Category: Challenges

~ The Changing Seasons – November 2024 ~

It’s been a fairly quiet month here in Perth for me. Many outings with Rosie of course, including one to the zoo. A few dinner dates, a concert in the park and a trip to the cinema. The weather has been very changeable, with a few hot days, extremely windy ones and too many cold ones!

On the day we went to the zoo it was slightly overcast and a few rain clouds about. Ideal for walking. I thought I had arrived early enough to find a carpark near the entrance, but not early enough as it was full. We drove around up and down the side streets and eventually found one, around ten minutes walk. Rosie seemed happy to walk. We hired a stroller once inside, but I ended up pushing it mostly empty! We had a lovely few hours checking out all the animals.

  • Perth Zoo, Western Australia
    One of the many brass sculptures at the zoo
  • Perth Zoo, Western Australia
    A tree kangaroo
  • Perth Zoo, Western Australia
    “Such a strong girl”
  • Perth Zoo, Western Australia
    Aboriginal Artwork

From here it all went downhill pretty fast. We walked back the allotted ten minutes and I said to Rosie, “hmm, I don’t remember walking past this building”. Well, after dragging Rosie up and down for almost 40 minutes, I called my daughter. I said, “Sorry, but you will have to come and pick us up. I’ve lost the car.” This was supposed to be her day to herself. We had to wait another 20 minutes but I was glad of the rest. Anyway, of course we found the car pretty quickly, I had missed a turning. Needless to say, the zoo is off the list for a while.

A day out with the munchkins at our favourite place, Chapel Farm. They keep some alpacas on the grounds. Such cute animals.

The artist himself

From a walk around Subiaco, looking at the new murals being painted.

Christmas cookie baking, although the icing was the best part

Taken on separate nights while having happy hour in my garden

Linking to The Changing Seasons, Last on the Card and Lens Artist Challenge – “Make me Smile”

~ Leading Lines from Across the Globe ~

For Monochrome Madness this week, Sarah from Travel with Me, has challenged us to find leading lines in our photos.

“Leading lines are a compositional technique that uses lines in a photograph to guide the viewer’s eye towards the subject. They can be natural or man-made, and can be straight, curved, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Leading lines can create a sense of movement and depth, and can be used to direct the viewer’s focus, create balance, and tell a story“.

I’ve thoroughly scoured my archives to see if I had anything along these lines (excuse the pun!).

I wouldn’t have necessarily taken a photo because of the lines, these just become apparent after viewing. I will now try and implement this technique.

It’s something I’ve come to appreciate on these challenges, I find out more and more about different ways of taking photos.

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a popular tourist attraction. For the more adventurous and not something I’ve ever felt inclined to do! I prefer looking up at the ant like characters at the top.

  • Sydney Harbour Bridge
  • Hong Kong Skyscrapers
  • Stairs leading up to a temple in
    Luang Prabang
  • Looking over to Mount Sakurajima, Japan

Quiet street in Luang Prabang, mostly bikes. Such a peaceful road.

~ Capturing the “Dogged” Details ~

Patti is the Lens Artist host this week and she has challenged us all to find the details in our subject. Post three photos from different angles.

I’m not quite sure I’m on the right track with mine! Maybe I’m biased but I think Rufus is extremely photogenic.

The last one is a tad blurry, but it was taken on the spur of the moment. Looks 3D or as if I have cut and pasted! You can probably guess that he’s excited for his dinner. Although you would think he hasn’t eaten in a week.

🌺 October Highlights from Perth 🌺

I’m joining “Changing Seasons” and “What’s Been on Your Calendar” for the month of October. Feature photo is from my garden.

I see from most of the posts people are enjoying the Autumn months and getting reading for winter. Here in the South Hemisphere we are coming up to our hottest months. We are still having a few cold nights here and there. So, I haven’t put away my winter clothes yet. Although I have been here too long to really appreciate what cold actually means!

It’s been a fairly quiet month, no travelling, having just returned from Bali at the end of September. The school holidays still had a week left at the beginning of September. So, I spent a day with the munchkins. In our local town they had arranged a dinosaur hunt. This entailed looking for posters of dinosaurs in and around the shopping centre, with prizes and games along the way.

We sure had a big long walk around town, which made for a quiet afternoon.

I thought my garden could do with some new flowers, so one week I took Rosie to the local garden centre. We had a lovely wander through the plants and flowers and Rosie chose a Kangaroo Paw.

I love Alstroemerias, also known as Lily of the Incas. They are always in flower and are a great ground cover adding plenty of colour to the garden.

We enjoyed a visit to one of our favourite wineries, Stringy Bark. It’s an hour’s drive, so Anthony’s car had a good run.

Iron sculptures at Stringy Bark

There are some new murals in a nearby suburb, I managed to see two on our way to dinner.

The mural below is by Wild Drawing. A Balinese artist. His work can be found around the world. WD is based in Athens.

Artist – Finton McGee

As we move into November it’s high time we sorted out the garden and patio areas. This means weeding and cleaning in preparation for a houseful of guests, arriving in late December.

There’s always time for a cocktail though.

~ What’s On Your Bookshelf – October ~

A challenge hosted by Deb, Jo, Sue and Donna. Look no further for your latest recommendations in reading from these wonderful hosts.

What I’ve been reading this month is a real mix of genres. I’ll start with the latest, which was a book club choice.

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”
Fran Lebowitz

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow which I’m sure many of you have seen, read or heard about. This was a Sunday Times best seller two years ago. I was put off initially by the synopsis, as it’s essentially about gaming. I did read that it’s not all about gaming, which is true. There are a lot of chapters about gaming though!

Sam and Sadie meet when they are children in a hospital. While Sam is in recovery from a tragic accident, Sadie is there because her sister is having treatment for cancer. They bond over their love of games. They lose touch for many years but then come together again due to their love of gaming.

I thought it was more for younger adults, but I eventually come to love the story of their friendship and love for each other. Gabrielle Zevin is a fantastic writer and brings to life the different characters throughout the book. Extremely clever book which stayed with me long after I had finished it. 5/5

“IN THE CASE OF GOOD BOOKS, THE POINT IS NOT TO SEE HOW MANY OF THEM YOU CAN GET THROUGH, BUT RATHER HOW MANY
CAN GET THROUGH TO YOU.”
-Mortimer J. Adler

I have read Kerryn Mayne’s previous book, Lenny Marks gets away with Murder, so was looking forward to reading the new one.

Most of her life Joy, the mother of twins, Andie and Cassie has been lying to them. To explain why they can’t go to school and have friends, she tells them they are from the future. They have to go back on their 21st birthday. Things don’t go as planned because on the day in question, Joy is found dead in the living room armchair.

A quirky book indeed, as we find out by going back in time, what prompted Joy to tell this outrageous lie. It was a fun read, if you suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride. 4/5

“Reading is an exercise in empathy, an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while”.
Malorie Blackman

Clare Chambers is one of my favourite authors and I’ve loved all of her books. This book is based on a true story and is quite shocking in some respects.

The story is set in the 1960’s and Helen is working in a psychiatric hospital as an art therapist. She is also having an affair with a handsome married doctor. She has been quite happy about this for many years, until the hidden man came to stay at the hospital.
A 37 year old man, called William Tapping, has been found living in a derelict house who hasn’t been outside in decades. This is a beautiful story told from different viewpoints. We go back in time to learn the background of why William was hidden away. Highly recommend 5/5

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~ Stairs and Steps for Monochrome Madness ~

Aletta from Now At Home is the host for this week’s Monochrome Madness. The theme is Stairs and Steps.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pelakes, Corfu
Pelekas, Corfu
Escher Painting, Melbourne
Painting of Street in Scanno, Abruzzi
by M.C. Escher
Montemarte Station, Paris, France
Paris, France

“All rising to great places is by a winding stair”
Gautama Buddha

The stairs at the Ruins of Ephesus, Turkey

Getting Creative for Monochrome Madness – Flowers

I saw Leanne’s fantastic gallery of flowers in black and white and it inspired me to experiment with different editing tools.

I watched a technique on Snapseed to create a black background. Several attempts and a great deal of time later, I achieved something! I also had a look around my garden which has many white flowers blooming at the moment. I altered a few settings on my S24 to see what other images I could achieve.

This is a hobby that would take up hours of your time. It was fun to do, quite challenging but I did learn quite a few tips from various websites.

Thanks Leanne for your inspiration – Monochrome Madness

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Silhouette of Trombone Player at Sunset

I had the pleasure of watching this fantastic trombone player at the pool.  Drinking cocktails, watching the sunset and listening to music, great way to spend a few hours.

Six Word Saturday and September Squares

A Blissful Break in Benoa, Bali

It’s our annual trip to Bali week with half the family.  This time we’re trying out Benoa, staying at the Novotel on the beach.

We were allocated rooms in the block across the road.  A very small road and always manned by two smiling staff to usher you across.  Similar to lollipop ladies at school complete with whistles and high viz sticks.  The traffic were not as well behaved as ours though and these men frequently had to whistle frantically to make any bike or car stop.

The tide’s in
Beach side pool
Sea mist
Kids pool
Fishing boats
Flying high

All neatly squared for Becky’s Seven for September. Also as it’s the neighbourhood I’m in at the moment, I’ve linked it to Lens Artist.

As it’s school holidays beds on the beach are pretty limited.  There is another lovely pool in our block that’s nice and quiet and ideal for the kids.

On the first day I joined in aqua aerobics and didn’t realise how burnt I was getting. It’s quite bad and this hasn’t happened to me in such a long time.  Anyway I’ve learnt my lesson and now wear a solar top every day.

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