Sunday, January 21, 2007

Yee har! Rain!

Little did I think that a day and night of rain would bring so much happiness. It has soaked everything. We didn't have to get up this morning (Sunday) at six a.m. to water the garden. And we won't be watering during the allowed evening hours tonight. The rain has also brought cooler temperatures - very refreshing.

The lake at the Wilson Botanic Garden, Berwick.



Yesterday we went to a wedding held in a beautiful park in an outer Melbourne suburb. The Wilson Botanic Park reminded us a bit of the park the MWC and I got married in 35 years ago. Even though it rained gently throughout the ceremony yesterday, I think most people there were happy to stand under their umbrellas to watch the couple take their vows of commitment to each other and would have felt that the ceremony had been blessed by the rain.

Techie Son has been reporting back fairly regularly from California, and is surviving the cold snap they're having there. Meanwhile I have rearranged his room to accommodate a couple of house guests, and in a couple of weeks Dad will stay there on his annual visit. Then I will see about fitting it out as a craft room. I think it's got great possibilities! (Don't worry, Ben, you'll have a room when you get back!)

I have been creating a book incorporating all the little bits and pieces of things you bring back from a trip: maps, brochures, tickets, labels etc, and have sewn them together with hemp, using a stitch I taught myself. Each of the folded pieces of construction paper has a brochure, such as the one from the Buena Vista, sewn inside it, which allows you to open it out to read. I still have to decorate the cover, probably with a map of San Francisco.

The Buena Vista is an important San Francisco institution, as it's the home of the Irish Coffee. You can read about it here. When Dad and I were leaving for Hawaii last November, we discovered that there was a Buena Vista right in the airport. Unfortunately we didn't have time to have an Irish Coffee before boarding, and they don't sell any to take away. So when the plane we were sitting in waiting to depart was declared "not ready", we were only too delighted to deplane and head straight for - you guessed it - the Buena Vista. Dad's not much of a photographer, but here's me drinking an Irish Coffee. This is how I would look if you had drunk too many Irish Coffees.

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
Alex Levine

11 comments:

Jo said...

It certainly had brought cooler tempertures, we definately need the rain but im a lover of the warmer weather. Hoping to get up to Torquay before the weeks out.

DellaB said...

oh how lucky you are to have rain. I thought we were going to get some when I put the grass in, but no, they keep promising, nothing happens. It sounds bliss to have all that water everywhere..

Susie said...

I was visiting LeeAnn yesterday and she was doing a Happy Dance because of the rain too!
It's warmer here in CA tonight..
I don't know Buena Vista Coffee. Guess I'll have to look one up!
I love how you've made a book with all the wonderful "goodies" from your trip!
hugs!!

Jeanette said...

Hi Val.
Pleased to hear you had good rain fall and didnt have to water the garden.
we had rain overnight but blue sky's again today it starting to cloud over now.Ive still got my spinklers set every 2nd night.

Kerri said...

Rain!!!! That's wonderful news Val! We had light snow yesterday instead of the heavier falls that were predicted. The wind was gusty and freezing...not nice to go out in! Brrr!
Your picture of the lake is beautiful! That may be a first..being glad of the rain at a wedding! :) A lovely present and the cooler temperatures must've felt great!
That's a neat book. I love the way you've put it together. Glad you had the opportunity to drink some Irish coffee. What a nice clear picture that is of you....hic! LOL

lindsaylobe said...

Hi Val
As you were celebrating a wedding, we a double christening of Grandchildren with refreshments at our home. What a relief it was with cooler conditions and the blessed refreshing rain.

The park looks very nice, presumably with some walking tracks around?

One of the advantageous of blogging is you ascertain changes occurring around the world sooner thah the news, like realising it was snowing in parts of Texas! as we sweltered.

Now that you are retired you can treat yourself to several Irish Coffees over lunch if you wish ? but can you stay awake in the afternoon?

Best wishes

Anonymous said...

Finally. I heard about this on the news. There were a few more smiling farmers that's for sure.

We just can't get rid of the stuff here in Busselton. Maybe we should direct it your way.

Robert said...

That's a beautiful picture of the Botanical Garden's lake! I'm glad there was some relief with rain. I remember the drought we had in Northern California during the late 70s, although it didn't last as long as yours down under. As Susie said, it's much warmer down here now, although we didn't get as much rain this month as normal.

Cris said...

What a neat idea you had getting your trips together in folders, that is really something I should do too, so many pieces of nice places, restaurant menus, zoo tickets, old match boxes that restaurants used to give away, etc.

Tanya said...

I love those scrapbooks. I have mementos such as concert tickets or restaurant napkins from somewhere "significant" - all stored in a plastic bag. There has to be years worth of stuff that needs to be scrapbooked or something. You've found a great way of doing it.

WendyAs said...

We had the down pour down here in Tassie too. Much needed. Those coffees sure go down easy.