It’s been awhile since I last wrote, actually I wrote this a while ago I just hadn’t got around to posting it, so much for my resolution to keep my blog more up to date!
We recently travelled to Victoria to attend my father’s 80th birthday party. We decided that it would be easier and perhaps quicker to fly down, even with the 3 ½ hour drive to Canberra first. We left home at 8.00am and finally arrived at our destination 11 hours later at 7.00pm – It usually takes us 10 hours to drive! Although not quicker it was probably a more relaxed way to travel. We arrived in Canberra an hour before our flight was due to leave, had some lunch and sat reading and watching the planes come in and out. Unfortunately due to a huge storm our flight was delayed for over an hour and that put us behind a bit. On arriving in Melbourne we picked up our hire car and headed off only to come to a complete standstill once we hit the M , I can see why it is nicknamed the “Monash car park”. But what does this all have to do with beading? Just stay with me.
We had booked into the Royal Hotel at Loch for two nights, which is just down the road from where my parents live. The hotel had been recommended to us by an on-line beading friend. I have to say I was so glad we took the advice. The Royal Hotel is a fantastic place to stay and our hostess, Sybil, was just lovely. There is art everywhere, in the bar, the dining room, the hallways and the rooms as well an eclectic mix of memorabilia and knick knacks. The hotel has such a cosy home like feel and the food, oh the food! Sybil is not only a fantastic hostess but she is also a fabulous cook making the most of local produce. We were only able to have one dinner there plus our breakfasts and wished we could have more. The smells coming from the kitchen in the morning of, what I can only guess was the lunch menu, was mouth watering!
Before heading to the 80th party we had a walk up the street and dropped into see my friend Kay Lancashire of Kay’s Artycles. Kay’s shop is a treasure trove filled with her stunning creations both jewellery and accessories and also a great supply of beads and other bits and bobs. I only had a short time there but it did allow me to consult Kay on a project I was working on and buy a few things to add to my collection.
The party was a great success and I think my parents appreciated the effort we made to get down for it. On Sunday we headed back to Melbourne and after attending to a couple of errands we popped into the Victorian Art Gallery which we haven’t visited for many many years. It was very peaceful strolling through the galleries. Whilst in the European collection I took the time to sit and just take in the paintings around the room. They were very rich in colour and quite beautiful. After awhile I started to notice the large ornate frames and one in particular had me pulling out a pencil and pad to jot down an idea for a design.
What I thought was going to be just a quick trip to see my parents and celebrate my father’s birthday turned out to be full of art and inspiration. In fact it made me realise that inspiration is all around us and it really is a matter of ‘looking outside the square. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend away and can’t wait to get into my work room to start playing with some of the ideas that are bumping around inside my head.
