The long dark night…

New Moon in the Western sky at sunset Kuranda

In the hushed glow of new moon

an invitation to join the Candlenut Steiner community

with Winter Solstice forces gathered round

Lily and the beautiful handmade lantern lent to her

a parade of glowing gold and soft singing through the grounds

to the green, adorned with leaved spiral and central alter

children in a ring of gold

families in quiet witness

each class had different handmade lanterns and encircled the green

lights doused and deep invocations spoken

the single glow in the centre

our reminder of inner light

soft spiralling of glowing children

inwards to the light and kindle ones own flame

a quiet delight and gratitude welling in my soul

to witness and enjoin in ceremony

bathe in the singing night

my children close by

joy to ground here

feel and hear and sense the vibrancy around me

a deep breath

our first stop after the roadtrip

a blessing to help the intergration

my inner wobbly and wonky

i emerged into peace

blanketed by night and kissed by stars and candlelight

the magic of night

the beauty of that which is bright

may i remember in the long dark nights of my life

the shiningness

inspiredness

connection

kindness

one kind word

one kind deed

the moments we can create and say yes to

the moments we can hold our children in

then encourage them to fly into the experience of life

to feel their own centre

and find their own connections

to feel their own solitude in the journey

and know their connection to all

as a birth right

may peace and insight be with you

and me

as we turn once more to the sun

***

with enormous gratitude to the Candlenut community for including us in your very special celebration

Waking up to…

Mango trees and a squawking corella

The prospect of new friendship with the kind Karen

And Sunday pancakes with home grown mango ice cream!!

I cherish this ritual of pancakes on most Sundays, it’s a slow morning’s work and definately

disappears quickly! At home we set the table with vintage linens, napkins Lily sewed for us

and nice crockery and create this special atmosphere…

it is usually a delightful time of togetherness, story telling and planning.

Sunday is a great morning to visit us!

as soon as I get out the flour bag and the big bowl Cedar knows what is going on

and gets ready to stir for mama

Cedar is accomplished at mixing our pancake batter now

This was our first pancake day on this trip as I’d felt too stretched to go beyond porridge last week…

a new innovation the girls cam up with, with some success…

This last Sunday we were invited to the home of Karen and her children, whom we had serendipitously met on the

Saturday at Rockhampton Botanic Gardens.

It is always a joy for me to connect with people who  invite us to their homes

and give us a glimpse of other ways of living.

I am so grateful for their generous spontaneity

(and luxury of a hot shower)

The mutual exchange and inspiration usually leaves both parties refreshed.

Karen really inspired me with her passion for good wholesome eating, self sufficiency,

sprouting, green smoothies and home schooling.

I have stepped up my game this last week and included green smoothies into my mornings.

In honesty I need to refine the taste!

Am blessed with a great bootfull of coconuts now so that helps!

When we visit others

I enjoy the closeness of walls and the convenience of water on tap, furniture and ease of space,

socializing and stimulation, bookshelves and instruments

and then I love going out to my cosy home in their garden and seeing the stars

and each night I remember how much I love this life

how much I appreciate the simplicity of our days.

The gift of the night sky moves me and I feel connected to the greater…

Lily, Gracie and Sophie took over the cooking with more creativity!

Do you have a family or personal weekly ritual with the intent of connecting with each other/self?

 

Cookie cut pancakes, fresh fruits, organic maple syrup and home made pure mango ice-cream! Decadance!

Sunday Pancakes

1 cup flour per 3 people (I use unbleached white spelt flour from Kombu)

1 egg

¾ c milk (I like Cleopatra’s Bath milk)

Pop your flour into a wide bowl and make a well,

Crack in your egg and blend with a fork, slowly allow the flour to be picked up by

Your egg mix

Slowly pour in your milk until you get a thick runny mixture (adjust milk as needed)

(you probably already know all this but there you go!)

I have a little cast iron pan in which I cook the pancakes in a little olive oil one at a time, a slow meditation for Sunday morns…

Yum, decorate with all the yummies you can find…

Waking up to…

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as we travel, sometimes we are blessed with the generosity of people giving their home grown produce to us,

Such as Karen who not only spontaneously hosted us for the night but farewelled us with vibrant greegroans dried mango from her garden!

or at the close of a market Jesse can sometimes be laden with produce, like yesterday at the Rockhampton Market he came back with a bag of luscious herbs…

sometimes we find a neglected fruit tree dripping ripeness to the ground (like the above mandarins)

sometimes it’s fruit trees in a public area, more of a rarity, or overhanging a fence.

We check with the property owners and often come away with an abundance of good food for free.

Foraging has some particular reward that is unique, (I haven’t fully articulated it to satisfaction here)

sure it’s great to save some coins when we live on a small budget, but more than that I appreciate that the fruit will be nourishing someone rather than dropping to the ground rotting, and the sharing of abundance when one has it. The village concept of exchange and generosity.

I love to find community gardens, where often in exchange for some weeding we can harvest some fruit, veg or salad greens, usually organically and lovingly grown, this food has a specialness and connection, as I relate to the scents as we gathered it, the weather at the time, the people we connected with and how the children brought me flowers and herbs, observed nature and learnt about how and where our food comes from.

We all seem to relax in these big green spaces and find some retreat from the stimulation of travelling, communing with plants and critters fills our souls again.

In Bellingen where we have been based the last two years there is a fantastic community garden, actually two now!

Also a program of edible gardens in the town, my favorite stop is by the real eastate agents front yard full of salad greens and herbs!

and we often visit Mullumbimby Community Gardens which has a fantastic Food for All section.

I deeply appreciate the work of the committed folk who keep these places going.

We often joke about our bus roof garden complete with chickens and a milking goat…..