Category Archives: Travel

Tasmanian Circus Festival 2013

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This community of inspirational folk

shared a wonderful accepting, encouraging and down right funny

time together at the circus festival

i love that the whacky and unusual is embraced and i see such

a diverse range of people feel at ease here and accepted and loved for their differences.

all day there are feats to amaze

some on stage and some casually in the central gathering area

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we are camped close to it all

dress up daily and laugh and laugh

even the morning yoga class has everyone laughing and therefore relaxing more

ahhh good medicine for us all…

Lily has another chance to have a flying trapeze lesson

and gets a catch! woohooo!

what an amazing opportunity!

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extraordinary things happen in the circus!

and the extraordinary becomes possible for everyone

next time we will attend the training week beforehand

until then

we are all now looking forward to the circus festival in

Mullumbimby in September!

are you going?

we all make delightful new friendships at this festival

including another lovely blogging mama Lauren

and her daughters with whom Lily has since spent alot of happy time

on Sunday the girls make popcorn to sell in handmade paper bags

they make $8 to share and are very pleased!

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this is the first festival we have allowed Lily to move around freely with a friend

the atmosphere is gentle and fun, the venue is small and she can easily find her way safely back to camp

wow, growing up into a little more independance!

among other things i spend some time with a friends spinning wheel

one thing i miss while traveling so now i endeavor to learn how to drop spindle

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to conclude the festival there is the Circus Olympics

where anyone can participate in events like

most backflips in a row, hulahooping, juggling while playing simon says, human wheelbarrow racing while juggling,

unicycle rally, balancing a stick on your chin, handstand {winner at 3.5 minutes!!} etc etc

sorry i didn’t photograph this i couldn’t bear to leave to run for the camera!!

we have all come away inspired to master skills with our bodies

and the children are climbing onto our shoulders or balancing on anything or making impromptu shows for us!!

xxx

with love and laughter


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musical chairs…IMG_0366 IMG_0373

spaghetti circus on the see saw!IMG_0374 IMG_0377 IMG_0384 IMG_0398 IMG_0407

Cygnet Folk Festival 2013

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Venues on the school grounds

Venues on the school grounds

Hmm so much to see...

Hmm so much to see…

Slate sky but stayed dry!

Slate sky but stayed dry!

Town Hall was a beautiful venue

Town Hall was a beautiful venue
Southern Swanhomeopathics and lotions and potions

a rainbow over Southern Swan, quiet haven amidst the festival
makers of homeopathics and beautiful lotions and potions {Spagni Oils}

Perch Creek Family Jug band, the only gig I had my camera at...

Perch Creek Family Jug band, the only gig I had my camera at…

Perch Creek

Perch Creek

one day I'll play bass again...

one day I’ll play bass again…

Perch Creek

Perch Creek

Perch Creek Family Jug band

Perch Creek Family Jug band, all siblings

wonderful shadow puppetry

wonderful shadow puppetry by Jenny Ellis, Cedar was in hysterics

I became an instant groupie

I became an instant groupie after I joined the Stiff Gins workshop singing in {Indigenous} language

Stiff Gins clowning around

Stiff Gins clowning around

Mr Lily

Mr Lily

Bavarian folk dancing

Bavarian folk dancing

Crafting community for Tasmanian fire victims

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I have just been linked up with The Craft Hive

and associated community in Tasmania

who are working in a practical heartfelt effort to

create a collection of hand and heart made items

{toys, blankets, clothes etc etc}

to help replace the treasured items

for the many people who have lost their possessions

in the recent tragic fires

if you have an impulse to make something

{knit or crotchet some squares}

or encourage your children to make something

please go to their website

The Craft Hive

or contact direct at

queen@thecrafthive.com

or look them up on facebook if you are into that!

thankyou to all the wonderful people working together

and my heart goes out to those affected by the fires

here in tasmania and in other states

and the floods

oh my lord

Australia is being hammered right now!

Blessings

 

 

 

Right now

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Right now I am knitting, ( a requested pink beret) while I alternately watch my daughter now named
( miss wholoveshulahoop!)
Happily hooping and my boy happily digging and sandy.
Adventure bay, bruny island, beautiful tranquil sheltered bay, warm sun, island vista, full belly, simple joy after a few confused and anxious days:)
So grateful the wheel keeps turning!
Blessings
Xx

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Waking up to…

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Waking up to…
Lily quietly tidying house, making beds and making fruit salad for breakfast!!
(last night we had a talk about helping out, working together and chores as I was noticing she was playing helpless or whinging when asked to contribute)
An un expected gift in her response to the reminder yesterday!
I am always appreciative when she lifts her game and is motivated from herself to do extra tasks and notice she is always very self pleased and energized! She was proud about how spic and span the bus was and expressed when it’s tidy it feels peaceful and bigger and when it’s messy it feels like chaos. ( yep me too!)
Within five minutes of us all being up, Lily was noticing how quickly it gets messed up again after all her attentive work! Mutual gratitude went between us as she understood this process of home love.
Everyone needs to eat, everyone uses things, everyone makes a mess and everyone helps clean up!

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She then volunteered to cook us pancakes! Yay!!
The children had honey and Brie or blueberry jam and the bigs had savory, mmm

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The following is not edible…

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After eating ( and more cleaning up)
We got into wax play, as i had got it out to make her a little ta Lily wax note and heart decoration by her plate ( see above) We use stockmar knetwachs which you can find in most Steiner inspired shops or online. We found our latest batch at Southern Swan in Cygnet southern Tasmania for $2.30 per color.
We keep the colors in one plastic box and the makings in another. It’s beautiful to feel the wax soften in your hands and become something to admire. I like it as much as the smalls do! Sometimes we’ve left the wax land on the dash and have had a sad melted occasion!! Droopy trees and mermaids melting into the sea…

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And then out out out for some running and flying!
We are camped at Lagoons beach on the east coast. The sea is rumbling in with a clean right hand break, perfect tubes and offshore breeze… Why no surfers? Too cold?
I know all that because my first love story was with a gorgeous surfer in my teens…

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After more snacking, i am inspired with the anniversary of our bus purchase in 2005 approaching ( valentines day) I could make a fingerknit wreath as decoration! Lily gave me a lesson and away I went. You can find great finger knitting tutorials at Flax & Twine

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Well that was fun… What next?
Cedar goes to sleep, Lily plays on the trapeze so tired mama can put on a few more rows…

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Beautiful handspun, nature dyed alpaca from the Salamanca markets, soothing for my fingers and mind..
What else can the day hold I wonder?
Xx
What are you
Making, cooking, eating, planning, reading these days??

Ps I can’t seem to make all that text un italic??..

where did she go?

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Excuse me

Have you seen January?

I seem to have misplaced her

While i

Neglected the blog/boggle

Spent a lot of time in the moment

Travelled as far south as we could go

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Caught the sky from the bridge

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fished unsuccessfully

Fossicked for shellfish and feasted

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she sang

cockles and mussels alive alive oh…

Wondered about the history of the place

Now called Cockle Creek

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Abundance food and wildlife

Whispers of grand old trees

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And strong people watching

Wails of whales as they where massacred in the bay

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A sad sad history to learn about

From humorous informative rangers

Learnt about our magnificent giants of the sea

And how to rescue a beached one or many

{remember, call for help, keep warm,  don’t breath in their blowhole, pilot whales are the most commonly beached in Tasmania, put a stick in the ground infront of live ones, keep their tails to the sea until you are ready to release them all at the same time, shade them}

felt impressed that my girl has this appreciation for whales and dolphins, experience and knowledge for the rest of her life now

felt on the right path of life

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Took a classic portrait of men and bones

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had a whale of a time!

IMG_0326 three month old southern right whale lifesize sculpture!

Enjoyed the sea air and the shelter from it

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i Got cold but

Jesse finally took the plunge

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while Lily had a nature drawing sessionIMG_0341 IMG_0348

I lounged in triggerplant bliss

My head amongst a million pink helpers

the medicine of rejuvenation and restoration

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Met young old friends

And had a date up a giant tree

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Lily had a lock on

Then we

Grudgingly left

Coaxed on by a berry  good carrot

Drove north

While I processed a myriad of thoughts emotions and responses

And gave thanks for a time of respite

Amidst the chaos of full days

Mostly joyful

With berry/cherry stained lips

Noticed the tiredness.depression link

And went to bed

xxx

 

Narawntapu National Park

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On the windy northern coast of Tasmania

is found Narawntapu NP

the first NP to adopt the original indigenous name in Tasmania (previously Asbestos NP)

I couldn’t quite fathom the vast sky and vista

the golden glowing grass and wind whipped waterways

with mountains framing the blowing landscape

scrubby bush and swampy grass hillocky plains

i simply circled the sky with my eyes and mind wide

and my goodness

in the long golden sunset

the wombats!

i had made a wish on the journey over to please please

let me see a wombat, a live healthy wombat please, even just one please!

for the first time in the wild.

well lady! not one but many

including a mama and baby who waddled past our bus!

the baby comically bumped into mothers buttocks when it got surprised by our presence!

we heard from jackie french the way to approach is slowly and singing

as they are so short sighted if they can hear you they will not run in surprise

we where able to get very close to some of these lovely big land koalas

joy for us all

the birdlife and the wetlands and the tiger snake! are also stunning

Lily and I had a date with our visual diaries in the bird hide

I so enjoying drawing simple black ink water plants and landscape

an exulting multitude of wildlife

a very special sanctuary to visit
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birthday

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My birthday on the 4 th
Simply hot
Simply swimming
Simply surviving
Simply eating
Pancakes for dinner
Lily still talks about it
” did we really have pancakes for dinner? Really?”
Two beautiful gifts for me
All perked up once sun went to bed
Skipping playing giggling swimming more
Grateful for the Yarra river and a friends tip
Grateful for the night
Grateful there was no fire nearby
Grateful for shade
Grateful for a 15 minute one foot massage
Grateful it was over
Xx