Bloomtober

OK, so I'm mixing it up a bit but today IS Flower Day for me .... look what I discovered when I got home from work today:

It's my Melbourne grandmother's flower! I spied the buds a few weeks ago and now look what's happened ... KAPOW!

This is the most amazing bloom I've ever seen (well, in my garden anyway!)

Grandma, thank you for this, one more lovely thing to remember you by!

One more shot, I'm just so excited about this flower (I wish I knew what it was!)

Fangtober

I'm inventing my own blogtoberfest topic coz tonight it's ...
True Blood. Season 2, Episode 6.

Those who watch need no words from me.

Those who don't, well, you either like this sort of show or you don't.

Vampires are big at the moment but this show is kinda out there, on its own. I'm a fan of the vampire thing, I have watched many and read more. There's some rubbish out there. I am not a big fan of Twilight, although I saw the movie first and enjoyed it because it was a great holiday flick. But then I tried to read the book and it's just seemed to go on and on and on. And on. Fine if you're a teenager, but it didn't work for me.

For me it will always be Buffy & Angel. And now True Blood joins the ranks. Great TV.

my new do

It's Locktober today - I've been a bit lax on the badskirt ideas of late, mainly because I had other things to write about. But today's theme is right on the money - I got a new cut and a colour injection on Saturday. Copper highlights ... that look a whole lot more coppery than they do here! It's a bit shorter too. Good to have a slight change. I find a trip to the hairdresser always gives me a bit of a lift. But I do tend to come home and keep working on the look - the fringe was a bit blunt and the sides not feathery enough so I've been snipping away, just a tad - it's worked so far! I watch how the hairdresser cuts, by lifting the hair and cutting upwards, then cutting into it so that it is not solid (that does make sense to me!)

Anyhow, it's nice to have fresh hair again!

My place and yours

I love memes so it was fun to discover one at Meet Me At Mike's. The weekend is nearly over but this kind of keeps it going. So, what's on my shelf? The old fireplace is currently playing host to an eclectic range of things I love. From the top:

Houses from Prague, a much sort for (and nearly not found) souvenir from our honeymoon!

Small painting of Ljubljana, also visited on same trip.

Dala horses, brought home from Sweden in the 60's by my great aunt, Big Aunty Marg - there were lots of Margarets in our family. Mum had these on display for as long as I can remember and they survived a move, but when we moved out of the old family home I discovered they had fallen behind a bookcase. Glad that they're back on display again.

A much loved piece of Gouda ware, from my mum.

A little Chinese puzzle box, from one of my other great aunts, Aunty Dor. It has sweet little dogs on the top and it is made of inlaid wood. There are a series of hidden 'doorways' that lead to the centre of the box, where you pull out a drawer and a little bird sings.

A japanese doll that mum and dad brought back from their trip to Japan in the 80s

A little bowl I love, colours of navy, orange, cream and gold, that belonged to someone in the family.

My little wooden animals - a bear & a St Bernard dog that I bought when I was 11 from Bern, Switzerland; a little Spaniel that was my mothers and a stretching spotted cat that dad gave me.

Finally, a little ink well in Gouda ware, the lid is broken but I still love the colours and design

Lovely to share my shelf. What's on yours?

Declan McManus

Just got home after seeing another fabulous outing (our third) from this amazingly talented guy. Solo.

Tonight showed just how talented he is. Wow, he can sing and he can play the guitar - and he had quite a few of them! 2 hours solid, only 1 or 2 minutes off the stage before he was straight back into it.

And he had a great hat!

This was the final song and it's one of my faves. Just as electric as the first time I saw him do it here:



He played this tonight too and this clip reminds me of when we saw him at the Opera House:



And he did this one - it is just a lovely song:



The support act was great too - Shelley Harland. Nice songs, great band and she has a great voice.

And she had on a great pair of boots!

Happy Birthday!

OMG ... ITS SPOCKTOBER AND I DIDN'T REALISE!

Too late, it's now the 16th. This was the Blogtoberfest day that I was looking forward to celebrating coz it's one of my fave genres.

:-(

I just have to link to this for now (mainly coz it's such a cool pic of Leonard himself) and I promise, I will do Spocktober justice, just not today. (image from here)

Yay! I love that rules can be bent in the Blogtoberfest!!!