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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Your place, my place, our place

We've spent the past week up in Port Macquarie, NSW attending the wedding of a daughter of a friend. Yes, we're now attending the weddings of children of our friends. This makes me very aware of the unstoppable passage of time.

Port Macquarie holds the story of our beginnings. It's where we fell in love during what seemed to be an endless summer. All the time I was there I heard the whispers of our secrets on the wind. I saw our footprints in my footprints on the sand. I remembered the echoes of our laughter, the joy of our reunions, feeling like we were invincible, alive, infinite.

We became a family up there. Our children know it as their other home. They too have stories and shared memories. We have friends up there close enough to be family; who love us, laugh with us, mourn for us.

It belongs to him, but because of that my heart beats there too. It holds the secrets of his beginnings and because of that my footsteps there are made with respect. It brought him to me and I will always be grateful for that.

His place became our place and so it holds a special place in my heart.

From my morning run.
Waves on Lighthouse Beach.
Camel rides anyone?
Tim at Town Beach
Georgia and I on our way home.
The gang at Olivia & Nathan's wedding. From left: Chloe, Georgia, Tim, Sarah.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Crazy hippy Lady Leisa

When you become more interested in your health and nutrition it's interesting, or should I say frustrating, the amount of conflicting or different advice you find. Eat/drink soy/soy is bad, olive oil is great/olive oil is only great when it's cold, heating makes it carcinogenic, honey is good/honey is bad, juicing is great/blending is greater. It's enough to make your head spin! I'm reading a lot but I think I need to start wheat and chaffing the information - find what I know works for me and agrees with my philosophies and go from there. So far, I feel healthy and energised. I'd be interested to know what my iron levels are doing but I feel okay. Lots of leafy greens, nuts and lentils are helping I think.
Im keen to start my own veggie patch but really get serious about it rather than my usual "stick stuff in the ground and see what happens" method. I'm interested in doing a Gardening/Permaculture course over at CERES called "Gardening for all Abilities". As it suggests it also caters for people with disabilities, so I think my stature may be catered for. I'm going to give them a call and find out more about it. I'd love to be able to grow our own food and know that we're eating good, nutritious, organic produce. Chances are, Seamus will also eat everything before we get a chance to! (Yes, we have spoiled, undisciplined dogs.)

Work is shitting me. Nothing major. its just a job i do that pays me money and gets the bills paid. Put it this way, there's nothing exciting about making sure the stationery cupboard is stocked, that there are supplies in the kitchen, doing the mail, booking interpreters, coordinating room bookings for meetings and answering the phone. I'd love to be doing something outdoors; something that requires moving and using some oomph and helps people. Disability rights is really wearing thin. When Stella worked for AAV she told me that she "got sick of it being all about disability", which is kind of funny because she's now one of the biggest voices in Melbourne when it comes to disability rights. Go figure.

I guess I'm an old soul at heart, wishing for days where families looked after themselves, tilling the earth, making things with their hands, living in community. I know such things soothe my soul and bring about a sense of contentedness for me. Nothing pleases me more than making things for my family and others, nurturing them and myself with simple things. I get tired of the "have to" life.

Sometimes I have this crazy desire just to opt out and see what happens. What happens if we just take off in the car with a tent and just drive till we're tired? What happens if I just plant a garden with seasonal veggies and fruit and care for it well? What happens if we just become content with what we have and not buy new stuff, but rather look to op shops and co-ops for our needs? What happens if we turn off the TV and the Internet and return to books and games and writing and storytelling and knitting and sewing and handcrafting? What happens if I stop colouring and cutting my hair? (actually, I'm experimenting with that one now!) I'm tired of the so called "have to's". Life wasn't meant to be filled with have to's was it?

I can see it now. Crazy hippy lady Leisa squatting in some shack up in Nimbin with her undisciplined dogs and free ranging chooks with half a dozen naked grandchildren running about the place.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wordless Wednesday

My youngest, Georgia,aged 16 years, 11 months