Forest Lodge imitates France

Well, it kind of reminded me of France....guess it's the shutters and bike. I am unsure what the "Car Share" parking spot is all about though - first time I have seen that.

Frost in Arncliffe Park

Sydney enjoys a temperate climate, and the suburbs closer to the coast rarely experience frost. I can't remember the last time I saw frost in Arncliffe (away from the coast, they are common in winter, however).

Yesterday Sydney had its coldest June temperatures in a couple of decades - down to a low of 4.7 at 7am, and a high of 14.4 at 3pm. The June mean minimum is 9.3, mean maximum 16.6

Taken from Botanic Gardens

Queensland Bottle Tree

Brachychiton rupestris : Queensland bottle tree, Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

From Southeastern Queensland, restricted to more fertile soils. The starchy roots and seeds were eaten by Aborigines.

Boy extracting thorn, Botanic Gardens

A marble copy of the famous 'Fidele' (faithful) statue was imported into Australia from Italy, in 1883. The original statue known as 'Fidele' (faithful) or 'Spinario' was a bronze Hellenistic statue given to the City of Rome by Pope Sixtus IV in the twelfth century. The subject matter is believed to be the Roman messenger boy, Marcius, who, despite having a prickle in his foot, braved the pain to deliver his message. The original 1st Century BC statue was discovered between 1165-1167 (believed to be of Greek origins) but now stands in the center of a room in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome . Other copies of thorn boy can be found in the Uffizi gallery in Florence. This statue became one of the first to be copied during the Renaissance Period in both bronze and marble.

Botanic Gardens horses

Mare and Foal by Arthur Jacques LeDuc (1848 - 1918) , restored in 2002 through a gift in honour of the late Lady Berenice Mitchell Finley who loved these gardens.

Botanic Gardens Sensory Fountain

Kids love this fountain; my son did when he was little, and I do now! Sculpted by Tim Jones and cast by David Mune in Elphinstone, Victoria.

Botanic Gardens Biennale

The unbearable lightness of being 2010 by Choi Jeong Hwa. A plastic inflatable flower with motor in the lake in the Botanic Gardens. Part of the Sydney Biennale exhibition.

Carved sandstone replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, executed by Walter McGill for Sir James Martin, Premier of New South Wales, 1870, for his residence in Macleay Street. Presented to the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1943.

The original was erected in Athens in in 335/34 B.C.

More here.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes and messages. I'm fine, surgery went well, and so things proceed step by step.

Ductal carcinoma in situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ. DCIS.

"Although breast cancer has been a human illness for thousands of years, ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS (also known as intraductal carcinoma) is a relatively new diagnosis. We are learning more about it all the time. Until mammography became a routine part of medical care, we didn't see much DCIS. Now, we do. Approximately 24% of all new breast cancers diagnosed in the United States are DCIS, with one case of DCIS detected per 1300 screening mammograms in North America." It is similar in Australia.

And I have it.

This site is a really good one for finding out more about DCIS if you are interested: Cancer Prevention Institute of California. Also from the (Australian) National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre. If you really want to know a lot, I have found this booklet from the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre extremely helpful.

Tomorrow I will be in day surgery having a lumpectomy - now called "breast conserving surgery" - for a tiny area of DCIS - no lump. And then some weeks later, will begin radiotherapy.

One day at a time, one step at a time, but I know all will be well. There is no invasive malignancy, and treating DCIS this early is one of the major advances in medicine, with extremely positive outcomes.

Have mammograms!!!
You have no idea how glad I did! In Australia, all women over 50 are invited to regular FREE screening mammograms. Women : make sure you go! Men: be supportive and encourage the women in your life to have a regular mammogram (every two years after age 50). That way, things can be detected really early, before there is any evidence of a lump or breast changes.

Lorikeets feeding

University Hall

Originally the University Hotel, University Hall is home to students from the nearby University of Sydney. In around 1990 the University Hall was renovated and expanded for use as apartments.

Outside is a fountain commemorating the 50th anniversary of Glebe Municipality in 1909. The pillar is a detail from the fountain.

Detail from top of building in Darlinghurst

O'Hears Steps, Frog Hollow

Yesterday I showed the site of a notorious Sydney slum Frog Hollow. O'Hears steps, leading down from Albion St were named after the local baker, James O'Hear who lived opposite until his death in 1891.

Frog Hollow, Surry Hills

By the beginning of the twentieth century, Frog Hollow, on the corner of Riley and Albions Sts, Surry Hills, was Sydney's most notorious slum, associated with petty crime, alcohol, gambling and domestic violence. It was about 9 metres below the surrounding streets, with the houses piled on top of each other. Police claimed that this enclave had bred some of the most 'desperate and dangerous criminals' they had encounteres. It was home to the Riley Street Gang.

The City Council's slum clearance came to Frog Hollow in 1925. Part of it was later used as a council depot, and part was Hills reserve, named after a Sydney Lord Mayor, Pat Hills.

Former Grace Brothers building

The copper dome and clock towers of the former department store, Grace Brothers, buildings at Broadway. Now one building houses student accommodation (Unilodge) and the other a shopping centre, the Broadway Centre.

Gardener's Lodge, Victoria Park

In 1865 an area at the corner of City Road and Paramatta Road was added to the University of Sydney to provide a formal entrance. The entrance avenue through the park was planted with fig trees and entrance gates installed, flanked by the Gardener's Lodge, and the mirror-image Messenger's Lodge (demolished in 1940).

Victoria Park

At the corner of City Road, Broadway and Parramatta Rd

Tuk tuk

No, not in Thailand, but inside a Thai restaurant in Pitt St, Sydney - the Khao San.

Chef's table

Recently I went to a "chef's table" food tasting. Here's the wine selection to accompany the food, and a plate of truffles, jellies and fudge to accompany coffee.

Sydney Tower

Taken from the corner of George and Market Streets in the city.

Mail box, Albion St,

There's not too many of these old English style pillar boxes left in Sydney. This one is in Albion St, Surry Hills.