

Random thoughts on an ordinary day
“Whatever — the soup is getting cold." [Last sentence of a mathematical theorem in Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, 1518]” Leonardo da...
Aug 26, 2022


So much to see, do, experience ... always
“It's never too late to have a happy childhood.” Tom Robbins Yes it's another painting from my desk diary. It's called...
Aug 23, 2022


Another Parisian address
A while ago now I did a post on an address in Paris that featured on a notebook of mine. It was just plucked out of the air almost, but...
Aug 15, 2022


Crumbs
"something you wish to share with your online friends." Urban Dictionary "a small fragment" Merriam-Webster Actually I think that first...
Jul 30, 2022


When the background is the foreground
This is today's Impressionist desk diary picture from the Met. It is by Edouard Vuillard and is called MIsia at the piano. It was...
Jun 13, 2022


A moment in time - on beauty
"Beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or an arrangement of features. It is something felt, a glow or a...
Jun 7, 2022


Art in the kitchen
"The thought came to me of a kettle that told you stories while you made your tea in the morning." Alison Page The AFR's weekend luxury...
May 31, 2022


An afternoon with Van Gogh
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Vincent van Gogh Yesterday, my niece and I, accompanied by her...
Mar 31, 2022


Strawberries - Manet, Renoir, Jane Grigson and Snow White
"When Chardin lived, wild strawberries were the only ones. His contemporary, Diderot, described them as being like 'the tip of a...
Jan 12, 2022


Two for the op shop?
“Today, if we cook, we Google it. New cookbooks lie on the coffee table and we drool over Tuscan landscapes and rustic bread ovens....
Jan 5, 2022


A table, a drink, an artist of silence
"a dreamy ambience of silence and stillness." Christies I am not an artist, or even very well versed in art criticism, but I do enjoy...
Nov 17, 2021


What happened to afternoon tea?
"The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be...
Oct 13, 2021


Cubist bananas
This is definitely a quickie because what on earth am I going to say about this? It's called Cubist still life and it's by an artist...
Sep 7, 2021


Time for this and that
"Some bits and pieces from here and there." Chia jam Strawberries are amazingly cheap at the moment - $1.00 a punnet and so I am going to...
Aug 21, 2021


A dream tea on the terrace
"Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life."...
Aug 18, 2021


Fairy floss
"The fluffy carnival treat is like nothing else edible. What else feels lighter than air in your hand and seems to evaporate once it gets...
Apr 22, 2021


The shock of the new
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Seneca Back to my arty desk calendar. Yesterday it was the Mona Lisa - the...
Apr 6, 2021


Basically French
There are two inspirations for today's blog - a first recipe and this photograph. The photograph comes from my daily art desk calendar. ...
Mar 31, 2021


Chop suey and Immigrant food
This is the inspiration for today's post. It's a painting called Chop Suey by the American artist Edward Hopper, recently sold for...
Jan 6, 2021


Hemp is not marijuana and you can do almost anything with it
"Hemp will be the future of all mankind, or there won't be a future." Jack Herer On the first page of Aldi's new catalogue there is this...
Oct 8, 2020

