Saying Goodbye to Leeway

Greetings my friends!

Well, this week saw the end of an era in our household. We said goodbye to our beach cabin “Leeway” which we have owned for four wonderful years.

This was sad and also perfect timing.

So this last week saw us popping down to the beach for one last goodbye to all our favourite haunts and emptying out the cabin. (Not that we can’t visit the haunts again one day.)

Since then I have been trying to find space in our already small apartment for all the duplicate pantry and toiletry items brought back. I’ve become a ninja squirreller!

Every time I empty out a bag or box onto the kitchen counter I despair of ever finding homes for them all. And when the bench is cleared I do a happy dance and feel like a superhero!

Such are the joys of my life right now. I have to find joy this way as my September Space month has been somewhat invaded by this slightly unexpected early selling of our cabin. Seems there is more of a demand than we realised for portable cabins.

We are really happy she is going to Mogo not far away to a family that was burnt out in the fires. How cool is that? And Mogo is a super sweet little town. 

Looking back we have been reflecting on all we have achieved since owning Leeway. The reason for buying her was to give Aiden a place to feel safe (due to his OCD) and to be able to explore the world. It required superhuman courage for him to do the car journey at first. But each successful trip built on the one before, and now he and Miles are doing their own road trip together in their own car and loving it!

Here is a link to a YouTube video I made when we first bought Leeway. To give you an idea of how we felt about it!

https://youtu.be/XKqbG-RmB1c

I was moved to write a poem about the beach on the last day, but surprisingly it was about a first.

climbing the sand dune to the sea

on the first day of holidays

is a magical moment

that first glimpse

that breath catch moment

on reaching the top

and spying the blue

stretched out

like a glistening tablecloth

before me

24/9/20

And here is the last glimpse through the fence.

May she have many more happy years with her new family.

Stay tuned for more adventures focussing on Heartwoods our bush getaway which was burnt out in the fires. We have plans...

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Second week of September Space - Poetry book

Hello there!

Here I am reporting in about my week.

Spring is continuing to Spring. We are enjoying the bulbs and blossoms of the city.

Yesterday we had a long awaited event. We finally received our thermal blinds for our bedroom!! Now we won’t be boiled alive both Winter and Summer. We bought double honeycomb top down/bottom up blinds. So we can also open them at the top for privacy from the ground without sacrificing light. We have found this feature surprisingly handy as we can make fake clerestory windows while still blocking out the radiant heat from the direct sun. Here is Cris modelling his work station. You can see how much sun comes in. Of course that means no need for heating in Winter. Oh yeah!

This week I started to get a little annoyed at myself for not finding anything substantial to get my teeth into. I have this large chunk of time set aside, so surely I should use it for a larger project. But I just couldn’t think of anything, until Cris mentioned my erstwhile poetry book I had started a while back. Unfortunately this was not appealing as it just means organising and rearranging, not writing poems, which is the fun part. It seemed like more of what I was trying to get away from. Doing boring work.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that in the long run I will be proud of my book and glad I set the time aside.

So that is what I’ve done for two days this week. Taking time to sit with my phone and transfer my old poems into different folders of Evernote to start sorting which would go well together. It has been a fun project, rereading my work.

Surprisingly I discovered a few poems about enjoying being in the hustle and bustle of the city, which expresses how I feel living here, written before this place was even thought of. I didn’t pay attention at the time and let it slide, but now enjoying this space so much, I’m surprised I didn’t know this about myself when I even gave myself clues in my poetry!

Speaking of poetry, I wrote this little ditty yesterday.

Piers floating on water

Like magic carpets rolled out

To enable those of us

Who are not Jesus

To experience the miracle

Of not falling in

11/9/20

During my walk along the lake foreshore I heard a beautiful bird calling goodnight. I include a small snippet in a video for you to join in. https://youtu.be/C05qyw9drr0 Excuse my ignorance but what bird is that?

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Lots of love,

Jazzy Jack

First week of September Space

 Hey there folks!

Another week rolls by and we find ourselves here again. Checking in with my peeps as I promised.

Yesterday was Father’s Day here in Australia, so I am delayed by a day. We had to spend time with Dad!

My first week of space has been surprisingly beautiful. Taking time for myself and having the backing of my family to drop my usual activities, like making dinner, has been mind blowing.

I realise how much of my days is busy work. By that I mean work that has to be done but doesn’t nurture my soul in any way at all! No wonder I am feeling depleted and tense.

I have started a course designed to help me tune into my sensitive body and learn to set boundaries. Apparently my sensitivity is a super power! Who knew? Too early to tell you how, but I will keep you posted.

One of the areas of life I have been addressing is my wardrobe. I went through a minimalist phase for a while trying to calm my mind and senses. My bright coloured clothing was over stimulating me, or so it felt. But now my life has calmed down a bit, I am craving more colour, so last week I went out hunting the secondhand stores for some. I found a bunch of wonderful summer prints, which give me so much joy to wear. So the colour is coming back!

Here I am dressed for my nephew’s wedding being live-streamed into our living room. (Half bright and half neutrals)

I have been able to do some crafty stuff. I had a boring pair of shoes which I decorated with an Aztec butterfly...which denotes war! Who knew butterflies were warlike?

I am using it to symbolise my new connection to my fierce centre, and also to represent the usual butterfly transformation. Aren’t they cute?

Finally I give you a poem I wrote the other day in the park.

Walking in the park

Amongst giant gums

Picking up random

Discarded cockatoo feathers

To decorate my wall

At home

Is secondhand shopping

At its finest

3/9/20

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Lots of love,

Jazzy Jack