The big one...

I'm having a birthday in two weeks today. A big important birthday. A birthday that ends in an 0 and is often the cause for a crisis.

I'm not feeling like I'm in crisis though. I'm feeling ok about it. Calm even.

No matter how good the 20 year olds on the beach look in their skimpy bikinis, I wouldn't want to be them again and although I do have the odd new baby twinge, I adore the stage our family is at and wouldn't want to be where I was at 30 either. I'm pretty lucky and happy to be right here where I am today.

A few weeks back I thought I might make a list of forty things to do before...but when it got down to it I didn't have anything really to put on the list. I mean sure there are things I still want to achieve and learn in life, but nothing urgent. Nothing that will complete me.

Except maybe a tattoo. Maybe. I've had the design for ages but it hasn't happened yet. There's still time. Maybe even on my actual birthday. Just a small, simple one and nowhere too obvious. Maybe.

I have no answers to the present question I keep getting asked either. This trip has shown me how little I actually need and want. And I am so lucky to have more than I need and want already. I wonder if I'd have been able to answer this question if we hadn't been living the gypsy life for months. If I'd had more than a shelf to store all my road trip belongings.

So the last question is the where and how to celebrate. This is the question that has us pulling out maps and googling destinations.

I am super lucky that my parents are flying over to join us in their own rented van for a week so no matter what we'll have a great birthday week. But do I want to be in the middle of nowhere picnicking on a deserted beach or having a long lunch at a gorgeous restaurant with lots of vegetarian options?

I don't know. My birthday being right in the middle of our family's birthday season often means it is low key.

Maybe I'll feel differently as it gets closer and closer and maybe I shouldn't even try to think about it until we have celebrated Miss Pepper and her fourth birthday on Monday in Monkey Mia.

I guess time will tell...

And I guess I do feel even more fine about it all now that it is written down.

The pics for this post were taken on a walk to the shark sanctuary yesterday. That's them in the last picture. The shadows. There were dozens of them swimming about just off shore. We stood there for ages admiring them and feeling pretty happy that they are reef sharks in their natural habitat and not threatening ones with big, sharp teeth.

So tell me lovely peeps, how would be the most amazing way you could celebrate bringing in a new decade? Any decade? Suggestions and personal stories are always welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend you guys. xx

Part three...

I guess road tripping can be divided into three parts;

Part one - is seeing the sights. Doing the touristy thing. Exploring and enjoying and experiencing new places.

Part two - is the driving. Australia is hunormous (Indi's word invention). We have driven thousands and thousands and thousands of kilometers. Sometimes there are interesting things to look at along the way and then other times the road is long and straight and nondescript.

Part three - is the hanging out at the caravan part. Doing the chores, reading, writing, relaxing, knitting, playing, cooking, journaling, blogging, dealing with stuff back home, strumming the ukulele, crocheting and hanging out with friends.

Sometimes part three makes me feel a bit guilty. Why am I wasting time sitting on my camping chair reading my book when there is a whole new environment to explore? Why should I hang out at our friends' caravan having a drink and crocheting granny rounds, when we are sitting next to one of the most magnificent beaches I have ever seen? If I spend my time doing the laundry will I then have less time for seeing everything there is to see? Isn't there something else more important that I should be doing?

But it seems that the hanging out at the caravan is an important part of road tripping for us and for everyone we meet along the way. No matter where we've been on this journey, there has always been a bunch of kids running around playing, people sitting around reading and chatting by their vans and others doing chores, giving themselves manicures and chatting away on skype.

As well as being an adventure, road tripping also includes the non adventure. The time to stop and relax and enjoy and smell the roses. Slow time.

As I write this farmer Bren is fitting more hooks to the outside of the caravan, Jazzy and Pepper and Austin are playing a game with a bunch of plastic fish, Indi and her friend Jordan are playing 'Guess who' and I am alternating between writing this post and doing rows of my new granny crochet project. It is windy and not all that warm. I heard it is warmer in Melbourne than in Coral bay today. I think my plans for a walk up the beach to the shark sanctuary might just have to wait until tomorrow.

Ok, time for another row of the great big granny...

What are you up to?

Happy travels. xx

My happiness recipe.

The other day we were driving from Carnarvon to Coral Bay. The girls were watching Peter Pan in the back and my farmer boy and I were just sitting and driving in silence. Watching the world go by. Enjoying the scenery. Each in our own little world. All of a sudden I was overcome by an enormous wave of happiness. It came from nowhere and left me smiling and full of love and life in its wake.

I wanted to acknowledge that feeling. Grab hold of it. Turn it over and look at it from every angle. I wanted to keep it.

I got my farmer boy to get out his phone and I dictated my recipe for happiness.

This recipe is a work in progress. Its ingredients can be substituted and switched around. It is a thought that I really want to hold on to and make a reality when we get home and day to day life takes over.

Love where you live.

Before we left home we spent six months designing and decorating our caravan. We painted the walls, changed the cupboard latches and floor, got the couches covered and I sewed the curtains and the bed covers. The result is that we created our perfect little cozy home. I love it. It makes me happy every time we pull our bed down from the wall and I see the covers I made, it makes me proud every time someone comes in for the grand tour, it makes me comfortable and happy.

Our house in Daylesford does not make me happy. We bought our house because of the farm it sits on. A couple in their 70's built it and I call our house the Copper-art house. Do you remember those ads?? I feel embarrassed when people come over and I never feel comfortable with the layout or style.

When we get home I want to make big changes to our house so I can be happy in it. I want to start with pulling up the white carpet (in a farm house!!) and move on from there. I want to feel happy at home.

Shake up the routine.

It's so easy in life to get stuck in a routine in order to keep things moving to schedule and get the most done. But routines are hardly inspiring or fun.

While we are traveling it is easy to keep things interesting and fun but when we get home I want to remember to mix things up a bit too. Eat pancakes for dinner, pick the girls up from school and go for a visit to the lavender farm, leave the caravan packed and go for overnight trips to the coast and to Melbourne and to be a tourist where we live.
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Love the ones you are with.

Whether it's my farmer boy, my parents, my best mates, my siblings or my kids...love them. Feeling and expressing that love is a pretty great way to bring on the happiness.

Hug and kiss, write love letters, give prezzies, whisper sweet nothings, practise random acts of kindness, realise how lucky I am to have that person/people in my life.

Love is lovely!!

Remember how lucky you are.

I am not hungry or scared or cold or in danger. I have choices and opportunities. I know it's all relative but it still puts things in perspective too.

Be brave and change.

Some things are simple, while other changes take time and courage. But it is so worth while in the end.

You can do it.

Do I want to write a book, write up and sell my patterns, sew more clothes for myself, go on more road trips, learn silver smithing, preserve more of our autumn harvest for winter, learn photoshop....Well why don't I?

Now that we've done this trip, I feel braver. I feel like we can change our lives around to fit in more of what we want to do as well as what we have to do. I feel like we are less stuck now. Like we have options. We can do it. We will do more of the things we want to do. And that makes me happy.

Be social.

At home I am often so caught up with my lists of all that I want to achieve that I sometimes forget to have a life. When we get home I am going to continue the social life we have enjoyed on the road, I am going to have dinners and parties and farm festivals and lunches and bonfires. And we are going to accept more invitations too. I feel like our kids are at an age now where we can socialise as a family because sharing our life with friends makes me happy.

Indulge once in a while.

I know what makes me feel good about myself and makes me happy. A warm jacket, a great haircut, a trip, a long distance phone call, stripey tights, beautiful food, op shopping, some new fruit trees, private time with my lovelies, a walk, baking, time to sew, lovely yarn, an adventure, books, music, films...

Get active.

Even though it is often hard to get moving in the first place, it never fails to lighten my mood and get those happy hormones pumping.

I need to ride my bike, grab my ipod or a friend and a go for a walk, pump up the music and dance, swim, run, skip, hike, hop...

Eat well and drink lots of water.


Feeling good on the inside is a great way to feel good on the outside.

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The last ingredient on the dictated list that farmer Bren emailed to me from his phone is his own addition; 'write a hippie self help book!' I get that this post might come across like that, but we are on the home straight now and I still have the luxury of time to think thoughts through and analyse my life from afar, so that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm writing this just outside our caravan in Coral Bay. The girls are all of playing with friends. Farmer Bren is sitting beside me strumming his ukulele. If I look over to the left I can see a bunch of grey nomads sitting in a circle chatting and if I look to the right I can see the most magnificent beach I have ever seen. This place is paradise. It feels like such a great time and place to be writing this post. I feel happy.

So how does this sound to you? Do you have any more ingredients to add to my happiness cake? Do you believe in the happiness recipe? Do you bake your own? From where you sit right now can you taste it?

Happy happy! x