melting (& photographing it)

I've just perused a few Australian blogs and realised that most of you have posted about our Spring heatwave. I didn't cope yesterday. Not at all. I felt like I was melting. My feet were on fire. I kept asking Daniel when the southerly change was coming. I expected him to know. I wanted a time, so I could count down the hours. I'm precious I know, but in 41degree heat I'm allowed to be. My solution? Lay still, place a cold face washer over your chest, have the fan spinning, crunch ice, think about how nice it will be when the breeze arrives at the window.

Hello, beautiful breeze. 2am this morning. You can stay as long as you like.

Surprisingly I managed to take a few photos yesterday. I look at them now and feel hot. The vegies continue to come from Grandad's and my (gorgeous little cherry toms) garden and we know that regardless of how hot it gets, there's always ice-blocks in the bath, or the clam (yes, we succumbed to the Aussie backyard icon).

I think we all have an inkling that there may be a few more heatwaves headed our way.

So please tell me, how do you stay cool?

And, if you're interested I'm starting a once-a-week photo post. Take a photograph that so wonderfully depicts summer to you. We're in it so we might as well celebrate it. I'll start a list on my blog. Photos need to be posted on Monday afternoon. Think of the collection you'll have by the end of February.

trust

This week has been full. Brimming with thoughts, ideas, possibilities. Planning and decision-making for our little family. We want to change pace a little next year. Daniel wants to return to university and I want to complete my teacher training and to do so we need to find that trust in the universe - that it will all work out and it will all be ok.

It's really important to me that Daniel and I are nourished as individuals so that we can be the best we can be for each other. Because we were individuals before we became a couple. And we were a couple before we became a family.

I want to know that we can let go a little, of the norm, and really embrace the possibility of change.

In saying that, we can't change the nature of our beings. Daniel is a virgo, a perfectionist and deep down knows he is the hunter/gatherer. I am the dreamer, the believer, the girl who needs that dress. Ha! Slowly, though, as we really settle into a family rhythm we are beginning to realise that it's not that hard to grow our own vegies, an ocean swim can give you that wonderful sense of elation, we already have everything we need.

I know that yoga has become my life because I'm practicing the intuitive art of letting go. Surrendering to the beauty of possibility and seeing where it takes us.

Making beautiful space in our lives so we can be open to change. Knowing that the ounce of fear within me is completely normal. Learning to trust.

yoga aid

Yesterday I joined 5000 yogis worldwide and practiced 108 glorious sun salutations to raise money for charity. Accompanied by a room full of passionate friends, we dipped, swayed and moved to the beautiful sounds of the djembe, harmonium, gong (thanks che che) and the chanting of 'om'. It was truly the most wonderful experience. To unite through yoga is a blessing. We practiced 12 rounds of nine, starting and ending with the traditional Satyananda style. Rounds 2-11 we practiced Surya Namaskara A and by the end, we were moving so very quickly, the drumming was fast, our energy was high and I know I smiled throughout each and every salute. I led a couple of rounds and standing in front of so many yogis and yoginis only affirmed for me that yes, this is what i love doing, and this is what I'll continue to do.

Our studio is going green! Soy-based painted walls (in the colour lotus, of course), bamboo mats, organic fabric-covered eye bags and bolsters, a herb garden, beautiful succulents, a no-plastic-water-bottle policy and the encouragement of body, breath, mind and environmental awareness.
We will be registering as a 'green' business very soon ad we are so excited.

I'll be spending quite a few weeks at the ashram next year to officially complete my teacher training and while that will make me busy (and poor) I know it is just the beginning of a career, and lifestyle, that will support, nurture and nourish my family.

If you are willing to make a donation for my 108 efforts yesterday, you can donate here. Thank you.

OM shanti, shanti, shanti. Hari om!

out of this world

my windswept dreamer.

in a name

How long did it take you to name your child? It took Daniel and I seven days to give Ché his name. We expected a dark little child and I birthed a blonde, blue-eyed, elfin little creature. You can read more about it here.

But sometimes, Daniel still questions whether we got it right. He's a virgo, and a perfectionist, and he considers meanings and namesakes very important matters. When I was pregnant we discussed the concept of 'growth' and 'possibility' in a name. From a little thing, a big thing grows. Seeds, trees, life. All those things. I remember mentioning to Daniel that it's not as if our child is going to introduce himself and then mention a 'sub-heading' that we gave him on his birth certificate. Names don't work like that.

But we agreed that we wanted a name that sounded beautiful, that felt right, that had a meaning that resonated with us. We wanted our child to have a name that we were proud of.

We still talked about tree names and acorns, oaks and seeds but, as you know, we chose Ché. Ché Ché as so many people call him.

On Saturday afternoon while our little one was sleeping, Daniel and I were lying on the bed reading. I was flicking through The Possibility of Everything. The writer, Hope Eldeman, takes her family on holiday to the Central American country of Belize. She talks a lot about the Mayan Indians of that area - mostly their spirituality that still resonates throughout the land. She discusses the plant life of the area, and the Mayan names for each species.

And then she writes Yex che ... the first tree.

In the ancient language of the Mayan Indians, Che means tree.

After two years, such wonderful validation. We gave him that most beautiful 'tree' name.

I still can't believe it.

it's not summer just yet

but yesterday was hideously hot. Our day included:
3 ocean swims
6 cold showers
2 baths
icy-cold drinks (too many to count)
3 frozen poppers
spaghetti for dinner - alfresco.
Ché liked the ocean swims but I think the top of his list would have to be the frozen poppers.
They kept him entertained and hydrated for a good long while.
I was so very thankful for those frozen juices
because it was too hot to move.
I'm a little scared about our approaching summer.
The bark is literally dropping off the gums in big long strips.
A tell-tale sign of a fiery season.

complete

it was so long ago that i held each ball of yarn in my hands, knowing that one day it would be finished. And it is, just in time for our spring-almost-summer. So my timing wasn't ideal but it was one of those projects that i longed to get back to almost every day. And as claerwen said recently, the beauty of knitting is that feeling you get when you cast-off that very last stitch. It's complete. And can't be undone. I think as Mumas we spend so much of our time doing little jobs that in a matter of hours need doing again. So it is nourishing me to look at ché's blanket and be reminded of the hours of knitting through winter...and the knowing that it will be wrapped round him for years to come...knowing it's complete. Handmade. Mama-made.

And now I'm left wondering...what shall I make next?