Author: human59

I came to Australia with my mother and sister Vanda in 1966 from the UK aboard the Sitmar liner Castel Felice. We settled in South Australia I lived in the western suburbs of Adelaide for most of my life. I became very interested in retro items in my twenties. It was always a dream of mine to have an old house and fill it with retro items. I have done it twice now. My main interest is collecting old things. They do not have to be valuable, only interesting. There is something reassuring about old retro items. I have all sorts of things including doll related items. My other interests are my beautiful pets, art and going for drives to who knows where. I also enjoy board games or doing a scenic jig saw puzzle on a wintry afternoon by the fire. My goal is to travel a bit more as there are some places I would love to see

Snapshot Sunday

Teddy is Tired.

It was very late one night and I thought I ought to get ready for bed so let the dogs outside to do their business and went to the bathroom to wash and clean my teeth. I went back to the bedroom to set my alarm for the work the next morning and turn down the bed covers as I always do every night. Both of my dogs had come back inside but Teddy had already curled up and gone to sleep on the end of my bed. In fact he was out like a light very quickly as I  had heard both of the dogs come back inside. I thought that Teddy looked rather cute so I sneaked out of the room practically on tippy toes to get my camera. He must have had a really big day because he never as much as flickered an eyelid. He was still in blissful dreamland dreaming his doggy dreams. He did open his eyes when he heard the camera go off.

Toby was tired too and also ready for bed but he was awake when I came into the bedroom but he looked very comfy curled up on my bed.

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Sometimes my cats come in and get on my bed too and there is no room left for me. They do this more in the colder months. I don’t know where they expect me to sleep! Never mind though. There is something comforting and reassuring about having the animals close by during the night. I never sleep as well without at least one of them. Have a great Sunday.

Snapshot Sunday

A Dalek on a Winter’s Day

Well I suppose even Daleks feel the cold and it was quite cold the night I went to the QVMAG museum in Launceston to see the dinosaurs. After we had seen them we wandered around for a bit before deciding to go and look at Jupiter and Saturn through the huge telescopes on the lawns outside. On our way we passed this fellow rugged up for a cold night also. I thought he should have had a glove for his plunger too.

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Mural at New Norfolk

Real Street Art V Graffiti

Now something I do not accept as art is graffiti. I hate seeing paint plastered over the sides of buildings, under bridges, on buses and trains, at railway stations and so on. People try to defend it saying it is street art. Vandalism is not art and there is no place for it in society.

I was in New Norfolk recently and we came across the back of this building which had been painted probably by an artist with these colourful murals. I was very taken with it and thought it looked fantastic. I expect they were having trouble with graffiti artists messing up the back of their business and got sick of cleaning it up. It would be a great shame if someone messed this up. I would much rather see this than so called street art everywhere. This is much better than the boring grey besser blocks too.

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A Night at the Museum

A Trip to “The Queen Victoria Museum” or QVMAG

While I was on holidays with my friend Phillip we decided that we would go to the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston to see the dinosaur display. We had seen a poster about it on a wall while we were shopping in Launceston one afternoon. When I told Vanda about our plans she mentioned that they were having some special night openings that we might enjoy. This appealed to us as we like going out at night and let’s face it there isn’t much to do anymore unless you like current movies or fine dining. Phillip and I are not into either so it’s a band if we are fortunate enough to find one or a pub meal and the pokies. We embraced the chance to do something out of the ordinary.

Years ago now we had wanted to see a display of dinosaurs and jumped into our car to go to one we thought was in a place called Mount Monster. It was a long drive and we did not see any signs pointed towards the dinosaur park we had heard about. We drove on several kilometres and no dinos to be seen anywhere. We would have been happy with just one in the end but we had to abandon the idea entirely. After driving what must have been close to one hundred kms from Adelaide it suddenly hit me that they had really meant Mount Monster was some ruddy great hill and not a dino park at all like Phillip had been told by some friends. Well we had a nice drive and a laugh about it at least. The day was not wasted. So fast forward nearly thirty years and we finally got to see some.

Well I have to say we were both very impressed. The dinos moved and roared and really looked authentic. They even blinked. They had done a wonderful job in creating them and making them move. Below is a slide show of the dinosaurs. I apologise for not knowing the correct names of the dinos. I did not write them down.

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There was a lot more going on at the museum apart from the dinosaur display. There were telescopes outside and we were able to view Jupiter and Saturn. I was amazed that I could actually see the rings around Saturn when it was billions of miles away. The astronomers said they were hobbyists and were only too happy to answer any questions put to them about their interest. It was a full moon too so we were treated to the beauty of the moon as well since it was a very clear night. It was freezing queueing for the telescopes so we went to the cafe inside the museum afterwards and treated ourselves to hot chocolate and cake.

Other things going on were lectures on the stars and science and planetarium shows. I would have loved to have seen the Apollo 11 display but it was not on that night and since Launceston was 113 km from my house I did not want to drive back again as we had already been there for shopping and the casino. I should say that all of this was for National Science Week and was well worth the long drive there and back. Below are some images of the program I saved from the event for anyone who would like to see what else was on at the museum during National Science Week last in August of this year. I think you can just about read the little writing on the program.

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Spring Time

Spring Lambs and Blossoms

One of the girls at work brought some young lambs in this morning. It’s part of diversional therapy for the residents in the aged care facility where I work. They get a lot of pleasure and enjoyment out of having animal visitors. I think everybody enjoys it. I took time out after my work was finished to go and get my camera and take a few shots. I must say it was quite difficult because they wanted to eat my sleeves and my camera strap and they would not keep still. Apparently one of them was only two weeks old. 

I think these lamb are absolutely gorgeous and I was thrilled to see them this morning.

Two week old lambs
I’m Hungry
A Wooly Surprise
Aren’t they beautiful?

On my way home I stopped to admire my neighbours beautiful tree. The blossoms are already dropping off of it as it flowered very early this year. I took a photo as it has always been a favourite of mine. It takes me back to when I was in primary school as these trees lined the street that our school was in. All sorts of memories come to mind when ever I see these trees in bloom. While it’s nice to take some time out to remember it’s also good to think about what Spring can mean. Spring is the time to rethink, renew and start doing all the things we couldn’t do during the long cold Winter. 

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I love this tree. It reminds me of my childhood

A Visit to Reliquaire

Reliquaire

One day during our holidays Phillip and I visited Reliquaire which is a very interesting gift shop in Latrobe Tasmania. Reliquaire sells a very good range of gifts, toys and home decor items and we were surprised at the size of the store. It was huge and even had a cosy coffee shop tucked away in the back. There were some surprises to captivate adults as well as children in the way of displays. I took several photos of these and plan to show them to you today as well as giving you the link to their website. Those of you visiting Tasmania in the future might like to visit this fantastic shop. It is well worth your while no matter your age because you are sure to be thrilled with what you find. Latrobe is an easy drive from most places and only a short distance from Launceston. In fact we are lucky to still have this store as it burned down only a few years ago and has arisen from the ashes. It is as good as I remember it being and Phillip and I really enjoyed our visit there. 

Here are some links to the website.

http://www.reliquaire.com/

Here are some articles about Reliquaire

https://www.examiner.com.au/story/4970929/reliquaire-announces-reopening-date/#slide=26

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-24/latrobe-reliquaire-doll-shop-gutted-by-fire/7052380

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-24/latrobe-reliquaire-doll-shop-gutted-by-fire/7052380

Here are my photos from the new shop.

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These are just a few snaps I took. They had all sorts of stuff including stuff from Dr Who, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland etc. It’s well worth the look and Latrobe is a lovely town to visit. Reliquaire is on Facebook for those who are into social media so check it out soon. Thanks for reading my post today.

AC DC 1973 Tour Bus

Today my friend Phillip and I decided to go to Willow Court. Those of you who visit our site regularly might remember my post featuring old cars for sale there. They are mostly very old cars and trucks largely in poor condition. I call it the car graveyard as the cars are wrecked but people buy them for parts or to fix up I guess. As there were a lot of different cars I hadn’t seen there I decided to get a few photos. Among them was a big surprise. The sign on this bus said it was the original AC DC tour bus from 1973. I was very surprised and took several photos and here they are.

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I’m not sure if Angus would find this very comfy to travel in now. It was full of junk and most of the seats had been pulled out. It really would be a long way to the shop to buy a sausage roll in this old bus. Still quite exciting to find it at Willow Court. Compared with the other cars, trucks and buses this one was in great shape. I was pleased since it was the AC DC bus. It’s part of rock and roll history.