CATCHING UP

It has been a busy time weaving and weaving to get my work in so that my results could go through on time! After five days in Adelaide it is always wonderful to get the first glimps of the Grampians when you are returning home.
Mt Arapilies is separate from the Grampians Ranges just outside of Natimuk, and is a famous destination for rock climbers from all over the world. Gerard and I camped there overnight on the way home. A beautiful night as it was a full moon.

I only had one opportunity to go to Melbourne to see the Arthur Boyd tapestries, trust me to go on the 4Th of December, the final day that they were displayed in public. Arthur Boyd commissioned a suite of 20 tapestries based on his pastel drawings of the life of Saint Francis of Asssisi. Woven in Portugal before the Victorian Tapestry Workshop was founded the 20 tapestries measure approximately 260.5 x 342.5 cm each. The tapestries were sold to the National Gallery of Australia for their cost price by Boyd in 1975 and have never been show as an entire suite. My favorite tapestry was St Claire showing her shaven head to her family. Maybe that is because I have had waist length blond hair since I was a teenager and even now at 50 I still don't feel like parting with it! On the way home from Melbourne I met Gerard in Ballarat and we camped the night at Mount Langi Ghiran.

The following day we returned to Ararat to pick up two Japanese teachers that Gerard was working with in Ballarat and show them around the Grampians for the day, they were fascinated by the shape of the mountain. This is a photo that I took years ago from Montara Vineyard in Ararat when we were there to see the Scarecrows in the Vineyard competition. Known locally as the sleeping lady, she stands out on the horizon. We had a fun day and they enjoyed being show around such a beautiful place, and were excited but exhausted after their walk to the top of the Pinnacle, a lookout point that overlooks the valley of Halls Gap.

I finally finished my Diploma of Art Tapestry and we all went down to Warrnambool for my Graduation Ceremony. The day before I had sat through Coen's awards ceremony at his school, the most boring event ever!!! I found that I was the fourth to receive my Diploma at the ceremony so after my experience the night before I arranged to meet Gerard and Coen outside a few minutes later and we celebrated by eating fish and chips for dinner. While we were in Warrnambool we stayed at Gerard's cousin's.....I call it the 'Hotel Patterson' a bit of a private joke but Coen had his fill of Christmas spirit as Chris collects Santa's and Christmas cheer.....a far cry from my feelings of Christmas. It was nice to spend some time at the beach the next day before returning home.

Christmas came and went, spending the night camped at Lake Londsdale, our favorite place close to here. After 12 years the lake finally has water, although it is nowhere near full. The birds and animals have returned.....such a nice feeling.