Weekend of weddings *Now with photos*

Well the weekend is over and it was LOVELY.

There were two beautiful brides. There was lots of love. There was lots of driving. There was not much sleep. There were termites (I kid you not). There was a cute daughter all dressed up. There was a girdle involved (sadly not as effective as I had hoped. Sigh. Blame the raw material. And don't get me started on the flabby arms! I felt like a whale, except whales don't have arms????) There were two stunning bridal dresses. There were two handsome grooms. There were kilts and bagpipes! There were many old and new friends. There was great food and drink. There were two stunning waterside settings. There were blessings for babies in the future, and for wedding rings. There was earth, air, fire and water. There were gorgeous bridesmaids. There was dancing! There were loving families, there were strained families, there were mix-and-match families. There was a flowergirl with a broken arm (I broke it at the hen's party, when I fell on her in a game, :( uh-oh). There were hugs and kisses and reminisces. There were cold shoulders and warm ones. There were babies, and babies-to-be, predictions for love, and wishing rocks in the ocean. Messages in the sand and earthy comments. Earthy deeds! Memories, regrets, gladness and pain. Seating arrangments, wedding cakes, tissues and tears. Too many photos and not enough. Absent friends and lost moments. Letting go and new beginnings. And now it is over. I have this morning to finish packing for Japan, wrapping presents, tidying the house, making lists and toys. Do I have time to make another bag as a gift? I made one on Friday. I could squeeze in a simpler one...Aaarrgh! And I start two nights of night shift tonight, so I need to sleep this avo too....I should get off the computer and stop procrastinating. I will edit this post and add photos later. (Done - OMG it took hours. This bloody new camera takes pics that are too big....no ..time. .to ..read ...manual)

Thinking of you...I'll miss you while I'm gone in Japan.

Sultry night at Cottesloe

Boy its hot here...

Last night DH persuaded me to take a drive to the beach (10 mins away) to escape the oppressive heat. It has been well over 30C for a week or so, and disgustingly hot at night. I'm on night shift at the moment so it is really gruelling to attempt daytime sleep when its 37C and dripping with humidity. Even in front of the fan. Sigh.

The weather bureau keeps promising thunderstorms and the sky keeps trying but no...

However it was gorgeous at Cottesloe at 8-ish in the evening. Not many people, just a wonderful sunset, and lots of photographers (surprise, surprise). Don of course is genetically unable to resist the urge to throw the body in.

He does love the beach, anytime, anywhere. When we were in Italy last year he even had an illicit swim on a private beach at Viareggio (we're Aussies, whaddya mean 'private beach'?)

I took these amateur snaps with my mobile phone... a bit wobbly when on zoom, but the colours! Can you see the fishermen on the groyne?

I'm reading blogs from Alaska, and MA, and Scotland and Norway and they all feature SNOW. Masses of snow. Sigh. (after 17 tries to insert a new paragraph at this point clearly AGAINST the wishes of Blogger who then posts it without one, just imagine a carriage return here...please). I'd like a bit of snow right about now. I bet they'd like a bit of sunset on Cottesloe Beach.

Spring in the Air

Dear reader

Please don't think I am going to make a habit of this but I have done it again. For the second time this year I have initiated...I suggested ... to my husband.. ummmm...voluntarily ... that we go for a walk together. I can hear your aghast cries of "Noooooooo, what were you thinking?" But once again it wasn't too bad. Sigh.

The first time was when we were in the Lakes District in England in August, and it wasn't too hot or crowded where we were and there were some Roman ruins I was hoping to see that he wasn't too keen on looking for ... but when I was holding the map and saw they were in the direction of a bit of wetland area as well, one thing led to another and I took a deep breath and said..."You may never hear this from my lips again, but shall we go for a ramble around the top of the lake and the wetlands?". Do take note that I expect fireworks and a public holiday to commemorate the event next year - August 15th.

Anyway, we went and we saw ruins - in a field with cows wandering about and cow-pats to avoid! Low-key but still quite thrilling for us colonials to see, you never forget your first time!! Followed by walking across some wetlands in a drizzle, through some lush fields and saw some gorgeous stonewalls and ducks and stuff. You know, very typical English and charming. All in all a great success and much enjoyed by my poor walk-starved husband. He was quite chuffed.

So, fast forward to this recent weekend when, looking for something nice to do together, I read that the Kalamunda Shire Council had organised a Zig-Zag walk (for the 8th year - clearly I had ignored all previous invitations). Said walk-starved husband jumped at the chance to get out in the spring air and see some Aussie scenery and wildflowers, and I felt that I could cope with being driven to the top of a hill and walking down for 3km. This is the view from the bottom of the walk.

And...it was delightful. We took our 18 year old daughter and my sister in law as well and had a lovely time. Not too physically demanding at all (my major baulk factor), beautiful views of the Swan coastal plain, lovely flora and fauna too. This is a leschenaultia flower - a rare example of blue colouring in nature.

The flowers and grass trees were gorgeous - see? The top one is a burnt out stump from a bushfire that went through the area last year. The lower one is a flowering spike about 2m tall and oozing sap to attract insects.

There were little displays set up periodically to break the walking so we had bluegrass bands, free Milo and massages, local plant displays, riding on camels, animal displays where I handled a carpet python (lovely), patted two joey kangaroos, saw a bettong, a black cockatoo, a masked owl and a barn owl, and also touched an echidna for the first time.

We had lunch in a small but very busy French cafe in Kalamunda and returned home with yummy patisserie for dessert that night. The organisation of the event was terrific. Top marks to the KSC for their efforts.

We had also been to the beach on Saturday for a wander and some lunch, and of course Don threw the body in at Cottesloe beach. We really do live in a gorgeous part of the world.

Stephanie and I sat on the grassy slopes and I read Harry Potter 7 to her (we're up to Chapter 9).

So....thats what happening in OUR part of the world. I hope to get some craft on the way this week and will post about that next time.