sort, photograph, sell, repeat

A friend set me a challenge this week: to walk or drive exactly 5 minutes away from home and take a photo of what I see.

I failed to complete the challenge. Humph.

I really meant to get that photo challenge achieved this weekend (it was on my list of things to get done)...instead all I did was cull, sort, sell, clean and pack stuff!!!!!!!! 

It's not all bad. I went to my usual Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning yoga classes too. And Ben and I found a moment to vacuum and mop the floors woot woot.

Maybe I'll get to that photo challenge sometime this week...stay tuned....I might blog about something other than packing, sorting and selling stuff soon!

show day

my favourite exhibit of the day...Mrs and Mrs Vegetable - made by an infants student

a clever year 2 girl created this sand posy - I think it's very pretty!

Our local hat makers are so talented

carrots with character

Harry's painting of Till

Yesterday was our annual Royal Norfolk Island A&H Show Day. In terms of exhibits, it seemed a bit light on this time, though some years are like that. The Children's section was a stand-out, with the standard of artworks being higher than I can ever remember. It was a quiet show day for us, as Harry and Till had a break from the equestrian events this year. Just between you and I, it was a relief to get a year off from all things equine! Normally I miss most of everything else show-related, being stuck with the horses. As for entering items, we were a bit slack this year; no decorated cupcakes, drawings, preserves or pikelets, though I did enter a collection of photographs. Determined to keep her winning streak in the Lego section alive, Till did take time to construct a Lego model and won first prize. Harry earned a first place for his portrait, a painting of Matilda, which he painted at school. 

Speaking of school, it was nose to the grindstone today. Somehow I think it's going to be a busy and fast-paced term. As I glance at the calendar, I'm forewarned that our days on Norfolk are numbered. It's difficult to simultaneously live life, work and pack. As well as a house, I also have a classroom and seventeen years of teaching materials to sort through (and teachers, let me tell you, are NOT minimalists, well at least the ones I know aren't). I'll confess I have a panic-induced flip out most days of late and can be heard to say at least every other minute 'How are we EVER going to get it all done???????' I might be a certifiable nut case by the end!!!!

eleven today

A new beanie, a long sleeved top and a fleecy jacket, all ready for winter in Scotland! Some new clothes and shoes for Ellen Grace, some pretty tattoos, a roll on perfume, and an iTunes voucher. I think you AND Ellen Grace were a bit spoilt today! Happy Birthday darling girl!

XoXoX

revolving

Hello. I'm still here...so much for the big blog come-back. The truth is, I have nothing exciting to share. My days have revolved around selling and passing on our worldly possessions. I kid you not, it's like I'm running a shop from home!! Ben (who is suffering the WORST sore throat and swollen glands in the cosmos) has been enshrouded in darkness within a tiny 'lights and sound' box at our local theatre all week. He'll need a holiday to get over the school holidays, poor guy! Harry spent several nights this week at various mates houses, so we forgot he lived here for a while (just kidding Harry). Till has been meticulously planning her upcoming 11th birthday (it's tomorrow). She usually has her birthday plans well under-way around August each year, so this year is no different. The days events are programmed to the hour, starting at 6am apparently, with a present treasure hunt!!!!!!!!!!! Which means I have clues to google write!

Oh I almost forgot to tell you, I actually took a moment to visit the beach this week. It was the first contact I've had with gorgeous Emily Bay in over 5 months. Unconceivable right, seeing as I live on an island and all that?! Till and I had a picnic there. I packed chicken soup. In the world according to Till, people don't take chicken soup to a picnic! Bad luck for them I say.

a list for old times sake

YAY for school holidays! Here's a list of randomness...

Making: UK connections, including this family

Cooking: nothing noteworthy. Cooking is SUCH a chore, even in the school holidays

Reading: I just finished A Monk Swimming by Malachy McCourt

Wanting: freezer bags, snap-lock bags and cling wrap all to be outlawed everywhere. France is banning plastic cutlery/dinnerware by 2020 - THAT IS GREAT!

Looking: at maps of Europe

Playing: the Suzuki flute repertoire over and over...or the 'Matilda brainwashing soundtrack'. Only fellow Suzuki music parents will understand!

Recommending: you should read this article about Ben and I. OK, it's actually about Tim and Kerry, but I think there might be some similarities

Wishing: all the plastic in the sea could be removed with one quick flick of a magic wand

Enjoying: keeping lists, of which we have several running on the fridge right now, my favourite is 'Things we need to pack'

Wondering: why parents ignore movie and TV classifications/ratings? I know of so many young kids who view content intended for mature audiences. It makes me so sad - there's time enough for that stuff when they are older! What's the rush?

Loving: the minimalist philosophy. If you are interested, check out this documentary
Matilda has watched it twice - it must have struck a chord

Considering: whether or not I should sell some/most/all of my highly prized blue and white china!!!!!???

Buying: Turkish towels for next year, they dry quickly

Watching: The Little Prince - what a delight! Have you watched it?

Hoping: we can make our budget stretch a looong way next year, it's difficult to know what life on the road will cost, especially in a foreign country

 
Laughing: at kids who swim amongst icebergs and then come inside and turn the heater on to warm up!!
Marvelling: at this place, it's on my 'must visit' list

Cringing: every time I hear the phrase Conscious Capitalism. Come on, those words cannot even be in the same room!!

Needing: to scan our passports and other travel documents so we have a digital copy (safety first)

Smelling: orange tree blossoms - divine! And roast lamb cooking

Knowing: Harry and Till are going to thrive next year

Thinking: about how much they'll learn, and how much I'll learn too

Admiring: Rosie Batty, who recently visited our island! 

Sorting: every single thing we own into two piles: stuff to keep, stuff to sell (the latter pile is the biggest by far)

Getting: nervous and excited, can you guess why?

Opening: the oven door, emails and online course forums

Feeling: warmer (hooray, it's SPRING)

Snacking: on bananas, nuts and grapefruit

Hearing: kids in the pool, wind chimes in our garden and rain showers on the roof (we have had SO much rain!!!!!!!!!!!)

I'm off to fill another box for the op shop!!

packing dilemmas

Packing an entire years worth of clothing for a family has its challenges! We'll need gear that covers four distinct seasons, and be ready for extremes. We plan to do a little skiing so snow gear is on the list, but we hope there will be lots of lake/river/ocean action too, so reef shoes and maybe wetsuits could be helpful. Knowing what to prioritise is tricky. I really want to take my gumboots (perfect for exploring fairy pools in Scotland) but they are pretty bulky! Ben suggested I wear them on the plane ha ha - I reckon that would get a few raised eyebrows! Then there's the dilemma of not taking something you already own, knowing you'll probably have to rent it once you reach the destination. Being island dwellers, we have an abundance of beach paraphernalia (goggles, flippers, snorkel masks etc), so it seems a shame not to throw it all in the bag!?? Sure, we can buy stuff, but we don't really want to spend much on apparel when our funds could instead be used to buy, for example, gelato in Italy or cave entry in Slovenia or for ferry crossings in Norway - you get the idea! We aren't a family of fashionista's but at the same time, I don't want to get around in joggers and jeans for 365 days. It might be nice to shed the hobo camper look and appear semi-decent in London and Paris!! Well I do know one thing for certain...our motor-home days in New Zealand have taught us a thing or two. Firstly, we think it's advantageous if all our clothes are roughly similar in colour so everything can be chucked into the same load at the laundromat. And secondly, we learned the hard way, that we always pack more than we need and never wear it all! Hit me your packing advice friends!

So, gumboots on the plane???

a lack of photos

I have hardly taken any photos this year. 2016 has been busy and stressful - I haven't had the motivation to be honest! I went though the files from this year so far and stumbled on this. It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share. Months back, I gave Harry and Till an explicit lesson on how to clean a toilet, in the hopes I'd have slaves to perform this task forever from that moment onwards (clearly delusional right)... anyway I took photos of the entire process (step by step) with the intention of making them a Toilet Cleaning Guide, a pictorial How-to for future reference. Don't ask me what I was thinking?!!!!! That instructional placard never came to fruition and it's mostly me who cleans the toilet.

lighter with less

I've always been a little bit obsessed with storage containers. It's kind of taken me nearly half a lifetime to work out that if you don't have stuff, voila, you don't need storage containers! And in any case, storage containers are mostly made of plastic and I don't even like plastic. A revelation, yes?

But see those vacant storage boxes? Oh joy oh joy, they are EMPTY! Their contents have moved on and that makes my heart sing! 

We aren't storing very much next year, so it's sell, sell, sell. Boxes and boxes of stuff have gone to the op shop also. Some days I feel overwhelmed by the process and look around and think "We have SO MUCH STUFF". Other days I look around with triumph and say "WOW, this place is looking EMPTY"!

It's a pretty satisfying operation, but we are veterans to this process really. When we moved to Norfolk, we sold at least two thirds of our belongings to come here. Back in April this year, when we moved house, I sold a tonne of stuff then too. 

The older I get, the less I need. Onwards and upwards, without the burden of stuff!

“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
Socrates

my little ballerina

'

After all the years of Till saying "I don't want to live on Norfolk Island because it doesn't have a ballet class", well we finally have a ballet teacher here! The lessons are very popular and there are several classes, for varying age groups. Till attends all of them, helping out with the little ones once her class is finished. She thoroughly enjoys her ballet!

commiserate

Last weekend I was heard to brag (not once, but several times) that our whole family had managed to escape the wrath of this years Winter germs and the plethora of associated illnesses that afflicted so many families on Norfolk. It was seriously Flu Central around here a few weeks ago, but then my Mum tells me it was the same in her neck of the woods too (the Central West, NSW). But honestly, what was I thinking to be grandstanding in such a manner? Don't worry, thunderbolts struck me down and I paid penance just a few days later, where I was to be found avoiding bright light, huddled under a blanket feeling rather sorry for myself. Till (my sick companion) and I felt lousy for several days. It was nothing life-threatening, we both just felt achy, feverish, nauseous and headachy. We both had, officially (and self-diagnosed, naturally), an all round solid case of The Miserables. Nothing a few days rest, naps and plenty of fluids didn't fix.

Historically speaking, I've been knocked down with an illness of some description somewhere between the seasons of Spring and early Summer every year for a while now. So yeah, I dodge the winter sicknesses (nah nah-nah, nah-nah nahhhh) but the germs find me eventually - sheesh, I'm not always perfect you know! Such is life when you work with small people who sneeze, snot and cough on you every minute of every day! One of the perks of the job. Really though, I should have kept my mouth shut! A family of super germ-avoiding health freaks indeed! Pfft, show-offs always get their dues! 

Lesson learned.

No I didn't visit the South Island this week. A photo-less blog post seemed like a terrible idea to me. This one was taken during our most recent trip to New Zealand (back in July). There's something about snow-capped mountains and pebbly beaches together in the same scene, that begs disbelief. Looking at this scene gives me the holiday feeling, and that's better than the sick feeling!

PS We did end up making a visit to the doctor for a real diagnosis. Turns out we both had your run-of-the-mill virus, which (according to the doctor) would take approx four days to run its' course, and that we'd feel worse as each day passed before eventually feeling better. It was exactly as he described. Doc knows his stuff!

we are on the countdown

On this day, in exactly FOUR MONTHS, the four of us will be sitting on a Airbus A380 enduring the long-haul flight to London! 2017 is going to be a year we'll never forget, as together my little family explores Europe from the comfort of our very own motor-home*. At this stage we have a sketchy itinerary which goes something like this: 3 months in Europe, followed by 2 months in the UK, then (maybe) across to Bermuda for two weeks (a family catch-up), then back to Europe for 3 months, finishing up with 3 months back in the UK. Technically we are planning a year long adventure, but honestly, who knows if we'll be ready to give up the travel lifestyle after just twelve months, therefore our plans aren't set in concrete. Gosh, on the flip-side, we may not even last six months. It could go either way!

You might be wondering why are we jumping in and out of Europe so frequently? Well, visa restrictions don't allow Australians to be in Europe for more than ninety days at a time, and then you have to be out for minimum ninety days before re-entering.

So no doubt you are curious about school. Have I quit my teaching job? No, I'm taking a years leave without pay. Are we home-schooling? Yes, loosely. Year nine (for Harry) and year six (for Till)! Am I nervous? About home-schooling? Nah. About travelling and living full-time in a shoebox on wheels? Yes! But I'm unbelievably excited too.

The count down is on! It's hard to stay focused on the 'here and now' these days, hence why I've fired up the blog, as a way to help me stay grounded on Norfolk and get the best out of our last few months here. We are up to our necks in packing and selling our belongings, but that's a whole other blog post.

* our motor-home is being built in France as I type, but we will pick it up from a dealer in Scotland! That photo above shows what our van looks like.

moving on

On April 4 this year, we moved house! At the time, it felt like our world had been turned upside down. The rental property we'd been living in since our arrival on island over six years prior, was a place we considered home. The house sold beneath us and we were given thirty five days to vacate. We knew the house was on the market, but were in denial that anyone would actually buy it!!! A lack of suitable homes and increased rental prices left us a bit depressed for a while, but then someone came to our rescue, and we are very happy in our new residence. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining, and it turns out the forced move set in the motion the start of a crazy new plan for our future. It appears the upheaval gave us a chance to ask ourselves a few hard questions. I guess we'd been stuck in a rut without acknowledging it. Our new location has brought with it many benefits!

The piano didn't come with us by the way.

life is messy...

and exciting. I have so much to share!!

It's been too long, yes? Never fear, I'm revving my bloggy engine. I've been gone so long.

Is anyone out there??