Celebration Month

 Hi folks!

Look at this, it’s not even April and I’m writing again. What?

We have had a month of big birthdays, so I thought it would be fun to record some of the festivities here in the old blog.

It began back on the 7th of March where we left off, with my 60th birthday.

Here I am with my big pressie, a magical flute. I am wearing the “Quing” crown (Queen/King said ‘Kwing’)we get as the birthday person. The Quing gets to call the shots for the day.

Cutting my birthday cake on our night picnic in our campervan ‘Brumhilda’.

The next big celebration was Aiden’s on the 19th. He turned 18. His big present was an electric mountain bike. Man, was he looking forward to this one. He had already selected it as we had to make sure he liked it, and then had to wait…………!

Still clean

Glamour shots

Look at that smile

What it was made for…all dusty.

The very next day we had our 35th wedding anniversary. Yes, Cris had to restrain himself from urging me to hurry when pushing out Aiden. He just squeaked into his own day at 11pm. I was going as fast as I could.

To celebrate our day we took ourselves to the ‘Feared and Revered’ exhibition at the Nation Museum, which was in collaboration with The British Museum. We got to see some lovely statues and historical finds relating to ancient goddesses and mythological beings.

Some of my favourites were:

Sekhmet

Aphrodite/Venus rising from her bath

You know you have seen the real thing when you have seen the back.

Aboriginal Yawkyawk (complete with baby inside). I also love the shadows they made on the wall.

And coming in fast at the end of the month on the 24th, was Miles with his 21st birthday.

Here he is (looking very saintly) with his main present, a commuter ebike complete with belt drive. Can you tell he is studying engineering?

A family tradition on my side has been to be given an engraved knife on your 21st birthday.

Which then becomes the birthday knife. Up until now we have used mine, but here is Miles with his very own golden knife.

So that night at our night picnic we used it on his cake.

Even though it took a bit to light the candles on the windy night.  (We ended up only managing

half.)

I told you he looked saintly. Even his bike can walk on water.

The day after my birthday I wrote a poem. So I will leave you with these thoughts.

Here I sit

In a little patch of sun

Hiding from the wind 

The day after my 60th birthday 

And I feel my life 

Settling back around me 

Realising how much

It has loomed large 

In the distance

And now here I am

Safely on the other side.

The sun is still shining on me

And though the wind is blustery 

I can weather the storm.

All those swirling emotions 

Of gratitude and expectations 

And fear

Can all have a seat.

Big birthdays are full

Of ‘Do people love me?’

‘Will I die soon?’

‘How can I have the perfect day?’

‘Time is running out. How can I make

the most of the time left?’

‘My family is so precious 

and lovely to me.’

‘How can I not be a burden to them?’

Only now afterwards

Can I get some perspective 

And drop back down 

Into normal life.

Ahhh…

8/3/23

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love Jazzy Jack

2022

 Greetings everyone!

Happy 2022!!

I thought I’d pop in and actually talk to you, instead of writing poetry. Although I have received a couple of nice comments about them. Thanks!

I did enjoy doing the A to Z challenge as it gave me a focus and a topic nudge. I struggle to know what to say, here in blogland and in life.

We had a delicious New Year’s celebration with fireworks for the first time in two years. They were absent due to the fires in 2019, and then due to the ubiquitous pest in 2020. It really felt like life returning to some semblance of normality having them back. Although it was interesting to note the change in philosophy. In the old days they moved them from the lake to the city centre so they could create a vibe and crowd all the people together in one place. This year they moved back to the lake and had three matching shows along the lake to spread people apart. I have to say it was stunning, and they will be much missed if they move it back again. Fireworks and water just go so well together!

Around the fireworks we had a picnic and played cards around the lake and in our campervan Brumhilda.

Following that we went home for some more snacks, The Blues Brothers movie, and the Sydney fireworks on TV. Along with some incidental fireworks from a house in the distance.

We had no issues with our dog Winter, despite our misgivings. She seemed pretty chill, until we were woken early the next morning with a fire alarm. As I’ve mentioned to a couple of friends, we do pay for our view. We seem to have an inordinate number of fire alarms which never end up being anything except some smoking in the car park etc. I try to be grateful for the protection of this system, but it becomes more difficult to manage when woken in the middle of the night!

That said, we are still having a blast living in our high kingdom in the clouds (as it feels to me). We are on the 12th floor, so not tooo high.

Currently the boys are having fun exploring the world with their new motorbikes. Yes, I have two kids on their Learner’s at the same time. Aren’t I a brave Mum? For Christmas we gave them motorbike accessories so they could go motocamping, which they have done once already. I think the fact they were both in a two person tent was a little tricky, but they made it work and are planning more outings.

I am often asked how I cope as a Mum with kids on motorbikes, or why I allowed my kids to have motorbikes. My answer is always that I want my kids to run their own lives and live the lives they are passionate about. I couldn’t squash their obvious desire just because I had some fears. As long as we’ve spoken about the dangers and we can see them addressing them, then I have to let go and support them, no matter what. It is their life after all. Especially at this late teen/early adult age.

However I feel unschooling has taught me a lot in this realm as that is the foundation pretty much for unschooling. Working together, and listening to each other, rather than a top down power approach which can turn kids off parents, and vice versa. We all need to be listened to, and kids are no different.

I am currently typing this sitting in Brumhilda after a rain storm, including hail, has battered me a bit. I was a little worried about the integrity of this ageing fibreglass roof to withstand the ‘giant hailstones’ that were heading our way, but I must have been lucky, because the hail wasn’t even a centimetre across.

Brumhilda has been a wonderful asset to us as a way to escape the apartment without having to sit out in the elements on a rug. With a table we can use it as a work space as well.

I also enjoy doing hand sewing while listening to podcasts. Currently I am piecing together some eco dyed bits and bobs to make a skirt. They were too good to abandon.

My mornings are mostly taken up with exercise at the moment. Recently I had a diagnosis of osteoporosis, so I have started treatment along with some weights exercises from my Physio, while still trying to continue with my yoga and walks in the mornings with Cris. It is a lot to take on, but hopefully it will make me buff! Ha! I’m certainly starting to see a change in my body. The goal is to eventually be able to start running. Yay!

This year we continued our tradition of videoing a time capsule to leave for ourselves next year this time. We watch last year’s video about our hopes and dreams and what has been happening that year, and then film a reaction to it along with what happened this year and what we hope to achieve in the next. It’s a nice little memory to have and look back on in the years to come, and helps us take a moment to reflect on where we’ve been and where we would like to go.

There is a part of me after reading that last paragraph, that wants to tell myself, ‘but what about the present’? I am making time to study people like Byron Katie and Eckhart Tolle who speak about not living in the past and the future, but living mostly in the now. I love this philosophy and find it very helpful. Hopefully I’m not upsetting the apple cart with our time capsule tradition!

Well, I might head home now the storm has passed and finish this back at the apartment.

Hello again! It’s a couple of days later and I’m sitting at home waiting for the effects of my booster shot to fade. I am feeling very privileged to live in a well developed country that, despite all its ups and downs, still manages to pull items out of its hat. I choose to focus on the blessing of my health being augmented.

Well, for someone who professed to not know what to say, I’ve rabbited on for ages!

I also want to apologise to all the blogs I follow. If anyone is reading this, know that I have tried multiple times on multiple devices to leave comments, but somehow the system won’t let me. It accepts them all and then they just disappear into thin air. Maybe some blogger in another universe is getting some nice random comments I like to imagine. Ha!

PS You can’t see it here, but I cut all my hair off again. I needed a break from the floofiness. But it was a fun experiment. I haven’t missed it one bit! Here is a photo if you want to see it

https://naturalmedley.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-to-z-poetry-challenge-2021-s.html

although it’s grown an amazing amount in one month. Almost as if it’s thanking me for taking all the weight off.

Alright, we’ll leave it there for now.

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

BeautyScope 457: City dance

 

sitting in my treehouse bedroom

watching the traffic dance

as it swishes

and sways

around corners

seeing the skatepark ballet

of courage

and near misses

gazing for hours

at the tiny construction ants

as they pull a building

from the ground

I feel privileged

beyond measure

to have this life

28/6/21

Our New Apartment

 Greetings my long suffering friends.

I am checking in with my biannual blog post!

I think in my previous post I mentioned we were waiting to move into our new apartment. Well, the title gave it away, but we have moved in. Actually we moved almost three months ago now.

I have been waiting until the pictures were hung before taking photos to post. It always feels finished with pictures on the walls.

We still have many possessions in storage which need sorting, but we are living quite comfortably in this new little space.

It is a two bedroom sub penthouse apartment on the 12th floor, the size of two tiny houses side by side containing four adult sized humans and a medium sized dog.

We managed to bring some favourite prints of stained glass and our porthole mirror from our old house, which we paired with a new IKEA couch in such a gorgeous rusty red. It warms me every time I look at it. And it looks old already! Very long. Four of us can sit along it and it is wide enough to be a bed if necessary.

We made the piano a priority in the space and bought a folding table at IKEA for the dining room. The table is stored at the entrance as you can see here.

This plus a few plants indoors is all the garden I have now. So I make it count by adding a mirror. I think my decorating style would be called when-in-doubt-add-a-mirror!

We fold up our mattress and make it into a chair so the bedroom can be used as a living space/office in the day time. The desk with the best view in town.

The boys have the master bedroom which they have divided into two rooms. This is Miles’ section with wardrobe and chest of drawers creating a private space behind for his bed. 

To his right is a door to another small balcony which gives them their own *small* space. Miles loves to use the door as his whiteboard.

Aiden just loves his little cave. He lives in the walkin wardrobe. We created an elevated bed with storage and desk underneath. He requested it. And he can fold up the bed to stand if necessary. But so far he loves to do sumersaults to get out of his chair!

And this is the reason we did all this upheaval. The view! Plus the proximity to the city and learning about living in an urban environment.

The trees on the right are our local park. Can you see the police jet skis on the water?

I hope you can see why I have been absent for so long. But I am going to try to be a bit more consistent now we have moved.

Please excuse my formatting. I’m still learning the new Blogger!

‘Til next time, keep on creating!

Much love,

Jazzy Jack

Update on our lives

Greetings all!

It’s been a long time since we caught up. I thought I would touch base about our lives and share a new writing series I am involved in.

We are currently ensconced in our beach cabin “Leeway” at Moruya Heads which you have heard about before if you follow my blog. It’s been quite a year all in all.

First we had the fires over Christmas and New Year where we couldn’t breathe due to the smoke. There were fires all around us although fortunately we were never in danger due to our urban environment. But there really was no direction the wind could blow which could give us relief except Westerly which then brought the blistering heat.

Our windows were shut 24/7 and our poor air conditioner and filter fan had a great workout.

Although sadly we did lose “Heartwoods” our bush block in the fire. Long time readers will know it.

Except for two miraculous saves. The two structures Miles built survived intact! 

During this time we were renovating our bathroom ourselves and packing up our house. As you can imagine that was a fun time! Oh and throw Christmas in there as well.

Still we survived it and managed to rent the house out to a lovely couple with a small child and two dogs.

I’m not sure I mentioned on the blog but the reason for all this unrest was due to the exciting advent of our new apartment we bought which was being built. It is a 13 storey building right on the shores of our local lake in the city centre. We will be on the 12th floor facing the lake all squashed into a two bedroom unit!

Some sad news, our cat Smart Blue decided he couldn’t make the trip and died on the last day in the house. Which just happened to be Cris’ 60th birthday. That was a day for sure!

So the kids and I came down to “Leeway” and Cris moved into our campervan “Brumhilda”. He camped during the week in a caravan park in Canberra and commuted to see us on the weekends. This went on for three weeks until he was told to work from home due to the current virus crisis. So he has moved down with us permanently. Which is a gain for us!

Now the apartment build is in its final stages and we have the certificate of occupancy already. Next week will see the bank valuations go ahead and after that is settlement. We have yet to see if we will be allowed to move in due to travel restrictions, but at this stage with the current rules it looks like we will.

Although it is idyllic being down here we are all eager for the completion of this long journey we have been on for more than a year as we watched it being built. Cris and Miles have had the privilege of actually visiting the apartment (which is yet to be named) and setting foot on its hallowed ground. They went to check it out for nicks and scratches which can occur during fit out. Aiden and I are yet to see it!

We are keeping to our social distancing down here and only exercising on the beach which is right behind us, or around the caravan park. At least we have a beautiful environment even if it is a bit boring sometimes. The kids are feeling their wings clipped a bit as they have to forgo some of their explorations and creations. Eg. visiting the airport to watch the planes arrive and depart, or driving long distances to ride on their skateboards. But we are doing OK. Enjoying having Dad around.

So that is our brief update.

We will hopefully bring you some images of the new place in time.

I hope you are all adapting to this new normal and trying, as I am, to see the positive.

My next posts will contain some poems I am writing for an A to Z writing challenge for April. I thought I might as well share them here too, as they contain a few stories of our current situation.

So until next time, keep on creating, and stay safe my dears.

Much love,

Jazzy Jack

New Year's play 2018

Hello folks! Happy 2018!

Well it's been a relaxing Christmas holiday time for us here in the Brack household. Just before Christmas we ventured to the Hunter Valley which you can see in the above video. If you persevere past the house tour which I included for our memory files, you will see guitar playing, Hunter Valley gardens at night, and even some pool gymnastics!

After Christmas we had a quiet week at home which included a lovely walk with Cris in the loooong grass, which Winter thoroughly enjoyed.

  

We also took in the New Year's Eve fireworks. This involves parking two hours beforehand at a vantage point on the lake with this stunning view.

And to pass the time we played our newly acquired Jenga (or its knock off cousin Jumbling Towers) in our handy campervan Brumhilda.

 We also managed a little sparkler action...come on baby light my fire...

which included this combined effort. Is it a car or specs?

The fireworks were well worth waiting for.

And don't you think fireworks are almost nicer photographed by a bad photographer who blurs them? :-)

Aiden and I also managed a week away at the beach where we took this selfie. Do we look alike?

So we hope the New Year is treating you kindly

and I look forward to some creative adventures together!

Til next time,

keep on creating!

Love

Jazzy Jack