Decisions, Decisions

I've been out looking for a nice pair of boots and thought before I buy another pair of shoes while looking for boots I'd best make a decision. 

I looked at these a few days ago and thought it'd be best to sleep on it. This is where taking a camera along is wise, this way I don't imagine something which this isn't, and if I take a photo of the store I'll remember where to go if I decide I want a particular item. 

After some thought I decided that this wasn't quite the style I was in search of, so my search continued; it was off to another store and for some reason this style of boot kept on popping up. 

But there was something about them which I didn't like, so I still kept on trying...

 (I'll spare you from looking at ALL the boots I tried on, there's been a lot!)

... and here's my decision. A comfortable boot which I can dress up or wear casual.

Oh and just a heads up, if you take your camera shopping with you and take photos of yourself to see how something looks... expect odd looks from both the people working in the store and other customers; it's quite amusing actually and I wonder how many of them wished they'd thought of this brilliant idea?  ;-)

Sterling Autumn Garden Festival

Today we wondered down to Sterling, I'd heard that it was beautiful this time of year and there was a festival happening out there today... festival? You bet I'm in!

My first photo is in response to a post I made a few days back in regards to photographers etiquette. Today at the festival in Sterling I was listening to a group of children playing some stunning music and kept on trying to get a shot in, there was this gentleman with a hat on directly in front of me, when I moved, he seemed to move. When he noticed I was behind him, he asked me if I wanted a photo of him, he was joking, but I said sure and quickly snapped a shot, we both laughed, as he made room for me.

So hats off (not literally! lol) to you kind sir, thank you!

... now back to my regular scheduled blog.

 As I was saying, it's Autumn here now which is strange for me, back home it's the beginning of spring. Here the leaves are changing colors and to see this is absolutely beautiful, especially when I know that snow isn't about to follow! 

 At the festival there were plenty of vendors selling plants, food, flowers, homemade items, roosters...

And what's an Autumn Festival without scarecrows? (I'm the one with the sunglasses on!) ;-)

and the children making music was astounding.

Yup... Autumn in April, now this is a totally different concept... then again I'd rather Autumn in April than snow like I've heard they're getting back home!

Learn to Surf Day

Today was yet another first for me, I went with some other students from the uni to learn how to surf...sort of. 

The beach was amazing!

This is the three of us Canadians who all traveled here to Australia to do our final placements for our degree in social work... we know how to have fun! That would be me in the middle.

It was a fun way to spend the morning; even if I didn't get up on my board, I'd go back and do it all over again.

In looking back on my blog photos now that I'm back in Canada I'm wondering what the name of this place is, for some reason I'm thinking Victor Harbor. If anybody knows for certain please let me know. Thanks. 

eat, pray, love

Today I went down to the market in search of some fine foods (eat); I found some delicious stuffed chicken breasts which are filled with spinach, mushrooms and a slice of smoked ham.... yummm. As I was browsing around I remembered the last time I was there I'd spotted a painting which I liked, I prayed it was still there... 

... and there it was, this magnificent piece of Aboriginal art waiting especially for me! I know exactly where this is going to hang in my home once I get it framed, I love it!

On another note, if you've never read this book, it's a fantastic read. 

There's also a movie based on this book, it's starring Julia Roberts; I highly recommend reading the book first, then watch the movie. 

I've not been very sociable lately and apologize for not getting to visit all of your blogs, one of these days when I get a do nothing morning I'll be by to visit, we'll share a cuppa and enjoy the morning together. :-)

Beauty

Even though winter is soon to set in here in Adelaide the flowers are still hanging in here, they're beautiful.

The fuchsias grow magnificently here on bushes, not like back home where they are in hanging baskets.

The hibiscus are also extremely beautiful. I love the droplets of water on the petals, it's the chilly rain we could have did without but as I mentioned, winter's on its way here. 

And a beautiful way to end my day... 

an hour long massage... 'cause I'm worth it! :-)

Photographers Etiquette

I can't believe the nerve of some people, well I can, but that's besides the point. Isn't there some type of photographers etiquette? You know when someone is taking a photo you ensure that you don't go right in front of their shot? Apparently not to this dork, yup dork, you heard right.  I went down to the Anzac Day parade early this morning to ensure I had a good spot, this man showed up out of nowhere about half way through the parade and I thought he might just want a special shot, nope, he thought he was going to park himself there and stay put. No worries, this man will miss the best shot of his life one day, karma is a bugger! 

Now that my beef of the day is out of the way, today it's Anzac Day and we went to the parade this morning. I'm going to post a few of my favorite shots, I hope you enjoy them. 

A child's flag

The start of the parade

and what's a parade without the bagpipes? I LOVE the bagpipes. 

I have tons of photos, it was hard to choose what to post today, but I'm on my way out for the afternoon. You might see the odd shot popping up here and there... then again tomorrow is a new day and maybe they'll stay in the folder where I tucked them away.

Have a wonderful day, cheers!

Honor

I absolutely love seeing both of these flags flying; the one on the right is the Australian flag and the one on the left is the Australian Aboriginal Flag. 

"The Australian Aboriginal Flag was first raised on 12 July 1971 at Victoria Square in Adelaide (which is this flag here)...The top half of the flag is black to symbolise Indigenous people. The red in the lower half stands for the earth and the colour of ochre, which has ceremonial significance. The circle of yellow in the centre of the flag represents the sun."

I feel it is an honor to see the Aboriginal Flag, I could get all carried away about the social injustices and make recommendations or formulate hypothesis, but I'll save this for my academic papers. This is an area which I am extremely passionate about and who knows where this passion is leading me to, but the journey is worth the thousands of miles.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today was both a rainy day and it's Monday, and wouldn't you just know it...the song came to my mind Rainy Days and Mondays by the Carpenters.

When I'm feeling blue it's time to brighten up my life, so here's to rainy days and Monday. 

When you're feeling blue what do you do?

Love the Skin You're In

Then:

Now:

After giving this a bit of thought I went here:

They said there wasn't much they could do for this body and referred me to here:

After my visit to the Tree of Life I've concluded that no matter what size or shape I'm in, nor how I choose to cloak this body, it's time to love the skin I'm in!

Good Deal

I noticed a store here that has a deal on 8x12 prints, it's a special for Mother's Day. I was playing around with some of my photos and I figured for a dollar an enlargement  I couldn't go wrong so I had a few printed.

I love the job they did, now to fine tune my photos, have them reprinted and find frames when I return home and some wall space and I'm set.

For the ocean photo, the front one that is, I found a beautiful quote, it says:

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."

Isak Dinesen

Another Me Day

I know I've had a lot of down time, it's been an amazing journey thus far but there's going to come a time when I'll be making up for all this time, time well wasted I like to think of it as. Today was no exception, I spent a day doing things for myself. First it was off to the beauty salon... 

Retro Hair & Beauty is where I booked my appointment in

 What was so retro about it? Well this photo says a lot; they actually use the old style hair dryers which I haven't seen in quite some time. I felt like an alien, but thankfully I didn't come out of the shop with a beehive.

I also booked in a few more flights today, one to Melbourne and the other to Brisbane. 

 I'll leave on May 8th and be back in Adelaide on May 16th, in time to wrap up my stay here and tie up any loose ends... or take a few more strolls down the beach before I fly back to Canada on June 1st.

Where does the time slip way on us?

A Beautiful Day on the Beaten Path

Today was another amazing trip, one which began with a train ride out of the city...

we walked up, down and around several footpaths and stayed on the trails this time....

 

We ended up on the ocean's edge where we enjoyed not only the serenity, but the majestic ocean itself. 

I was almost immersed in the water, then I changed my mind... the water is starting to get a tad bit chilly so I got out of the ocean, sat back to dry off and shot tons photos. 

And my heart danced anyway... 

Central Market

The market here is an amazing place to go to do some shopping at; today I ventured over and thought I'd take some photos on the way. I finally picked up a polarizing filter for my 24-70mm lens and I love what it does. 

On the way to the market I walked by the huge fountain at Victoria Square, it's beautiful!

 

A church across from Victoria Square

and after strolling along I arrived at Central Market.

Today it was about 30c and the sun was shining so it was the ideal day to take out my new filter, as I mentioned, I'm so happy to have this!

NY

A few of my family members recently took a trip to New York, it was a trip to celebrate my great niece passing her high school with high distinctions. Way to go Ashley! 

I was on my way out, walking by the main desk downstairs and was rather surprised that I actually had mail, this is the first 'real' mail I've received since I've been in Australia. Sure I've received tons of emails, all which mean a lot to me... but this was so special and touched my heart.

My nephew sent me a postcard from New York!  Thank you Michael, this means a lot to Auntie.

Sunset Sunday

I have two photos to share tonight for Sunset Sunday; the first one I shot yesterday at Port Noarlunga, a must see if you're ever in South Australia. I seem to keep finding a lot of 'must see' places, and yes I have fallen in love with Australia, something I feared would happen, but such is life. As the saying goes:

 "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

This next photo I captured at Henley Beach, I love silhouettes and this one is one of my all time favorites.

Solitude
 inspired by Carmi


and 

Sunset Sunday is inspired by Scott. 

Port Noarlunga

Today was yet another adventure, naturally one off of the beaten path. We traveled down to Port Noarlunga, this is by far the prettiest beach I have been to yet. 

This photo is at the beginning of our journey, I was fresh, vibrant and ready to tackle most anything... little did I know what was in store for us! 

We went through the sand dunes...

Up and over hills and rocks

But it was totally worth the effort, the view is astounding.

As the day progressed and the sun began to set, the lighting intensified the color of the rock...

It was an astounding day, one which I hope to treasure for years to come. I even tried to snorkel for the first time, we attempted to swim out to the reef but the current kept pushing us back so it was back to square one, but I'd do it all over again... it was that kind of a day. The sunset... well that's going to have to wait for Sunset Sunday.  

This and That

I've been taking a lot of photos, as I normally do, and today I'm going to share a few random shots. This first one was at a nearby church, I've heard Adelaide been identified as the city of churches. If time permits I'd love to spend an entire day touring around taking photos of churches, there's some beautiful ones here that I've spotted in passing.

Scot's Uniting Church 

The Water fountain in Rundle Mall area

And a while ago I posted about hats... 

Today I found "The Hat"

I love my new hat, it definitely says Australian!

... so there you have it, a bit of this and a bit of that which I'm blessed to be a part of.

A Rose is a Rose

""Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." was written by Gertude Stein as part of the 1913 poem Sacred Emily, which appeared in the 1922 book Geography and Plays."

"In that poem, the first "Rose" is the name of a person."

  "Stein later used variations on the sentence in other writings, and "A rose is a rose is a rose" is probably her most famous quotation, often interpreted as meaning "things are what they are," a statement of the law of identity."

As interesting as this is... all I know for certain is the rose is by far my favorite flower.