Touches of Gold

Warm golden tones are evident as I look around the garden, kitchen, my sewing and our neighbourhood. The daisies, Grevillea Lavandulacea and the season's first poppy bud seem richer in colour during winter with sunlight less harsh. Miss E (junior) and I have been enjoying photo walks - spotting birds, flowers and sunsets while I listen to the delightful insights of an eight year old.
Middle Eastern sweet treats (new recipes, cooked by me this time) for a special evening - Kleicha: Date Cookies (gluten, dairy and refined sugar free recipe) and Harissa, a rich semolina based dessert. 
I find myself longing to sew with rich tones during our cooler months - a new quilt is underway filled with saturated warmth.

Miss E senior is midway through a short study/touring visit of Germany, Austria and Italy. Every few days she sends brief updates with selected phone photos. So very different to our local surrounds. St Michael's Church in Munich, the Trevi Fountain in Rome and the ceiling fresco, "Triumph of the Name of Jesus" painted by Giovanni Batista Gaulli in the Church of Gesu, also Rome. The last photo is of a mirror reflecting the ceiling fresco. These sites are filled with touches of gold in a cultural, artistic and historical sense, and no doubt some contain literal gold!

*PS Following up from my previous post, a big thank you to the many who visited Miss E's (junior) new blog, very thoughtful of you. Also, just wanted to let you know that Miss N (18) has crossed multiple 'firsts' in her new life in Sydney and managed all of them admirably.  :)



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A Family Last, Angourie

 

Miss N, Miss O and seated is Miss G (Miss N's identical twin)

I guess every new beginning is accomplice to some 'lasts'. On Thursday we took time out as a family (except for our eldest two already away at uni) to have a 'last' day out before Miss N (18) moves to Sydney to pursue her cricket dreams and new job/traineeship. We went to Angourie, a place Miss N had spend many days working recently in her environmental job. My husband was familiar with the area over 30 years ago but for the rest of us it was all new and unknown.

Angourie is a well known surfing location on the NSW North Coast, yet as we arrived we found the surfers were still, admiring the antics of a pod of dolphins which were surfing the waves. A beautiful sight. We caught glimpses of some humpback whales (distant splashes and flippers) far out to sea. After a coastal walk and picnic lunch we spotted a Brahminy Kite with its catch of a crab for his lunch.

We finished our day with a visit to the Blue Pools of Angourie, one of which is known as the Green Pool and the other the Blue Pool. They were formed by quarrying operations to supply rock for the Yamba break wall or middle wall in the 1890's, and although only a stone's throw away from the ocean, they are fresh water, fed by an underground spring and coloured by algae. They are used for swimming and diving when the algae levels are safe. Being mid winter we were't tempted to swim, although some other visitors looked ready to dive in.

It was a great day out. You will find some extra beautiful photos of our day on Miss E's brand new blog - 'Pieces of Entertainment', all from an eight year old's eye level, using her very own brand new camera (which you can see in the top photo)!