a winter solstice

a short winter's day and a trip to katoomba.  well, just no stopping elsewhere as she enjoys adventuring.  this weekend saw her take us to katoomba.  a short stop at narrow neck for night one, then the solstice winter magic festival in the main street.  cold, but very enjoyable.  some good food and great music.  then caught up with some friends for dinner at the yellow deli cafe (previously common ground).  drove down to linden for a party in a cave.  what a great way to end a saturday.  then on to the national park at glenbrook to explore the river before ending the lovely weekend away in rainy sydney.

back to monday and work for me and rest for elsewhere.

woohoo.

The longweekend of Elsewhere...

 Elsewhere and myself enjoying the National Park just outside of Bateman's Bay.  What a treat to get away from Sydney.  First of all went to see my Grandma and Granddad (for my grandma's 85th Birthday) in Canberra and show them how well Elsewhere is doing.  Then down to Bateman's Bay, Sussex Inlet and a stop over on the River in Nowra before the trudge back to Sydney.  We wandered along the beach and went for a swim, saw a mummy and baby Kangaroo (sorry the photo below is a bit blurry), relaxed in the bush and enjoyed the cold.  Can't wait for her next adventure.  It was meant to be Alice Springs, but the person we were going to visit is going to be in Tassie, so we'll see where we end up...   only two weeks of work to go.

WOOOOHOOOOOO!

After a bit of a bumpy start... Elsewhere is going Elsewhere!!!

The original Elsewhere has had a bit of a facelift...

This is her in Batlow the first time.

This is her maiden voyage as the new-look elsewhere, fresh out of surgery!!  And the gang who took her out for a good time!

The wacky apple tarts and cider lovers at the Batlow Apple Cider Festival, which was the destination of her first voyage.

Just mucking around dressed as a wacky apple tart, playing in the leaves and handing out apples...  as you do...  =)

Many more adventures in Elsewhere to come!!!  Hopefully Alice Springs in July and then Tasmania in December, but until then, who knows where she will travel.

=)
have a great day.
deev

A Very Merry Unbirthday... to me, to me...

So, who wants to turn 30??  ME!   Although apparently, no-one else does.  So.  I had a Very Merry Unbirthday party to enjoy this occasion.  It was meant to be in the park with circus skills, picnics, croquet and many other fun things, but alas, the weather had something else to say.  So...  it was at my humble abode instead.

A great day was had in Wonderland with even two Alice's joining the Mad-Hatters event.

the warehouse

so...  furber road came to an end after 3 years.

I am now in a warehouse with some lovely people.  and we are renovating the garden (indoor)...

and that's all i have to say at the moment.

enjoy your day.
xx

and now...

trips to nz, trips to the snow, camping, sleeping, eating, being merry, working, hanging out with friends...

my recorder group is performing again at the Opera House next week and I am very please that one of my students auditioned and received a solo!  she is totally amazing!!!  well done to her.

after that i think it is only 3 weeks until the holidays and I am currently planning my next trip away.  hmmmm where to??

Kate and Dan have gone travelling for 6 months and we have a french couple staying in their room.  Camille and Alex.  Absolutely lovely people who are enjoying everything that Sydney and Australia has to offer.  at the moment they are in NT doing some of the Larapinta trail.   I hope they will be able to travel some of the great ocean road with me.

hurrah.

enjoy today!

just a few photos...  oh and i've started crocheting...  loving it!

xx

beautiful snow...

on the day I leave... of course. haha

slip sliding

trying to figure out how to put a tobies caramel roll into my mouth without getting it all over my face. hilarious!!

oh my goodness. they make angry bird beanies. haha. so cute.

so, I'm up in duluth and the weather is really getting colder, but not much snow still, which I suppose is good, seeing as I've been driving around. tonight I went to meet up with one of andy's friends and go out to a

movie, dinner and drinks. so f course it snowed a little. on the way there, I came to a stop at a stop sign and started sliding sideways onto a major road... fun fun fun... how

DOES one stop when they have their feet fully on the brake??

Then, climbing up a hill in town, a car at the stop sign infront of me started slipping towards me in the ice. I was a fair way away cos I wasn't trusting anything or anyone, but still it was a little interesting. how far was the ice there for him to slip? he changed his route, and I decided to take his new route, as the previous choice seemed a little icy!!!

on the way home (I only drank one local brew beer!!! so don't worry!!) it was minus 21 degrees celcius and OH MY GOODNESS, did I feel it!!!! I only had my fingerless mittens on and I was scared the tips of my fingers were actually going to fall off!! ouch!! it hurt so bad, and the car took forever to spit hot air out. I was almost home beforehand hands started to thaw.

WELCOME TO DULUTH!!!

:)

north star roller girls

it was beautiful. someone apologised to me on behalf of Minneapolis, minnesota AND America, for the lack of snow. and asked me please to not hold it against him that he could not provide as much snow this year as they had last year! loved it.

never thought I would be 'too warm' walking. i walked into downtown Minneapolis and was hot. man... bring on the snow! woohoo! I did, however, notice that lots of people seem to waddle over here. and on closer inspection, I realised I waddle too. it's the winter coats that cause it. or the mighty ducks... I think that was filmed over here. quack, quack, quack.

"A quarter of an inch, Charlie."

"Yeah, but a quarter inch the other way and you'd have missed completely."

"I never thought of it that way."

yeah, it was totally filmed over here.

things are really sweet over here, like juice and bread. that's my random thought. ih, and another one... so many people with carabeenas on their keys.

oh, and I went to my first roller derby here. fun to watch!! I'll have to go again in sydney.

anyways, bed for me now. I've been back at Mandy and andy's for the past couple of night, and tomorrow I borrow their car and drive off to duluth. I'm really looking forward to it.

night,

love to you all.

xx

it's snowing... oh yeah it's snowing!!!

not a lot and probably not for long, but I don't mind!!!

woohoo

Minneapolis... the cities...

happy new year!!

I woke up to a crying Noah at 7:00am on new years eve here which was midnight in sydney!! perfect timing. so wished you all in sydney a happy new year (in my head! haha) and then went back to sleep! we then drove up to st Paul to have a dinner on new years eve which was kindly cooked by a friends sister. it was a gourmet 5 course meal and few, it was divine!!! and to top off a decadent evening of eating, it snowed!!!!! so we drove back to Hastings in the most glorious fluffy snow. it was lovely to bring in the new year so beautifully, although unfortunately, the snow didn't continue... but it stayed on the ground for a couple of days. apparently the weather at the moment is more like April weather than January weather. I think I am the only person hoping for snow!!! everyone else is loving fact that it is mild.

on January 3rd, I left Hastings and came up to Minneapolis. I am living in a house called the greenhouse. it is an amazingly beautiful old house close to downtown minneapolis that was rundown and gutted and has been redone. there are 10 adults who live here plus me at the moment, and 3 kids under the age of 2. they are associated with a church called the salvage yard, although not everyone who lives here goes to that church. I have wandered around downtown and a coupleof other places in my time here. I have also spent some time getting to know some of the people in the house. they are so hospitable and I really do feel right at home. I am sharing a room with joi and we went to an art gallery together on Friday. she is kinda like me, bubbly, random, sarcastic, and busy. we get on real well. I have been lucky to go to a few community things of both their community and a few other communities that are friends with these guys. I hung out on a street corner last night and handed out free coffe/hot chocolate/soup to anyone who passed and then went out to a cafe called 'hard times' that draws a crowd of anyone, punks and bickies and hippies and intellectuals and really everyone. it is open til 4pm, serves organic vegetarian or vegan food and you can play boardgames there.... an experience in itself!

I have been spending a lot of time reading, chilling and learning how to just 'be'. this has been interesting for me as i thrive off being busy. I am loving it though. learning how to listen to myself. I have also had some time to reflect on different patterns and things that are going on in my life and also been dared to dream a little. what fun!

anyways, I'm just sitting in a common area being quite rude on my phone, so I might go back to chatting to the others in the room.

happy good day!

xx

don't know way happened to the font, but can't figure out how to change it on my phone... sorry!

m i double s i, double s i, double p i.

Mississippi... yep... that's how you spell it. was a lovely walk, although most of it was dark. but it gave me a chance to see some great Christmas lights. I wanted to eat one house with how decorated it was.

I'm excited about tomorrow night, it will

be fondue and games with the Langenfeld clan... I'll have to crank out my fondue set when I return home. yew!!

well, I was inspired to write and now I'm not... sorry! but hope you all had an awesome Christmas and boxing day!!! all the best for the end of the year!

xx

Hastings, Minnesota.

well, here I am in Hastings. it's Christmas day here and boxing day in Australia. I wonder what the weather is like in sydney today. it's cold here, but sunny. still haven't gotten that white Christmas that I've longed for... maybe in a few years. haha. it has been so much fun staying with Andy and Mandy. and to meet Noah. wow, he is just so big!!! almost 11 months... he had a new baby cousin born yesterday and apparently he looks real big compared to her. it's

funny to think how small he looks and how much smaller he would have been a year ago.

I'm going to go for a walk now, to the Mississippi river... ha. the only reason I know how to spell that is because of Annie. haha.

I'm gunna go before it gets too dark. I'll write more when I get back from my walk... maybe. haha.

love you all,

merry Christmas, joyeux Noel, Feliz navidad.

xx

i'm going skiing

i'm going skiing... i'm going skiing...

and that is all...

xx

I'm going to NZ tomorrow!!!!!! woohoooooo

pigeons anyone??

'you are always away'... yep!!!! and i'm very excited!!! i'm going to windy wellington tomorrow morning (well this morning if you want to get technical...)

just thought i'd put that up here... but first... some lovely photos from work the other day... yes, i went to luna park... just for fun, just for work. yay!!!

enjoy my beautiful city!

xx

back to the grind.

my beautiful country!!! woohoo!!!!


ok... so, i'm back to school and they've just dropped me to 1 3/4 days. haha. so now i'm gunna figure out what on earth to do with my life... take it easy, chill, think, rest in God and just see what happens. or actively seek out a few things. I've been having some great conversations with people and meeting some interesting people of late, so i'm going to try and spend a bit of time seeing what I can learn. Bring on the learning!!! woohoo!!!!

so... what have i been up to?? camping was fantastic! I went to melbourne with michelle garratt for conference called "surrender" and then decided to sign up for a week down in melb living in a share house of people helping to run a soup kitchen. I went to Radelaide twice and just bummed around being me.

here are some lovely photos for you to enjoy!
=)