Congrats to Joan Figlar, the winner of the very cute and functional Fox zippered bag! There will be another giveaway next week and, I hope, at least one blog post between now and then.
Wednesday Giveaway
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Last stop: Sydney!
Catherine and I spent 2 days in Sydney. We had had a great view from our room:
We walked and shopped (of course)…
I was tempted to buy Han Solo in carbonite for my son, Chris, but thankfully he was not for sale. (Lorna, aren’t you glad this isn’t coming home to your house?!)
We walked in the gardens… that’s a fig tree!
We went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales where we got to view the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. There are 6 of them, each similar to each other, but different.
The 2018 Archibald paintings were also on exhibit but we chose not to pay to go, mostly because I had a sinus headache that was trying to kill me. Not really ‘kill’ me, but it definitely slowed me down. Darn, right?!
Vivid Sydney is happening now. Once it gets dark, the city around the harbor is filled with light and music. It was lovely! We saw it from the water one night. Last night we walked the streets. So, this is the Opera House by day:
And the same Opera House, lit during Vivid. The projected images changed, morphing from one thing to another…
There were random displays…
Catherine loved this one, that was all about microbes…
And now it’s time to go home. I’m going to miss Catherine! We had such a good time together. It’s going to feel lonely for a while. I’m glad that we can FaceTime until the next time we can get together in the real world.
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Wednesday Giveaway
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.
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Newcastle sites…
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 :-).
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The Hunter Valley Gardens…
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…
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Newcastle Art Gallery…
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…
The Baby Scarlett by Felicity Knight, age 5 – 2018
E.V.I.E ‘Me’ by Evie Graham, age 5 – 2018
Brother by Celia Drady, age 11 – 2018
Self Portrait with Peanut by Gabi Van Rensburg, age 12 – 2018
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.
Self-Portrait by Vanessa Stockard
Remy QC, by William H. Luke, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
Professor Gillian Triggs by Yvette Coppersmith, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
Paul Little by Julius Killerby
The mayor of Bondi by Dee Smart, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
Lottie and James by Jonathan Dalton, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
Finished Packing by Lucy Culliton, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
Bare Tarragh by Keith Burt, Archibald Prize 2017 Competition
This one was really interesting, and engaging…
Homage to Peter Powditch by Noel Thurgate
Homage to Peter Powditch by Noel Thurgate, detail
And it is always fun to watch people viewing art…
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