Monday, July 26, 2010 I received an email from my mum in Australia, about a dear friend of hers who lives near Lyon in France. We visited Rejane and Paul, and their sons Pierre (his wife Annie) and Jean last year when I came with my parents to France. Rejane and mum have been pen pals for over sixty years connecting when they were in school. During that time they have met half a dozen times or so, yet are like sisters to one another.

Mum had news that Rejane's cancer had returned and asked if I would visit her. Rog and I organised a day off from our farm duties and drove to the little town of Miribel picking up a large bunch of flowers on the way. What a joy it was to see her and share lunch with the family.

Rejane talked to me privately about her fears of undergoing chemo again, her fear and the trauma of not knowing if she will survive this difficult time. I felt deeply touched by her fragility and vulnerability at this difficult time. The precious time we shared was important for me, and also for my mum who was thinking of us across the ocean. They both love and respect each other dearly, and how glad I was to hold her for a brief moment and give her the message from my mum, 'Je t'embrace'... I embrace you...

Monday, July 05, 2010 Family rituals can have everlasting and fond memories. These two little girls playing by the edge of the water in the sand nudged treasured memories of the times I spent with my sisters down at the beach.


I grew up in Tasmania, having emigrated out from England when I was eight. Tasmania was a tropical paradise to us pommies down under. Dad used to take us to the beach nearly every day after school, come summer and winter (now this memory is an old one so allow for some exaggeration ...maybe just a tad! Anyway, it seemed like every day and it was often enough to create a fabulous memory.

My three sisters and I would play for hours together building sandcastles, covering each others bodies in sand and sculpting mermaids, we carved out boats in the wet sand.We spent hours in the water splashing each other and jumping in the waves. I can still feel the chill in my bones and the chattering of my teeth,  the faint blue skin and shivering. We would dry ourselves with scratchy towels as the sand was stuck to our clammy bodies, and then with sticky clothes we would bundle into the Holden stationwagon and head for home, and always, we would stop at the corner store and buy an ice cream - a Choc Wedge which were about 15 cents each. I can still see the old milk bar at Bellerive although I am sure it has long been replaced by an upmarket beachfront cafe...

The rituals we give our children, by sharing with them regular joyful and carefree activities, will stay as treasured memories for a long time. I knew looking at these two sisters lost in play, oblivious to the people around them as they built sandcastles and moats, splashed and played for hours in this alpine paradise, would remember this day with great joy. For me recalling the rituals our parents gave us four girls,amongst them... regular trips to the beach, camping holidays, Sunday roasts and the other simple routines and rituals our family life held bought a warmth to my heart.

And the antics of this family made me laugh... how come kids can have so much fun in the water with just a foam mattress? These children played for hours, sometimes raucously, and then would take time to chill out and just relax on it and float about ... before the fun would all begin again. Thank goodness for the playfulness of children.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Many people have asked how Roger and I met and I thought, today being Valentine’s Day might be a good time to share about our unexpected meeting.

Roger and I met on an ocean adventure sailing the calm waters of Hervey Bay and the Sandy Straits.

I was onboard a beautiful yacht called Serene Spirit with five other friends and Roger was sailing with another group of friends on another boat.

I was not looking for a relationship - I even took my final university assignment to complete on this week long holiday while I had some peace and quiet from my busy schedule. But life and grace had other ideas. Roger and I got talking during a shared evening meal on his boat and we proceeded to court one another over the following days. We would paddle out in the evening in the little ‘tinny’ (dinghy) then float back down the still and quiet creeks snuggled up with lots of coats, gloves and hats as we kept warm sitting next to one another under the full moon. Reflections of the mangrove trees danced on the water and night sounds made us smile. There were idyllic days on the deck laughing and playing watching the sand hills of Fraser Island pass us by. A true romantic sailing holiday.

The whales of Hervey Bay entertained and delighted us during the day making us laugh and sit in awe as they leapt out of the water. We snorkeled down Awinya Creek exploring the clear water stream that led back down to the ocean. We took long walks along Fraser Island once both boats were moored for the night and sure enough, we became very fond of one another. On the way back, as we motored up the Sandy Straits, my boat went a bit faster than Roger’s boat and apparently he became quite agitated as my boat moved out of sight so when we paused for a lunch break Roger’s boat caught up and all I saw was Roger dive over the side of his boat and swim to mine… he stayed on board until we got back to the marina! Everyone clapped and cheered… I was pretty happy too.

The week was over and neither of us knew what would unfold once we got back to our busy lives. The classic holiday meeting… would it develop and survive the realities of day to day life?

It has definitely grown from those early days and we have shared many great stories. We ventured back to Hervey Bay many times over the years and just recently celebrated our anniversary on board a chartered catamaran that we shared with a small group of close friends.

We have had our fair share of challenges and discovered more about ourselves and each other in that time. There were times when I wondered whether we would make it… and Grace would pick us up and show us the way. About four years ago we attended a ‘couple’s relationship education’ weekend that revealed to us an important life skill that transformed the way we were communicating - giving us the idea for the gratitude exercise that we now share daily with our prayer.

We are both very compatible and love many of the same things while living very independently at many levels. We don’t know what life will bring us but we do know that we share something very beautiful each day

.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I was saying to Charlene, a friend in Bristol who we stayed with, why I loved her so.She smiled and asked me why.

I held her hands and honoured my meetings with her which are always so refreshing, insightful, honest, life affirming, intense, full of laughter and depth.

I love the openness with which she welcomes Roger and myself into her home.

I love sharing a meal with her and the many conversations which have meaning and reveal passion about family, life and work. I love her smile and her eyes that shine with life and love.

I feel blessed to have her as a heartfelt friend on this journey of life.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

During my stay with my two granddaughters I had fun in the kitchen with the eldest, Isabel, who is aged 4.

My joy cannot be measured as we cooked together. It was a combination of her delight at telling me which recipe we were going to use (which was not the one she insisted I write down as we watched a children’s cooking show on DVD… no it was going to be ‘Mummy’s banana cake recipe!’) , her enthusiasm and interest, her focus at cracking the eggs without a single piece of shell going into the mix and the smile she beamed as she got to lick the bowl.

I loved supporting her to weigh and measure the ingredients adding more information about what the eggs will do to the flour, why we put in the vanilla essence, why we grease the cake tin. There is a saying that goes, ‘if you want to teach a man to build a boat first you have to teach him to love to sail’.  We had a lot of fun in the kitchen (even if she hadn’t quite the same enthusiasm for washing all the bowls!) and the cake tasted delicious!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Happy first day of Spring!!

I love this time of year as the crisp evenings give way to beautiful still mornings. The ocean is flat and the breeze fresh. As the sun rises the warmth and blue skies are delightful. The warm sunny days are a treat.

I have just returned from a week's sailing in Hervey Bay hanging out with the whales and relaxing. One of the joys is watching the sunset over the ocean. We met a lovely man in his late seventies, Richie, who lives alone on a catamaran in a remote lagoon. He told us that every night he does an evening ritual on the beach - lighting a flame and taking a moment to ponder the gifts of the day. He invited us to join him. Roger and I walked along the deserted beach until we met him sitting huddled on the sand - the flame already lit before him.

As the sun touched the horizon, he invited us to step over the flame, and as we did so to mentally affirm a letting go of something (a habit, a negative thought...) and step into the light and beauty of the sunset. It was very simple yet very beautiful. People all over the world are conducting powerful rituals - without grandeur or pomp and ceremony and for this I honour Richie, the Wathumba Creek hermit of Fraser Island.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 I spent my teenage years in Hobart - it was a fabulous place to grow up. Wild beaches and amazing tracks.We used to head off down to Eaglehawk Neck for weekends to stay in a friends shack (small beachside home with a few provisions!). So when I was taking a walk along the Coffs Habour marina  wall and saw this beautiful catamaran from Eaglehawk Neck I was delighted as it stirred some great memories. I was even more delighted when Marion and Phil came out on the deck... I had met Phil a few years earlier on another sailing adventure. They are doing some amazing sailing trips in Hervey Bay...  check out the whales coming up to their boat!! We are heading up to Hervey Bay with some friends in August so we will see them up there. Check out their tales below and also their website SeaEagle.com.au and you can have whales join you for breakfast!



Marion sent me an email with an update...There has been plenty of variety coming up the coast. The last couple of days of flat glassy seas and still, warm weather was lovely after a rough cold beat across Bass Strait and on up the coast. Coming into Coffs Harbour we had a fantastic light show with lightning all around and a dramatically stormy looking sunset.

Marine life has been varied as well since leaving Tassie; penguins, seals and albatrosses further south and dolphins everywhere. Still plenty of birds around and we’ve seen whales every day now since we left Port Stephens, pods of 2 and 3 at a time intent on getting up to the warmer waters; four or five deep breaths and then sounding for a couple of hundred meters before four or five more deep breaths – not too many breaches and acrobatics yet. Good to know they are on their way. Reports from friends further up the coast are that there are plenty of whales around and we’re really looking forward to seeing them up close in the Whitsundays and Hervey Bay when they are more relaxed and playful.

Leaving Coff’s this morning we had a great sail with a good 20kt wind behind and the swell pushing us up the coast. Just as we were anchoring in Iluka this evening, a sudden rain shower washed the salt off the decks and rigging for us and we are now settled down with a glass of wine in a snug anchorage with delicious cooking smells wafting up from the galley. Love this sailing life!
Can’t wait to fire up the hot tub and soak under the tropical stars….

We’ll be in Hervey Bay for a couple of months – we have a whale watch permit this year and we’re taking passengers out to ‘Sail, Dine and Sleep with the Whales’ on one, two or three night cruises. Have a look at our website, SeaEagle.com.au to see our itinerary on the cruises page, and some awesome whale photos in the photo gallery that we took last year.

Sunday, May 17, 2009
I love camping out. Rog and I headed up to the Illaroo Camping ground at Yurigir National Park to join some friends.

We sat around the evening campfire sharing stories and listening to Dave play his guitar. The kids were laughing and hanging out in the hammock. Just before I climbed into the tent I lay down on the earth and checked out the awesome display of stars in the night sky. Heaven on Earth. Just stunning. How precious we all are.

Just the day before I had watched a news report showing astronauts doing a mission in space looking down on the planet - wow - one of them looked down and said, 'how cool is that' Africa was just passing below them. A blue sphere that we call home. And here I am looking up towards those astronauts!

An early morning ride along the beach from Minnie Water to Sandon Village to greet the morning. Low tide, trusty pushbikes, a stop to do some yoga and salute the rising sun through the clouds. 11 kilometres up to Sandon and a walk through beautiful scrub to the river. A quiet idyllic holiday village - memories of a happy childhood roaming, riding pushies at Eaglehawk Neck in Tassie with Pip, chasing crabs along the tidal banks, dreams of quiet days and nights snugged up in the shack ... trips to the local shop which smelt musty and still had stores from what seemed like a bygone era. The old lady who served us was a bit grumpy and had a moustache. She was ancient. We were only 12! We'd buy supplies of lollies and Passiona and have secret midnight feasts in the shack... back in Sandon village and onto the pushies, heading into an unexpected southerly wind home to the campsite for a hearty breakfast four hours after we had set off.

A great weekend!