Wintry wherabouts

As we descended into Amsterdam two days ago it became immediately clear that it was going to be a) cold and b) snowy and possibly c) slippery ... And lo! It was ... So while shepards watched we focused on staying upright while walking through town and ... skating on the ice ... After a visit to the Rijksmuseum we found that an aritifical skating rink had been established in front of the museum ... The evidence is ... here!

Proof

And here´s proof that it´s true ... a photo taken a few days ago ... I think this was taken north of Amsterdam. But don´t put your hopes up: it may all be gone in a few days´time unfortunately. Anyway, cross fingers ... Anybody got size 46 skates on loan ... ?

Christmas flower

Set against a rainy winter window, a flowering succulent in what will be Tess´, Yarrow´s and Anjes´bedroom for a bit shows a promise of new life ...

Birthday bash

Niki´s friend Claire celebrated her birthday in a Japanese restaurant in Lisbon. It took us about an hour to find a parking spot, but the food and the company that followed was absolutely worth it! Happy birthday, Claire.

Let it snoooowww ....

And yes, it does look as if there will be snow when Tess and Yarrow arrive in Europe, from 35plus temperatures in Australia. I believe this has excited them even more ... Straight from the gardens of Niki´s parents´home (Peter and Ann). Oma Mol has also told me there is snow there, and I´ve been told in Holland people are now skating on natural ice (in the North of the country).

Snow...!

While I was in England yesterday, as I arrived in Reading, and looked up from my newspaper, out of the train window, I noticed that ... it had started to snow! Tess and Yarrow will be excited to know this, as they are looking forward to snow ... it wasn´t much to speak of, but there was a thin film of The White Stuff on the roofs of the houses, and it sort of looked very Christmassy. There may be some snow in Portugal as well, when you come, girls, up in the mountains... As I write this, dark snow or rain-laden clouds are covering what was a blue morning sky over Lisbon...

The Duke and The Book

Just back from a short business trip to Holland and the UK (where it snowed!), I came back with lots of project opportunities for the future, but also with an interesting photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh, well, not exactly holding my Tourism and Hospitality English book, which I published in the award-winning ESAP series with Garnet, but definitely being near it ... find the book!

Pack

Tess and Yarrow are starting to be even more excited than they were in the knowledge that two weeks from now they´ll be boarding a plane to fly down (or up? Sideways, actually) to Portugal to stay with Niki and me, and their sister Anjès for a few weeks.

This morning, on Skype, we pondered over the requirements for clothing, seeing as in Oz it was 39 degrees (C) yesterday and here is it 13 ... I suggested they beg, steal and borrow a jumper or two from their friends (don´t buy because when you go back you will not need them, I can assure you ....), a pair of sturdy walking shoes (go to Kmart and I´ll shout you a pair), a scarf (I´ve seen scarves all over the house in Australia for years - why? I have no idea, they were never worn - ) and a coat ... Oh, and bring one of your beanies! That´ll be nice and warm on your head.

Land

I´m reading Alexander McCall SMith´s The No. 1 Ladies´Detective Agency, a book which I have seen in bookshops for years, and has always sort of intrigued. I´d never actually bought it though, but Niki has a copy and I started in it. It´s charming, and unusual, with a riveting story about Mme Ramotswe who starts Botswana´s only female detective agency. It gives us a curious insight into people´s behaviour but also a deep-felt sense of place.

A few gems of phrases from the book. Only half-way through the novel, but I thought I´d share these with you, as they speak to me:

´... every man has a map in his heart of his own country ... and the heart will never allow you to forget this map.´

´... there is a place for me, for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own.´

Expiring Aspire

Oh no ... I know it´s in the nature of things to die, to decease, to go and meet its Maker ... but I had not expected My loyal Aspire One to cark it this quickly. It´s when the word ´motherboard´comes together with the expression ´Uh-oh´and a painful look on the computer shop´s geek´s face that one gets worried and ambles over to the Vobis computer shop across on the other side of the Mall to enquire after a replacement ...

'ear 'ear ...

Oh well, it was only a matter of time, wouldn't Intimi agree, before The Old Ears would start to play up. What with frequent international air travel, changing climate conditions (from hot to cold, from dry to humid, from air conditioned to natural), different water conditions and what not ... yes, Them Old Ears were in need of treatment. So off we trumped to a Portuguese hospital (nothing bad about private healthcare - at least we got seen 15 minutes before the appointment time!) ... Well, was it a Portuguese Hospital, though .... ah, no, it was The British Hospital.

An imperial remnant, The British Hospital is one of the oldest private healthcare institutions in Portugal. There are BHs all over the world. In May 2002 it celebrated 213 years since the purchase of the property where it was originally established. This original site was where we saw the Shakespeare play last week, but now it's firmly established in a swish 21st century high rise Med Zone...

And I sought it, and the Old Ears were cleaned and tended to ... it was interesting to get a second opinion about what has been troubling me for decades, but alas, not much else than care and regular checkups can be done. They did refer me to a specialised Chemist though who deals in Euro150 ear plugs that are completely shaped to ones ears, which should keep water out and me ears dry.

So, I'm all ears!

What's this about accounting and tastes ...?

The things one eats sometimes.

Comfort food, is what Niki calls it. (I think her Mum made it as a treat when Niki was young, or perhaps she refused to, I'm not sure what the story was) but Niki has a predelection for it, when the fridge is empty and she's run out of culinary ideas. (Not suggesting here that Niki's mum ever ran out of culinary ideas!)

I'm not sure what to call it, but I don't think I had ever eaten tinned spaghetti (in tomato sauce, of course) on toast before ... And yet, strangely, it tasted, erm, nice and felt rather, erm, good.

Wouldn't eat it every day, and I bet you MacDonald's would stay right away from it, but hey, at least no animals got killed in the process ... Try it, Tess and Yarrow, and let me know what you think ....

Sing

This Sunday, Yarrow sang at a recital of the music school (The Hothouse, in Alstonville, NSW, Australia) where she attends weekly singing lessons (and where Tess does weekly piano lessons). I haven't heard the result yet but have been told there is an audio file ... as soon as I have it, check back in ... She sang River, by Missy Higgins. Proud of you Yarrow! Well-done!

Lunch

Today we spent a very pleasurable afternoon with two fine gents, Colin and Mario, who live in an apartment the walls of which are literally covered in painting and artwork almost from floor to ceiling in any medium and any style imaginable. Niki has known Colin for a long time through her work. They served a 5-course lunch which can only be described as scrumptious! The photo shows that the apartment looks out over green city gardens.

Amletto

And Hamlet it was, and it was wonderful and a linguistic joy ... and it lasted until half past midnight ... what a country ...! And this was the shortened version of the play. Mind you, it can be even shorter - the video below summarizes Hamlet in one minute ...

Hamlet

As some of you may know, Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of my favourite plays. Indeed, my fascination with the play goes so far that I have a small collection of Hamlet's translated into all languages of countries I've visited, ranging from Spanish to Swedish to Dutch to French etc. I haven't yet found a Portuguese version ...

Saturday night we'll be going to see Hamlet, performed by the Lisbon Players, an amateur theater society but of great and wide renown in Lisbon and Portugal. Niki has been seeing many of their productions and this one is no exception - in fact, she will be seeing the play with a group of her teen students from the language school.

While preparing the play at the school, Niki used a little movie which summarizes Hamlet wonderfully and understandably and explains how and why everybody in the play, well, dies ... It's a bit of a battlefield, is Hamlet ... Check out the movie below: an 8-minute summary of a 3.5 hour play ...

Lush...

In January I'm booked to go and give two lectures, on two separate occasions in Slovenia about English in primary schools, titled " The Joy of Primary English: Getting Kids to Talk". Slovenia is introducing English in primary state schools and I'm preparing a series of book for that market. Just found out that the 2nd talk will be held in a resort of sorts, in a spa town ... Lush ....

More prizes

STOP PRESS!! More Prizes news ...! Niki was just informed that the primary English language course that she co-authored, and which was published in Portugal earlier this year, Hoola Hoop, has been short-listed for the ELTons 2010 Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation. They've been invited to the ELTons ceremony at the Delfina Gallery in London on 3 March 2010. The Eltons are an Award sponsored by the British Council and Cambridge ESOL. Well-done gals!

Planning the visit

In about four weeks time now, them three girlses will descend upon Lisbon. Niki and I have been planning their stay with us. The other day we went out for lunch in a harbouresque part of Lisbon where we drew up a list of Possible Thing to Do... We've got (we think!) a lovely array of activities lined up, ranging from visiting the beautiful historic town of Sintra to meeting the girls at Niki's school, ice-skating and making pancakes - and all sorts of other things in between. Girls, feel free to browse around on the internet to find things you might like to do!

In the meantime, Niki's apartment has gained some Christmas cheer in the shape of a miniature Christmas tree and glittery stuff. Lots of beautiful and interesting Christmassy objects made by Niki's mum are now adorning the walls. But, no snow ... even though it is a tad cold now and then.

Astrid is decidely unimpressed by it all and, being A Cat Of Leisure, simply begs to be left to her favourite pasttime: sleep.

I've bought a few novels by Portuguese writers. Niki recommended them and I'm looking forward to delving into Portuguese letters for a bit (translated of course): Equator, by Miguel Soua Tavares, and Blank Gaze, by Jose Luis Peixoto.

I've also had my first Portuguese lesson this week ... Niki's partner in business, Christine, is so kind as to give me three weekly lessons in their language school (Language Project) in Loures. Bom dia! Obrigado! Esta bem! Como se chame! Chamo Hans! Esta e a minha cadela, Chicco!

Tricks

One of the books I'm working on at the moment is for the Eastern European market. Just a preview of some of the artwork for this series, the first level of which will be published halfway through 2010. The black-and-white one you can use to play Bingo with yourself ... :)

Wind chime ...

Tess presented me with this lovely wind chime which she made for Niki in her wood and metal tech classes. Yarrow explains what it is to Niki. I decided not to take it to Europe now, because when Niki comes to Australia later in July she will want to take it there with her again, and I'm pretty sure Australian customs authorities won´t allow it back in. Erm, you may have to turn your computer sideways though .... Tess made or prepared (cut, sawed, sanded, drilled, shaped) every part of this beautiful object with her own hands, including the penguin on top, the fish down below, the plateau in the middle and the metal tubes. What a clever clog!

Foggy dew

This morning reminded me of an Irish folk song, The Foggy Dew. Not that the song itself has anything to do with what this Portuguese morning presented to us today; a foggy valley, the houses all around as far as the eye could see covered in a white film that looked almost like dust. A cool breeze had draped itself around the houses. The trees, ´the forest´, about 300 meters away from the window I sat down at to work, that form the only vestige of green left in what is otherwise a world of concrete and stone, were invisible. A cold winter´s city morning but a crisp, dry cold which is always nice.

I have just finished reading Dan Brown´s The Lost Symbol, and can heartily recommend - having reluctantly ventured past the first chapter , thinking ´This is much the same as his previous books, same formula, same people, same world´, I must admit to getting sucked into the story and being fascinated by the secret and hidden mysteries that form the backbone of the book. If anything, if not exactly challenging me to become a Freemason, at least I find that I want to go and see Washington DC which, if the book is to be believed, is filled with fascinating art and historical treasures and built on enlightened ideas ... If only the governments that were and are would be able to carry this Enlightenment towards positive energy ...

Niki´s away doing examining work at the British Council this morning. She´s very much looking forward to Christmas time when The Girls will descend on us. I can see Christmas Cards on the desk in the living-room and I believe a Christmas letter has been written ... We´re going to have a good think about all the things we can go and do when Anjes, Tess and Yarrow arrive here in Povoa St Adriao - look at the things we can do together, what hidden treasures we can find in Lisbon and surrounding lands. Bring jumpers, girls! It´s cold ... Living in a country where Winter Clothes are a bit of an anomaly, the idea of wrapping up one´s body to protect against anything else than UV radiation, seems a bit foreign and far-removed from reality ... until you venture outside ...

Ive chatted with Denise in cyberspace a few times. Denise´s kindly Minding Myth and enjoying the lush temperatures, the views, the endless spaces, but I have not yet been able to touch base with Tess and Yarrow - The Grange is, as yet, Internetless. Just now Denise Skyped me again wanting to know where the torches and candles were, as apparently (and Skype cam confirmed it) a hefty storm was brewing. Flashes of light could be seen striking in the dark behind her and sound-drenching rain on the colourbond roof of the outside deck made a conversation almost impossible. Here´s hoping she found the torches ...

While I´m away Red, the builder, will be overseeing (and doing) work on Anjes´room downstairs which will get its own bathroom, sliding doors to the gardens, wall-cladding and a beautiful Jarrah floor like in the rest of the house so that in future guests can have their own private space entrance and exit if they so want. The main house will also be fitted with a new solar hot water system which should make a difference in the need for electricity.

And so ... on to a new book, I think, but which one ...?

Back again ...

Niki recently wrote to Tess and Yarrow: "Sometimes I wonder if it’s harder for you and me, or your Dad? I mean, is it harder to say goodbye, or to be said goodbye to? Is it easier for your Dad who is always going to loved ones at the end of the journey? Or is it harder, because making that journey also implies always having to say goodbye?" It's so true - and the only way to make sense of this, is to realise why this is all happening, and what The Plan is for the future.

So here I am again, this time I'm, erm, in Portugal. Talk about a sea change - from 35 degrees to, well, a lot less; from hot summer sun to wet winter rain - but Niki provides enough sunshine and light to brighten up the day...

This time it's a long trip, and I won't be back in Australia until the end of January. But, having said that, both Niki and I are eagerly, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Tess, Yarrow and Anjes by end of December. Anjes will stay with us in Lisbon for a few days around New Year; Tess and Yarrow will stay with Niki and I for two weeks and then I'll take them to Amsterdam for one. They're very excited and much looking forward to the trip, as are Niki and I.

At home (which home?) Denise is minding the house and cats for a few weeks, after which John's daughter Bella and her boyfriend Tim will take over. For a moment it looked as if I had taken the wonderful sunshine, which Denise had so been looking forward to enjoying, with me to Europe as it started raining as soon as I left (for the unitiated: Denise has visited us a few times in the past and everytime she was here, it rained, copiously and endlessly. But not this time round!)

On my way through Amsterdam, I bought a collection of speculaas, gevulde speculaas, speculaasbrokken, strooigoed, schuimpjes and other Sinterklaasalia. I had promised Niki I would share some of this Dutch seasonal cheer with her so off I went to a supermarket to come home with a bagful of sugary biscuits and sweets... Not that I myself would eat any of this, of course. No, Ellen, I wouldn't! (hehe). I found Niki scoffing the strooigoed after I had succumbed to jetlag-induced sleep last night and woke up at midnight ...

So, more from me over the next weeks as Niki and I embark on yet another exciting stage of our journey.

In the meantime, at the farm...

On return to Australia, I found that Red (the builder), Johnno (the painter) and Duncan (the gardener) had worked wonders on the property, a few photos of which can serve as testimony to their skills. (Click on the photos to enlarge if you want to).

There were....
... a room which had changed from somberly dark to pleasantly and naturally light, thanks to two skylights;
... stairs that appeared from nowhere, going from one deck to the other, shortcutting the walk from downstairs to upstairs;
... a freshly painted bathroom
.... a freshly pained back deck
... beautifully painted new stairs
... a Princess Window
... a pruned ochard
... fed chickens (thanks to K2)

And probaby many other things I haven't noticed yet ...









The Princess Window, an empty back deck, and an empty room, which now has become my new study.









The view from the bedroom, the former study-now-turned-loungy bit (very Roman, with big relaxing daybed) and the old ensuite newified with a lick of paint









The stairs from Down Deck to Up Deck (Viewing Verandah)

China

Between staying in Portugal with Niki and returning to Australia, where I'm now, I paid a week's visit to China (Beijing and Guangzhou) where, on behalf of IATEFL's YLTSIG, I co-organised and presented at two teacher conferences. The exciting topics (...) I got to hold forth on were Grammar for Young Learners and Using songs in the English classrooms.

The first Grammar workshop I taught together with a Chinese counterpart, Ma Xin; we did it twice, and later that week repeated the workshop (without Ma Xin) at another conference. The songs workshop I only did in Beijing, although I incorporated songs in the second grammar workshop.

All in all the conferences, organised with national teachers' organisations in China and the British Council (or The cultural and educational section of the British Embassy, as they like to (have to) call themselves) were a resounding success and allowed us to reach out to 1500 primary and secondary English teachers. And, if not anything else, at least I can now say Ni hau, using the appropriate tonal accents ...

It's a wonderfully fascinating language, though, Chinese - and I love listening to its multi-layered tones and incomprehensible flow. I love trying to guess what people are talking about, which is perhaps surprisingly not always that hard when you take note of the situation the speakers are in, their facial and body expressions, and the people they are talking with/to.

A prize, Buck House and ESAP

Lo and behold! We've won a Prize! An award, even.

I'm saying we, because it's the Garnet ESAP (English for Special Academic Purposes) series which has won the 2009 Duke of Edinburgh English-Speaking Union English Language Award for excellence in ELT publishing. A mouthful for a very distinguished award. The ESAP series is a series of twelve books so far, one of which is my English for Tourism and Hospitality book, and I'm writing another one for them called English for Media Studies. Click the picture for the press release.

The series was made by a huge team of dedicated writers, editors and publishers so unfortunately we couldn't all go to Buck House and meet (well, shake hands with or curtsey; well, catch a glimpse from afar of) the Queen and consort (whose name the Prize carries) but a Party will follow the ceremony.

As I will be in Australia I won't be able to go, but it's kinda nice to bask in the glory of a Prize.

Time passing

It's fascinating to suddenly realize how life in a different place settles into a rhytym ... With the projects I have on, I've settled into a pleasant rhythm that is actually quite relaxed. Niki's rhythym and mine have effortlessly mingled. We're not out and about every day, as Niki's 'hours' are mostly in the afternoon and evenings, but we do often have quiet times in the morning before projects demand attention. No computers until after breakfast and no work in the weekends, some will be happy to hear ... Realtime, my Slovenian course, IATEFL's YLT SIG and Garnet's Media Studies, as well as FracasEnglish Down Under keep me nicely busy and occupied.

During the day I spend a lot of time with Astrid. Astrid, the cat, has settled in a comfortable truce with me. Comfortable, because she spends most of the time sleeping through it; a truce, because I think she has decided to indulge me in her presence but keeps her daggers sharpened (Don't worry, Niki, she didn't hear me type this). Sleeping either on the printer, or on a pillow against the window, she can see through the windows of the Marquise and survey her Realm ... while keeping half an eye and a meow on me.

Look for the baby ...

Ok, one more then ... look for the baby ...

La Tucumana

A beautiful Tribute to a beautiful person...

Sarzedo on the move

Here's a short video clip showing you inside and out of the mountain house in Sarzedo. Walk with me ...

Speculaas!

During her stay in Australia, Niki had become increasingly curious to the nature and origin of the Dutch 'speculaas' cookies, having seen Hans' greedy imbibement of them mainly at Ton and Ellen's. So on her return, with the help of Hans' friend Jacomien in Amsterdam, who sent us a box of 'speculaaskruiden', and a recipe from the Internet, the speculaas cookies as shown in the picture were the (I may say Yummy) result.

Ok, so there's no windmills on them, as is traditional on 'the real thing'; and yes, Ok, moose-shaped speculaas is perhaps a tad culturally inappropriate, as are apple-shaped cookies, but the bat speculaas, Niki thinks, is entirely in tune with her memories of her favourite animals, flying foxes, in the Booyong rainforest and the Alstonville bat haunt close to Pearces Creek.

I believe additional batches, with planned spice and shape improvements (such as the use of almonds) are in the offing! Yum again!

Folded ...

In a small village called Sarzedo, on a sunny afternoon, Felix the cat felt he (or she) needed to soak up a bit of warmth ... so ... he positioned him/herself in a rather interesting position ... rather hilarious in fact ... I walked up and had a close look but he was unperturbed ... blinked at me, and looked exceedingly comfortable ... It takes all kinds, I guess ... Click for a close-up.

Sarzedo

This weekend Niki and I paid a visit to Sarzedo with our friends Jonathan and Alyson to check out the progress on Niki's mountain house. In older posts below there may be some photos of what it looked like a while ago. In the meantime the roof has been raised and renewed, new floors have been laid (turning the once two-storied house into a three-storied residence), windows an d doors created and plans made for the next stages (windows, walls, bathroom) - it's going to be a beautiful house with a fantastic view!

A video is to follow as well in one of the next few posts as the photos don't always do the project justice...

Much loved

The sad news reached her fans this weekend: Mercedes Sosa has passed away at age 74. Rather than write a eulogy I'll refer to a few articles here, here and here in case you are interested. If you want to hear more of her music, and enjoy her vocal and artistic brilliance, surf Youtube or buy / download her latest CDs (Cantora 1 and Cantora 2), three-times Grammy nominated.

Mercedes Sosa

Ah! Mercedes has done it again! My all-time favourite Singer, Argentinian Mercedes Sosa, now way up in her seventies, has produced two new CDs on which she performs duettes with famous singers and songwriters from all over the world. A wonderful and original compilation, illustrating how she has always, throughout her career, enabled other artists, young and old, well-known and obscure, to perform with her. She's always had young and upcoming talent surrounding her, many of whom have since 'made it' in the music business. This CD is wonderfully mellow and impressive! A short clip showing 'the making of' can be found on Youtube. Unfortunately, sad breaking news just came out that she is very ill. When the double CD was launched a few months ago, she was unable to attend because of ill health.

Duchess

Remember this horsey? Well, she is now officially Niki's - she got along famously with Niki while she was in Australia, and we're looking forward to taking her on many a ride when we are Down Under! Hosses!!

Language

It's strange, fascinating and confronting at the same time to be in a country where you don't really speak the language. Yes, Portuguese is somewhat similar to Spanish, but its delivery, morphology and pronunciation are different. To my (innocent?) ears, Portuguese seems to be more fluid, where Spanish is more staccato. I'm finding out about Portuguese lessons, at Niki's school!, to familiarize myself a bit more, and to actually learn how to say basic things. Deep and Meaningful Conversations will perhaps we something Of the Future for now, but at least I can try to learn how to order a cup of tea or ask for information. Bom dia! Obrigado! Muito bom!

On we go ...

After a few months' absence, I'm back in cyberspace to share the continuing journey with you. I'm now back in Portugal with my love Niki, embarking on the next stage of our travels. Over summer, when Niki spent a month with us all in Australia, it has become clear that we're going to work towards Niki joining us in Australia from next July onwards, while at the same time keeping a distinct presence in Portugal - one thing is for sure, we want to be together, in the same time zone, in the same space, breathing the same air, rather than sharing our lives through the Internet. And, needless to say, I want Tess, Yarrow and my extended family to be part of that, too.

So, for the time being, I'll be travel between Down Under and Up Yonder. For this first stint, until early November, the horses are on their own, lovingly cared for by Maxine and Jenny; the cats are being totally independent but enjoying the company of builder Red, painter Johnno, gardener Duncan, feeders Ton, Ellen and cuddlers Tess, Yarrow and Mieke (and the occassional invasion by the neighbourhood's stray Tom.

Portugal so far has been very hot and sunny - it's autumn here, right? Don't you love the subtropics? The silent warbles of Pearces Creek have made way for the noisesome noises of the city. In order to create space, Niki and I have moved around furniture and rooms and have moved the study into the Marquis (more or less hanging off the building!) giving us a view over Povoa St Adriao and the hills in the distance; the bed, much too short for the likes of me, has been temporarily dismantled to be moved to a new bedroom where Tess and Yarrow will stay when they come and stay with us in December - January; and what used to be the study is now being turned into a teen bedroom ...

I'll keep you posted again, as I did before ...

More Circus ...

As Niki was winging her way to Europe, Tess and Yarrow were flying high on Lyra and Silks at the Circus School during a monthly Showcase performance ... Fly away girls, fly away - you're gorgeous!

The Blower's Daughter

Isn't this just one of the most beautiful songs ...

And so it is again ...

And so it is again, indeed - yesterday my love returned to Europe and is, as I write, midair between Hong Kong and London. What a wonderful month we've had - the fact I haven't really written on this blog bears witness that we've been occupied with other things than computers: as I wrote before, it was and is bliss! Now onto the next stage, level and step and walk further along that forest track into the future ... I'll be with you again soon ... just a few weeks ...

Close your eyes
and see me.
Reach out
and I am there.
Feel my heartbeat
in your chest.
Run your fingers
through my hair.

Your strong hands
on my body.
A whisper
in my ear
I can see you.
I can feel you.
Even though you
are not here.

Without you
there'd be nothing.
And I could not
see to see.
Together we are one.
It's no longer
just you or just me.

Together we are one, Andre Willis.

Let's axe Shadow ...

What does Shadow do during hours of daylight ... Let's axe, erm ask, her ...

Shadow, in her infinite feline wisdom, decided to go for an early afternoon nap on the chopping block where Hans chops wood for the fires at night ... As we approached, she manouevered herself into a position that produced this interesting photograph - in the making of it no animals were actually hurt ...

To ride or ...

Almost every day we spend some time with the horses. We're training Duchess to take Niki on rides (or are we training Niki to ride Duchess...?) and they're working hard to get used to each other. Here is Niki trying to coax Duchess into coming to her (masterful example of natural horsemanship) to grab a carrot from her hand ... However, Duchesss, by now fully aware that coming to Niki means getting caught and being saddled and being ridden in a roundyard which is, let's face it, less appealing that faffing around in the paddock doing, well, erm, nothing ... is quite reluctant to actually get caught so frequently shies away at the last moment. Niki did manage to get Duchess to accept her leadership which resulted in a few celebratory rounds of the Moreton Bay Fig!

And so it is ...

And here she is now ... comfortably 'established' on a rug in front of a crackling fire, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a magazine ... And her being here and us being together is bliss, simple and pure bliss. So far the daytime has been spent settling in, familiarizing with the land and the house, meeting the "rellies" and Tess and Yarrow and, this afternoon, taking a long walk through The Valley ....

The evenings and early mornings are cold, the early morning sunlight hitting a heavy fog in the valley which dissipates quickly under the sun's early heat; the early evening chill settling on the horses and the paddocks and begging for doors and windows to be closed and the fire lit.

We spent some time this morning getting to know Duchess, a 13-hand pony that may be Niki's riding companion, doing Join-Up (letting the horse accept you without force or undue dominance) and turning Samson (Hans' 17.5 hand Percheron cross) from Yellow to White (OK, he hadn't been washed for a few months but looked very healthy and happy - it's just that he's now once more a Dapple Grey rather than a Dirt Ochre.

Lift thine eyes

Today is the day that my love will be traveling towards me ... In her own inimitable words, with which I completely agree: "Youpi!".

My love, I waited patiently and excitedly to welcome you to this my other home, this part of my world, and to be with you again and have time, endless time ... I'll make sure I stop the clock once you arrive ...

I think this calls for a poem, to celebrate, while you travel towards the Southern Cross ...

Lift thine eyes towards that star
That shines so high above.
My hopes and dreams shall travel far
Towards the one I love.
Lift thine eyes towards the skies:
The heavens are as one.
But when the sun does slowly rise
My love shall not be gone.
Lift thine eyes in longing now.
My wish shall then come true.
I have no room left in my heart
Such love I hold for you.
Lift thine eyes towards that star,
My hopes and dreams shall travel far.

(Lift thine eyes, by Andrew Blakemore)

One of my paintings to illustrate this - a view from where I am ...











(For those interested in more paintings, go here.)

Bureaucracy

We (Tess, Yarrow, Bryony and myself) spent a day in Brisbane last week, chasing passports ... one can only wonder why governments make it so incredibly hard and cumbersome for people to get what is rightfully theirs ... why they insist on having to verify and certify without end while all the time you a) already have a passport (ok, it has expired, but still it was given to me earlier so doesn't that make me who I am?), and b) have already proved a thousand times who you are (which gave you the passport in the first place).

The epitome of bureacracy I was confronted with was requesting a fresh certificate of citizenship (going through the motions of providing documentation to prove you are eligble for it and paying for it), the Department sending this official document to you and then having to go out of your way to get to Another Office to have somebody stamp it to confirm that it is indeed an official document (at a cost, of course).

As a treat, after 3 hours of papershifting, we decided to go to the Sciencenter, in the Museum of Contemporary Arts, a hands-on museum of science fun. A few piccies ...

Rollercoaster

Gosh - more than a week has gone by since my last post. Tempus fugit, eh! I've returned to Oz, was reunited with Tess and Yarrow, who are staying with me this week, and with other friends and loved ones; succumbed to jetlag prompting me to wake up in the middle of the night and, one night, even to not sleep at all; tried to settle in again in this beautiful valley, missing Niki dreadfully, but speaking to her every day; managed to write I don't know how many chapters of Take Shape which needs to be finished before my love arrives Down Under; said goodbye to dear Michael in a beautiful ceremony in Whian-Whian state forest; spoke to sollicitor's re the property settlement for the Myth, and made a long, long list of things to do ... always things to do ... Next week, more writing, always more writing, and a visit to Brisbane to renew my Dutch passport.

As I write, Niki is in the Castle in Lisbon, at another concert, in the inner courtyard, with some of her friends and I wish I was there with her now. But I am in spirit anyway! Anjes has finished her Year 1, with success! Congratulations, dear daughter!