Day 244 - Doorways

Doors, doorways, windows, gates...

There's something about them that I love. They have dual possibilities. They keep things private, secluded, secret. They can also open the way, invite, provide a sneak preview, a selective glimpse. They proclaim. They say, come in, there's something in here. They're mysterious, tantalising. They can be welcoming, menacing, perfunctory, unnoticeable. They carry people's names in offices. They indicate wealth, poverty. They have social standing. They accessorise with handles - small, large, impressive, quirky, ugly, inventive. They guard entrances into spaces. They are metaphors.

Day 243 - Sun before rain

Captured this shot this morning (although it doesn't capture it at all) as the almost orange, intense sunlight lit up trees before the sky clouded over and released rain. It's such a welcoming sight considering the drought. It poured a few times for short periods over the day. I was wishing I had a water tank. Maybe I should think about getting one.

Day 242 - First blossom

The first blossom on the weeping cherry. I'm excited about all the budding and flowering that's about to take place. I tried to take the shot with Guest Photographer's new camera, but the blossom was too small and insignificant against the grey of the weatherboards. Guest Photographer took this one for me, and as soon as I feel better, I'll learn how to get this effect with the blurred background.

Day 241 - New camera

Guest Photographer finally has his new Nikon D3000 in his possession. See the understated joy in his eyes. I say understated because his eyes don't betray his gushing joy, just as this photo doesn't show his celebratory prancing around the house. I thought I'd try out the camera.
Don't forget, if you're so inclined, check out his daily photos on his bloghttp://stillateen.wordpress.com/

Day 240 - The Australian Ballet: Concord

Tonight we treated ourselves to a performance by the Australian Ballet at the Arts Centre. Read about it here

http://www.australianballet.com.au/main.taf?p=1,1,1,5&location=melbourne

It's annoying that the blog always cuts off the right side of the photo. Hence, part of the curtain border is missing.

On the way home we stopped at a Coles Express for dessert (Magnum), and I thought there was a woman on the floor of the store.

See? There she is

Day 239 - The game

A closeup of the game 16 yo received as a Namesday gift from my sister. Very basic, chunky and challenging. Well, when I say challenging, I mean more challenging than the basic noughts and crosses. Many more levels here.

Guest photographer and I have been fighting for the camera since Guest Photographer started his final year of adolescence blog. This photo was taken by him. If you'd like to read his blog, it's called Still a teen. http://stillateen.wordpress.com/

Day 238 - Namesday

16 yo's Namesday today (St Maximus the Confessor), and the immediate family came together for the evening meal. Joy! My mother made vegetarian lasagna (with bocconcini and marinated feta), chicken and veal schnitzels (Namesday boy's request) and also bought vegan pasties from a Swiss bakery. Not to mention flan (pictured) and baclava-like sweets (Lebanese, not Greek). 19yo made cinnamon and raspberry muffins. All I made was rice and salad. AND we have leftovers. Can't ask for much more than that. 16 yo's presents consisted of (predictably) music CDs, a giant milk chocolate peppermint frog from Haighs and a 3D chunky wooden noughts and crosses game from Oxfam. Our dog's always happy when people come over; I'm sure I can see her smiling, and she has a little skip in her step.

Day 237 - Still life with string instrument

Still life. How many of us have a still life? Is it true that, with our busy lives and the creeping of technology into every little nook and cranny, we have unlearned stillness? I read 'All our heads full of noise' by Isabel Allende. Interesting. http://www.thedrawbridge.org.uk/issue_8/all_our_heads_full_of_noise/

Day 236 - At the end of the day

Not everything worked out the way I would have liked today. But at the end of the day, it's not the most important thing in my life. If you had to list the 5 most important things in your life to keep them, what would you choose?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(Matthew 6:21).

Day 235 - Blossom promise

My favourite time of year - buds have silently been preparing to surprise us. I love the promise, the happy knowledge that soon the bare branches will be full of colour and new form.

Day 234 - 19th birthday saga

Well, here's the saga of the 19th birthday cake.
We had fun making it.






Ok, here's the cake. If you look closely, you'll see the impending disaster. Look carefully and you'll see a crack starting.

Now see the cake as it looked when we arrived at the restaurant. What could we do? We still needed a cake. When I asked the waitress to bring it, I explained it was the cake that had split into two with a deep chasm in it centre. She just said, "Oh, I've seen the cake". Enough said.

Just when you thought the story was over....

My sister brought 'The intellectual candle" which she had purchased from an Asian store. It's a giant ugly pink plastic flower which, when lit with a special stick (provided), causes the flower to open up with each petal alight with its own little candle. Oh, and music of course. Well, when we lit it, the petals didn't open up as quickly as they should have, and a giant flame temporarily blazed at a height not customary for a birthday candle. Luckily we were able to put it out. We were in shock, and so the moment has not been captured on film. Here is a bemused 19 year old trying to blow out his candles (tame now) without laughing.

Happy Birthday, Sasha!

Day 233 - Scales

Last night we enjoyed a (mainly) soloists concert at Mr16's school. It was a good chance for him to get performance practice before his upcoming audition for Victorian College of the Arts Seconday School. I've been following the news about Melbourne University's takeover of the Victorian College of the Arts. Even Geoffrey Rush has stepped in. From the ABC news:

'Oscar winning actor, Geoffrey Rush joined the chorus of voices railing against the planned integration of performance and fine arts courses into the so-called Melbourne Model, led by Melbourne University.
Opponents say the changes would force students to take more generalised, theoretical subjects and would reduce their ability to specialise.'

I'm not sure if that's true or what the implications will be, but I know there are many people who see it as a bad thing.

Day 232 - Stuff

I have a helluva lot of stuff around the house, I've decided. I either need to stop getting stuff or get rid of stuff in order to make room for new stuff. Sometimes I think I should get rid of the whole lot; it's starting to take over. Only one problem - what should I part with?
Just realised the reflection of our leadlight window in the bauble.

Day 231 - Don't give me that filthy look

My dog cracks me up. Look at her giving me a filthy look. Try and imagine what she's thinking. I would say 'You point that camera at me and you'll be sorry', or 'How could you do this to me? You know how camera-shy I am'. Seriously, are we just anthropomorphising animals or what?

It's funny how you can love an animal which doesn't talk, doesn't pull its weight around the house (pity), can't be relied upon in a crisis, can't feed itself, can't open the door by itself, doesn't earn an income?

Maybe because animals also don't gossip, aren't sarcastic, don't backstab, don't bore you to death with meaningless and egotistical conversation. Added bonus - they're gorgeous.

Day 230 - Oops

When I posted yesterday's photo, I had the nagging feeling that I'd included this photo before. And I have, now I realise. Yes, I cheated by using a photo taken on a different day. So what. I scanned my flickrsteam for generic photos of everyday life because, by the time I'd finished with dinner and dishes, photo hunting seemed a bleak prospect. I know, I know, we're supposed to post a photo we've taken on the day, but some photos aren't linked to a specific time. They could happen any day and sometimes do. Just to prove a point, today's photos are witness to the timelessness of everyday, anyday home life. Which isn't a bad thing.

Day 229 - Drama in the corridor

A staged drama but a drama nevertheless. Drama in the corridor. Sounds like the title of a B-grade movie.

Day 228 - Just another Sunday

One thing about the 365 photos challenge - it's challenging! How original can photos be when day after day a different photo has to be found? Often by the end of the day I have NOTHING of interest, and so I'm forced to scan every inch of the house, seeking out a small object, a corner, which has not yet made it into my photo challenge. Hence, a true picture of daily life - banality!

Day 227 - Trompe d'oeil

From afar you might be tricked into believing this is a paved area leading to St Paul's Cathedral when it's actually a painted wall.

Day 226 - Martin Martini's Funeral Show

Guest photographer and friends went out to the Martin Martini and the Bone Palace Orchestra's Funeral Show.

'You gotta die sometime. And Martin Martini figures it’s best that Bone Palace fans are alive to see the death of his Melbourne cult band. Dress black and come prepared to witness the cream of the cream of the cream of Australia’s music scene - Eddie Perfect (Shane Warne The Musical), The Conglomerate (Harry Angus, Ollie McGill), Paul Capsis, Jan Skubiszewski (Jackson Jackson), Casey Bennetto (Keating! The Musical!), Tommy Spender (Custom Kings, Offcutts), Steve Sedergreen, Abbie Cardwell, Sophie Brous, Brothers Grim, Video Day, Clairy Baby Browne and the Bangin Rackettes, Jelly Tub Rollers and more to be announced -- perform their own weird and wonderful versions of Martini’s songs. Martini welcomes back Xani Kolac (violin), Ben ’Angry’ Hendry (drums) and Peter ’The Dog’ Burgess (tuba) to perform his back catalogue.'

Guest photographer took the camera, hence the inclusion of this shot in my daily photo challenge.

Day 225 - Winter garden

The winter garden is surprisingly colourful. I took some photos in the late afternoon, with the sky darkening to an intensity which precedes heavy rain. Then I sat inside and watched the sheets of rain drench the grateful plants.

Day 224 - Making salad fun

Making salad need not be boring. Why not juggle cucumber?

Day 223 - Raw meat is so raw

It looks disgusting but smells surprisingly good. Our dog's food. We mix kangaroo meat with all sorts of other things like vegetables, bran, egg, garlic, and it almost smells good enough to eat.

Day 222 - Resilience

It's interesting to see things growing in surprising places. Who would have thought the lavender would take root and grow in such a small, waterless crack in the footpath. I think we can say the same for people. In the physical sense, some people survive in the harshest of geographical locations. In the emotional sense, there are also people who somehow manage to live in the harshest relationships.

When you lose a loved one, it can feel so devastating that you wish you could turn away from life itself. You feel as if you've dried up, and yet you manage to exist just enough at first, and then slowly begin to look up at the sun again.

Day 221 - The Convent

No longer a convent, these grounds are home to many different organisations. The weekend market stalls here attract crowds, the cafes - including one where you can choose the amount of your 'donation' - provide a relaxing social environment especially for young families. Today I dropped off my younger son here to attend a day-long workshop for young composers, the 20 in Victoria chosen by the radio station 3MBS. 4 composers of different styles will be taking the workshops. We're looking forward to the promised recording of the young people's compositions.

Day 220 - Market colours

Market day, and such a beautiful, sunny day. The kind of day that makes you say, 'What a beautiful day!' so often that you start telling yourself to shut up. This photo captures the colours of the sweet shop; pity about the reflection of the lights in the glass.

This is where we get our organic, hormone-free chicken. Must try the crocodile one day.

Here is where we buy nuts and also fantastic bread which you can't see from this window.

Later in the day we ended up at Brunetti's on Swanston Street having a flat savoury with prosciutto and chinotto. This is looking towards the city square.

This is looking the other way towards St Paul's Cathedral. Okay, so we also had a little icecream. I had Nocciola.