The Plan

A storm was brewing on the horizon, foreboding clouds filled the sky and the wind was loud and so ferocious I left my camera behind for fear of getting sand in the lens. The Sea, however, was a picture of calm and serenity, the result of an offshore wind. There was not a single white cap out there. Barely a ripple. It was such an odd scene and one I felt compelled to capture, albeit on my phone. 

Things around here are a bit the same. We're chugging along fairly smoothly on the surface, but there is a flurry of activity going on in the background. It's an odd feeling and I needed to document it so I can look back and remember this moment - the one where a dream was finally put into a realistic plan and the plan was given to the "powers at be" to decide whether or not to give the dream some wings.

We have been thinking about what to do with our property ever since we bought it in 2006. The idea was always to be able to earn a living from the farm, to build something from nothing that we could call our own. Something that would be an asset to the local area as well as providing us with a lifestyle and work that we are passionate about. 

Many ideas have come and gone over the last 7 years. Discussions have stalled as each new baby joins the family, just as they should, and discussions ended completely when we left the farm and lived in Sydney for 18 months. However, at some point you have to bite the bullet and in the past 16 months since we've been back there has been some very serious thought put into it. We toyed around with romantic notions of Cottages and B&B's nestled among Vineyards. There were also months that went into researching the ins and outs of various crops - Lavender, Saffron and at the risk of sounding like a drug lord, Poppies. Tasmania is one of the few places in the world where it is legal to grow Opium Poppies for the pharmaceutical industry. At the end of the day, it had to be something that was so exciting to us that the scary amount of hard work required to make it happen was worth it. 

So after 7 years, we finally have plans for a Tourism Development. We live in a Wine Region along one of the major tourist routes so we kept coming back to a tourism venture. It makes perfect sense. There have been meetings with Local Council, engineers have been on site, horticulturists and landscape architects have been consulted and reports have been done by traffic surveyors. Most importantly, advice from smart people in the tourism industry has been sought. Plans have been drawn up by the Architect and they are sitting here in my hot little hand. The Development Application will be finalised and submitted in 3 weeks and then I can tell you specifically what it is. It is very exciting.

Until then, we sit in this odd place of finally having a concrete plan but not knowing whether it will even get to first base. And then if Local Council give us the green light there will still be the big task of raising capital and then the lengthy construction time. The official opening would probably be 2 years from now. That's a long time to be living in an anxious little bubble with all the obstacles and ups and downs that will come along the way. It may not even get off the ground at all. There may be huge disappointment. So, for the next few months I will just continue chugging along as best I can, going about my day and looking after the kids while the fate of the dream rests with others.

* photos taken at Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Roll Up, Roll Up, 2013 is here!

We kicked off 2013 with a trip to the Moscow Circus

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but for me 2012 came and went like a smoke ring in a stiff breeze. That tends to happen when you jam quite a few major life events into 12 short months. There has been a lot of change. A lot of newness. A lot of wonderful things. A lot more ups than downs this year. With so much going on though, I did get to the end of the year feeling very much like the clowns in the above photo - my head spinning from side to side with an incredulous and dazed look on my face.

A brief recap of the year gone by:

After 18 months in Sydney, we packed up our life to return to Tasmania.

We had "The Big Adventure" - the 3 month trip-of-a-lifetime caravan trek around the country.

We moved back to Tasmania.

The Kids changed Schools, our second child starting school for the first time.

The Pianoman bought into his own business - a dream of working for himself has been high on his agenda for a long time.

We added a menagerie of animals to our farm - the Chooks, a couple of Indian Runner Ducks and 2 pet Lambs.

We started raising sheep for the plate.

I started knitting again.

I learnt to crochet.

I'm learning to spin on a wheel (there's a very good reason I haven't posted my attempts!)

We started our rather substantial vegetable garden.

We enjoyed our 10 year anniversary trip to Vietnam.

I was pregnant (and spent most of the 9 months feeling rather ill and debilitated)

We started to renovate the house and I use the word 'renovate' very loosely.

We celebrated 6 more birthdays and our 11th Wedding Anniversary.

And finally, and obviously the most wonderful life-changing event was the birth of baby Flynn. Those kids bring so much joy and make me proud every day.

And here we are in 2013. I love new beginnings. If it's been a wonderful year then you can start the new year feeling positive about the year ahead and if it's been a not-so-good year then you can start the new year on a clean slate. There is no question that 2012 was a great year for our family where we are finally continuing on with living the dream we started 6 years ago when we bought this little patch of earth after years of dreaming, saving and searching - the dream being to raise a family and live a simple and more sustainable life in the country somewhere.

I have no resolutions this year. I'm just looking forward to 2013 being a year of consolidation. I do love change but even good change can be exhausting. I'm looking forward to being a little more like the Echidna in my Blog banner above and less like the clowns. The Twins will be starting Kindergarten this year, freeing up a few days a week just to myself (and Flynn). I'm looking forward to some more hours to potter in the garden. I'd like to do more knitting and crocheting and learn to sew. I'm mostly hoping to get some more sleep and to put more organisation into the chaos part of "Organised Chaos".

Whatever 2013 brings, and it is sure to bring some surprises and challenges along with some good things, I'll be mindful of the following quote by Buddha:

"Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all"

In other words, I'll try to "roll with the punches". What about you? Any burning resolutions or dreams for this year? Are you a "roll with the punches" kinda person?

Hope 2013 is a wonderful one for everyone.

Mel xx

Anticipation

Still here.

39 weeks with 5 more sleeps to go until I'm officially due. If my past history is anything to go by, the baby will make it's appearance fashionably late by about 10 days or so past the due date. 

However, the Whippet is telling me differently. He is on high alert and will just not leave my side. He's making me anxious. Or maybe it's the other way around. He follows me everywhere and has even started running down the long windy driveway behind the car in a final attempt to not be left behind. He's been with us through every pregnancy so we have seen this behaviour before. I just wish he could talk and tell me what time-frame he was operating on. Are we hours, days, still a week or 2 away? The anticipation of a baby is very humbling indeed.

The Kids have been learning the art of patience and anticipation from the Welcome Swallows that have been nesting appropriately above the front door. A few weeks ago the tiny eggs were found in the nest and have been checked daily to see whether they had hatched. The other day, the four babies had hatched and I can't help feeling there is some symbolism going on. Each baby chick symbolising each of the kids but only 4 because a 5th chick would be 'counting chicks before they had hatched' which is something I don't like to do. One by one they open their hungry little yellow mouths. The 4th one opened its mouth this morning and I cried - such is the fragile state of mind I'm in at the moment. 

The feminist in me doesn't really like the term "Confinement" as used to describe the post-natal rest period however after an exhausting week of 'nesting' activities last week I am very much looking forward to my little "Holiday" in hospital. Instead of experiencing the calm before the storm I'm hoping last week was the storm before the calm. 

It started with the freak Tornado that swept through the Valley. The windy weather that came afterwards ripped one of our doors off its hinges. Luckily this could be fixed ourselves. There were final visits to the Obstetrician, Orthodontist, Vet and Hairdressers. We started weaning the lambs and harvesting produce from the veggie patch (finally!) - all creating a lot of work. I had two spinning sessions at The Spinners Guild, with marginal success but I'm confident I'll be able to practise at home now I have the basics. The Whippet has been bathed and all farm pets have been wormed, as have the children. The water tank has been emptied, cleaned and re-filled. The dishwasher, iron and vacuum cleaner had an Appliance AGM and decided to all break down in the one week necessitating urgent and costly replacements. The lounge room got its final coat of paint. I set up the nursery and washed some baby clothes. Everyone has been treated to brand new white sheets on their beds and I have scrubbed behind the fridge and washing machine. I'd be feeling a bit more virtuous if all of these items were not so long overdue. Sadly, they are entirely related to my crazy 'nesting' compulsions.

Needless to say, I am doing nothing but nice and relaxing things for myself for the remaining days. The Pianoman and I enjoyed a final night out last Saturday night. We walked around the harbour, had a lovely Indian meal and took a bunch of silly gratuitous 'selfies' to mark the end of being parents of 4. I've cancelled out of a lot of social things but our friend was performing in the Bawdy Pantomine "Crapunzel" and seeing him dressed up as the evil stepmother, playing guitar and dancing Gangnam style simply could not be missed. It was naughty and hilarious and although I didn't laugh myself into Labour, we had such a fun night and what little stomach muscles I have left were truly sore by the morning.

I also finished making my ornaments for the Handmade Ornament Swap and have them all packaged and ready to send off to my secret swap partners. I've never done anything like this before and gifting something I have made to someone other than my children was a bit intimidating really, especially because these two ladies are very very crafty themselves. However, it was so much fun, and it really got me in the spirit of Christmas as well as providing a much needed creative distraction during these final days. The best thing about it though has been the lovely new bloggers I've managed to find who are involved in the swap.

There has also been some lovely mail coming my way in the form of this absolutely gorgeous little vintage suitcase which I won in Roberta's giveaway. Roberta is the talented lady behind Rowantree Design - vintage inspired handmade clothing for babies and children. So if you are in the market for something special pop over and look at her gorgeous range of clothing. She has been spending lots of time with her business in New York and picked up this little case on one of her recent trips there. I will use it every single day. It is the perfect nappy bag for me because I don't do nappy bags and this is clearly no ordinary nappy bag. It's teeny tiny but big enough to hold my little Macbook Air, normal daily paraphernalia and a small nappy wallet in the future. Thank you so much Roberta!

I was looking for a nice book to accompany me on my hospital 'holiday' and after reading not one but two recommendations for The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, I just had to pick up a copy which happened to be the very last copy in the whole of Hobart - testament to its popularity maybe? It's set in Alaska, a place which holds a special place in my heart as it is where I spent one of the best 6 weeks of my life trekking around as a 20 year old and I can't wait to be transported back to this gorgeous part of the world.

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So, another text-heavy Post however I can 100% guarantee the next couple of Posts will be very very short.

Finally, thank you to everyone for their lovely comments on my last Post and 'hello' to any new readers that have joined the ride recently. Look forward to visiting you all and hopefully sharing some news soon.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week!

Plotting and Scheming

I totally fell in love with Esperance. Just quietly, I think it reminded me a little bit of Tasmania. The natural rugged beauty with its glorious white sandy beaches and a delightful little seaside town to boot made it a perfect destination in my book. 

We spent hours on the foreshore playing on the beach, fishing on the jetty and watching the resident sea lion "Sammy" do his thing. We watched him laze about, open and close his eyes, sneeze, point his nose in the air and reject fish from the fishermen. I almost had to help him roll from one side to the other as it painfully reminded me of when I was heavily pregnant with the twins and couldn't do the same without assistance.

Anyway, when we weren't enjoying these lovely little moments we spent some time dealing with some 'house-keeping' issues in readiness for the new chapter - our return to Tasmania next month.

This Big Adventure has been a journey on so many levels. The Pianoman has been calling it a 're-alignment', I've been calling it a 'circuit breaker', some may call it a mini mid-life crisis and Blue Eyes has been telling strangers we're travelling around the world, god bless him! Whatever it is, it has been wonderful and we have spent many many hours plotting and scheming.

As you do when you are spending every waking moment with someone on the road, we have been trying to plot a bit of a sketch of what we want to achieve in terms of family, careers and life in general life. And we have been coming up with all manner of schemes of how to get there. There are the bigger picture things like what we want to do with the Farmlet when we get back and to that end we have been tossing up all sorts of ideas from Orchards, Crops, Breeding stock, Lavender or Saffron Farms. Or maybe we'll enjoy being hobby farmers with a mixture of all of the above. It is a long long long term plan and we will do it ever so slowly. I hope you are in for the long haul with me! Frankly, if I reinstate a few chooks, start a vegie patch and don't lose the kids in the bush during the first few months then I think I'll be doing well. 

On the more immediate term we need to think about jobs. We actually left Sydney to embark on The Big Adventure without a job to go to at the other end. One of our bolder moves I must say! I know people do this all the time, but it was a big step for us and quite ironic given the Pianoman was awarded the Young Australian of the Year Award for Career Achievement in his home state some years back. His career has been a big part of his life so to chuck in the big Sydney job was a big thing I guess. However, our reasons for doing so are obviously worth it it in the end. And lo and behold, the world didn't end and things have worked out OK. I don't want to sound flippant or to trivialise the stress of not having a job. On the contrary, it is one of the most stressful things to happen, particularly when you have 4 young children and a mortgage to pay. I don't know, we took a calculated risk and figured something would come about in the 3 months that we were away.

So in the 2 and a half weeks we had to plan this trip, the Pianoman set about putting a few "irons in the fire" and somewhere along the coast of WA one of them came off, which happened to be just great for him. Lucky for us it was a job in Tasmania where our worldly possessions had already been sent and were being stored (there was actually a Plan C based in Darwin at the time we left Sydney). But to cut a long story short, the Pianoman needs to be back in Hobart on 1 February. There was no way we would have comfortably made it to Hobart with the caravan from where we were at the time, so it was decided the Pianoman would see us through the Nullarbor Plain (you know, in case there was a Damsel in distress scenario) and then he would fly from Adelaide to Hobart and I would continue on The Big Adventure as planned with the kids for the last little bit.

As you can imagine there has been a re-jigging of arrangements. We finally got the caravan on the Ferry across to Tasmania (we have actually been wait-listed for 2 months) and are now trying to get the Whippet on the flight with the Pianoman, both to ease my load and a 2 hour flight for the Whippet is so much more palatable to him than an overnight trip on the Ferry. The lease on our house comes to an end just in time for the Pianoman to move straight in. This means everything will be arriving in my absence. This also means I'm now drawing up sketches of where every item in our house needs to go as the Pianoman does not care for such details and I'm a bit of a control freak!

So there you have it. Our days together are now numbered which makes us want to soak up the days even more, not that I think that is possible as I think we've really made the most of the trip.

Here are some shots from the gorgeous Cape Le Grande near Esperance.

We patted the Kangaroos at Lucky Bay.

Blue Eyes added "Kangaroo Impersonator" to his repertoire of tricks.

Matthew Flinders named this bay Lucky Bay in 1802 during his circumnavigation of Australia. It may have been a safe anchorage then but it was blowing the clappers on this day. 

This is Whistling Rock at Thistle Bay - it really does whistle!

Lucky Bay was a tad windy but Thistle Bay was nice and sheltered so we picnicked here instead.

I came back from the car with food and everyone's swimmers and towels to find this -  I was too late again!

Exhibitionists, the lot of them!

We left Esperance to do the infamous Nullarbor Plain - so far so good. Will update hopefully tomorrow when we have finished :-). Goodnight!

Hello 2012

Dress Circle - Lake Kununurra

I am so excited to see the arrival of 2012.

It’s going to be a cracker of a year! I hope it will be for you too.

We are finally declaring 2012 The Year Of The Dream. Our Dream, that is. No-one else’s. Who would be interested in running someone else’s race anyway?

It’s a dream we have been working towards for many years but the last two years we have been on a little detour. A detour, which we thought was necessary to get our lives back on track and turn the dream into a reality.

We have known for quite a few years what we wanted for ourselves and our family so 2012 is all about implementing.

Our Dream involves 3 main elements, which all have at their core the concept of living simply (sorry, the lawyer in me requires there to be a structure to my Dream):

1.Love where you live.

For us, this means moving back to our little Farmlet in Tasmania. We were so happy there. We bought our patch in 2006, the place where we wanted to raise lots of children and create happy memories, which we did. We loved it. We knew we were happiest in a smaller sized place where you can have strong ties to the local community and we were keen to have some acreage, for enjoyment, solitude and as a refuge from the very ‘public’ life the Pianoman was leading as a high profile lobbyist during our years in Tasmania. When we left Tasmania in 2010 we actually had our place on the market to sell. Buyers from interstate were looking through it saying they loved the land but wanted to knock the house down. But I love the house. It needs some work but it has a lovely feel to it. It was heartbreaking going through the sale process when it was something we had worked hard to achieve. But in a stroke of luck it didn’t sell. So we decided to rent it out. This has been one of the best decisions we have made. Cant wait to get back there, despite the fact its condition has deteriorated over the last few years and I will be doing nothing but weeding for the first few months.

2. Be more self-sufficient

Following on from point 1 is our Dream to be more self-sufficient. The main reason we left Tasmania was due to the political affairs of the state at the time. The Pianoman was Chief of Staff to the Premier (actually 3 premiers ago now!). The Premier resigned in 2008 and when a Premier resigns, the role of the Chief of Staff goes. The Pianoman refused to be a joint Chief of Staff with the incoming Premier and so was left without a meaningful job. It was a politically hot environment and difficult to find a suitable job in such a small State where lobbying skills are not in huge demand. There was the added stress that our twins had just been born and with 4 children to care for and a mortgage to pay, there was no way I could contribute financially as any income would have been eaten up in childcare costs. Playing the Piano would only go so far to paying our bills. And so we put our dreams on hold and moved to Sydney where work was plentiful. To cut a long story short, we have realized that we need to be more self-sufficient, financially. So this doesn't happen again. This will mean living on less money and simplifying our life to do so. So next year the Pianoman will be his own boss, no Boards or Chairmen to answer to. For me, it means a return to the workforce after almost 8 years ‘off’ looking after children. Exciting and scary.

3. Spend time doing things you love with those you love

Living and working how we want means being able to spend more time with those we love - our children and friends - as well as having more time for doing things we enjoy. I know this is obvious but I really noticed that despite my best intentions, it was harder for us to be the parents we wanted to be in such a big city.  All the (totally necessary) scheduling, travelling, commuting etc was a constant challenge. Of course you don't have to live that way but for me it's like asking a person to stop eating chocolate but making them work in a chocolate factory. I'm longing for a simpler life. Full stop.

So, with that all off my chest, will you be seeing 2011 out with a bang or having a quiet one like me?

We have moved through quite a few time zones the last few weeks and it’s playing havoc with my body clock. Midnight is 3am here in Kununurra so I'm pretty certain I won't make it.

We’re just about to pull up a seat at the "Dress Circle" here on the banks of Lake Kununurra to watch the magical sunset. The Pianoman and I will be holding glasses of bubbles and the kids will be holding sparklers and we’ll be partaking in some croc spotting.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2012! To all the fellow bloggers out there, thanks so much for your company, inspiration and encouragement this year in what has been my first year of blogging. I've loved every minute of it.

Looking forward to hanging out with you all next year J

Where are the Mothers?

I’ve been for a little wander.

Just me, myself and I.

Finally alone with my thoughts uninterrupted by the Kids, the Husband or the Whippet. Dangerous territory. I feel some pondering and a waffle coming on.

It’s close to sunset and I’m marveling at the stunning colours of the rugged Flinders Ranges. There is the thud of the odd Grey Kangaroo and the crunch of my feet breaking the grass underfoot.

I spot an Emu. It moves slowly but purposefully and I decide to follow it.

Over the hill we go. I’m suddenly delighted when I spot the Mother Emu reunited with its six Emu chicks. It’s a beautiful sight.

Except it’s not their Mother. It’s actually their Father. Emu’s are one of those rare species where the Father is in charge of the parenting. He sits on the Emu eggs, incubating them for 8 weeks without feeding himself and then raises and nurtures the chicks until they are ready to leave the family.

But where are the Mothers? I start thinking about the baby Emu chicks. I feel sorry for them. No Mother. Do they miss their Mother, like I do? Or are they grateful they have their Father, like I am? Will they ever see their Mother again? What if they find her and she rejects them? Or will they be without her forever? Are they sad? Do they even care? How will they turn out without their Mother? Questions asked of me for almost 20 years.

I grew up with my Father from the age of 12. I didn’t see my Mother for 15 years until after I had my own children. I missed her. She missed me. I’ve asked myself for many years, how and why did this happen? How could so many years pass by. I’ve now realized that the ‘why’ doesn’t matter. How one ‘loses’ their mother doesn’t matter. To the children it is a loss regardless of the reasons. It’s made more difficult because these children are often not given the same support or justification to grieve over a mother they have ‘lost’ as opposed to children who have lost a mother through death. But why is it different?

But back to the Emu chicks. They look fit and healthy. In fact they are thriving. It reminded me of all the other ‘Mothers’ I had along the way. There was the Father that became the Mother. The Godmother, the Aunts and Grandmothers, special family friends and women I chose as mentors. Those that were already Mothers but somehow had room for me in their life. Together they formed a circle of love to care for the child whose mother was absent. There are all types of Mothers and I believe it doesn’t matter what form a mother comes in so long as there is one. I am very fortunate and blessed.

So I watch the Emu chicks as their father dutifully steers them along their path. I now stop worrying about these Emu chicks. They have a 'mother'. They will be fine just as I am fine.

 

This week I am grateful for all the 'mothers' out there. And I'm linking up with the fabulous Maxabella  for her final Grateful Link-up for 2011.

My Love Affair with the Apple Isle: Prologue

So the decision to return to Tasmania with the family and the Whippet has been made.

Fair enough, I hear you say!

But for my own sake I think I need to pen down a bit of history because my head is spinning.

You see, this will actually be the 3rd time we are going to live on the Apple Isle and it has come to my attention that this may look like we are little crazy and somewhat lacking in direction. Not that I should really care what anyone thinks. I have a solid track record of NOT choosing the conventional route of doing things in life. And now that I am a grown-up I'm also caring less and less what people think :-).

Anyway, I hope you can indulge me in a bit of background as to how a girl from NSW met The Piano Man from Northern Territory in an Irish Pub in Canberra and ended up in Tasmania.

I first fell in love with Tasmania 15 years ago as a bright-eyed 19yr old uni student from Canberra.

It was during a Uni break that I set off with a German mate to spend 2 weeks on this mysterious Island I had heard so much about. We spent the first week doing the famous Overland Track (before the arrival of duckboards, loads of Tourists and the walk-1-way-only policy). The scenery was breathtaking. It was so unique and beautiful and still remains one of the most amazing walks I have ever done (and I have done some pretty special ones in Alaska and Canada, but I digress….). In fact, I loved it so much I did it again 4 years later with the Piano Man.

The second week was spent travelling around the Island in a hire car, staying in Backpackers and B&B’s. I couldn’t believe such a tiny island could be packed with so many goodies. There were breathtaking world heritage wilderness areas, wild rivers, sleepy villages, rainforests, pristine beaches that went on forever, gorgeous lake areas, rolling hills and a list of quaint towns and villages too many to mention. I loved the architecture. The locals were a friendly bunch too. To top it off, it had Hobart as its Capital, a picturesque city located on one of the most beautiful deep Harbours in the world with the dominating Mt Wellington as its backdrop. Hobart had a great vibe, not too big, not too small, and I remember thinking that I would love to live here one day….


I often wonder how many people decide to move to a place after experiencing a wonderful trip there. Have you?

Part 1 of 3 of My Love Affair With The Apple Isle coming soon.....