Glorious Goomp!

We took a fantastic walk along our river, following it right on the very edge. It was GLORIOUS!
The only down fall (haha literally) was when I leeeeaaaned out to remove a branch for photographic purposes and GOOOMP - The bank collapsed and I fell into the river!!

It was alarmingly deep actually.. as you can sort of see in the photo above the water almost reached my belt! Luckily my camera was safe and my shweetie was able to yoik me back up to the bank! My gumboots were full all the way to the top and were very squelchy for the walk back!

A lesson learnt in Tassie!

This picture illustrates why it is NOT a very excellent idea to knit on a lovely mossy ancient log out amongst the gently swirling waters of our river...



Luckily I noticed before the pattern (which had been innocently tucked under my armpit) was swept off and all my notes with it. However it was rather soggy for the rest of the day and evening, and is quite artistically covered in running ink!

I knit on the plan back over to the West, but knitting has since halted for the moment as I need to change needle size and can't find where I've put my other needles! I know I unpacked them somewhere...

Snap Snippets

A few images captured of our block;


Weeny weeny wee red mushrooms on one of our tracks - so small I had to grovel around in the dirt and wet moss to take the shot. Just one of the myriad of magical elements; I'm sure we share the land with the wee folk.


Boulders on Wombat Hill - In some places it looks like a paint tin explosion; lichen and moss in such a variety of colours, white, vibrant orange, grey, green and so on.


A beautful spot - it feels very special, sacred, almost as if one should talk in whispers out of respect for the age old banksias and history of the land embedded in the rocks.

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We have now returned from our luscious two weeks off, and we are thinking. We are feeling and thinking - and trying to strike the balance between the two. Looking back through old photos on various hard drives I commented a number of times on how different we looked - all spritely and perky and YOUNG. I don't know quite what it has been up here, probably a combination of many factors, mainly the stress, sun and extreme heat - comparing us from those time-gone-by snap shots we appear much more greatly aged than the time that has actually passed.

I've developed an injury/discomfort that is worsened by the heat (requiring vascular surgery). This all sounds extreme, but I don't mean for it to be dramatic - it's just another of the considerations of this lifestyle.

We are feeling so stressed and pressured already after not even having returned to work for a week. No time to get the things done we need to do, and then no time to relax and unwind either - so it winds up and up until we snap at each other and become very out of character.

So.. we are considering our options. We have an opportunity in this industry to pay off our mortgage and live debt free in a remarkable length of time - what a life of bilss and freedom that would be without debt hanging over us! But I am now starting to weigh the cost and value of these things. How much is that future freedom worth? What type and size of sacrifice are we willing to make at the moment, after 3+ years like this? Although the sacrifice feels like it is only for the times we are AT work, I am realising now that the impact is much longer lasting- health wise, regarding family and connections, and also in terms of how our characters and personalities are being shaped.

No drastic moves yet, but something definitely needs to be worked out.


A small bonfire we had going - the sparks and embers flew in the hot updraft like frisky fire sprites, it was enchanting and mesmerizing to watch

Platypus!!!

I met a wee platypus!!



(I am more excited and thrilled than I can say - they are a truly enchanting creature)

That Sinking Feeling

Last night while relaxing by the wood drum fire at our neighbour's place I was happily knitting away on the button bands of the P in T cardi. I found it perplexing that the Left Front button band had 108 stitches but the Right Front button band I had just picked up stitches for had substantially more - why could that be?

I counted and re-counted, then I laid the cardigan out and looked over it.

Ah. That's why.



I missed several rows of the Left Front - GAH!!

What makes the situation worse is that after the lace section ( I think I missed a "Repeat rows 14 - 17" type instruction) the shoulder continues and then is bound off with the back shoulder - so I will have to UNDO my kitchener stitch and rip back to the lace section.

Another worsening of the sinking feeling - the button band, all finished and pretty, is made by picking up stitches on the completed front, so I will have to undo that also as it will need to be longer! I toyed with the idea of just adding a small section of button band at the top there and trying to attach it seamlessly rather than undoing and redoing the whole lot, but it will be front and centre there at the neckline and I don't want it to look peculiar...

I tried to ignore it last night and finished the non-gaffed Right Front buttonband - but this morning there is nothing for it but to take a deep breath and rippit!

Ditch Witch - Original Style

We had a very energetic day yesterday!

A visit from the previous owners so we took a long walk all through the block along the river picking up local knowledge and asking questions. In the afternoon we literally bush bashed our way through from one track to another, sourcing a potential link up route (ouch! Spiky tea tree!).

In the middle of the day we decided we ought to provide some drainage for the wet and soggy sections of our tracks, and when the shovel proved insufficient we called in the Proper Equipment from our neighbour - the Pelican Pick. We had one each and went absolutely beserk digging out trenches to provide a run off spot for water collecting in pockets - back down to the river it went!


(Ditch Witch - Like a dirt chainsaw!)

The old Pelican Pick is somewhat different to the modern method of trenching - the Ditch Witch - but it worked fine for us, if a little muddy...


(Track before pelican picking)

What a satisfying accomplishment and great exercise!

Torso in Tassie

On Sunday I completed the torso section of my Audrey in Unst (or 'Permaculture in Tassie' as I call it).



Since I'm knitting with three balls of Dream in Colour Smooshy (delicious!!) I am alternating row by row so the colours are kept even.

I'm not sure exactly how far three skeins will get me, so rather than knitting the sleeves at this point, I will knit the button band first, the neck band and then progress to the sleeves. My plan is such that all the remaining yarn at that point can be used in the sleeves, enabling me to ration the yarn evenly between the two sleeves and knit knit knit until I run out of yarn. Whatever length of sleeves I can eke out will be just right!



For now I am very happy with how the cardi is coming along, and trying it on at this stage makes me feel I should knit some VESTS! A very handy little piece of warm knitwear, and if I were knitting a vest I would be done by now - what a quick knit vests must be!

dread maintenance

My dreads are going famously, but I have really been quite neglectful of them - there hasn't been nearly enough of this action:

That is, dreading new sprouts of hair, or escaped flyaways back in to the dreadleys.


Here they are in the wilds of our Tassie block - dreads are THE perfect thing for our lives in Tassie - no mess, no fuss, low maintenance, easy care.

Sometimes I get snagged on spikey plants as I walk past resulting in a bit of natural velcro! Love that they are easy to put up, love that they are easy to wear down and don't tickly me nose of fly into my face when they're out!

In short, Love love love - and they will only continue to get better, more established and dreadlier!

12 Buttons!

I have buttons - Hurrah!

We popped in to town for some bits and pieces and I was able to pick up 12 dear little wooden buttons for my cardi - Shaping the neckline now, I'm getting closer and closer to a finished object....

Two Weeks

My goodness - after all the counting down and anticipation we are here again on our magnificent block!

Some things are quite changed, but for the most part we are noticing how familiar things are becoming.

We have a glorious two weeks to spend exploring our block and making important design decisions. It's this period that is so vital - where will the house site be? Where will we build the shed in relation to that (since the shed will go up first)? What will we do with roads, probably make new ones, so where will they go? And so on.

It is so important that we get to know our land thoroughly - so we are exploring the hills and dales and enjoying it immensely!