Easter in New York 2

What a difference a week can make. Lots of sunshine, warmer temperatures and presto! Central Park's crocus are gone, replaced by swathes of daffodils and bluebells.



The magnolias are in full bloom…

Even some of the cherry trees are in blossom.

New Yorkers are out in force, enjoying the optimism of Spring.

I'm finally heading home, all the way to Adelaide to spend precious moments with my family. Wishing everyone a very happy Easter!

Easter in New York

Once again, I'm in New York.  In the city that never sleeps, the seasons influence the pulse and pace of outdoor activity.  The past Winter has been unusually harsh, and today in Central Park even though there was remnant snow on the ground and the tree branches were still naked, the crocus beds were blooming to signal the arrival of Spring and the promise of warm days ahead.

New Yorkers were out in droves, enjoying the sunny day despite a persistent chilling breeze, and taking part in the city's delightful Faberge Easter egg hunt - an exhibition of 260 Easter eggs decorated by famous artists and sprinkled across the city, waiting for children to find them.

New York Winter

While Sydney has been enjoying a balmy, beautiful summer, parts of south eastern Australia have been experiencing extended, intense heat and bush fires that have fought containment. Meanwhile, the USA is having a bitterly cold winter with near record snowfalls.  Packing for the opposite season is always tricky because it's easy to underestimate what's required and sometimes I get it wrong.

Fortunately, this time I packed conservatively - two pairs of boots, a puffer jacket, a (fake) fur, lots of scarves, gloves, and plenty of layers to take me from extreme cold outside to central heating inside.  And I've needed every bit of it!

I arrived in New York last Sunday on a freezing cold afternoon of -11C.   It snowed and rained intermittently throughout the week so the view from the hotel window was dull and grey…







... and the walk to work each morning was biting cold and slushy underfoot.

Today, though, the sun broke through, the grey landscape changed to brilliant blue and crisp white, the temperature soared to 8C, and Central Park beckoned.

The view down 59th Street, framed by the window panes of the Lincoln Centre at Columbus Circle, was my favourite of the day.

Christmas, New Year, Home

Last year I made 12 long haul trips overseas.  It was an exhausting, exhilarating year and by the end of it I was in need of some quiet time at home.  

My final trip of 2013 was to New York and Miami.  It seems ages ago, but it's worth having a look at a few images of New York dressed in Christmas glory.

From New York it was on to balmy Miami for an intense week of work, where the only opportunity to take photos was from my hotel room balcony!

From Miami it was back to Sydney for a few days then off to Adelaide for Christmas and New Year with my family.  It was a wonderful holiday, capped off by New Years Eve celebrations with Poppy's family who were staying at Aldinga Beach, just around the corner from our old family beach house on Dover Street.

Happy New Year!

And finally, for five weeks I've been at home in Sydney, enjoying morning walks to Balmoral Beach, days in the garden and evenings at home or out with friends.  Simple pleasures which have replenished me.

Australia Day was a Sunday, so the Nippers were out training at Balmoral Beach in a perfect expression of the joy of living in this wonderful country.

My garden has responded to the extra care by rewarding me with lush green growth and lovely displays of summer flowers.

I've even found time to get an undercoat of paint on my new gate!

Australian Christmas

I'm in Los Angeles on my way to New York for my final trip of 2013.  Before I left Sydney I decorated my house for Christmas.  By the time I get home there will only be a few days to go, so I wanted to make the most of the festive season by decorating early.  We always have a lot of fun decorating the tree.  There's no theme - it gets everything thrown on it in a riot of colour.  Old and new, tasteful and tacky, anything goes.  Dressed by a 12 year old boy, the placement of garlands and decorations is fantastically irregular.  But I love it, especially at night when the lights are on while the rest of the house is dark.

This year I decorated the mantel in the lounge room for the first time.  I used a combination of Christmas branches, silver bells with hessian bows, coloured glass baubles and a linen bird, all from Camargue in Mosman.  There's also a strand of cones from Selfridges in London last Christmas and candle holders from Country Trader in Sydney.  Even though the elements are traditional, the effect has an Australian summer vibe.

I'll be in New York in a few hours, to be greeted by sub-zero temperatures and Christmas in full glory.  I can't wait to see all the decorations in the shops and on the streets. I'll try to find time to get out and capture a few to post.

Jacarandas

The Jacaranda is my favourite flowering tree.  Every year I look forward to November when they flower in abundance all over Sydney's north shore.  They lift my spirits with their extravagant burst of vibrant colour after the paler hues of winter.  Most of all, I love to see them carpet the ground under the tree canopy in spent blossoms, like a reflection in a pond.   

Antique bedroom chair

Early one morning just after moving into my new home I was walking to Balmoral Beach and happened across an antique bedroom chair thrown out for hard rubbish collection. It was in a bad state of repair but had potential, so I swooped it up and took it home with me. For the last two years it sat in my attic, waiting for me to get inspired to resurrect it. The process was quite gradual.  

Not long after rescuing the chair, I was in Freedom Furniture at Balgowlah and found a single curtain in a sale bin.  In coastal colours which match my decor, I decided it would be perfect to re-upholster the seat of the chair.  Some months later I visited Lincraft at Belrose and purchased wadding and filling for the seat.  And later again I bought nail-heads at Ewen's Hardware in Mosman to trim the fabric.  Finally, just two months ago, I found Annie Sloan white chalk paint at Cote Maison in Waterloo.  Finally, I had all the elements I needed to repair the chair.

First, I experimented with the chalk paint, which I haven't used before.  As well as the pure white chalk paint for the chair, I bought pale blue and pale grey paint which I mixed together to paint a pine milking stool Dad had made about 20 years ago.  Two coats later, this is how it came out.

With that behind me, I tackled the chair.  I forgot to take a "before" shot, but this is what it looked like after the first coat of paint.

Today was a slow, rainy Sunday - perfect for an indoor project, so finally I completed it.  Everything about it was a first for me - chalk paint, re-upholstering and doing nailhead trim.  So I'm happy that it's come out exactly as I had pictured it in my mind two years ago when I pulled it out of the rubbish.