oNe PhOtO a DaY fOr JaNuArY

THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH

1.   LUNCH: simple food catching up with mates and watching the much needed rain water the veggie patch from the newly erected deck

2.   BEGINS WITH G: the glorious garden of the house in which we are currently staying

3. MY TOWN: detail of one of the many heritage listed buildings in down town Adelaide South Australia

4.   WORD TO LIVE BY: dream big and commit to ensure that your dreams come true- sculpture in Hurtle Square Adelaide

5. FOUND: lots more street art in Adelaide this trip. This one is on the Scout Shop wall in Rundle Street East. In fact my last two posts are both street art I have now realised

6. HAPPENS EVERYDAY: once upon a time I walked or rode my bicycle through Adelaide’s green belt daily but now I am a tourist in my own hometown and it happens everyday but I rarely get to do it.

7. UPSIDE DOWN: upside down in the land down under- it seems to me that our treatment and policies regarding indigenous peoples have often been upside down!

8. LUCKY NUMBER: Eleven “legs 11” or “the number 11 bus” as the Chinese expression for walking goes. It seems appropriate that while we are visiting our hometown we are doing a lot of walking

9. NATURAL: the natural beauty of native Australian gums. I love them

10. MANMADE: a kangaroo made entirely from bicycle parts as a part of the Tour Downunder art exhibition in Adelaide Airport

11. LOOKING DOWN: along the jetty pylons at Largs Bay, South Australia on a perfect summer day

12. COLOURFUL: Adelaide Airport art promoting the Tour Down Under International Cycling Event to be held in Adelaide this month

13. MAKES ME SMILE: every time I see photos of these lovely students who I had the joy of being home group teacher to for 2 years in Bhutan, I remember that at our final tearful farewell I promised them I would return and in a mere 8 days I will for the second time since I made that promise. This time it is for a full year and I will make it my mission to see each of them again. They make my soul smile.

14. THREE THINGS: since we have been at home we have been cooking up a storm in many different friends’ kitchens. These 3 things are essential to any Chinese dish and were the base ingredients of tonight's dumpling dinner

15. BLACK+ WHITE: the full moon over Melbourne 

16. SUN: With the temperature in the 40s today and the fact that we are travelling I have chosen one from archives – Xmas Day 2014 sunset

17. TINY: this 2cm Buddha has travelled many miles with me and is now in Bangkok waiting to return to Bhutan

18. HAPPY PLACE: Happiness is not so much about a place as about people for me and this is the friend we met after 7 years yesterday standing in front of the hotel in Bangkok which was our home base for 7 months travelling last year. I guess the place is full of happy memories and this is just one more.

Photo credit to Yuth the Tuk tuk driver of the hotel!

19. BREAKFAST: buffet breakfast included with room charge at Aspen Suites in Bangkok

20. TO DO LIST: with just one day to go before we leave for our year in Bhutan I have an almost completed list for Bangkok which is a quarter the size of the original and I want to hold on to the lessons I have learned about how to live a rewarding life, while travelling for the last 8 months: - so two vastly different to do lists for me

21. BLUE: the bright blue sky and shades of blue haze over the Himalayas as we flew into Paro, Bhutan from Bangkok this morning

22. NICE: simple home-style Bhutanese lunch served at The Folk Heritage Museum as a part of our orientation in Thimphu

23. BEDTIME: it might be bedtime here in Thimphu but the bed is covered in the many things we felt we needed to bring with us as we try to sort through our luggage and decide what remains to be purchased to set up our new home. It will be some time before actually get to sleep in this bed!

24. YOUR SPACE: currently our hotel room is the only space we have and it is rapidly filling up with the things we brought with us and purchases we have already made

25. A TATSE OF WINTER: the bright sunshine and the ice-cold wind playing with the prayer flags on the covered bridge in Thimphu

26. FUN STUFF: nothing is quite so much fun as exploring markets as far as I am concerned and the colourful collection of fabrics and temple hangings at the weekend market in Thimphu was well worth a look

27. SOMETHING I BOUGHT: at the weekend market I bought this brooch to wear on a traditional Bhutanese jacket. It is the endless knot - one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. It represents the heart of the Buddha and is displayed on one of my hand woven kiras (skirts)

28. DINNER: at the dinner table with some of the 18 new teachers starting their year of teaching in Bhutan in orientation in Thimphu

29. WINDOW: here in Bhutan window frames are carved in a traditional shape and whimsically and intricately painted on even the most modern concrete structures. It ensures the cultural identity is maintained and the aesthetic is very appealing

30. BEST INVENTION EVER: though I avoided owing or using a mobile phone for years in Australia, here in Bhutan it is definitely the best invention ever. Without the resources to install landlines across the Himalayas, mobile phones allow the country to communicate domestically and internationally, ensure personal safety, keep us connected to the Internet and allow us to engage via social media.

31. POLKA DOT: the pattern on Ian’s trusty foldup shopping bag which has been getting a thorough workout these past few days in Thimphu, as we load up with household supplies and treats that will be unavailable in our more remote posting