Sunday morning prose

How I valued:

• Sparkling sharing of travel stories that danced across the globe – finding Dingle gin in Dingle, Ireland; ancestral research in Cork; finding Jan in Nice with pap on the menu; Balinese street food and the sublime balance of sweet black coffee and aromatics; the surprise of Milan; perfect pizzas in Nieu Bethesda; the joy of a daily flat white in Wellington while minding James; an accident in Germany; yet another French chateau; a doggy road trip in winter to the Cape; the delight of Gaudi in Barcelona….
• As always our minds love planning where next - an exciting declaration to take in la Perle by Dragond in Dubai at some point over the next few years; maybe a river cruise in Europe; could even pop across to visit Petra in Jordan;  Thailand beckoning soon for the Twomey's…
• A perfect highveld summer evening – residual heat from the day slowly abating; the pretty pink evening sky; a piet-my-vrou calling; candles dancing in the pool and candles making shadows on the veranda; the braai fire smoke and baking bread mixing and tantalizing our senses; the heady fragrance of star jasmine…
• A round table set with mindfulness and creativity – a basket of artichokes; sparkling green glassware and icy crystal bowls; eclectic Wonkyware…
• Inspiration from the Shared Economy - numbers 1-9 from the Enneagram inspiring a new business venture from the Twomey home, sharing knowledge and experience; 175 bed nights in the Kersten's spaces in Toti and Cape Town been shared this year with people from all over the world; the numbers are staggering on a  vast property vision on the brink of been shared with the world....
• Neville’s gin setting – a choice from around the world, with lemon or orange, I am now excited to explore the botanicals and stories of South African gin…
• Rosella’s masterclass of bread making – kneading; shaping; creating flavour with thyme; baking with stream; a well of oozy, decadent camembert; a hint of chilli in the salmon mousse; such fresh crusty, delicious bread; Nikki’s proclamation of ‘I am happy’ was a voice for all….
• The generosity of slipping in a pasta course while the braai smells drifted over – stuffed parcels of happiness with an unpronounceable Italian name washed down with a crispy white or a tasty red…
• The nibbling of salty lamb fat straight from Neville's hot coals, sucking the roasted artichokes hearts, picking up the hint of bay leaf on the meatballs, the fennel and orange just made for each other…
• Banting for the last course - the decadence of berries, cream and an almond chocolate desert...
• Our conversation dancing around our passions - books to read, note to self Origin by Dan Brown a recommendation from Geoff; movies and series that we enjoy; hugging cats and dogs; cuddling gorgeous grandchildren; Fred building Herb Cottage; continually getting lighter in the world...

How I value friendship....

The Yoga Shala Alphabet

The Yoga Shala, Blooming Lotus Yoga, Ubud, Bali

Aum, Breathing, Circle, Downward Dog, Energy, Friendship, Ganesh, Heat, Incense, Jungle, Kind, Lycra, Meditation, Nidra, Ouch, Poses, Quiet, Restless, Savasana, Teaching, Uijayi, Volcano, Wellness,  Xtreme, Yoga,  Zeds.

The Banyan Tree

The roots of an old banyan tree.

Banyan trees and my thoughts go to my old childhood favorites, Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, Kaa and menacing Shere Khan.

And here I am, in Bali, craning my neck looking out for any number of birds that feed on the fruit of the Banyan. It is a life blood for wild life in the forests around the world.

Their size is remarkable given that life for a Banyan starts as a seed as small as a grain of sand! And they can life for many hundreds of years.

I have been most amused with the trees wearing 'sarongs' using the ubiquitous black and white check fabric or yellow. What I did not know is that the Banyan is a sacred tree for Balinese people and used for ceremonies and rituals, so the Balinese dress the trunks.

The tree even features in the Coat of Arms of Indonesia.

I see them with new eyes.

Some thoughts about Bali

I:

• am missing my photographer to capture the exotic culture of Bali and the secret pleasure of its birds.
• appreciate getting closer to all things Balinese.
• learn each day from my generous birding guide Bayu Hendra, he has certainly opened my eyes to all things Sunda.
• see ceremonies at the heart of living life here in Bali.
• have forgotten how punishing a full day of birding can be, but...
• love to bird and be in nature.
• ate dragonfruit.
• so enjoy doing my bird 'admin', listing and recording is part of my daily routine, this was the view today sitting with a pot of ginger tea and reflecting on an epic day in the field.

  

  A perfect spot for listing.

• am been woken by the 4.50am call to prayer and kept awake by traditional music, and how I dislike noisy bar fridges in hotel rooms.
• smile at the variety of headgear worn by the men.
• frown that everyone smokes.
• birded in the peaceful grounds of the Patu Karu temple.
• am intrigued by the notion of home as a temple and how literal this is here in Bali.
• so enjoyed the rice paddies of Jatiluwih.
• put aside my anxiety about Mount Agung.
• added 100 new birds to my world list.
• had dinner for one on the beach watching the full moon rise over the Java Sea.
• noticed how I do not have the courage to swim and snorkel here at Taman Sari Resort, but the evening swim in the private pool for the Studios was rather pleasant.
• find seeing the swastika, representing the wheel of the sun in Balinese Hinduism, jarring.
• am eating chicken three times a day and did not know that was possible.
• tasted something most unusual, avocado as a dessert served with chocolate condensed milk.
• did not expect the dominance of concrete in the cultural artifacts.
• see thousands of motorcycles and see children on motorcycles.
• rather like the colorful soft-top VW's on the island.
• like the mid morning ground coffee break, which is sweet and black and from a sachet, then having ginger tea with lunch.
• am down-heartened at the close up view of back-breaking work and poverty.
  
• wonder when the black and white checked fabric became the choice for statue dressing. 
• have lost count of the number of yellow, or white, or checked umbrellas in the temples, some new but most are tattered and torn.
• see women sweeping bare ground.
• am dismayed that the culture of caged birds in Bali, which started as a sign of status and wealth, now causes poaching and species decline. 
• have yet to find pristine anything.
• did not take to the long-tailed macaques, they line the roads, strategically placed in the shade, and beg for hand-outs. The Ebony Leaf Monkeys had more dignity, getting on with life in the Bali Barat National Park.
• did however experience the Christian communities of Blimbingsari and Palasari as peaceful, with lovely gardens and their links to the Dutch taking control of Bali in 1908 is fascinating.
• am in awe of the huge ficus trees and the bamboo forest of the Bali Botanical Garden.
• was impressed with the caldera in the centre of Bali with its misty lakes and vegetable farms.
• see offerings, remnants of offerings, offerings as a business, offerings as trash, and as a welcome to my room today with fruit.
• have a favorite meal to date, Chicken Satay at the Harris Hotel.
  
• see hints of what we call "Bali-style" back home. 
• think laundry skills are excellent here, white is whiter than white and worn by all. Apart from yellow.
• notice the inside outside way of life along the roads we have travelled.
• witnessed a personal blessing along the busy road.
• notice the beauty of flowers.
• walked the Pemuteran black beach at sunrise and watched the start of day routine for the resort staff.
• look forward to Sharon, Natalie and Bev arriving, but before then I am swelling my world bird list and so delighted to be doing so.

Another first, delicious tof

MPH: miles per hour or a Malagasy Pond Heron

Our first view of the Malagasy Pond Heron at Mziki Shareblock, Phinda Game Reserve, Kwa-Zulu Natal

We certainly clocked up the miles yesterday with a 1am wake-up call to drive up the Kwa-Zulu Natal North coast to get to a planned game drive for a twitch at Phinda Game Reserve, a 650km round trip.

Our target, a Malagasy Pond Heron, a bird of Madagascar and globally endangered.

Odd sightings have been unsubstantiated in South Africa, so a lone non-breeding adult, which has been showing consistently for a month, seemed like a great opportunity to expose my sister Doreen to the craziness of a twitch.

Mugs of coffee and Doreen's home-baked muffins kept us going through the early hours of the morning and we arrived early at the Phinda gate.

We had many nervous hours waiting for the game drive, which instead of leaving at 6.30am only got going after 10am. The team at the Lodge had not been informed of the booking and all the guides and vehicles were in use.

While waiting for our guide Brendan, we got to sample the restful Phinda Mountain Lodge, taking in the scenery over breakfast on a perfect, warm, Natal winter morning. A quite lovely distraction and also a reminder of our visit to Forest Lodge 21 years ago when we met Bri and Di Dawes on a game drive!

The search for the Heron got serious as soon as we arrived at the dam at the Mziki Shareblock, stop, scan, stop, scan...one full loop with no sign of the bird among all the usual suspects. Another loop of the dam, stop, scan, repeat; the morning sun beating down, bleaching out the colour and creating a haze.

Brendan from &Beyond was getting ready for a third loop when he spotted the MPH standing on a hippo! We could not believe our eyes, after looking through, around and in the grass it was out in the open.

Fred's great photos show a bird happily feeding and preening. Excitement and relief all at once, a successful twitch!
Onward to 800.....

Malagasy Pond Heron

Winter joy in Wellington

Joy comes with a little man called James

Gratitude for:

Crawling on the floor and seeing the world with a nine month old,

The slow and gentle settling process with James and the team at Daisies,

Reading the New Zealand iconic children book, “The Little Yellow Digger”,

A morning at the Wellington Zoo, James noticing the size of a giraffe, and I, completely taken with the Red Pandas,
Playing with James in the park, a swing and a slide and a huge smile,

The ritual of Saturday morning brunches,

The daily flat white,

Calls to Fred,

Getting to grips with the modern nappy and of course James’ poonami moments,

Nipping into the CBD with Craig to see the final night of the Lux Light Festival, we loved the ‘cats’ on walkabout,

Making Johnsville my ‘hood walk while waiting for James,

Watching the pleasure of a crispy baguette in a baby’s mouth and the memory of Shawni and Barry in France,

A baby’s smile,
Noticing my aging hand holding a baby's hand,

Crying to leave a baby,

Snuggling down with the Dominion Post Puzzles page,

Arriving in time for James’ Plunket visit and weigh in, not quite 10kg at that point,

Reaquainting with a knowing aware baby,
Working hard to get a giggle,

Finding new bowls to enjoy our evening ice cream treats,

Genuis, Versailles and the new Masterchef, three of us under a blanket with tea and chocolate,

Having the table set and an evening meal ready for the family,

Thoughtful welcome to Ngaio gifts, looking forward to reading the award winning ‘The Wish Child’ by New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey,

Dipping into magazines,
Meeting Shawni for lunch in town,

Watching a New York photographer at work using a World of Wearable art costume made of glass and plastic,

Feeding a baby who enjoys his food, mostly,

Peeping into Shawni’s routine and joining her at Space, a playgroup in Tawa,

Shawni’s date scones with her antenatal group,

A quiet moment together while he drinks his bottle,

A walk among the vines of Martinborough and a quite perfect sharing platter at Poppies,

Excitement of a new tooth,

James wearing his new trendy clothes that Nan and Pops bought,

Getting through winter’s a ‘little of this and a little of that’,

An electric blanket,

Prepping compotes for the deep freeze,

Buying yummy Fig and Fogg peanut butter,

Shawni’s readiness to re-enter the world of work,

Perfection of a sleeping baby,

Family walk along the Kapiti Coast on a fine day.

A baby’s laugh,

A good baby through teething and getting croup,

Crisp blue winter days of walking the Petone Esplanade and Oriental Bay,

Visits to the Toy Library in Khandallah,

Watching James learn to crawl, pull himself up and travelling along surfaces with so much purpose and energy,

Mother Day gift from Craig, lunch with Shawni at The Salty Pigeon and a return for breakfast pides,

Shopping for gifting, a fitbit for Fred, a cycling jersey for Barry, for Circle and Quilting,

Finishing the alpaca wool hoodie for James,

Putting a tired James down for his morning nap and starting my day,

Joining the World Wide Knit in Public Day at the Wellington Library,

Singing along with mom’s and tot’s at the Wellington Library ‘Rock and Rhyme’,

Organising the plastic drawer for the kitchen,

Parcels arriving from Australia from Nicky for the quilting gang,

Popping into the Settlers Museum and to a fibre artist at The Dowse,

Seeing James love being in the swimming pool during his lessons with Craig,

Impressed with the viewing of the New Zealand documentary called Meat at the Lighthouse in Petone,

Invitations to walk with Christine and have a flat white en route,

Leaning in to lift James up and his responsiveness,

Dedicated and spacious time with my grandchild

A Door with Attitude

Bobby said he had a door for us and described it as 'a door with attitude'.

We were spending a weekend with friends in Wakkerstroom and out on our morning walk I was wondering out loud to Geoff whether he knew where we could look for old doors with character. So he took as to meet Bobby, a Wakkerstroom local. What a treat, to meet a craftsman with a real passion for woodwork, an eclectic style, a story to tell, a huge barn full of equipment and a treasure trove of salvaged items.

We had found our door on a farm in Wakkerstroom! Bobby scavenged for old handles for the door and even passed a horseshoe onto me. We signed the deal over a quick glass of crispy white wine with a remarkable view across the mountains around town and Geoff kindly offered to transport the door to Johannesburg.

One of our garden plans was to create a focal point around a door with an arch of ivy. Fred loved setting it up this weekend and the door looks like its been in the garden for years.

Our door with attitude!

Next step is to train the ivy and create a natural arch.

The Vintage Empisal Knitting Machine

My Vintage Empisal Knitting Machine and the rompers I knitted 30 years ago.

This metal box made by my handy grandfather, in its bubble wrap, has been tucked away at the top of my cupboard for many decades. I was sorting through paperwork this week to declutter and found the original Patternbook, which of course triggered the memory of this single-bed knitting machine.

It was time to appreciate its story and to decide its new fate.

For the last 3 years or so I have had a daily practice to organise, streamline and simplify my homes. I regift, I donate, I share, I pass on, I move things between my spaces and I simply chuck. It has truly been mountains of stuff. A quiet pleasure has come with this discipline. In focusing on all that surrounds me, I pay attention, I use and enjoy what I have and with this comes appreciation. And the hidden benefit of knowing where everything is.

The Empisal Knitting Machine belonged to my Nan during the late 50's or early 60's. She and my mother were prodigious knitters, using both their machines, as well as hand-knitting. My grandfather custom-made a table for the machine and I can still hear the sound of the handheld carriage whipping across the metal knitting needles. I inherited the Empisal and also used it for a while. I have kept one of my knitted items, a pair of rompers that I made for Shawni as a baby, so I took it out to look at, maybe I will have a little granddaughter one day and it can be worn again. In the meantime it is in my kist.

The Empisal story is nostalgic to me. Rather than dump the machine or try sell it, I researched Community Knitting Groups and came across St. Martins-in-the-Veld in Dunkeld. They have an active knitting and crocheting group who make items for the needy, especially for babies in the government hospitals here in Johannesburg.

How I value this practice of mine, my Empisal has a new life and purpose again! And now I move onto all the keys we have, who knows which doors or cars they open, time to find out.

‘Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony’. 

Thomas Merton.