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. 

Doncha wish you could lip read?

 I want to know what Kate and William were saying in the coach trip back to Buck House!  

When they came out on the balcony she said, "Wow!"  

Later I think he said, "Another kiss, go on, go on",
and she said, "OK"...and puckered up for a second time.

I s'pose it could put you off your game with hundreds of thousands watching in person and billions around the world tuned in.  But frankly I was disappointed.. a peck (even two pecks) don't cut the mustard with me...I was wanting a modern prince to embrace his bride and dip her over his arm for a real pash...oh well, that's the British for you.

Photographic evidence that I watched the wedding.

We don't have a telly, so I had to ask my neighbour if I could watch the wedding with her.  

The Cook, being a republican from way back and not having a romantic bone in her body, said she could not think of anything worse, and stayed resolutely at home.

But she did cook us this lovely meal which was fit for royalty...baked polenta in home made tomato sauce with carrots and beans on the side.  (All the veggies out of the garden of course).

She also sent me over with a warm, freshly baked loaf of bread and two baked apples and custard for desert.  My neighbour provided the very nice wine with which to toast the happy couple.

Sigh...back to the real world!

I won't forget

Aren't Forget Me Nots, darling things.  I love the pink buds, the shade of blue and their happy yellow and white centres. You also have to admire the tenacity of their seed when it attaches itself to your sock or to your little hairy dog (but that is another whole, and somewhat long and painful, story).

Today these lovely but tenacious little sweeties urge me to not forget the importance of friendship.  That special sort of friendship where you may only see each other three or so times a year.  The friendship that endures interruptions of  circumstances, time and events.  The type of friendship that, when you are together, you can sink into it like a warm slipper on a Winter's morning.  The sort of friendship that does not judge but isn't uncritical either.  The one where you know each other's stories so well, you can pick up the threads in the time it takes to have a cup of tea or three.

I am very lucky to have a friend like that and she visited today.

The valley of royal visits

I didn't get at all excited when Prince William visited the valley earlier this year, but I am ecstatic about today's royal visit.  I looked out the kitchen window this morning and this is what I saw.   

A magnificent king parrot in full breeding plumage and, blending in with the surroundings, his more delicately but still beautifully marked queen.  True avian royalty if ever I saw it.  These pictures may give you an idea of their colours but not their size which is quite regal.

I spent such a lot of time hiding in bushes in the autumn, trying to get a good photo of the flock who were feeding on the seeds of the japanese maples and had very little luck.  Then today, these two came in and posed for a long time allowing me to get quite close.

Look at the colour of his beak!

She posed so calmly.  I suppose she is used to being snapped by the paparazzi!

The colour on her breast and cheeks is so dusty and soft.

On the topic of Royal Visits
I believe Oprah Winfrey, the Queen of Daytime Television, is headed down under.

In saying this I must add that I find the Oprah phenomenon quite puzzling.  A lot of her shows I have seen have focussed on decluttering one's life, on careful budgeting with the cutting up of credit cards as a first step, and that knowing oneself and finding purpose is more important than the material consumer world.  Yet here she is flying 300 guests from Chicago (let's not even talk about the environmental impact) to Australia to try the wine, and to go shopping in Melbourne.

However, since talking with my son  in the U.S. on Skype this morning I have a clearer idea about why Oprah has been invited and courted to visit.  He tells me that Tourism Australia (or whichever government departments are footing some of Oprah's bill) have already had excellent bang for their buck.  It has been all over the media in the U.S. and Australia is on everyones' lips.  It is a funny world we live in.

Anyone and everyone seems to visit this valley at some time and if Her Highness deigns to call in, I will  be happy to boil the billy and put out the scones but she should be warned...I don't do curtseying!