Black & White Sunday: On Angel Wings [again]

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Just a quick note to say I haven’t forgotten you all and thank you so much for all your lovely comments recently. I’m slowly making my way around to visit you all but again this week is going to be a doozie!!

As you can see I’ve become a little obsessed with my Angel here! [sorry everyone who has now seen this for the 3rd time]. She is one of ten Angels on the Pont Sant’Angelo in Roma. This bridge was built to accommodate the pilgrims making their way to the Vatican City. I myself walked this path on my way to the Vatican without ever knowing the relevance. My Angel here [official name ‘Angel With Cross’] must of spoken to me as she was the only one I stopped to photograph. I think she posed quite well and the clouds floating in didn’t hurt either.

I can’t stop looking at the movement of her gown and the way it drapes and folds around her feet, and thus the light and shade it creates [reminds me of Caravaggio]. Her face is one of compassion and looks upon you with care. The sculptor was Ercole Ferrata. A quick read of his background explains why I have become so obsessed. He was an ardent follower of Gian Lorenzo Bernini [i.e. the Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona - here]. Both artists seem to have the ability to express raw emotion through their work. Well it certainly speaks to me.

Apparently this bridge was built to mark the end of the plague which was foretold by a angel visiting this spot. Well.. I think we could all do with a little of that. Seems there is a lot of sickness this year.. Swine Flu and other. Two of my colleagues from my project are out of the game now and hospitalized with ‘unknown causes’. Maybe my Angel will help us all get back to good health and good spirits.

Wishing you all good health, good cheer and a relaxing Sunday

Pop over to Anne Marie’s [Na-Da Farm Life] to see other B&W Sunday participants

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IMAGE SOURCE: Photo and editing by me [Being Ruby]

Black Friday 13th: Special Delivery

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Who said Friday 13th was unlucky … Certainly not these three lucky winners

Laura – 52 Flea [Inky Blue Paris Charm]

Julia – Drawn to the Sea [Blue Butterfly Charm]

Dzintra – Queen of the Armchair [Paris Chair]

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I’m a little sad I can’t give everyone a fabulous Cathy Penton Charm. I’m also a little sad I can’t keep them all for myself.. ha ha… but seriously, THANK YOU everyone for your kind and generous comments on my last post. I really can’t thank you enough for lifting my spirits with your kind words. Also, HELLO to a few new followers.

I’m sorry I’ve had no time to visit your blogs, nor reply to the many comments and emails I have received this week. We’ve been working around the clock to finalise and prepare for our project implementation and delivery which starts this coming Tuesday and will go live approx two long long weeks later. Although we’ve had twelve months of hard work and planning to prepare for this moment, a little help from the Angels wouldn’t hurt at this point. So wish me Luck!! I’m hoping for a Special Delivery of my own!!

Take Care Everyone and Thank You Again!!!

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IMAGE SOURCE: Taken by me in Rome 1996 and altered by me in Sydney 2009. ‘Angel with Cross’ One of ten Angels that can be found on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Roma.

Art With Heart: A Talisman of Dreams

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Sometimes, we can’t remember how we first discovered a beloved hobby or passion and sometimes it stands firm in our memory as the moment a significant paradigm shift took place in our reality. For me it was a definitive shift and the shift started when I happened upon the Romantic Homes magazine in my local newsagent. This little magazine seemingly benign, had taken a long journey far from it’s home, traversed the Pacific Ocean, withstood the man-handling of dock workers, the hurry of the delivery trucks, the page flicking of the peruses, and stood silently on the magazine stand waiting for my arrival. Then one day, customer and product met and the journey began!! Feeling jaded with the everyday cookie cutter commercialism of many of the popular domestic magazines, my eye searched for something new and a little different from the crowd, and Romantic Homes promised to fill that need.

Home in it’s new environment I greedily raced through the pages, mesmerised by the childhood memories and emotions this magazine elicited. Then something miraculous happened. I came across an article about Cathy Penton and her lovingly handmade charms, and more to the point, the fact that there was a web address directing me to her blog ‘Simple Things Small Joys’. Her What? What’s a blog? Well fascinated by her charms and the whole new/old world I had stepped into, I went off in search of this ‘Blog' thingy. My Oh My what I discovered. Not only was she a fellow Australian, but her blog was filled with pages of her glorious creations, there were also links to other ‘blogs’ similarly overflowing with homewares, lifestyles and beauty. These new found pages were selling a dream to me. A dream of a life filled with nostalgia, beauty and simple comfort, where art, craft and beauty replaced the corporate world of my reality and a chance to step into the lives of others who have managed to ‘Live The Dream’.

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The first few months I blog hopped with a frenzy, a newly crazed addict determined to have more of this joy filled substance called nostalgia. Image after image that either reminded me of my childhood home and possessions, or fascinated me with glimpses into foreign lifestyles and cultures steeped with tradition. I would race through all the links every weekend and only stop when either my eyes were beginning to glaze over or my new favourites took a blogging break for the rest and pause of the weekend.

It soon became apparent my addiction was taking hold. Now my addiction was requiring a lot more blogging substance to bring me to that level of enthrallment I had previously found with just a few blog hits. Worse, my dirty little secret was starting to show! Cathy’s beautiful charms had come to represent this whole dream lifestyle and escape path from my corporate reality, so I started to buy my own little charms from Cathy’s wondrous blog as reminders of the change I needed in my life. When Australian Country Style Magazines [another favourite reality escape] featured not only Cathy’s charms, but her beautiful family and home, I was overcome with my ‘need’ to find a different life. To make some changes.

The most significant obstacle to this change has always been my lack of knowing what I want and where I want to go. I used to know, I used to be sure and was obsessed and fascinated by the world of IT. I can also mark the time when that obsession lost it’s lustre. After my first trip to Europe I knew my world had changed forever. The world within me. Unfortunately my outer world still presented the same duties and demands and my two worlds collided in a massive and quite inelegant thump. I’ve never really been the same since but had no idea how to change my reality.

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Now, armed with this new reminder, how was I to change this dissatisfaction? What makes me happy? What passions lurk in my subconscious? What forgotten childhood dreams need to be resurrected? Well I knew that blog reading had provided the itch so perhaps I should start my own blog and do a bit of scratching. So here I am six months later.

Strangely, these days I rarely post about the dreamy homes and interiors I have always been so fond of. Strangely my path took a different turn and blogging reminded me of my passion for travel, art and photographs. Lately, if you visit my blog that is what you will usually find, along with reminders of my other long standing passions for the Moon, the Sea and Italy, and sometimes my dream for a cottage. Even stranger I have now managed to acquire my own followers and finally reached that magic milestone of 100 posts [back here] and now 100 followers. I have also met some amazing people from various countries and walks of life, and acquired new friends who see something in me that I do not see myself.

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So today, whilst I am still stuck in the muck that is my working life, I am reminded to celebrate the beginning of this journey I am on. Today I am posting the sweet charms of Cathy’s Penton’s creation. Cathy and her equally talented friend Angela are broadening their horizons and opening a little shop of their own soon. I can imagine the wonders that will take residence in this little world they are creating. If you want to know more, head over to Cathy’s shop blog ‘Simple Things Small Joys’.

Today, I want to share with you this ‘talisman of my dreams’ [and thank you for sticking around whilst I am stuck in the trenches – and not visiting and commenting as much as I would like.]

I am giving away three of Cathy’s gorgeous charms, specially made by Cathy the mentor of my dream, this kind and generous soul who filled my world with beauty and hope. Specially made by Cathy for YOU .. MY FOLLOWERS and Cheer Squad, who inspire me to create and stretch my imagination. These three charms below were handmade by Cathy with all of you in mind. A little bit of Paris, a little bit of Interiors and a little bit of Inky Blue. I think a little bit of my journey too with the Butterfly that reminds me that blogging is the chrysalis of my growth and change.

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Each Little Charm comes packaged with Cathy’s signature style, pretty packaging and good intentions. Also enclosed are the hopes and fulfilment of having a dream!

If you would like a chance to share this passion of mine, the giveaway is open to all Followers of my blog who leave a comment on this post from now until midnight Friday 13th November [Sydney Time] Let me know in your comments which Charm you prefer as there will be a Giveaway of One Each to Three Winners.

Thank you everyone for welcoming me into your world and encouraging me to find my passion.

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I’d also like to mention two other bloggers who share my passion for photography and travel and I hope you will give them both a visit and the encouragement you’ve given me!

My 100th Follower – Michael Mattison from ‘Spice of Life’ and

My good friend Erin – from ‘Erin’s Art and Gardens’

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Charms: By ‘Cathy Penton’ and ‘Simple Things Small Joys’

Photography: All photos by me [Being Ruby]

To The Moon Alice: November 2009

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Busy Busy Busy … But never missed a Full Moon post … So here’s a fast post….

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You’ll have to provide your own thoughts, music, lyrics and whatever else should go with a full moon post!! [oooops!!!]

The moon was full at 5:15am Tuesday Nov 3 [Sydney time]

IMAGE SOURCE: Photo taken and altered by me [being Ruby] [apologies for giving you October's Full Moon with a makeover .. there were too many clouds here tonight]

All Hallows’ Eve: Invite The Ancestors Over !!!

Only a thin veil of scepticism separates our physical world from the mystical plains of our Ancestors. On ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ this veil is ruptured, the fabric torn and tattered, easily breached by those who reside in the ethereal world.

They hear the earthly calls from loved ones left behind and float toward our insistent cries. If you are afraid of these ghostly visitations, their mysterious non-earthly presence, then you must lock your windows and bolt the doors, drawer the curtains closed and light a candle for your protection. Pour salt around the perimeter to stop them crossing your threshold. Burn sage leaves to clear your abode of their swirling thoughts and emotions …. OR….

You could simply invite them in!!! After all they are Family!! Who better to protect you from the werewolfs, vampires and witches roaming the earth on this hallowed eve, than these ghostly apparitions!! So have a little fun and ….

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HI y’all. I’ve been off the blogging merry-go-round this week with Flu#3 [or is it #4?] and work.. work.. and some more work… The flu is letting off a bit but the work promises to ramp up more from now until the year end.. So… apologies for the lack of blogging.. and more importantly… the lack of visiting your blogs… Hopefully I will get around to visit you all this Halloween week and pop in and say ‘Boo !!!’

Well the ‘Trick’ [above] may be a bit lame, but the ‘Treat’ is sure to be a crowd pleaser. You may recall I mentioned another giveaway coming up soon. Yes it is still on the cards… in fact it has just been waiting for me to get my blogging act together. So, with some luck and assistance from my Ancestors, I will be posting your ‘Treat’ real soon… this week I hope. So please don’t forget me.. even If I do seem to be ‘Off with the Ancestors!!!’

IMAGES: Vintage Photos: from the family library of Being Ruby and wickedly altered by me [Being Ruby] [YES they are my dead relatives …Sorry Mum, Dad and all the others! Hope they don’t mind a bit of irreverence – after all it is Halloween !!! But please dear Ancestors - don’t visit me tonight! Pehaps this little invocation of mine calls for the Salt & Sage!!!]

BLACK & WHITE Sunday: Leaving Tenterfield [Part II]

Continuing on my Tenterfield Theme, here are a few more shots in Black & White .

Now I didn’t give you the back story to this trip. It was taken at Easter back in 1995. A friend was driving up to her Uncle’s shack, 2 kids in tow, for a spot of country air and R&R. She failed to tell me we were about to embark on a 10+ hour drive. She also failed to tell me what the ‘shack’ would look like. Of course I had romantic notions of this simple country shack and, although without modern day conveniences, I still imagined it would be somewhat romantic and restful. The ‘Shack’ turned out to be a ‘Shack’, no frills about it.. ha ha..

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Her Uncle lived on a horse farm with just a few working dogs for company. It seem the dogs didn’t mind the 4 inches of dust and dirt on the floor and the cupboards and the chairs and the old sofa. Nor did the dogs care there was no electricity or hot water and the only shower was an external cold water bucket shower.. The dogs didn’t care … cause the dogs didn’t have to use it.. ha ha. I am such a wuss at the best of time, but this was extreme to say the least. We spent the first hour boiling water and scrubbing a wash pan so we could then boil water and scrub some cutlery and plates to eat off. After all this scrubbing, it was off to bed .. socks and hiking boots still on. I don’t think those boots came off the whole 4 days.

Now bear in mind this was back in the days when I still thought blow drying my hair was as essential to my daily rituals as brushing my teeth. So the first day or so was full of ‘resistance’ on my part. After that I seemed to relax into the rhythm of the country. I stopped fussing over the unnecessary things and spent my time focussing on more important things like the people around me and the ‘drop dead gorgeous countryside’.

On the long drive home I felt somewhat liberated from my everyday necessities that really aren’t necessities at all. The radio was playing George Michael’s ‘Freedom’ as if it knew I had discovered the secret to this elusive state of ‘being Free’. This first image below is the Bruxner Highway leading out of Tenterfield on the long trip home, as seen through the eyes of a newly liberated Country Soul!

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See the Magpie above!!

You can see this week’s Black & White Sunday participants over here [don’t forget Sunday comes early to Sydney]

Hosted by ‘Anne Marie of Na-Da Farm Life’

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IMAGE SOURCE: All images by me [being Ruby]

Thoughts For A Sunday: The concept of Freedom is a strange animal. I was sad to leave Tenterfield and the sense of Freedom I had found escaping the paraphernalia of city living. Paradoxically, Peter Allen, a son of Tenterfield, found his Freedom by embracing the big smoke and a life of fame.

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This is Australia: Tenterfield Saddler

G'day!! As you know I have been a little slack at getting round to visiting all your blogs. Too much work makes Julie DULL!! So to brighten Dull Julie.. and hopefully you too, here is a post inspired by the colours of the Australian Bush, sunsets, and that sentimental song by Peter Allen … ’Tenterfield Saddler’!

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I took these shots in the countryside surrounding the small town of Tenterfield which lies near the NSW and Queensland border [home to the famous Tenterfield Saddler]. I also have these and other Tenterfield shots in Black & White which hopefully I will bring you soon. But for now …. I Hope you enjoy these ‘Australian Bush’ images and …

May your rainy days always be followed by rainbows!!

IMAGES: All by me [beingRuby] LYRICS: Tenterfield Saddler – Peter Allen