Neve's bottled mud pie


Dry July

It's interesting for me to look over previous years on here and see annual trends.

For example, July seems to be traditionally the time of year where I have little to add.

I look over the months and see it's the month where there are consistently less posts.

This drying-up of content suggests I should develop a theme to focus my efforts.

Maybe something like the "May I share" posts during May or the "March into the archives" that I've done during previous Marches.

One idea off the top of my head is to reflect on things that I'm grateful for in my life.

Many people tell me they gain benefit from expressing gratitude and I'm sure I'd be surprised at some of the results.

Looping around town

This week the collaboration with Naviar Records begins with a poem by Greg Pritchard.

I've recorded my audible response to Greg's haiku and look forward to hearing how others interpret his words.

The results will be part of an exhibition planned for the Narrandera Arts and Community Centre in late October.



Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.

Nice owl

My friend Rebecca Tapscott is an artist who's difficult to pigeonhole.

In recent years she's branched out from painting into ceramics and print.

I observed some of the results and wrote about them here after attending the Feather and Leaf exhibition at The Roxy Gallery in Kyogle.

Today I saw this owl on the Rebecca Tapscott Facebook page and am really taken with it. She wrote:
Owl watercolour over Bogon moth and cockroach cyanotype. 18.5 x 12.5 cm. $40

Useless superpowers

My kids play this game called Useless Superpowers, where they invent unlikely comic book heroes.

Recently they were playing the game while we were driving home from Queensland and it was pleasant to hear the excited chatter from the backseat.

Yesterday Neve drew this picture that I think represents a kind of useless superpower.

Flying a drone for the army

Noticed a scrap of paper on my daughter's floor and found this snippet of a short story:
I was picked out of 34 people to fly on a giant drone for the army. It had a really comfy chair and a seat belt. It was two metres in width and two metres in length. I had been equipped with a big purple parachute so they could see me coming down. They had given me a really small backpack with a full packet of M&Ms, gobstoppers, Oreos, a Snickers bar, a Mars bar for...

The Breville Dead

As a fan of remarkable sandwiches, this horror movie cover reworked by Ya What is more appealing to me than a ham and cheese combo.

Big guitar

For a while I've been meaning to try Narrandera's guitar, which is reputedly the largest playable instrument of its kind in the world.

I'd heard it's out of tune, so I wasn't in a rush but a haiku needed a photo of it this weekend.

When I walked into the Visitor Information Centre there was a family taking photos with the guitar.

While I waited, Sally at the counter engaged me in conversation and we discussed how the instrument was approaching its 30th birthday.

When there was opportunity, I stepped onto the step that allows access to the neck and plucked at the strings.

Some of the notes were so low as to be almost inaudible but I was interested in how the different gauges of rope imitated the look of the wound strings on an acoustic, while the higher strings seemed to be varying gauges of nylon -- much like the instrument at a regular size.

Then I put my head toward the soundhole and plucked the lowest string and was awed by the deep rumble that resonated in the body of the instrument.

It was like a passing truck and, given the number of trucks that pass, I'm not entirely sure it wasn't.

As I continued talking with VIC staff about my interest in recording the guitar, they asked if I'd like to tune the instrument.

Discussion is required with Council's staff who oversee management of the Centre, but I'm hoping to return soon and get samples of this unique instrument.

Say haiku Narrandera

Neve Amethyst?

Another of my daughter's sketches and the prominence of the colour purple makes me wonder if that word is meant to be amethyst.

The items on the right look like ears, tail and some kind of weapon. I'm going to have to ask if this is a paper cut-out doll to be assembled and where the inspiration came from.