Happy Birthday Beautiful

Yesterday was our dear, dear friend Leisa's birthday, oh a day of worship/celebration was planned starting at another dear friend's new cafe Ink & Tart, then a long leisurely lunch at The Purple Carrot followed by an evening of who knows what. But unfortunately it didn't happen that way, I was in bed recovering from the previous day's tummy bug and Nicole spent her first day at her new cafe at home suffering from said tummy bug. Hmm not quite the glorious day we had planned.

Nevertheless wishing you my dear Leisa, the happy of happiest Birthday days, our family is so delighted and blessed that you and your amazing family are so closely nestled into our lives. We love your kindness, joy, determination, creativity, stunning beauty, oozing love and constant wit, charm and hilarity. We hope you had the most magnificent of days (yes, even without us) and we can't wait to shower loads of love and affection on you next weekend as we celebrate your and Ben's wedding anniversary, hooray. We love you. 

* and yes this is a photo that I just used recently but I found it perfectly summed up Leisa, her vibrancy, beauty and zest for life. 

down by the river

In Year 8 at Chrysalis, students undertake a major project of their choice, it can be anything from taming a wild brumby, making up a binary code for a computer program, making a surfboard or even training and taking part in a triathlon. The students chose a mentor to assist them with their project, they keep a journal of their progress, deliver report and then present their project at a presentation evening. 

I have been lucky enough to be called in (at kind of the last minute, ish) to mentor Chloe. Chloe is interested in photography and more precisely photography that captures movement, being a dancer  she is drawn by the human figure in motion. A couple of weeks ago I supported Chloe at a photoshoot she did at, where else, the Never Never Creek. As I am only relatively new to photography and have kind of taught myself everything I know, it was nice to think about things a bit more in relation to teaching Chloe, I am loving seeing how her photos are developing and seeing her confidence growing. What a beautiful afternoon it was, we will probably do one more shoot and have a play with editing (just a smidge) before the presentation evening in September. 

Funny Farm love

Oh the Funny Farm, I am in love, a beautiful Biodynamic farm with a magnificent home and utterly gorgeous family, bustling with animals, laughter and children running amok. I love the care that has been taken everywhere you look, everything is not just practical but also, awesomely, aesthetically delightful. Emma, Susan, Sahara  (Des) and Sassafras snuggle up together here, they have animals, they grow lots of stuff, they love and they do.

We sat in the sun and talked as the kids ran up (and only once launched off) clay hills, they giggled and sparkled. It was nice to finally sit and chat with Sus and Em, we have had snippets of chats in town but not much nitty gritty, so it was a treat to get to know each other, to start to unfold the beginning of a friendship and as with other great friendships it was perfect to feast whilst doing so.

Scott and I, though thoroughly townies, walked around with gaping mouths and minds that were racing, we would love to be able to take this idea, the feel, the intention, the purpose and create a space kind of similar to this in town (with less animals, obviously). A home overflowing with produce, pecking chickens, openness, care, a place to create for ourselves. Oh yes we are itching for our own home, a place where we can really get our teeth into and flourish, grow and inspire. Hmmmm.

In the meantime, enjoy a little wander through the Funny Farm, stay a while if you like, the sun is warm and the locals are a joy. 

out and about

A couple of weekends ago my sister came to visit, she bought her brand new bike and a spark of enthusiasm for getting out there and taking it for a spin at any given opportunity. We all rode a bit about  town and then loaded the bikes onto the car (small car, big mass of bikes, five in total) and headed to Urunga for a picnic, play and ride.
Being such a glorious day we were soon surrounded by most of Bellingen who soon joined us as we picnicked and rode about, it was an absolute delight.

Suriya and I also managed to squeeze in a quick visit to Emma and Susan's 'Funny Farm', I have included only a couple of photos here as we were pushed for time but a week later I went back with Scott and the kids and went photo crazy as we lounged around, got intimate and ate a delicious feast. All I am saying now is that this is the most beautiful home and property I have ever seen, at every single turn my heart would do a little flip at the beauty and the consideration. But more soon, here are a couple of teasers pics, including a shot of Suriya chasing chicks.

It was really lovely having Suriya visit (for the first time, she has been very busy), we got to chat, cook, hang out, brainstorm and play. And now she has made the trip up the highway once, we sure hope we will be seeing more of her.