from the farm: billy tea

Ingredients include: the 3 of us. And a quad bike complete with Tip Top Bread crate for carrying supplies. Passengers must ignore the WARNING sign that clearly states: "You should not ride this vehicle as a passenger!" Pirate facepaint optional

Collecting necessary stones to create a circle and then finding wood for the fire.

Voila! Fire. And a Billy. Now...all we need is a billy holder - thank goodness for the meticulous and creative Virgo.

Sipping hot tea by a fire as the sun sets. Perfect

Ps. This is the last farm post. I took over 500 photos and wanted to put the best up here in this space. Tomorrow? Another birthday.

from the farm: detail

Where photo opportunities abound. Chickens lay eggs in the hay stack, strawberries are picked from a nearby farm and lemons fall to the ground from an abundant citrus tree. The cherry tomatoes were the sweetest and the fresh water creek at the bottom of the property provided so very many stone-throwing, frog hunting, billy tea making adventures. Ramshackle sheds are truly chic and barbed wire is beautiful. Farm life is sweet. And inspiring.

from the farm: alive

In retrospect what I enjoyed most about our time away was the opportunity to press 'pause.' It felt like our everyday life was whirring by without the opportunity for stillness, quiet or reflection. Yesterday I saw Christmas cakes in Woolworths and today a girl at work mentioned it was 12 weeks till The Eve. I still feel like it's the middle of the year. I could get used to pressing 'pause.'

While away it was oh. so. good. to just be amidst the beauty.

The Sunshine Coast Hinterland is renowned for being green, lush and very much, alive. It was nice not to have to watch for cars or worry about Che. He could just run and we could let our guard down. It was huge relief actually, a freedom that only a big open space in the middle of the country allows. I know why so many of us long for a house in the countryside for our families. It's seems so very natural. To raise children under a big open sky and to send them out into an endless garden; to explore all. day. long.

I dreamt of such a move while away. Can you tell?

from the farm: home again

Six days on a farm is damn good medicine. We're home again after a blissful holiday in South-East Queensland where the rolling green hills of Maleny had me swooning. Daniel's Dad recently moved to a 136acre property - perfect for a relaxing and ultimately rejuvenating getaway. We rose with the sun and enjoyed evenings around the fire, visited sweet friends and ate the best gelati we've ever had. Che also fell in love with plane travel and this afternoon managed to fall asleep on take-off. Over the next few days I'll be posting about farm life. Chapters will include: "How a meticulous Virgo builds a campfire." Stay tuned

the cottage and the yurt

One of the most interesting parts of the weekend was playing the game "If this was my house I would..." because how could I not dream a dream of living in the 1914 cottage complete with bedroom fireplace, kitchen fireplace, double-glazed windows and stained glass windows? It was only right. I would install custom made bookshelves, paint the orange walls white, introduce our leather lounge, photos and nick-nacks to the space and install an island bench in the kitchen. I don't think this is too much to ask.

The mud-brick yurt (yes, I said mud-brick yurt) at the retreat made me weak at the knees too - sunken lounge next to roaring fireplace, floor to ceiling cedar-framed windows and white lantern lights had me packing my bags and moving the family.

Of course, a weekend away is just not the same without board games - scrabble, cluedo, monopoly. Or the cups of tea and bakery treats - iced (with 100s and 1000s) orange and almond cupcakes were delish.

This is my last mountains post. Promise. I just had to share.

winter holiday

So the original reason for our trip was a winter yoga retreat - Daniel's mum was leading a yoga workshop at Kanimbla View Environmental Retreat and invited us to tag along. I was going to do a few 3-hour intensives but unfortunately I had a bit of a cold and so decided to hang with my boys. We mosied about the three villages (Leura, Katoomba and Blackheath) and ate good food (the honey and lavender chocolate was a mouthful of heaven), drank good coffee and ducked in and out of antique and second-hand book stores.

It was cold up there, freezing. But in a good way. The kind of cold that makes you feel healthy. Fresh. And to tell you the truth I really enjoyed the process of layering up - beanie, coat and scarf. It was an entirely differently fashion foray. Lots of fun.

We needed those layers when we ventured onto the edge of mountain lookouts where the wind howled around us and we squealed with fear; being blown away did seem a very real possibility.

These cool winter days are fleeting. The August winds are here and they, along with magnolia and cherry blossom blooms, are a tell-tale sign that Spring is about to arrive. We are jumping on a plane in a few weeks, heading north for sunny Spring adventures. And I am beside myself with chance - the classic tailoring and to-die-for stripes have my heart all a flutter and my credit card in hand. A must for my Spring/Summertime wardrobe. I haven't actually made a purchase yet, I'm just dreaming.

(P.S. tomorrow I will post about the little 1914 cottage we stayed in. Dream.)

we're back

our lungs full of fresh mountain air. more photos and stories to come.