Yoga, retreats and writing

I started this blog to get me back into the practice of writing and here I am almost a month since my last post!

After my last blog post I went on a yoga retreat and had an amazing weekend away with a dozen people - only one of which I knew. It was peaceful and inspiring. The food was amazing. And while the accommodation was basic it perfectly suited where we were and what we were there for and it kept the focus was on the beautiful location, the yoga and other classes on offer and sitting around a table or fireplace together in a common area.

I came back feeling reinvigorated and having watched Yogawoman not that long before going on the retreat, and then sharing the weekend with a group of people who were significantly older than me yet active participants (including a 78 year old woman who had the most positive outlook on life and wicked sense of humour) it inspired me to get back into the practice of yoga - something I hadn't done for years.

After the retreat I was happy to have a week off-line. This was followed by a retreat from technology with a techno detox. To be honest, I had almost forgotten about my short lived, recently created blog. Well a visit to the Byron Bay Writer's Festival yesterday highlighted the immense joy that people get from writing and I was reminded of a little blog I had started. While I'm not planning on writing a novel it did remind me why I had started this blog.

So here I am, nearly a month between posts but feeling more positive and relaxed and ready to continue what I started.

Tonight I'm taking my 10 year old to a contemporary dance performance and looking forward to sharing time together and watching something I love. I hope he shares the joy with me :)

Magnolia season

It's that time of the year when Magnolia trees are in flower and everywhere I go I see these trees covered in their beautiful flowers.

We first bought a magnolia tree after we had bought our first home in Sydney as they flowered around my birthday and I loved the flower so much. They're not particularly fragrant and they don't work as a cut flower, but they  are so gorgeous, especially when you see a tree laden with them like this one where I work.

So now we have another Magnolia tree. By the looks of it, it must be a different variety as the flowers and leaves are a lot darker in colour, the spread of branches more narrow and there are at loss less flowers :( but that's okay, it's a good excuse to buy another Magnolia tree :).

Today's harvest

Nothing like picking fresh produce straight from your garden for freshness and it always feel like a nice reward for your efforts in the garden - often months before hand. Although to be honest, I really should give the credit to hubby as he's the one who does the bulk of the work out there. I'm more into the picking than the planting. 😊

While I can't say that we're self-sufficient (particularly as I have two boys who refuse to eat beans), it still gives me a warm glow to eat something at the table that night that was in the ground just hours before hand. Gotta love zero food miles.

I have a little boy visiting this afternoon who can't eat eggs so one batch of pumpkin scones coming up. Let's see how long they last!

Back to nature

Today we drove to a kinda nearby waterfall. I was surprised how easy it was to walk to the actual fall and the fact that we'd never been here before considering its proximity.

It was a beautiful sunny winter's day, but definitely cooler in the national park. As you entered the rainforest itself the temperature seemed to drop another couple of degrees. We set off at a pace, on my part to ward off the cold but for the boys it was more about getting to the destination.

Huge moss covered boulders and tarzan sized vines slowed down the pace but made the walk all the  more magical.

And then there it was. When it comes to nature, sometimes it's a fight to get certain members of my family out of the house, but everyone was impressed by its magnificence. 

A continual fine spray, from the waterfall hitting the rock pool, kept changing direction and the boys tried hard to dodge it, playing a game of "who's the fastest". Considering they had thought the drive long and windy, it made it all worthwhile that they loved the end result.

Sunny start to the day

The distinct whooshing noise was louder than usual and I jumped out of bed and raced out the front door to see the hot air balloon hovering just above the trees across the road - but I know they always look closer than they are.

Even still, I raced to get the boys out of bed as I was sure it was landing just over the ridge from where we live. We all jumped in the car and raced to the top of our road and there we saw the balloon, hovering low over nearby farmland, more likely two kilometres away than the expected 200 metres.

It was a nice kick-start to the day and we ended up down at the beach - a nice contrast to the start of the wet week. The boys had so much fun in the sand especially when they made a sand model of their mother.

Personally, I think they made me a bit fat, but at least they put a smile on my face. 

First day of the school holidays

Nothing like a pouring wet day to start off the school holidays.

The only outdoor fun to be had would be playing in puddles but by the time breakfast was over, it was looking more likely that we'd be swimming in dams than jumping puddles! 

We ran with the wet theme but headed to the local indoor (heated) pool to burn off some energy. Here's hoping the holidays improve.