Having to say goodbye to a dear friend is terrible,
but saying goodbye with a bunch of fabulous people and a touch of city style helps a little.
You are going to be missed terribly dear girl, you and all your wonderful family. Your new country is going to love you.
Afternoons, when the sun goes down just a little later
two boys on bikes whizz by
I lay in the grass, breathing in the earths smell, only a second or two
until two little legs land with a plop on my back
Hoss mama, hoss! The obligatory horse ride, the giggles
the whizz by again on the two bikes
laughing, and concentration as they get used to their new wheels beneath them
a grassy pile is gathered up on the small of my back
I lay still while she concentrates so very carefully,
continues and then in a green flurry she’s gone
whisked high up into the air by strong trusted hands
giggling again as she lands on his shoulders
the bikes slowly peddle homeward, the infectious giggles continue
and the sun drops that bit lower,
late afternoon
it’s time to go home.
there’s a hint of spring in the air
a wattles scent being thrown out into the wind
enough to catch me and stop
hopeful blueberry flowers
delicately sitting on tiny branches
and the punks of the park
they know spring is coming
a hint of it anyway
6.55am
Winter
Sydney, Australia
6.15pm
full moon
Lucky to have been able to watch both rise this week. The draw of a sun rise and pull of a full moon….lucky indeed.
The night before I started, I’d questioned myself a little. Why was I doing this course when we still lived in a small flat in a very busy city? Wasn’t this the sort of course that you did when you had access to land or at the very least, had a small back yard?
The next day, listening just ten minutes in to Nick Ritar from Milkwood speaking, I knew I had made the right decision. This was definitely the course for me. It was one of those moments where I had felt simultaneously like laughing and crying at the same time….that’s how right it felt.
I had signed up to do the Introduction to Permaculture weekend course, and have come away from it utterly renewed and inspired…totally inspired. (Just quietly, I think my brain exploded a little that weekend.)
My dreams of living elsewhere in a far less big city fashion, have been whole heartedly renewed. However I’ve also been totally inspired to do more where I am, in this very moment as well. Living by permaculture principles is totally workable in an inner urban environment, not only workable…it should be compulsory. Can you imagine if permaculture was a subject taught in all city schools along with reading and maths? A subject that was just naturally incorporated into our learning curriculum? Changes people, massive changes, and I can’t see how it would be anything but overwhelmingly positive.
So what am I going to do with my newly permaculture exploded brain?
I am going to run with it. I’m going to start with some teeny tiny changes that are going to make an impact on the way my family and I live, and then I’m going to hopefully branch out a little and slowly shake things up.
I’ve got dreams again and I’m not afraid to use them.
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For more info see
This past weekend was a long one. There is a lot to love about long weekends.
I loved two consecutive hot cups of tea. Instead of the usual tepid first one and and stone cold second. (Throwing caution to the wind, I did try for a third…with tepid results.)
I also loved finally turning a corner with the mixy-matchy ‘I’m really not sure about this coming together’ blanket. I’m still not sure, but not as not sure as before.
We explored, and visited and spent time with loved family. Ending in long waves out car windows until they were just specks in the distance.
There were cousins and sunsets, long talks and games.
Not to forget that there was also cake. Scrumptious cakes on long weekends, bought from farmers markets and eaten with loved ones. That’s a pretty good long weekend I think.
“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE
Sydney Writers Festival I adore you. You are nothing but inspiring and on weekends like this I love every. single. inch, of this fair city. Truly inspired…loving that.
Head On photographic exhibition…so many stunning pictures. So many, talented people out there wielding a camera.… loved every single one of them.
Watching a little blanket grow. It started with some really unlikely colours, using what I had on hand and not a hint of an idea or plan, but I think (with fingers and toes crossed) it’s coming together, (in a rustic mixy matchy kind of way)….and I’m loving that.
Stories of tea. Getting to read all your beautiful stories of tea. I was incredibly touched that so many of you took the time to share a tea story with me. There were so many lovely stories I decided to change it to three winners.
Amber @Quinces and Cumquats
Anne
Rose @Greening the Rose
Thank you to everyone, I wish I could have given you all some tea.
What are some of those moments that have tickled your heart lately?
It’s dark outside when the steaming kettle flicks off. Pouring the hot water into the little green pot, I wait, and I stretch. Then pour again. This time into my empty cup. The smell of the deep spices hit and I slowly breathe them in. Add a little milk and take a tiny satisfying sip.
My morning, my chai.
This is how I love starting the day. With most of my day being fairly unpredictable, I like the very start of my day to be predictable. A simple ritual of a small pot of chai.
When we were in Byron Bay at the end of last year. I came across a tea at the local markets. A tea, that I instantly fell in love with. Loose leaf, and chunky just the way I liked it. It was the best one I’d found so far. I’d never considered that I was fussy with my chai tea, but it turned out, actually I was.
I wanted loose leaf, (tea bags really are a needless waste of resources when you are drinking at home- plus it tastes better.)
I didn’t want my tea to look like someone had just scraped the bottom of the barrel, lining my teapot with a vague tea smelling dust.
I wanted spices in there and I wanted to see them.
I didn’t want an excessive amount of annoying packaging.
I also wanted to know my chai tea was fairtrade, organic and local (as much as possible).
(And I certainly didn’t want any chai powder or syrup… pffft!)
So there it was, all in my cup. I had found exactly the kind of tea I had been looking for. Simple happiness.
Branching out into some of the company’s other tea and I wasn’t disappointed. Each one that I’ve tried is lovely, really lovely.
Skin Glow– while I can’t attest to my skin actually glowing, it certainly felt good drinking. With ingredients of spearmint, calendula, burdock, echinacea and red clover- how could it not be beneficial?
Floral Love– this one intrigues me. I don’t know what it is, but I’m completely drawn to it. I can’t keep my nose out of the box. It’s got beautiful soft floral tones to it, without being too heady and over powering. It’s subtle enough to draw you in, making you want more, and to take another sip. This tea really is, a late summers picnic with a loved one- balmy warm weather, with a laden picnic rug, sitting in a field of beautiful flowers. If there was ever a tea that could be a soft finger being traced up an afternoons sun kissed arm, or tiny kisses at the base of your neck…well, this would be it.
(Rose petals, chamomile, lavender, rose hips, calendula, corn flower.)
Immunity– Was well timed after a run of three separate family illness over the last three weeks. I was taking anything I could get hold of.
(Echinacea, rose hips, ginger, licorice root, nettle, lemon balm.)
Calming– Goodnight kisses for small kids tucked in bed. Book by my side, and an exhalation. Mentally and physically letting go of the day and all she held. Long slow sips…
(Chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm and lavender.)
I love supporting companies like this. Knowing where my shopping dollar is going is always incredibly important to me. A local small family run company that offers ‘all natural, certified organic and fair trade tea, chai, naturopathic blends and herbal tissanes.’ The teas are designed by a naturopath, are hand blended and packaged, the company give one percent, believe in sustainability and…
…above all, it’s just really, really lovely tea.
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If you would like to try some of Love Chai, Love Tea‘s blends. I have some different blends to give away to three people. To win, I would love to hear what your favourite brew is and the setting in which to drink it, (real, imagined or perhaps a memory?)
Have you sipped chai at first light as the sun rose over the Himalayas?
Is it a quiet moment to your self sipping green tea before the family get up?
Do you wish you could go back in time- sharing a cup of hot sweet black tea with your grandmother aboard a Canadian bound ocean liner?
Paint me a picture, tell me a story.
(Giveaway ends 12pm Sunday 26th May)
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EDIT- winners are… Amber, Anne, Rose
and where to find it if you would like to buy some.
“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE
For me, there seem to be a lot of things to think about at the moment, and never quite enough time to do all of that thinking. What I have noticed lately though, is that life seems deliciously wonderful when those tiny moments of joy are grabbed hold of and held for just moment longer. Pausing a weary brain, and clearing a head full of thoughts.
A clear head… there is a lot to love of that.
Waking in the middle of the night, being showered in moonlight from a very full moon….loving every moonbeam of that.
Weekend away to a beautiful farm, where we were able to pick whatever we wanted to eat. With persimmons, pecans, eggs, spinach, sweet potato, tomatoes, mandarins, and home made blackberry jam from blackberries just down the hill to choose from…we all loved every second of it.
Dappled autumnal afternoon light hitting my kitchen table… loving that.
Dimpled baby smiles and cheeky chuckling boys…loving them.
Drinking coffee from my grandmothers 1960’s coffee mug. There is something about it that grounds me every time. The connection to her, the history behind it, the brief quiet time that is usually associated with it and importantly the lip. Nothing worse than a coffee cup with an annoying lip…loving drinking from that cup.
Moments of simplicity. Often far too brief lately, but jeez….loving them when they are there.
There is a heady smell of freshly baked bread in the air as I close the little gate to the garden. The nights dew still sticks to the grass, making a soft squeaking noise underfoot. Following the sourdough signs, the incredible smell in the air confirms that I’m in the right spot.
I’ve come in search of The Sourdough Baker in Newcastle. Currently baking at the Croation Sports Club in Wickham. Nestled in next to a community garden- sourdough and a community garden? It’s already making me smile and I haven’t even tasted the bread yet.
The Sourdough Baker is Warwick Quinton, who has been baking in all sorts of formats for the last few decades. I first heard of him through the wonders of Instagram, but several friends and family members had been telling me of delicious sourdough tales well beforehand. With his gorgeous partner Ginnie by his side and a handful of trusty helpers, the bread is woodfired and baked in “Bertha” the hefty black oven.
Watching the beautiful loaves come out of the oven, lined up the table, and sit in the early morning sunlight. I can’t help but feel a huge amount of bread happiness. It’s these sort of people that I find incredibly inspiring, making a business work out of something that is so obviously dear to their heart.
Any artisan work is a labour of love, and sourdough bread really is a wonderful example of that. That love is certainly here, as I bite down on my thickly sliced bread a little while later. I scrutinise the crumb and take in the taste. So different to my own loaves.
It’s good, really good.
Talking with Warwick on all things sourdough, I find out his methods are also completely different to my own. Reading The Sourdough Baker’s site days later and there were audible pops as my brain explodes just a little.
I knew sourdough was a flexible beast, with many variations on how to do things, but some of his methods I hadn’t even considered. Seventy two hours from beginning dough mixing to end, desem dough sourdough starter and slashing hours before going in to the oven, were just some of them. All bready tweaks that I think I would definitely like to play with down the track.
For a wannabe bread nerd I still have a lot to work on, so visits like this just fuel that wanting to learn. So many variations, methods and ingredients to play with. All things which after about three years of baking sourdough I still find incredibly exciting. As I sat later, chewing on sourdough and musing on all kinds of bready possibilities, ideas began to form. Mental lists of what to play with next and how to go about it were made.
And next time I’m in Newcastle? Well, I know where I’m getting my bread from.
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For recipes, sourdough tales, bread making classes and general information, have a peek at the…
A few weeks back I put the call out for a little help on the bike purchasing front… What was the best bicycle for a city gal wanting to get around on two wheels?
Turns out I had quite a lot of choice, and so I slowly narrowed it down to two, with 5062 hours of research and the help of you- my awesome readers. Every piece of advice was duly noted and I can confidently say, without everyone’s advice there is no way I would have found the bike that I did.
The cool looking retro bikes were trying to entice me but it’s a trusty 21 speed hybrid Malvern Star that finely came through with a skidding halt to my back door step. Despite being daunted by all the seemingly excessive gears, after two rides, (yes, two) I got them. I understood the gears and can confidently say….I love them! Gears are amazing and make bike riding a joy… who knew?
This little bike has everything I wanted- stand, mud guards, step through, basket, rack, upright position, 21 speeds and a comfy seat, (without a crazy price tag.)
The first few rides were a little daunting, the footpath getting a good workout along with the breaks. Every car going by seemed to be a potential to, well… die! However I’ve decided that if I’m going to ride in Sydney I just have to get more confident. It’s a busy city, with not a lot of apparent love towards bike riders, (and just quietly, more than it’s fair share of hills.) But it’s my city and there is nothing to say, I can’t make that all work for me.
Early morning rides to city farmers markets? No problem, with my basket on the front and my bell finger at the ready, ting ting…out of my way drunken Friday night partiers, city hippy farm girl coming though on her bike…ting ting.
Taking the bike away with us last weekend, I got a different view of what it’s like to ride around another city. Newcastle this time, which is incredibly flat and bike friendly. Peddling furiously to make it to the beach in time to watch the sun sneak over the water I had a moment.
I got it, I really did.
With the wind on my face, the light slowly touching the scattered clouds, my breath catching a little as I peddled faster and faster. I had time, I knew I could get there before the sun snuck over the horizon. I kept going faster though, not because I had to, but because I could… and that’s a pretty wonderful feeling to have.
My top tips for anyone looking at getting a bike in the city.
Research…and research your butt off. Ask oodles of questions, try the bikes out and take your time making a decision. You want to use it, not for it to be an expensive ornament. The low gear retro bikes look amazing, but if you don’t live in a flat cobblestone city, maybe think again. If you are going to be riding up any sort incline, gears are your friend. A superb wonderful friend, that you will love getting to know.
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For an interesting comparison on riding in a different city, have a read of Richard Tulloch’s cycling in Amsterdam…44,000 bike spaces to park in!
It was the perfect antidote to a pretty stressful week. A celebration of our city living community. A chance to get together, share food, swap stories, let the kids run loose and put all my worrying tiring thoughts on pause for the afternoon. I needed that.
It had been awhile since the last one. With Autumn’s Equinox and the tail end of a Sydney summer- it seemed like a good excuse for a laden food table and a chance to watch some colourful bunting flutter gently in the breeze.
Thankfully, it takes very little to get a great bunch of people together. A group email invitation to a chosen loved spot. Invitations to invite other friends along with them, and suddenly there is a big bunch of lovely people. Ukuleles, hula hoops, bare feet and rampant yodeling are always actively encouraged at these sorts of things. This is what makes living a busy life, in a small space, in a bustling city… ok. Actually it’s more than ok, it makes it wonderful.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
