sixteenth

YOU GUYS!!!!! I just read through all of your ridiculously kind and thoughtful and generous comments and emails and I feel humbled and blessed beyond words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and thank you once more.

Sometimes blogging feels like the strangest thing, writing a journal is one thing, but seriously, why post it out there in public for the world to see? You guys are the answer. Our community. And I just feel so very grateful to have you and this outlet in my life.

Kisses and cake for all!!


In the meantime, we took a spontaneous trip to the beach. On Tuesday night I was looking at the weather forecast and feeling claustrophobic about the oncoming summer holiday days that would have to be spent inside out of the cold and wet, when I decided we had to get away. Just like that.

We never get to leave our farm over the summer because of the bushfire threats and the irrigation issues, but after all the rains we'd had, we certainly could. So we did!

The very next morning we packed up and drove to the beach. It was exactly what we all needed. Exactly! We spent a few days with family, we played board games, we went to the movies, we looked in the shops, we read our books, and we played at the beach.

The beach!! We got sandy, almost blown away, wet and salty. We felt alive and exhilarated.

And wouldn't you know it, just when we drove onto the ferry to come home, the sun came out. It was time.

When was the last time you took a little break from your life?


Sending you a bit of that fresh summer holiday feeling, my friends.

Big love

xxxx

tropical exhale

Each year we try to take a few weeks off between the cold, quiet months of winter and the start of the spring growing season. Each year we try to go somewhere far away from our farm. To have a proper break from the everyday chores, the ever growing to-do lists, the routines and the expectations.

The further we go, the more perspective we can get on things back home. The more the landscape changes, the more the flora and fauna and day to day life differ, the more we can really see our lives on the farm. And the longer we are away, the more decisions and changes and plans we can make and put in place.


It's amazing what early morning walks on the beach, tropical fruit breakfasts, sea breezes, slow uninterrupted chunks of time, clear blue skies, the sound of the waves, bare feet, afternoon siestas, and beach salty skin can do to refresh and revive our visions.


We've done our seed order, I've read Looking for Alaska and Crazy Rich Asians, Farmer Bren has been doing an online ukulele course and has spent hours perfecting his strum and accompanying Indi's singing.


I've cast off another pair of socks, I've walked/jogged 7,000 steps before breakfast, we've spent a good chunk of time with family and bumped into friends and we've hardly ever driven anywhere, which is always the best sign of a holiday for me.

(Jazzy's socks ravelled here).


We've eaten too much, we've thought more about next year's adventure, we've swum, we've been constantly amazed by the crazy beautiful tropical wild and bird life, and we've talked about life at home on our farm. We've felt alive and exhilarated and refreshed.

We've breathed in  enormous gulps of holiday air and we've felt grateful beyond measure.

And in the weeks and months to come when life builds up and speeds up and piles up, we'll have these few weeks away to remember and ground us. Hopefully we'll be able to hold on to and recall the pillowy feeling of the the warm wind as it swirls around us, the fizzy tingle of the waves that have just crashed over us and the sweetest tastes of pineapple and passion fruit and strawberries in our mouths.


I wonder if you have a warm and sweet place to go to in your heart when things get too crazy on the ground? I wonder if yours is tropical and laid back like mine, or in the middle of the hustle and bustle somewhere exotic? I wonder what bird songs you can hear, what the market food tastes like and how tall the mountains on the range are?

I hope you can go there.

Big love

xx

Country kids-Melbourne days.

A few weeks ago I was reading a blog post, or an article, or something, about the city/country mix. About kids getting the best of both worlds. Bonfires and bush walks and mud stomping and vegie growing AND movies and shopping and cafes and culture. 

It occurred to me that it would be great to mix our world up a bit. That it would be fun to have a few days in town seeing the sights, doing the Melbourne touristy things and showing our girls a bit of the world we grew up in. 

One of the main reasons for choosing to move to Daylesford in the first place, was how close is it is to town. How accessible. So we packed up our city clothes, and drove an hour and a half down the road to Melbourne. 

We crammed so much into our four days in the city. We had a ball. 

We celebrated my grandad's 94th birthday.

We could not have felt prouder of Indi and her painting at the NGV.

We didn't do any farm chores.

We watched movies and I beat them all at bowling.

I didn't wear gumboots but clogs and city boots.

We ate every meal out and didn't cook at all.

We walked the dog at doggie parks.

We didn't light or feed any fires for warmth or for cooking.

We loved Brunswick street.

Indi tried and failed to convince me to wear tights with fire works on them.

We loved the strong water pressure and the bath that filled in a few minutes.

I didn't turn my computer on or look at my emails.

We camped on the floor of an unfurnished apartment.

We struggled with the traffic.

I was amazed that after 11 years I didn't have any Melbourne geography but Bren knew exactly where he was going at all times.

We didn't see any stars but we saw lots of twinkly night lights.

I couldn't drive in the city.

We only found a few op shop treasures; a few Meakin plates, a red cardi, a scarf.

We didn't have any other place to be but together.

We didn't find it easy to have a dog in the city.

There was a shopping centre just down stairs.

We couldn't get used to sharing walls with neighbours.

We didn't bump into anyone we know.

We bought them band hoodies at Victoria market.

We didn't have a TV, or a kettle, or a coffee machine.

I didn't feel so cold.

We spent too much money.

We carried keys with us always.

We didn't do nearly as many things as we had thought we would.

I cast off a beanie and started a Mara.

On the last night we didn't have any kids!!!!! (thanks D and M xx)

We had a ball.

It was such a great thing to do.

But coming home was the best. We fell in love all over again with the trees and the space and our newly painted white house and our Esse.

We came home, lit the fires, went for a walk through the bush, cooked dinner from our passata, our apples and our greens and slept so well in our own beds.

There's certainly is no place like home, but it sure is fun to go away and visit.

So how about you?
Do you have a bit of a city/country life balance?
Do you like to swap your city boots for your country boots (or visa-versa)?
What's the best thing about where you live at the moment?
Are you enjoying your holidays?

Have fun out there.

xx

Our secret weapon.

Wednesday.
The second last day of the summer holidays.
The second last day of seven months together.
A walk in the late afternoon.
Plums and blackberries picked.
And eaten.
And spilled.
And shared.
Time together.

Yesterday I tried to convince my farmer boy to chuck it all in, to hitch up the caravan and to head North again. Yesterday the impending school year felt overwhelming. Yesterday I wasn't sure where to begin. Yesterday I wanted to be free.

Today I'm not sure.

I love this place.
I love how things are so less complicated when we get out on the farm.
I love breathing in the clean air, playing with sticks, growing and picking stuff and getting dirty.
I love being together.

I have to remember to get out on the farm when things get too much this year.
To get everyone in boots and outside.
That'll get us through.
That's our secret weapon.

Do you have a secret weapon when things get too much?
Do you have a fail safe way of changing the mood?
Is it somewhere you go, something you make or something you do?
Do tell.

xx

Tee-pee.

A sunny afternoon.

A ride on the back of the ute.

The front paddock.

A bunch of friends and sisters.

Some bush poles, some baling twine and some rope.

A pile of old sheets.

An old blanket or two.

A tee-pee.

A loaf of bread fresh out of the oven.

Jars of homemade blackberry jam, Vegemite and hummus.

The tin of cookies we made and iced two days ago.

Colourful tin glasses of cold water.

A game of Sleeping Beauty, some mud balls and a bit of relaxing.

A bit of crochet.

All the while keeping watch on Buster and making sure that he didn't bust out.

Summer.

Holidays.

Bye. xx

The other half..

Last night we slept in our caravan beds for the first time in a week. Today we are back sharing a bathroom and outdoor space and living our lives in public in the caravan park again.

A week ago Farmer Bren's parents flew up to Broome for a visit and we moved across the road to a resort to spend time with them. We parked Frankie Blue in the resort car park and enjoyed a holiday from our holiday.

On the very first day there I looked around at the other guests and wondered what we looked like in our mismatched bathers and straggly hair. I wondered if it was obvious we were from across the road and I sort of waited for someone to tap me on the shoulder and politely ask me to leave.

It took one really long, hard scrubbing, loads of teeny weeny bottles of soap and shampoo using, shower to realise that my suntanned feet had actually only been incredibly dirty.

And it took a comb and lots of conditioner and a few loads of washing for our kidlets to look just like all the others.

We spent the most wonderful week enjoying Bren's parents. We ate gorgeous food, drank fancy drinks, swam, shopped, explored the landscaped grounds, played scrabble, walked on the beach, rode camels, chatted, and relaxed by the pool and in our air conditioned rooms.

We had a ball!

Thank you so much for the most wonderful week R and J. xx

When we arrived back at the caravan park yesterday I wondered the very same thoughts but backwards as I'd had at the resort one week before. Did we look different, a bit resortish, with our shiny hair and the girls in their brand new sun dresses?

For a few hours I felt a bit unsettled. Like I couldn't remember what we were doing and where I belonged. I thought perhaps we should have driven south to a new town or at least moved into a different caravan park than before.

But it didn't take long for the girls to find friends in the playground, for old caravan neighbours to pop in to ask about our week and for us to remember our camping rhythms.

We had a fabulous week and it's great to be back.

Frankie Blue - we heart you!!

We think we'll stay in Broome for a couple more days so we can see the Staircase to the Moon on Wednesday night and then we might pack up and head south to discover a new beach. We'll see.

Happy travels...