It’s the first week of school holidays here… we had a lovely time housesitting at the beginning of the week, and have just been catching up and resting the last couple of days…
I’ve had a bit of a chest infection/not sure what/sick-but-not-sick sort of thing going on the last few weeks, so most days end with me slumped tiredly on the bed, reading or being online. I haven’t been able to walk as much lately as I would like to, so that’s not helping with the energy levels..
I have friends who live and work on the Africa Mercy, a 16000 tonne hospital ship, operated by Mercy Ships, which provides free medical surgeries to the poorest nations on the earth. They are volunteers, giving their time and expertise to change the lives of individuals who would otherwise live shorter, and more difficult, lives.. if you want to read more, here’s their blog.
So… what does one thing have to do with the other? 😀
..On days like today, when I’m about fed up with my body not working to full capacity, I’m reminded (again..) that I live in a country where I can go down to the local hospital should I need to. There are many doctors in this area, and alternative practitioners as well… I have access to clean food and water, and I am not likely to succumb to something that should  be an easily preventable disease, or be eventually  strangled by a growing facial tumour, or become infected with a parasite from unclean water… I do not have to know what it would be like to be slowly dying, or see my children suffering, and know that there is no hope available, and that I wouldn’t have the money to access it even if there was..
Mercy Ships casts a bright ray of light on a dark world. God is honoured, and people are rescued…. and there will be many more stories like this one..
A few weeks ago, I saw The Muppet Movie for the first time… I remember singing this song as a child, though… it seemed to be everywhere, at one point, although I never associated it with the movie…
..moving right along…
Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
Rainbows are beautiful, so it’s not surprising that people have noticed them over the centuries, and sung/painted/written about them. There’s the technical explanation, of course, but that doesn’t cover the extent of the appeal. Rainbows are a symbol of hope, new beginnings.. they have been used for various causes over the years, and are present in many mythologies. I believe the history given in Genesis. Rainbows are, to me, reminders of God’s constant care of me, and a promise that He will never leave me.
Here is my rainbow story….
About 14 years ago, my Dad was reaching his last days here on earth… he’d been ill for a long time, so it was not unexpected, but… some things you’re never really ready for..
I was living in England at the time, so when I got the call, it was a scramble to arrange tickets, there was only enough money for me to go, and I was looking at a long, anxious flight to get to Australia. I love to travel (as in “see other places”) but I don’t go too well with the process of getting there. Flying is the worst method of travel for me… I tend to get claustrophobic, and there’s no way to step out for a breath of fresh air…
So, I got on the plane, looking ahead to roughly 24 hours of flight (give or take a few hours) Not long in, I had a huge panic attack, hyperventilating, shaking…. I managed not to make a scene, although I probably terrified whoever was sitting next to me… That was a long, horrific flight -easily the worst I’ve been on.
I got home in time to spend time with my Dad, and I was able to stay for the funeral. It was a bit of a blur (I was only there two weeks) and there was no time to think past the moment…. eventually, though, I knew it was nearly time to get on a plane again. There was no getting out of it – I had to go home – but I was getting more anxious the closer it got to flying out.
The morning dawned…
I looked out to see what the weather held, and there, in the sky, was a rainbow. I felt remembered… and I felt secure.
We drove to the airport, which took about an hour or so, and everywhere we went, there was the rainbow…. even when we were driving in a completely different direction, that rainbow followed all the way to the airport. I saw it as I unloaded the luggage, and I saw it as I boarded the plane.
… and, when I’d settled into my seat and we were about to taxi onto the runway, I looked out my window… at the miniature rainbow that was touching down on the wing just outside.
I was talking to a friend yesterday morning about the dream of creating a Christian healing community, and to another friend yesterday evening about my plans/dreams to do a naturopathy course (which would eventually fit in with the community plans…) The way I feel today, it seems ridiculous. Out of reach. Undoable. I do feel a bit old and decrepit today…
The dream keeps growing, in my head. I am unable to do it on my own.
Fortunately, I am not on my own….
I still believe God has placed the dream in me… so He will send the resources and abilities to realise it. Don’t know when… but I suppose there’s no point worrying about it.
One foot in front of the other.. identify the next step, and take it.
Something that I wanted to do at the old house, but never did..
Fairy doors are purely decorative 😀 and range from simple to intricate… I would have just made the tree ones, but why not indoor doors… like whimsical little mouseholes?
So, having visited the hippy heights, and seen lots of farmhouses on the weekend, I’ve been thinking again about our commune-to-be…
My vision is for a central house, with surrounding dwellings (caravans, huts, yurts, strawbale, train carriages… whatever works) Maybe even a transplanted chapel and schoolhouse…
Now, I’ve always loved the look of gypsy caravans, and would love to have some of those, but lately I’ve been seeing a lot about old 50s/60s caravans. They’re tiny – one or two person size – but self contained. And moveable… Here’s a few examples..
Got back yesterday from the road trip – we had a great time! We didn’t end up camping – way too wet – but we explored the back roads, and had fun 😀
The main purpose of the trip was to pick up a trailer my friend had bought online, so we headed for Grafton to do that… I don’t know New South Wales particularly well, so I left the sightseeing itinerary to my friend. She’d been wanting to check out the Lions Road over the mountains, so we went that way.. Up the top there’s a lookout called the Border Loop Lookout, where you can see the railway line as it spirals round the mountain (and, presumably, trains, if you’re there at the right time..) We stopped there for a cup of tea and a look… we’d been hearing the bellbirds from the car as we drove, but they were louder when we got out.
The other sound you hear would be rain…
We travelled the rest of the way to Grafton… the Lions Road is winding and climbing and bumpy. Normally I would be quite travel-sick… this time, my boys prayed specifically for me to be OK, and we had a box of liquorice allsorts in the car there and back – I didn’t even have a twinge of nausea, so I figure the combination of prayer, liquorice and sugar must have done the trick 😀
Picked up the trailer about half an hour out of Grafton.. the sellers also bred puppies, so we squeed over gorgeous puppies (how do their tails wag so fast!?) and were also gifted with some fruit from their trees (grapefruit, guava, passionfruit,oranges and a grapefruit/orange cross)
Back to Grafton for some lunch by the river..
From there we went straight to Maclean, where we were booked in to the Maclean Hotel for the night..
We were by the river but couldn’t really see it too well from the balcony, so we braved the drizzle to have a walk by the river and up the street lined with old brick buildings..
Maclean is a fishing town on the Clarence River… it also calls itself “The Scottish Town in Australia”
The telephone poles are painted with different clan names and tartans, and there’s a map at the Information Centre/Scottish Shop where you can look up your ancestral clan… here’s mine..
 We wandered up and down the main street… there were some interesting shops and a lovely little teashop, but they were closed, and we left in the morning before they would have opened… we got hot chips for tea and settled back in the hotel for the evening. The Maclean Hotel is a nice pub/accommodation place, with a fire downstairs in the winter… the room had a lovely high ceiling, and doors leading on to the balcony – it would be nice in the summer… a little too cold for the winter… nothing a big woolly blanket couldn’t fix 😀
It rained heavily throughout the night, but let up enough in the morning for us to pack the car… the downpour resumed as we left Maclean…
We had planned to take the coast road back, but we both agreed that we’d always wanted to visit Nimbin, so it was back up the mountains again… still raining, and lots of potholes.. Nimbin is known as the “Alternative Capital of Australia”… it reminded me of the Montville/Maleny area, but with more hemp (of all kinds..) I’d love to go back and visit when it’s not raining.. I liked the vibe..
We passed the Nimbin Rocks on the way in..
… and encountered rainbows on the outskirts… This is the school at the other end of town..
We walked up and down the main street..
… checked out various clothes shops, as well as Happy High Herbs, and the Hemp Embassy, and then stopped at the Rainbow Cafe for lattes and rainbow chips (various coloured root veges, thick cut, fried and salted – perfect for a cold, wet, windy day!)
There’s a fair bit of drugs/paraphenalia at Nimbin (we inadvertently gatecrashed a couple of deals while visiting the public loos on our way out, and it’s the place to go if you want to learn more about legalising cannabis) but there’s also alternative lifestyle, as in sustainability and creativity. I’m not interested in smoking pot, but I’d be interested in checking that out a bit more..
We finally wended our way home, back over the range… the creek was noticeably higher and wilder after the previous night’s rain, nearly reaching the bridges at some points…
All in all, we had a fun time together… weary after a long road home, but – yayyy! Road trip! 😀
A few weekends back I was out with some friends. Among other places, we ended up here..
You know sometimes, when you go to a place, you can get a sudden “vibe” from it, even if you don’t know why? I walked into this place and felt… happy. Joyous. Even bouyant…
It’s filled with visions.. with inspirations…
Colourful plates and mugs and teapots, for the everyday…
..and beautiful mosaic women, of varying sizes, dotted throughout the store…
You can have a cup of coffee, go outside to sit on the huge wooden butterfly seat, and admire the pottery butterflies in the trees..
It’s a part of Multicap , and seems to be a collaboration of established artists and artists with disabilities – each artist shares the responsibilities of production, and learns and hones their craft as well…
I walked around the shop with a huge smile on my face, and a little bubble of joy just waiting to escape.. 😀
…and it’s good to remember that, whatever our trials and challenges, beauty can result… and can bless others.
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 
