Monday 31 August 2015

HOME SWEET HOME

THINGS HAVE BEEN BURSTING FORTH while i was away. spring has definitely arrived







AT THE GRAMPS


a scary customer in the bathroom
A TRADITIONAL  NIGHT - scrabble, dinner, brekky then a day on the road stopping at the stawell cemetery to take pics along the way





SUNDAY IN ADELAIDE

gorgeous raff
AFTER MY SATURDAY night out with dyan and vivienne i had a leisurely breakfast with janeen and john  then hit the road - i really wanted to see helen and don on the way home.
It was great to see dyan (publisher of Baby Days in 2002) and vivienne, it's been years since our last oyster bar gig.
I caught the tram home (it was icy cold)  and managed not to fall asleep and miss the stop :0)




SUNDAY MORNING we all had brekky together and i headed off to Stawell. Not the most exciting drive but the fields of canola and the blossom trees were gorgeous.

the trip from adelaide to the grampians



a new BIG THING  - the big olive, they really were big but somehow unimpressive, like my hair



the lovely claudia,
at the waffle
stand on the side
of the road at
Coonalpyn,
a lovely
waffle with maple
syrup, so
unexpected on the
road home



    beautiful canola fields as i drove into the grampians - 
    as magnificent as ever

Sunday 30 August 2015

ADELAIDE WEEKEND

IT'S SUNDAY morning and i'm still in bed after a full day and a fun night out with my old editor Dyan Blacklock and illustrator Vivienne Goodman.  We scoffed plates of oysters and caught up on the past 10 years or so.

here is Janeen's account of our day yesterday
What happens when author and illustrator friends catch up for a weekend? They grab great garden pots from hard rubbish collection; peruse a buy/sell/swap clothes market; go to three garage sales; IKEA ; eat pies and pasties at Glenelg Beach; trade plant cuttings; play Scrabble; sip wine, white and Rose; check out picture books; chat beside the fire and talk about when they'll do it again. Been lovely having you stay, Anne Spudvilas! X
PS: Our last book together was 'Our village in the Sky'. But guess what? We have another book called 'Where's Jessie?' coming out in November!

great account janeen,  i didn't realise we did so much, and that was all before i went out , quite a day :0)










saturday morning - a huge sale of 
hardly worn designer fashion - fun to 
look and feel the fabrics - sadly 
all clothing around size 8, 
shoes 10 inches high :0( 


walking down rundle mall to the oyster bar, some great buildings



i wonder if shaun tan was inspired by this building when he illustrated The Lost Thing
it's the most dramatic KMart i've ever seen

a pretty filigree carpart  -  how nice to see a thoughtful design

i sat next to this guy on the tram in, he was fun - looking forward to sunday off work
never heard voices like these in my life - these girls were literally yelling at each other, not fighting - talking. reality tv for real

Saturday 29 August 2015

NO PICS

IT'S SATURDAY and i'm here in adelaide, back into wintry weather, visiting janeen.  just having a laid back time, catching up with a couple more friends tonight. haven't taken any pics at all.

Thursday 27 August 2015

CORMORANT CENTRAL


HAD A GOOD WALK on the island today, the cormorants and pelicans were working their way up the river  in a huge whirling splashing pack, stirring up the water and following the fish


SPRING HAS SPRUNG


 BEST
PERFUME
IN THE
WORLD


ANOTHER GOOD DAY

I WENT FOR A LONG WALK this morning after a few sedentary days.  More drawing, only one more spread to work out :0)
also planted a garden around the birdbath, lots of groundcover daisies.






Wednesday 26 August 2015

WET WET WET

YESTERDAY was just a divine day - grey, still, overcast and really damp after lots of overnight rain.  it continued to rain on and off all morning, and i spent the afternoon just drawing and drawing.  so enjoyable


I did this drawing about three years ago when i was just starting to think about my Swan Lake book in earnest - now i'm working it up, hoping to use it in the finished publication





OSAKA UPDATE

CAL seems to have
 developed a new
 mannerism - 
squinty eyes  :0)







                RECURRING THEME


Monday 24 August 2015

COUCHLIFE

I THINK i'm out of practice at socialising, i spend so much time alone and silent, two days of non-stop talking and eating out and i was immobilised yesterday.  I just lay on the couch, didn't even open the curtains, and binge watched The Killing - what a great series.  I did achieve something though - little baby max's jacket is 3/4 done :0)    and i hauled my sorry arse off the couch to go and see The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with sonja and maya,  half slept through most of that too, although that was justifiable.  it was slick, glossy and stylish with no tension or story, a disappointing wasted opportunity.

driving home from helen's early sunday morning

i stopped at the river in mildura on the way, such a gorgeous way to start
the day-  i did actually get in a good walk and some great photos before
i got home to dive onto the couch :0)