2013 a beginning has been made

When we first decided to blog it was a decision made because I have always been a journal, diary, commentary writer and I thought living and working in Bhutan would be a journey worth recording. I don’t think I was wrong.

When we left Bhutan, I again decided that this was not a travel journal and that I would stop blogging for the time we spent travelling and at home in Australia. I didn’t know then that it would be a hard habit to break. I missed the discipline of writing, the time for reflection and the commitment to making a conscious effort to understand and appreciate our lives and the way we choose to live them.

After more than a 2-month break I have decided to pick up the thread again. In just 9 days we will take off from Adelaide to begin a new adventure in Tanzania. In the time that has elapsed since leaving Bhutan we have been on an amazing journey. At first when we left the Kingdom I felt that the challenge of Africa would be too great but slowly as we have allowed ourselves time to relax and unwind we have developed a real enthusiasm for and a desire to understand the new culture we are about to embrace.

Recently I began the “Photo a day challenge” as I thought it would allow me to continue to develop my interest in photography and build my skills, whilst simultaneously recording this transition from one world to another. The concept can be best understood by visiting this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/FMSphotoaday/
I only discovered it in February so I began on Feb1st.

In fact I have so thoroughly enjoyed the challenge that I intend to post the monthly outcome in the blog this year.

So with out further ado: this is the February set of photos and the prompts that inspired them.  

oNe  PhOtO  a  DaY  fOr  FeB

The propmts for each day published at the beginning of the month

1 FORK : intertwining tines

2 PATTERN : lights on the ceiling Khun Churn Restaurant Bangkok.

3 SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH ‘E’ : the envelopes waiting for us when we returned home to Australia after over 2 year’s absence.

4 HOPE : How often we hoped that we would see all these boxes again when we packed and posted them from Bhutan.

5 SOMETHING YOU SMELLED : beautiful baby Maxx first seen and smelled on Feb 5th 2013.

6 SOFT : the hand woven carpet from Bhutan.

7 YOUR NAME : spelt with my jewelry

8 SOMETHING ORANGE : Tom’s retro Kombie

9 GULITY PLEASURE: the “piece de resistance” of high tea at the Apothecary

10 3 O’CLOCK : in the first quarter of the third hour in some of my favourite places

11 ENTRANCE : at the locked doors of the monastery above Sakteng (not taken on the day)

12 WHERE YOU ATE LUNCH : Thea Vegetarian Tea House

13 WALKING : The view when I was walking this morning.

14 LOVE IS…… Chinese character for love in the sand at the beach at sunset.

15 INSIDE YOUR FRIDGE: All my favourite drinks – Moet because we have cause for celebration having signed the contract on a gorgeous inner city apartment today.

16 PERFECT : Great girls, fabulous food, delicious drinks and so much to talk about – the perfect balmy summer evening.

17 IN YOUR HAND : Truth be told it is certainly not unusual for a glass of wine with ice to be in my hand at least while I am here in Adelaide.

18 SOMETHING YOU DONT LIKE : the endless packing, unpacking, repacking and storing of personal possessions when we are between jobs, and between countries of residence but home! Though I do love living and working abroad!

19 I AM …. The proud owner of a brand new camera bought today

20 WHERE YOU STOOD :  on the balcony of the brand new apartment we paid the deposit for today.

21 FULL – a window full of food in a lane way in Melbourne.

22 MAKES YOU SMILE -  Seeing my darling husband always doing odd jobs and repairs when we visit old friends’ houses, always makes me smile.

23 A WORD – spelt with some of the ingredients of our dinner tonight.

24 CLOUD – cover, wing and land below from the Qantas flight to Sydney I took today.

25 ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE – in our hotel room in Sydney this morning

26 QUIET: - a rare moment in an atmosphere of a quiet in a busy day exploring Sydney’s sights.

27 PLAYING: with my new lens in the Chinese Gardens today.

28 UPSIDE DOWN: - Earlier today I thought I had missed my opportunity to capture an upside down shot when I saw the plain clothes police tackle, handcuff, and arrest a young man. I was thinking his life had just turned “upside down,” whether or not he is innocent or guilty. Since then I have realized that from working in Bhutan in December, to travelling in the US in January, and reacquainting ourselves with Australia in February, my own life is about to turn “upside down” again when we fly to Tanzania to work in March. It seems fitting to me that the final shot for this month is me and takes a paragraph to explain!