My Bright Field

When the days are dreary it is lovely to have something to look forward to. For the past week or so I have been watching the buds swell on this golden wattle at our bush block, anticipating the full burst of joy it would deliver soon.  And wow did it deliver this weekend. Next almond blossom will burst out at Rose Orchard Haus and, as the weeks move on, more lovely things will appear.   It feels so good that the mornings are getting brighter with fewer frosts. And the days are a little warmer but I am sure the season has a few chilly twists and turns left in it yet so I am planning a winter escape.

In October Mudgee and the surrounding towns "pink up" for breast cancer awareness.  But the pinking up in the city shopping malls this week has been on another scale as Barbie mania has taken over.  There is pink merchandise everywhere. Barbie has never featured in my life.  She arrived in Australia after I was too grown up to be interested in dolls and I have no children.  As such, the Barbie movie has no nostalgic appeal to me. We chose to go to this week's other blockbuster Oppenheimer which we enjoyed. Have Barbie (or Ken) had a place in your past or present life?

  Driving through Sofala this weekend I spotted this fence made from old bedheads and think it is delightful.  Mind you those bedheads are not so terribly old, I have a bed like that currently in use.  I know furnishings are like fashion with constant change but I mostly keep the old stuff because I like the memories invoked by old and eclectic things.  I am soon to get some sofas recovered because they are sturdy and comfortable.  Would you recover or buy new? P.S. I have never had sofas reupholstered before, I hope I am happy with the result.

  We recently took a short jaunt to Barangaroo.  We caught the ferry as I wanted to see the fancy new buildings on the waterfront.  I was reminded that some years ago I rented a flat overlooking this area that is now so extensively built. The reason I rented the flat was because I was living in the mountains and the daily commute to the city got me down so I rented for a few months to catch my breath.  As a result I fully understand the preference people have for Working from Home and how hard they are resisting returning to the office. At the time I was commuting 5+ hours each day.  What is the longest daily commute you have had to endure?

I read one or two poems most days.  To me poetry is the instagram of stories.  There is no need to read a long book to get an interesting view into another's world.  I particularly like anthologies because they are like a box of assorted chocolates, if you don't like one the next one is likely to be yummy. Mind you, I skip long rambling poems, and ones with incomprehensible classical references. And I don't pull the poems apart like they did in English at school,  if a poem doesn't make sense to me after an initial reading or a quick google to explain some of its mysteries I move on. Also I read a whole anthology of Prose Poems, one per day, and I was never so glad to get to the end of a book.  The form and topics didn't appeal to me at all. Does poetry appeal to you? On another topic, jonquils I expect to see in my garden at this time of year.  But what are my roses doing still continuing to bloom at the end of June despite heavy frosts?

Walking down Penrith High Street last week I was delighted to find a former Commonwealth Bank branch has turned into Harry Hartog Booksellers.  Now who needs a bank branch (there are plenty more in Penrith) when you can have a bookshop and cafe instead!   There is a good selection of interesting books so I will be back quite often I expect even though it is a longish walk to get there. For the moment however I think Abbey's Bookstore in York Street, Sydney (over the road from the QVB) remains my absolute favourite.  They stock all the types of books my husband and I love and are far enough from home to keep our book buying habit under control.  Book buying in turn becomes a book storing matter because when we moved house we came to terms with getting rid of all sorts of clutter but the books didn't make the cut.   Do you have a favourite bookshop? Do you keep the books you buy?

  Winter has arrived but before it settles in completely we have the aftermath of autumn to deal with.  I took the shot above when walking around the city recently.  The big leaves of plane trees plastered on wet city pavements are a feature of city life.  Below is the country version. In my garden I am waiting for the leaves to finishing falling then I will mow over them and in a few places blow them onto the garden beds.  I don't enjoy raking or sweeping leaves so I don't do it.   How about you?