Piece of cake!

First up, a lovely bloom from one of our newly planted native shrubs. It didn't have a bud on it when I bought it two months ago. We will eventually have a small but pretty garden.

ANZAC Day is over again, last weekend. It seems to come around very quickly. Once again the Fallen are remembered and we give thanks for the many sacrifices of past and present generations. This week the Dutch also remember their people who sacrificed both liberty and life. I guess Dutch school children are as aware as Australian children are of the dates and the battles and the faces - the many faces - of people long gone, as well as those serving today in many theatres of conflict. I turn 59 in just over a fortnight. I have witnessed one scary riot (Athens) in all my life. My father joined the Royal marines as a band boy aged 14. At 16 he was at war in 1939. He went through WW2, serving on ships protecting convoys going to Murmansk, worked in all sorts of situations, in all sorts of vessels. He was helping evacuate the Nationalists from China to Formosa (Taiwan) in 1949, was also in Korea, the Suez Crisis, Cyprus, plus various conflicts whilst we lived in South Africa. He escaped with his life on more than one occasion - once trapped against the wall of an aircraft carrier when a damaged aircraft landing hit the deck and spun around, he had a fire hose on and drenched both himself and the burning aircraft. At 40, after 26 years service, he retired and emigrated to Australia with his family, for a quieter life full of opportunities for his children. He lived to just 65. On ANZAC Day 2009 I remembered Dad, and in doing so I thanked him and the many, many other men and women who surrendered their youth and innocence in order for me to lead such a wonderfully fulfilling peaceful life.

The Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance, ANZAC Square, Brisbane, 2009.

Today, apart from attending an art auction (no, we didn't buy anything) I took a short walk with Di, a long term friend who lives nearby, to the Nundah Cemetery. It was established in 1837 when the area was known as the German Station. The first free settlement in Queensland (then part of NSW) was predominantly German, although the Irish and English were here too. I'll tell more about it in another post. I love exploring cemeteries, they are just so very fascinating in every detail.

Another native bloom from the garden. This is a Robyn Gordon, a favourite of mine.

Rene came back from the citizenship test stating that it was a very simple, fast exercise for a western person with good English, but challenging for anyone without English and from another background. He achieved 20/20, but he's still got to apply on line next week (May 15) then wait up to three months for the conferring of the certificate.

The top picture shows the work on the entries to one of Brisbane's many road tunnels. The lower picture shows the progress on the new airport Gateway deviation, giving a new northern entrance to the airport and reducing traffic delays before the end of this year. Hooray!

It has been a bit dry here, and the days are still up to the mid 20's. Our garden continues to impress with its growth and resilience to maintenance from people completely devoid of green thumbs. I shifted three plants to allow for more space (thanks for the advice Kay).

The most expensive Aboriginal painting by a woman purchased last year (just over $1 million) has gone on display in a gallery in Alice Springs. Emily Kame Kngwarreye's 'Earth's Creation' is large (huge really), colourful and impressive. I love being associated with Rene's passion for Australian contemporary indigenous art.
Finally, a very clever young English art student has made a Skoda disappear - now, no jokes about Skodas now, they're made by VW and seriously good. Anyway, she painted the car over three weeks so that from a certain vantage point the car appears to disappear. Clever.

Finally, a pinup from friends on the Sunshine Coast. Their dog, Jack, sports the latest look just perfect for that all over tan.