Matching Pegs

Alison and Scott have had their big day. This is Alison with Hailey (Scott’s niece), Michaela and Amelia before the ceremony.

Here I am with the girls who had just been given a teddy bear each as a thank-you from the bride and groom.

This is my only shot of Rory, who was busy being a photographer on the day. The following shots were taken by him (with his unique perspective and composition).

The Happy couple after the service, joined by the brides attendants, Eng Seng, Manelle, the girls and I, (sorry Eng Seng, a tree got in the way).

Colin, Father of the Bride (and of course my father).

Unfortunately, as I was not in charge of the camera, and Luke had his hands full with the kids, I do not have any photos of the rest of the family or the rest of the bridal party (sorry Mum, you looked amazing). However, thanks to Rory, I do have this lovely shot of my wonderful husband, who posed for the same photos, in the same spot with me, almost 10 years ago. I love you Luke.

…In Our Front Garden Bed*.

These are just beginning to come out, in the garden bed against the house. I think that they are Salvias, but I am not sure, they were grown from a cutting I was given.

I just love the colour of them up against our Terracotta bricks.

They are coming in to bloom to replace the Hydrangeas which occupy the same bed, that have browned off in the heat of summer and been pruned back.

The last time they looked any good was New Years Eve, when I cut most of the blooms off before the mercury hit 42 degrees C (107.6 degrees F). The hydrangeas get the first lot of water from the shower, (that cold stuff that comes out while you wait for the water to warm up) almost every morning, except when it rains.

* Purple patch seems to mean different things in different countries. I have always understood it to mean a period of excellent performance, where nearly everything seems to go right, work properly, and contrasting with a more general lower level of performance, but to some it means period of ostentatiously erratic or bad behaviour.

……Sorry.

Finally a very important day has arrived. The New Prime Minister has apologised to the Stolen Generations* for the government policy that removed so many aboriginal children from their families, purely on the basis of their race.

Today I feel so much better about calling myself an Australian.

Here are some details on myths about the Stolen Generations and information that busts those myths courtesy of Get Up. The following is taken from that same document.

*Who are the stolen generations? The term ‘Stolen Generations’ refers to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Australians who were forcibly removed from their families and
communities by policies of government, welfare and church authorities as children and
placed into institutional care or with non-Indigenous foster families. The forced removal of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children began as early as the mid 1800s and
continued until the 1970s.

The apology? A central recommendation of the 1997 ‘Bringing Them Home’ report was the
need for a national apology to those individuals and their families and communities affected
by past policies of removal. Members of the Stolen Generations have indicated that
recognition by the Government that the policies were wrong would help in addressing the
trauma and suffering that they have experienced. The need for a national apology is also
regarded as an important component of the broader reconciliation process between
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

This evening is one of those evenings where the light is a very strange colour, making eveything look otherworldly. The air is humid and still, and the sky is all different colours, some parts of it look almost green. It was impossible to catch on camera.

This photo looks like I have messed with the colour balance, but it is pretty true to life.

Yesterday found me in the lovely little town of Loch for their annual Quilt Hanging. It was a very warm humid day, so it was extremely pleasant to wander around slowly without my offspring. I was so caught up in the now, that I barely took any photos to capture the event (not necessarily a bad thing, but leaves this post looking a little bereft). Here is one shot that I quickly snapped of the Post Office.

The town really rises to the occasion, there were quilts on almost all of the shops and public buildings, and many eateries to refuel in. My mother, her friend Kaye and I had a lovely lunch is the colourfully named “Hard Loch Cafe”.

There was quite a good display of historic quilts in one of the halls, which was really interesting, but my best photo was of the ceiling decorations, which I thought were just beautiful.

Here is a detail of a quilt I was particularly taken with. According to the notes (that I no longer have) this was a first quilt by the maker, who confessed to having had a little help from her mother. My apologies to this quilter that I do not have her details to record here.

I really loved the colour combinations, such a delicate green.