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Something we hear almost daily in the shop is variations on the following...

"How much is a bunch of flowers?"

"Is the $65 one on the website a decent size?"

"How much for a big bouquet?"

I have to admit that before I started my training, I didn't have much of an idea about how flower pricing worked, and I'm sure most people are the same. Here's a few things to note when thinking about what your floral budget will get you.

1. Be clear about what you're asking for. "A decent bunch" is not a physical size. "Big" is not even a size. Be specific. Do you want something tall? Something with lots of stems of flowers? Or are you looking for visual impact? Visual impact can be achieved in many ways, and a trained florist knows how to pull that off.

The tricky thing about our industry is that the components of our products vary so much in size and value that it's near impossible to market bouquets or arrangements as "Small", "Medium" or "Large" (like coffees are). A physically small design might utilise flowers that are $10-15 per stem and cost more than a physically larger design that utilises cheaper blooms. I think we're so used to online shopping where the options are physical sizes like the coffees (small, medium and large) that it's difficult to get our heads around anything else. More about website examples shortly.

2. Product availability impacts what we can produce and dictates the price. A bouquet that had a $65 price tag this week is unlikely to be the same price at another time of year, even if all of the flowers used are available.

Like all industries that utilise agricultural product we are at the mercy of the weather, and that impacts price and availability.

Seasonal availability effects some flowers, but not all in this day and age. We are able to import flowers year-round, which can give us access to blooms that are currently out of season in our part of the world, but this comes at a greater monetary cost.

For florists in regional areas "going to the flower market" is impossible, so we're ordering often sight unseen and having flowers and foliage freighted to us. At times what we're hoping will arrive is slightly different from what's actually packed into the box, whether it's colour, bloom size, or in some cases how well the product has survived the transit. Florists if nothing else are creative, and we can usually think of a solution, but it does make it impossible to replicate a website example, or even a design from last week if we simply don't have the exact same product (regardless of price).

It's for this exact reason that when you order online from the shop's website you aren't given a range of pictures to choose from. I understand that people like to see what they're getting for their money, so what follows might help.

3. Flowers and foliage are priced by the stem, but there's a bit more to it that taking one out of this bucket, two out of that bucket and one out of that one etc. to add up to the customer's price point.

Creating a product that is visually appealing utilises the elements and principles of design, and when selecting floral materials, a trained florist follows these guidelines. Usually, we use at least two or three of the same flower in a design, rather than one of these and one of those etc. I will say that some florists do, and do this well, however they use another of the elements of design to create unity, rhythm and harmony throughout the design, even though the form and shape of each flower might be different. For example, they choose blooms of exactly the same colour. This is not always possible in day-to-day floristry when we're working with whatever the wholesaler has sent us.

I wouldn't put one fire engine red sim carnation with a peach gerbera and a yellow rose because they wouldn't look as though they were part of the same design. Creating a design based on stem count and type of flower won't generate eye appeal. There's a lot more to floral design than that.

4. "If it grows together, it goes together."

What does that mean? Well, flowers that grow in the same conditions look as though they belong together and combining them in a design makes sense to the eye. Not only that, flowers that grow in the same conditions require similar treatment for longevity.

Some flowers have soft stems, some hard. Some require small amounts of water, and others are heavy drinkers.

A trained florist will know what works together in a design. You can trust them.

5. Even though it's a quite minimalist flower "throwing in some Baby's Breath" doesn't just add a subtle enhancement to a design. It brings with it at least an $11 price tag for one spindly stem. Bouquet budget blown!

It can be difficult to tell the value of floral material by their appearance alone. Gypsophila is not as cheap as it appears that it should be. If you really want Baby's Breath have at it, but maybe don't combine it with imported Columbian roses and expect to pay under $50 for a visually impactful arrangement.

As a guide here's a few flowers that we regularly have in the fridge (mostly) year-round with a rough estimate of what they're worth per stem (on average). (This is for the shop where I work. I can't say how much this would vary in other locations, or with other suppliers.)

Roses - these vary A LOT, but expect to pay $7-9 per stem, and at least $15 for larger headed imported roses. If you work on $10 per stem that should give you a better estimate year-round.

Gerberas - around $6 per stem

Oriental Lilies - $12 per stem

Carnations - Sims around $5 per stem   Sprays around $3 per stem

Banksias - around $20 per stem

Proteas - around $11 per stem

Leucadendrons - around $4 per stem

Snapdragons - around $6.50 per stem

Alstromeria - around $4 per stem

Irises - around $4 per stem

Chrysanthemums - around $7 per stem

Disbud Chrysanthemums - around $14 per stem

Sunflowers - around $7 per stem

Fill flowers, such as Emile, Golden Rod, Aster Lutea, Thryptomene, Geraldton Wax, Sweet William - around $4 per stem (sometimes a lot more)

Leather Fern - around $3 per stem

Monsterio Leaves - around $5 each

Gum - around $4 per stem, and these can vary in "fullness" too.

Also, "fill" (as in, greenery and fill flowers) has a price attached to it too. All products included in a design carry a cost. If you want a really "full" bouquet with lots of horticultural material that is factored into what you pay. A half dozen roses is not $60 (based on $10 per stem) because the design includes greenery, fill, paper and ribbon.

6. Choose a florist whose work you like and trust them. Just give them information to work with.

When ordering, if you can tell the florist what the occasion is, a little bit about the recipient and what you'd like the flowers to represent they will be able to put something together for you.

"Just something nice" doesn't really help because as a general rule professional florists aren't creating product that isn't nice.

We can work with variations on these...

"It's her birthday and she loves yellow. We want to show her that we appreciate her."

"Next week is our 20th wedding anniversary. She doesn't really like roses, but I want to send her some flowers that will last so she can appreciate them for a bit longer. She likes bright colours."

"It's Mum's birthday and I want something over the top. It doesn't matter what flowers you use as long as it's impactful and I don't mind spending over $200."

"Something in a cottage garden style in a pastel colour palette in a vase. She has a vintage vibe. I'm happy to spend $100, including delivery."

Many flowers have meanings, and in Victorian times they were used not so much to send messages but to convey intent. Sometimes using the "right" flower for the occasion and sentiment makes the gesture even more special.

Favourite flower, favourite colour, even things that you think have nothing to do with flowers ("she loves cats") can help us to create personally meaningful florals to convey just the feeling and message you would like delivered.

7. Order ahead if possible.

We need time to plan and create the magic.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

(Reminder that Valentine's Day is three weeks away.)

As it’s been over 12 months since the last blog post (OMG – that’s quite a while!) here's a couple of follow-ups in case you were wondering…

P. S. The shower has been replaced. We only waited SEVEN months. The bath tub is now used solely as a laundry hamper and a receptacle for watering the indoor plants because I no longer find baths relaxing or indulgent.

P. P. S. I managed the 52 weeks of 52Frames and became a “Weekly Warrior”, then immediately stopped. My submissions are still on the Two Togs facebook page if you’re interested. It was worthwhile doing, as I achieved what I set out to do, and now I’m working on an actual photography qualification to learn even more.  So much for being done with study!

It’s been quite a party, ain’t it

Purple Fairy

Not only did I learn that I could possibly fix a leaking toilet this week I also discovered that enforced silence is excruciating.  I invigilated a senior exam at one of the schools this week, and was not prepared for the agony.  I'm perfectly fine with silence when it's of my own choosing, but it was agony having to be basically a fly on the wall and not say A SINGLE THING about ANYTHING for a few hours, just watch people writing and watch people watching people writing. (Invigilating isn't supervising, it's reporting on how things are conducted and supervised, so basically a silent dobber.  To clarify, there was nothing negative to report at all, so not technically dobbing).  It took me a few days to recover.  I talked to EVERYONE to restore balance.  If there was ever any doubt that I'm an extrovert we can confidently substantiate that this is indeed the correct classification of my personality.  My introvert friends all laughed at my pain.  

Week 38 was one of the weeks that I tried something new.    The topic was One Light Source, and I even managed the Extra Challenge of "Use a Cookie", and that's not the delicious baked good, it's a device for casting shadows.  It would have been much easier with a model (and no doubt, more in focus), but that cable release is paying for itself.  An open lace parasol propped against the wall, resting on a pot plant, a torch Blu-taked to the door jam, and all the hallway doors closed created this lighting effect.
I tried it in Black and White, but felt that the colour version has a more appealing mood/story.  I think I'll be trying this again some time.

Such a broad topic for Week 40 "Rule of Odds"! Pressed for time (as usual) I looked around the house for inspiration.  I have a lot of old stuff, & things that look like they could be old (like this basin & ewer my brother bought me because he knew how much I loved the one at our great grandparents' house).
I actually shot this in sepia in-camera (because I have yucky pink blinds & I haven't played with those in-camera settings in a very long time), but on import to Lightroom all the colours came back.  I tweaked the sliders a bit to help the blue glass bottle and Billy Buttons pop.
I wish I had more time and more opportunity to do something really fantastic with this theme, but it had been hella crazy around here (and I'm actually stunned that I managed to hang in there for 40 weeks! Go me!)  

Immediately when I saw the topic for Week 41 "Shoot through something" I knew it was the perfect time to play with shaped bokeh.  I love stars, but when I thought about foreground interest I decided to use my guitar, and change the star to a music note.  I hung a string of fairy lights in a bunch in the corner of the room, then cut a music note shape out of black card and secured it around the lens with a heap of rubber bands.  Focusing was a challenge because of the card and rubber bands (and the low light) but I got it done (kind of).  

Purple Fairy 

Silverado

Last week's 52 Frames topic was "Golden Hour", and I didn't make it to the dam for a sunset portrait session.  There was an impressive mackerel sky one afternoon, so I looked around my street for something interesting to put in front of it, but couldn't manage that.  I did notice the Jacaranda across the road had a different glow in the afternoon light when looked at from below.  

This week is "Portrait of a Stranger", and I'm trying to think of the least weird/creepy way to ask someone if I can take their photo... because photographing a stranger unbeknownst to them, from a distance, paparazzi style is definitely weird/creepy.  I wish it was next week, and then I could have used a photo of a Wildhorse Cutting competitor that I don't know.  As it is I have to think of something for "One Light Source" for next week.  I'm at Week 37 of 52, so I feel like I have to stick with it.  It's certainly forcing me to think outside the box.

Purple Fairy

I had every intention of being punctual with this blog post... and then life happened.  Never mind, I'm here now.

I spent most of the weekend photographing Working Dog Trials at Comet, so now I have another 2500 photos to sort, edit and upload.  I feel like I may never catch up.  (I'm exaggerating of course.  I will catch up.  Have no fear.  Your photos will be available on the website as soon as I can manage it.)

It's Formal Week in Blackwater, so we've been up to our eyeballs in corsages.  I can't wait to share some photos after the big night.  Here's a little something from last week, inspired by Game of Thrones.  If you squint you can see the Iron Throne (kind of).  Can you guess that I started watching House of the Dragon?

flower

noun

the specialized part of an angiospermous plant that occurs singly or in clusters, possesses whorls of often colourful petals or sepals, and bears the reproductive structures (such as stamens or pistils) involved in the development of seeds and fruit.

I had never really thought of ‘flower’ as a verb, other than in the context of a plant producing blooms, but I’m adopting it in the same way I use ‘photograph’.  It’s what I do for a job.

flower

verb

to produce flowers; blossom

to become more successful and completely developed; flourish

to provide or create floral decorations for; to decorate with flowers

I have flowered.  I am flowering.  I will flower.

So much better than 'floraling' or 'floristing', and 'floral designing' really doesn't seem on-brand for me.  Also, I do feel as though I'm flourishing, so it has a blooming lovely double meaning!

It has been such a great few weeks in the shop in Blackwater.  I just love going to work in the morning, opening the shop, renewing the floor stock, and taking and filling orders.  Last week I filled an order for an arrangement that had to be:

Tall

Yellow

Impressive enough to make her (the recipient) say, “Holy sh*t!”

This one stands over a metre tall (1.3 to be exact, and I am now officially limited to 1.25 because it was only special Tetris ninja skills that allowed it to be put into the car for delivery.  Oops!  I can imagine the colourful utterances that were coming from the two who loaded and delivered it).  I was up and down on the step ladder putting it together because that's an awkward height on the workbench.

I should have taken a video to get up closer to all the textures that were contrasting, yet united throughout the design...
Woody - pot, bamboo, Stirlingia
Fluffy - macrame cotton and the off-white Banksia
Bumpy - yellow Banksia and grosgrain ribbon
Smooth - Leucadenron and Geraldton Wax buds
Fuzzy - Kangaroo Paw, Acacia and Stirlingia

I sent photos to the customer when I had finished and he was really happy.  He even came into the store the next day to thank me again, in person.  That was so cool!  It made my day.  I loved creating it, and then I was humbled by having my work appreciated.  All the feels!  

I love that we can produce things that help augment an occasion.  We can provide that little bit of extra something to make it spectacular.  Flowers are for every occasion and in support of every emotion in all aspects of life.  They can represent a moment in time, a feeling, or an occasion.  Flowers are also a medium for creative expression, and sharing this beauty with others in personally meaningful ways nourishes my soul.  I truly love what I do.

The extra special part is creating personally meaningful floral designs.  Little details make the designs unique and help them fit to ocasion appropirately.  A couple of months ago flowers were ordered for a birthday, and because it was so far ahead of time and I was told a little bit about the recipient I was able to look around for what I needed to make it fit the occasion a little more than a shop floor stock product might.  I hope they were happy with what I created.  I was happy that I could use that little bit of extra detail that made it more personal.  I think that's what it's all about as a professional florist.  

Purple Fairy Flowers - professional bespoke florals that tell your story in creative ways.

(When you give me time to create the magic... and order direct from the shop, not online through an order gatherer that takes almost half of the flower value in fees.  End of today’s lecture.)

If you’re in Blackwater come and see me.  I will flower for you.

Last week’s 52Frames topic was ‘Peace”, and even though I’m having such a joyous time ‘flowering’ and all, I couldn’t muster enough peace to come up with a photo subject that represented it in the flower child, free love sense of the word, or even in the War and Peace context, or the zen mindset.  I went a different way.

“ Give peas a chance... please ”

I didn’t have much inspiration, but I did, however, have peas... and a pun… and a memory of a son who didn’t particularly enjoy eating peas.  I also had a dog who would lick all the gravy off the peas and leave them in her bowl.  They are the ruination of a perfectly good meat pie, so I guess I understand.

This week is “Edited by Someone Else”, and my mate Jacqui from Imagery Magic is going to do the honours for me.  I’m a bit excited about what we can create together.  (Mostly it will be her… I’m mainly the instigator, and will then bow out when it’s time to do the work.)  I just hope the weather clears so it’s bright enough for me to play around tomorrow after I have ‘flowered’.

It’s been quite a party, ain’t it

Purple Fairy

There's a new reality show on Paramount +, and my brother is on it!  It's called "The Bridge".

Everybody: Stunned silence

Most people that you talk to will tell you that Mount Isa Rodeo lost some of its atmosphere and traditional vibe when it moved from Kalkadoon Park into town to Buchanan Park.  It was an opportunity to kind of rebrand and claim its rightful place as an iconic tourism event and cater not only for rodeo competitions and rural people, but also to showcase the region and attract spectators and festival goers from far reaching areas.  I don't remember ever going to the Rodeo at Kalkadoon Park, although I visited the venue many times, as the Mount Isa Gun Club was also there.  Personally, I love the Buchanan Park venue.  At certain times of day the light is sensational and produces epic photos, and the raised stands means that everyone can see the action clearly.  The only thing I don't like is that it's difficult to race around the arena to change positions between events as the programme rolls through so quickly and it's such a large area to cover.

You're too young to smoke!

(This windscreen WAS clean - I swear!)

This year the programme ran for over 12 hours on the second and third day, and 8 hours on the first and fourth day.  I've seen more sunrises in the last week than I have for the previous 12 months. So much of what makes what I do what it is depends on timing.  Not only timing the photo, but putting the photo out there.  It would be much easier for me to take all the photos, then sort and edit them at my leisure after the event.  If I did that there might not end up being much point in this instant, digital age, where we want the information in real time.  Therefore, during an event there's not a lot of opportunity for long, rejuvenating sleeps.  I think I may be tired for a month after this.

What a weekend we've had!  I'm a tad late with this blog post because I spent the weekend buzzing around like a blue arsed fly... or like a one-armed fan dancer.  (I know a bloke with one arm, and to my knowledge he's not a dancer, although if he could be persuaded it would certainly be worth a look, with, or without a fan.)

Nebo Cutting Show ran 10 herds on Friday, 9 (and the Bareback Cutting) on Saturday and 8 on Sunday, and while they were smaller herds they were enough to keep me moving to (try to) stay on top of things.  Nominations were slightly down, but it was a fantastic weekend, and so good to be back on the sand.  Technically, I wasn't on the sand... I was on the concrete.  (I really like how the pen is set up at Nebo, with the fence right at the edge of the concrete steps, with the judges sitting on the outside.  It means that I don't have to watch multiple directions and be prepared to take evasive action should a frantic beast decide to run me over.  I've had a few near misses with cattle making for the gaps, including one that came underneath the judges' stand with me at Comet, having been undeterred by the potted palms that were also "out of the way" under there.  It's lucky that all the Skeet shooting has honed my reaction time.)

I got back to Emerald on Sunday night, tried to catch up on sleep, then had 2 days work at the florist in Blackwater around trying to sort out my photos and get all packed up and ready to head to Mount Isa.  I feel like this week is a bit of a whirlwind and I have so much to do that it’s exhausting just thinking about it.  On the plus side, they say that if you do something you love you never work a day in your life.  Well, obviously I'm really not working this fortnight at all… except for the driving.  Not loving the driving.  If I had a driver I could sort photos and edit on the passenger side while the driving was happening.  I don’t, so I had best just concentrate on the road and arrive safely.

I have recently downloaded an app onto my phone to record my voice notes as text, which I'm hoping will save some time and I can just do a bit of a brain dump and the app can do the typing.  I also have articles to write from this fortnight as well, and need to find the inspiration to write two different articles about the same thing.

I was a bit worried this morning that I wasn't going to get this blog post up before the next one was due but then I remembered that this is my own show.  I make my own rules, and no one's marking me on this or taking points off for being late or whatever.  I have to say that the talk-to-text app is fairly accurate, and seems to understand what I’m saying.  If I could only get it to upload directly to my website that would save even more time!  On second thought, I just read through what it recorded, and it’s probably best that it doesn’t!

Part of my preparation to leave was to drop Bo at the kennel. He was super excited to get in the car.  He rides with his face out the side looking forward.  I wonder if he thought we were going to Normanton?  He likes it there.  He was beside himself when we got to the kennel!  While he was excited to get to where the other dogs were he wasn’t stoked about me going in the other direction.  I resisted the urge to wave to him.  I did that when I left him at the Vet to have his tooth pulled out.  I couldn’t believe that I did it! 

Something else I couldn't believe I did was remember that my windscreen needed cleaning BEFORE I got in the ute and started driving away!  I even used glass cleaner - you could almost put your hand through it.  So impressed with myself.  I usually realise as I'm heading down the road, try and wipe the inside with my sleeve and content myself with whatever is in the washer bottle until I stop for fuel.  This time I even topped up the washer bottle and added Bars Bugs.  I'm still trying to work out what I forgot that allowed me to remember this...  

Another job was watering the garden.  I don’t think it will come to much harm while I’m away, but I will be disappointed to miss the first home grown Stock flower that’s beginning to bud. 

The surviving Geraldton Wax is beginning a stunning display (I hope I don’t miss it completely), but the Ozothamnus diosmifolius is pretending it’s just rice, and not flower, and showing no sign of ever doing so.  Each time I walk around with the hose I promise myself that I will make time to spend in the garden – it desperately needs a tidy!  The cherry tomatoes have engineered a coup and now control three sections of the yard… where I didn’t plant them.  Similar story with the rosellas that I didn’t get to do anything with before they were overrun by aphids.  I have proven under assessment conditions that I am capable of planning a garden, but in practice I seem unable to do so.  When the tomato seedlings appeared I couldn’t bear to pull them out.  I suspect that had I grown something intentionally it would require more care than I currently am lavishing on my garden.  Gardener guilt is real!

Week 30 of 52Frames was “Single Focal Point”, and I brought some poppies home from the shop and had a play.  I love the dynamic line of their stems, the fuzzy outer pod and the way they "pop" open and display papery textured crinkly petals.  So much whimsy!  This vibrant orange tone is quite eye catching against the black, so I feel it fits the topic well.

I raced around madly one afternoon to get something for Week 31, which was “Choose a Colour” before we headed to Nebo, and this week’s topic is “Night Photography”, so Thursday evening’s Indigenous Rodeo Championships will provide me with lots of opportunities to get the shot before I get run off my feet during the main event.

For the next few days I’ll be operating on coffee and sarcasm, but with a smile on my face.  After all, I’m heading North West, which you will remember is my favourite direction.

It's been quite a party, ain't it

Purple Fairy 

Well, here we are, one sleep away from August!  How did that happen?  The year is flying by, and for me, about to get really busy on the photography front.

My first Isa Rodeo was in 2013 when I was selected to assist the then Official Photographer Ben MacRae. That was where I met Stephen Mowbray, who lent me a much better camera to try, and subsequently cost me a LOT of money in acquiring the kit that I now shoot with.  This image though, was taken with my 550D and 70-200mm f2.8 lens (I couldn't get back any further that this), at my first Isa Rodeo and it demonstrates how timing, position, and not a small amount of luck work together to freeze a moment in time.  

On another note, it's been a month of two minute noodle dreads, and I'm getting used to the daily taming of the frizz.  I happily had the opportunity to wear a hair pin (for want of a better term for this item) that I bought it at Mindil Beach Markets in Darwin.  It's crocodile skin, and previous attempts to wear it haven't worked.  It stayed in place in my now curly hair, but I underestimated the length of that wooden pin.  It's difficult to tell from the photo, but it's 24 centimetres long.  I kept getting caught in the foliage on the top shelf of the cold room, and I even had trouble getting into the car!  Ever seen a deer with antlers getting through a fence?  It was nowhere near as graceful as that!

If you need me I'll be parked in front of a poppy in a vase, waiting for it to open.

So, I decided to move some furniture around.  I like to make a change every now and then.  Inspiration will strike, and I'll feel compelled to follow it with all the mania of a pianist's fingers taking on Liszt's "La campanella" (Google it - it's impressive).  The result was that I have marginally more space in the studio in which to work, but I will need to recalibrate my spatial awareness when walking around the end of the kitchen bench.  If only I could just push a couple of walls a bit further out.  

I toyed with the idea of opening back up because I miss my kids, and there's something special about the kind of relationships you build in family day care.  But, at the end of the day I was pleased to have my house back and fill it with floristry equipment in place of toys.  Cody was pleased not to have to share space as well, so that's that.  Seven years, 60 children and a lot of fond memories.  I was gifted a gorgeous book when I closed, made of reminiscences of my wonderful families and it makes me teary when I look through it.  It's one of the most special things I own.  I had a moment recently when I needed some reminding, so it was my go-to.  I cannot declutter that.  Any books it seems.  Marie Kondo made a pretty big call saying you should ideally keep fewer than 30 books.  I have more than 30 books' worth of joy to spark!  Perhaps that's my problem - I'm too joyous to be uncluttered!

Working Mums might know this feeling... when you have a day off during the week and you feel as though you will achieve so much during school hours.  Perception versus reality can be a bit unbalanced on these days.

Thanks to Phil Russell of Townsville Gun Club for the photos from the facebook page.  

Cody's first visit was when he was three months old, and this was his first trip as a shooter.  We haven't gone full circle with the camping though.  That first trip was when Cody first met Uncle Teddy - thanks for the photo Uncle Teddy.  Here's a presentation photo from that same event.  Thanks to Carol Betteridge for that one. 

Luckily I had shot a "back-up" image to submit for this week's 52Frames challenge, so my streak remains in play.  (As does my Wordle streak, which is currently 56, and I hope saying it out loud doesn't jinx it in some Beetlejuice kind of way...)  This week is "A Common Object", which I will give some thought to after a few REM cycles.

Last week was "Negative Space", and I wanted to include something botanical in the subject matter and story.  This little girl has made an appearance in a couple of my floristry projects.  She has so much presence about her, and there's so much story around her.  What I had in my head was a tiny figure walking through a forest of tall trees with negative space above and beside her.
I created something close to that and positioned it in the greenhouse, then lay on the ground to photograph her.  I really need to tidy that greenhouse...  Add it to the list!

I might not have had as a productive a Friday as I had hoped, but we made it to Townsville without incident, had a great weekend (which included Mexican food and Zarraffa''s coffee) and after which made it home safely (several hours later than planned, but home and safe nonetheless).  Someone wasn't as fortunate.

I'm not sure how the last 2 weeks went by so quickly! It was super quiet at home, and it seems that my boy had an absolute blast in Normanton over the school holidays.  I'm about to meet Mum part-way there to pick him up, so that means a bit of time in the car this weekend.

1.  Biscuits - Kasey Musgraves

2.  Way Too Pretty for Prison - Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris

3.  You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive - Brad Paisley

4.  A Thing For You - Easton Corbin

5.  Out In The Parking Lot - Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson

6.  Takin' Pills - Pistol Annies

7.  Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton

8.  Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss

9.  Pretty Bitchin'- Miranda Lambert

10.  Have You Ever Seen the Rain? - John Fogarty

I have thought about what it would be like to have a soundtrack to your day, like in the movies.  A song to accompany your walk down the street, tempo dependant on the mood of the walk, location, and purpose.  A song to add interest to the monotony of boring every day tasks like grocery shopping.  A song to build to crescendo and enliven and amplify an experience, or give you a few moments of wallowing in despair and sadness before the melodic strains of something hopeful and rejuvenating brought you back to being in the present.  In that former life many moons ago when I entertained the notion of creating for the screen I was excited about producing a story, and not just telling it verbally, but also with accents to enhance it aurally.

I've always been in awe of songwriters.  I can tell you a story, or explain something, using verbose prose that might even inspire a mental picture, but songwriters do it in time to music and with the limitation and challenge of the number of syllables, and usually some kind of rhyming.  Genius!  

I wish I was musical.  I attempted to learn guitar, but apparently it is near impossible for each of my hands to do something different simultaneously, especially without looking at them! Car Karaoke will have to do.  I sang actual karaoke in a pub with a friend last week, and while it was lots of fun I have to wonder if my voice really does sound like that.  Apologies to the people in the pub.  Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to get up there on my own, without my security blanket (thanks for that Chloe!), but until then I shall practice in the car.

Last week's 52Frames theme was Pattern.  Aside from the stripes and spots of zebras and big cats, lines in seashells and leaves are possibly the most commonly first thought of patterns in nature.  Lacking a local zoo with such animals, and having already photographed patterned leaves in previous weeks I hunted through my shell collection for a striking pattern that would convert well to black and white.  Both photographers that I had looked at during the "Inspired by a Photographer" week (Imogen Cunningham and Harold Feinstein) had photographed seashells as well as botanical material, and this black background, black and white image is a mix of both of their styles.

This week is Negative Space.  I created a plantscape for that, and got the photo taken a couple of days ago because I knew I'd be pushed for time this weekend with all the driving (and singing in the car).

Coffee, road snacks and play list ready, and I'm off.  On the road again...

I've been quite homesick this week.  Homesick for Normanton, my family, and (I guess because my son is living them right now) the days of school holidays spent at the service station, and then heading out with Dad after work to do whatever he had planned for us.  My boy is having a wonderful time up there, and by all accounts has been a big help at the service station.  It makes me proud as a parent to know I can send him off into the world and he not only enjoys himself, but acquits himself well as part of that world.

Being home alone this week seemed like the perfect time spend hours at the hairdressers.  I've been wanting to do something different with my hair (I've cut it, grown it, coloured it as much as I can since it's naturally quite dark), so I got it permed.  How I actually feel about this fluctuates.  I love that it's different, and you wouldn't believe it - bobby pins actually STAY on my head now instead of sliding out after five minutes!  I don't love that I can't brush it.  Sometimes it feels like a bird's nest and my two minute noodle dreads were a mistake, but a spray of water and some scrunching seems to tame them (a bit).  If you're ever looking for hand exercises scrunching thick permed hair is a workout.  I can wash it a week after the treatment, so that in itself may be a challenge - I am dreading the knots by then... perhaps that's where the term dreadlocks originated...

Whoa!  2 days ticking over on the clock and 1930km ticking over on the odometer.  How was your weekend?  I drove for just over 20 hours to spend 18 hours in Cloncurry.

"My birthday is coming up, so I'm buying myself a present."

Spending money on ourselves seems to often have a connotation of something frivolous.  Financial situations notwithstanding it is one way of prioritising our own need over something else.  I recently bought myself a new pair of sneakers. I didn't NEED the sneakers.  I liked the sneakers and I wanted the sneakers, and on my current wage and with the great sale price that I happened upon I felt no guilt in buying them, and my son was not negatively impacted financially by my purchase. They made me smile.  I feel good when I wear them.  (They are purple - what's not to love?)  I spent money and time (the process of finding and purchasing was actually enjoyable for me too) doing something just for me, and it was okay.

For someone who is so busy with a range of different things spending time on a hobby is difficult to manage.  I sometimes have trouble making time for feel-good things that aren't working toward a bigger goal.  I'm working on that.    Last week I opened this flower shop model kit (which I bought for myself for Christmas because tiny things are cute, and it's a flower shop - about the size I can handle right now).  I've been steadily working on it a piece of tiny furniture at a time.  I'm resigned to the fact that it's never going to look like the picture on the box, but I'm hoping that the little pieces that I've dropped and been unable to find aren't essential and I don't accidentally glue anything else to the table.  The perfectionist in me doesn't love that the table legs are wonky, but I'm going to hide it inside the shop and no one will ever know.  It may make an appearance in this week's 52Frames entry for "Shoot from Above".  I'm currently undecided on subject matter.

It's turned cold here in Central Queensland.  Time to break out the wool doona and the quilted cover.  What a wonderful purchase that was!  Even without the doona inside its a warm delight, and it's King sized on my Queen bed, so it covers everything beautifully, even when I roll over and take some of it with me.  On the "Am I a Grown Up?" screening tool I think I can confidently tick the "Excited by linen" item.

It's an overcast Saturday morning, and after the longest four-day week ever I feel only motivated enough to crawl back into bed and let Caroline Lee's modulated tones draw me in to 1960s London or park myself on the lounge under a quilt and watch the last episode of season two of The Witcher.  Aside from the first thought that these are both lazy options and I could be doing something more productive (heaven knows, I have a to-do list!) I hesitate because I don't really want to come to the end of either the audiobook or the television series.

Wordle is for first thing in the morning.  I find that focusing on that mental task wakes me up.  As of this morning I have played it for 90 days straight (not first thing in the morning - that developed after I'd been playing a while).  I am yet to guess the word on the first attempt, and have made peace with that since I have a small collection of starting words which are highly unlikely to he the actual Wordle word of the day.  I'm working on a decent streak.  For the first 41 days I solved it.  Since then I have ended my streak three times in 90 days.  Once it completely stumped me, and the other two left me with a gamble as to which letters to play out of two options and I guessed wrong (such is my poor judgement).  My current streak being only 12 I have a lot of work to do to better the first one.  

I looked for botanical photographers and was inspired by the clean, crisp images of Harold Feinstein, and the way he controlled light to show the viewer everyday things from nature in showstopping ways.

I showcased a canna from the garden.  In all honesty this flower is not high on my list of garden favourites (they are only there because they fill a space, grow tall, thrive on neglect, and the leaves can be useful for floral designs), so I generally don't pay much attention to them.  Perhaps I have underestimated them.

This week is "Everything in Focus", and I thought it was about time I did a landscape shot... if I can find an interesting vista.  Failing that I have a back-up flat lay story board idea.

I had nothing specific in mind to write about this week.  For some reason Nan (Mum's grandmother) has been on my mind, so I thought I could introduce you to her.  

Here's a photo of Nan and my Mum at Granny's house.  It's from the early 70's, but Nan really didn't change much.  Check out my Mum!  No wonder she won so many Belle of the Ball sashes!  Insert wolf whistle

As the first great grandchild, and the only one in Normanton for almost 8 years I pretty much had everyone's attention.  Nan used to say that ,"You can't spoil a good kid," but I'm pretty sure they were all pushing the boundaries there.  The sun shone out of me!

Growing up I spent time at my house, my grandparents' house and my great grandparents' house.  Nan and Pop even let me keep the kittens I found in the shed.  We weren't a cat family (I'm definitely not a cat person now) and I have no idea how that got past the Board of Directors, but I wanted the kittens, so they said I could have them at their house.  What I remember most is that they didn't house train well... perhaps that's why I'm not a cat person... 

I had "stuff" in all three locations and a ring around inquiry regarding the menu for the evening meal would often determine where I would dine that night.

I learnt to use the phone pretty early.  In those days we had an Exchange, and black Bakelite phones with heavy handsets and a handle that you wound to call the exchange.  (Granny's phone is in the photo, on the bench just over Nan's right shoulder.)  In a small town when you pick up the phone and say, "I want to talk to Granny," even when you're three, the exchange operator knows exactly who you are and which number to connect you with. Granny's house often offered "Stewed Chicken" or "Chow Mein", but Nan's house had a wider variety that included some form of sweets.  I have lovely memories of cooking with Nan.  Using egg beaters (which, incidentally I have only ever seen at kindergartens since, and they were often used to fluff up Lux Flakes slime, rather than beat eggs) and baking cakes, biscuits and baked custard in her wood stove. Vanilla essence reminds me of those times.  Nan wore aprons.  I remember the ones with hand towels sewn onto the band - great idea that - if there's one thing I need in the kitchen it's a hand towel in easy reach (that doesn't slide off my shoulder).  Nan also wore petticoats.  In Normanton.  In summer.  In a corrugated iron house with a wood stove.  Her body temperature must have been constantly above 37 degrees.

Nan lived with us when I was a kid, after Pop passed away.  I had her attention when I was little, and my brother had it while she was grieving.  She always said that he kept her going.  They had a very special bond.

To half the town she was "Nan" because I think she preferred that to "Mrs Whyte", and to the other half she was "Aunty Lulla" because she was in some way, shape or form related to them.  As a child her sister couldn't say "Eleanor", and it came out as "Lulla", which obviously stuck because that seemed to be her name for many, many years.

I've been missing her this week.  It's been almost 19 years since she passed.  Remembering her mannerisms and traits, amusing sayings and mispronunciations makes me wistful.  

She had been in hospital for three days before the nurses cottoned on to the fact that she couldn't actually see.  It was remarkable how she adapted.  I don't know when her sight eventually failed, but she had worn glasses for all of my life.  Her usual response when asked was, "My eyes are settled.  I had Sandy Blight when I was sixteen," and that was apparently the end of the conversation.

I ended up with her old sewing machine when the arthritis got so bad that she couldn't do much with her hands anymore.  I think of her whenever I sew (which, unfortunately, is not all that often).  I don't think I'll ever associate the scent of wintergreen with anything other than Nan's liniment.  When she lived with Mum's aunt in Mount Isa her constant companion was an old fluffy dog who was similarly afflicted.  I'll never forget the sight of them hobbling down the hallway together, bonded by their arthritis and easily keeping pace with one another.  She would often begin a conversation with me thus, "Eve, ah!, Di, ah!, Cherie..."  (This is particularly amusing to me, since my parents do a similar thing when talking to my son... "Dean, ah!, Cody...")  She used to call my Dad "Way-en" (his name is Wayne) and he always made her laugh.  Nan liked to keep up with the cricket, but was never sure whether it was a one day match, or a test, "Do they play again tomorrow, Way-en?"  All the good mangoes grew on the tree next to the well at her place, and every time it rained she would proclaim that the tanks would all be full now.  She was pleased that I was driving Pop's old Premier ("it's a good, strong, car"), and Dad always took "good, clear photos", although we're not sure how she knew because she wouldn't let on what she could actually see.

Nan didn't often talk about herself, even when prompted, so there's a lot that I don't really know about her life.  That makes me a bit sad, but I'm forever grateful that I knew her and spent the time with her that I did.  She was a truly special lady.

Last week's 52Frames topic was "Abstract", and I photographed an acrylic pour.  That might be why I'm now keen to paint and create this weekend.  I don't really know what I want to do, I just want to paint.  That won't help me with this week's topic though.

This week's theme is "Inspired by a Photographer", and I really wanted to use Allan Arbus as my inspiration.  I didn't know he was a photographer until I started researching - I just knew him as Dr Sidney Freedman from M*A*S*H.  He was mainly a fashion photographer for Vogue, Glamour and Harper's Bazaar.  Lacking the kind of fashion items his models wore, and indeed an actual model, I had to find inspiration elsewhere.  Having no baby to dress in plant material, or as some kind of cute animal I had to discard the Anne Geddes inspiration.  Botanical photography is where it's at for me this week.  The challenge will be getting the light right, and accessing interesting flowers (the ones I want are out of season).  Wish me luck. 

It's been quite a party, ain't it

Purple Fairy 

It's a sad weekend for me this weekend because I really want to be at home.  By home, I mean Normanton, and more specifically the Normanton Gun Club.  It's the Annual Shoot this weekend and while a hectic time for the Reeves clan it's an occasion of good fun, good company, good targets, good food and the source of many good memories.

I digress.  It's been raining in Emerald, and I was unable to stop myself from using the opportunity to remove a few weeds from the yard.  Back to the shoot.

It's been a couple of years since I've been home for it.  I should make an effort next year.  My job for the weekend is usually taking out the scoresheets to the layouts (whilst driving Nanna's golf buggy "too fast"), making sure the scoresheets come back to the office, keeping a running sheet for shoot-offs and attempting to keep Nanna calm(ish).  We have a great team of people who all pull together to keep things rolling along.  I especially love how they do what they say they'll do, do it well and in a timely manner.  Thank you to each and every one of them.

The club is almost 40 years old, so we might be looking at another milestone event in the near future.  I have vague recollections of shooters in the middle of the racecourse when I was a kid, and then the day that the current clubhouse was relocated from the old Hospital to its current location.  (It might be the old photos that jog that particular memory.)  I was there for a lot for Dad's bricklaying, some concrete pouring, general construction, and installation of traps.  My first job was as a "Trapper" who loaded the trap machine by hand.  I spent pretty much all day in a Besser block box with one electric fan on the machine and one on me.  It would have been a bit toasty in there without them, and it was definitely cosy surrounded by cartons of clay targets.  Having a walkman was essential to pass the time, so naturally there were trap house karaoke sessions (luckily the shooters all wore earmuffs or plugs.)  I began shooting around the time that the first trap machines with hoppers were bought, which meant that they could be filled with clays between rounds and no one would have to stay in there are load them one by one.  How lucky was that?

I learned to drive at the Gun Club. At one stage there was no water being piped there, so Dad used to fill a huge tank on the back of the old Dodge and use it to fill the water tank.  I clearly remember driving that truck down the hill, sitting right at the front of the seat, with legs stretched out as far as they could go to get to the pedals, looking through the steering wheel, with the driver's door open so that Dad could stand on the running board.  

Carting water was a recurring theme out there.  Dad used to load a trailer with 20 litre drums, which he filled with water, and then drive around all the trees that he had planted and give them a drink.  I may have jackknifed that trailer a time or two doing laps in Dad's ute (when I forgot that I was towing it).  I had a flashback of such a time earlier this year when I hired a cold room for my flowers. Let's just say that I prefer not to tow anything, and reversing sends me into a cold sweat.

You will notice that Layouts 3 (left) and 4 (right) have signs.  Layout 5 also has a name, but I don't have a photo of that sign.  There's a bit of a yarn as to how and why these came about.

Before construction of the third layout could start there needed to be some earthworks.  The levelling of a slight mound to be exact.  A knoll, if you will.  It had grass on it.  Dad, being the history buff that he is, and someone who appreciates a good turn of phrase began referring to it as "The Grassy Knoll".  I mean, why wouldn't you call it that, instead of "that bit of a hill"?  Following on with the JFK theme you would naturally expect Layout 4 to be called "The Book Depository", which it is.  When Layout 5 was in the planning stage there was some discussion as to what to call it to be in keeping with the other two.  It is called "The Basement".  Fittingly, it is down the slope from the other layouts.  That's not the reason for the name, however.  Lee Harvey Oswald (the man who was to stand trial for the assassination of President John F Kennedy from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository) was himself assassinated en route to the county jail by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas Municipal Building.  So ends this history lesson.  

This year is the first year that Normanton is awarding the Jim Edmonds Medal in honour of a wonderful man who gave a lot to the sport of clay target shooting in North West Queensland.  The inaugural Medals were presented at the Cloncurry Annual Shoot last year, as the two clubs have teamed up to create this additional award for their main events of the year.  My fingers are crossed that a Reeves gets to take one home this weekend.  Good luck Granddad, Nanna and Uncle Teddy!

I shall sit at home and sulk, catch up on how everyone is shooting on the My Club My Scores app, and hope that things are running smoothly up there.

Last week's 52Frames theme was "Architecture", and lacking any interesting buildings that I could think of in the area, or indeed, inspiration for interesting angles to shoot a 'normal' building from I opted to create my subject matter.  Some time with the Lego box resulted in these little hootchies.  This weekend I'm shooting something "Abstract", so I'm planning on creating that subject matter as well.  It's going to be something soothing to spend my time on.

A few days of glorious rain in the Central Highlands has necessitated the postponement of the Comet Agricultural Show, so I unexpectedly have the weekend off.  I'm torn.  The rain is so welcome.  I'm disappointed not to be spending a busy and enjoyable weekend covering a great event.  I'm relieved that I don't have to do that in drizzle and slopping around in the mud.  I hope there's an opportunity to reschedule so we don't miss out.

This week is a different story.  Architecture.  With the rain around I didn't like my chances of getting out and about to find interesting subject matter.  Luckily I insisted that Cody not sell his Lego, so I'm going that way instead.  I think it's going to be a good way to while away some of the weekend.