We had an adventure on the train to Warrnambool.It was Good Friday and we headed off on the train all the way from Eltham. Into the city and then three hours on the v-line train.
The weather was amazing. Apparently the best Easter weather for five years.
I also had a revelation that joey and I were born there and I didn't realise it was
THE BEACH..... There were lots of swimmers and surfers and surf ski's .
The water was clear and we did brave a quick dive into the waves for a swim.
... We walked everywhere as we had no car. We walked along the boardwalk for miles in each direction. We came to the whale viewing area but I think it was too warm for the whales yet.

We also had a well travelled bowl of hot cross bun dough that came all the way with us.

When we got to the house, Sue put it into a bowl in the sink with some warm water. and we headed off for a long walk.When we got back the dough had swelled over the top of the bowl and spread into the warm water.Which made a large gooey mass of hot cross blob.We gave it some sort of a drain and then cooked the lump anyway.

So we had hot cross loaf all Easter..ha

Then we also had a few nights of learning to play mahjong...It was a great game but I feel there were lots of fine skills and scoring we had not mastered.But the winds were beginning to blow well for us.

chickens and cushions

My cushions are for the latest Montsalvat exhibition. which is for the bushfire fundraising appeal.

ON the night there was also food and wine and amazing music and such a feeling of community spirit .

The whole hill of Montsalvat was full of people sitting down and watching the music.

Sandro played trumpet,Mike Rudd sang and played guitar.Judy Jacques sang and read poetry,the Tesky brothers played some mighty fine guitar duos...WE all clapped and sang along in a wonderfull feeling of solidarity...That is something that fires have done and that is to create a community feeling that we did not have before.We decided that Montsalvat could easily have more, similar events.


There is an exhibition in the barn gallery with all the artists donating their work with a silent auction as the means of selling. I have put these two cushions in


The first has vintage kimono fabric and black silk velvet.


The second one has the blue and brown kimono fabric and also a vibrant red kimono as well. I have had lots of people commenting on them so I hope they sell. Apparently you dont know the winning amount or who has bought, but I thought the buyer might come and ask for MORE!!!!

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Here are also some pictures of the fast growing chickens we have at the moment.

They have been allowed out of their house to explore the garden and dodge the pecks of the one other chook.. They are so excited to be out, that they flap and fly with their cute feet hardly hitting the ground.

The only problem being that they are hard to get back into their house in the evening. they are rather scared so the best thing is to leave them to settle SOMEWHERE and then go looking for them in the dark and pick them up slowly and carry them off to their bed.Very cute really.

I

Cake time

I have had a bit of cake making lately.

An engagement cake for Catherine's step daughter.Beck.

I made a two tiered, white chocolate mud cake in the heart shaped tins. With white and dark chocolate dipped strawberries and a delicious raspberry coulis.
No photos of the finished cake but here is the process including the knife of all knives to cut the cake..... borrowed from one of the ladies at r-couture.
The strawbs worked like a dream each one looked like those shell chocolates from Guylain....

The cakes also worked well although the finished cake tastes pretty much like a rich butter cake..

I hired a cake stand from the "Greensborough cake kitchen."

and I think the whole thing was a big success.....

Just a snippet

First of all ,the plants are so confused they dont know whether its summer or autumn.

This is my ginko beloba a beautiful tree that I have nurtured through the terrible heat ,with the shower water. It normaly loses its leaves in autumn but decided to put on a new burst of growth after being cooked in the 46 degree heat of those bad summer days .Who knows what it will do next

Off on a big adventure.......

we are at the airport to see Lena off on her big adventure to see the world.

Trying to look serious but excited at the same time

Not to forget the terrible fires and the loss of Adams tools and tool trailer .

And also the lovely house that they were working on in Yarra Glen.All that remains is the classic two chimneys standing tall and thats a

Here she is ,speeding off to meet her plane....

a short story

Once upon a time there was a family.They lived in a small house in a leafy suburb in Melbourne.It was the middle of Summer and the weather was very hot.After an extraordinary week or forty degree days .Sue and Lena decided to go to the beach for a little bit of seaside fun away from the belting hot summer sun in the outer suburbs. There was a new skiffle board to try as well. One sick Adam stayed at home with bronchitis,too sick to leave the house really.
Sue and Lena swam and swam at Canadian Bay near Mt Eliza.The sea was cool and the sun did not seem so fierce.Then there was a phone call.....Adam called to say there was a SNAKE inside...."what, where, how,where is it now,what should we do" ..... .... Poor Adam was too sick to deal with it ,so it was a case of just sit tight and see what happens.
Sue and Lena had one last swim and then headed home with trepidation.
With sand in between toes and salt in the hair,the road back home was filled with worry and there was no way to know what would be found at home.
There was Adam sitting on the couch coughing and coughing. The television was on and somewhere there was a snake.Every room has a hole in the floorboards and a gap where the floor joins the walls,perfect for a snake to fit, but how could you know, if it hadn't been seen. Adam suggested that we call a friend, David ,to come and search as Adam had no way of focusing, let alone capture or seek out a snake .David arrived and Adam took himself off to bed.Sue and Lena were standing on top of the dining table with teeth clenched. There were a lot of boxes moved and lots of STUFF shifted in the search, but no sign and all was quiet under the furniture and in the corners of the room ...."could you please just have a look behind the couch"..... AAaahhhh SHIT there it is... down behind a wooden box in the corner of the room coiled between the floor and wall,a four and a half foot tiger snake.!!!!!!!
A quick look through the phonebook found ."Snake Busters" the phonecall was made....."Hi I live in Eltham and we have a snake inside"........"Right what is the address. dont disturb the snake I will be there in ten minutes"....Waiting and waiting with torches shining on the small gap between the couch and the bookshelf and the other end of the couch and the tv.Torches gripped and eyes peeled ...waiting and waiting...At some sign of slight movment Sue turned her head towards the open front door and there was a large snake disappearing out the door ....Was it the same snake?How did it get past the close watch of the torch bearers?Was there a way out under the floor boards towards the front door, snake size? the snake was followed from a distance as it dissappeared around the side of the house and under the house through a tiny hole. Back inside to check out the original snake and lo and behold it was still there so you know what that means
NOT ONE BUT TWO SNAKES..........
.Knock knock knock on the door and its the snake buster,with the numberplate ...Adder1..
"where is it? hhmmm he is ready for a fight his head is curled around to meet its tail."
Then the snake man wipped out the snake tool which was a window cleaning squeegee and a plastic storage tub to put it in.With swift moves and one eye on us the snake was caught whipped into the tub and... "so any more?." well actually.....
Then there followed a tour of the back yard. with mutterings of ..".my god this place is ferral "and....".can we come back and film here.?"
....$130 later the snake man was gone and we could rest slightly easier.

an email from Hugh.

A depressing start to Summer. Apols 4 abrevs. Its that or nothing! (PJ = Project/ion/or)

The St Andrews Man in Moon Show went downdowndown. It threatened to rain all arvo as we set up but we had to go for it as I’d recvd the $ and spent it all/ready! Around 6 it started to rain and never stopped till very late! We had stuff outside under raincovers
but cooden of course run it. Rain covers weren’t enuf! Steve & Richard flew the balloon 3 times. 1st time unlucky. 2nd time tethers broke due to extra weight of rain. 3rd time success but rain spoiled & it looked like gi Teardrop rather than Moon! And Proj onto it imposs due to rain!
My Fr Rob Hall got my 2nd Blue Laser happnin but in end we only took one feelin we wouldn’t get to use any! (right) Steve had serviced my 3 HD Turntables and polished my 5 Mirror Balls. The power supp for my hi powa Scan PJ was under cover I thought but it was only under the verandah! Filling with water! But its prob only $200ish.
Another NEW Pj was in the Van but also got wet! And lotsa stuff got wettish.
Steve lost all his Keys TWICE!
Steve (unfamil with the area) came down from Tilba Tilba to help me with the show and return to TT with a load of my old Slide PJs. He followed me to St A’s in his car coz I coodn q fit it all in my red van. On our return he zoomed ahead (inst of follo) got lost, got a Melways but left road and hit a Tree 2 Ks short of my place! Broke his Leg, totalled the Car (and my 5 Mirra Balls and my DVD Recorder with all my one-off
effects, a sep DVD player, the blue Laser Powa/Supply, a discharge Spot, and the just christened Moon Balloon Bag!) anyway the Police attended the Scene (I didn’t hear till 4 hrs later)
but could not even tell me where the car was! I had to do a Towing Co ringaround!

The Tow ers aren’t overly friendly and will not even allow me to retrieve anything!
since the Car’s uninsured! Havnt seen it yet. Waited an hour in Heid today but they never showed up! (thought just mebe the HDD data could be saved from the DVD Rec tho I doubt it. But I’m told mebe! But I want the Moon Bag & Laser P/S etc & even Mirror Ball debris!

Pain beckons……..

Tues. revisit Accident scene and ppl there have found Laser P/S and a Turntable! Something! Looks as if we WILL be able to retrieve stuff from the Car for what it’s worth! Very little I fear. Mebe the Moon Bag?

On Sat.15th Nov. I was having Tea and a Tooth broke! What was left was razor-sharp and threatened to cut my tongue on every swallow & chew! So no food till Mon when I went looking for a Dent. Coodn find one who’d see me so ended up having to go to Dental Hosp! Worst needle of my life from Coloured Dentist (not that that bothered me tho he was a bit agro) and kept saying ‘Open wider!’ and worst dentistry except for Dental Hosp of 1957 when I was having Panic attacks with mouth full of drills and hands! Anyway, recover slowly over few days tho tongue remains half dead! By Wed 26 e/thing suddenly gets v painful including swallowing, chewing and being in general! Neuralgia in jaw, cheekbone, and headache in top of head, deep. Movement of tongue in mouth, swallowing and opening to admit Tablet all become unbearable! After few days I feel permanently Nauseous. And very scared!
Every so often I bite my cheek which seems to have grown enormously on the inside,
and the Knee-jerk (Cheek-jerk?) reaction is to open the mouth fast, which of course is the most painful thing I can do, producing extreme pain spasms right down one side of my head, not to mention the inner cheek!
My Teeth are coated with thick plaque I cannot address! I begin taking 2 Codrals but try to keep it minimal fearing it might take some time. Google Jaw pain & find some very scary stuff on post Dental maladies! Doc puts me on Anti-biotics. Says ‘5 days!’
Sounds like Eternity! Have to do me BIG Show on 28th! Anyway to cut a long story short, DO the Show with much help, and on the 5th Day I felt I could bear to avoid Pain killers, and on 6th Day there was suddenly a noticeable improvement! I could almost get a Grape in my mouth and could chew!
JOY JOY JOY!!! Yet STILL, my jaw feels as if the Anaesthetic hasn’t quite worn off!
But 95% of the Pain has gone! (Thought it was over but not yet!)


The other thing that saddens me is that Debs Mum, who is a very lively, fit & healthy 90yo, ended her Life 2 days ago! She is still in a Coma, (Tues pm) prob coz the cocktail wasn’t designed for one with such a strong constitution! She’s been talking bout it for a long time (depressed due to all her friends being gone) but I was hoping (and thinking) she wouldn’t do it! I thought we were Dining together tonight! My oldest & newest friend! (She passes away Wednesday.) hadn’t spoken to her for a week and was looking forward to the Chinese meal she & Deb owed me. (now that I can almost EAT again).
Life aint fair!
Thurs. Deb is seeking a baby Elephant and Cart to carry Sylvias painted Coffin!
Get equipment remains from Car. One Mirror Ball hardly damaged! Well still usable!
See Pic of Steve (broken Leg) & Car! Chiz hu

Just to say some people have ALL the luck.

weather balloons R us

I know I am a bit slow but I finally have some photos of the Hugh Mcspeddon weather balloon cover.......
First the balloon, made from latex was put inside the cotton stretch cover and slowly inflated with a vacuum on reverse. It slowly started to rise and the apparition grew and grew in the barn at Montsalvat.

I had to keep checking that the fabric was not caught on the floor and we kept watching as it grew.

Matcham just sat there so mind blown by the event he kept saying "whats it for "and "oh my WE could make a building scaffold out of this"

I was so happy to see it grow .We did have to stop blowing before it got to full size as we thought it would hit the rough timber of the posts in the barn.I tended up about twelve feet diam.With the perfect shape of the sphere in the cotton interlock fabric.