Tazzi November 3

This was the day Barb returned to Melbourne. Bec and the kids stayed an extra day and Madonna and John hosted them for the extra day. This was the Melbourne Cup long weekend and the time was well spent with plenty of special 'animal oriented' memories.

Tazzi November 2

On their second day in Tasmania (Devonport region) the crew visited a farm where much of the work done was done manually or with animal help, including the plowing. This was Pipers Utopia and she later wrote a thank you letter offering to join the farming family! Jasper was not well that day and had to take it easy in the farmhouse. This place was so welcoming and inclusive and would be so helpful for local school visits showing the old farming ways.

Tazzi November 1

While Peter and Gord went to the Menergy Men's gathering, Barb, Bec and the three grandkids flew to Tasmania to visit Madonna and John. The was plenty to do and many photos taken but it has taken up to this time to process some of them for a post. Hopefully we'll post some more soon because they had a pretty nice adventure down there. The pictures cover the first day there (i.e. Friday, November 1), a time for becoming acquainted with Madonnas furry pets. The kids loved it. Piper especially loved the baby bunny.

Garden Life

The reason for travelling to Tazzi was to stay with Barb's sister and her husband. This means being involved in the garden both with the animals we find there along with the varied produce. The place has loads of personality. This includes those entertaining ducks. Then there is Mr. Gray the rabbit who seems to have the whole yard each day and never runs away. And all the others....

Ah. Yes. Sometimes there is work to do that involves getting blisters. But it is all part and parcel of a super few days there of which we are very grateful.

Along the Coast

While in Tazzi, we spent many hours travelling along its north coast and stopped at Boat Harbour for lunch. Heaven knows why it is called Boat Harbour. It is hardly that. But is certainly is a nice place to stop by. We had plenty of eyes closely watching us on the chance we would throw them something to eat.

Tasmanian Images

These are images caught while we visited Tasmania in the last holidays. Each has been turned into a gif picture file and polarised somewhat. Sometimes it is fun to do that and there was so much to pick from.

Weekend Rhythms

For the long weekend (Melbourne Cup) we both went our different ways. Peter to Menergy and Barb to Tasmania. 

Menergy Rhythms included 37 very special men sitting with their drums sharing a common beat. The ages went up from 20 to the oldest man there at 90. The drums were not the only thing that happened. This was a time of great healing and inspiration to do life better.

Menergy Connecting

A true and wonderful gift is to listen generously to another.  

When we do that, we encourage him to find meaning and hope

and help him to know that he matters.  

When we travel with another and share joys and sorrows,

our hearts will touch and find fire in the centre.

Let us try to do this as naturally as breathing.  

No matter how our own journey has transpired,

we have the power to... collaborate... with life in this way.  

If tears are falling, we add to them. 

When another is happy and celebrating, we celebrate too,

and congratulate him. 

We listen generously and by doing so we heal.  

The discovery for doing this, the motivation behind this,

is that our response reflects back... on us. 

If we judge, we judge ourselves. 

If we encourage, we encourage ourselves,

and the happiness reaches out and touches us.  

This attitude has the power to raise us

to a new level of consciousness,  

that we may be able to more easily escape

those negative feelings that await.  

We can dream creatively and help others that way,

when we invite wonder and possibility.  

Strengthening life connects our puzzle pieces

and blesses the life in us.

Peter Ackland - school chaplain 

The labyrinth was carefully cleaned up and repaired by a devoted number of men and Peter walked it twice on the last day.

The dining room had beautiful living Australian bush vistas, each window a new pictorial experience.

The chapel was home for many of the workshops and served as the venue for Peter's daily reflection group. They were a special group of guys.

While that was happening, Barb linked up with her sister in Tazzi and they did a bit of natural dying of old woolen blankets. Parts of particular Australian plants, such as some types of gum nuts and leaves have the potential to leave a lasting stain in greens and many earth colours, provided you do it right. Barb and Donna had a very creative weekend.

Staying Two Nights

In the last part of last week we enjoyed the overnight company of our three grandkids again. This blog is without Jethro but he was there and actively involved. He found a toy motor bike at Savers thrift shop. Piper found a large white fluffy dog and Jasper was fortunate enough to get a complete LEGO set from there.

We are very impressed with Jasper's technical ability and determination to construct such a complex toy but he does set a high standard for himself. Peter was allowed to watch, even find parts for him but not to do any of the assembly. He read the 3D drawing very well.

Peter is working on a "Walk-along" kite, a design he received recently in Tasmania. There should be more of this later on in the context of the school. They will be made in honour of the kite designer, a man named Malcolm in Devonport presently with advanced cancer who will not be with us much longer.

Bound for Tasmania

Peter took this picture as our plane passed by the entrance to Port Philip Bay. The whole flight to Tasmania is only an hour over Bass Strait. This blog has been arranged to herald the start of a whole series dedicated to how our Easter in Tazzy went.

Tamar Valley

The Tamar Valley was our first stay. We stopped for the night at Beauty Point close to the mouth of the Tamar which flows through Launceston. There was much to see. We stopped at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine and visited Greens Beach. We stopped to take a picture of a modern apple orchard... that looks more like a vineyard.

We had quite a nice collection of sea shells after our visit to Greens Beach. These shells Peter intends taking to the school when the term commences again.