It is pouring rain today and I love it more than I can say.
We have had the most exquisite Autumn in Queensland, Australia. One warm, sunny day after another. I feel spoiled rotten.
But after all that glorious sunshine it is a lovely change to stay inside, warm and cozy as the rain falls, watching Poirot and Midsummer Murders while I fold laundry and cook things like Spicy Feta Scones, Sausage Lentil Soup, and a Chocolate Port Trifle.
I love Fridays at home. Articles have all been written and submitted, websites built and honed, and I get to devote nearly the whole day to non-computerish things.
It’s the day where I get restored before the hustle and bustle of weekends on the farm.
And the day when I rest and reflect, think about the week, my life, and what’s going on in this heart and mind of mine.
I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship recently. Moving to the other side of the world and starting a new life changed a lot of things for me, and friendship was a big one.
For a while I was floating between two worlds. I didn’t belong in the United States or Canada anymore, but felt like a visitor in Europe and then Australia. I was a woman without a country and it was unsettling. I can’t tell you how many times the theme song from Cheers provided the soundtrack for my feelings:
I remember vividly the day I went to the shopping center here in Warwick, Queensland and ran into three different people who not only knew me but LOVED me. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw me and seconds later I was enveloped in hugs. It was the most wonderful feeling of belonging, a treasured assurance that this place is steadily becoming home.
Returning briefly to the United States a month or so ago was equally momentous. I LOVED seeing my dear ones, loved visiting and eating together and catching up over tea and coffee. But I also realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was no longer my home. From now on I will be a visitor there, and that’s OK.
It’s OK to change.
It’s OK to move.
It’s OK to start over.
I like this quote from Dr. Seuss:
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
Finding your place in this world is an ever-changing adventure. Sometimes painful and scary, sometimes inspiring and beautiful. Tonight I feel so grateful for my true friends scattered all over the world. So thankful for emails, visits, phone calls and love that cheer and strengthen and build me up.
I’m also, well, maybe not grateful, but “something” for the false friends. Those who have betrayed and crushed and deceived me. Without them I would not know what true friendship is. Without their cruelty I wouldn’t treasure real and amazing love that isn’t altered by differences in faith, lifestyle or politics.
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa
Wishing you a beautiful weekend, dear ones, with real love and real friendship. XO
While I dearly love Australia’s gorgeous beaches and stunning bush country, I also like simply wandering through small Queensland towns like Clifton, Allora, and my personal favorite, Warwick.
Warwick looks like the movie set for Western classics, especially if you raise your eyes above street level to the marvelous balconies, railings, and cupolas of the dozens of fabulous old hotels, theaters, and government buildings. The elegant Town Hall (see above) was built of local sandstone in 1888. One of the oldest local authority buildings in Queensland it features a stately clock tower.
My first visit to Warwick was on a blazing hot summer day. After strolling along the main drag in the withering sun it was time for a cold drink. My friend and I nipped into the Criterion Hotel, found perches on rickety wooden stools, and ordered Lemon Lime and Bitters. I happily guzzled my frosty drink and amused myself watching the locals chatting away at the bar and playing pool in a nearby room. I confess I was slightly disappointed at the dearth of wooden legged cowboys, bush rangers, and sheriffs with shiny tin badges, but a girl can’t have everything.
Warwick is located 162 km southwest of Brisbane and is the major commercial center in the Darling Downs. Established in the mid-1800’s, things really got moving in Warwick with the arrival of the railroad from Ipswich in 1871.
I love that Warwick shot to fame with the hurling of a well-aimed egg at a visiting dignitary.
It was 1917 when The Little Digger, Prime Minister ‘Billy’ Hughes visited Warwick to press his case for conscription. The townsfolk, along with the majority of Australians, were against the idea, and one fellow showed his disapproval by launching an egg at the Prime Minister. Hughes was furious and insisted the egg thrower be arrested by the local policeman. The copper refused saying that as no Queensland law had been broken, he could not arrest the offender. Legend has it that this incident and the stubbornness of the policeman led directly to the establishment of the Commonwealth Police Force.
Nowadays Warwick is known more for its weekly Pig and Calf Sale (click here to read my article on this marvelous event), Rose Festival, and the annual Warwick Rodeo than egg-throwing miscreants.
I’m so glad that towns like this still exist, providing beautiful buildings and broad, tree-lined streets for folks to enjoy on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
How To Enjoy Small Town Australia
Wear comfortable shoes and a wide-brimmed hat.
Wear sunscreen!
Stop often in local cafes, pubs and restaurants to sample local drinks and regional dishes.
Take time to visit local museums and get to know the colorful history behind otherwise stodgy buildings and meaningless monuments.
Don’t be afraid to ask locals to tell you more about their town. You’ll get stories to entertain you for hours.
Time your visit to take in local attractions. A few minutes online will give you all the information you need for local markets, fairs and festivals.
For more information on Warwick, visit: http://www.warwickevents.com/
What is one thing you’d tell a visitor to see in your town?
My favorite part of each day in Australia was morning. I would wake early to this view, stare out the window for a while then clamber out of bed and wander out to the back porch for a sit. Twas the perfect way to wake up.
If ever my friends wondered where I was, they could find me perched there looking out at the gum trees and wildflowers, listening to the kookaburras and other Aussie birds twittering away.
Nearly every morning I had breakfast out there: freshly brewed coffee with milk and wildflower honey, and pristine white bowls filled with all sorts of scrumptious Aussie fruits like mild paw paw, tart passionfruit, and sweet mangoes.
I loved gutting the paw paws with all those strange looking seeds inside, then scooping out one juicy spoonful after another of sweet, fragrant fruit.
I learned to make a drink that I’m now addicted to: 1 part mango juice to 8 parts cold club soda. Delicious and so refreshing, especially in hot weather.
Breakfast was always on the back porch, rain or shine. The dogs, Whombat and Fletcher, would join us, nuzzling in for pats before settling down for a snooze. I got to drink coffee out of my very own personalized mug. If you look at the mug below, you’ll know my Aussie nickname. 🙂
I took a short little video for you of the view from the back porch on one particularly rainy day.
Mornin’ luvs! I promise I WILL get back to telling you about Fiji soon, but I just had to share these photos from yesterday. My friends and I heard the bridges to town might be opening, so we piled into cars and headed out, hoping to get to the grocery store for milk, bread and such.
It was absolutely gorgeous with bright, warm sunshine and billowing clouds scudding across the sky. We got stopped at the first bridge for a short wait, but they let us through and we drove over slowly, agog at the water rushing past only a few inches beneath us.
We drove along rutted dirt tracks because the pavement (known as bitumen to Aussies) had been picked up and washed away into neighboring fields.
At last we made it to town. Cars were lined up along the highway and side streets, Aussies sitting on the grass or walking the riverbank as they waited to see if the bridge would open. We wiled away the hours picking up hamburgers for lunch and sitting under a large tree shooting the breeze. It was fun to be out there with everyone, each person with their own story of surviving the flood. After five long hours the barricades were removed and we were waved forward. We were one of the first across. I could hardly believe my eyes as we rolled over the bridge. The entire city park was under water, only the eyes of a giant plastic hippopotamus visible above the water line.
We made it to the shopping center only to find half the shops closed – their owners unable to get to town. The grocery store had half empty produce shelves – the result of farm land under water, the crops flattened, trucks unable to bring in supplies. We got two of the few remaining milk cartons, some fresh fruit, and then we headed home again.
It was an amazing day, one I won’t soon forget. The sun is out again today and slowly but surely the water is drying up, stream, river and pond levels going down. It’s good to see the sun.
