Tag: mornington

#2336 My coffee keep cup

I had to run around after school pick up with baby girl, which would eat into my usual afternoon coffee time…

My solution?

My coffee keep cup!

Only this one, I prepared at home. 😉

I love it, for kinda obvious reasons. ✍️💖😁

#2319 Where my feet lead me

I had the day to myself today, and I totally needed it.

All my days are so structured. Work, school drop-off and pick-up, after-school activity chauffeuring, then there’s the groceries, odd jobs and appointments, cleaning, cooking, washing… 🤯

So when I dropped off baby girl at school today, I was honestly a little lost. I had a decent to-do list, but I was awaiting a tradie to come and give us a quote, but didn’t know what time he’d be over, so I literally started driving… with no clear place to go.

Slowly, a plan formed. I would get some presents I needed to get while in the area…

But of course, the places I needed to look at weren’t open yet, so…

I found my feet leading me down the Main Street. I kinda knew where I was headed, before I KNEW where I was headed, if you know what I mean. 😆

Within 10 minutes, I had an egg and bacon toastie, a coffee, and I was sitting in front of this view:

I spent a good half hour there, eating, drinking, watching. Breathing too, that is important.

I love my town. I love it most when it is quiet actually. It’s often hard to imagine it as still as it was this morning, especially if you see it come peak period on hot days and over Summer.

But after school drop-off, you know there are only locals around. A handful of people walking their dogs on the beach, a few I exchanged good mornings with. A massive sea bird flew low over the water, its huge wings flapping slowly and deliberately, but with great strength.

It was all so grey, but so peaceful. It was beautiful.

These are the things I love to be still for, to witness.

I still got to do all my jobs, but in this short span of time that occupied the morning, I loved the freedom of letting my feet do the decision-making, of letting it lead me to where it needed to go. 🙏💖

#2268 The Smoking Ceremony

I’ve never been to a smoking ceremony until today.

One was held at baby girl’s school today as part of Harmony Week, which celebrates and promotes diversity, inclusion and a sense of belonging.

Parents were invited to listen in on the ceremony, and we heard as Lionel, the Aboriginal educator, spoke about the leaves that were used to create the smoke. Their uses were multiple, with the various bark and leaves used for tea, wood carvings like boomerangs, and even the sap of ‘some’ trees (emphasis on ‘some’!) edible enough to be a sweetener for drinks.

But combined, this collection of leaves and branches formed the basis of the smoking ceremony. By surrounding yourself and walking into the white smoke, letting it move around you, it was lifting any negative energy from your surroundings… and there has been plenty of negative energy to go around, we can be assured of that much.

(I joked to Hubbie quietly that I needed a whole bonfire to rid me of my woes. 🤣 )

Anyway. The students all walked through the smoke on their way back to class. Then the parents were invited to walk through it too. I was happy as it wafted around me, the smoke clinging to my clothes, sure to remind me all day of the cleansing I had experienced from one of the oldest cultures in the world.

I was so grateful that an experience like that could come to baby girl’s school, and that we as her parents could enjoy it! Hubbie and I eagerly took every word in spoken by Lionel, feeling ultimately inspired and in awe of his incredible knowledge about the country we live in.

I walked away with a profound sense of gratitude and humbleness, silently bowing thanks and honouring the land and the sea on which we are all joined by…

🙏

#2267 Peninsula sunset no. 14

I loved the sunset this evening.

It shone bright orange, bursting orange rays into the west side of our house, being our bedroom and the lounge room.

It was as vibrant as an orange starburst, casting an orange glow over the rooms as if there were artificial light.

But it wasn’t fake. It was mother nature putting on a show. The real deal. 😍🌇

#2251 Sunday about town

The weather was weird and overcast, yet kinda mild…

We were meant to be elsewhere, but that was cancelled (covid case, of course)…

And so we did what we felt was best, and easiest, and most fun.

We painted our town red. 💞

#2144 Starting the day right on Main Street

We went out to brekkie/brunch this morning.

Baby girl had pancakes with ice cream, and then had the guts to straight up order a vanilla milkshake from the waiter herself (we gotta watch out for this one!)

We ate, then we went to the park. We said five minutes, but baby girl made a friend, and there was no way we were pulling her out of there then.

When her new friend left with her family, so did we. We walked up the Main Street, the strip BRIMMING, HUMMING, it had a magnificent happening VIBRATION. I overheard one lady say to her friend outside a ‘nice’ shop, “this is a lot like Port Douglas isn’t it?” and I shot an amused look to hubbie with the word “cujes?” (‘you hear that?’) It’s my favourite thing ever that we can use our respective native tongues with each other and no one ever knows a thing.

And at this nice shop, I randomly accidentally came across this gorgeous long summery turquoise gypsy-print dress, and I tried it on and IT LOOKED GOOD, which is amazing because you know how a lot of those gypsy dresses just look like sacks? Well this didn’t. So I bought the non-sack.

And it was the loveliest start to the day that stretched to midday, and I was just like this. 😁😁😁

Just like this 😁😁😁🤣🤣

#2091 400%

OMG, we had the best night out tonight.

No offence to The Royal Hotel which still is ‘one of’ our faves in the area, but there is something special about eating out on Main Street on a Saturday night.

There’s a buzz in the air. People have come from far and wide to congregate and make the most of the weekend with family and friends. It’s brilliant to be in the midst of it.

We finally got to go to 400 Gradi in Mornington, the new kid on the block. They actually opened pre-lockdown, but of course, their timing was unfortunate because we were then closed up for months, with their closest access being their ice cream and coffee servings during the day via their off-shoot store, Zero.

But tonight we got to go! It was all amazing, but the atmosphere was the best of all.

I now want all of our favourite people to come and share a meal with us there… will you come? Let me know when, we’ll meet you there. 😉

#1901 3 beach day

I stood on the sand after 4pm, telling baby girl’s friend’s mum, that it was in fact my third visit to the sea and sand that day.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she teased.

I did in fact, feel bad to say it out loud. 3 beach visits in a day? Gee, sounds stressful!

But it happened rather randomly and unexpectedly, and the way it happened felt like it was MEANT to happen.

Maybe because things have been so shit for some time, the Universe aligned to give me a great, sunshine-y day. 🌞

I had important errands this morning after school drop-off, and after they were done I grabbed an egg and bacon toastie from Banjo’s, a cappuccino from Store Fifteen, and walked on down to the beach.

I’d had an egg and bacon toastie from Banjo’s YONKS ago, and back then it had blown my mind. Well it was pretty delish today, not really any mind-blowing, but that’s because I think I had cheese then, and not today.

Having not had any food since waking up, that brekkie on the beach was the best thing ever. I made friends with the seagulls, squinted into the sun, and watched a sea plane land in the water! It was incredible.

Then my sister and parents visited after lunch, with the sole purpose being, ‘a beach visit.’

So, again. First it had been Mothers.

This time, Mills.

I really loved that my parents seemed to enjoy it. Sis enjoyed it of course, for sure, she loves the water as I do. She dipped her feet into the mild waters, and Dad even did a light jog alongside the water, which we were rapt to see.

I went to pick up baby girl from school hours later, looking forward to a chill afternoon. The last few days had been pretty busy.

But she and her friend had another plan in mind.

They wanted a beach playdate!

And so we found ourselves at Mills again, 30 minutes later. 🤦‍♀️

The water was colder, and the tide had come in so much, it actually blew my mind how short the span of sand now was. But us Mums sat and talked, the girls wade through the waters looking for so-called pearls, they made sandcastles, and we saw what we were pretty sure were dolphins, far off in the waters, spraying up water! Unbelievable.

3 beach visits. I know I’ve had 2 in a day before, but this is taking the cake, AND for the last day of April, in Autumn… just wow.

And it may seem overly boastful, or excessive… but trust me, with the way things have gone since last year, I need about 54 beach visits in a day to make up for all the hard times that have transpired.

But 3 is good for now. I’ll raincheck the rest. 😉

But now, I AM BUGGERED. Think I’ll stay home and do lots of washing tomorrow… 😂

#1866 Peninsula sunset no. 10

As long as we have a view, I will keep taking these photos:

I mean, who knows where we might be 10 years from now… still in this home, or maybe another? I don’t know. I have no plans to move, but often in life things happen that we never would have expected.

I don’t try to assume to know, or plan for too much anymore. Because LIFE.

I captured this sky tonight, and I just loved the beams of sun rays bursting through the clouds, creating a beautiful glistening outline from each puff of white up there.

Just beautiful. I can’t get enough.