Piper's third birthday @ Puffing Billy

Thought I should finally blog about Piper's birthday, seeing as I've been meaning to do so since it happened! On her actual birthday (Tuesday 6th March), we had a quiet celebration with my Mum and cousin Michelle at my parents' house. Then, on the following Saturday, we headed to Emerald Lake to catch the steam train, Puffing Billy, to Gembrook. This plan was hatched more than a year ago with Jane and Steve, seeing as their son, Caleb, shares the same birthday as Piper, (he's one year older) and they live so close to Puffing Billy. We finally managed to get a decent family snap - they're hard to come by!


All aboard! Piper and Anja.

Anja, Piper and Ellen.



Gord, Jane and Trisha waiting on the platform.



The view round the bend!



Steve explaining the rules of Pass the Parcel, to a rapt audience!


The moment for candle-blowing!


I ended up making two cakes, although the original plan was to make some fandangled fish-shaped cake using two baked cakes. That seemed too difficult, when I thought a bit harder about it, so in the end I made a Nemo cake for Piper and a Puffing Billy cake for Caleb. And I was very pleased with how they turned out (if I do say so myself), given that I really didn't want to use food colouring. The only unhealthy thing on them was the licorice (other than the sugar, of course!). Even the jelly beans were politcally correct, containing no artificial colours or flavours! Nemo ended up being made out of sliced mango!

Oven fixed!

Well, only two and a half months since we moved in, we now have a working oven! No more running across to the church to use the one there, dodging whoever's hired the hall! Oh yes, this is Gord in our lime green kitchen, largely obscuring our rather essential but now-functional kitchen appliance!

When will these visitors go home?

Hi there,
This is house guest Pete writing from beautiful South Yarra, Melbourne Australia; in the very generous environment created by my hosts, Gord, Bec and Piper (and bump soon to arrive).

Jotara (my wife) and I had a storm-delayed flight across the Bass Straight, from Tasmania. That's where we live. (Please put us on your itinerary - ask Gord for contact details) After an enjoyable ride on the Sky Bus, a 24 hour airport-to-city bus service, we connected with a taxi and arrived at South Yarra at about 2130, to a warm welcome and cups of tea.

Fantastic to catch up with old Tantra buddies and share personal stories since meeting last year. All good conversation that heightened the anticipation of Gords and my planned trip to Steels Creek and the Centre for Human Transformation for a Men Breath and Spirit weekend, beginning the next day.

A short walk in the morning and I'm shopping in Toorak, Melbourne's designer shopping mecca. Then back to meet Gord, after his day at work to begin our journey and the start of the weekend course.

Although it was peak hour Gord and I made our way on the train across town to rendezvous with another Tantra buddy Andrew in minutes. A beer later and we were on the road, styling in Andrew's old C-class Mercedes. (Andrew's a musician, music producer and a hell of a breather!)

The journey through the picturesque Yarra Valley was a meditation in itself and ended with a trial for the old Merc; a steep gravel driveway, recently scared by a 60mm rainstorm. (That's 60mm in one hour!) After two attempts at the hill it was decided to take the alternative but prohibited route, through the vineyard which put me on edge. This weekend was going to be far from the expected.

Giving our explanation of the difficulties on the driveway our excuse was accepted and the circle began, an evening of getting to know the other thirteen participants and gearing up for the breathing exploration the next two days would bring.

I had attended one other Men Breath and Spirit weekend three months previous and had an idea of the potential personal changes and challenges that lay ahead, but I still felt a little apprehensive as I retired for the evening. Gord, cool as ever, made the comment that this was his "first breathwork session" with a hint of nervous excitement.

Saturday came, and I was in the first group to take the mat and breath through a session. It opened me up so that I felt like a jelly-baby inside, vulnerable and fragile. Saturday night was early to bed given the impact of the day. As I rose at 0630 to prepare the chip heater for hot showers, I felt well primed for the new breathing technique to be introduced that day.

So I imagined taking my last breath and eventually found a peaceful place inside, a wonderful mysterious journey that has left me centered. grounded and full of life.

This morning I'm on my way from the South Yarra haven so generously shared by Gord, Bec and Piper. The opportunity to share experiences with such a connected family has enriched my time in Melbourne and my energy for life to come.

Thank you friends.

Pete:)

Picture of new baby...

For those who wanted a picture of it, here is Bec's belly.







(oh yeah, the baby is inside...)

A day with Piper in the sand...

Today was another hot day - I was taking care of Piper, so we played in the sandbox for an hour this morning... looking forward to recapturing the things that I did as a kid through playing with her... sometimes really hard to slow down to her pace.

We created a sand woman... Piper wanted a breastfeeding baby, which didn't really work, but this is the result...

>
Also, a week ago, I had a few hours while Piper was sleeping, so I decided to play with my new router bits. It was fun, and cool that the router does such a good job in a short period of time... of course, I also learned what happens when you miscalculate with your measurements and suddenly a lot more material is missing than was originally intended.

Tonight, Bec was busy scraping and sanding back the walls in the bedroom... nesting is in full swing...

Gonna be a hot one tonight...

Just for the record. That's an actual thermometer... picture taken around 9:30 at night in the study... outside temperature feels about the same...

Thank god for fans.... and icy cold water.

St Kilda beach

My cousin Michelle arrived from Canada the day after my birthday (at the end of January). She's been staying with my parents, doing lots of sightseeing and job-hunting, but this week we roped her into babysitting for a morning! It was great, I was able to get Gord's visa application done - glad to have that bit of paperwork out of my hair.


The night before (Michelle slept over at our place), we headed down to St Kilda beach. I was blown away when Michelle said it was the first time she'd seen the ocean since she was last in Australia, which was 1991, when she was, I believe, three years old!!! This prompted me to ask Gord if he'd seen the sea when he was growing up, and he said he reckoned the first time he'd seen it was when he went to Vancouver with Shaun when he was twenty! Although he could possibly have seen it on a family trip to BC when he was ten, but he can't remember!


I'm kind of flabbergasted, but I forget that Australia is an island continent, with the majority of the population living in coastal towns and cities. The beach is an intrinsic part of the Australian identity, featured in our history, literature and folk tales. It seems so odd to me that you wouldn't grow up having at least a few holidays to the beach, but I can understand that a prarie family in Canada (and even an Albertan family!) might not make it to the coast all that often. However, it does explain why Gord values living close to the beach, and why he likes the idea that we can head down there pretty much whenever we like. We're kind of averaging once a week at the moment, or Gord certainly is. Piper and I at least made it to the local pool this week...


Anyway, here's a few photos of us with Michelle, on the boardwalk, in front of the iconic Luna Park, and scoffing cake on Acland St. Honestly, Piper ate more of that chocolate cake than Gord did! And given the difference in body size, that's a worry, eh! No wonder she was a bit hyper on the way home! Oh yes, did I mention that's my vanilla slice in the foreground?? Hey, at least I took half of it home!