Trees, teas, and butterflies

This time of year is always extra busy for me as I'm sure it is for everyone else too. Lots to organise and do. Bradley and I will perform in the 'Sing for Health' choir this Wednesday. We only had one hour of practice per week for five weeks with our choir master. We also practise at home when we are able. We will have a quick run-through of our songs just before the performance. Exciting and fun!

We will be singing five Christmas songs this year —

• The Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth 
• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 
• White Christmas 
• Winter Wonderland
• Jingle Bell Rock

I can't believe that Christmas is almost upon us. I confess that I'm not really in the Christmas mood yet. I find I get more into the Christmas mood after I've done all the Christmas food shopping and all the stresses that come with Christmas are out of the way. We no longer have our huge fiber-optic Christmas tree but I absolutely adore our little tabletop tree. I think it's SO cute!  

A few weeks ago, I was very excited to learn that I'd won a prize in a competition I didn't even know I was in. How about that?! Apparently, my Woollies Rewards card automatically put my name into the Twinings Tea Promotion when I'd bought some tea in my regular grocery shop. I was very surprised when they rang to congratulate me. A couple of weeks later, this Twinings Tea Chest came by courier. YAY!

I was then able to go to Woollies and select my own teas for FREE. Gotta love that! I do love the Twinings green tea and we have the camomile tea very night before bed. It really does help me to sleep better.  I don't mind a mint-flavoured tea either. Nice and refreshing.

I haven't been doing too much in the way of sketching. I did a quick pencil sketch of one of the Christmas trees on display at the Mater Hospital when we were there for choir practice which I've yet to put a splash of watercolour on.

I also added another butterfly — the one on the right — to the double-page spread I was working on a few weeks ago. This one is called 'The Redspot Sawtooth' and it's not quite finished yet.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week.  To see the work of other participants, please click HERE.

Being caught outside in a wild, electrical storm

After heading home from choir practice earlier this week, we were waiting at the bus stop when a storm started to move in.  It looked quite menacing and daylight began turning to dark.  That said, I was hoping we would make it home before the worst of it hit — BIG mistake!

I snapped the photo below just before we boarded the bus. 

It was 3 pm in the afternoon and, yes, it WAS that bad!

The wild storm hit a few minutes after the bus pulled out of the depot.  It pelted us relentlessly on the ten minute ride to our stop. The other passengers were looking just as nervous as we were. It was eerily dark. The wind was very strong and gusty! The rain was unforgiving and we had no umbrella — charming!  To be honest, an umbrella would have been a hindrance for me considering I was carrying my own — very full — tote bag, as well as, Bradley's heavy back-pack.  I also had the task of guiding Bradley because his white cane was not going to be of much help in the hazardous conditions.  

When we stepped off the bus at our stop, we were soaked through in literally seconds.  It was a 10 minute walk home and I had to take my sandals off because my feet were sliding and slipping all over the place inside my sandals.   Thankfully, I'd made sure Brad's hearing aids had been packed away safely before boarding the bus. 

If you can imagine it, the walk home was quite scary for poor Bradley considering his blindness and hearing impairment, not to mention the fact that he has a fear of water.  It was slow-going but, about four minutes from home, I spotted our knight in shining armour.  Okay, he wasn't wearing armour but my wonderful son, Aaron, was running towards us with a large umbrella. Our hero! He took the heavy back-pack from me so I could manage with the umbrella which did help protect our heads at least. 

I was so relieved when we reached the shelter of the entrance to our house...our sanctuary!   

I learned a valuable lesson — 

Next time, DON'T trust my own judgement when it comes to approaching storms.  They can be unpredictable and some of them move extremely fast. We learned later that one woman was struck by lightning during that very same storm.  Thankfully, she survived.  Also, a 13 year old boy was taken to hospital after sustaining injuries when a large tree branch snapped and fell on top of him. You can read about both incidents HERE.

On top of that, I ended up with a sore foot which was twisted from all the slipping and sliding inside my soaked sandals.

We took a little while to calm down after our experience but I'm feeling very grateful that we made it home safely and in tact.

On a happier note —

Bradley and I just finished week three of the 'Mater Sing for Health' choir practice. Three more to go before our Christmas performance day. We always look forward to singing with the Mater choir as all the members are so nice and friendly.  Our choir master is amazing too!  The Mater choir performs twice a year and is made up of patients, volunteers, and hospital staff. It is now on its third year and we still have some of the original members,  including myself and Bradley.

We both hope the choir will continue for years to come.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Christmas ornaments, Christmas day, and our choir

I finished my Granddaughters' Christmas ornaments 

just two days before Christmas. PHEW!

They are recycled lightbulbs.

Mackenzie's 1st Christmas

Madelyn's 4th Christmas

Mikayla's 6th Christmas

***********************************************

Regular readers will know that my son, Bradley, and I 

joined the Mater 'Sing for Health' Choir back in 2014. 

We come together for six weeks, twice a year, 

and practise for our main performance 

in the Mater Mothers' Hospital Foyer. 

For our Christmas carols this year,
we had SIX performances all up.
Two performances on the 14th 

for the Mater staff Christmas party. 

Three performances on the 16th... 

one for the Mater Volunteers' Christmas party,

our main performance in the Mater Mothers' foyer, 

and one at the Mater Child Care Centre. 

Our last performance was on the 17th at the
2nd Mater Volunteers' Christmas party.

Photo is courtesy of Mater Queensland

Bradley and I had so much fun 

and it is always a pleasure to sing 

with such a great bunch of people. 

Our choirmaster, Ruani, is simply the best! 

Her choir assistant, Mairead, 

helps us Alto's stay on track with our harmony. 

Mary, Brad's Occupational Therapist, is 

the one who started the choir. 

We are very grateful to her for inviting us to join.

***********************************************

On Christmas morning,
Bradley, Aaron, and I went to
Michelle's (daughter) and Alex's place.
My granddaughters were so excited
that Santa had visited them. hehe
We had a yummy brunch there.
I made my own style of baked beans
and also took along some
Linda McCartney sausages
to fry up for us vegans.
We had a lovely time!

For Christmas dinner, I made a vegan roast
and roasted veggies, drizzled with mint sauce,
and vegan stuffing.
It was so yummy!

Photo courtesy of my son, Bradley.

For Christmas dessert, I made a parfait style of vegan mango 'cheesecake',
with fresh mango puree and loosely crumbled gingernut biscuits.
I didn't have proper parfait glasses so settled for some regular glasses.

It tasted divine!
Even Aaron enjoyed his and he isn't vegan.

All in all, we had a beautiful Christmas!

***********************************************

It is now Boxing Day afternoon here in Australia.
I steered clear of the stores today
with the Boxing Day Sales on.
Businesses were expecting huge crowds.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!

Enjoy the holiday season and stay safe.

Love, light, and peace to all.

Christmas celebrations, choir, and ornaments

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas!

I was actually quite sick with sinuses and asthma 

but I did manage to put on a smile 

and spend time at my daughter's house 

for Christmas celebrations with my beautiful family.

We all had a lovely time!

 Michelle got a selfie-stick from Alex for Christmas
and it was put to good use on Christmas day.
I want one!

 Michelle wasn't feeling the best either
but we both put on happy faces,
with a little help from some Christmas wine, perhaps?
I only had one, I swear.


******************************************************

On December 16th, our Mater Sing for Health Choir
sang Christmas Carols in the Mater Mothers Hospital foyer
after only four weeks of practise.
On December 17th and 18th, we repeated our performance
at the two Mater Volunteers' Christmas parties of
approx. 100 people at each.
We were very well received by our audience
and we even had them join in for a Christmas round at the end.
We all had an absolute blast!

 Photo courtesy of Mater Hospital - Queensland


******************************************************

I haven't been doing much in the way of sketching

but I have been painting.

As always seems to be the way,
I was frantically trying to finish ornaments in time for Christmas.
I had planned to start them early, like in September,
but my life was turned upside down when Dad became ill
and ended up in a high care aged facility,
so I kept putting the ornaments off until later.

Since the birth of my granddaughters,
I started a tradition of painting them a Christmas ornament  each year.

This year, I decided to recycle two light bulbs.
I have done similar in the past
and they are a lot of fun to transform.
Do you like my state-of-the-art bulb holders? hehe
Plastic bottles filled with pebbles for weight,
then the bulbs held in place securely with Blu-tack.
They worked perfectly!

First up, two coats of All Purpose Sealer.
That stuff is fantastic for using on slick surfaces.

Then a few coats of Jo Sonja Warm White.

Now, the fun begins.
Scarves first up.

Then, their little faces.
Brown eyes for Maddy,
Blue eyes for Mikayla.

And, of course the Christmas holly.

All dressed ready for the Christmas tree
wearing polar fleece for hats
adhered with Helmar quick-set Craft glue.

Just hangin'!

You can see the ornaments I painted for previous years
at the following links.

2013
2012
2011
2010
2010 (part 2)

I'm feeling almost human again today
and I'm looking forward to babysitting Mikayla and Maddy
while Michelle and Alex take in a movie at the cinema.

It's been pouring rain since yesterday and I'm loving it!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Any plans for New Year's Eve?

I'm an Urban Sketcher!

Goodness, time just flies by!

I've been so busy!

 I'm especially excited to  

say that I've been on a few sketch-outs 

with the Urban Sketchers - Brisbane group.
There is also an Urban Sketchers - Australia group.
I was so nervous on my first time out with the group
but, the people were so lovely,
I couldn't help but enjoy myself.

Our group met at the Ship Inn at Southbank  

for a cuppa and chat,

then we spent time sketching at 

the Maritime Museum, 

followed by lunch at 

Turkish Mado.

These sketches were from my very first sketch-out
done with pen and watercolours.
The top sketch is in my pocket Moleskine sketchbook.
The bottom sketch is in my large watercolour Moleskine notebook
which is close to a landscaped A5 format.

 In early April, 

Brad and I took the bus into south Brisbane

only to find that his Specialist appointment
had been postponed without our knowledge. 

We turned a negative into a positive
and enjoyed a lovely morning
at Southbank Parklands instead. 

Brad read a computer magazine

while I sketched the following. 

A photo of the plaque on the statue

 South Brisbane Town Hall 

The finished page spread

The page spread above was sketched directly with
PITT pens, a ZIG 005 pen, and then some watercolours
in large (approx. A5) Moleskine watercolour notebook.  


A recent urban sketch group outing was at ANZAC Square
in Brisbane city.
As it was just prior to ANZAC day,
we were treated to some soldiers practising
their ANZAC day ceremony.
The down side was that tree loppers were also
in the square tidying up the trees for the special event.
Their trucks and cherry pickers got in the way of our view
but we didn't let it spoil the day or our efforts to sketch.

Again, I sketched directly with PITT artist pens
and finished it up with watercolours
in my extra large (approx. A4) Moleskine watercolour notebook.

The exciting news was that the Brisbane Times got wind
of our Urban Sketchers group and published an article
about our ANZAC Square sketch-out.
The article can be read at this link.

I love that ANZAC Square has quite a few of my favourite trees
the 'Queensland Bottle Tree' which belongs to the Boab family of trees.

Our choir performance on April 15th went very well.
Here is a pic of our 'Sing for Health' choir
and you can read an article about it here.
Bradley was featured in the article so I am one proud Mumma!
Bradley has been seeing an Occupational Therapist
to help cope with severe Tinnitus.
She is the one who organised the 'Sing for Health' choir.
Interesting to note that Brad's tinnitus has eased dramatically
since singing in the choir.

I have so much more to share but it
will have to wait until the next post.

~ Love, light and peace ~