The random number generator has chosen — Our winner this week is Patty S. Congratulations! Enjoy your Protector Connector.
Most of us have a pair of Small Perfect Scissors. The scissor comes with a sheath, but if you are like me, you’ve lost the sheath. Karen Kay Buckley came up with a solution: the Protector Connector! It is a scissor charm with a sheath that fits this scissor on the end.
Scissor not included.
Catherine lives across the street from the Newcastle Museum — how cool is that! There is a famous/photogenic camel outside and I had to take a photo. (Honestly, the camel is best when seen from afar. He’s kind of scary up close.)
The children’s area was way more fun than I expected. There were several good interactive exhibits involving magnets, and one where you could lift a real (small) car with a lever and ropes. Physics in action.
The coal industry is huge in Newcastle and it was a big steel producer. The steel industry shut down but there is a big part of the museum dedicated to it. This is 1 ton of coal. It makes you wonder who looked at that rock and had the idea to burn it. That would not be my first thought.
We hiked up the 136 stairs to the Newcastle Memorial Walk. It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli in 1915 and the commencement of steel making in Newcastle.
The names of soldiers are inscribed on the metal figures.
The views are amazing. Catherine says they are more amazing when it’s sunny but I appreciated them nonetheless.
A small memorial just outside the fence was peaceful, even with the chain link.
The rain moved in and we went shopping. I really, really hope everything fits in my suitcase :-).
We went back to the Hunter Valley to visit the Gardens on Sunday. It’s been rainy but we were lucky and it was a beautiful day. Most of the flowers were dormant but that really didn’t matter to me. I enjoyed the fall display.
The hedges are skillfully trimmed. I especially liked the cutouts that allow you to see through to another part of the garden.
There is a formal garden, very nice.
There is a lovely children’s area with a Mother Goose/story book theme. My favorite thing was the big red chair:
There are rides, but it’s off-season here so they weren’t working. That also meant fewer people in the garden with us so, actually, it was not a bad thing.
This is the safest, least-scary Ferris wheel I have ever seen. It made me wonder if it’s as much fun as those where, even though you are strapped in, it feels like you could fall out.
The Japanese Garden was serene, as you would expect.
My last photo of the day. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen cut roses floating in water. I hope I don’t forget this…
The amazing painting above is Lottie and James by Jonathan Dalton and it was on most of the promotional information and posters for the exhibit.
The Newcastle Art Gallery is hosting the finalists from the Archibald Prize 2017. This is an annual contest featuring portraits painted specifically for the contest. There were also paintings by youth in the area. It was all amazing!
The young artists ranged in age from 5-18. I was very impressed…
Of all the paintings in the exhibit, this was my favorite — mostly because the woman depicted is the spitting image of my granddaughter, Elanor, albeit a little older.
Heymnan by Kim Leutwiler, painted for the Arichibald Prize 2017 competition
I love portraits. Maybe it’s the fact that you can stand and stare without having to talk to the person you are in front of. Actual faces are also fun to look at, but you have to deal with the person inside, if that makes sense.
This one was really interesting, and engaging…
And it is always fun to watch people viewing art…
Piece O Cake Blog 