Home Sweet Home and Beautiful Fiji

Home Sweet Home and Beautiful Fiji

Good morning, luvs! I am finally home in my little apartment again after nearly 6 weeks of travel. Phew! It has been a beautiful adventure and I’m so grateful for every person I met and experience I had, but golly, am I ever tired. 🙂

I am back in the cold north, trying to adjust to time changes, work schedules, and the switch from summery Australia to wintry Washington. Brrr! Sundresses are being packed away, sweaters, tights and woolly socks brought out to warm my bones.

This weekend I slept a lot, read a lot and cooked a lot. I roasted tomatoes, made sausage bean soup, roasted veggie salad with shredded chicken, and a creamy chicken curry with cilantro and lime. Mmm. I start work again first thing in the morning and it feels good to have all my lunches made and packed in the fridge, ready for the week.

Tonight as I huddled under my quilt and listened to the icy wind rushing through the trees, I pulled out my Fiji pictures, remembering the warm winter rains drenching the ground and sprinkling the flowers with glistening drops.

I have no idea what these lovely, spidery ones are, but aren’t they splendid?

I like these cheery yellow ones. I fully expected them to start trumpeting at me. 🙂

I’m so glad to be in regular contact with you again. I will leave you with a short video of the rain falling outside my porch in Fiji.

Much love!

Beautiful Rural Australia and Saying Good-bye

Beautiful Rural Australia and Saying Good-bye

Good morning, dear ones. It’s my last day in Australia and I’m feeling very sad about leaving my dear folks and this beautiful country. I have never visited a place where I felt so thoroughly loved, accepted, and welcomed as Australia. I’m going to miss it terribly.

The sun is shining so cheerily this morning, birds twittering away, the horses snuffling and swishing their tails outside the window. It’s so peaceful, I love it.

Today I’m going to share a few pictures of rural Australia. I’ve spent nearly my entire trip in the country, visiting the farms of my friends throughout Queensland, marveling at the staggering beauty of each place, basking in the serenity and peace sitting on their back porches sipping cold Aussie beer or icy Lemon Lime and Bitters.

This weekend I visited Kris and Jeff’s place. How I love their wrap-around veranda that captures every breeze and makes you feel cool and refreshed no matter how hot it gets.

We wandered through Kris’s gardens, admiring the flourishing tomatoes and citrus trees. Her marigolds are stunning! Huge bushes full of glowing blossoms in rich orange and russet.

We wandered down the back of the property to view the damage from the floods. Their once smooth driveway is now rutted with deep gutters that make it impassable. It’s going to take heaps of work and a lot of money to fix it, but in typical Aussie fashion Jeff and Kris just shrugged and talked about how lucky they were to have their lives and home. Amazing.

After bravely attempting to teach ME how to drive a tractor (heavens!!!), my friend took the driver’s seat and I hopped on back as we went for a drive through the trees to see the dam. Along the way we saw flowering prickly pear, lovely gum trees and a cute little wallaby that bounded away at our approach.

It’s so amazing to see Australia so lush and green. The flooding was horrible, scary and traumatic for so many, but it also resulted in stunning vistas of emerald hills and bright green meadows full of wildflowers.

I can’t wait to share more of my adventures with you. I’ve got recipes and photos and all sorts of lovely things, and will start posting when I get home. 🙂

Much love and big hugs to you!

Australia’s Gorgeous Gold Coast

Australia’s Gorgeous Gold Coast

I have dreamed for many years of visiting the beaches of Australia, and yesterday I got my chance.

About a 2-hour drive from my home base in Allora, Queensland, the Gold Coast is a combination of exquisite white sand beaches, warm turquoise water and more skyscrapers than I’ve ever seen outside a major city.

I’m not a crowded beach type of girl, so I was delighted to discover that The Spit, part of Main Beach, was described as “uncrowded.” The description was wonderfully apt.

Although there were crowds to the left and the right, The Spit was virtually empty and my friend and I happily spread our towels and stretched out for a snooze in the hot sunshine. It was pure bliss. I couldn’t keep from smiling as I closed my eyes and drifted off to the sound of waves crashing and wind rustling the sea grasses on the dunes above us.

Before too long I was roasting! Off I went for a dip in the water, trying to quell fears of possible sharks, water snakes and lethal jellyfish I’d read about. My Aussie friends chuckled at such notions and assured me that the beaches are watched vigilantly by qualified lifeguards, and at the first sign of shark fin or jelly fish, they call everyone ashore. Since the water was being enjoyed by little kids and the elderly in addition to daring surfers, I set my fears aside and waded in. I’m so glad I did. The water was warm and refreshing, the waves perfect for riding and bobbing along. I felt like a little girl again, getting knocked off my feet now and then, rogue waves leaving me sputtering and laughing. It was great!

Do you like going to the beach? What is the best beach you’ve ever been to?

Exploring an Aussie Goat Farm

Exploring an Aussie Goat Farm

With all the flooding and constant rain in Australia, my first several days here were spent stranded at my friends beautiful property near Allora. It’s a gorgeous spot to be stuck, with stunning views of wildflower-filled fields and gum trees.

Although being stranded was a grand adventure, by the time the flood waters receded and rains stopped, we were more than happy to escape the farm and head out to visit my friends Joe and Shirley who run a fabulous goat farm.

First we had to ford this raging stream that was still flooded (yikes!!). We made it through the water OK then sunk down into mud on the other side and couldn’t budge. Thankfully Joe was able to haul us out and ferry us back over the water. My friends car is now missing the bumper, but at least we’re all safe and sound. 🙂

Joe and Shirley’s place is beautiful! Goats of varying ages ambling all over the property, the babies looking cute as can be with their long floppy ears and short little horns.

We took a walk down to the creek, once an idyllic park-like setting with gum trees and rich green grass. Now it’s all torn up from the floods, masses of mud, silt, and uprooted trees marring the landscape.

Shirley and I surveying the damage and listening to Joe’s plans for clean-up.

It’s going to be a massive job, but these Aussies are amazing. There’s no whinging or complaining, just a shrug of the shoulders, a good ol’ chinwag about the adventure and then they’re hard at work, making everything beautiful again. They inspire me.

Tropical Beauties of Fiji

Tropical Beauties of Fiji

Some of my favorite things about Fiji are the incredible flowers: hibiscus, bougainvillea, and all manner of beauties I don’t even know the names of. In between downpours I wandered through the Sonaisali Island Resort, scarcely meeting a soul on my sojourns since most folks were sensible enough to stay in out of the rain.

The blossoms looked especially vivid during this rainy season, their leaves thriving and glossy, each little petal and bud glistening with rain drops.

Rain is a funny thing. When I’m at home I try to get out of it as soon as possible. Not in Fiji. There I lingered in it, letting it soak my hair and trickle down my face. It is warm and healing there, soothing to body and spirit, leaving the skin soft, clean and hydrated – a blissful feeling after nearly 20 hours of travel.

What are your favorite tropical flowers?