the quiet revolution

Tonight I am going to this: MONA Bushfire benefit concert.

Yup, MONA, our crazy-beautiful private museum (MONA) and arts festival (MoFo) people are putting on a bushfire benefit concert tonight on the waterfront and I've just bought myself a ticket.

I could have gone for free entry. Our top-end taiko drummers are performing, y'see, and I was down to be a roadie, but given I was sick yesterday and I'm still limpy from the gimpy knee acting up I passed on my place to someone more able-bodied and was just going to go home and sleep tonight. Friends are catching the concert though, and it'll be ace to see my friends up on stage, the only Tassie act in a show featuring the likes of David Byrne and Neil Gaiman (MoFo just wound up and most of the acts are still in town). It makes me feel a bit better about missing the entirety of MoFo this year too. So after work I'll hobble down to the waterfront and spend a lovely evening in the wonderland I call my home town.

<3 Hobart.

So, yesterday, I started to feel a little less virus-ridden by the afternoon so I hopped into the car and took myself off for a scenic drive in lieu of the walk I'd planned. I picked up a pair of European back-packers in the city and let their destination dictate my route. They were headed out Margate way, so after dropping them off I continued down to the Channel.

At Kettering I stopped off at Nutpatch, a chocolate shop run by a family with a hazelnut plantation. It's a tiny shop and all the chocolates are made on site. I'd been planning on checking it out for months, only to find I'd arrived a little past closing time. The owner-chocolatier was still on site though and insisted I come in, handing me a creme-brulee choc as I entered and happily chatting away. After 3 free samples and a chinwag with Giovannni I bought more than intended and went on my way, following the coastline around to Cygnet in the golden late-afternoon light then shooting home through the Huon Valley.

One day I might buy myself a little place down the Channel somewhere. Perhaps the village of Woodbridge, so pretty nestled between the hills and the water and only half an hour to Hobart. I could have my own cottage and a garden big enough for a veggie patch, some fruit trees, a dog or two and some chickens. It would be lovely, and in my mind's eye I can see it, beautiful.

It's not what I want right now. For the moment adventure is calling and I want to immerse myself in the wider world. I think I'd want to come back here though. This place is home. Not Brisbane, not Melbourne, but my lovely little Tasmania with her wild country and kooky inhabitants, with more artists and scientists per capita than any other Australian city, balanced out by the most narrow-minded NIMBYs and uber-bogans. This strange little island where magic things happen and the Mountain sings to my soul.

<3 Tasmania.

1. I dropped my phone into a mug of tea on Sunday (talented, I know). After a few days to dry out, it works again!


2. I have been officially made a performer at taiko! Unfortunately I'll miss my first performance opportunity next weekend as I'll be on my way home from a work trip to King Island.


3. Said work trip to King Island has provided me with the perfect opportunity to pay flinthart a visit. It's been over a year since we've caught up in person, so that will be just great.

Melbourne
Catching up with wonderful Melbourne folk, no fixed plans as yet.
Arrive: Friday, February 10th @ 22:20
Depart: Monday, February 13th @ 08:40

Brisbane / Gold Coast
Visiting the family, because I didn't go home for Christmas.
Arrive: Friday, April 6th @ 13:25
Depart: Monday, April 9th @ 07:00

South America!
Chile, Peru & Bolivia with the amazing katmeow!
Arrive: Monday, July 9th @ 10:05
Depart: Wednesday, August 1st @ 13:35

A-wandering we will go!

Last night the Awesome Hobart Kat came over. We drank wine and gin, ate sheep's cheese and curled up on the couch to watch Julie & Julia. It was an utterly lovely evening, however I temporarily forgot that alcohol is not my friend. I trundled off to bed a little after midnight, nicely tipsy and fell straight asleep, only to wake up at 4 am with a body too over-loaded with boozy sugars for sleep (and a brain that decided to fret over a small worry). Annoying! I finally accepted that I wasn't getting back to sleep at 5, so got up to enjoy the dawn and made cake.

Yes, half past 5 in the morning, on about 3 hours sleep. is clearly the time to start baking. I have a dozen Christmas cupcakes (bischoffsbrot, if you're wondering) in the oven now, plus a loaf of seed bread gently rising in the warmth. The cupcakes smell amazing, but I cannot try them! They are being baked as gifts for friends, and since I'm not eating them and Housemate had normal flour in the house they are made with wheat. After almost 5 years of cooking entirely gluten free it was very strange to bake with wheat. There was only one flour to measure! No getting the right ratio of corn starch to rice flour to soy flour, no adding xantham gum to bind; very odd indeed. I'd also forgotten how wheat batters handle: its so sticky! Hopefully they taste as good as they smell.

Once the bread is done I'll have to decide what to do with the rest of my day. I'd planned to go hiking, though I'm not sure how I'll manage on so little sleep and there's plenty of things I could be doing around the house. I'll venture out to the Farm Gate market when it opens at 9 to pick up some fresh local veggies and hopefully some goat (I haven't had goat in years, but I hear there's a new seller at the market with locally raised, happy Boer goats and Dorper lambs. Mmm, happy ethical meat is tasty!). I have an afternoon tea date with my new friend Norm, a retired geologist who lives out the back of Wellington, where I go walking, and gets a little lonely for company. Then I think I shall have a quiet evening and make an attempt at an early night. A decent night's sleep would be a very welcome anomaly.

Oh, cake is done. Onwards!

Blah, the change to Summer Time always throws my routine out. The clocks go forward but my body clock does not budge and I find myself unable to sleep before midnight.

I have been doing some pen & paper writing, so my poor journal is getting a little neglected. My apologies. I haven't been doing anything particularly exciting though. A very quiet weekend at home was had, catching up on much-needed sleep. Saturday was wintery, with snow up on the mountain. I stayed inside in my thermals all day. Sunday brought the promise of summer and I sat outside in the bright sunshine for three hours, reading a book.

I haven't been for a proper walk in the forest in far too long. Five weeks since I've been on the mountain. I'll make an effort to get out this weekend; hopefully the weather will cooperate (I was going to be poisoning gorse on an island in the Franklin River, but that's been cancelled now, so I'm a free agent yet again).



I really should write a post or three about my Victorian adventures. I've been back for 5 weeks now and am still yet to write anything. Let's see...

* Saturday August 20th - flew to Melbourne, recovering from the 'flu. Lovely dinner out with K, wonderloey, trissemeister, wilso & AJ

* Sunday 21st - Hello larangytis. Day 1 of 6 with no/limited voice. Slept, lazed around and generally did very little until I lost it and cleaned K & WL's kitchen

* Monday 22nd - K and I drove down the Mornington Peninsular, exploring Portsea, Sorrento & the old quarantine station & army base right out at the end of the peninsular. In the rain. Lost voice entirely on the way home, enjoying the experience of a proper Melbourne traffic jam (not moving anywhere for a good hour)



* Tuesday 23rd - off to Daylesford with K and nurseysarah for a totally mute day of pottering about in 2nd hand-bookshops, crafty shops and foody places with a lovely stroll around the lake. Lots of driving and a very late night, capped off by a personal relevation, clearing an emotional blockage. Benfits of laringytis: nobody can hear you cry.



* Wednesday 24th - sleeping in and running errands in Melbourne city. Caught up with L and talked/mimed through a recent misunderstanding that looked like costing us our friendship. Investigated interesting-looking places and bought a hiking backpack to take my camera gear as well as some decent-sized memory cards. Failed to buy a set of Cokin filters due to no customer service and insufficient knowledge of what I was looking at.

* Thursday 25th - K and I set off to explore Gippsland. Meandering drive down to Inverloch, exploring the coast road, a walk along the inlet and sunset at Cape Liptrap lighthouse. An evening of wine, port & local cheeses, cozy in our hired cabin.



* Friday 26th - up and on the road by day-break, headed to Winsons Promontory National Park. Arrived to find most of the park still inaccessible following summer floods, but made the most of the parts we could get to. Lovely walk up Vereker Outlook. Very long drive home via Dumbalk & Mirboo North, thinking I could make a life somewhere like that. Exhausting day, voice returning.



* Saturday 27th - up before the sun again to take K & WL out for their surprise: a sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the Yarra Valley. At least that was the plan. Due to morning fog it was past 10 am when we finally got into the air after several hours of waiting around. The operation was run by cowboys but fun was had (although it turns out balooning is a little too sedate for me). Home for an afternoon of doing laundry and packing.



* Sunday 28th - home again, home again and realising how glad I was to be so. There's nothing like leaving to make you realise what you've got. Utterly exhausted, back aching and off to work again in the morning.



Boo to not being able to access the mosaic maker I've been using from werk. You'll have to deal with odd-sized photos instead (if I wait until I get home this post will never happen).

Right, on with the day then. There is much work to do and many new adventures to plot. Well, just as soon an I finally catch up on sleep...

Tomorrow morning I pack my bags once more and fly home to Hobart. I have had a most excellent little holiday, but I am ready to be home again now. I've had a chance to put my brain back together a little better and I think I'm ok to cope with my day-to-day reality once more.

I am tired, my muscles are a little sore and after 6 days of laryngitis-induced near-silence I finally have my voice more-or-less back. Grand adventures have been had and shall be posted about once I'm home and have sorted out the photos. I'm on an alcohol and cheese break as of now for the next month or so while my body recovers from the abuse and neglect of the last 3 weeks (work trip to Brisbane, back in Hobart but too sick to do anything, then far too much wine & cheese in Victoria).

Life, eh?

I had forgotten.

I don't just dance. I own the damn dance floor.

Good morning!

I have no idea why I'm awake an hour before the sun this morning, but I am, so I decided I may as well get up and see what the day has to offer.

I got back from Cradle Mountain yesterday evening, tired and completely blissed out on life. I had a fantastic time, trekking about a beautiful place with brilliant company. My friend Nat and I have drifted in and out of each other's lives for 19 years now, but after this weekend it feels like we've finally got to know each other properly, as remarkable grown women. I have many pretty images to share with you all.

Reality has been something of a rude shock after a long weekend of wilderness bliss, though I did very much enjoy a long soak in a hot bath last night! And now it's the start of a brand new day. The sooner I head into the office, the earlier I can escape this afternoon, so I'd best make the most of this pre-dawn never-when.

Love & light,
T. x

Ah, Melbourne! I could write a love song to that city and I wouldn't be the first.

Nine days right in the heart of urban Australia, in all of it's beauty, ugliness and diversity was exactly what we needed. Coming home again has awakened that sense of displacement: that Tasmania just isn't where we belong. But it's still home for now.

The trip was wonderful. Every day brought another friend and further discovery. We know the most wonderful people.

What did we do?

We shopped and the markets, flirting with the workers.
We drank litres of red wine and ate far too much cheese.
We walked all over the heart of the city, exploring until our feet ached.
We saw art in galleries and on the city's walls.
We enjoyed much good coffee and befriended wait-staff.
We shopped for things that Hobart just doesn't provide.
We went to the movies and we went out dancing.
We revelled in the warmth and incredible welcome of our wonderful friends.
We had the best holiday we've had in a very long time!