Category: CMMC

CMMC: ToWel Animals

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Getting back to blogging means reconnecting with Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. (CMMC) Each week she has a theme. As its the 4th week of the month the theme is about a chosen letter contained in a word. February’s letter is W or X.

When I pondered these letters, the first thing that came to mind were the very cute toWel animals we found in our room on the cruise ships. They are adorable. I loved them. They are created by the amazing hospitality staff. On Carnival they were changed every day. Sometimes they left the old ones but sometimes they ran our of toWels and had to change up the old ones.

On P&O we were only occasionally given a fun surprise.

My favourite day on Carnival was when we woke up and went to breakfast to find the whole pool area covered in toWel animals. They were everywhere. Unfortunately it was raining so many were wet but they still looked great.

I loved them so much I bought the book on how to make them. My plan is to surprise X and any future grandchildren when they visit.

Which one is your favourite? Mine is the pig.

CMMC: Christmas Bush

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In Cee’s Midweek madness Challenge the first week of the month is about Macro or close up photography. So as it is nearing the end of the Christmas season I thought I would celebrate our Christmas Bush. It is an Australian native that blooms with a soft pink colour around November and its colour deepens to turning red around Christmas time.

We love our Christmas Bush tree. It is a beauty standing about 10 metres tall. Every year it never fails to deliver. My husband has even developed his own Christmas traditions around it. Sometime in the week of Christmas he makes his Christmas bush run. He cuts and delivers bunches of Christmas bush to family and friends whether they are home or not. Everyone loves it and is very grateful. Maybe because I saw smaller bunches on sale at the local florist for $15.00 a bunch.

When I was taking the photos for this blog post I took a much closer look at Christmas bush than I ever had before. I was surprised to notice the unusual shape of the leaves.

CCMC: Abstract Head of Henry Moore

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We happened up this spectacular sculpture by accident. It can be found be the side of the road in the outback New South Wales town of Yeoval. Population under 300 people.

Yeoval was the childhood home of Banjo Patterson, a famous Australian poet. In an effort to attract more visitors to the town, the curator of the Banjo Patterson Museum went in search of a special piece of public artwork. In 2010, Robbie Waterhouse (Australian racing identity) donated the sculpture to the town.

The sculpture titled Abstract Head of Henry Moore was created by his protégé Drago Marin Cherina. Henry Moore was said to be the greatest sculpture of the 20th century. He created large scale abstract bronze sculptures that can be found all around the world. To honour his mentor Drago created a similar abstract sculpture of Henry’s head. This became as part of his art collection that he lost to Robbie after a failed business venture. It is reported that Drago thinks that Henry would have enjoyed his final home as he loved the country side.

The six tonne sculpture is one of the largest in Australia.

Thanks to Cee for this week’s inspiration of the letter H.

CMMC: A True Work Of Art

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Today I am returning to my pre A-Z challenge blog posts. One that I was just beginning to enjoy was Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge (CMMC.) Each week Cee gives us inspiration to help expand our photography skills. Our theme this week is macro or close -up photography.

This amazing antique wall unit is from Royal Hotel St Arnaud. It is truly exquisite and just called out for some macro photography. Without getting up close and personal I wouldn’t have seen the detail. We ate our meal in front of this beauty and I was very excited when those sitting in front of us left so I could get better photos. If you get up close with the mirrors you can see my reflection in the image.

Thanks to Cee for hosting this weekly photography challenge and encouraging us to think differently about what we see.

CMMC: FLOWERING GUMS CLOSE UP

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Being the first week of the month Cee’s Mid Week Challenge is about exploring macro or close up photography. I like to think of it as getting up close and personal time. When deciding on what to photograph I was memorized by the large bushes I saw in the gardens as I was leaving the hospital. To my surprise, I walk along this path every day but hadn’t noticed these beautiful shrubs before. So I explored their beauty closely and to my delight saw that the bushes were in various stages of flowering. They truely were a sight to behold.

Not knowing what the plants were I asked around and was told that they are Mini Red Flowering Gums. ( Corymbia Ficifolia) They are grafted eucalyptus trees, native to Australia that grow easily and are hardy. Bees and nectar eating birds love to feed on them.

Do you have a favourite? Mine is the last one that also shows the bees gathering the pollen.

Thanks to Cee for hosting this challenge it is great inspiration.