Happy ...

... to be back home among the gum trees. That's the San Diego variety of course! And to discover that the dreaded Sanjaya has, at last, been voted off American Idol. Hoo-ray!

:: It was inestimably sad to close the front door of Gloster Street for the last time. On all that happy family history: the little bit of kitchen wall with all the kids' heights marked since 1991; the retaining wall that Simon, Dad and I built in the back garden; the cypress ceiling in the big room that Dad and Simon nail-gunned up; the memories of many kiddies' birthday parties and family dinners and cups of tea and Christmas lunches; walking home two kids from King Eddie's maternity ward and, seemingly just weeks later, from Subi Primary; and the last resting places of a much loved dog and cat ...
But all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

:: Beautiful Melbourne was a treat after all the rigours of packing and sorting and clearing out in Subiaco. It was fresh, sunny, cool and showery, and the oak trees along both sides of Kensington Road - where I stayed in Sue M's fantastically warm and comfortable flat - were starting to turn gold and drop their leaves.
Sue and I had just enough time to whiz through the huge exhibition, Australian Impressionism, in the Ian Potter Centre in Federation Square. Does your heart good to see it all - including lots of the legendary '9 by 5' wood panel paintings from the original 1890s (?) exhibition that started it all. Streeton remains my favourite Heidelbergian by a country mile: there were a few pics I'd have happily stowed in my overhead locker on the flight home.

:: NO photos! I took my camera all that way and have only a couple of Mum and Dad at their 'Club Med' on the south coast. And a couple of Dave and Will on the pier at Santa Monica where we had dinner before taking me to LAX a couple of weeks ago for my flight to Melbourne.

:: Great to catch up with some of my Aussie best friends - and I'm sorry that I missed some of you, too. But we'll be back at the end of June, and will have more time to socialise then - and feel like it.