ScrapFriends Sketch Challenge - January 2013

I have not often had the opportunity to go to the theatre or live shows; a lack of finances and the need to be with my family as they were all growing up just part of the reason I guess. I have never been one to get excited about celebrities, to follow a particular songster, actor or sport star and have the worst memory for names and details if the person is not connected to me in some important way.  I need to see an advert or be recommended by family and friends before considering going to see a performance. My middle sister is entirely different; she is an avid fan of many celebrities, performers and athletes and attends all forms of theatre and sport as often as possible. It was she who told me about Madame Butterfly coming to Perth and asked if I wished to attend with another mutual friend.

I didn't know a lot about the story line, just a general outline so I made sure I read up on it prior to the performance. Theatre aficionados may have disliked the idea but I found that having English subtitles displayed on a screen was particularly beneficial. It was a beautiful moving story with a very sad end; the opening night performance was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

The Color Room #142

Our youngest grandson; I have written of him and his older brothers in a previous post - As We Whisper his Name.

This photo was taken in hospital by the official photographer and is by far the best of him to date, my humble efforts pale in comparison.

Here he is five days old but not actually due for another 4 weeks having arrived 5 weeks early; all the tubes and monitors had been removed and the slight rash left by the tapes holding everything in place have either faded or been photo shopped away leaving this beautiful tiny little face, another little miracle.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes

 

 

Bird is the Word, January 2013 - Whisper

Our youngest grandson decided he wasn't going to miss out on the family Christmas and arrived five weeks early on the 6th of December.

He is our second son's fourth son; sadly his third son was arrived 20 weeks early and was born sleeping in May 2011. This little one was conceived about a year later and the pregnancy was monitored very carefully. We were overjoyed to get him so close to full term but were worried for a little while as he was not doing as well as we had hoped and was kept in the special care nursery under the watchful eye of the wonderful nursing staff until he was able to hold his own in the world.

His special care meant he didn't get to meet his two older brothers until he was four days old. The boys had been to see their Mum over the previous four days and had rushed into the room and straight to her, unaware that their tiny brother was also there. This photo was taken by their Dad a few minutes later. We allowed the family time to get to know one another before meeting him for the first time. He was home with the family for Christmas and continues to grow with all the love and care we can provide.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards

The Color Room - Palette #141

In our recent trip to the USA, we had planned to spend eight days with my youngest sister in Colorado to celebrate her significant birthday. We also packed lots of winter woolies in the hope of not only playing in snow but also seeing it fall. We live in Western Australia and snow only falls on the mountains well south of here on very rare occasions and then only lasts until the sun comes up. Although I have been to Colorado four times before, I have only ever seen the tiniest of flakes for the shortest of times. There has been snow on the ground, but not falling.

In an effort to find snow and more importantly, falling snow, we drove to Aspen, Breckenridge and Vale, also went to Pikes Peak and the top of the Continental Divide, all to no avail. The ski slopes were very bare! The winter woolies only came out twice in the whole trip.

This photo was taken at Bear Lake; an almost frozen lake, the first my husband and I have ever seen. My sister has several warm outfits but I think this ensemble suits her the best; cream fleece jumper, cream over coat and mottled cream gloves, hat and scarf; with her blonde hair, I thought she looked like a Snow Bunny!

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards

Once Upon A Sketch, January 2013 - New Beginnings

As I have written in a previous post; my husband and I travelled to the USA in November 2012 to be there to celebrate my youngest sister's 50th birthday. The trip was planned for some time and we booked the tickets in February 2012 to take advantage of discounts. The trip worked around our nieces wedding in Sydney and there are no other family birthdays in November so we thought we were good to go.

In April our third son and his wife announced that they were expecting their second child, they were ecstatic about the news but apologised; the pregnancy, although planned, happened sooner than they expected and they knew that this baby, our next and sixth grandchild would arrive whilst we were travelling.

We were very happy about their news and, amid promises of constant contact and regular photo's, we decided that we would not change our ticketing. This little chap was born on 8 November and we received the news and a photo by text when arriving late at night in Durango, CO. We had to wait three weeks to meet him. To our surprise, this little family were at the airport to meet us, these photos are the beginning of our relationship with him. He welcomed us at the airport and we welcomed him into our ever growing family.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards

TCR Palette #124

This is my middle sister; these are rare photos and only handed over to me under duress. She makes it almost impossible for me to get photos of her!

I was 4 when she was born and I remember Mum bringing home this beautiful little doll with blue eyes, black curly hair, a tiny perfectly shaped mouth and, as she got older, dimples when she smiled. When she cried her eyes would fill with tears but only one would gently roll down her face. She was quite different to the rest of us but perhaps inherited the best parts of both our parents genes. She was the only one Dad really wanted and the only one he stayed at home for after birth.

She joined the army at 19 and was posted to the Eastern States and although she married a West Australian who was also in the army, they only spent two years of their 20 years service at home; we feel we lost a large part of her life due to the separation. She is the mother of three very accomplished children, two boys and a girl, a very talented quilter and scrapbooker, has a wicked sense of humour and is crazy about the arts and follows almost every sport you can think of. When she smiles she lights up the room and you should see her dance. She has already achieved a very high level in Latin dance and is now working her way through ballroom; I could only wish I had half her talent.

We are fortunate to now live in the same city and spend some Friday nights and the odd weekend scrapbooking together, making up for the lost years.

Thank you for looking and for any comments you may leave, best wishes.

CSI Case File #37

I have decided to copy some of my pages from the CSI and TCR websites as I am afraid of losing them through closed domains. My apologies if you are reading these for a second time!

 

I don't like to drop names for two reasons, the first being I am really bad at remembering them and I don't want to be known for who I know but who I am. Having said that I am honoured to say that this wonderful man, Gerry Darwin is a friend of ours. He is an internationally renowned artist who lives near us and we have been pleased to help him with his art. My husband has made several plinths for Gerry in the past and stood as a model for him on another occasion. He even used my hooded eyelids as a model for a piece in honour of St Mary McKillop that was presented to the Pope some time ago. He needed a workman's hands for this particular piece and my lovely husband, a carpenter, has the largest work roughened hands of any one I know! I love that both use their hands in their work and in doing so appreciate each other.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.