Friday Favourite ~ bubbles & smiles

After a huge Christmas week and thousands of photos to choose from. I have to choose just one. Then this is it.
My beautiful Mum with her pale pink hair smiling at my kids blowing & chasing bubbles around her.

The watermelon truck

Who needs an ice cream truck with its bell signalling all the neighbourhood kids to come and spend their money on a frozen treat.

Here on this generous community of Norfolk Island we have all sorts of special treats for the kids.
One of the best examples was shown at the Boxing day surf competition at Munnas. Local identity 'Bubby' pulled his truck up nearby and assembled his handmade Norfolk Island pine cutting board by slotting it into the back of the truck. He then began to cut up freshly picked watermelon into slices.

All of our fruit is grown locally and seasonally, many haven't tasted watermelon for almost a year so this is a very special treat indeed.

Bubby tells everyone to spread the word around to all the kids to come and get some and bring back the rinds to feed his chooks.

Many happy children grab a slice or two with thanks.

Friday Favourite ~ kung fu fighting

Friday Favourite ~ Blue

Cheeky Blue

wild weeds too

After a post on this blog many years ago (well before Jasper was even thought of) called Wild weeds about the sweet Alyssum that grows wild in the sand dunes behind Emily bay, I had wanted to revisted with the camera to add Jasper to the story.

At a recent surf school held at Emily bay, Jasper had some time to walk around the dunes with me rather than be in the water with his Dad, brother and sister.

We wandered around the Chimney hill/ Salt house end rather than where the sweet Alyssum grows thickest and were treated to a different kind of weedy surprise.

I dont know the proper name for this plant as we have always called it pussy willow since childhood but it is more like a grass than a willow tree variety.

So unless corrected, I will continue to call it Pussy willow grass.

 

I love tickling the childrens faces and toes with these soft balls of fluff.

Weeds or not, they are just so pretty growing on the dunes.

Friday Favourite~ Pier

Here's is my Friday favourite photo to share with you.

 I'd love it if you'd share your Friday Favourite too, just add a link in the 'comments' below.

chalk art

After the surf school, we headed straight back to the village where there was a chalk art competition as part of The Community arts art iina wilaj (art in the park).

All 3 kids got stuck straight into their drawings. I did one too but didn't want to enter the competition.

Teddy won a $10 sweeties voucher but all the kids did an amazing job.

We are looking forward to this new event in the village become a regular event on the social calendar of Norfolk Island.

surf school at Emily bay

 

On the first day of summer, the Norfolk Island Boardriders association decided to hold a junior boardriders surf school expecting around 20 youngsters around 10 years of age to turn up.

What they didn't expect was the 60 plus kids from 5 years old to teens who all came wanting to learn or develop their board skills.

I have never seen Emily bay resembling Cronulla beach in numbers before. What a great turn out of new junior members of the association.

Norfolk Island always has plenty to offer and surfing and water sports are a great activity to be involved with as we are surrounded by water!

 My kids loved it. We hope they can hone their skills this summer so it wont be long before they can go out surfing with their Dad.

Art inna wilaj

My kids setting up their display outside The Olive

I love art and I love creativity.

Art in the park on Norfolk Island is loads of fun. The community arts society of Norfolk Island organise it most years but sometime are left wanting for a new park space.

Brianna and her Butterfly

I suggested bringing it to town to my favourite group of shops called 'the village'.
It is not that the contents of the shops are my favourites but rather the atmosphere and park like grassy verges lend themselves to art.

I tried to start some markets here years ago, but couldn't so now hold the Summer markets on the verandah at SOUL gallery.

I actually wanted Soul to be in the Village next door to the most popular coffee shop called The Olive, but that wasn't meant to be either.

BUT....The Community arts society agreed with me that it WAS a great place to hold art in the park, all the shop keepers agreed also so art in the park became art in the village which in the Norfolk Island language translates to art inna wilaj.



Teddy and Sienna with their 'rumble in the jungle' garden scene with jungle animals.

Rumble in the jungle is hands on, we hope kids who visit the Olive will play with it.

This year approximately 20 entries are scattered up and down the village street.

I must admit that ours are not our most thoughtful or artistic pieces work but since I suggested it, I knew that I had better come up with 'something'.

Sienna and Teddy being Fletcher and Mauatua. Artwork by Lexi.

Ladybug parade

Pencils with a difference

Alison donated some of her handmade tiles which unfortunately got cracked. We will be lucky to take one home at the end.

The Kelly family all contributed to this lurking octopus

Here is the link to my first art in the park on Norfolk Island



and here is the link to Mary's blog post about Art in the Park 2007 and also Art in the Park 2009

Looking back to 2007 I am sad that we lost all those wire creatures as well as the foot and handprints of our 'babies' as I left for a trip to Sydney and forgot to collect them at the end. They got thrown out  :(
oh well, what can you do but create some more!