A good cup of tea is what I am needing each day as now I have just one day until we fly away! The last month has disappeared so fast with parties, travel, coffee and tea with friends, drinks and dinners. Last week I enjoyed more yoga classes than usual which helped me get myself organised about the move. There has been so much to do and the house is taking shape with stuff to be shipped, stuff to be donated/given away and luggage packed for the next 5 months until our stuff is shipped from SF. Whew, it has been quite a trek and the kitchen was organised by my hubby the other day when he said we need to minimise the number of bowls to useful items which I have to agree. My friend has the Vitamix and another friend has my food processor so it looks like I will be researching the Thermomix when I get back to Oz, my sister in law has one so I will be taking notes.
As we did not want to get stuff for Christmas we enjoyed our last family experience at Montalvo Arts Centre to see Bruce Munro Stories in Light. I really loved it though it was a bit chilly in the evening being there for the 7pm showing. It is a self-guided tour of the grounds with so many beautiful installations providing many photo opportunities. The scale of some of the pieces is breathtaking especially Reepicheep’s Wave. I am quite a fan of all the pieces and one of my faves was definitely Gathering of the Clans inspired by the artists time in Sydney with Hills Hoists and fluorescent acrylic pegs and the recordings of cockatoos.
It has been a low key couple of days but I have needed it to research my next essay for school for Teaching Science and Technology. It is a bit tough trying to find the headspace to study with everything else going on but I will get there as the essay is due January 14. I should have my draft done and maybe I will work on the 15-hour direct plane trip to Melbourne, I have a couple of knitting projects to do and have packed 3 bags so far – I hope it all fits in the car! Here’s to our new adventures back home in Melbourne 😀
What a week it has been, there has been so much happening and it is only the first week of December. I have ridden the emotional rollercoaster of saying goodbye to the friends I have met here. Thinking about my time here when I knew no one at the beginning of our time here to now where I have had celebrations from Saturday with friends. To saying farewell to a week of many lasts – I did my last sewing workshop at the local library to the hardest being my last class of teaching sewing to the kiddos at our amazing school community. The picture above is artwork gifted to me from a friend in my dance class saying we are just a straight line away!Â
Last week I did a tote bag workshop at the library with my friend G who will be taking over the class from me. I am so happy to have her taking over as she is so creative and will have some fabulous projects in the future. We also did the felt ornaments workshop last Monday and that was a fun one with all of these beautiful ornaments the library community made.Â
It was so hard to keep it together for my final Arts Focus class yesterday as I have been involved with the program for the 9 years we have been at our school. It is such an incredible program run by parent volunteers who teach different classes of 27 Kinder to 5th-grade kids. I feel this program is what motivated me to start my teaching degree which I totally love. Our community project of the quilt is super cool and the kids are given the opportunity to buy it at the silent auction. The LED cuff in the centre was made by a Kinder with thanks to a new teacher and volunteer who helped make it happen. Yesterday with the last class I made a video of the pipe cleaner dolls with a cool projector and tablet straight to the massive LCD TV in the classroom so the kids could see what was happening – I just love the technology. It works so well as I am about to hand in two video resources for my assignment that I made for the Australian Curriculum for digital technology and design and technology for the subject Teaching Science and Technology. I am always amazed at what the kids make and how creative they are, with this experience I have a feeling that this is something that I will want to do once I graduate.Â
I also said goodbye to my friends at Top Hair and Nail – a sanctuary where I go to for some pampering and relaxation. Here is my cool hairdresser Toy and there I am out with my new do at a bar on Thursday night celebrating our first session of Arts Focus for the school year and my final session for Arts Focus, so sad but I am also happy for the kids who had sewing with me and how much fun we had together.Â
The bittersweet emotion that is manifesting from the move home to Australia is intense but I feel that we are connected to each other by our little machines and we can always see what we are all up to. My good friend in Melbourne mentioned that I will keep in touch with my peeps even though we will be so far away and with some luck, we will have visitors coming to Melbourne to say hello! I have been crying so much and feel a deep love for the community I have built here and saying farewell is way better than saying goodbye. I have received so many beautiful comments from my friends here and it will be strange not to be living in the Valley but now it is time to write a new chapter of our life with our family.Â
What does this yellow bench represent? Well, the remodel of our yellow and blue house in Melbourne. It is getting there as we spoke to our architect and the structural engineer is working on the plans and then tendering for a builder will happen in February and here’s to a smooth transition to build phase and the building can start in March/April. For now, the interior scheme is wonderful with a garden that reflects our being with fluffy native grasses and an entertainment area. So with all that planning underway I will wait patiently and be ready for the next phase of the building – yippee!
But first, the big move to Australia and a rental property for the next 12 months, then get the kids settled into the school (which I am sure they will love) and for me studying in the background and recreating a network. It is quite overwhelming but I am breaking the to do list down and this weekend I need to start packing for the summer and the next 4 months until our stuff arrives. Currently, the Melbourne weather is 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees F), its gonna be hot – I cannot forget the swimsuit!!Â
poppypeach 