feathers.
bush walk between newport beach and bilgola beach.
Since arriving in Sydney, with a to-do list longer than the sea is deep, I’m making sure to have fun in between commitments. The days are hot (36C!)(no idea what that is in Fahrenheit), so dips in the pool throughout the day have become my ‘tea break’. As often as I have experienced it, it’s still pretty strange to have gone from living in minus degree weather to lots of degrees weather in a space of days. And boy, does the sun down here shine! It’s just crazy beautiful. When Amsterdammers used to say to me in Amsterdam “oh wow, it’s such a sunny day today” and I’d look up at the sky and see a pale white ball of light desperately trying to break through the grey sky, I’d smile and secretly think “I’m sorry, but no, this is not what a sunny day really looks like”. Australia is definitely where the sun lives…
the sun shining through the gum trees this morning.
In other fun news, I decided to get an iphone as I needed a mobile phone here in Sydney. My ipod has been on the fritz for the last 2 years, and my G10 ‘everyday’ camera has been weighing heavy in my bag so I figure here is a 3 in 1. While I’m not quite into apps just yet, over the last few months I have been inspired by Susannah Conway’s instagr.am images so decided to download this free app to try it out. It’s pretty fun, I must say – every so often I take an image of something in my near vicinity that I find inspiring et voilà, it appears on my twitter account for all to see. It’s a new way of enhancing the everyday…
heavily inspired by a floral design on a card I bought for my Mum while in Malaysia.
finds in my old wardrobe… left: a stack of books I can’t wait to read again, right: a rack of favourite vintage clothes that have stayed in Sydney all these years.
Above are some examples of what I have been posting on my instagr.am account. If you’d like to see more, you can sign up to follow me. But don’t ask me how you do that – I’m still new to this iphone and chances are, if you have one yourself then you know much more about it than me.
In more fun news, I’m in the midst of writing a post here in the (blog)house about my recent ‘island retreat’ experience – just looking at the photos sends me into a state of bliss, I hope it will do the same for you. It will be up next.
…………………………………..
PS. oh yeah, and I’m on a mission to curb my use of exclamation marks. Perhaps you already noticed in this post? But it makes me feel like I’m writing monotonously. So then I’m on a mission to find another way to add expression in my words without the use of the overused exclamation mark. Hmmm…all this in the name of fun…
long live the exclamation point! life is so dull without it! and how else can you express how durn HOT it is in oz right now?
IT’S HOT DAMN IT!!!!!!
(see – only the exclamation point can adequately express it….)
hope you are enjoying the taste of summer while you are ‘home’
cheers from (hot) sams creek
February 1st, 2011 | #
My dear Pia, I just laughed and read your line about Amsterdammers and sunny days to my Sean as I do the same thing here all the time. =D
Loving your instagram pics.Keep them coming.
February 1st, 2011 | #
I am so guilty of the exclamation marks …. and yes you have certainly come back home to some mighty hot weather, I love that bush walk you did, I have done it a few times and it never fails to make me happy (I was about to do exclamation marks, but I will refrain in honor of you)
February 1st, 2011 | #
Looks like a great app to try out. I’m downloading it as we speak. Oh and those pesky exclamation points. I had a friend (whose judgment I greatly admire) tell me a little while that she found them really annoying and since then I have been trying to use them less but it is harder than it seems (!)
February 1st, 2011 | #
welcome back to this beautiful (hot, hot) land. love your post, i’ve been using Hipstamatic on my iphone and i love it! (go the exclamation marks!!!) x
February 1st, 2011 | #
Pia. Welcome Home. Melbourne is also a very hot 38 degrees. Wish you a nice visit and thanks for the new phone tips. I too am about to purchase the iphone 4 and love the idea of being able to take exciting photos where ever I go. Stay cool x
February 1st, 2011 | #
That’s funny – I avoid explanation marks on my blog too. I had a teacher once who told me only use them when you want to shout. It’s hard not to use them! The sun is certainly shining in Sydney at the moment – welcome home, the northern beaches is a great place to be. (I’m in Manly).
February 1st, 2011 | #
I wish I lived where the sun lives. I love that app, too! There’s something so amazing when you’re not seeing images in high definition. It’s like you’re taking away all the fake gloss to see what’s really there. And I add too many exclamation marks, too!!! Is an intervention needed?!?
February 1st, 2011 | #
here in lille the sun has forgotten us
i am as green of your sun as it is gold
amsterdam is truly beautiful
as is europe
but ultimately all is well
when the sun shines
i think you have made a wise choice
to return home…
February 1st, 2011 | #
Loving your new app images. I have an I- phone thats it’s been in a box for over 6 months, this has inspired to try the phone and app too ! 🙂
Ps I’m also very guilty of exclamation marks so it makes me feel better reading the other comments I’m not the only one!
Good luck with your new chapter in your life
R
February 1st, 2011 | #
Haha, I am the same when it comes to exclamation marks! Constantly trying to control myself, but then I feel like I sound bored and monotonous…I have not yet found anything to replace it though, except perhaps smileys, but I am trying to limit the use of those too, hmm. 😉
February 1st, 2011 | #
PIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best wishes to you and your homecoming !!! I look forward to and live vicariously through your adventures!!!!!!
Jeanne
February 1st, 2011 | #
It’s incredibly hot here today. Feels like the middle of Summer.
February 1st, 2011 | #
I have a feeling you’ll love the magic of iPhone photo apps. I’ve sort of become a photo app junkie. I hardly ever bring our nice Canon out of the camera bag. My favorite apps that I think you’d like (other than instagram, which I like a lot too) are PictureShow, CameraBag, Hipstamatic, and TiltShift. PictureShow is especially great because of all the processing choices and ability to adjust things like saturation, contrast, etc right on your phone. Have fun with it! Also, there are a lot of great iPhone photo flickr pools–you could peek at them to see results from various apps.
February 5th, 2011 | #
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