Celebration

Today is the Australia Day holiday, and until about an hour ago, it was a hot sunny day. Not noticing the change of weather approaching, I took the dog for a walk. We had only been out for about 5 minutes when it began to drizzle. Not too heavily, though.

A little further on, Dog and I encountered a group of about 30 laughing, inebriated young people, leaving the lovely riverside park. Seemed that the rain had brought an end to their celebration. Quite a few wore shorts or t-shirts sporting the Aussie flag; one or two were even draped in the flag.

Dog and I walked on, and got to the park. The scene the group had left behind from their barbeque party in the park left me puzzling about what tricky thing it is, loving one's country ...

There's a Bobcat in my garden ...

I've been at the forest house for about 3 weeks now. I had so many plans to do lots of drawing and illustration and blogging while I am here. But there is so much work to be done in the enormous garden, so that my artwork has had to take second place.

At the moment, there is an small bulldozer filling in a leaky dam and levelling an area at the front of the property. The frogs figured out a day or two ago that something was about to happen, and relocated themselves to the small pond at the bottom of the garden. Smart frogs. Their croaking and the singing of the cicadas and the calls of tropical birds still manage to drown out the noisy bulldozer. I have been pulling out weeds and invading creepers, and am getting the vegie and herb garden a bit more organised.

Its magic here. In a week I head back to the city. Sometimes drawing has to wait!

Double happiness

After 4 days on the road, we arrived at our destination. It is peaceful and beautiful here, my blue house in the forest, surrounded by tropical vegetation. Away from it all, yet not too far from beaches and nearby towns.

The first thing I did when I arrived, even before I made a pot of tea, was to put a load of dirty laundry in the washing machine. Don't know why I love washing clothes so much, but I do. Love the thought of the clothes being clean and smelling fresh soon. Love sorting light colours from dark colours so you don't end up with pink clothes. Love the smell of the laundry powder. Love watching them go round and round through the window of the front loader. Love hanging up the freshly washed clothes with matching pegs. Love watching storm clouds brewing in the distance, worrying about whether it will stay bright and sunny till my washing is dry.

Whilst the first load of clothes was in the machine, I unpacked the car and made a pot of tea. We had a small lunch and settled into the house. Two loads of clothes washed and hung out to dry, then we headed to the beach.

Double happiness because today it is raining, and the forecast says it will rain for the next 3 days. But my washing got done in time. All nice and clean and dry. When the sunny weather returns, the ritual begins again.

Time to do very little

Before Christmas, everyone is madly rushing to get all their work done before the year's end, and to get everything ready for the silly season. And then Christmas comes, and goes. And then you have my favourite time of all: that time after Christmas and into the first weeks of the new year, when there is no pressure and when you head to the beach often, but most of all, you just lie on the sofa with a beer and a book. Perfect.

A list

Some of my favourite things are teapots, books, ravens, washing lines, fountain pens, sunflowers and the moon. I don't know why.

Blue

Anne only has white or blue things in her apartment. All her clothes are also either white or blue. Everything in her kitchen is white or blue. Her carpet is blue, her sofa is blue, her bed linen is white and blue, even the paintings on the white walls are only white and blue. Her bathroom is all white with a blue toilet seat and a blue toothbrush. She has no plants in the house. Her eyes are the bluest blue you have ever seen.

Whatever the weather, she rides around Berlin on an old blue bicycle.

In her summer holidays she travels to a Greek island and stays in a white house with blue windows and blue doors and looks at the blue sea. The Greek flag is blue and white.

A friend once gave her a green salad bowl and salad servers for Christmas, and she just couldn't believe it. How could this friend not have noticed? She gave the present to her grandmother the very next day because she didn't want green things in her apartment.

Slightly overwhelmed

I am madly working on my 2009 calendar, which is supposed to be on sale tomorrow, and is as yet nowhere near ready. Feeling slightly overwhelmed. I drew the picture below a while ago, but today I really feel like that mouse. 8 Dec 08 - Calendar ready. See Duck Books site

At the Airport

At the airport, my dreams collide with my mundane existence, and it hurts.

Elaine de Gant

A long time ago, back in 1983, Elaine de Gant wrote an absurd weekly column for Honi Soit, the University of Sydney student newspaper.

She still writes today.