Pelicans

I just picked up this lovely little Pelican at the Salvo's for $2!  Such a lovely and unexpected find!  I have a bit of a thing for Pelicans despite two rather unpleasant incidents.....  

Incident 1

This event took place some time ago.  We were living in Clovelly at the time and had taken a two year old Captain over to Rose Bay to watch the sea planes taking off and landing.  On arrival we found the ultimate rockstar car park, right on the harbour front.  We couldn't believe our luck and off we went to the park.  Upon our return we saw a bunch of tween aged kids sitting on the fence near our car, holding their noses and giggling.  As we got closer we saw what they were laughing at.  A pelican, perched rather prettily on a lamp post in the car park, next to our car had decided to empty it's bowels.  All over the front of our car. The damage was extensive, it took us a few minutes to clear the windscreen enough to drive. It was the smell however that was the most shocking.  A pelican diet consists primarily of fish.  R and I stood looking at the car in dismay whilst the tweens on the fence were laughing at us like hyenas!  After a while we had to bite the bullet and drive home though and the smell was simply phenomenal, it literally permeated the whole car.  At one stage I can remember we stopped at traffic lights and even the people waiting to cross the road started gagging and pointing at our car.  We now know why that car spot was empty.

Incident 2

The second pelican poo incident, yes there are two.  Be grateful, I have taken the fall for a lot of people as surely the odds of this happening must be rare!  Anyway, this event took place on the little one's third birthday.  For his present we gave him a lovely new bike and in order for him to try it out I took both boys to Manly, to ride to Shelly beach and back.  Along the way I stopped to answer a phone call, simultaneously a Pelican perched above answered a different kind of call, all over me.   Once again it was the smell, but this time it was in my hair, down my shirt, it was everywhere.  I had to walk another 2 k or so back to the car dry retching the entire way.  When we finally got back to the car I took off my t shirt and drove home in my bra.  By that stage I was completely over it and beyond caring what I looked like.   Pelican Poo Incident 2 has taken a little while to get over but over it I must be as I still love Pelicans.  

I even have this fabulous one at the front door!

My first ever "Friday Phone Dump"

So, I have finally worked out how to do it....  and yes, some of these photos are very old!  Have restrained myself and only included the favourites!

How can a dandelion ever be dismissed as a weed?

The most beautiful crown ever, pity it fell off!

Nicasso's most recent masterpiece, 'tis very Hundertwasser.

Out of several hundred photos I only posted a few!  Well, admittedly a lot of them were more along the lines of Emma's wish list items and not so much photos of the kids! Maybe I should do a post on that next! Have a lovely weekend everyone! xx

Photo Challenge - Day 13

"Yourself with thirteen things"

Technically I am in the photo... there is a photo of me pregnant with the Captain in amongst those items!  All the items that I have chosen are cherished:

1. My bed (it somehow manages to look prisitne amongst the chaos of renovating!)

2.  Tolix stool (if only it was vintage... one day, some day I will have a set of vintage Tolix chairs and stools)

3. Fresh flowers in jam jars (they make me happy, look beautiful and remind me of my wedding day).

4. & 5.  I collect vintage children's books and I have way too many of these old Enid Blytons. Yes, I have some complete collections.  I started collecting them as a small child.

6.  See there I am... photo taken the day before I had The Captain.   Edited to keep things decent.

7.  iPad.  I used to loathe it, it's growing on me.

8. Current favourite sunglasses.  Husband gives me such a hard time about them, he reckons I am trying to relive my youth.  I asked him what he would like to do for his 50th.

9. My watch.  My father gave it to my mother for her 21st birthday, they in turn gave it to me.  It is 43 years old, doesn't need a battery and is still going strong. 

10. Frog.  Picked him up in a tiny little gallery outside Canberra when I was at university.  He has lived on the kitchen window sill in every house I have lived in over the past 18 years.  He even survived a break in.

11. & 12.The outfits the boys wore home from hospital. 

13.  A drawing the Captain did when he had just turned four.  It is of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, drawn from a photo.

Photo Challenge - Day 10

"Childhood Memory"

These photos were indeed a challenge.  It is very hard to photograph old photos in 1980s photo albums...

In 1983, I was 10 years old and we lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During our time in KL we often went camping on the islands off the coast of Malaysia.  My absolute favourite trip was the time we camped on Pangkor Island.  On one side of the island there was a bunch of big resorts, the other side though just had a couple of thatched huts and was relatively untouched.  That's where we camped!  To get out to the island we loaded up a Malay fishing boat and hired the "Captain" to take us out to the island. Remember my fascination with pirates and how as kids we were all desperate to be attacked by "real" pirates... well, in the above photo, the pile of luggage you can see there, that is where we were supposed to hide ourselves if we were actually attacked!  Ha, those in charge (the parents) obviously had no idea!  Luckily, we never crossed paths with any real pirates, much to our bitter disappointment at the time though!

That is 10 year old me in the "kitchen" hut! 

Me, my brother and our friend Sean (his parents were with the American Embassy) exploring the lagoon set back from the beach.  We spent most of our holiday playing around this lagoon.

Fishing in the lagoon.  Tom (Sean's brother) at the front, my brother in the water and me at the back. Not sure where we got those rods from, I am guessing we made them.

There was a dead palm tree hanging over the water of the lagoon.  Somehow we scaled it and then dropped into the water.  I recall this as being fabulously fun, looking at this photo though I think I might have been a bit uncertain about the whole thing!

My brother looking much more confident!

We took a little inflatable Zodiac with us to explore and also to pick up fresh food and water.  I can remember snorkelling at this beach and finding lots of bits of old china that had washed up from shipwrecks.

A truly wonderful holiday and I am forever grateful to my parents that they had the courage and the trust to take us on a holiday like this and leave us to pretty much do as we pleased without any intervention.  Yes, we all nearly drowned... but I will save that story for another blog post.

Photo Challenge - Day 9

"Someone you love"

Most of the time they love each other...

Please boys, continue to love and care for each other...

it will make your mother happy.

Photo Challenge - Day 8

"A bad habit..."

As you can see by the current state of our kitchen husband and I have our priorities sorted out! 

Our beloved Vibienne Domobar Super is the one thing we have ensured is always available and operable throughout this renovation.  Mr Vibi produces superb coffee, often far superior to the rubbish served up in many cafes.  Our beans of choice vary (favourites include Campos and Caffe Di Gabriel) but they must be freshly ground in Mrs Pavoni, the coffee grinder.  There is a Mr Pavoni coffee machine, he was our first.  A gift from my parents for my 25th birthday, They purchased him from a tiny shop on the Cinque Terre and carried him back in their hand luggage.  Are they my enablers?  Anyway, he holds a special place in my heart and thus is still enjoying his retirement Chez Pirate. He lives in relative luxury, in his original box.  As much as I loathe clutter I can't quite bring myself to pass him on.  He still produces a very decent coffee! Our other past love, Mr Gaggia, is enjoying a sea change at the beach house.  As you can see we take our bad habit seriously.

Photo Challenge - Day 7

"Fruit"

I don't even know where to begin with how much I love fruit... I begin every day with coffee, which is a sort of fruit beverage, sort of... well the seeds of the fruit anyway!  I snack on fruit all day long.  My children adore it.  It is the main ingredient of some of my other favourite beverages... lemon tea, champagne and Pimms (gin based, so juniper berry!).  When I thought about today's challenge though, the first thing that came to mind was Richard Scarry.

His wonderful, brilliant and timeless illustrations heavily feature fruit... (as well as the anthropomorphic animals of course!)

 

Who can forget Mario, the Venetian Gondolier who has a melon boat? (Busy, Busy World)

or Bananas Gorilla?

Mr. Scarry, the world is a better place for your fabulous books.  You have inspired countless children to learn to read and generations of children adore the enchanting characters that you created.

All images are photos from books currently in the Chez Pirate Library, many of which date back to the 1960s.

Photo Challenge - Day 6

"From a low angle"

We stopped off at the playground on our way home.  He started  off dressed like this.  By the time he got to the top he had discarded his blazer and cap... Did anyone else read Richmal Crompton's brilliant William books? 

Clearly, the Captain's school uniform assists with the resemblance, but their personalities are uncannily similar as well.  I need to start doing yoga or something.

Photo Challenge - Day 5

"From a high angle"

Who am I kidding... I look at everything from a high angle!  At 180cm tall I tower over many.  I snapped this photo only minutes ago when I went in to check on the little man.  Poor wee chap is sick at the moment so am a bit worried about him. He is tucked in with "big Richard" his lion, named after Richard the Lion Heart.  We also have a small Richard, but he is on an extended holiday down at the beach house at the moment. (I know, bad parenting moment # 792).  The Wind in the Willows sheets are vintage, they date back to a family holiday to the UK in 1980.  I adore them and are so pleased that my mother saved them for me.  Get well soon little man. 

Photo Challenge - Day 4

"Something green"

Green, in particular depression green, is one of my most loved colours.  As I was wandering around the house and garden today I spotted literally dozens of green things that I found beautiful and struggled to make a decision about what to photograph today.  In the end I took a photo of the top of my dresser.

Top of my dresser!

It was too hard to choose, between the green Carlton Ware bowls that I use to store my jewellery and beauty odds and ends in.  The tea cup with a splash of green that I store my bobby pins and hair ties in.  The milk jug full of camellias from the garden with their glossy green leaves and the green detail in the tiles on the back of the dresser...

Green is a magical colour.  It is fresh and wholesome and makes me think of new beginnings, I associate it with both land and water and ultimately it is a lovely soothing colour.