belated blackstump stories - or why never to travel in convoy!

This is going to be more about the journey than the arrival, ok? Cos we know know that's what really matters.. [or so some would have us think!]

We planned to set off at 10am on the Friday, meeting at Burrabadine around 9:30 to pack the cars. Actually, the first hitch of the weekend was hearing the night before that the bus we were planning on taking had a cracked head, so we couldn't take it. So a bunch of people had to bring cars instead.
It was nearly 10 before my gang even got out to Burrabadine. We had all been up early and were pretty much ready to go.. when Dad decided to change the oil and mess around with the car for a while. And then we still had to connect up the trailer.
We got to Burrabadine and joined up with the swirling masses there. Bags, swags, tents, pillows, boxes of food and goodness knows what were going everywhere! I ended up just standing back and watching. They'd get packed in one trailer just to get moved to the boot of a car.. and then out again. It was beyond me! In the end we were ready to head.
But wait! A petrol stop in Dubbo before we could actually get away. I think by then it was 11:30, try 11:45 by the time we actually left town.

First stop: Wellington, to pick up a camper. (only 40mins on, arghh!)
Then a toilet stop in Orange.
Then lunch and another camper pickup in Bathurst.
Then fears that one of the cars wouldn't make it. And another stop.

Going through the Blue Mountains, the convoy got totally separated. First there was the fog, then.. I'm not sure, couldn't see!

What I do know is that our car beat everyone else there, arriving at 6pm that night (so much for arriving and setting up tents in daylight!). And it was raining.
The other thing I know is that the last car didn't arrive until after 9... the poor things went all the way into Sydney and back!!

Blackstump was fun. Wet, muddy, pizza-filled, coffee-sozzled, but fun. There was even a few bands I liked. ooh, and a big impromptu singalong on the final night - where more & more people trickled in and joined the rowdy balladeers in the Supper Club tent into the wee small hours. Too bad we couldn't remember all the words to most of the songs!

The trip out from BS was also eventful. We rolled up our soggy tents, mats and clothes, and set off together, deciding to give this convoy-thing another go.
We'd just got on the road when something popped in one of the cars, so, determined not to be separated, all (7?) of the cars pulled over to check it out. Water topped up, we were off again.

The rest of the trip is a blur of phones ringing, stops because we thought cars were breaking down (well, one car), more phones ringing, people-swapping, dozing, m&m eating, more phones ringing "we're getting petrol" "we need a toilet break" "are we stopping for food here?"... you get the idea.

We finally got to Dubbo, and then straight out to the place where we planned to camp for the next two nights. Tired, hungry and a bit grumpy, we set up tents (in the dark again - getting to be old hands at it by now).
Finally, at 10pm, we had dinner (God bless the lovely lady who cooked it for us!) So. good.

There was a bit more camping, swimming in the river, catching mussels, spooky wide game-playing (ask me about the Terrors and Crawlers another time. Oh, and hefty guys acting the Princess!!), campfire marshies, songs and stories. It was great.

So there you go then. The epic Stump camp adventure.

Heavy with Wonder

Some reflections from the jewish theologian/poet/mystic/historian Abraham Heschel:

Heavy with Wonder

"To become aware of the ineffable is to part company with words.. The tangent to the curve of human experience lies beyond the limits of language. The world of things we perceive is but a veil. Its flutter is music, its ornament science, but what it contains is inscrutable. Its silence remains unbroken; no words can carry it away.
Sometimes we wish the world would cry and tell us about that which made it pregnant with fear-filling grandeur.
Sometimes we wish our own heart would speak of that which made it heavy with wonder."

Like a Bell

"Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart. Audacious longing, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind - these are all a drive towards serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell. It is as if He were waiting to enter our empty, perishing lives."


[I asked for Wonder, A Spiritual Anthology - Abraham Joshua Heschel. Edited by Samuel H. Dresner]

Why you should go for a Walk

You should go for a walk because:

-you might find a mulberry tree, or other fruit tree to surreptitiously sneak a sample from (yes, it's at the top of my list)

-you might find a cool leaf or feather

-you might find a damp drainpipe to sing songs in

-you might find a big group of people playing cricket on an oval, sausages spitting on a barbie, onlookers wisely huddled in the scrawny eucalyptus shade

-you could be blown about on top of a hill

-you could swing on swings in a park

-the musty murky bits could get cleared out of your mind

-you could find an amazing variety of bits of broken glass, cans, and faded chip or lolly wrappers

-you could have a secret little dance, all to yourself (oh wait, it's meant to be a walk!)

-you could get rained/hailed/rainbowed/shone/spat upon (don't worry, that particular one hasn't happened to me yet)


all this could be yours, AND MORE!

That's the thing - you never know...

ps - and there's that little thing called exercise, but that's not as interesting in itself as all of the above.

Luscious Lemon Butter

For any who are not acquainted with the goodness that is lemon butter (also known as lemon curd), it is a deliciously tangy but creamy concoction which can be used as a spread a bit like jam (or eaten by the spoonful straight out of the jar, if your self control is of a similar level to my own).

I made a double batch a week or so ago with some homegrown lemons, and thought I would share the recipe here. It's a morphing of my Grandmother's & another friend's, so thank you to
them!

Lemon Butter

4 eggs
1 cup lemon juice (fresh!!)
zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups white sugar
125g butter

Whisk first 4 ingredients together, add chopped butter, place in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, and keep stirring until it thickens (this will take a little while).
Ladle into sterilised jars, and away you go! (It will thicken a bit more when it's cooled).

It will keep for a month or so in the fridge (maybe more).

yum :)

View from lunch

It's nothing more than the happiness of sunshine and sparkling clothes. Feels caught somewhere close between spring and summer.