I cannot fault where we live for a minute. The view, day or night, is amazing and we are very happy in our little home. But there are some downsides to renting. Spending more time at home this year than anyone could have predicted, there are so many little projects that I would LOVE to fix up, if it was out own place.
Put in some proper curtains, remove this tacky “poem” from the splash back and replace this shower screen…I don’t even know how or why anyone would put a gap this big?!?!
But despite renting, we have been lucky enough to embark on one ‘homey’ project and that is have a veggie garden. It’s not at our house but it isn’t far away and we’ve loved the opportunity to learn about the garden and grow a variety of vegetables.
The Gianatti Garden – A History
Nonna and Nonno Gianatti, from Montagna in the north of Italy, were married in Perth 1948 and quickly established their market garden, which would become their livelihood for the next two decades.
Now days, the garden might only be tiny fraction of what it once was but it is still the biggest and most stunning veggie garden I’ve ever seen. For Uncle and Father In-Law Gianatti it has been a life-long family legacy and it is inspiring to see how much love they have put into it over the years. And now its our turn.
The Gianatti Garden – 2020
When we decided to take on a little bit of dirt earlier this year, we thought we’d be putting in a few plants here and there to tend to on occasion. But this is an Italian family and an Italian garden where the motto is ‘why only plant 1 when you can plant 10….or indeed 100!’
So we started with preparing our area. Turing the soil, understanding how all of the weeds we dug up and the remains of past crops get mixed back in and help to keep the soil so rich. Apart from a few sprinklings of fertilizer to give the seedlings a boost the garden is pretty natural.
From there it was time to plant the onions, garlic, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, cabbages, beets, carrots, zucchinis, broad beans, spring onions, leeks, lettuce and corn….so far anyway!
Working in the garden has taught us a lot. Some things grew well, like broad beans. Some things have struggled this year like the cauliflowers which we lost to either creatures or disease. And some things grew without any help from us whatsoever, self-sewn broccoli and pumpkins have been incredible.
It has also taught us just a little bit about what it must’ve been like in the old days. Who knew so much effort went into producing just one cauliflower!!!
Its be great to see the garden change with the seasons and to watch our little sprouts grow and grow, while we tend to them with our little hand tools and with Nonna’s favourite rake.
To be honest, for a while there we were having such a good time growing the veggies I forgot that we might actually get to eat them! Every weekend now we are lucky enough to harvest something delicious and fresh and its true, your own veggies do taste better!
The only down side, if you can call it that, is that planting en masse means that everything is ready at once. Nothing like being forced to be super creative with endless cabbage!
The only thing that is better than eating your own veggies is being able to share them with others!
After an unforgettable experience at Coral Bay it was time to head in the direction of home, but not without stopping at Kalbarri for a few more awesome days.
Kalbarri is about 600kms from Perth and situated at the mouth of the Murchison River
In stark contrast to the perfectly calm waters of Monkey Mia and Coral Bay, Kalbarri was all about experiencing the power of the ocean as it rolled in and crashed against the cliffs. Renowned for its cliff top walking trails we covered the sections between Natural Bridge and Island Rock and yep, spotted more whales! Not as close as the encounters as we had before, but now that we were skilled in knowing what to look for (the spout spray, the slap of a fin) they were easy to spot as they made their way down the coast.
The Mushroom Rock Nature Trail to Red Bluff Lookout, took us down from the cliff tops and onto the rocks at sea level which would not be the best place to be on a high tide! So we headed for calmer waters. Where the ocean meets the estuary was the perfect place to try our hands at some river fishing. Little dingy, sandwiches on board, some music on the speakers! As we cruised up the river, fish were jumping and we spotted many pelicans, swans even an egret. We caught a couple of fish but they were still very small, so off the hook they went and back into the water to live on.
The cliffs of Kalbarri are certainly well known but perhaps the area’s most famous attraction is the National Park. Covering an area of 186,000 hectares, the inland river gorges make for an excellent hike! Along the rugged terrain of the rocks on the ridge, down to the sandy banks, it really felt completely secluded. Especially after a few ‘cooyees!’ with the echo off the gorge walls the only sound. A quick photo op at Nature’s Window and it was time to see the National Park from a slightly different angle! If you enjoy the feeling of seeing a 100m drop below your feet then the Skywalk is for you.
All of our hiking and outdoors activities earned us our evening nibbles and wine, catching the last of the setting sun overlooking the ocean on our last stop of our expedition of the Coral Coast. Then it was homeward bound and back to Olive, who was quite busy while we were away by the looks of things! #Supermeowdal
After an amazing few days in Monkey Mia we headed further north to Coral Bay for the real purpose of our trip…to see a whale shark! A long 600km drive, only half as far as the crow flies, as the shape of the peninsula forces you to drive south before turning around again and heading the other way!
The Ningaloo Marine Park is a world heritage listed site. With the reef spanning 260 kms, it is home to turtles, manta rays, over 500 species of tropical fish, humpback whales of course the elusive whale shark. Ningaloo is the only place on the planet where these underwater giants visit in such large numbers and (lucky for us) on such a reliable schedule. In my experience, it was not only beautiful but it felt about as wild and untamed a place as I could imagine.
We started out with a very early start, driving two hours even further north from Coral Bay to Exmouth, watching the sun rise over quite a vast and desolate looking landscape. It was a fairly quiet drive, I think Jordan and I were both trying not to get our hopes up too much just in case we didn’t see what we hoped to see on our boat trip that day. So while we both worked hard on coming up with our contingency plans like camping extra nights to get another opportunity, just in case, little did we know what the Ninglaoo had in store for us.
Our first snorkel inside the reef revealed amazing coral and loads of fish under what can only be described as crystal clear blue water. We even glimpsed a sea turtle before the flurry of excited snorkler fins scared him off. After learning that the boat trip the day before hadn’t been lucky enough to see a whale shark, we were surprised when we barely had enough time to get back in the boat before we were heading at full speed outside the safe confines of the reef and into the deep blue in pursuit of a spotty mate.
The spotter planes overhead, the boat in position, the tension high. This was nature and unpredictable but despite the franticness of the situation our crew at Ningaloo Blue ran quite a slick operation. The adrenalin started to kick in though as they lined us up on the duckboard at the back of the boat, eagerly awaiting the go ahead from the skipper to jump in. What happened next to be honest is a bit of a blur. A group of swimmers in I don’t even want to think about how much water, frantically listening to the instructions of our crew before we got to cue to look down…..I’m looking, it’s blue, it’s dark and then, there it is! This whale shark just appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Its big wide mouth, its enormous body, coming at what felt like straight at me. It was enough to make me let out a little scream, of half terror, half surprise and a dash of wonderment. But there was barely a few seconds to stare in awe because it was time to swim! Even though this thing was moving so effortlessly the speed was incredible as we scrambled to keep up and try to keep an eye on it for as long as possible. But in the end all we could see was its tail darting back and forth before it vanished once again from visibility.
That just left us bobbing in the ocean….pretty pumped up but also acutely aware that if that whale shark was underneath us just a second ago, what else might be there! That boat really couldn’t arrive soon enough.
Only 1 in every 3 million people in this world will swim with a whale shark in their lifetime (fact checked) and we beat the odds as we got to swim with this thing 3 times! As if that wasn’t enough, cruising around atop the boat all day enjoying the sunshine was the perfect spot for some whale watching. Seeing one humpback would’ve been exciting but by the end of the day we’d seen so many we couldn’t keep count. Some far away, spouting water in the air. Some nice and close, rolling on their sides and slapping their fins, and one eager beaver (or whale…) who decided to breach near the boat.
What was too much to think about at the time, and wasn’t until later that it started to sink in, was how insignificant we really are when you compare us to these massive, ancient and wonderous ocean creatures. The whale shark was of course awesome, but there was something about watching the humpback whale ‘playing’ that was mesmerizing and really drew my attention to how much nature we miss out on in our daily lives, and how much we really need to protect it.
But not enough time to get philosophical, as our whale watching was interrupted by shouts of “shark!” as a hammerhead swam alongside the boat. You think that swim by would’ve been the most disconcerting thing to see all day…until the orcas! At first it was amazing, seeing a couple of pods of orcas in front of the boat, their distinctive curled dorsal fins and bright white underbelly as they carved through the waves. But these things are called killer whales for a reason and to see them in the wild, they are actually quite menacing. Especially when you realise the reason they like hanging around Exmouth so much is the abundance of humpbacks….and their calves. To be blunt, we were witnessing a hunt and I am eternally grateful that we had to press on and our boat wasn’t around to witness what came next, even though the details were relayed to our skipper and then to us from other boats out at the time.
Unlike the feared great whites, these orcas will hunt for fun, and I was quite glad to go back inside the safety of the reef after that. Told you it was the wild! But really what a day!
Our second experience of Ningaloo was a little less intense but no less amazing in terms of appreciating the beauty of nature. Heading underwater this time, we scuba’d with all sorts of fish, reef sharks and another, more relaxed this time, sea turtle who was happy for us to watch him going about his business. We did some more whale watching, humpbacks again and a minke whale this time, as well as two playful dugongs, just to tick another couple of species off the list. The best part of the day though was the snorkel with the mantas. After the franticness of the whale shark experience, it was nice to be able to spend some quality time swimming above and alongside these huge rays, who are so graceful they look as if they are flying underwater. What we were witnessing was a mating chain as the two smaller males were following the larger female as she barrel rolled and darted in different directions. The milk fish accompanying them swimming below their large “wings”.
After another day on the reef, there was so much to talk about with our fellow divers at the Coral Bay pub later, bare foot and sandy….a more relaxed place might be difficult to find! We really couldn’t have asked for more from mother nature during our time at Ningaloo.
But then it was time to head in the direction of home, but not without another stop….more to come.
After COVID cancelling our travels back in March, we were very happy (and we know we were extremely lucky!) when two weeks ago we hit the road to see some of WA. I’ve been in Perth for 18 months and until very recently the furthest north I’d ventured was about 2 hours passed the city…I can certainly say there is a lot to see…in a 4000km round trip!
We traveled up the Coral Coast, stopping overnight in Geraldton, before spending a few days in the calm waters of Monkey Mia, getting up close and personal with more sea creatures that we could ever have imagined in Coral Bay and Exmouth and doing some amazing hikes over the cliffs and through the gorges of Kalbarri.
Not to mention quite a few long stretches of driving in between. Although there was not much to note on the drive, it was actually the “nothing” in itself that made the journey so interesting. On the lengthy drives I learnt quite a few things:
Caravans would be a pain to pull but are more painful to drive behind
Having a thermos full of coffee for the drive each day was one of Jordan’s more brilliant ideas
A ‘road train’ is not just a funny nickname but a perfectly adequate description
And WA is massive!
On the east coast we would’ve crossed many state borders. If we were in Europe we’d have driven through multiple countries! But while we were still within WA the changes in landscape and general vibe of the different regions was so interesting to see.
Perth to Monkey Mia
Once we left the rat race and the city traffic behind, only an hour outside of Perth we were driving alongside big white sand dunes on our right and the roaring blue ocean on our left, passing small towns like Cervantes and Jurien Bay. Entering the Mid-West, the landscape changed to rolling green paddocks before arriving in Geraldton. We weren’t expecting much, Gero gets a pretty bad rap with Perthites, but for a coastal city, with a major port and a great look out at the HMAS Sydney memorial, we were pleasantly surprised. An early morning beach jog set us up for the next stretch to Monkey Mia.
This was when the feeling of being quite remote really started to set in. Big long stretches of open road (and a few Grey Nomads) and counting down the hours and kilometres between tiny road houses. But even though we were a long way from anything much, there was something about that red dirt, scrubby bushes, eagles soaring overhead and glimpses of the ocean that seemed so quintessentially Australian that the remoteness felt very right.
That didn’t mean we weren’t excited to arrive in Monkey Mia, and walk out of our front door onto the white sandy beach. Monkey Mia itself is a National Park and is protected to preserve its most famous attraction, the dolphins! Every morning there is a ‘dolphin experience’ where these amazing creatures come close to the shore to feed. Of course it has become very touristy and we learnt very quickly that once the ‘experience’ ends that’s actually when the real experience begins!
Dolphins, pelicans and other sea birds spend their day cruising up and down the shoreline, while we spent it sunbaking, fishing, stand up paddle boarding and sea kayaking. Surrounded by red cliffs and white sand, the water is absolutely calm and it is the most amazing shade of blue! We were greeted by resident emus in the mornings and enjoyed cooking BBQ dinners, having a beer and watching the stunning sunsets over the water in the evenings.
Knowing that this was my first experience of the real outback WA I was very happy and even more excited to continue our journey north.
Highlight: Having my reading on the beach interrupted by dolphins swimming past in the shallows every morning and afternoon and spending a “winters” day paddling the sea kayak to remote beaches around the red cliffs and hunting for pipis to use for fishing bait.
Lowlight: Despite the success of pipi hunting, catching predominantly seaweed on our fishing attempts! Sharing BBQs with miscreant campers who put sand on the hot plate = sand-wiches for dinner!
It is a rare overcast afternoon here in South Perth and Olive is curled up and keeping warm. The gloominess reflects this week’s news that my old haunt in Brunswick is now a COVID hot spot…It looks like WA visits from friends over east will be a hard NO GO for still some time to come.
But while Lock Down 2.0 begins in Melbourne, I feel exceptionally fortunate that things here really are almost back to how they were BC (before COVID). While life in lockdown has certainly not been all bad, we’ve celebrated our new found freedoms and been making an extra effort to get out and about lately and refamiliarise ourselves with everything Perth has to offer once again.
We were back at the neighbourhood local, the Windsor, at the very first opportunity. While the restrictions have since eased even further, when we visited, trying to establish the new pub etiquette was quite a challenge. It seems so far fetched booking a table for a beer and having to write your name down at the door. The experience half left me asking, if everything has to be so structured and rigid…is it better off to just enjoy a beer at home? Well, we can do that to, but on the bright side at least the restrictions meant no lines to contend with at the bar and to be honest, I’d put up with almost anything at the moment for that sense of relief to be out, wearing something other than active wear or pajamas and for once not having to think about what I was going to cook for dinner. I was well worth the wait.
One of my favourite places in Perth is right on our doorstep and as soon as we could we dropped in on all the zoo creatures, who were up and about and glad to be the centre of attention again. The zoo had not previously been closed for even a day in its 122 year history and I have to praise the live Giraffe Cam that allowed me to check out the Giraffes during the shutdown, usually as we were all tucking in for the night.
Giraffe Cam – Perth Zoo
While South Perth has so much to offer, we’ve also started venturing a little further from home. Last weekend we visited Cervantes. While I’ve been told pitching a tent in the caravan park doesn’t really count as camping, I’m claiming it! I still slept on the floor, it was still a mission to get dressed, find the torch, find some shoes and get out of the tent successfully to find the bathroom at night, and Jordan still cooked a camp breaky, albeit in the back of the Beamer.
Cervantes marks the beginning of the Coral Coast region, which we will be exploring soon, stay tuned for a travel diary and in the meantime read Go West in the Traveller Letters as a taster (shout out to author Helen Newton). Only a two hour drive north for us it really is the perfect weekend get away spot. It’s amazing how you don’t have to travel very far from Perth before it starts to feel remote, like really remote. Sprawling coastline, huge, white sand dunes and a camp spot pretty much on the beach, the lapping of the waves could be heard morning til night. Lunch was at the Lobster Shack and I can recommend the bucket of prawns washed down with a Lobster Lager. But whether you are a seafood fan or not its really the sunshine and the ocean front view that makes this place special. Not bad for a winters day!
Cervantes is also famous for being the gateway to the Pinnacles Desert, featuring thousands of limestone spires that create an amazing contrast as you look out over the red sand and rocks, through the green scrub, to the white sand dunes and then the blue ocean.
From this coming weekend it’s basically all restrictions off here in Perth! Crazy to think of having that freedom when I know Victorians are headed for quite possibly another long stretch of even harsher lockdowns. Not to mention how this may change the landscape of Melbourne all together. My favourite things about the city involved its night time culture, its restaurants, its theatres and of course heading to big sporting events. While these things exist in Perth it really is comparing apples to oranges. Without these things I’m not sure Melbourne would quite feel like the same place. As the realisation that it is going to be a long time before I can visit Melbourne again starts to sink in, I hope that things have recovered by the time I can come to see it. Not for my own sake but for everyone who is still in Melbourne at the moment!
In the meantime, we’ll continue to support WA business and tourism wherever we can, keep thanking our lucky stars that we seem to be coming out the other side of this thing, and keep hoping we can do the same on the other side of the country soon enough. Will see you soon Vic! Hang in there!
As corona lockdown restrictions begin to ease it’s been great to escape our lounge room prison over the last two weekends and head into the great outdoors. Don’t get me wrong, we are extremely lucky to have nature right at our door step and I have definitely been getting out to run and walk along the river as much as I can. Even Olive has spent many afternoons on the balcony or wandering the yard (on her cat lead of course) watching the birds and enjoying the sunshine. It’s just that everybody in Perth has been doing the exact same thing!
A river run on the weekend has become this videogame like challenge where I have to dodge other runners, bikes, tandem bikes (ugh), walkers, prams, kids on scooters, ADULTS on scooters (don’t even get me started), electric skateboards, standard skateboards and more rollerbladers than the 90s. All while attempting to keep my socially acceptable 1.5 metres distance.
So, while I wait for everyone else to have better things to do on their weekends again, I got inspired by The Outdoor Rambler and headed out to a couple of Perth’s National Parks. While we were still by no means the only ones with the same idea, at least there was a bit more space to enjoy ourselves. Perth is of course a coastal city and from one end of the greater Perth metro area to the other is a decent stretch. But you only have to drive about 20 minutes east before you forget the beach is nearby and you hit the bush.
John Forrest National Park is one of Australia’s oldest conservation areas and WA’s first national park proclaimed in November 1900. We stuck to the easy walking trails and spotted some roos, some wrens and a quenda, AKA a bandicoot. I could say, that like many things, west Aussies just like to do things differently to ‘over east’ for the sake of it but according to the Park Ranger, they use the West Australian aboriginal names for fauna rather than using the language of the aboriginals from the other side of the country. So in this case, I guess it was a quenda after all.
Not far from our lunchtime picnic spot we walked to the old Swan View train tunnel and walked the 350m through the darkness toward the light at the other end. Myth has it the tunnel is haunted by the men who lost their lives during construction. I’m pleased I only heard that ‘myth’ AFTER visiting.
Taking on a bit more of a challenge this weekend, we headed to Serpentine National Park for less of a stroll and more of a hike. I was slightly apprehensive trusting Jordan with the navigation, but to his credit we only had to bush bash a couple of times to get back on the right path, and hey, we made it out eventually. The 20km journey took us up fire trails, into the hills, and down some pretty steep, gravelly and slippery terrain (regret wearing runners and not hiking boots and have the grazes to prove it!), before joining on to the Kitty Gorge Trail. This path followed what would’ve been a river to some falls, but unfortunately, it was just rocks. After the rain today though I’m sure those falls are pumping!
As expected in the National Park we spotted lots of roos and unfortunately smelled a few too, and that is all part of nature. But to see one with a bullet hole where its head should have been was quite disappointing. I’m not a fan of hunting to begin with but within a National Park? I mean Big Man with a gun, that’s just plain lazy! But more importantly it’s very wrong. Here’s hoping the rangers can have more success in protecting their wildlife moving forward or that the hunters get a real hobby.
Hit with a ‘once in a decade’ storm this weekend in Perth has put a bit of a dampener (pun intended) on outdoor plans this week, but looking forward to getting back out there somewhere new when the sun shines again.
It’s been a month in lock down. At first there was a bit of panic in this house. No panic buying (well maybe a little bit from one of us…if anyone needs toothpaste we somehow ended up with 7 tubes!) but just a general feeling of angst and uncertainty. Probably not helped by always watching the news, following the fate of the ‘curve’ online daily, having to apply for refunds for all of the events and our planned trip up north that were cancelled and then sweltering through some unseasonably hot April weather (sorry to everyone in Victoria freezing right now). When the WA border closed it was more than just a bit unsettling.
But after taking a break from the constant corona news updates, settling into a strangely calming and very simple stay at home routine, and especially now that life in iso slowly starts to possible, maybe, cautiously come to an end in the West, I realise I landed on the right side of that state border to be honest!
The alcohol restrictions limiting us to a maximum of one slab of beer and three bottles of wine in any one transaction have thankfully been lifted. But no, seriously, this week also saw new freedoms as groups of 10 can start to hang out again. I’d be more excited if I thought I could wrangle up 8 friends but still!
But this road back to “normal” brings with it a whole new kind of panic as I start to realise that life as we knew it basically stopped for the last 4-6 weeks and what have I got to show for it??? Well….
I’ve upped the production of crocheted bird nests, although Olive has found another use for my knitting box.
I’ve resurrected Duolingo and learnt some more Japanese. It might be time to start it again after a couple of weeks hiatus!
I’ve finished every library book in the house.
I’ve got back into running on a regular basis, despite the slight set back of a broken Apple Watch and the fact that since COVID-19 it seems EVERYONE in Perth is also a runner now and the running path is unbearably chockers!
I’ve ridden my bike around the river, on multiple occasions, and not stacks!
No room for wool in this box anymoreSeeing the sites by bike
I’ve been swimming at the beach.
I’ve been the apprentice builder on a 6000 piece LEGO Taj Mahal, still in progress, despite Olive’s best attempts at demolition.
I’ve had regular video chats and played virtual charades with friends and family, which I now wonder why I’ve been living in Perth for over a year and we never did this before.
I’ve been part of a very talented (code for obsessed) team in an online Harry Potter quiz and took out the prize for ‘most creative’ in the costume competition (as judged by me).
I’ve watched documentaries on the F1, the Aussie cricket team and the Chicago Bulls as I try and fill this very big sports shaped hole in my life right now.
I’ve watched Facebook Live gigs and even Olive liked Ash Grunwald.
Beach days“Creative” Harry Potter costumingOlive enjoying Ash Grunwald live
I’ve turned the lounge room into a gym and worked out via video conference. Not wanting to be left out, Olive made various on screen appearances and sometimes wanted to share my mat, but mostly she just watched.
I’ve planted broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, garlic and fennel in our veggie garden, and made Jordan do all the hard work of turning over the soil.
I’ve completed a puzzle, with just a bit of help.
I’ve finally caught up with the rest of the world and watched Game of Thrones…well two seasons to go so no spoilers please!
The lounge room gymWhat Olive Protecting the valuablesThe masterpieceA typical lock down WednesdayPlanting the crops
Looking at that list it seems that life in lock down was quite productive. But as we head towards a “new normal”, I think back to a time when people weren’t trading their first born child in exchange for a squirt of hand sanitizer, and there are actually some things about lock down lifestyle that I don’t really want to change back.
Like not having to wear makeup. Like being able to wear active wear for work (and on one lazy morning my pjs!). Like not having to look at your watch because time becomes irrelevant when you have nowhere to be. And especially like being able to crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy a drink alone on a weekday afternoon because the simple excuses of ‘it breaks up the monotony’ and ‘we are living through a PANDEMIC!’ seem completely reasonable.
Most of all though, I really don’t want to leave my little work assistant, drinking partner, gym buddy, alarm clock and constant source of entertainment to go back to ‘normal’ life. Not sure the feeling is mutual though as I suspect use being home 24/7 has been cramping her style.
In these strange times (I’m deliberately avoiding the word ‘unprecedented’ as while it might be true it’s been done to death!) all I can think of is that maybe we are all starring in some B grade disaster film and that Gerard Butler is about to emerge from behind a bush and save us all! Well actually, if that’s true, the plot of this saga is so cringe worthy its more likely to be Nicholas Cage (actually I like him though, desperate times call for embarrassing admissions!).
But I digress. In times like these we are told it’s important to try and keep spirits high and to find the good in the situation. The silver lining! Only every silver lining I seem to find gets tarnished!
For example, silver lining: Spending nights in at home I finally have an opportunity to start some sort of beauty regime. How about a face mask? It sounds blissful!
Tarnished: If only I knew how to read the Chinese instructions!!!
Silver lining: I’ve enjoyed tending to my tomato plants this summer and with limited visits to the shops at the moment it feels nice to be a little self-reliant.
Tarnished: Except this was the sum total of today’s harvest!
Silver lining: Since going out is not an option, plus the fact its a very very short commute from bed to the home office in the morning, its seems like the perfect time to get into all that wine and gin that we keep accumulating.
Tarnished: Except day drinking alone technically makes me an alcoholic and with no end date to this situation in sight as yet, perhaps heavy drinking is not one of the hobbies to get into right now.
Silver lining: We have a cat to keep us company.
Tarnished: With each passing day Jordan and I prefer to talk to the cat more and more rather than each other. Plus poor Olive now needs to take on all sorts of social roles that are usually fulfilled by others, for example Gym Buddy!
How, might you ask, do I always manage to find the negative in things? It’s a gift, it truly is! But no in all seriousness, I know I am very lucky. We have a spacious home, provisions and a beautiful view, and I am especially lucky that I can continue to work from home, or in fact continue to work at all., So we’ll just ride this out….
In the meantime, please comment some of the things you are doing or have noticed since being in iso.
Birthdays tend to be a time for reflection…I’m another year older…and 2020 really has been nuts so far.
The horrendous bushfires this summer might no longer be making news headlines but I’m sure the effects on communities and the environment are still being felt far and wide. I’m up to about 15 crocheted birds nests now as unfortunately, I don’t think wildlife carers will be reducing their need for supplies any time soon. Plus, its kind of become an obsession of mine! Jordan has suggested I try and crochet something else, but I like to stick with what I know.
Wile bushfires and the climate crisis have taken a backseat, the news is now saturated with the big C…and I am so sick of it (don’t worry, just a sniffle, no fever).
Not only is the Corona Virus threatening to ruin all of the fun planed for 2020 as concerts and sporting events, two of my favourite things, are cancelled one after another, but it is also causing mass hysteria as people are panic buying supplies like rice and pasta. Is it just me of if I have to be quarantined of there is a food shortage for a period of time why stock up on that? I’d much rather my freezer be full of Fry’s Sausage Rolls (vegan) and the cupboard stocked with wine. Do it properly!
But maybe Corona and the climate crisis are more connected that we realise. Due to the virus, factories in China have stopped production and the pollution levels over the country have plummeted. People are not flying internationally as much, by choice or not, which is lowing carbon emissions. Is this the Earths way of saying ‘I need a break?’
Despite some scare campaigns it’s certainly not it’s way of reducing the world’s population, not directly anyway, it is leaving that to ourselves! It’s like the Hunger Games out there at the moment, survival of the fittest in the Great Sorbent Scuffle! Maybe that’s the real symptom of COVID 19…it flushes out stupidity (no pun intended).
If that’s the case its certainly working for the US President who admitted he gets his latest facts about Corona direct from Fox News and here in Oz, frankly we should all be ashamed that it takes the WHO to declare a global pandemic to remind us to wash our hands and not sneeze on people. It is to the point where I am debating whether to put this in my handbag and use it or auction it on Ebay to fund my next holiday.
Wow quite a rant but I reserve the right on my birthday. But I would like to finish on a happier note. While collectively this year has got off to a rocky start, I am happy, healthy and while they aren’t letting any spectators in, the cricket will still be live on TV today. In short, I’m taking some advice from this one and just relaxing.
While our resident DJ likes the Top Paw-ty, I like to think my taste in music is a bit more wide ranging.
DJ Olive on the decks
Whatever your purr-furred genre, February in Perth has definately been concert season!
On the 2nd we raved at sunset to Fatboy Slim in the park. I’ve already talked about this in my previous post, and despite a thong blow-out this was an awesome afternoon. Very Perth, as there is no doubt this outdoor gig would’ve been rained out had it been in Victoria.
Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Pendulum
Pendulum
On the 13th we fueled up on enough vodka and Red Bull to keep us awake after bed time and late enough to head out to a nightclub (!?) on a school night (!!??) to jump around to Pendulum as they hit the stage at the stroke of midnight (!!!???). Not our usual Thursday night routine, but being a Perth born band, and one that hasn’t been together for a while either mind you, the energy was epic. I listen to this music to hype me up to go running and I reckon I burnt off more kilohoules dancing at that concert that in a quick 5kms!
We backed it up on the 14th and changed tune a bit to see Tool. Talk about a production! The lighting, the visuals, the projections and the INTENSITY of the sound was really great. It was a strict ‘no phone’ policy in the arena that night which made such an amazing difference as you looked out over the crowd, unilluminated by people’s little blue lit faces.
And to round off the month, on the 29th (special date, special show) was Carus Thompson. Back in his old stomping ground, playing songs from his recent album as well as some old classics of course, he was joined by fellow Freo local musicians who I know well from his records and also the 90 or so gigs I’ve seen him play over the years (not a typo….nine, zero).
It’s been a massive month. But I love music. And I love to dance. Unfortunately I don’t always have the guts, I mean what if people look and me and what if I look stupid? That is one thing, hopefully of many, that I think I have really become wiser about as I have gotten older. I love to dance and therefore I should and therefore I do! I’ve realised that: a) no-one is watching; b) even if they are watching, no-one is judging; and c) even if they are watching and judging, why should I care?
A dear friend of mine accompanied me to the Carus gig last weekend. While I was up on the D-Floor at the first opportunity, it took her a little longer to warm up. Apparantly she never dances. But if there is one thing Carus is it’s a great showman and somehow he manages to get even the unlikliest of dancers up out of their seats, My friend’s happiness and the end of the gig and the smile on her face after just letting loose was so great to see.
It would be remiss of me not to mention it today but it’s the same feeling I had when I was first encouraged to just ‘go for it’ dancing at The Prodigy. One of thier last shows, here in Perth last year, in the middle of the mosh pit, was without a doubt nearly the most fun I’ve had in my entire life. For someone who brought so much happiness to so many fans…#firestarter.
#weliveforever
Now I am admittedly a glass half empty, perpetual pessimist with barely an appetite for risk and who is too much of a ‘sheep’ to not care about what other people think BUT I feel like I have this “dance like no-one is watching” thing covered! And if a simple boogie can bring so much enjoyment then I think we should all care less about a lot more.
The PURRth Life 