'The Move'

Hi All!

This blog is from 2 weeks ago. We only managed to get internet a few days ago. Regardless, we'd love to share our journey if time is on your side.

I am trying to find the words to begin this blog...

Looking into a fire is a settling feeling. After a long and tiring three days, we are nurtured by the simplicity of country living.

Our move began on Thursday 30th June. A four degree morning welcomed us to what was going to be a mental & emotional test, little did we know the the night before! After boxing our belongings for the last three weeks, we thought we were well prepared for our move.

So the day began at 6 am. We had breakfast as usual, knowing it was the last breakfast in our gorgeous little cottage in Henry Street. Tim caught the tram to South Melbourne to pick up the 3 ton truck at Budget rentals, and I stayed at home with Gloria, the pug, to greet Tim’s parents, Jill & Roger, at 8:30. While chatting in the kitchen, we heard the keen driver, Tim himself, drive the truck up Henry Street, ready for our load.

8:45 am, and it all began. For those of you who know me, I’m always talking about cleansing! Thursday was a day where I thought I could’ve cleansed a whole lot more. Not realizing how much gear we had, we began loading the truck. What we thought would take 2 hours, turned into 7 and finally, we left for Bright with a full (and I mean ‘full’) load at 3:10 pm. Jill kindly made us some choc chip cookies and Roger blended his homemade lemon drink to set us on our way. On the outskirts of Melbourne we stared at each other, finally being able to express our tiredness in words! 7:30pm, and we had arrived at our new home, 80 Delaney Avenue in Bright. It was absolutely freezing!!! Challenged by the Alpine air, we began unloading at 7:45pm. Our hands were like ice, our nose were frosted, but somewhere in the midst of it all, we found the strength to operate. 11pm, 12, 1, 1:30am Friday morning, we ‘called it a night’. Absolutely warn out, we stoked the fireplace, assembled the bed and climbed in, ready to hibernate... we wish!

Friday morning we awoke, after 5 hours sleep. Cold, fatigued but we pushed on. With more furniture and boxes to unload, we prepared our tummy’s with a bowl of food then made our way out to the truck. Another cold morning!

At 10:45am, the final item was taken through the front door. Giving each other a high five, we washed our faces, cleaned our teeth and jumped into the truck for our journey back to Melbourne. 30km’s down the road, Tim’s face blankly stared and the truck pulled over. The first thing I thought was ‘flat tyre’. But no, we forgot the budget trolley (which was hired with the truck). So, with the thought of being half way to the finish line, we had to drive back to our new home and pick up the trolley! 

With an extra 60km’s added to our trip, we still managed to arrive in Melbourne at 3:30pm. With 90 minutes left before having to return the truck, we loaded two furniture items and a fridge, unloaded the furniture at ‘Leonard Joels’ Auction House in Prahran, dropped off our donated fridge at Revolver Studios (where Tim works) and managed to get to Budget at 4:56pm, four minutes before close. Thank our invisible helpers!

Roger, Tim’s step father, kindly picked us up from the depot and drove us back to Henry Street, ready to pack the car with what we couldn’t fit in the truck. The lovely Jill, Tim’s mum, had prepared some sandwiches, cookies and date slice, along with Roger’s famous lemon drink, for our dinner. I can’t emphasize how amazing the taste of simple food is after an enormous day!

5:30pm, and we set Jill and Rog free with a few items which they offered to store until our next trip to Melbourne. Still having a stack of bits ‘n pieces, Tim, with his touring day knowledge, somehow packed the mazda with the remaining of our belongings. I have to admit, amongst the final load, we did four garbage drops in the industrial bins near Chapel Street and another drop to Jill and Rogers, before we could load the car.

During the final loading of items and garbage drops, we had to clean the whole house, ready for the new tenants. Again, what we thought would take us a couple of hours, turned into an absolute mission! Commencing our clean at 5:30pm Friday, we didn’t finish cleaning the house until 2:30am Saturday morning. 9 hours of intensity! From the shed, laundry, attic, oven, stove, dishwasher, cupboards, skirting boards, toilet, bath, floor boards, office, bedrooms, we blitzed the place! As little Gloria (our dog) slept in the entrance to the bathroom, we kept pushing into the early hours of the morning, finally finishing up at 2:30 am! Oh no, it wasn’t over! With a wilted little puppy and our fatigued bodies, we climbed in the car ready for a 3.5 hour drive back to Bright.

After blasting air conditioning on our faces to keep us awake on our trip, we arrived at 6am. Staggering to the front door, we washed our faces (no hot water), had some food and climbed into bed.

The following night we celebrated with a gorgeous plate of steamed vegetables and Tim famous homemade sauce and finally a 'hot' shower. It was at this time we realized the massive task we completed.

We are here! Unpacked and now completely rested. We are loving Bright and the simplicity of rural living... with cafes, bike tracks, skiing, hiking... and no more traffic!

'New Beginnings'

Hi All!

Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. 

Well, before continuing, thanks to all who replied to my last blog. It was amazing the different opinions I received in return. Regardless, the 'thank you's' were just as special as the depth of opinions.

Before writing this blog, I was looking at old photos. It's amazing where this takes your headspace. I feel I am wanting to reminisce at this time, for various reasons. Mostly because Tim, Gloria (our little pug...yes 'Gee' the little human) and I are embarking on a new journey. For those of you who may not know, we bought a block up in the Alpine region of Victoria last July. For the past 12 months we have been commuting back and forth from the block, checking the progress on the 115 plants Tim, Dad and I planted on a perfect 20 degree day last Spring. If there was a day to look back on, this was one of them. It is amazing how satisfying planting is! Talking of reminiscing, I always remember Dad talking about different trees and grass when we were young. I can now understand why it was a passion of his. There is something about planting trees, it certainly is grounding.

'Dad & I Planting'

As from July 1, we are settling into a little cottage in Bright, which for those who don't know Bright, it is near Mt. Hotham in Victoria. Most people know this area & surroundings as the High Country or Alpine region. After searching for a rental for close to 6 months, we came across a gorgeous renovated, 3 bedroom cottage. The bathroom is decked out with the old cast iron bath & basin, and in the front room there is a gorgeous fire place. Two things I see myself enjoying over the snow season! Our new address is 80 Delaney Avenue. I lived in a rural area in South East Queensland called 'Delaneys Creek' before moving south, so the name feels familiar.

'Our new rental'

During our time here in Bright, we will commence building on our 5 acre block near Mt. Buffalo/Myrtleford, which is approximately 20 km's from our rental. We have decided to go owner builder and build a 3 bedroom, fully 

eco-friendly cottage. For warmth, we are purchasing a 'Stanley' cast iron stove, which includes hydronic heating in each room. We are also using an Australian made and owned worm farm waste system, and solar panels will also be the obvious inclusion to being fully self sufficient, off the grid.

So, with only two weeks to go, we are preparing for our major adventure! Packing feels unusual. In our home here in Melbourne we have

shared love, given love, exchanged happiness, expressed sadness, written music, played music, recorded music, shared music, raised a puppy, loved a puppy, shared stress, released stress, slept for hours, sat for hours, cooked food, celebrated food, enjoyed coffee, sipped tea, given gifts, received gifts, read books, taught some friends, played piano, shared stories, laughed with others, cried with some, shouted, smiled, hugged...wow!

Living in Melbourne has been a huge stepping stone for me. I have learnt alot about myself here and have realized cities are an amazing place to be. Melbourne has taught me to let go and allow everyone to just be. It is amazing how often I've tried to control situations and in the end, only put myself into a darker space. Over time, I have learnt (and still am learning) to float like a leaf in a stream. It is difficult to allow others to just be, especially the people who are closest to us. The word unconditional is a life long lesson!

Tim and I will be commuting back to Melbourne fortnightly for my teaching and also Tim's involvement at Revolver studios on Chapel St. I have 19 gorgeous students who I would like to continue supporting until I feel it is time to part ways, which I don't want that day to come!

Tim and I will be continuing our music love in Bright. I have recently changed my teaching business, PianoBiz4Kidz, to Alpine School of Music (www.alpineschoolofmusic.com.au). On Tuesday I had my second meeting with the Principal of St. Marian Catholic College in Myrtleford, in regards to conducting after school tuition. It turns out they haven't established a music department at the college and fortunately, I have been offered the head role as their music teacher, which means I will teach grades 7 - 12 if I choose to take the position. 
There are four schools in Myrtleford who have merged together to invest in the building of a Performing Arts Centre, which they received a grant from the government. The completion date is end of August, all being well. I was given a tour of the inner construction on Tuesday, and to my surprise, it was very impressive. For a medium size community, the Centre is very well designed, including a staged auditorium to seat 250 people, two soundproof studios, as well as a small classroom for workshops. I have been offered to conduct after school tuition once the building is completed. My next step will be attending their board meeting to share my ideas regarding the marketing and promotional aspects of the Centre.

Tim is currently working on a few ideas to set up DJ nights in local areas (which will be great over the ski season), and will be mixing our live set for Pyramidfx during his spare time. His mind is full of creative ideas and now he will also enjoy the creative space and balanced lifestyle. Gloria will be loving her daily walks, her food and her snoozes beside the fireplace!
So with all in place, Tim & I are hiring a 3 ton truck and will be loading up our belongings! I walked out the front of our home & saw the 'for lease' sign. Weird. Tim's been here 8 years & me 4 1/2, so we've created such an enjoyable space together. But! Time to move on and explore some mountain air :)


Thanks to all who have given us love! 


& please join my blog & keep sending those emails through!

'Us'

'Gee Gee playing in red soil on our block'

  

Hi All,

Welcome to my blog! If I feel I need to share random things, it'll be here...and you may look at me differently next time we say hi! Personal expression can be a gift to someone or be absolutely offensive :)

I am someone who is fascinated with why we are here on this planet. When I meet an individual, I often wonder why I've met them, what gifts do we need to exchange in this life and whether we've travelled in previous lives.

Passionate about Edgar Cayce's readings, amongst others, I believe groups of souls travel together to learn, teach and sometimes drive each other crazy! The crazy thing is, is I'm intreagued at why people don't look deeper. Alot of the time, I'm sure we are too busy being polite and respectful to one another. Instead, we should be speaking our truth. Short term, truth can sometimes be confronting, however long term, one looks back and appreciates your honesty (see 'personality wheel', reference: Soul Purpose - Dr. Mark Thurston).

Do we ever get to this deeper space in our relationships with people?

I was brought up in a rural environment...

'Lorna Vale Hut'

well, most of my younger life. My grandfather won a property ballot in the late 1950's. From here until late 1997, Pop's family, being my father, and later my mother, slowly nurtured this vacant, unfenced 25,000 acres into a fully established grazing company where we bred grey Brahmans. In the earlier years, Dad mentioned they grew cotton. I'll share more on these experiences over time.

Unfortunately in 1985, Pop and his granddaughter, Julie, were killed in a road accident, and from this time forward, the responsibilities were on us as a family, including Nan (Dad's mother). For myself & my two brothers, it was a mixture of handling adult tasks of rural living and enjoying the experiences the land offered. It was nothing to ride a 12 hour day on horseback mustering cattle, then to rise at 3:30 before the heat woke, to brand 300 steers and heifers. Myself and my elder brothers were raised in the time of one of the longest droughts. Some experiences were not ones I wanted to remember, but others I value dearly.

I was brought up in a Christian family, however when there was no moon in the sky and every star was beaming on those nights at the hut (above), I always questioned the matrix of this belief system. I was confused why we had to fear God, why God was good & evil, how God was a man in the sky, how a man was the creator and why the bible was a recent addition to this infinite universe.

Although my intuition was to go left, I turned right and continued with the Christian faith until I was 22.

Although training horses was a big part of my life, I was equally dedicated to my music, the piano, and decided to study a Bachelor of Music at the Conservatorium of Music in Queensland after we sold the property and moved to South East Queensland. I must say, during this time I questioned many things. 

I felt supressed and cornered. When the property sold, I rebelled and felt the family pressures of this new change. At the time, I didn't even notice, but when moments of silence were on offer, I felt the emptiness. I loved my horse, but I decided move on from this childhood dream. I also loved my music, but the frequency wasn't ringing clear to me.

During my third year of study, I met a wonderful soul through my best friend. He was just what I needed! Although I was married at the time, this dear friend questioned my thoughts and beliefs...and I am so thankful to this day. I parted ways with my husband (now current friend) and moved to Melbourne to continue finding my frequency in music. And now, the 'dear friend' is my partner, Tim. 

I also left my faith to the universe and allowed an open spirituality to give birth. Since, I haven't looked back. For me, I see there is no core to God. Rather, the universe 'just is' and we are all included, meaning 'we are the ones we've been looking for'. I'll leave this for now and will post a topic on 'love, life and sacred geometry' when time is on my side.

I would like to share a few books and DVD's which hold a truth for me. If you need help regarding their purchase, please let me know & I can point you in the right direction:

The Path of the Horse (DVD) - a must see for every human.

The Horse Boy (DVD) - the true story of a young autistic boy who is on the road to healing, with the help of the horse

Soul Purpose - Dr. Mark Thurston - understanding our 'personality wheel' and defining our sub-personalities

These are a few references which has helped me take another step.

Bye for now :)