a.lesson.learned

do.not.spill.a.cup.of.tea.on.your.computer.keyboard.

at.first.it.may.not.work.at.all.

then.after.a.couple.of.days.it.may.partially.work.but.without.the.caps.key.and.space.bar.

oh.well.enjoy.these.pictures.from.my.weekend.

hope.yours.was/is.as.good.as.mine.

japonica

building.begins.tomorrow

the.good.sort.of.oxalis

evergreen.alder.flowers..

japanese.windflower.seeds

Indulge me

Sadly, The Americans have gone.

But I know you will allow me one granny post 

before resuming normal transmission.

  Don't you find it interesting to be a tourist in your own city? 

It always makes me look at things in through a different lens 

when I am out and about with visitors.

Like these sculptures of commuters in the CBD...

barely noticed by the locals.

             

There was a campfire in Federation Square.

Even the Queen Victoria Market looked quite exotic!

Of course, it is always fun to dine out with four and six year old boys!

We went on Puffing Billy, a vintage narrow gauge steam train, in the Dandenong Ranges.  

 The lovingly restored century old trains and infrastructure 

are run by a team of 600 volunteers...

mostly old blokes who love a captive audience.  

This one is explaining, in detail, 

how the whole thing works to my two Aussie grandsons.

A special afternoon tea to introduce Princess Pinkyness

to her Australian family was well catered for by

The Cook.  My old mum, especially enjoyed meeting

her youngest Great Granddaughter (one of 18) for the first time.

A footnote:

Don't forget tomorrow is WinterWednesday... an opportunity for you to celebrate the season with the things you enjoy....write a post and link it to mine. 

Windows

On the way home we took the boys up the Eureka Tower in Melbourne.  It is the tallest residential tower in the world with the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere. 

These photos are taken from the 88th floor.

The stadium in the centre with all the blue courts around is where the Australian Open Tennis is being played.  The arena with the lights at the back is the MCG...site of the appalling Boxing Day Test which sealed Australia's loss of The Ashes to the Brits.  The river running through the city is The Yarra.  I realise now I should have taken a photo of Albert Park Lake with the Melbourne Grand Prix track circumnavigating it.  It seems Melbournians are a bit sports mad.

A four year old's view of the city.

This morning whilst taking a shower,  in the newly cleaned and fumigated shower recess which was home to the now evicted chickens,  I had the strangest feeling I was being watched!

 After the shower I felt like taking a bow, as the 6 y.o. did yesterday after assisting a (rather dreadful) busker.