Baby Dolls

I copied the following text from somewhere. Sorry, I cannot find the link to it any more. Apologies to the author.

“Baby dolls are a pretty common item to have when you’re a child, and with their plastic heads stuck on stuffed bodies, you’d thankfully never mistake one for a real baby. However, if you’re an adult and are looking for something a bit more realistic, maybe you should learn about the Reborners. PhotographerJamie Diamond did, spending time with what she describes as an “outsider art-making community.” Made up of women, these largely self-taught artists make hyperrealistic baby dolls by painting over existing dolls, collect them, and even interact with them. Sometimes the Reborners keep their dolls; other times, the dolls are put up for “adoption” on eBay. Besides a creative outlet, these dolls can also help the women manage a variety of emotional issues.”

After our Christmas party last year a neighbour had brought around her baby doll for me to hold!

I found this about the reborn subculture in google:

http://petapixel.com/2015/01/23/mother-love-photographers-journey-reborn-subculture-realistic-dolls/

http://robchaney.net/mother-love-a-photographers-journey-in-the-reborn-subculture-of-realistic-dolls/

Saturday, 14th of March 2015

This is a picture of a tree at the back of our house. I took this picture about two months ago, at the same time taking a few more pictures that show how I got ready to cut into a bit of grass on one side of the house.

Above the pictures show what I needed for the cutting. Well, this was in January. It is March now, two months later. The grass has kept growing quite a bit more over the past few weeks. Some mornings I love to go out into the sun. While I catch a bit of sun, I try to cut the grass a bit shorter. It is always growing faster than I manage to cut it! But I don’t mind this one bit. I remember the years when there was hardly any rain and the grass would not grow at all. I did not like this, when there was only bare hard soil to be seen. After a lot of growth during this rather wet summer, I think the growing has slowed down now. So maybe by Easter (in three weeks time) the grass will look all right to walk on. And maybe some Easter bunnies are going to find a way to hide a few Easter eggs? The thought of this makes me feel happy. I think how wonderful it is that we have this bit of private grass land! We do not call it a lawn, we rather like to think of it as our little meadow.

All the trees and bushes near our house have recently had a lot more growth too. Some branches, that reach too close to the house, need constant trimming. It keeps Peter off and on quite busy!

This bit of a grapevine is still to be found near the house close to the rosebush.

and further down some wildlife near our house.

At the back of the house (facing west) we have a table and chairs.

Sunday Diary, March 2015

We are well into March now. It seems a bit like autumn already here in Australia. Last Thursday afternoon Monika came to see us with Lucas. After coffee we decided we could all go with Lucas to the playground near the lake. Two year old Lucas enjoyed the playground very much even though it turned out to be very, very windy that afternoon. When we arrived, Peter took a picture of a flock of corellas sitting on the grass near the lake.

There is a lot to explore for Lucas on this playground!

Not so long ago Peter and I drove up Mount Brown to have a look at the new sub-divisions. A lot of buildings have already gone up. People who buy a block of land up there have a beautiful view towards the lake.

Uta’s Diary Update, March 2015

Today is already the second of March. Yesterday was officially the beginning of autumn here in Australia. It promised to be a very warm day. We agreed it would be good to have lunch near Bulli Beach. It was about time we paid that beach another visit!

We left home at eleven o’clock. A few minutes later we arrived at Ruby’s Cafe. We ordered beer battered fish, chips, salad and a pot of tea. I did not take my camera along because it had been playing up a bit recently. But Peter had brought his camera. He took some pictures when we went down to the beach while I was resting on a sand dune. Peter and I always share our pictures. So he does not mind that I publish some of yesterday’s photos. I like these photos! (With ‘like’ to this post at the bottom I’m going to indicate that I like Peter’s photos.)

Some months ago I had an infection in my left knee. A few days ago I started to get another knee infection, however this time it is the right knee that hurts!

This is an old picture of the cafe, but it still looks like this. There were already quite a few people near the beach when we arrived. We were glad we had decided to have lunch early. Soon after we left the cafe, it filled up a lot. Also, there was hardly any more parking available!

So it turned out to be a perfect day for the beach, at least until a thunderstorm came up a bit later on. But we were already on our way home then, having picked up some cake in a Thirroul Shopping Centre. As soon as we arrived home, we made some filter coffee to go along with our cake.

This was our Sunday. How was yours?

Money and Greed, Decadence, Episode 1

Episode One—Money:- Part one examines the growing greed of society and the 80’s ideal that greed is good. It also looks at the growing disparity between rich and poor.

Decadence – Meaninglessness of modern life – Episode 1 – Money

Published on Jan 16, 2013

An excellent six part series which examines modern life and considers the impact of our relentlessly changing world upon key values that used to make western society something to aspire to.
Each episode is packed with pearls of wisdom and a lot of food for thought.

Concepts are well presented with rational arguments and good examples – helping to justify the often disappointing new realities it reveals.
After consideration, even if this series is only half-true … we can ill-afford inaction.

Join Pria Viswalingam for the new six-part documentary series, Decadence, as he considers whether we are now completely bogged down in a mire of meaningless self-indulgence, and whether we do really need iPods, plasma screen TVs, Brazilian waxes and self-navigating 4WDs to achieve happiness. He asks if family incomes have never been higher in the western world, property values are soaring, if conspicuous consumption and material wealth have never been so evident, why are we so unhappy?

Sunday, 22nd of February 2015

Today, after lunch, we drove to Forest Grove Estate, a gated community with some well kept garden areas, a pond, lots of water birds and a cafeteria near the water. We walked around the area for a little while after we had parked the car. Peter took a lot of pictures with his camera which he has given me so I can publish some of them.

At the cafeteria we had some coffee. Peter also ordered some cake with the coffee. It turned out to be a beautiful desert on an extra large plate. The cake was surrounded by caramel sauce, ice-cream and cream. They provided two spoons in case we wanted to share. However I decided to have just the coffee. I did not feel like having anything that sweet.

When we went to the cafeteria it was only a bit after one. A lot of people – mostly pensioners – were still having their lunch. Since it was Sunday, there was a guy playing the guitar and also singing. On a notice it said that Sundays from 12,30 to 2,30 there was always some live music. The staff were all young and very friendly. Really, a beautiful place for having Sunday lunch! We plan on going there for a bite some time soon.

Charlie’s Country with David Gulpilil

http://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2015/feb/06/david-gulpilil-interview-charlies-country

Written by: Alexandra Spring, a Sydney-based journalist who writes about the arts, culture and lifestyle
Friday 6 February 2015

Charlie’s Country has an important message for all young people about the destruction that drugs and alcohol can cause, according to its leading man David Gulpilil. “It’s no good for our body or our universe,” said the award-winning actor, who is the subject of the opening evening of Blak Night Screen, a free two-day festival in Melbourne celebrating Indigenous film-making.

Speaking on the Aactas red carpet in Sydney, Gulpilil credited his career longevity and success with having quit all stimulants. He even skipped the whirlwind of parties at the 2014 Cannes film festival, despite picking up best actor in the Un Certain Regard section for his role in Charlie’s Country. “I said: I’ve done that – biscuits, caviar and champagne. I [even] quit the cigarettes.”

Gulpilil, who was also named best actor at the Aactas, came to prominence in the 1971 movie Walkabout, shot when he was just 15. The breakout film was screened at Buckingham Palace and Gulpilil still remembers walking the red carpet with the Queen. He went on to star in Australian classics including Storm Boy, Mad Dog Morgan, Rabbit Proof Fence and Crocodile Dundee.

His collaboration with the film-maker Rolf de Heer was seen as a career rejuvenation after Gulpilil’s own battles with addiction. He starred in De Heer’s The Tracker and Ten Canoes before Charlie’s Country and the actor confirmed the pair intend to work together again soon.

He says he is “very proud” of his latest film, particularly the recognition it has received in Australia. The film tells of one man’s struggle to reconcile the traditional Indigenous way of life with contemporary Australian society, specifically the restrictions imposed by the Northern Territory’s Intervention.

Gulpilil also sees the film as a reminder of the importance of a close relationship with nature, adding: “I get a message from there.”

“I’m a ballerina, a dancer, I’m an artist, I’m a writer and I studied the earth, same as David Attenborough.” he said. “I’ve done so many things, of course, but now I’m performing and acting so throughout the world they can see how many things I make … what I’m doing is introducing the country of Australia [to the world].”

There will be a free screening of Charlie’s Country as part of Blak Nite on Friday . The event includes a discussion between the broadcaster Aaron Pedersen and the Indigenous filmmaker Darlene Johnson, who directed Gulpilil in One Red Blood.

The festival will also feature a screening of The Turning, and episodes of Gods of Wheat Street and Redfern Now in celebration of Blak Wave cinema.

• Blak Nite Screen is at the Treasury gardens, Melbourne on 6 and 7 of February

Australia – Cambodia Refugee Deal

http://www.upswellmag.com/blog–australia-refugees-and-the-containment-of-surplus-life

According to the Australian government refugees who tried to come to Australia in one of these leaky boats, that are operated by people smugglers, refugees like this who are being held at present in some offshore detention centre, have eventually to be settled in a country other than Australia. Our government calls this a very successful border control policy. They are adamant that Australian voters do like this policy. The introduction of this policy has stopped the boats for quite some time now. People who dared to come near Australia in one of these leaky boats in the past and who are at present in some off shore detention centre, have to be settled in some country elsewhere, not in Australia, so our government says.

Cambodia apparently is willing to receive refugees as settlers. Australia does not want to settle these unwanted boat arrivals in our vast country.

https://xborderoperationalmatters.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/ngos-in-cambodia-complicit-in-the-australia-cambodia-refugee-deal/

Diary, February 2015 (continued)

On some of the days last week I felt pretty awful. This week I feel so much better. I took up a bit of walking again. To be able to go for walks feels so very good!

Since yesterday I have a major problem with my camera. Last week and yesterday I could still take a few photos. However after taking some pictures the camera would not close any more. Some mechanism seems to be broken. I have no idea how this can be fixed. My guess is, getting the old camera fixed would probably cost nearly as much as buying a new one. What a pity!

When I started walking yesterday, I saw this along the way!

How did this stuff get there? — How did this stuff get there, I wonder.

Walking on I took a few more pictures of some bush things growing on the other side of the footpath.

The following pictures are from Monday last week. We left out car at the service centre in Warrawong at 8,30 in the morning. Our movie was to start at 10 am. This meant, we had time for a cup of coffee. Rather than having our coffee in the Shopping Centre, we preferred to sit outside. The only cafe in Warrawong where you can sit outside is the MCCafe, which luckily provides excellent coffee.

Reflections on the past Week

Catterel is right, I did not feel well last week, but I had still such an enjoyable week. Despite not feeling well for a lot of the time, somehow I could participate in everything we had been planning. It seems I can feel well one minute and terribly unwell the next! Often I do not feel quite all right early in the morning. What do I do then? I drink warm water with lemon juice and a bit of honey. I take lots of vitamin C. On mornings when I feel very, very unwell I take some aspirin. And last but not least I take a spoonful of olive leaf extract. The olive leaf extract taken three times a day usually seems to help a great deal to keep any flu symptoms in check. Only when I get chilled for staying for too long in very cold air conditioning, then it does not seem to work anymore.

In our house we have during the day usually temperatures between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius. This kind of temperatures I find very pleasant. Anything below 26 degrees, especially with a bit of wind blowing, you’ll find me with head coverings, scarves and jackets; I am that sensitive!

As soon as everything in my body feels all right again, I forget what it is like when my limbs feel heavy, the eyes feel watery, the head feels numb, the chest feels somewhat congested. And I get so very tired!! After a bit of rest, like sitting for a bit in the sunshine perhaps, I feel much better. If not, I just have to lie down for a little while, trying to get nice warm, and then I soon feel better again. The funny thing is, I never lose my appetite. A nice vegetarian meal always cheers me up.

I forgot to mention that I drink lots of lemon/ginger tea and I eat a lot of fruit. When I felt unwell while we were staying at our son’s in Melbourne, our son Martin kept serving us lots of ginger tea which is supposed to strengthen the immune system. And it still works a lot of the time that the tea makes me feel so much better!