Highlights, Lowlights.

Apologies for the extended silence. The best of intentions were drowned in a flood of, well, phlegm, to put it bluntly. My youngest nannying charge went into the ER last week with pneumonia, and while she's recovered, I am still in the throes of aspirin, kleenex, lozenges, antibiotics, steam inhalations, sleepless nights coughing, a head like a pressure cooker, and being deaf in one ear or the other.

On the bright side, there was an absolutely stunning show 2 weekends ago at the Wharf Theatre (where Cate Blanchett can currently be found performing in Street Car Named Desire). An Israeli/Australian guitarist named Lior played with a 6-string orchestra and a shadow artist who choreographed stories to go with each song. It was beautiful.

In a similarly startling display of lights, I woke up Wednesday morning to a glowing pink room. I stepped outside, looked up, and saw this:

I was not alone thinking it was the end of the world. A massive dust cloud from South Australia had rolled over Sydney the night before and everything was red/orange/pink/yellow until 3 that afternoon. It was bizarre and, again, beautiful.

(from the base of the Harbour Bridge, and not taken by me.)