We do live in paradise here, despite global warming, and it feels so far from those people suffering in the fires down south.It’s been hot but not too hot, except for one stinker of a day. Rain cools us down any time the mercury begins to climb too high and while the humidity has been over 90% for weeks, it’s a small price to pay. Steve and Sunny and Damon and Leila came up from Sydney for a few short busy days
over the hottest time…
Here is the pied piper and kids at New Year – another great folk music camp down at Woody Head, where else do we still sing Auld Lang Syne holding hands and welcoming the new year? I love it – and snorkelling, swimming and beachwalks as well as music, music, music make it pretty close to heaven. I am all packed and ready for the next one at the end of this month.
We are starting up regular sessions and a café at the Tuntable shop, great times had by all – though cooking and serving 20-30 people left me too tired to play much music.
There has been a rash of big birthdays - starting with Tuntable's 35th in December - here's Katie and the kids with all the candles ...
My beautiful youngest niece, Eva, turned 18 in great style – here she is with her mum. One day Eva may look older than Deb!
And Brian Childs, my boyfriend from all those long years ago when I was 16 - 19, turned 60 in even greater style last weekend. (This means we have known each other for 40 years!) He had a combined celebration at Bellingen with his youngest daughter, Ali and her older daughter Mwanampemba – and it rocked! It was so good to see some folk I haven’t connected with for years – particularly Kev, who now has a 2 yr-old daughter and partner and works with Indigenous Community Volunteers in their Qld office – and Silvia, who has not changed at all. Jenni, the same - is doing some groundbreaking work on programs to address racism in schools. Here's Brian, still at the kitchen sink, and Ali...
The wildlife here is so absolutely photogenic - here is a huntsman spider protecting her eggs and a leaf-tailed gecko, my favourite.
My little currawong has grown to be very big and annoying, have been trying to teach it that old avian rock’n’roll hit “Big Birds Don’t Squawk” with varying degrees of success. (The broom sits by the door for when it gets too persistent).Of course, the garden is rampant in this weather. I turned my back on it to focus on a few renovation tasks and now there are monster weeds threatening me whenever I glance outside…the driveway is awash with huge grass, getting vegies requires excavation skills – well, it’s not quite that bad, but you get the picture. So I’ve been hiding inside so the grass doesn’t get me …painting the kitchen whiter than white with a touch of mediterranean blue and gold...Uni starts in ten days and I'll be studying to become a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from ANU - this is such an amazing opportunity, I am so grateful to be able to do it and am looking forward to it so much that I am actually quite well-prepared for once!
