Country Living

Well, hi! It’s more than halfway through July and that means more than halfway through winter. Yay! (Winter is not my favourite season…) The days are getting longer as well, which means my washing gets more time to dry. But enough about that. I want to talk about how we’ve been at our new home now for 3 months — and it has been a chilly season. The family is learning to adapt to many different things: much cooler in the mornings than I anticipated, a much bigger piece of land to look after, pitch dark nights with no lights but the moon and stars, and distance from places we need to go to (like church, the beaches, the “city” and new friends’ homes). I have simplified this to: “everything is about 20-25 minutes away!”

I’m also getting used to seeing a lot of roadkill everywhere: kangaroos, kookaburras, snakes, furry little creatures with long tails … and flattened “other ones” that, well, can no longer be identified.

Also … 80/90/100kmh zones! Wow, these rural/semi-rural roads are fast (at least, for us ex-suburban folks). Oh—but then, just six weeks after we got here, the speed around our area gets suddenly changed to a 60 zone (about 37 miles per hour). Having come from Sydney, we thought this made sense, especially around residences. But … we’re learning that speed is somewhat a sore issue around here. When I joined the local Facebook group, it was because I wanted to become part of the community and be informed of local events. But, instead, my husband and I are learning about differing views and ongoing conflicts regarding road safety in our local and surrounding communities. And it has become clear there are very—shall we say: passionate residents who really like their fast roads while there are very proactive “representatives” who want everyone else to slow down. So, speaking of flattened things, we’ve recently found other “roadkill” victims.

These are no accidents. These are clearly deliberate actions … and, boy, we certainly don’t want to get involved in this argument. Ah … what a pleasant, quiet country life. Ha-ha!

Stories

In my last newsletter, I shared that my short story was going to be reprinted in the Department of New South Wales’ The Schools Magazine. I’ve now received my copies and hope not to lose them this time. The presentation is a little different from its first version (in 2013). The writing is bigger, and while they have reused the old image (the one with the image of a face in the tree; do you see it?), there is a new illustration on the double-spread. I do like both interpretations even though they are different styles. I think they both capture the heart of the story. (Meanwhile, I have still not yet reached a decision about pursuing a republication of it as a picture book.)

On a very different trajectory, after resisting the encouragement of a friend and my daughter to watch K-Dramas (that’s Korean Drama, for those who—like me—knew nothing about this genre until very recently), I have finally given in to it and began watching in May. It took a while to get into its rather distinct style, its quirks, and the humour, as well as reading subtitles while hearing a totally foreign tongue. But, despite more exaggerations and slapstick than I’m used to (and make-up. So. Much. Make-up.), I am genuinely enjoying the plot-twists and story-telling. (Once you taste, it’s rather addictive.) This has “inspired” a bit of writing, and suddenly I’m 35,000 words into a Young Adult, multi-ethnic/cultural rom-com, set in the Port Macquarie region. So, let’s call the K-Drama binge-watching “research”, shall we! Now, this first draft is about as good as dog’s vomit, but—it’s writing. I just need accountability to keep it going and actually finish!

Seeing Green

I was happy to return to Sydney for a week’s visit to see family and friends, and some work meetings. But, I must admit that I am truly happy to be back, away from heavy traffic and noise. It was lovely to be greeted with enthusiasm by Benji (our pom-spitz) and to be able to rest my eyes yet again on “greenery”.

I don’t think I can say we’ve become farmers, but we are also trying to grow a couple of things, mostly herbs and lettuce. We’ve already been able to use these in our salads. The tomatoes and cucumbers didn’t work, so I’m trying again.

And we’re grateful for being able to eat of the fruit of someone else’s labour: the previous owners left a few vines of passionfruit. And they are sweet! There are also mango trees (yet to fruit), and a little pineapple that’s needing a bit more TLC.

Is this symbolic of John 4:38? Will we be reaping where others have previously sown? And will we also need to tend to young fruits not yet ripe? Perhaps, we also need to plant new seeds for our own harvest, and for future generations to harvest. And if some of those seeds don’t grow (a sad reality), we keep on trying. Right?

So, that’s my winter update. I’m looking forward to SPRING!