Merry Christmas!

Peanuts

About a month ago, we went to see a Peanuts exhibition in Paddington.  It was actually a collection of Lisa who has the largest collection of Snoopy memorabilia in Australia.

We had fun looking through -

Seeing how Snoopy changed in the 50 years Charles Schulz drew the Peanuts comic strip.

In high school, a girl on my field hockey team called me "Lucy" as I had a similar hair cut.

Adam says "Pacific" when he means "specific" - so I thought this was very cute!  [notice the autograph by Charles Schultz]

Done.

Yes, HSC is finished. done.  Grace and Emma's last exam was on Wednesday 10 November (Visual Arts).

I saw this in a display window in a shop in my building.  Thought it was appropriate for this post.

I also wanted to include a photo of Grace & Emma's math study notes which were plastered to their closet door.  I thought it was very colourful and artistic way to study for math!

These were their major works for HSC Visual Arts -

by Emma.

by Grace.


So proud of them!!

7 Bridges Walk

A friend mentioned the 7 Bridges Walk - I decided that 27.7kms would be a great way to do my first "big" walk while supporting a great cause - the Cancer Council. The 7 Bridges are Sydney Harbour Bridge, Pyrmont Bridge, Anzac Bridge, Iron Cove Bridge, Gladesville Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge and Fig Tree Bridge.
On 31 October - my friend, Lisa and I got to Hunters Hill Village [our starting point] at around 8:30am and off we went. We got to Sydney Harbour Bridge at approximately 11am - 13.2kms down 14.5 to go. [As you can see, I wore orange in honour of the date of the walk!]

We completely circled Sydney Harbour!  Got back to our starting point at around 3:20pm.  When we walked up our last hill - I could barely feel my legs - but then we saw it - it was like seeing the giant "W" in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - we saw an ice cream van - our pace quickened - yes we made it!  We both agreed an ice cream was well deserved!
 
What a great day!!  I was so proud that we finished!  We saw some beautiful suburbs and interesting sites!  I will definitely do it again next year...and perhaps maybe a longer walk one day? 

Perhaps Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney [100kms - 4 teams - 48hrs], Cradle Mountain in Tasmania [6 days] or the Milford Track in NZ [6 days] OR there is always Machu Picchu in Peru?

Halloween Fun

It has taken many years for Halloween to catch on here...still a ways to go...more Halloween decorations and costumes available.  This was the first year that big round carving pumpkins were for sale in our local grocery store.  I thought $25.00 for a pumpkin was expensive one week before Halloween - but the day before Halloween - they were on sale for $12.00.  I thought why not!  I hadn't carved a pumpkin in years - and I love pumpkin seeds!

I took it over to a friend's house and taught everyone how to carve a pumpkin - I'm not Martha Stewart - but it was like riding a bike - you don't forget! 

First the lid - then scooping out the "guts".

Drawing the face - carving it out...

and in goes the candle.

There are many streets that celebrate Halloween.  Usually someone on the street puts a flyer in each mailbox telling neighbors that there will be trick-or-treating on 31 October and if they want to participate they put a paper pumpkin [usually enclosed] on their door or mailbox!

GREAT PUMPKIN FUN!!

Art & About

I went exploring at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Found...William Bede Dalley (loved the birds, his sunnies and cool pants!)

Prince Albert

Queen Victoria

Shakespeare

and Captain Cook

Also, in Martin Place was this very cool installation called  The Bike Bike - made from pre-loved bikes.

I love Sydney!

Sydney Statues: Project!

I love surprises - especially art ones.  I walked out of my building this morning to get a coffee - and across the street at the Queen Victoria Building was Queen Victoria herself...dressed!  Awesome!!

Watch this space because I read on the Art & About website there are more!!

Formal Tickets

What did Lori do all weekend??  As some of you may know - Grace and Emma were School Captains last year.  As part of their "duties" - they were to organise their Year 12 Formal (parents had to sign a document consenting that if their daughter was selected Captain - we would also be responsible for helping to organise the function).

Fast forward to 2010 and here we are organising things.  I'm responsible for the $$ (collecting, banking, tracking) - and the tickets.  Russell is dealing with the venue. Grace and Emma are fund raising and sorting out tables, etc.  As teachers, parents and students (plus partner) are included - that could mean we have close to 500 people at the function.  

Tickets - I designed and printed and then hand-stamped - 565 to be exact - with black paint which I had sprinkled with fine, silver glitter!!


[Formal dresses have been found!!]

Journey

On Wednesday, 8 September - I got on the train and sat down. I sat in the first seat in the carriage and looked in front of me - there was a piece of A4 paper - with a poem on it called Journey - wow - how random and how cool.




Thank you "The Poet" - it was a lovely surprise on my journey to work!



In the train home we contemplate zero with the shape of our faces.
The scenery rushed past slowing down to offer us
a few more black trees, different from the last ones but the same also.
We look and decide against them - where you do not live you
are not
   alive
we want to say.

Another dark sky breathes on us, a strip of name is photographed
and we move on, inertia-scrolled to some moment
when we will meet the rain
and avoid the eye of home.

Janice-inspired necklaces

When I was in St Louis in March, Maggie showed me Janice's jewelry that she made - it was incredible - amazing!  I was lucky enough to be given a green dragonfly ceramic piece that she had in her collection and knew I would sit down and make a necklace inspired by Janice!

I went through my supply of charms, etc this weekend - bought in Chicago, St Louis and here in Sydney - I'm pretty excited how they turned out!

Coffee helps...

Now that HSC trials [I'm not sure if "HSC" stands for High School Certificate or High STRESS Certificate] are finished - and Grace and Emma have handed in their major art works - I get my "craft room" back [aka kitchen] and have been doing some art. 

Here's a page for my ongoing Art Journal - although I don't put sugar in my cappuccino - I love the colourful packets and decided to incorporate some that I have collected.

I was inspired by this sketch I saw in a magazine called Notebook.

Yes...coffee does help...especially beautiful working warriors!

A Little Clue

Rosie O'Donnell [aka Becky] in Sleepless in Seattle says "It's cute. It's like a little clue." 
I'm reminded of this quote when I see words when I least expect them...sometimes they appear at just the right time - when I'm trying to figure something out - need some worldly advice...

"you are my everything" - spotted on a sidewalk near my GP's office.

"Learn to Understand...Chill" and "Be Content" were in the streets around West Ryde.

Look around...you never know what messages are out there for you!

Train Ticket Art

A good friend told me about a NinetoFive mag contest to alter a travel ticket - winner wins a year's free travel.  I'm up for a challenge - I sent in my creation but it didn't get picked [oh well].  The winner and top 10 are pretty cool!

I used bee's wax to encase a photo I had taken of a train pulling away from West Ryde station and of course, had to include a poem of sorts [using words cut out from CityRail brochures]...and an arrow!

Amy won a contest recently - maybe her luck will rub off on me one of these days! ...keep going!

Mad for the 60's

I was reading on Emily's blog about her new hairstyle and Mad Men (Jon Hamm aka Don Draper is a St Louis boy)!  Series 2 has just started on SBS and I must admit, I'm kind of hooked.  I decided to go back and watch Series 1.  As I was watching it - the talk of advertising...etc, it reminded me of my parents - my mom and dad after all met at work.  My dad was a young exec at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati and my mom was a secretary...hmmm.  My mom years ago put together some photo albums for me and I was looking through them...this is my mom circa late 1950's looking very glam!!  My mom told me that my dad took the train to New York to see the Ad Agencies back then - I think one episode of Mad Men mentioned a trip by train from NY to Cleveland took 9 hours.  I love the stories my dad tells us of his time at P&G - the new products (cake mix, nappies [diapers]) - could be some Mad Men episodes in there... 
As I was looking through the old photos I remembered an online art challenge I did a few years ago - I had a weekly prompt - and was required to alter a playing card - here's the one from the prompt called "Parents".  My mom and dad look awesome - 4 kids at that stage - we were vacationing in Florida. 
Love the sunnies!

End of Season

Sadly, my football season has come to an end.  My team finished in 2nd place in the comp - up from 3rd last year (that's me in goals)!!  We just finished the round robin for the Championship - and have been knocked out by losing in our first game 2-0 and we drew 1-1 in the 2nd.  I'm so proud of my team and of me for playing 16 games!!  Go Rovers!

I have been the team manager for the last 2 years (Russell coaches) - and I love it!!  I made key chains for my team - one side of the key chain was a smaller version of this post card - which I altered - the "Come Play" is for the campaign to bring the World Cup to Australia!!

10 Years at Citi

Today is my 10th Anniversary of working for Citibank Australia [which recently celebrated 25 years of having acquired a banking license in Australia - we got cupcakes that day - I had to take a photo - I love cupcakes].

It has been a good 10 years - I've held 4 positions in that time - my current role I've been in for 4 1/2 years.  I thought I would take a photo of part of my work space to show you a glimpse of what keeps me motivated all day...like a poster that says "KEEP CALM and CARRY ON", buttons I made [one of my Aunt Frances who watches over me], a photo of Russell and one of Pete & his kids!  They keep me going...

Simple Things

Did some major house cleaning this weekend - sigh.  As I was cleaning the bathrooms [double sigh] - I decided the soft soap dispensers needed a makeover [and I needed a break] - so I peeled off the labels - put a ribbon at the top and used "rub ons" - OMG - so cute!

Ode to the Dragonfly

Not long after returning from St Louis in March 2010...this dragonfly appeared on the side of our house late one night...I had my camera with me and snapped a photo.  It gave me incredible peace to see it there...I thought of my sister-in-law Janice...she loved dragonflies...her daughter Maggie got a tattoo of dragonflies that represented the members of her family...I read on my niece Emily's blog her recent encounter with a dragonfly...I believe in signs too.

DRAGONFLY SYMBOLISM [found on the internet]

For as many cultural meanings there are for Dragonflies, there are just as many symbol meanings of the strong winged insect. The main symbolism are renewal, positive force and power of life in general with a sense of self that comes with maturity. The Dragonfly is a creature of the wind so it's only fitting that it represents change. They skitter across the water surface implying that our deeper thoughts are surfacing. We are reminded that when our deeper thoughts rise we must also pay close attention to what is deeper than what's on the surface.

The Dragonfly's colors are a result of reflecting the power of light so they are associated with color magic or an illusion in causing others only to see what you want them to see. They remind us that we are made of light and we can reflect light in powerful ways if we choose to. They symbolize going past self created illusions that limit our growing and changing and being a creature of water they carry a symbol of dreaming and thoughts.

The most popular answer of dragonfly symbolism is the sense of self that comes with maturity and there's a strong link to them and butterflies since they both represent change. Dragonflies are a creature that you learn to appreciate as you age and look more deeply at your life, which is where the link to change and self appreciation comes in. As we age we don't just see the surface of things, we start to pick apart our lives and see more meaning in things. No matter what symbol you see in the insect, the fact is that the dragonfly lives a short life and lives it's life to the fullest which is the strongest lesson we can learn from them overall.