September our second son had a piece of his jewellery selected for a prestigious exhibition called A Fine Possesion at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Mr Honey Pie's side of the family had another addition to the family in November (and so another quilt was created)

I think one of my disappointments would have to be how nature failed Sydneysiders in 2014

each time there was some exciting happening in the night sky by filling it with clouds.

Clouds are not as exciting as an eclipse.

We missed out every time. 

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends.

May 2015 be everything you want it to be.

A Weekend Story

I'm only a week late posting about the great day we had last Sunday with our Second Son.

He has caught the African Violet bug off me and has them growing all over his apartment, including under glass on his balcony.

His African Violets are taken from cuttings off my plants.

Mr M is a jeweller. He makes jewellery from throwaway materials. Above are some of his experimental pieces which he made from shrunk polystyrene.  (Propped up in front of his child hood box of wooden blocks.)

He is also a bit of a bower bird, littering his rooms with all sorts of interesting objects.

He served us up some smiley shortbread biscuits.

And made coffee,and tea.

This green mug is a Fire King vintage glass mug - our son collects Fire King pieces.

I made some GF choc brownies (nut free too).

Sorry about the quality of the picture, I'm still learning how to use the point and shoot camera!

Afterwards we went for a walk to Marrickville Markets.  But I didn't take any photos while we were there...simply didn't think of it and we were too busy eating a delicious late lunch.

After that Miss Five was rewarded with a play in the park.

She has turned into some kind of climbing whiz in the past year!

Above is The Vic On The Park at Enmore.

Below are some of the sights we spotted along the way back to the apartment.

(I just love the inner west of Sydney. It's such a vibrant place.) 

The walk from Newtown to Marrickville was a good twenty minutes there another twenty back so Miss Five was a little tired but she managed to stay awake on our drive back to the mountains in time for a quick dinner of bacon and eggs before she went home with her Mum.

We add a few veggies to our bacon and eggs; like tomatoes, broccoli and zucchini. It's not something we have very often but it's a great meal when we need dinner in a jiffy.

Do you ever have bacon and eggs for dinner?

Day 349/366

Lake George, on the way to the nation's capital, Canberra.

Bilk Gallery was our destination to see a very clever jeweller's work.

You can find out more about Mark here and here.

Day 38/366

This is a photograph of a close up of my son's jewellery.

He is a jewellery designer and maker.

These are some of his very early makings.

Plastic shopping bags are stripped and spun into a fine thread which goes to make the 'chain' onto which fine silver is threaded into or hung from.

All the findings are hand made from silver, by him.

Other than cropping this photograph, it is untouched and taken on manual setting.

MY COLLECTIONS: Dragonfly Jewellery.

My collection of anything Dragonfly began around ten years ago.  Here is a small collection of earrings, brooches, pendants and a couple other little bits.