a weekend sojourn

exploring in Patma's backyard

This weekend the kids and I decided to hotfoot it up to Mullumbimby to stay with my Aunty, Patma. Scott had a friend coming up and they were excited about a weekend full of jamming, playing and recording, which is awesome but I thought it could have been even more awesome if the kids and I were out of the picture having our own awesome time somewhere else. And it was, we all had really great weekends.
Patma lives very close to town, so we had a very leisurely few days (ahem, yes very unusual compared to our umm, leisurely days in Bellingen?!). We went to some op shops, garage sales and the Crystal Castle. Poe had been dreaming and saving his coins for the day when he got to visit the Crystal Castle (somehow whenever I write that, I can hear an echo;  Castle, Castle). Poe loved the "Castle",  (unfortunately it doesn't actually look like a castle) he was enthralled by the massive crystals jutting out about the place, the bamboo forest, and the various fairy inspired bits and pieces that were scattered about the place. Ilo and Poe were delighted with their little packs of tiny fairy crystals that they bought and have already spent many many hours gazing and sifting through them all.

a leaf fairy we found at the Crystal Castle

c'mon, it's a great photo

the now defunct Mullumbimby train station/tracks

Tonight we went to the Bellingen Showground for fireworks and quite honestly it was AMAZING, yes I do think caps are necessary. It was great being really close (we couldn't have been far from the fireworks no matter how hard we tried) and there were heaps of those golden glitter like fireworks with plenty of resonating and satisfying booms. I felt like a child again, my mouth wide open, my eyes glittering, the cold fresh on my nose and such delight in my heart. Neither Nick, Scott, Poe, Ilo or myself could have even imagined it would have been so great and then we were home within minutes. A pretty magical way to spend a Sunday evening.

curry night shenanigans

Ilo: "my face cold pulled beanie down"

He chose this very eclectic outfit for tonight's outing, love it. 

so did Poe

Bellingen Bowling Club

shooting stars

craft, school and back to the river

A very special friend turned 40 yesterday, she is a person who is amazingly generous, extremely caring and someone who always sees the best in others to put it mildly, she is pretty awesome (oh and did I mention she is gorgeous?) As part of her birthday present I crafted her an embroidered tablecloth wrap skirt, sounds fetching i know, and a wool scarf. The scarf was unintentionally inspired by soulemama and another very special friend and craftsperson extraordinaire, Annie (who made the greatest scarf ever for Scott).

Poe started pre-kindy yesterday and he loved it. We had envisioned a gentle introduction, possibly a day a week, moving slowly up to the three days but at the end of each day he wanted to go back again. The children at pre-kindy are really gentle and lovely and you can feel them embrace the soft and nurturing environment that is created. Beautifully, as a direct consequence of pre-kindy, Poe has been singing a lot more, singing about whatever he is doing, be it eating breakfast, getting dressed or playing with Ilo. I for one cannot get enough of hearing either of my children sing; the words they choose, the way their soft voices ebb and flow and how the songs meld into each other, ahhh. 

At home trying out a flash skirt found at a throwout- oh yeah

 Ilo, Scott and I decided to live it up whilst Poe was at pre-kindy and enjoyed a very delicious and leisurely breakfast.

On the weekend we spent another afternoon on the beach, wandering around looking for treasures. As I felt my body relax and my eyes dart, I realised that I was feeling the same way I do when I am op-shopping, such a delightful feeling, the thrill of discovering.

oh the love

Today, after pre-kindy, we decided to stop off at the river. It was icy cold but so much fun. We skimmed rocks, made lots of splashes, admired the ducks and delighted in our environment. Personally, I was fantasising about when the weather is warmer and how we will be able to stop off and have a swim after our sweaty bike ride from Kindy (ok, the ride is only 15 mins and has only one significant hill but my match fitness is down). Ilo went for an unexpected dip - face first, but lived to laugh about it later. Poe decided he wanted to play the "Mermaid Princess" a story by Shirley Barber. He created his own coral pond and then we built a great house for Sandy (the elf), unfortunately, by the time the props were made we had to head home, so stay tuned, Act 1, scene 1 will be played out tomorrow afternoon. I for one cannot wait to reenact the scene where Jon (played by me) helps Marina the mermaid (played by Scott) into the coral pond. 

Scott stylin'

As I mentioned in a previous post Scott has been scoring big time in the world of secondhand clothing purchases. He has accentuated his style with some very tasty additions. So tasty that I couldn't I resist sharing. I think he is looking hotter than ever, what do you think? 

There is definitely a brown jacket thing happening, but they are all so different and suit a large range of purposes. 

amazing brown cardi

funky old suit that Scott wore to "work"on Friday

one of the many flannels recently acquired

brown sports jacket

great leather jacket 1

the more awesome leather jacket acquired today - seriously hot

a few more firsts

Yesterday we had our first visitors, our first bello food box, our first meeting with Poe's pre kindy teacher; Paige and our first curry night at the Bowling Club (oh yeah).

Just as we finished straightening up the house in preparation for our home interview with Paige, we received a call from Louisa, announcing that herself, Morag and Huon were just around the corner. How exciting and before we knew it our house was being warmed by our first visitors, it was so lovely to have people that we know from Sydney visit our new home.

We sat, we caught up, we exchanged stories and munched on delicious bits and pieces. But as we had Paige coming to visit very soon we made plans to meet up at Urunga the following day and bid our farewells. 

And then we met with Paige who came bearing a posy of  flowers for Poe (who was thrilled). She was lovely, so warm and open, she answered all the questions we had with such reassurance and enthusiasm that we felt really happy and confident that Poe will be happy with her at pre-kindy (which is part of Chrysalis Steiner School). Understanding that no school is perfect we do believe that Steiner is more in tune with the way we parent and will be a supportive and gentle environment for Poe. 

By the way Poe is still in absolute delight with Paige's name "like turn another page" or "when she is telling us stories we can just say turn the page, Paige" he giggles as he rolls about in delight.  

After a heart-warming visit we then had to hot-foot it to pick up our Bello Food Box, for $50 we received a table full of food, all sourced within 200 kilometres of Bellingen. Needless to say we are very excited and delighted.

Today we headed to a few op-shops (yes withdrawals were setting in) and Scott managed to pick up a few stylin additions to his wardrobe, unfortunately he has been buying a lot more clothes than me of late and I am quite envious to say the least. We then met up with Morag and Louisa for fish and chips at the beach (well, technically the river/beach/mangrove). As you can see the kids stripped off and frolicked in the water and had a huge amount of fun. We then checked out the 400m boardwalk which goes over the river/mangrove and leads to the beach, pretty awesome. 

blurry but you get the idea

And now the curry. Can you imagine how excited we were when we saw a little sign in a shop window saying "Ethiopian Curry Night, Thursday from 5pm. Three vegetarian curries, rice and flatbread $7. Three meat curries, rice and flatbread $10. Bellingen Bowling Club". Tonight couldn't happen fast enough. We strolled down (the Bowling Club is at the other end of our street) and enjoyed a sizeable feast (basically dahl, another beany dish, a carrot, potato, cabbage dish, a carrot coriander salad, rice and bread).
The club was full of families, vibrant colours, smiles and ease. The other great thing was the relaxed atmosphere of the club and the fact that there were so so many kids having an awesome time.

There was a small stage which many of the kids utilised as anything from a diving board to, well, a stage - lots of impromptu dancing and singing. 

This picture is of Ilo being hugged by three random kids and Poe, he loved it. 

This will definitely be a weekly event for us. 

things we do

to keep in touch -Lily and Saul watching Scott and Poe baking bread on skype

to keep warm - our first load of wood

to make money

to get cosy

to reacquaint 

seeker lover keeper and crafty stuff

Although we had been out the night before I was quite looking forward to seeing Seeker Lover Keeper  and to do a bit of solo exploring of Bellingen at night. I did think that this concert would be pretty good but I never dreamed that I would see a cake stall laden with homemade cakes and a big pot of chai up for the offering. How could I refuse, what a perfect and very civilised accompaniment to a gig (and the curious amongst you the cake was chocolate cherry, oh my goodness).  Seeker Lover Keeper were amazing, they had a great dynamic on stage and every song was awesome (seriously no duds). Sitting there in the dark, soaking up this beautiful music produced by three people with a great connection definitely got me thinking about all the beautiful moments I have had in the last couple of years with some amazing friends as we have set out on the town and delighted in each others company. I am pretty damn lucky and am blessed with the best friends imaginable.

And now to the crafty stuff, first of all how awesome/mind blowingly amazing are these bearded folk from Pepper Stitches. After a tip off from a friend of ours, Zoe, Scott contacted Pepper Stitches and commissioned these works of art, they will be the stars of his film clip for "The Mid-North", we are so excited and cannot wait to see them sitting on porches, strolling through the woods or just kicking back by the river, stay tuned (ha!). 

Here is our new crafty corner, I think it is pretty great. I had to do some major work in limiting the amount of fabric on display, the rest are stashed away in many boxes in a few cupboards. After weeks of  having our crafty goodness in boxes the kids were pretty excited to get their craft on and were at it before I even knew what was happening. Oh my fingers are tingling in anticipation. 

a nocturnal outing

Ilo ready for a night on the town

Last night we rugged up and headed up the road to the Lodge cafe.  Every Friday night they have a folk music night and last night was open mic night. It was lovely heading out feeling the fresh cold air on our faces and then to enter the Lodge which was so cosy, warm and welcoming.

This is the type of cafe where you can imagine staying for hours basking in the warmth of the fire whilst eating delicious food and drinking copious amounts of wine (hmmm might have to wait until this breastfeeding caper is over until I fully indulge in that fantasy). The kids had a great time but after a few acts we headed home whilst Scott stayed on and played a few songs which were received with rapturous applause and demands for more.

Tonight I am heading down the road to see Seeker Lover Keeper I am really excited to see this talented threesome, will let you know all about it tomorrow.

spoils

Obviously we wouldn't be foolish enough to move to an area with a dearth of op shops, i mean what would be the point of living if we did that. Luckily within 20 minutes of us there are about 10 op shops and even more fortuitously is that I have a partner who loves to op shop as much as I do (seriously, as much as I do, how great is that). And I guess even luckier than that is the fact that both kids love op shopping as well, Ilo actually refers to any shop as  "tempe op shop". 

Above is a little collection of delicious treats recently acquired, nothing totally amazing but enough to satisfy and warm my heart. Today I plan to move from the back steps into a designated crafting area, hmmm so very excited. But rest assured I have indeed been creating however I cannot show you what I have made just yet. Unfortunately this will be happening quite often over the next few months as birthday season begins. 

I would be lying if i said that we have begun to get into a routine, we haven't, but what has been happening are days that are slow, gentle, nurturing and fun. We have a few steps out the back that are the lucky recipients of direct sunlight from 8am til about 1pm, and it is bliss. The last few mornings (as Scott has created in his studio) has seen me sewing for hours and Poe and Ilo playing and playing and sewing and playing some more. I was talking to Poe about how much I have been loving this and he commented that he also loves it and that he loves how it feels 'like it is morning for hours', stuck in this bubble of warmth and fun. 

On Saturday we hopped on our bikes and visited the growers market, one more local than I have ever seen, with a huge proportion of the food coming from Bellingen and it's surrounds. There was music, good food, hula hoops, lots of kids and us. It was really strange being in a place that felt quite familiar (being regulars at other grower's markets) but actually not really "knowing" anybody. Not having any friends, just being observers.

to market

unfortunately we have to cross this to get to the markets

double the banana double the fun ($5 kg!)

Ah friends, we do miss you so, we miss the comfort in knowing you are near, the ease of being around you, the fun, the love, we miss you.  But have no fear we are in no hurry to make any new friends (cause quite frankly you have set a very high standard), we are really loving being and embracing our family unit, we are loving filling our days with simplicity and exploration, loving slowing things down.
But we are also super keen to have our wonderful friends come and visit so that you too can enjoy some of this and so that we get the thrill of having more people that we love in this place that we are relishing. 

Simple days

An afternoon spent gleaming treasures at the beach - time to sit and watch, to look for sea glass, shells, sponges and driftwood. 

hungry head

x 2

 Wandering, exploring, stopping, starting, no hurry at all. 

strolling

strollering

Evenings are spent, crafting, playing (guitar, banjo), and watching the latest season of Mad Men, (oh my goodness), all this whilst consuming chocolate with my beloved in front of a blazing fire, yep we are enjoying this space.

Oh those captions, so sorry, but i can't resist the desire to extract some kind of humour (very loose humour at that) with them. My apologies but it can't and won't be stopped.