Happy Chinese New Year: 新年快乐 - xīn nián kuài lè

Happy New Year - Xin Nian Kuai Le 

Chinese New Year - 16 February to 2 March

The celebrations for the 2018 Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival) have just drawn to a close. 

Last year, 2017, we were in Sydney during the Chinese New Year celebrations (Year of the Rooster), and there was a riot of colour, sound and experiences not only in the China Town quarter, but also around Circular Quay on Sydney Harbour and the excitement and furious pace of the Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival at Darling Harbour. 

Here are the roosters which were lit up at night on the Sydney waterfront just below the Opera House (you can see it in the background of this shot). 

This year we enjoyed some of the Chinese New Year celebrations at an event organised by a local family in our town and hosted at the Stirling Street Arts Centre. 

We managed to secure a spot in the front row at the central stage where we enjoyed dance performances by the Chang Zhi Dan Dance School, a Tai Chi display from a member of the Tai Chi Academy, a flute performance by Xiang Ji, a tea ceremony from a member of the Oriental Culture and Arts Association, and a demonstration of Chinese painting. 

There was also a table tennis demonstration, food stalls, calligraphy demonstrations, mini language lessons, arts and crafts activities, paper crafts, mah jong games, and other activities. There was also a photo exhibition from Zhejiang Province. Our city's Chinese Sister City is Jiaxing which has a population of 3.4 million and lies on the Grand Canal of China, the longest canal in the world. 

Later on in the day dancers from the Balcatta Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy performed the Lion Dance. I love seeing this but unfortunately we were not able to stay.  However we have seen it many times before including at many dragon boat regattas and in Sydney last year, where I took this photo you see below here. I am amazed by the athleticism and strength of these guys as they stand on the shoulders of their partner. 
I am always drawn into the drumming and clashing of symbols of the Lion Dance. 

 Click on the link below to see a film clip of a Lion Dance in Beijing during the 2016 New Year celebrations.

 Some interesting facts about Chinese New Year - 

• Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival and Lunar New Year. The date changes every year depending on the moon. Chinese New Year ends with the Lantern Festival, where lanterns are believed to light the way for the new year. 
• Hong Bao or red envelopes containing money are usually given to children at this time of year as a gift of good luck.  
• Fireworks can be heard throughout the day and night. This tradition began with the legend of Nian - a ferocious monster that ate people.  The loud noises are to scare the monster away. 

You can read other interesting facts about Chinese New Year - Spring Festival - here 21 Things you didn't know about Chinese New Year

2018 in Chinese culture is the Year of the Dog or more precisely this year, brown dog or "earth dog".  People born in the Year of the Dog are usually independent, sincere, loyal and decisive according to Chinese zodiac analysis. They are not afraid of difficulties in daily life and have harmonious relationships with people around them.  You can find out more about people born in the Year of the Dog here - Chinese Year of the Dog

The Dog on display in Sydney last year

I was born in the year of the Goat and I am amazed how many of their traits I have. You can click here to find out what year you were born in and the personality traits of yours and others according to the Chinese Zodiac. 

There are 12 Chinese Zodiac animals and the zodiac system repeats every 12 years.  A zodiac system has existed in Chinese culture since the Qin dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago. Over time the zodiacs became more and more integrated into everyday life, with different meanings and characteristics assigned to each animal. This in turn gave rise to various compatabilities (and incompatabilities) between each zodiac, and play a major role in marriage and career decisions, fortune-telling and much more.
  
You can find out more about Chinese New Year here - Chinese New Year 

 Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed my little post about Chinese New Year. In our multicultural society I feel it is an enriching thing to learn about other cultures.  Did you experience Chinese New Year where you live? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in the comments. 

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like - 
South West Multicultural Festival 
Fitness Focus - Dragon Boating 
10 things to do in Sydney, Australia 

China Town, Sydney

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Through My Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

If you are a blogger you can also link your blog here on Wednesday, to Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global. 

February rambles

I can hardly believe we are at the end of February already. It seems to have gone by in a blur. And because I have been so busy of late, I am going to give myself a little break, and only post a few pics for my post today.

But first, because I have just realised that I didn't post any pics from the Blue Moon-super moon-blood moon-total lunar eclipse on 31 January, here are a couple of the pics I took that night. Were you able to see it from where you were? Amazing wasn't it! 
We travelled up to Wellington Dam, about 30 minutes from home, to see it because I knew there would be very little ambient light there. At least the event was in the evening so I didn't have to get up at midnight. We just made it in time to see the moon coming up over the trees. 

A couple of weeks ago I blogged here - In the summer time - about a few events we went to in February - a dragon boat regatta, a Spanish sundowner, and to see the around the Busselton jetty swim. 

Last Saturday I was involved in the South West Multicultural Festival. This is a fabulous annual free family event with performances from many cultural groups and food trucks selling food from all around the world.  
I was there performing with my dance group - Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company. 
You can see those of us who performed on the night below here. That's me on the far right. As you can see we are different ages, heights, and body shapes, which is a great thing about Flamenco dance. 

And some of the other performances from the night.
 

 I've seen them before, but I always love the Japanese drummers.

 Last Friday we went down to our fruit growing area as I had a photo gig for a local company - Solarfruit - to take photos for their new on-line sales website (the link takes you to their current web site). They sun-dry stone fruit and make all sorts of delicious dried fruit products. 

Now that summer is on it's way out and the cooler mornings and evenings of autumn are creeping in, the pear trees are fruiting.

 Life is just a little bit busy, and I would just like to sit here on the waterfront with my feet up. If I thought February was busy, March is shaping up to be even busier, but we actually found a week in March where we have nothing written in - so I've written across the week - go away in caravan. Stay tuned! 
I need to remember the blessings of a busy life from my post last week - Blessings and Inspiration

 So that's a wrap from February. Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like - South West Multicultural Festival under the stars 2016

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Through My Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

If you are a blogger you can also link your blog to Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global.

Blessings and Inspiration

 When I was pondering what to write about this week I was scrolling through some of the blog posts on Kim Klassen's page. Do you know of her? Beautiful still life photography, beautiful presents, beautiful thoughts. 

While I was strolling through I found Kim's post "Things Get Broken" - I am sure we have all had times like this ..... and here is a lovely quote Kim shared......

"things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life"

I am sure we have all felt like this at some time or other. I know I have. A friend of mine and her sister are going through a difficult time at the moment with a sick parent who is stretching them to their limits both emotionally and financially. I hope in time that they will find that life will rearrange itself.  I know my friend finds solace in dancing. I know I found solace in my photography when my father was gravely ill in hospital.

But that is not what my post is about today.......When I scrolled through the comments Kim received, this one in particular, from Terasazehr resonated with me ....
 
"Yes!! I woke up this morning thinking “my week is so full” but then thought “what if I spin that? And think of it as my week is so full of blessings? Or gifts waiting to be received ?”

How true this is in my life at the moment as I jump from one event, or task, or group, or creative pursuit, to another. There never seems to be enough time in the day to stop and smell the flowers. But how lucky I am that this is possible, that my life is so full, that I am not sitting on my own on a chair in the window, wishing that life would come to me. That there are people in my life that inspire, encourage, and support me. 

I met up recently with another friend who lost her husband unexpectedly in the last couple of years. Life took a dramatic turn which she was totally unprepared for, and she has had to make a new life without her husband. She was out enjoying an event with a friend when I saw her, and she said, "at least I am not at home curled up in the corner of a couch in front of the TV."

Wheat-belt wild flowers

 Last week we had a quick overnight trip to the wheatbelt to attend the funeral of my sister's husband's father. He was 95. And as I listened to his eulogy I thought about the full and interesting life, well lived, he had led.  His funeral, even though there was sorrow, was also a celebration of his life.  And I was reminded again of the importance of grasping opportunities as they come along and treasuring every moment, those around us and our blessings.

My life at the moment is consumed with creative arts, particularly leaf prints on paper. I'd been reading about the exhibitions on at our Art Gallery . I always find art galleries inspiring, so we went into town on Sunday afternoon for a look. 

 The first collection "Broken Places" by Christopher Young and Elisa Markes-Young was inspired by the work of two women, Rosetta Kelly who produced hundreds of watercolours of flowers as a way of dealing with her grief over the loss of her son in the First World War, and Georgina Molloy who lived an isolated pioneer life in the early days of Western Australia, and began collecting wildflower specimens, which now reside in the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.  I was particularly interested in this because of my love of wildflower photography, and more recently make prints of eucalypt leaves, and I late last year I had read - Geogiana Molloy, The Mind That Shines - by Bernice Barry

 Also on show was the collaborative exhibition "Salt", by two local artists, ceramic artist Tracie Anderson and painter Sharon Hinchcliffe. I had first met Tracie last year at the Dardanup Art Trail, where she was exhibiting next to me at Lyndendale Gallery. Tracie's whimsical use of ceramics and found beach pieces combined beautifully with Sharon's flowing colourful lines of her mixed media canvasses. 

Completely different to the two previous galleries, we were totally enthralled by the work of Noongar/Yamatji contemporary artist Lance Chadd who paints under his tribal name Tjyllyungoo, inspired by his culture.  His paintings were amazing. As you look at them, you begin to see other images within the main painting which draw you in.

Here is a video which will give you an insight into his work - 

There was also exhibitions by Sue Dennis and Yvonne Dorricott, interpreting the breaching of the Broke Inlet, a collection from the Australind Art Club, and works from the city's collection depicting 100 years of Bunbury's history. 

Following our tour of the Art Gallery we went down town for coffee and cake at The Townhouse Cafe where photographer friend Dennis Bear was holding as small photographic exhibition. Well done Dennis. 

How blessed am I to be able to view such amazing artistic work. Where do you find your inspiration?
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Through My Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

And you can join up with Wednesday Around the World linky party at Communal Global right here! 

In the summer time

It's summer here in Western Australia but we are enthralled watching the Winter Olympics. I love watching the events on TV and seeing the speed and exhilaration of the sports. These winter sports are so different for us, as we only have a couple of areas that have snow in Australia, and certainly not in Western Australia, except for an occasional light dusting on Bluff Knoll in our south west. 

Medals for Australians at the Winter Olympics are few and far between, so when an Aussie wins a medal, or in fact just gets into a final, it is a reason for celebration. So it was exciting to have just watched Matt Graham take silver in the moguls, our first medal at this Olympics.   Daily Telegraph - Winter Olympics. Congratulations Matt! 

But as I said it is summer in Australia and this last weekend we had a very busy weekend immersed in summer life. 

We had family come to stay so there was a BBQ on Friday night, and then Saturday morning we went to a waterfront restaurant for breakfast. The water was sparkling and the icecream van was already cranking up for the day.  Our town is surrounded by water on three sides - the Indian Ocean, the Leschenault Inlet, and Koombana Bay, so beach and water activities are a big part of our summer

In the afternoon we went down to the Inlet to watch our sons compete with their dragon boat club, Forza, in their local annual regatta. Dragon Boating has been a part of the landscape of our town, and our family life, since the first regatta was held here in March 1990. We have seen the big days of the sport when our local regatta was a two day event with over 70 teams, to the small regatta it is today. Our main competition is held in Perth, our capital city. Our local event was for teams of 10 paddlers, rather than the usual 20.

 On Saturday evening my husband and I drove up to the Ferguson Valley, a wine region only about twenty minutes from home, to enjoy a Spanish Sundowner at Green Door Wines. My Spanish friend Montse and her partner Laura, from Food with Passion South West cooked up a storm, including a variety of tapas and a huge paella. Delicious. 

And the light coming through the west facing window in the late afternoon was amazing. 

In between courses Flamenco dancers, Nicole and Susanna from Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company danced for us. Unfortunately the low light, the fast movement, and my skills didn't do their dancing justice, but you can get an idea of the colour and movement in these couple of images. 
These two talented ladies are our Flamenco teachers at Sol y Sombra. I've blogged about them several times before - Ole - Celebration of 25 years of flamenco

It was a fabulous evening. Oh, and don't forget the Sangria

On Sunday morning we had an early get up to travel down to Busselton to see our eldest son compete in the around the Busselton Jetty swim.  This is an annual event, which started in 1996, and which now attracts over 2000 competitors. The course is a swim of 3.6 kilometres from the shore, around the Busselton Jetty, and back to the shore. People swim solo, as my son, nephew and his wife did, or relay teams of two or four can nominate. 

Below you can see the start line and the end of the jetty where they swim round and then go back down the other side. 

And my son on the return leg.  We only managed to spot him because he was swimming alongside the jetty instead of further out. He said he was having difficulty dragging his arms out of the water at this point, but he managed to sprint the last few hundred metres to the finish line - what a welcome sight it must have been. We are so proud of him that he achieved this swim.

Thank you for stopping by everyone. I hope you have enjoyed this little look at summer in my part of the world. What is happening in your corner of the world? Are you watching the Winter Olympics?

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

You might also like
A celebration of 25 years of flamenco 
Belonging and choosing happiness 
Busselton jetty swim - 2015 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Through My Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday 

Sky Watch Friday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

You can also link up here Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global.





 

Is there a snake in your camp? - Don't get bitten!

It is summer here in Australia and I really don't like getting out in the heat and the sun too much these days, but a photo memory came up on my Facebook page the other day which was a timely reminder that this is the time of year when snakes are out and about. 

A conversation with Bob Cooper, Australian Desert Survival Expert

Way back in 2013 I interviewed Bob Cooper, considered to be one of Australia’s leading desert survival experts and snake handling instructors, for an article about snake awareness for Go Camping magazine. I had interviewed him before about his Outback Survival book and kit, also for Go Camping magazine. Bob was generous with his time and expertise and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him. 

Australia Day & taking photos of fireworks

26 January in Australia is Australia Day.

I've blogged about it before here - Celebrating Australia Day and Waltzing Matilda 
and here - Australia Day on the beach 
and here - Australia Day - How Australian Are You? 

 There has been a lot in the press lately about Australia Day celebrating the day the British "invaded" Australia and took the land away from our indigenous population, and that the date should be changed. There were also protest marches in the street on Australia Day.

The date of Australia Day, 26 January, marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales in 1788 and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.

What will be your inspiration in 2018?

As my header today says - what will be your inspiration in 2018? Have you a yearning you want to follow? Well if you do, and I am sure you do, you should just follow it! You might be surprised where it might take you.

 

Have you ever attended summer school?

Summer School  at the Stirling Street Arts Centre in my town has just finished. They really have an amazing program of events over the two weeks - arts, writing, physically activities, music, drama, exploring culture, healthy living, workshops for kids, the list goes on. There is something for everyone. 

I've written about Summer School here before - Exploring your creative side - and every year I look forward to seeing the program. The hardest thing for me is narrowing down my list of "I want to do".

The Summer School workshops really are an excellent way to try out something without having to sign up and pay for an extended course, or lay out a lot of money on requirements or membership fees. 

Over the last couple of years I've tried acrylic painting, water colour painting, sketching, paper folding, eco-dyeing, book making, flower arranging, and hand embroidered a Boro bag and I took my grandson to Capoeira classes.

Summer salad days

It is summer over here down-under in Australia. Australian's love the beach, though I don't frequent the beach in summer so much these days, except when I am on holidays. I tend to stay indoors in the summer out of the burning rays of the sun.

 And when the hot days of summer hit the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. So that's when the salads come out. I have a particular favourite which I often make when we are invited to a BBQ and are asked to "bring a salad" to share. It is common here in Australia to "bring a salad to share". Is that something that happens where you live? 

How to make a Kusudama flower ball

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog. How is your 2018 going?

Whether you are in the depths of winter or the heat of summer in January, it might be a time for staying indoors out of the weather, and doing a little crafting, so hence my blog post for today.

How to make a Kusudama ball. 
I must admit that until I read my copy of "Breathe" magazine a few months back I had never heard of a Kusudama ball. which is a traditional Japanese decoration that can be hung to twirl in the breeze.


According to British Origami Society - "Kusudama (medicine ball) is believed to have originated in the Heaian Period (794 - 1192). At first fragrant woods and herbs were placed in a small cloth bag, which was decorated with blossoms of sobu or iris and other flowers. Long silk threads of five different colours were attached to it. This was hung in the house on May 5 to dispel evil spirits and disease."

And so 2018 begins

Today is the first day of 2018. Usually when I blog this time of year I look back with a summary of the past year. But today I am sharing just a small selection of my photos from 2017, as I doubt you really want to hear about what I have been up to, and anyways you can always go to my Index, or my Blog Archive list on the RHside there. So here are just a few pics from 2017....

 When I looked back to find some photos for this post, I realised we had had a very good year overall. I enjoyed scrolling back through memories of my year through my photos. Now we are retired we have had the chance to do some travel and for me, at least, to explore some arts and crafts that I have wanted to try.