Finding joy in the everyday

During my trip to South Australia my brothers and I visited Sevenhills in the Clare Valley, a wine growing district 130kms north of the city of Adelaide.   Sevenhill was established in 1851 when the Jesuits, who settled in the area, planted vines to produce sacramental wine. From these modest beginnings, the Jesuits' focus on wine has remained, with Sevenhill adding to its sacramental wine production with an extensive range of table wines. The last of the Jesuit winemakers had died and after much hunting, for the first time in 150 years a woman is now making the sacramental wine. The Jesuits  no longer live at the estate, now it is used only as a retreat (building below) and to produce the wine.   The old buildings had so much character and I just loved the stonework. On the estate is the St Aloysius' Church, quite an impressive church considering its location in a farming community.  It was completed in 1875 and has been used ever since.  The church was v...

There is a painting in the Art Gallery of South Australia that I have loved every since I first saw it when I was teenager and I love it still - it projects tranquility and peace of a time long gone. I thought I would share it with you.  Title: Evening shadows, backwater of the Murray, South Australia Artist: H J Johnstone (1835-1907) This is a large oil painting (120.6 cm x 184.1 cm), created by H J Johnstone, that depicts a twilight scene on the backwaters of the Murray River (which runs through South Australia) in the late 19th century. The fading light has almost turned the giant red river gums that dominate the scene into silhouettes, exaggerating the bulk of their trunks and the twisted angles of their limbs. Two Indigenous people are sitting alongside a bark hut and a campfire - a third person is about to cross a fallen tree that spans the river to join them. This is an apparently timeless, pre-British colonial scene; however, a small clue, the blanket around the shoul...

Whilst in Adelaide Stephen and Lorraine took me on a trip to the Barossa Valley - I had requested this destination as I wanted to take some photos and there was no shortage of things of wonderful views and buildings. Being the end of winter and with good rains in the Hills, the Barossa was beautiful - so green and lush as you will see in the photos. The first stop was at the Hoffnungsthal Memorial (near Lyndoch) which was the early settlement of about 20 German families (who left their homelands to escape religious persecution). It started in 1847 and the village survived until 1856 when Hoffnungsthal was flooded and the families moved elsewhere in South Australia. One of these families one was mine (my fathers fathers family). There is now nothing left of the town except this memorial. (Photo below) This is where the town of Hoffnungsthal (which means "Valley of Hope") was until it flooded. The settlers didn't know that they had built their homes on a lake that onl...

I spent the Sunday with David and Judith and had a lovely time. The weather was much improved so I was able to go for a walk around Davids garden and eat some of his asparagus (which I discovered tastes great raw). It was Carl's 15th birthday (my nephew)and above he is cutting his birthday cheesecake (which was delicious). Below is Jo (my niece) also cutting the same cake!! Judy, Carl and Rachel (Jo friend) having a good laugh!! I think Judy is standing on her tippy toes so she could be a bit little taller! Below is Jess (David's dog) - she is "rounding up the chickens" - they didn't seem to give much thought to Jess at all.

With the rains we had, the flowers in Stephan's garden looked beautiful. Below are a few that I took - what beauty a few drops of rain on a petal can make. The purple and white flowers are Iris. I'm sure the mushrooms are not really part of his garden, but they are quite beautiful in their own right.

I arrived in Adelaide on Friday 2nd October at 7:30am (after getting up at 3:30am) - it was a long day!! After spending a few hours with my uncle and aunt (catching up all the family news), my dad came and picked me up and we drove to the Adelaide Hills (an hour trip). Had lunch and then started on my first task - cleaning out my mum's wardrobe and getting rid of all the clothes she can no longer wear since her stroke. All in all we filled 4 large garbage bags which my dad will take to the charity store. Mum was a bit sad throwing away so much - and even dreamt about it that night! (I found 3 skirts that fitted me perfectly). Saturday - wet, cold, misty and cold (didn't really pack enough for the wintry conditions)!!! Stephen stoked the wood fire and we spent much of the day indoors. However Lobethal (where I was staying - which means "Valley of Praise") was celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 1939 Australian Grand Prix (which raced through the main street ...