Sandy Claus

I was off to the CBD today for my six-monthly Pieroth wine-tasting harbour cruise. Passing the old Pyrmont Bridge pedestrian walkway at Darling Harbour, I noticed the colourful banners decorating it for the Christmas season. Then I realised I actually knew the junior male model on every second banner! Way to go, Sandy Claus!

Hoya!

This photo is a quick guess-and-shoot from underneath the plant, in order to highlight its most spectacular angle. This season, the hoya plant on my back decking has gone crazy - it started from a stray strand in an old hanging basket, given to me by a friend about eight years ago. The strand wasn't even meant to be there, and yet it's now a glorious plant that has the most amazing chains of blooms, most hidden to onlookers because the long strands hang so low to the decking boards.


A more controlled pic of the blooms.

Fast week!

Another fast week, so here's a photo montage to catch up:


Olympic Boulevard, Homebush Bay, new venue of the
schools' Celebration Concert. 2 November 2009.


Jack carries in a newspaper just before bedtime. 3 November 2009.


Jack Daniels whiskey and cola can, impaled on barbed wire,
in the perimeter fence of a western Sydney primary school
I visited for professional development. 4 November 2009.


Yummy Pirate and Andorian gingerbread cookies,
at the monthly Star Trek meeting. 5 November 2009.


Sometimes it just has to be marshmallows. 6 November 2009.

Revisiting Penrith's "Up 'n' Go" tree

This is Penrith's infamous "Up 'n' Go" bush, revisited - urban art that grew
over several years. I first photographed it this time last year,
but it is seemingly abandoned in more recent times.

I'd almost forgotten this bizarre objet d'art, hung with empty TetraPaks of instant breakfast drink... until a friend mentioned reading about it on my blog last November! I happened to be passing the location this afternoon, so took a new inspection. Looking a little faded...

Here it is, in all its 2008 glory:

Happy Hallowe'en!

Mr Potato Head strikes it lucky!

What a pity! No trick-or-treaters in my street, so I ate their candy. Well... someone had to do it!



Happy Hallowe'en, everyone!

Photo roundup!

On the way to the Capitol Theatre, in Sydney's CBD, to see "Wicked". This jacaranda tree, in full bloom, created the most bizarre optical illusion against the azure blue sky, but the flowers have photographed much darker than I'd hoped. Still pretty, though. 24 October 2009.


Kitchen light. 25 October 2009.


My Wollemi Pine is shooting new growth! 26 October 2009.


"Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!" Toy Batmobile painting by Nick Stathopoulos at the opening of his exhibition "Toy Porn", at NG Art Gallery, Chippendale. The exhibition was opened by David Stratton, of TV's "The Movie Show". 27 October 2009.


Realisation! It's almost midnight again. 28 October 2009.


I swear I had nothing to with this. A class of Year 1 kids were making a life-size chalk drawing of a dinosaur on the playground today - and were asked to show what he'd eaten. Amongst the pterodactyls and smaller dinosaurs was this... Andorian. 29 October 2009.


I have to restock this spinning rack of animal books every day. 30 October 2009.

Three in one, 'cos I almost forgot!

Eerie battery-operated "mushroom" lamps from Officeworks. 21 October 2009.


View from the train, heading out of Penrith, bound for the CBD. 22 October 2009.


"When Nero met Ilia's Daddy"

Coincidentally, my exclusive Hallmark Ilia Probe Christmas ornament turned up on the same day as the comic in which Nero the Romulan met V'ger, of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". 23 October 2009.