5 in 5 - February 2018 - Melanie

Melanie is my friend who lives in Australia and she loves photography.  Every month since the start of this challenge Melanie has taken part in this monthly meme and as she doesn't have her own blog I post here. I love that we have found a way for her to take part, so over to you Melanie:

"Hope you like my February 5 in 5.  I am a bit late sending it off to Sandie thank goodness for the saying ‘better late than never’.  I was annoyed with myself when I let December slip by without sorting out a 5 in 5 for that month and am determined not to let a month slip by again.

As the beginning of February arrives so does the annual sculpture exhibition.  Sculptures are

displayed around the Brighton Jetty beach area, on the Bindarra Reserve opposite the Jetty and

inside the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club.  There are indoor and outdoor exhibits. This year there were

more than 170 exhibits so it was not an easy task to choose just five for my February 5 in 5. 

However it was an easy task to take five photos in 5 minutes.  Of course when I took my photos I

completely forgot to make a note of the number and name of each exhibit.  Only one of the photos

included in my 5 in 5 and that is ‘Big Flower’ which is in the centre of my collage.  The materials for

this were Corten steel and hardwood plinth.  The artist was Anna Small.  Maybe next year I will make

better notes.  When the winners were announced the Outdoor winner was Foci by Karl Meyer and

this just happens to be the sculpture in the background of my RHS bottom photo.  He material for

this was Stainless Steel, 2 pack paint.  There is not just one winner but a winner for each of the

several categories. Each year our local council, Holdfast Bay buys one of the sculptures which then

has a permanent place along the coastline in our council area".

I always think how wonderful to have this annual exhibition on your doorstep, as Melanie does, and I look forward to seeing the new sculptures every year.  The waterfront makes a perfect setting, and on this chilly day I can just imagine the warm sun - thank you for sharing Melanie and I am pleased to know that we can look forward to more photos from Australia over the coming months.

If this has inspired you to pick up your camera and join in please go to this months post for details about how to link in. 

And to find out more about this monthly photo challenge, you can find out how it started here.

Thank you for popping by and I hope to see you back here soon. 

5 in 5 - February 2018 - An itch to refresh and renew

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.

The New Year always gives me a spring in the step, and the itch to refresh and renew.  So, while my husband thoroughly cleaned the front room, I emptied a large and overfull cupboard under the stairs.  My work is still in progress as I mean to sort years of paperwork and accumulation, so I won’t share photos of the floor strewn boxes – I’ll let you use your own imagination!  Meantime the front room looks clean and tidy, and as I look with fresh eyes things stand out that I have had on my ‘to do’ list for a long time:

This armchair belonged to my FIL and I spent painstaking hours removing staples and the old covering so that I could reupholster it. Since then it has sat waiting for a back and seat cover as I have been unable to find a fabric that I like. I was glad to find this throw just before Christmas, so finally the chair is in use, with fresh painted legs and green upholstery hand stitched my me. It was a project of love, and for what it cost to reupholster I could have bought a good chair. It seemed a good idea at the time. I initially started this project so that I could practice and then do our large sofas. These look as good as new but I fancy a change of cover. I have decided to live with what we have or buy new sofas!  

 

This piano stool is another of my projects. Did I say I've had things on my 'to do' list for a long time?  Well, I wasn't joking!  There is a story attached to this antique stool which I told here, and it took me four years to make a new seat for it. That's because I wanted to do a good job, and it was another project at my upholstery class. I plan to use the same fabric as the armchair seat, so meanwhile it sits naked but happy waiting. Since buying the stool we have changed the pull down flap and turned it into a hinged door. More practical and it makes a good storage space.

A new addition to the room. I want this space to be restful and calm, and think this statue invites this.

As an avid reader and book collector my shelves are overflowing. I have started to rehome books that I no longer want to keep, and there is more sorting to be done. Lots of it. 

Pride of place are family photos. This is one of a collection given as a present and I've always planned to change the colour of the mount. Maybe it is also time to change some of the photos too, as I have lots more recent ones. But this project, with all the others, will have to wait until I have cleared the floor of paper and made the space under the stairs more organised and uncluttered.  I'd best get back to it!

Thank you for visiting. I'm interested to know if the New Year brings and itches or projects for you, please share, if it does. And it is always fun to have company in this photo challenge so a big thank you to Eileen, Karen, Mary-Lou, Liz, Melanie, and Borqna for taking part last month. And to all those who visited and left comments.

And YOU would be very welcome to join in too, so I hope you are inspired to get out your camera. Here is the plan:

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a timer for 5 minutes (I use my mobile phone).

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool below.

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos.