Other places: Trip to Wollongong (and P.S., I'm back!)

Well hello there! That was a longer break than I intended. Which is to say, I didn't really plan on having a break from here, it just happened. What better to break the blogging ice-come-rut than a photo-laden post from my recent trip home to Wollongong for my best friend's wedding.

Since my last post in June, I have done approximately this many things:

• Travelled to Darwin three times
• Travelled to Cairns and Mission Beach for a wedding
• Almost finished a semester of Contract Law
• Drank at least 140 coffees
• Attended one rodeo, one camel race, one 'bust the budget' rally, one fete, one eco fair, one festival and the Alice Springs Show
• Rescued my phone from a coma
• Received one strange parcel from Turkey*
• Rescued/dealt with one wayward kelpie, on two occasions
• Failed miserably at ten pin bowling
• Read many books**
• Read all your blog posts, and probably didn't comment (sorry!)
• Got two head colds, one of them current, both of which I'm blaming on planes
• Blogged nil times
• Possibly purchased new shoes, a couple of times.

And now, about my trip home:

1. One of my favourite things to do is get a big fat dose of ocean air. The weather alternated between moody and overcast, and bright and sunny. This day was the former: perfect for a walk along the beach followed by breakfast.
2. The Continental Baths are the quintessential east coast saltwater pools. This day they were being refilled by the high tide, following routine maintenance.
3. Wollongong City Gallery: I used to work here, starting out as a volunteer gallery assistant and guide during my uni days, to regular casual work as a gallery assistant working on front of house and in the gift shop, along with work as a curatorial assistant. The building was the former council chambers and was designed to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
4. Mount Keira, through the grounds of the Botanic Gardens and Gleniffer Brae, an historic building that now houses the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music. Terrible photo, but nostalgic place.
5. Lunch with a magazine and a sea breeze on the balcony at Lee and Me on Crown Street.
6. Family lunch at Burrawang Village Hotel in the Southern Highlands.
7. Beautiful flowers from my parents' next door neighbours' garden.
8. Gorgeous sunny Saturday afternoon at Bulli. We spotted a humpback whale and calf frolicking off the coast and watched, mesmerised, as they splashed and played.
9. Since I usually wear my Saltwater sandals in the desert, I thought it only fitting that they meet their namesake.
10. Many a coffee was consumed, this one from Diggies at North Beach.
11. Another beach stroll on another overcast day, with spots of rain.
12. The wedding was just perfect, a day bursting with love. I was honoured to be a bridesmaid and share in a very special day.
13. The earth turns red, which means I'm almost back in Alice Springs.
14. It's not a trip away without bringing back new reading material.

* False alarm! It wasn't a stranger trying to hack my life, just my mum buying a scarf on Etsy.

** Will post about things I've read!

Winter weekend stills.

This weekend was all about winter. Right on cue, the night time temperature dropped down to 3º C. Just the right time to wrap the bed in super soft flannelette sheets. I had all the best intentions of getting stuck into studying this weekend (and I did do some), but I really needed to recharge from a super busy couple of weeks.

For me, this meant getting outside into the garden. I've been a bit of a tardy gardener this year, especially since the chickens razed last year's garden to the ground! I checked the Alice Springs sowing calendar and decided I could sneak into winter by planting spinach, silverbeet, broccoli, rocket and parsley - all those delicious greens.

Other weekend highlights included tapas with a friend, sitting in a laneway lined with candelit tables, live music played by a gypsy jazz band - we really had the sense that we could be anywhere! I also caught a film, Rich Hill, as part of the Human Rights Art and Film Festival. It was a harrowing documentary set in a small town in rural America, following the lives of three teenage boys and their families amidst poverty, violence, mental illness and other challenges. It didn't give a lot of hope - maybe just a small glimmer - that the cycle of disadvantage would be broken.

1. On Saturday, I met friends at the Steiner fête, a famous school fair at the lovely campus set against the southern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. I think my inspiration to get the garden going was spurred on by the fabulous kitchen garden in the school grounds. I also picked up a vintage cashmere-wool blend coat, it's soft and warm and a real bargain - $5.
2. Boss of the chickens. This one is brazen and bolshy and will sprint around behind me, sometimes even pecking at my heels.
3. Broccoli...
4. Spinach...
5. Silverbeet.
6. Super snug winter bed. Sooooo warm. Sooooo hard to leave in the morning.
7. From the garden - eggs and mandarins in abundance.
8. The mandarins are just how I like them - more tart than sweet. 

Joining up with Em's weekly Stills link-up x

EDIT: Oh, and speaking of gardens, have a gander at the green thumbery happening over in Prue's backyard. Go on!

The mountaintop and the minutiae.

 

After more than two years in Alice Springs, yesterday I climbed Mt Gillen for the first time. The mountain forms part of the West MacDonnell Ranges, which stretch out from Alice Springs into the rugged surrounds. It was a perfect day for a hike - the sun was shining but the morning air crisp and the breeze cool. It's a scramble to reach the top but once you're up, the views are amazing. After the recent rain, the ancient country is blanketed with the deep green of new growth. From the mountaintop, I breathed deeply and let my eyes scan outwards, outwards, until the bumpy ranges of the far horizon met the end of the sky.

As for the minutiae?

Cool air whispering around in the mornings as summer has been farewelled.

The chickens rushing out behind me in a line, one-two-three.

The excited pantings of a dog either side as we walk in the early evening.

Long weekends with no plans but lots of options.

Life feels simple right now. Beneath this simplicity is the struggle in knowing that things are simple because I have all I need. I feel thankful, but lucky beyond belief.

Change of season.

Yesterday morning started with this golden, late summer light; by evening, winter had arrived. Today was cool, hovering around 15 degrees for most of the day after a top of 19 degrees C. Whilst the more temperate climates of the southern and eastern parts of the country enjoy the seasonal transition offered by Autumn, here in Central Australia we seem to go straight from summer to winter. And then back again all too soon. I am embracing the change and welcoming the cooler weather. Winter: I am ready!

It's been five months since Peter and I began doing the Territory Tango. He's living at one end and myself, the other. He's just up the road, really; except that in real terms, there's a distance of 1,500 kilometres between us. The Northern Territory is a really, really big place. Alice Springs is far away from a lot of places. We have just spent two weeks together - me, a week in Darwin and then he, a week in Alice - a luxury as we live together, apart.

Our last book club read was Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. This was actually my choice, as we've been taking it in turns to select a book. I chose it for two reasons: it is set in Iceland and for a long time I've been fascinated by this remote island country; and secondly I heard the author interviewed a while ago on Radio National (listen here) and thought the process of forming the book was interesting. I appreciated the richly tactile and textural descriptions of the landscapes; the dim, cold interiors; the smells, sounds and touch of the characters and their environs. Kent received a seven figure advance for this, her first novel - astounding! But don't read it with this in mind. Read it for the harsh yet gentle narrative of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman in Iceland to be publicly executed.

Another recent read is Tracks by Robyn Davidson, the 1980 memoir of Davidson's journey walking with camels across the desert from Alice Springs to the Western Australia coast. I started reading this on a flight from Melbourne to Alice Springs and it was poignant to be reading her descriptions of 1970s Alice Springs whilst looking out of the window at the ancient (yet timeless) scorched red desert country. I thought the Alice Springs of her description was a place I wouldn't want to live - which, if you've been reading this blog for a while, is not the way I feel about this town, today. And, a spoiler - I almost sobbed out loud (this time, on a flight from Alice to Darwin) when her beloved companion, a dog called Diggity, becomes poisoned by strychnine. I won't tell you the rest. It's too hard to imagine having to do this to any animal to relieve its pain, let alone a beloved companion - a friend. The descriptions of Central Australia and the communities Davidson passes through - Areyonga, Pipalyatjara, Wingellina - are interesting and familiar. It's certainly not a comfortable read, and many aspects of this journey made me cringe. I haven't yet seen the movie - have you?

Now, I'm partway through (and quite enjoying) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and am also going to start our next book club read, Room by Emma Donoghue. Oh - and speaking of books about Alice Springs, I heard an interview on the local ABC with a writer who used to live here, so I've ordered one of her books, written to reflect her time living here - it's called The Rest is Weight, by Jennifer Mills, who also blogs here.

So that's a bit of an update on what's been going on around here lately. What's been happening in your part of the world? Has winter arrived yet? Or summer, for that matter?

Stills: Weekend pottering.

This week saw me out of action early in the piece with a head cold ; fail at baking cupcakes; talking about Barracuda at book club; and lots of the usual pottering around - one of my weekend favourite things to do.

1. Green chrysanthemums are some of my favourites.
2. And again!
3. Sunday afternoon pottering and rearranging...
4. ...moving plants around...
5. ...close up with afternoon light streaming in through the blinds.
6. Toby looking wise.
7. Saturday morning bright spots and stripes.
8. Sunday morning omelette with fresh eggs from the chooks.
9. Missy came into town for a stroll around the Sunday markets.
10. Flamingoes, of course.

I hope you have a great week ahead!

Don't forget to make a pledge for Change Day, which is this Thursday 6 March. 

Linking with Em's weekly Stills.

Belated family Christmas.

My family of origin are quite spread out (NSW, VIC, NT) and it was too tricky at Christmas time for us to all get together. Instead, we decided a belated family Christmas was the way to go and, taking advantage of the recent long weekend, we made our way from Alice Springs, Darwin, Sydney and Wollongong to my sister and her partner's place in country Victoria. I love it when we all get together, even more so now that Hazel is here. We ate, drank, patted the horses, chatted, laughed until we cried (a certain book about poo is to blame for that!), drank coffee, ate some more and the menfolk got stuck into building a railing for the deck. Here's a snapshot of our time together. It might not have been a 'real' Christmas, but it was everything Christmas should be - without the stress of the silly season.

(Linking up with Em for The Beetle Shack's weekly stills collections)