Jakes sunday post this week is simplicity. My photo was taken in a little Parisian cafe, with Australian style coffee … hence we met some other discerning Aussies in there too. However I liked this typical Parisian with his dog under the chair. What could be simpler, a safe place for a loving hound!
This long shot of the Sydney Opera House was taken from the north-western side of the Harbour Bridge, at Milson’s Point near Luna Park. Looking past the colourful ferris wheel ride and the fluted towers at the Luna Park gate, past the ferry coming into the wharf, and still further looking beyond the northern pylons of the bridge and beneath it’s steely structure, across Sydney Harbour we see the Opera House on Benelong Point.
Anyone can join the challenge, pop over to Jakesprinter to see how it works!
Jake gives some meanings of splendid, such as: wonderful, impressive, magnificent, phenomenal, charming, superb, ingenious, excellent, surpassing, very good, superior, first-rate, elegant, gorgeous, grand, brilliant, starry, resplendent, glorious, heavenly, gorgeous, exquisite, lovely, resplendent, pleasing to the eye, majestic, exquisite, lovely, great, and memorable! Since it is that time of year again I thought of this very splendid and memorable birthday lunch my husband organised for me in 2005. I only want to show you the most splendid part of all …. an ice bowl of flowers in which was served the most delicious plum sorbet.
We had a restaurant at the time, so although the concept was all his there was a chef involved too. My husband Stuart made this bowl by picking flowers for our garden, calendulas and hollyhocks and possibly more, arranging them inside a large bowl, then sitting another slightly smaller bowl inside the first bowl. He poured water into the gap and placed it all in the freezer. When it was frozen the inside bowl was removed to reveal the stained glass effect of flowers in ice! Isn’t it magnificent?
The chef appeared at the table I shared with my friends, carrying a croquembouche, sparklers sizzling, everyone gazed in delight, then burst into “Happy Birthday”! Here is a close up of the ‘cake’ after we had already begun to help ourselves. This was pretty special too.
And would you like to see a photo of the proud organiser and ice-bowl maker? Here he is! He is rather splendid and magnificent himself.
Please read Jake’s post and join in with your interpretation of Splendid!
This dusty rural road in Rajasthan is shared by traffic and shepherds. The trees cast long shadows as a traditionally dressed woman brings her herd of sheep in for the evening, and we carefully drive past.
Join in the Sunday Post with your photo of a road!
When the weather is cold everyone appreciates a beanie! Alice Springs is in the heart of Australia, surrounded by desert, very cold on winter nights, and very hot in summer. Every year hundreds flock into Alice for the Annual Beanie Festival, where works range from fine art works by indigenous desert artists through every possible woolly hat, some gorgeous and creative, some atrocious! Knitters all over the nation work through the year to bring their creations to the Alice Springs Beanie Festival in June. Are they collectible? Yes I am reassured they are, no matter what kind of beanie you are looking for you will find it there!! We were there a few years ago … here are some images 🙂 Artists, check out the Beanie Festival website to see this years winners.
snazzy!
the grand hall …. full of beanies!
how does this one look?
So many beanies!
Thank you Jake for your wonderful ideas … always so much fun exploring the photo library to find something suitable!
In our world of troubles religion is sore point for many people, with wars fought to eradicate those who do not think quite the same way as someone else. Here Buddhism is so valuable, showing the way towards accepting others as they are, towards valuing each different view, towards loving one another in the way that Jesus taught. Buddhist countries build beautiful temples decorated with valuables as an expression of devotion to the teachings of the Buddha and man’s search for enlightenment. Here is a photo of Swayambhunath Stupa Kathmandu, also known as the Monkey Temple.
To see other entries look at http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/sunday-post-valuable/
We visit Chartres Cathedral each time we are in France. Inside the vast space silence reigns. People walk in wonder, others kneel for prayer, some light devotional candles.
Silence
Thank you Jake for your Sunday Post Silence challenge that gave me the opportunity to look for this image.
In a recent post I included photos of a model village, known as Cockington Green. It seems only right to show you the rest of this very cute village as part of Jake’s challenge this week.
The builders have lovingly created as many details as possible to give the feeling of an old English village, it really is very charming!
A fun idea again Jake, and after hours of thought and searching through the archives I chose the Australian film “Crocodile Dundee”. This was a 1986 film about a legendary bushman who lives in the Northern Territory and fights saltwater crocodiles with his bare hands. His relationship with an attractive New York writer makes the film script interesting! The film was partly made on location in Kakadu National Park. Here are some stunning views of this world famous park from Ubirr Rock.
Kakadu from Ubirr Rock
Sunset from Ubirr Rock
One of the greatest attractions at Ubirr is the incredible rock art.
traditional art under a sheltering overhang
cities are built around good harbours
Water, the source of life on Earth, attracts settlements and cities. Since we evolved in water and came onto the land later we all love to see calm water, like Sydney Harbour, viewed here from Milsons Point Wharf.
water surrounds us here
We live here, our place is in the upper left of the picture, we have a choice of beaches, and whichever way the wind blows we can hear the ocean.
water, like emotion, reflects its surrounds
Water is a fluid at moderate temperatures, but it can also be a gas, or a solid. So changeable! Like our emotional bodies water reflects its surroundings, it takes on colours, odours, temperature, and reflections.
light and life, water
Here water shows the warmth and colour of the morning sunrise, lotus leaves hold drops of water from an overnight shower.
we come from water and love to return
In water we feel weightless, buoyant and free, such a joy to float and swim, to dive and play like dolphins or whales, remembering our ancestral past!
Thank you Jake for this opportunity to think about Water, bringer of life to the planet Earth! Did you know they think water arrived here frozen, brought by meteorites?
heartfelt images 
