Time

Going to New Zealand, even for just a week, gave me some time to reflect. Holidays always do that for me, which is one of the reasons I love them so much. Away from the everyday concerns and occupations, my mind has the opportunity to focus back in on what's really going on, what's at the core. There are changes afoot for me and not only changes on how I spend my time. I am changing how I look at that time and how I look at myself.

Time to stop marking time and wasting time - time to really get as much as I can out of life. And that doesn't necessarily mean taking up skydiving or bungee jumping, but rather just finding real, simple contentment in every moment and if that isn't there, then stopping to ask why and trying to do something about it.

I'll keep you posted.

Because, after all, we can't all be Timelords, able to travel back and forth through time at will! I am completely loving the re-runs of Dr Who on the telly at the moment, with Christopher Ecclestone as The Doctor. I didn't really warm to him first time around but I'm liking his no-nonsense style very much now. This episode, in which his sidekick Rose Tyler intervenes in her father's death and causes all sorts of time-y problems, played right into my long-standing love of all things time travel.

Aotearoa - the Land of the Long White Cloud

On the road to Rotorua

We are just back from a lovely little break in New Zealand. I had a paper to give at a conference in Wellington but we had been planning on a mini-break for some time, so we decided to tie the two together. Wellington is a really lovely city - big enough to keep us entertained with its great museums, numerous bookshops and beautiful, vast public gardens to walk in - but not so big that the tourist with a handful of days to spend there feels swamped. We stayed near the excellent Cuba St too (sort of like Brunswick St, Melbournites) so we weren't ever stuck for somewhere terrific to eat either (potato curry with roti, I'm talking about you)!

On the road to Rotorua

After the conference, we made the six-hour drive north to Rotorua, NZ's well-known spa region. I must admit that I found the town itself a little too touristy but the natural spaces outside of Rotorua are just breathtakingly beautiful. I was reminded by turn of America and also Norway.

Beautiful native flowers along the path at the Orakei Korako Geothermal Park, outside of Rotorua. The flowers above remind me of wax flowers and the ones below heath but I am not sure exactly what they are...

I was also amazed but how much better New Zealand has brought together its Māori and non-Māori citizens and the important part that Māori culture plays in New Zealand's national outlook. We in Australia have a lot to learn.

We are already planning our next trip - this time to the South Island. Happy Days!

Mini-Break to Beechworth

Mount Buffalo - We had lunch next to this lake, on the lower levels of the mountain

A few weeks ago, we took a little break in Beechworth, which is about three hours north-east of Melbourne. It was one of the most important towns in Victoria during the Gold Rush of the nineteenth century and there is still lots of lovely architectural evidence of those heydays to see around the town.

As well as partaking of those time-honoured mini-break traditions of eating too much, going to museums and spending too much time in little boutiquey shops, we also spent a lovely day walking on nearby Mount Buffalo. As you can see, we were blessed with beautiful weather.

Happy Days!

Big skies over Mount Buffalo

The view from the lookout nearest to the Mount Buffalo Chalet

Wildflowers in marshlands as we made our way down the mountain

On another day - the view at Woolshed Falls, literally five minutes from Beechworth

Be who you are

Shells at Rømø beach on the western coast of Denmark. Photo by me, last year.

It's funny but when I was a child, I didn't read Dr Seuss. I've just found a rather good quote of his, though, and I thought you might like it.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

Apparently, dancing for twelve minutes is a way to beat writer's block. Having had a birthday not long ago, I went in search of some music from around the time of my arrival. Think I could bust a move or two to a bit of T-Rex... How about you? What gets your toes tapping?

Wild and Precious

A lovely photo I took last year in Germany, while we were visiting with Bodecea.

Lately I have discovered the beautiful poetry of the American writer Mary Oliver. She writes so joyously and so compellingly about nature; its myriad, minutiae activity and its huge importance. I have Why I wake early from our local library. Have you read her poems?

This image is from http://davidsheffield.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/999/

Some wonderful thoughts from Mary, which give me so much to think about in just a handful of simple but beautiful words.

This print is from http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/what-is-it/

What are you looking for?

I hope you're having a good break in this "in-between" time wedged in amongst Yuletide and New Year. We went for a lovely drive yesterday to The Dandenong Ranges, just outside of Melbourne. We had a nice old-style, sit-down lunch in Sassafras and then walked it off on a bush walk just behind the village. Driving on to Olinda, we walked part of the way around the beautiful four kilometres of The National Rhododendron Gardens. We'll go back there in Spring - it would be amazing to see them all in flower.

A white Protea - I had never seen one before, thinking they only flowered in pink

A gecko who patiently waited while I took his photo

A mighty gum tree

Wild forget-me-nots

The canopy of green

We're expecting 36 degrees tomorrow and 38 degrees Monday, so it was nice to get out into the bush before really hot weather hits.

At a new-agey shop in Sassafras, The Oracle, I picked up the following 'fortune' from a bowl at the front door -

You will find what you are looking for, but stop looking on the outside for what can only be found on the inside.

This is surprisingly apt for me at the moment, and it's a thought I'll carry into the new year. What about you? What are your new year thoughts or resolutions?

Wishing you a new year of happy days and all that your heart desires.

~ Feronia x

Back Home

Why I fell in love with Norway in one photo...the quiet, mysterious stillness of the forests of Mt Floyen, Bergen.

This beautiful little heart is carved into the wall of a hut at Oslo's open-air Norwegian Folk Museum.

Hello! I am back from my six week holiday in Europe with my dear, sweet husband and getting used once more to the more familiar surroundings of the Yellow Wood! I have got beyond the just-back-from-the-holiday stage of home seeming like a bit of a novelty but it has certainly been a week of settling in. I would like to say I am glad to be home and of course all holidays must come to an end or they wouldn't really be special, magical holiday things but just, well, every day stuff, but we have returned to some very cold weather and we did have a lovely time overseas so it is a little hard not to be wistful...

On the up side though, the holiday did give me lots of good thinking time as holidays always do and I have clarified a few things in my own mind as to what I'll be up to for the next little while.

But! The Holiday. Well, first stop when we left Australia was Singapore which was as gorgeously tropical as ever. We were only there for a short time on our way to Europe so I'll come back
to that in a couple of days time, when I tell you about our week there on the way home. First European stop was Germany, where we were kindly hosted for a few days by my penpal Bodecea and her partner. Next on the list was our first foray into Scandinavia - Denmark. We stayed in the beautiful capital, Copenhagen, and then moved onto the oldest town in Denmark, Ribe. From there we took the train and the ferry to Sweden, stopping in Gothenburg, and then to our main destination of Norway. Oslo was our first Norwegian port of call and then to the beautiful, beautiful Bergen. I am still dreaming about Bergen! We spent another week in Oslo then and...our time was nearly up! Back to Singapore and then back home.

I've got lots of beautiful photos to show you (yes, it's the cyber equivalent of a slide night) and lots of travellers' tales to tell you. So, next post...Germany and Denmark!

Awaydays No.3

No, I can't read a word of Japanese. That's how much I'm in love with these books. I bought them anyway.

Who doesn't want to embroider a hedgehog?

Or a smiling rabbit?

So beautiful

Yes, I know the clothes' patterns will need to be...ahem...adjusted or shall we say up-sized?

I love the crochet book best of all

I would love to know what the rabbit's caption is!

As I mentioned yesterday, while on my rambling travels in Sydney, I found the most. beautiful. bookshop. ever. Kinokuniya. Oh yes. Originally Japanese (as you may have guessed), they now have shops throughout the world. Apparently their store in Sydney in the largest bookstore in Australia. It's surprising that I was able to leave.

I found the most beautiful Japanese craft books that have completely renewed and reinvigorated my interest in:

1. Japan (and so, all things Japanese)

2. Embroidery

3. Clothes-making (and so, using my sewing machine)

4. Drawing (and so, making my greeting cards)

Who knew that a visit to a bookstore could be so inspiring?

Awaydays No. 2

Back gate of the oldest house in Sydney

Back door of the oldest house in Sydney

Detail on an old building at the Rocks

Does this one need a caption? :)

I have been to Sydney several times before (and seen the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House etc., etc.) and of course it is only an hour away by plane, so I can go up there any time really, but I made a point of avoiding the tourist spots this time around just the same. Though I did walk down to the famed Rocks area one day, which is one of the oldest parts of Sydney, only to find half of it was shut and the other half was so boringly commercial and touristy that there was little to occupy my interest. I suppose I have done my fair share of souvenir buying in other countries (Tirolean hat, anyone?), but here I felt no need for a stuffed koala or kangaroo.

The one thing I did want to see - the oldest house in Sydney, which I think was built in the early 1800s (you have to remember we're in the 'New World' here!) - was closed so I retraced my steps. I had a brief look at the Harbour Bridge and then went back up George St (one of Sydney's main streets) where I found the Cupcake Bakery (http://thecupcakebakery.com.au/) and partook of a chocolate cupcake with deliciously thick peppermint icing (I would've taken a photo but I am sometimes shy about doing this in shops!) and the wonderful Japanese bookshop Kinokuniya (http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/indexohb.cgi?AREA=06)...but that's tomorrow's story.

Awaydays No. 1

I think this is a pomegranate.

There seem to be cranes everywhere in Sydney - I had to remind myself a few times that I was not back in Japan!

He's there...look closely :)

In case you've been wondering where I've got to, I've been in Sydney for a week, having a very nice break. My husband was at a conference up there so I decided to hitch a ride and have a wander around Sydney. I had some plans in mind - things to see, places to visit - but the best things I found were the places I hadn't planned on.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship was certainly one of them

(http://www.darlingharbour.com/sydney-Things_To_Do-Chinese_Garden.htm) Designed in the traditional sparse yet rich Chinese style, they are so very peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed stepping off the busy paths of the Darling Harbour area and quietly pottering through the various beautiful landscapes, past the ponds full of gaping carps (hard to photograph - I think I was distracted by all those opening and closing mouths!) and into the lovely open-air teahouse where I sipped jasmine tea and watched the lizards pacing self-importantly to and fro.

Ephemera

Image of the Madonna courtesy of http://www.depauw.edu

The problem with paring down is, of course, where to put everything. This is an especial problem for the inveterate collector, that is: me. I collect everything. When we go on holidays I keep train tickets, boarding passes, amusing wrappings off chocolate bars, serviettes at restaurants, newspaper clippings. And then I don't want to throw anything out because it reminds me of being there. "That wrapper was from those chocolates we bought in Tokyo!", "That was the train ticket from the day we went out to Versailles!" etc., etc. So it came as no surprise when sorting through my study yesterday to find a manila folder marked rather grandly: 'Ephemera'. I thought it might be fun for the next couple of days to sort through it and see just what this human bower bird picks up and drags back to her nest...

First up then are bits and pieces from our visit to the Museum of Russian Art at Minneapolis (http://www.tmora.org/) So beautiful but you could overlook it if you weren't making your way around 'the Twin Cities' reasonably carefully. Housed in what looked to be an old, Spanish-mission style church, it was showing an exhibition of sacred art when we were there last October. I am undecided on questions of faith but I find enormous peace in looking at Russian Orthodox icon paintings. Perhaps it's the colours used, or the expressions on those holy faces, I'm not sure. The little icon I bought did not photograph too well for some unknown reason so instead I post two other lovely ones above (the detail of the Archangel Gabriel painted by Semion Fedorovitch Ouchakov is from a print I have at home and photographed myself).

There were also other, more recent examples of Russian art at the Museum and I love that the women depicted in Konstantin G. Doroknov's "September" (above) are sorting through the cabbages. No reclining in salons for these ladies. Perhaps there's a little bit of Soviet Realism at work but I love those everyday details - the cabbages, their aprons, the kitchen. I have included two details from the painting which I photographed myself, since I couldn't find Dorokhov online.

Are you a collector on holiday?