Thursday, January 19, 2012

summer loving



I'm loving summer. I love the smell of summer, the raspberries and cream taste of summer. The birds in the blue sky sound of summer. the slightly sunburnt, way too tired feel of summer, after a day at the beach.

I've loved having a couple of days in Melbourne with my two youngest girls and my eldest. I loved watching the girls play, together, running in the wind, holding hands, swinging, climbing high. I love the way they try to work things out, the simple joy of watching them having fun is so beautiful.


We had a crazy old, funny time at the beach. For my country girls it's such a huge adventure. One a little nervous but her sister helped her to find the courage to step in, go deeper.


I found a beat up old chair and plonked it in the sand next to an extremely tanned exotic dancer. She was amazing in her red bikini on a striped banana lounge. The girls skipped over waves, splashed, looked for shells, watching the beach police driving up and down, the groups of families, the gulls and the ships dotted on the horizon. They were amazed at the rubbish in the water and helped to drag a whole newspaper out. Eventually we had to go, we left the chair for someone else.


We got to do city things too. The Muppet movie was incredibly great! I loved it and so did they. We did a little bit of shopping and Rosie practised her escalator skills. They negotiated crowds, learning to walk so as not to bump into people, a tricky thing if you are never in a crowd.


We stared up at the roof of Melbourne Central with it's beautiful old shot tower, gracefully still standing amongst the endless shops and bustling throng.


We spent time with our beloved Char. When the girls were in bed she & I became detectives and hunted down lost family on Ancestry.com./


 So much fun, so addictive, so amazing. We found the ancestors of  dear William Henry Walker who died in a gold mine.  His grandfather, his brother, our relatives, our blood. Char found the shipping information for my parents trip to England in 1960 - their names crossed out as they jumped ship in Marseilles, hoping to hitch hike to London.


We went out for dinner, walking the hot & steamy  footpaths of Lygon Street where I had flashbacks from the 70's. There once was a pub on the corner of Lygon and Faraday and I went there often as a child, with my friend and her mum. Us kids looked for lost coins on the sticky carpet under the bar, and ate peanuts from a machine. All to the sounds of Skyhooks and The Stones and Bob Dylan on the jukebox.  It was such a different time, we did as we pleased really, as the adults drank and smoked and partied on. Hard to imagine now. What was that pub called?


I took the kids to  Ikea where we looked in all the rooms, picking our favourites and sitting on couches not wanting to ever get up.  I wonder if anyone has ever crawled into one of the beds for a nap and stayed the night. Imagine that.

We managed to sneak in a bit of op shopping too. The amazing oppie in Woodend had a half price sale, woo hoo! And a trip to Savers is always fun. We tried on dresses and skirts and found some ace treasures. 


We're home now and our summer holiday continues. I'm loving the looseness of time, the sleep ins and the freeness to do as we please. Although it was fun to be at school today for a working bee, nice to see old mates and give the grounds a tidy up.

What's happening in your world? Are you finding some simple things to make you smile? Hope so,
see you soon lovely ones xo


 Tagxedo by Sunday

Friday, January 13, 2012

Holiday


Hey friends! We're back from our trip to Robe, busy unpacking, re adjusting and keeping warm as it's much colder here in Daylesford. We had a great time and I really loved the road tripping. One highlight was going through the town of Linton where some of my ancestors lived and worked, over a hundred years ago. The girls and I ran through the long grass in the old cemetery, looking for Walkers and Hogans, passed the graves of so many from long ago. Chinese, Roman Catholic, Irish, many who had come out in the gold rush of the 1850's. We finally found the grave of poor William Henry Walker, who died aged 21 in a mine accident. I knew of this story but standing in front of his headstone I felt a real connection with family, as strong as a heart beat.


Moving on we drove through many tiny towns. Some still pulsing with life and others where the life and soul seemed to have drained away. I feel for these little towns, it's so hard to keep a community going when there is no work and people move away to survive, to have a life. You can sense the hustle and bustle of days gone by, in the many old buildings with their jaunty signage now fading away. I have a real affection for these towns, for the buildings, for their history and people. Luckily op shops are still buzzing along and I was so excited each time we passed an open one! Hamilton gave me some cushions and doilies and a dear little ceramic house.


In Coleraine we stopped for a break and a play at the netball courts. I managed to take this crazy shot of Rosie, wow!
  
After about 5 hours we were nearly there! 


We settled in to our cabin, reunited with the rest of our family and friends, and hit the beach. Robe is very windy, situated where it is, but that didn't bother the kids. The colour of the water is AMAZING! so turquoise!


It was good having Charlotte with us, we don't get to see her so much these days.


We explored this beautiful old limestone building on the edge of the caravan park. I fell in love with the old wood stove in the kitchen, with it's pretty tiles and massive fire place.  There is something magic about a stove like this,  spreading its warmth like a glowing heart, so snug to sit near. I've always wanted one in our kitchen. Maybe not as big though!


One of the best bits of being at Robe was hanging out with friends. Rosie got to ride her bike heaps and visit Cheeky Monkey Simon, her godfather and mate.


And the other kids played and rode and mucked around all day with their friends. I loved the way this meant we weren't always organising things, it all happened around us with not much planning. Lovely!


Char and I took a spin out to Kingston one day for a change of scene. We drove past this amazing old homestead which really captivated me. So many buildings sadly in bad condition,
and a beautiful, ancient lemon tree standing regally in the courtyard.



It's yellow lemons smelled delicious so I picked a few, thinking of the others who 
would have tended this sweet garden so many years ago.

Then we hit the op shop and I was in heaven! So many gorgeous treasures, I could have stayed there all day. This op shop in Kingston is a real flash back to the way oppies uses to be. Cheap, cheerful, not picked over and with so much atmosphere. I was as happy as a clam.



After that amazing experience it was time for lunch. We found a cute old fashioned bakery and got stuck into sandwiches and shared a truly incredible cream filled donut. Boy oh boy.


Sitting by the pier we watched the birds fly past and stared out at the sea. Such a rugged and isolated town, and beautiful with it's limestone buildings and vast stretches of beach and sky. I'll definitely be going back.


Yesterday we headed back home, through the same sweet towns, past the same brown fields to our own little town that we love. It's good to be back and I now feel like I truly am on holiday, relaxed and ready for the new year. Are you having a happy January? I hope so, lovely ones. See you soon xo


Thursday, January 5, 2012

summer holidays..





Hello!


Happy New Year!! Did you have a fun New Years Eve? We did, although I was sorry to miss the annual Daylesford Gala Parade this year. Our neighbour and friend, Ruby, looked so fabulous and I wanted to see her and all the other amazing people who were taking part. Oh well, there's always next year..


We had a fun time at a friends house anyway, although I was in bed before the new year began. Were you? I lay in bed and listened to the fireworks exploding over the lake, bang bang bang!


The next day was a biggie for me so I got up early and headed off with Lucy to Glenlyon. Our little school runs the BBQ and kiosk at a big, old fashioned sports day that runs on the first day of the new year.



 It's been running since 1847 and each New Years Day they put on horse races, wood chopping, mineral water drinking and gumboot throwing competitions, amongst other things. It's a great day and we have a lot of fun. I love it!


It's a real family day, lots of kids running around, watching the comps from the red truck, and many visitors from all over the state coming to enjoy a day in the country. It was a hot one too, so we did a roaring trade in icy poles and cold drinks.


So it's day four of 2012, how is the new year shaping up for you? We've had a shaky start with a bit of illness, never fun in summer. And in two days we are heading off to Robe in South Australia...I hope everyone is well for the trip.


A group of friends are setting up camp in Robe so we are looking forward to hanging out together, walking on the beach, eating, drinking, chatting, and hopefully RELAXING!


I can't wait to get to the beach, I'm craving some sand and sea and shell action. Do you get like that? I think it's the thought of a change of pace too, a different scene. When we lived in the city I loved heading up to the bush to get away from the hustle and bustle. I guess we all like a change, it clears the air, brings a new perspective, I love that.


Although I'm enjoying the holidays I haven't really settled into them yet. I haven't found my holiday feet.
Hopefully this trip will be a fun one, perhaps it's just what I need.


I'll miss our doggies who are going to the dog motel for a week, and all the ducks and other creatures. Mumma duck is back on duty, sitting on five white eggs which will hatch out in about 20 days! More baby ducks..sigh.. :)


So, one more day and we're on the road! Charlotte is coming too, the whole family together again. I'm sure we'll have some fun, some crazy moments, some tears and lots of laughs. Maybe that's what the summer holidays are all about, going with the flow, ups and downs and hanging together.

What are you up to? Are you on holidays too? 
Hope you are having some relaxing time too..see you soon lovely friends xo