ABC WEDNESDAY

F IS FOR........FLIES

Ah yes, the great Aussie salute....the graceful swish of the hand across the face, to deter those pesky bush flies!

From our 2003 adventure, across northern Australia, three beautiful places loom large in the pantheon of bush fly-plagued camp-sites - Limestone Gorge (in Litchfield NP, Northern Territory), Bell Gorge ( along the Gibb River Rd, Western Aust) & Walcott Inlet ( also WA).

In the photo above is Ian ( yes, one of the 3 great cooks from last week) baking at the Limestone Gorge camp....if the flies have settled on your back, DO NOT disturb them. If they're on your back, then they're not buzzing round your eyes, nose & mouth!!


The must-have accessory is your fly-net, which automatically goes on at sunrise ,when the flies arrive, and doesn't come off till sunset, when they all miraculously disappear.

For other equally-rivetting F posts, buzz on over to Mrs Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday blog & click on the links.

STAMPHAPPY 1-4-1 SWAP

It's been a bit remiss of me not displaying the ATCs I've received in the StampHappy 1-4-1 swap that is currently running. Time to put things to rights. Hope you enjoy looking at the art made by others in the StampHappy group. These Artist Trading Cards are all 6.4cm X 8.9cm.

Opening the show, above, is an ATC by Carolyn Weiss. Those below are by Dorothy Leach & Danielle D'Onofrio.


The next three are by Roz Veevers, Barb Dare & Lynn Gosney.


Below are ATCs by Melanie Smith, Julie Price & Kaeren Sutherland.

The next three are by Janet Hamblin, Vikki Whittington & Linda Aldred, who's organised the on-going swap.

The final three are by Dorothy Leach, Diane Whatford & Dorothy again.

Thank you everyone for playing with me, & looking forward to more swaps.

NEW-ISH JEWELLERY

It's been ages since I've put up any of the jewellery I've been making, so thought it was about time.

The charm bracelet above I actually made for myself. It uses little mille fiore beads & Swarovski crystals which have been attached by wire-wrapping. I love it...it's really colourful & musical as the charms ting into each other.


Bracelets seem to have been on my list recently. Above are some made from Swarovski crystals & either Japanese or Czech seed beads. The sea-green bracelet below is made from resin beads & the other one from semi-precious stones....hmm,maybe carnelian?


Lastly, two necklaces .The first one uses pearl shell, agate, Czech glass & brass. The second one is made from clear quartz chips & nuggets.

ABC WEDNESDAY

E IS FOR ..........EATING and drinking

A huge part of our 2003 adventure across northern & north western Australia was eating & drinking. Heather, Rob & Ian are all incredible cooks & my then 15 y/o nephew Tim a very willing apprentice. My role....kitchen aid, & Peter's...bar attendant.


We ate the most amazing meals, and truly, there is nothing those 3 can't cook in a cast-iron camp oven.....Turkish bread, friandes, 40-cloves chicken, Moroccan lamb, apple crumble, Old Cork pork, Black Forest cake, bread loaves & rolls!


At Darwin's Mindil markets, there is an eye-popping choice in satays & burgers when you check the selection available.

We ate meals in the most incredible and mundane locations....empty beaches in a tiny patch of shade & car parks with picnic benches.

If you munch your way over to Mrs Nesbitt's, you'll find links to more ABC Wednesday posts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Our special girl turns FOUR today!! Happy happy birthday Darling Caitlyn.

2008 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Art Award

The winner of this year's award is Makinti Napananka, a Pintupi woman from the tiny western desert community of Kintore in the Northern Territory. Kintore is one of the communities in the Papunya Tula Art Movement.

Although Mikinti is probably in her late 70s, she has only been painting for about 12 years.


Her untitled picture depicts a rockhole near Kintore.

MOVIE TIME

Thanks to Julie's gentle encouragement, once more I embark on my plan to visit the cinema more regularly. If visiting monthly was too difficult, why on earth have I decided on a fortnightly visit?? Am I setting myself up once more for failure??

"The Band's Visit" is a gentle little film that tells of the unplanned visit of a Police band from Egypt to an Israeli town out in the middle of nowhere. It's one of those quiet films where not a lot happens, but it completely absorbs you into the telling of the story. The messages of tolerance, friendship & commonality are very subtly imparted & at times, I also found myself laughing out loud at the droll humour.

A terrific film.