Our welcome home gift to The Netherlands has been 48 hours of incessant rain and near darkness. You may think I exaggerate when I say near darkness, especially those of you who live even further north than I do, but having just come from a land where sunlight manages to shine through concrete walls, you can forgive me for thinking this place is dark.

Don’t worry mes amis, I will get over it! I will find the beauty in all that surrounds me again. Just give me a little time. And allow me to weep freely as I mourn the absence of my sunny homeland on this grey wet day.

To top off my melancholy mood, it’s my mum’s birthday today, and I am not there. I did however, leave her a little gift which I hid in the seat of the piano stool. I wrapped the gift in a turquoise silk scarf which I bought at the Bondi Markets on Sunday.

So happy birthday mum! Here is a little clip I just made for you. Right now the sun is about to set on the bay over there, making the water sparkle. and about this time of day I would be playing a little song on the piano…

and now I just need to take a little rest. these clouds look like the perfect place to rest my weary body.

Well this is it guys, French Boy and I are heading back to ‘the mainland’. It’s a strange feeling to be leaving home for home, both being as sweet as each other. But departing from this land does always leave a tiny hole in my heart each time and somehow, it never gets easier.

Before I go though, I wanted to leave you with this little piece you see below. Yes, it’s a new medium for me on the blog because I just discovered that my G10 (you read right, I finally got myself a powershot! It’s so much lighter!) also takes video and I snapped this spontaneous piece a few hours ago just before dusk. This pretty much sums up what Sydney feels like for both a newcomer and an oldtimer. I do hope you enjoy, mes amis…

boy oh boy does time fly ’round these sunny parts! our four weeks of sydney living are coming to an end and I am a busy bee collecting things from home to take home. and these little beauties will no doubt find their way into petits nooks & crannies in my suitcase.

xx

PS I’ve been so creative while here, I have bundles and bundles of things to share with you! are you sick of me telling you that yet?

PPS I feel like doodling all over these pretty shells – I can see a whole world in there, but I shall have to wait until I get back to my pen tablet. what do these shells inspire in you?

I took this photograph in my old paris apartment – remember the writing on the windows in the guitar studio/second bedroom? (This might jog your memory) Well this photo is looking through that glass window out onto the lovely Haussmann building opposite. I wrote “Paris” on the window and took the photo at dusk.

xx