campers

birthday
present
for paul,
3 march,
camping at wilson's prom
Outside of the summer ballot -
All accomodation is very popular and can be pre-booked up to 12 months in advance by calling 13 1963.



Bookings are essential and minimum stays apply throughout the year.
kings are essential and minimum stays apply thrughout the year.

Base price per night

$51.00 (includes 8 people and 1 vehicle)

parks victoria website

also available
5 star camping - $250 per night
wilderness retreats






camping under the moon and stars

nurturing, healing, spiritual

my task today, and over the coming days, is to write down
5 nurturing, healing (spiritual) experiences
1. the feeling of swimming laps at the fitzroy pools, when i've been swimming laps for a while and have got some fitness and my breathing right. a sunny but not too hot day, with a lane to myself (so i don't get stressed). slicing through the water like silver scimitar, watching the water rising up and away as i take strong breaths to the side (every 4th breath)
while cruising for images of the fitzroy pools i found this story about carol cooke (pictured below) sleepless swimming for MS scholarships... Carol Cooke has always been a swimmer, but for the past decade the swimming pool has been a way of transforming more than just her life.

. art walking into a gallery and

2. art walking into a gallery and seeing aboriginal art, especially utopia artists, like minnie pwerle, emily kame kngwarreye (her sister in law), barbara weir (her daughter), and emily pwerle (her sister).

verylongwordtoforce love the colour and the i love the colour and the line, the rhythm of the works. my soul sighs and relaxes in the presence of art. modernist works affect me the same way. a deft picasso or williams line, a rough expressive rush of kirchner colour, the sublime wash and wane of rothko.

it's a spiritual place where soul, sometimes mind, sometimes body expresses itself. where life is. where i recognise life.

3. the ocean, the overwhelming rush and power and sense of the ocean. i love the liminal edge of the land and the sea

whether it's the rough stormy winter ocean

or inviting rolling summer waves both ease and breathe life and air through the soul

breathe life and air through the soul

4. animals and children, i'm not an actor so these creatures don't hold fears for me. they are so surprising, what they do, how they behave. i suppose an expert could predict their various behaviours, but not me - i'm happy to be surprised and delighted.
they feature in some of my favourite episodes of life -
** when i was about 12 years old, we were driving (as a family) along brighton road in elwood. trotting along the footpath was an airedale terrier taking itself for a walk - no owner in sight, but this dog knew where it was going. it looked so happy and confident in its being it inspired a lifelong love of airedales (and a longing for a life with one)
** one football morning, i saw a little girl pedalling her tricycle down the street. she was wearing her pyjamas and she had a tiger tail trailing behind her - classic
** watching some whales frolic in the shallows off the coast near warrnambool, i suddenly became aware of a large golden labrador/retriever, gambolling down the beach, dragging a large clump of seaweed. the dog embodied the same level of joy in the moment as the wonderful whales enjoying the sunshine
** driving down a tree-lined street in coburg (one of the few!) i saw a young kid, maybe 10 or 11 years old, wearing his collingwood footy jumper, bouncing on a trampoline in his front yard, practising his kung fu moves

i love what children and animals do when they're unhampered by self-consciousness, i love their idiosyncrasies, a wonderful expression of life

5. creativity
when i was a kid i always imagined myself having a studio - a tilted desk, with pots of brushes, pens and pencils, stacks of paper and creativity gushing from my fingers and blossoming in my mind
this is the closest i've come to it.
i feel it might be getting even closer.

**and, of course, it goes without saying, but it's joyful to say, my lover's embrace - arms, mouth, gaze, the feeling of well-being, unconditional love
my mind, body settles into quiet, relaxes into happiness, tingles and shimmers with joy and love

archicentre

we rang archicentre and had an interview to find out what architect would be right for us
small house
sustainable renovation
ground floor only (probably)
move the kitchen, new bathroom
flexible living areas, with possibility of working from home
currently using space creatively
sky lights, more light ...
etc
yesterday, we received a call from mary ann jackson.
at first it took a while to find information, marian, marion, maryanne, maryann, mary anne, finally there she was, mary ann jackson

she and her partner have a company called visionary design development
while mary ann is an architect/designer, her partner is a vision scientist
they do "good work" - designing for people with diverse abilities, doing volunteer work in south america, and in sri lanka,
they list permaculture, art and community development on their website; they understand "affordability"
Long-Life Loose-Fit
Bedroom 3 could permanently be the ‘family room’ as many families will be a couple with only one child. Bedroom 1 could become a home office. As residents age or become emptynester/lone person households, disused rooms can be shut off reducing utility bills.
The ceiling system means that the internal walls can be moved around without needing to replaster.


I found a really good description, on a site called Building a Better Future, on the Stories page

What initially attracted you to this job, career or industry?
Watching and learning from Dad on the family farm. He was ingenious. Often he would need a very specialized piece of equipment to perform a specific task, but of course it would never be available ‘off the floor’. He would buy something close to what he wanted, get out the drawing board and T-square and draw up the modifications that he needed. Then down to the machine shed to bend, fold, drill – construct. As a kid I thought it was pretty cool to design and build your own things - and I still do!

it's spring, it's my birthday...

article by diana snape about planting natives now! in the mood for change
i want to plant these, i have for ages ...
chorizema cordatum, heart-leaf flame-pea
i asked baag if they had them - "not at this time"
but i'm pretty sure kuranga will have them. they're in the current stocklist
the name, like many plants is greek/latin
Chorizema - possibly from the Greek, chorizo, I separate, and nema, a thread, but the generic chorizema, may also be derived from the Greek choros (dance) and zema (a drinking vessel), given by the botanist Labillardiere in 1792 when the plant was discovered near a waterhole by a thirsty expedition party
cordatum - from the Latin, cordis, heart

i like the idea of dancing hearts

addendum. oh my poor babies have been attacked by caterpillars. luckily there is only 1 pest for chorizemas ...
Serious defoliation caused by caterpillars has been noted on occasions and these may be controlled by spraying with Dipel, a bio-insecticide specific to leaf eating caterpillars. No other pests or diseases have been observed
have checked with the local nursery and they stock Dipel - $19.95 phew

food blogs & online recipes, lots of food out there

nourish me

stone soup

the wednesday chef

in praise of leftovers

the old foodie

what katie ate - food, photography

101 cookbooks

what the fuck should i make for dinner

from beci orpin's blog, dinner suggestions?

I seem to cook a lentil & cauliflower pilaf from Taste.com.au pretty regularly- I use Patak’s tandoori paste- as it’s quick, healthy and easy. The kids also like cauliflower soup with cheesy croutons. Jill Dupleix has a great Spiced Indian Fish with Chickpea Yoghurt recipe on Cuisine.com.au- I use sustainable and local flathead fillets. Karen Martini’s Tagliatelle alla Norma is great too- I vary it by roasting capsicum and a whole head of garlic with the eggplant. I also cheat and use a jar of Aldi organic pasta sauce instead of passata as it is slightly sweetened and appeals to my children! Nigella Lawson’s Double Potato Haloumi Bake is another fantastic one that you shove in the oven and forget about. I always have chilli con carne, bolognese, soup and homemade baked beans in the freezer for times when inspiration is lacking. Which is more often than I would like to admit…

cook eat share

pasta alla norma, jamie's italy

epicurious.com

taste.com.au

cuisine.com.au

book to buy salade by damian pignolet

cake recipes at berlincheesecake

apricot cardamom yoghurt cake

merry diy xmas

can't spend money,
so xmas is going to be paper and diy

ideas,
1. paper cut outs

2. templates of cutouts, painted onto blocks of wood

3. colour-in jigsaw (like the one dana made for my 6th birthday)

4. paper dolls

5.

so much depends

so much depends

on

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens