MEMORIES

I am so sorry to have taken so long to do a new post, it has been a busy time for me of late.

I was thinking about what to do for a new post....
Of course I have enough jewelry for thousands of posts...
But I thought I should try something different...

Soon I will be doing a post about another jewelery artist that I just discovered I think she is very good and will be truly famous one of these days, I am just waiting to interview her...I think dear viewers you are in for a visual treat.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I have been wanting to show you all some photos of my travels in life ...but I don't really have any, the custodian of our photo's is my Mother and she is not close by...so I will pull out a few random things a write a little.

TIM BUCKLEY

For some reason Tim Buckley the musician and Father of Jeff Buckley has been a big influence in my life, why? I don't really know... a lot of good times in my life have happened while listening to his music.

From Wikipeadea:

Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album (1966) was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound. He died at age 28, leaving his son Jeff Buckley from his marriage to Mary Guibert.

It's his voice that dose it for me...100% better than Jeff I think, of course he died young of an overdose of drugs so God only know what he would have become, most of the recording he did are not the best, in terms of quality, but one CD I love is called LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR I think the venue still exists in LA

Tim Buckley circa 1971

Painting by Jennifer Stace

The first of his albums I heard was sometime in the 1980s called "Greetings From LA" but it was in fact released in 1975 I believe, he was never really main stream although he had his hits.
The raunchiness of the CD astounded me, a bit like Tom Waits only with a much better voice.
As I heard it in a Dress Shop in the middle of Sydney AU I asked the name and promptly went out and bought a copy.
It very quickly became a firm favorite in my collection of Albums.
Next I bought the "Live at the Troubadour" CD...which I thought even better in some ways because you could discernibly feel the pain of life in his voice...it was during some tough times in my life that I listened to Tim Buckley songs, and even now, listening to him brightens my day.
Listen to this

And this one

And from "Live at the Troubadour"my favorite listen to that voice sublime !!

MY MOTHER

Last week was Mothers Day, and I wanted to do a post about my Mother but was too busy, so here it is.... better late than never.
I will have to apologize for the quality of my photos, seeing that I have no old photos on the laptop, plus the fact that I have hardly any pics at all at my disposal...these come from old photos that I have re taken with a digital camera
There is so much I can say about my Mother, but I wont blabber on ...first I love her very very much.
Second she was/is very beautiful in my eyes and in the eyes of others as well, maybe not in a traditional way but in an extremely striking way.
She is flirtatious vivacious, funny loving and temperamental often all at once.
She has had a hard life in some ways, but seemed to my child like eyes to conquer most things life threw at her.
Born a middle child she has Greek and English ancestry and spent a lot of happy times with her Greek Grandfather, I think she loved him and his funny Greek ways dearly.

My Mother me and my baby Brother

She met my Father fell in love because he looked like a young Errol Flynn, and at the age of 24 married.
She had trouble falling pregnant and in those days there was not much you could do, but my brother and I came along eventually after quite a few years of marriage.
Soon after we became toddlers my Fathers career with the Australian Government took him overseas as a diplomat.
My Mother and us Kids followed.
One of his fist postings was in Greece for three years...this was the place my Mother wanted to be, it felt like home to her, you know once a Greek...she was the happiest I can remember her ever being.

On the beach in Greece..poor quality photo but what a figure

Eventually my Fathers career took him to more and more places, it was very hard for my Mother as she was still a house wife and Mother, but in strange lands, where she couldn't speak the language, we were always packing and going to new schools, it was my Mum that kept the family unit going as my Father was rarely seen, us kids were usually in bed before he got home, it was a hard life for a woman and a lonely one.
I know how much my Mum suffered mentally, I was there there and old enough to understand, and I was the one she talked to, she had no family or friends for support the Internet did not exist...it was letter days.
Of course we would return to Aussie at times, my Grandmother died while we were overseas.
We did live the good life though in many ways....it was fun for kids, and my Dad I think... but not for Mothers.

2 passport pics 1970s I think

In those days we traveled by ship or boat a lot, and I think some of my Mum's most fun times were had on the big liners of the day, often my Dad went on ahead and we would be traveling for 6 to 8 weeks.
My Mother was always the belle of the ball, and had men and officers fighting for her attention, she has always been elegant but some of her evening dresses were amazing a different one every night, quite the glamor puss !!

Please forgive the poor quality photos, my Mother Father and Brother in Germany circa 1980's

So by the time my Dad retired we had been everywhere man !!
And after settling back in Australia, I think my Mother was a lot happier.
Always a stylish women she has since traveling around the world, bought and sold various homes and units, each one decorated in her unique style.
Both my Brother and I inherited her love of beautiful things, me jewelery of course, and my brother went on to become a very good and renowned Interior Designer.

My Mother and I taken around 5 years ago

My Mother now

So there it is a brief story about the main female in my life...
Happy Mothers Day Mum...I will love you forever
And you do make the best Pavlova ever !!

YOUNG ME, INNOCENCE PERSONIFIED ?

There was a time when I was young and innocent !! hard to believe...I know
Once again I apologize for the quality of the photos they are old and I have re photoed them for this post.
Once I lived a sheltered life...I had few friends as we traveled so often and I went to so many schools that I didn't know much.
The only way I could be called worldly, is because I lived all over the world !!
I did see fantastic places art and wonders, I was well read but green as grass.
When I got back to Australia every so often.... I suffered badly at school ...I was bullied and tormented for being different, the way I spoke the way I looked.
Torture I tell you....but I survived.
Below is proof of my innocence, and I am skiting a bit I was a pretty young thing:

Baby Stell stubborn and determined even then

At 13 innocent as hell

At 14 or 15 so shy I could not lift my head or speak

At 18

At 19

At my 21st with my Father and Brother in Germany

I was constantly drinking and smoking in Germany just a big party really, no wonder I don't speak good German "enie bier bitte" !! is all I learnt

At around 24 back in Aussie

And so here ends the story of how I lost my innocence I think I can safely say it was in Germany, well that is the start...the rest is another tale...hopefully with better pics next time.