Tag Archives: Bendigo

Locally Made

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The story of this post began back in October when GMan and I visited several local artisans during the Open Studios weekend in Bendigo.

I bought 2 pieces – a pair of earrings and a watercolour painting. The painting was unframed and after chatting with the artist I have found an excellent local place to have it framed.

This is it unframed. I just love the colours and composition.

I picked up my newly-framed artwork this week and am very pleased with it although the photograph does not really do it justice.

The earrings are from a good friend who makes stunning silver jewellery and participates in the Open Studios weekend. The earrings are silver with Swarovski crystals. The crystals I chose are multi-coloured depending on how they catch the light.

It is lovely to have these one-off pieces and to support local artists.

Family Time

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In my last port I mentioned that we had visitors coming to stay. Our daughter and 2 granddaughters who live in Brisbane have been to visit for a week. They spent the first couple of nights in Melbourne where they went to see Beetlejuice and then took the train to Warrnambool where we met them and spent 3 days exploring the surrounding area, including the Great Ocean Road.

At the whale watching lookout at Logan’s Beach but no whales in sight.

Some stunning scenery along the Great Ocean Road.

Finally, we had 2 nights at home before a drive to Melbourne today to drop them at the airport for their return flight. I managed to take up 4 pairs of jeans for the girls as well as trim the younger one’s hair.

Yesterday we went to Bendigo where we went shopping for a 16th birthday gift for our younger granddaughter, had lunch at at Italian restaurant and then GMan, our daughter and I went to see the Frida Khalo exhibition at the Art Gallery. Although the granddaughters weren’t interested in seeing the exhibition we did manage a photo of them near the entrance. They had gelato and went to the gardens instead.

It has been a full and interesting week and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the family.

Back to reality tomorrow as I finish washing the extra bedlinen and rearranging the guest rooms. I am also hoping to do a bit more fence painting as the forecast is for fine weather and not too cold.

Work and Play

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The title sums up our day.

This morning we spent a couple of hours in the backyard. My first job was to remove the old cauliflower plants that remained after I had harvested the cauliflower during the past week. The garden bed will rest until it is time to plant summer crops such as zucchini, tomatoes and basil.

Meanwhile, GMan mowed the pocket handkerchief patch of lawn and then started on disassembling some timber lattice that has weathered badly and deteriorated significantly. It currently provides a division and some screening between the main area of the backyard and the clothesline which is in the far corner. We are planning to slightly realign the framework and change the overall style. I do not have any photos to share at this stage but there will be more details and photos once the reconstruction gets underway.

After lunch we had some slightly more frivolous plans. We headed to Bendigo to admire the mass plantings of tulips in the public gardens in the middle of the city. There were lots of people enjoying the colourful displays on a pleasant spring afternoon.

Here is a selection of photos.

The tulips were definitely the star of the show but by no means the only attraction in the gardens.

Inside the conservatory.

The exterior of the conservatory which was built in 1897.

Our next stop was a nearby hotel where we enjoyed a couple of hours listening to a local band.

A most productive and enjoyable Sunday.

Beautiful Bendigo

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The regional city of Bendigo is a little over 30 minutes drive from where we live and we go there regularly to access shopping and other services.

However, our day out yesterday was a much more pleasurable excursion than simply grocery shopping.

We went to the current exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery, ‘Paris: Impressions of Life 1880-1925‘. This exhibition is curated from the collection at the Musee Carnavalet in Paris runs for 4 months in Bendigo until 14th July 2024.

Late autumn in the Arts Precinct of Bendigo is the perfect time and place for a Parisian excursion without a long-haul flight to Europe. Although, I must admit it has whetted my appetite to visit the City of Light again after our brief one day excursion there in 2017.

A spectacular entrance.

A wall mural showing an interior of the Musee Carnavalet. I am putting that one on the travel bucket list.

Back outside – a streetlamp and sunshine.

A late autumn street scene in Bendigo.

Champs Elysees in Paris (taken in 2017).

We enjoy travelling but there is also plenty to do in our local area.