The smile that melts my heart

The weekend has come and gone in a flash. Although it was rainy throughout, I braved the weather by doing things i love doing! Had the chance to visit my five year old grand niece, Tynni (above), went to a halloween dance party with a fantastic live band, with my husband and relatives, and today, had fun playing with my 6-month old niece, Drina, when my youngest sister's family dropped by for a short visit. The weather was not as bad as expected, especially that it was somehow warm...ah, it was pleasant, in one word!

Those eyes...

Indian food!

 
My family went to Hawthorn, east of Melbourne, to attend a conference, and had our lunch at an Indian restaurant across the road. We had butter chicken, lamb, chicken and vegetable curries with saffron rice, and mango lassi is a yoghurt drink that we love to drink after a curry meal!

If you walk around the city and its neighbouring suburbs one will find, among a plethora of other food places, a variety of Indian restaurants that is certain to satisfy a spicy food lover!  

Tech-savvy?

Meeting with photographic club

I was a bit late for the meeting of the photographic club tonight but was able to catch up with most of the reports and discussions. The highlight of the night was the presentation of a famous photographer from Melbourne, Matt Irwin (www.mattirwin.com). He showed us some of his favourite shots and briefly related how he came to develop a passion for photography, spanning more than twenty years of his life. I was quite impressed with his presentation and learned  things about what makes a good shot - that regardless of the technicalities applied, it's the drama and the story behind a shot that makes it a good one. His talk was called 'The meaning of light'. "Light is perhaps the most important element in picture composition.  I could not fully describe the excitement that one feels when an opportunity to take a good shot arises and when it does, one has to drop eveything and stop to capture that moment, as much as you can..."
In general, it was an inspirational night.

Looking up!

Woke up this morning feeling glad, it must have been the brightness outside and the fact that it's a sunny Sunday at 17 degrees - what could be more perfect than this? But hey, Melbourne has four seasons in a day!
I have made plans to visit a park further north this afternoon, go for a walk and of course, take photos...on the other hand, it's also going to be a busy day, as my son who is in grade six is having friends come over, at least four of them, and has requested me to serve them pizza and drinks, and with the rest of the kids at home, there'll be a lot of driving to do!
If the park visit goes on I would then be able to share photos later on...

a place to sit - first visit to Heide Garden

Nectarine blossoms (my backyard)

 

Sunny days such as today instantly gives me joy! Melbourne has four seasons in a day... any given day could start with cold temperatures, then followed by warm, warmer, then cold again, sometimes there'll be rainshowers in between! Or it will start with being warm, then cold, etc....One of the things that I love about sunny days is going for picnics/barbecue at the park or the beach with my family, and that's exactly what we intend to do this afternoon....provided it doesn't get cold! We'll bring some marinated chicken pieces, fried noodles, rice, fruit, corn on the cobs and drinks. Ah, that should give me the opportunity to take some photos, too! 

At the market

A garden wedding in Spring - at Forest Glade Garden

The spring season is something to look forward to when you are in Melbourne.The beauty of the gardens seems to speak for itself, with flowers starting to bloom and others are in full bloom, you could almost breath love in the air, the colors these flowers and the trees bring are so vivid that when you close your eyes for a moment, you can picture wonder and warmth.....in one word, inspirational! I could not wait to go for country-driving and view the mountains, rolling hills and the farm animals, or go for walks at the beaches just to watch the vibrant colours of the sunsets and their reflection on the waters, or maybe, watch the people abuzz with activities, savouring moments of brighter days and the freshness of the air...ah spring, I heart you!!!

The pictures here were taken at a garden wedding which I  attended at the Forest Glade garden in Mount Macedon, just a 90-minute drive from Melbourne city....in the spring of 2010.