Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sand Mandala - 2

Another wonderful day - it must be spring.  We went down to the Town Basin to see the Sand Mandala sprinkled in the river.  This photo was taken just after the sand had been sprinkled in the water followed by everyone throwing in their flowers.



These two shots are looking both up and down river from just above where the ceremony took place.  The white "sails" are a canopy that is being put in place over the old bridge which will be used as an artisan's market.

When we got home this New Zealand Pigeon was in the tree at the bottom of the garden.  Not the best shot as it was taken from a distance from inside the house.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Sand Mandala








A wonderful clear sunny day today and we went to see Tibetan Monks creating a Sand Mandala.  It takes ten days to create and was nearing completion.  Tomorrow is the closing ceremony when it is blessed and then taken to the river and scattered.  The Buddhist Centre is on the outskirts of Kamo but the Mandala is being created at the new Yvonne Rust Gallery.  Also in the gallery is the Great Plate Auction Exhibition and I took some photos of some of the plates.  Each artist is given a bisque fired ceramic plate and they create a plate in sellable form which is donated to the Gallery.

Well, the pictures didn't all come in the order I expected but they are of some of the plates and the Sand Mandala.  The colours in the Mandala are amazing and it is fascinating to see the fine work being done.  We may go down to the Town Basin tomorrow to see the scattering of the sand in the River.

As you can see there is great variety in the plates many of which have been sold and removed.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Surely Spring Can't be too Far Away





Surely Spring can't be too far away with these flowers appearing in the garden.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Keeping Warm

It has been cold in the mornings here this week but Kath knows all the places to go to keep warm.  The photos are not the best but at about 6 a.m. our new Econoheat panel switches on and when we get up in the morning she is sitting next to it keeping warm.  Then I go and light the pot belly stove which gets very hot but she just loves getting in behind it to get the warmth.

Have spent this week trying to get medicine to correct M.'s low blood pressure - finally today I took him for a blood test - he had to be in town by 8.45.  The traffic was very heavy but luckily I got there just in time as it would have meant a trip back tomorrow.  Looks like the results won't be through till tomorrow - he was prescribed fldrocortisone on Tuesday but the doctor then decided he would check with the geriatrician first hence the blood test.  Tomorrow he comes home so I have my fingers crossed about his health especially over the weekend when most things shut down.