Such beautiful yoga

Its so lovely when we discover something amazing and....well, perfect.....right on our doorstep isn't it? That's just what happened to this Mama this morning.
I had been thinking about attending my friend, Amber's, yoga classes for a while, but there always seemed to be something in the way. There was Bethany who needed to be happy with someone else for an hour or so, there was my ongoing back problem, my tiredness.... there was a list that I let keep me from going. And when I think about it now, perhaps this Mama was just plain scared too - scared of looking like a dill (a common fear I'm afraid) and scared even that I might like it too much, and throw myself into it in an over-the-top way (also a common reaction from this Mama).

And so I let these fears keep me away until I heard about the retreat.
Last weekend. In a lovely little town not far from here. Some of my friends. Yoga. Journalling. Healthy food. Oh my, I so wished I had known about it. I felt still and sad inside that I'd missed it. There was even jealousy (oh, yes, but I'm getting better at turning that around so it didn't last too long). And then I realised just how much I wanted to be going to these yoga classes each week and how much I'd been holding myself back.

And so today I made effort, more effort than I thought I needed to, and arrived (5 minutes late) to Amber's 'The Beauty of Yoga' for the first time.
It was lovely. I stretched. I stood in Warrior pose. I felt strong. And at the end I felt a level of relaxation and clarity that has been missing for a while.

Thank-you my friend. May we enjoy more yoga together!

Winter Beauty

"O, wind, if Winter comes can Spring be far behind?"

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

 

There are many lovely, lovely things about Winter in Mount Beauty (many of which I've been delighted to write about before). Notwithstanding the close proximity of Falls Creek Ski Resort, there's the high, domed mound of Mount Bogong, Victoria's highest peak, below which Mount Beauty nestles. This peak, when covered in a blanket of Winter snow, feels like a loving protector to us as we go about our business on the cold days of this season.

Of course there are other little beauties also - the crispness of frost on the grass as we walk to school, the austere brightness of a Winter full moon at night and the daily lighting of the fire to keep us warm.

Lately we have celebrated Winter with a family night ski, a full-moon ski for Ian and plenty of snow play with friends, for soon the snow will leave us and Spring will be with us again. So for now we enjoy the shorter, colder days for what they are - a time for preparation in the garden, a time for fun in the snow and a time for those indoor crafts like knitting, baking and stitching.

 

This is the Winter beauty we love.

Family at home

This week we took Rosie out of school for a day to spend with family at home. In our life at the moment there aren't many days when all four of us have a whole day together. Either Ian is working, or I'm working, or there is a race or some training session that is important for Ian to participate in. Thursday happened to be a day when neither of us was required at work and training was short and early - a perfect day for Rosie to spend with us.
We also believe that a day spend in nature, with family, leads to greater holistic learning than a day spent as school. That's not to say that we don't want her at school at all. There are definite positives for her being there too. Its just that our balance lies in a bit of both.
So we began our day with a trip to the mountain bike park across the road where we set up our play tepee (sown by yours truly), listened to the Kookaburras laughing at us, watched kangaroos and Crimson Rosellas through our binoculars and did some painting. It was overcast and cool, but the girls enjoyed exploring the grass, hills, forest and mud. One great thing about living in Mount Beauty is the proximity of bushland to our home - with only a 5 minute walk we were in the bush, with lovely views, wild native animals and flora.
After a play back at home, we had lunch, Rosie practiced her violin and the words she's working on at school at the moment, then we spent the afternoon in the garden pruning and fertilising fruit trees and veggies and improving the chicken pen (for our adventurous chooks). Sometimes the girls helped, sometimes they played in the sandpit or in Rosie's 'outdoor circus' that she's constructed, or in the fairy garden. It was free, unstructured time in the garden - so worthwhile to the development of creativity and identity.

Our fantastic, portable paint set

Painting in nature - such a great way to develop observation skills and an appreciation of nature

Bethany joined in too

Watching a flock of Crimson Rosellas - Rosie's skill with the binoculars is improving

Bethany loves to hug trees at the moment

Heath (Epacris) growing in the Mountain Bike Park

A flock of Sulphur crested Cockatoos feeding in the leaves

Winter days

A lovely day was had by all during today's family ski day. This mama had a wonderful, chatty ski with a friend, devoted Daddy Ian took his oldest girl up for a ski on the slopes in her pink ski boot and snowsuit and Bethany wore the little purple ski overalls that we dressed Rosie in when she was one.
There is something special about our times in the snow in Winter. It has been a cornerstone of our lives since we met, and continues to play a large role in the life of our family. We love the crisp, freshly fallen snow that slides beneath our skis and launches from our hands as snowballs. We love the sun glinting off the ice particles, transforming the snow into a Winter fairyland.
There has been much talk around our home lately about the importance of snow to us, especially since the snow has fallen so late this year. To some degree we had become a little melancholy about better days and snow seasons in the past, and I must admit, this Mama was a little sceptical about any falling at all this year and was deeply involved in the development of our garden instead. But suddenly there it was - fresh, white powdery snow falling up on the peaks - and our Winter has transformed happily into another ski-fest.
Today we shared our snow times with friends at the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club - our favourite family-friendly club and place to hang out when we're up at Falls Creek. You know its a special place when ordinary members are ex-Winter Olympians for Australia (and future Winter Olympians I'm sure), you're surrounded by Olympic memorabilia and yet you feel like you're at home. This is a truly special family club that we love being a part of.
And towards the end of the day, after everyone else had gone back down to their warm homes and Rosie and her Daddy were up skiing, Bethany and I shared a quiet time by ourselves in the clubrooms, reading through books, playing with toys and crocheting a little more.
A heavenly day...

A crocheted beanie using fibre from North East Yarns that I've been working on.

Playgroup

My how they grow. From a baby girl last year to a walking, talking social butterfly this year, our littlest one is happily settling into life at playgroup, just like a big girl.
A great thing about Mount Beauty, this Mama thinks, is the way children of all ages play together, grow up together and ultimately learn together - and this starts around town and at playgroup from before they are walking.
They say it takes a village to raise a child...and in our little village that happens all the time.

Small town sharing

Mount Beauty is one of those wonderful, perhaps rare, places where there is a strong sense of community, where there is a lot of sharing between residents and where newcomers are welcomed with open arms.
I was reading recently a blog post by Brooke of Slow your home about sharing more and buying less and I thought this really applies to Mount Beauty.
Let me paint you a picture of our lovely little town:
- we have a community run toy library and playgroup where toys and activities are shared between parents
- regular swapping of unwanted items occurs between friends and through freecycle.org
- unwanted items are advertised in the supermarket or left out the front of houses for others to collect
- the local op shop is one of the most successful businesses in our small town
- leaves are collected from around the town in Autumn by locals to put onto their gardens
- coffee grounds from the bakery are given away for people's gardens
- left over bread from the bakery is available for feeding to animals
- local excess blueberries and eggs are available for purchase (low food miles)
- many of our friends share children's clothing, particularly children's ski clothing and gear
Mount Beauty is lucky to boast a well-established culture of sharing.

Autumn Beauty

I love the way Mount Beauty is surrounded by colourful, deciduous foliage at this time of year.
I love the colours in Autumn that light up the streets and colour the view from our front window.
I love the dry crunch underfoot of a carpet of leaves as I walk from playgroup to the bakery with my daughters.

I love a cool Autumn bike ride with my loved ones alongside the river.

 

I love the first lighting of the fire and the crickle crackle of that carefully harvested wood.

I love watching my girls run through the piles of dry leaves around our small town and throw them up in the air to fall as snow.

I love the pumpkin soups that are made as our pumpkins ripen and the days grow colder.

And I love the knitting that is inspired by the cold hands and bodies we have at this time of year.

This is Autumn in Mount Beauty for me.



Goldilocks and the housewarming party

One of the things I really love about Mount Beauty is the closeness of the people here. New families are welcomed with open arms, almost like extended family themselves. I guess Mount Beauty is a small town so people here share a bond in their desire to be in this special place.
We have met many, many likeminded families since our move here four years ago and are still delighted to be sharing our time with them in the outdoors, in our homes andd with our children.
And so it was that our family of four found ourselves at a very fun housewarming party one lazy Saturday afternoon recently where costumes matched the '70's carpet and I found myself in a gold wig quoting Shakespeare (badly). Ahem.

Autumnal changes

It was a good weekend in town as the Mount Beauty Music Muster was in full swing. Amid the music-loving tourists, musicians and townsfolk our little family found joy in the performance of the Picton Strings band from NSW, seeing our friends play their violins, and for me a concert band performance in the community hall. The Bakery was in full swing (literally with musicians playing inside on both afternoons) and there was a general sense of happiness in the air, with delightful Autumn weather to match.
Rosie is now more firmly set on the idea of playing the violin and its my job this week to find out more about this whole violin-caper and what step to take next to help a five year old begin to play.
Bethany has certainly found her voice over this last month or so and is now a vocal member of our clan - in fact more so than Rosie sometimes.
We've made some changes in the house too, with a new big bed for Bethany, the girls now sharing a bedroom and the creation of a homeschooling space (see my Pinterest pins if you're interested in the ideas I'm looking at). I've started a quilt for Bethany too, now that she's got a bed, based on one of Soulemama's ideas.
It's nice to have made a few changes for the coming season, put the camper trailer away now that its getting cold and to move the couch back inside in preparation for evenings in front of the fire.
Change is also afoot for Ian who is travelling to China this week to compete in the Baise Leye International Outdoor Quest. Us girls will be spending time with Bernadette while he's gone, picking up our new chickens and working in the garden.

Family bike rides

A beautiful day for a family ride today. We skirted past the lake, the park and the library with Rosie out the front on her bike and Bethany and I together (her in the trailer). There's something important and lovely about riding together rather than taking a car. It slows us down, let's us
notice things together and eases most tensions that might have arisen during the morning. And Rosie is fast becoming a proficient rider with speed that can tackle small hills and gravel. We are starting to explore on bikes more and more.