Do you have time for a cup of tea?
If so, pull up a comfy chair and let me share my wonderful week with you…
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It started last weekend with a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art at The Rocks. Their Telling Tales exhibition was closing, and I was keen to catch it before it finished. Little did I know that the MCA Permanent Collection had also been rehung, so I was treated to three whole floors of new art!
On the ground floor, Primavera 2016 is showcasing the work of young Australian artists. How many of you are old enough (as I was) to recognise the shorthand scripts used in the neon lights below? This artwork by Danae Valenza is motion activated, lighting up as visitors pass by…
The MCA Permanent Collection has brand new pieces on display for the first time in four years.
Seven Sisters Tree Women, 2013 by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers is full of movement and fluidity – the woven sculptures appear to be dancing…
I loved Fiona Hall’s amazing Manuhiri (Travellers) 2014 – 15. It’s an entire wall installation of found driftwood from the Waiapa River, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Each carefully selected but otherwise unaltered piece has been carved by the river into the shape of land and sea animals, both real and mythical.
This wall-piece was shown at the Venice Biennale 2015 and is definitely worth seeing if you ever get the chance…
The Telling Tales exhibition closed the day after I visited, and I felt privileged to have had the chance to see Emily Floyd’s stunning artworks.
The Outsider, 2005…
It’s because I talk too much that I do nothing, 2002 (back left) and Gulag Archipelago, 2016…
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Later that evening, my nephew Bryan came over for his birthday dinner. Both he and Big Boy were born in 1992, so I opened a special bottle of red for them (for those of you who’ve been reading along since the beginning – can you believe that our eldest son has finished school, finished uni and is now working and turning 24?)…
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I put together an assorted box of chocolate for my friend Tezza’s birthday. I’m not allowed to say how old she is, but there were (cough cough) 50 pieces in the box…
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On Friday morning, I was up in time to catch the light display in our dining room. Remember when Pete hung my crystal Christmas decorations as a chandelier and you all suggested I leave them up? Well, I did, and now on most spring and summer mornings, our dining room is awash in rainbows. It only lasts for ten minutes or so, and I’m always thrilled if I’m awake in time to see it…
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On Saturday night, we had dinner with Pete’s cousins. They’re a joy to spend time with! Newly-weds Jono and Laura were back from their honeymoon, and there was lots to catch up on. I decanted an old bottle of vintage port for the occasion…
…made chocolate ginger for Uncle Mike…
…and baked two loaves of sourdough bread…
Dinner was brilliant, with Pip’s salads and Mima’s potato salad and Sean’s perfectly cooked steaks. The boys left early, but Pete and I stayed on until late, catching an Uber home at midnight. I chatted about old wines with Brian and then taught Laura how to make microwave custard at 10pm (we’d had a few drinks and it seemed like a good idea at the time, as there were egg yolks leftover from Emma’s pavlova)…
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The morning walks are continuing. Big Boy, bless his kind heart, gets up and comes with me on weekdays. We’ve just discovered the Greenway, which stretches from the Iron Cove Bay to Summer Hill, with its wonderful flora and fauna…
The walk ends (or starts, I guess) at the water…
This glorious mural sits hidden under the City West Link…
Hawthorne Canal was looking particularly picturesque the other morning. At the turn of the last century, you could catch a ferry from the canal to Circular Quay…
This quirky sculpture sits over the canal bridge from the Greenway…
We’ve seen an abundance of bird life along the route, including Magpies and Magpie Larks, Willie Wagtails, a Masked Lapwing, Satin Flycatchers, Welcome Swallows, Pied Currawongs and this brilliant mama White Faced Heron. Her nest is on the other side of the canal, and her large chick sits in there, still as a statue, while the mother is away. I’d have never seen it except that I was lucky enough to walk past while it was feeding.
It was mesmerising to watch the heron wading through the canal, hunting for small prey…
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I can’t wait to see what next week brings!
Wishing you all a very happy one!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a wonderful week filled with joy at every turn. I couldn’t be happier for you. All those goodies made me hungry.
Your week and kitchen sound wonderful!
Absolutely wonderful, Celia! I think the light fixture on the ceiling was my favorite – the fact that the show of lights lasts only a few minutes makes it super special!
Hi Celia, I found your blog again recently. Sounds like a wonderful week. Cheers Janet
What a wonderful week
Thanks for sharing your week with us, Celia – live it!
What a treat to enjoy your week vicariously – and any night that ends up making custard at 10pm has to have been great fun!
Just a simple heartfelt Thank You.
A wonderful week indeed…wine, chocolate, good food, amazing bread, family, friends, walks with your beloved and amazing art. Sigh…you so deserve every moment! Big hug x
Lovely post. I did shorthand at school and hated it. Fortunately I never had to use it. We have herons on the river below our apartment. I love to watch them waiting for their breakfast to swim past.
what a glorious week. I love the light show your chandelier makes and that walk in the morning- superb. A local walking track is a huge community asset. I didn’t know there were canals in Sydney.
You weren’t just kidding……….what a week! LOVE the Seven Sisters Tree Women!! I am going to try to ‘do a Pricilla’ on my rye starter and send it to my daughter. Can’t wait to see what happens :) Thank you so much.
Such a photogenic week and it seems like you enjoyed it to the fullest!
That’s lovely Celia. Time flies. It’s good to know you enjoy arts too. I usually take my visitors to Art Gallery of NSW. I live in Eastern suburb so it’s easy to go there. Are you familiar with the suburbs of Western Sydney? My husband receives a job appointment at UWS Penrith so we are thinking of relocating there. Would appreciate if you can give some advice. I am already in Sydney for nearly 3 years but haven’t been to all the suburbs in Sydney.
What a happy weekend you’ve had. I continue to be impressed by the depth of your cellar.I also love the light at different times of the year in different parts of the house. At present, in the early afternoon, the sun shines on the pool next door and reflects in million sparkling lines onto our ceiling in the dining room. Small pleasures.
Oh my: you did investigate the wine cellar to put this on for the boys! Wonderfully ‘smiley’ post – just love the ‘Seven Sisters Tree Women’ but even more so that wonderful walk you have found . . . did not think you had such beauty so close to you . . . .all the best wishes for more happy, happy weeks!!
Sounds like a wonderful week! I really enjoy contemporary art installations and would have enjoyed the time there, too! And what a lovely and inviting place to walk, Celia. I do hope you have another week with this much joy and companionship!
The Greenway looks an inviting walk – the canal looks so serene and still.
I always found shorthand much easier to write than to read back. Shame I don’t have any need for it these days as I rather enjoyed it.
Sumptuous, Celia! You are blessed x
oh I need a bit more time to see art galleries – those exhibits look wonderful – and the names of some exhbits are such poetry – love your chandelier and your chocolates and that your boy is so wonderfully grown up
Fantastic week Celia. That driftwood exhibit looks very interesting. How lucky to live close to the museum and open space.
Your week looks incredibly full. Such beautiful places and things you’ve been finding on your morning walks.
Your walks are always such a beautiful window to Australian nature, thank you! We saw a crane flying towards downtown…so unusual to see a sea bird inland like that.
I’ll grab a cup of tea and pop back – hold on a minute! c
You did have a great week, Celia, and I couldn’t think of a more deserving person. I hope there are many more in your future.
Such love from Big Boy. He still goes on walks with his mum. I particularly love the outdoor arts and your sense of humour. Have a wonderful week, Celia.
Love the accoutrements for the Port opening! 😆