Place: Heathrow

Poison: Flat White

Favourite Things: Entertainment Systems on the back of aeroplane chairs.

Well, the adventure has begun, and after a few long flights, I will be on French soil, for the first time of my life.

I am so looking forward to many things, Notre Dame Cathedral, The Louve, Croissants, Brie Cheese from the motherland, french kissing and of course the Eiffel Tower.

For those playing at home. If you were in Paris for 3 days what would you do?

Not the corny, everyday stuff. I want to capture moments and experience Paris in its fullness. Moulin Rouge, Parisian Pride and all.

PS- I hope it snows

Keep an eye on the posts, I promise they will make up for my slackness towards the end of last year

Au revoir!

ampster

Place: Qantas Club Singapore

Poison: Chardonney Victoria

Favourite Things: Travelling to new places

We have a tradition in our family of writing plane letters, and as I flew off on this short dalliance, my mother drove an hour to deliver me mine.

As I read it, I am quite overwhelmed at how much I am grateful for the small things in life, such as families, letter writing and the tales of people from days gone by.

Mum included some writings of different saints, so I could read about their lives and the pursuits that they have engaged in. The one which held my attention the longest was the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

His persecution and life was so interesting. What captured me the most was the poignant writings that still inspire thousands today.

Saint Augustine wrote ‘God has no need of your money, only the poor have. You give it to the poor and God recieves it!’

Also ‘This very moment I may, if I desire, become the friend of God.’

One more for the road ‘Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet…’

Augustine of Hippo born 13 November 354, died 28 August 430, you inspire me.

You inspire me to be a better person, to live a bigger life, to abandon the smallness of thinking that holds me to the boundaries that others have placed on my life not God.

‘Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they are restless until the rest in you…’ My quote of the year…2007.

You did not die or live in vein!

Inspired already and I’ve not even left an airport yet!

A

 

 

Place: My Office

Poison: Flat White

Favourite Things: my e-tickets round the world

Last night the green tea cup club (minus miss elly who was lovin her hubby on their 4 month anniversary) went to my favourite place on earth! The sommerville outdoor cinemas to watch a romantic french flick. This totally got me prepared for Paris. (I arrive on Thursday!)

The actual tea cups went on an adventure, with wine, chai tea and lots of laughs, they had a ball. I’m glad to report there were no breakages.

I love the tea cups and I love the amazing women who hold them.

Its a whole new season in all of our lives and taking time to celebrate it and wander through our worlds is what true friendship is all about. Don’t get me wrong, our friendships are not all rosy and sugary. They totally have their ups and downs, including a few divorce allegations and counselling required.

 

But what I love more than anything is living a real life of honesty, integrity and openness with a group of cheerleaders committed to life service to one another.

I am sad to report that my bestest friend in the whole entire world, Miss Kym Rolle (the amazing designer of Capture, work buddy and all time soldier) is shifting back to Queensland.

With many ups and downs, our friendship has been so FULL. So raw, real and a gem that prooves what real life is all about.

I don’t know how my next season will be without you in my face everyday Miss Rolle. But it means that you will now become a part of the sacred circle of recipients of Care Packages of love.

Here’s to the Tea cups and the men who are destined to be their tea spoons (named by Ben Vance not me!)

Forever Grateful!

A

Place: My Office (soon to have a window!)

Poison: Flat White

Favourite Things: Chucking out and refining all of my office admin in the shift!

My Nephew Jackson is completely obsessed with animals. For those who know me, you would know that animals aren’t really my thing. But when I think about Jackson, I think one thought (actually two- adorable first) ANYTHING THAT MOVES THAT IS NOT HUMAN.

On Christmas day he found this butterfly and we had a moment together. Butterflies are amazing! The colours, how gentle they are and they seem so peacefilled.

There is something so etherial about butterflies, so majestic, a revelation of the detail and beauty that God the creator must exude.

Christmas day this year has many different memories, but one of the fondest is Jackson and my dalliance with Mrs Butterfly.

Love ya J.J.P
Aunty Manda

 

Place: Office (i seriously need to get out more!)

Poison: Cappucino

Favourite Things: new Skype account

Last night Kym, Ann and new friends from Belgium and myself obviously..went to my favourite cinema, to watch a movie that is still resounding in my ears.

It is called Innocent Voices and is set in Ecuador just 15 years or so ago. It is a true story and has truly rocked me. I can honestly say the young boy in this photo, the protaganist, is the best child actor I have ever seen.

http://www.innocentvoicesmovie.com/

If you get the chance to watch it, prepare yourself to be moved, challenged and your world to be expanded. What I have struggled with since the movie, is the facts printed as the credits rolled, that still today 300,000 children a year are put into armies accross the world, with guns and taught to kill one another.

In an age of such awareness globally and also an age with much historical evidence that war does not solve our problems, I am astounded that children as young as 10 years old, are abused by adults as toy soldiers.

It is appalling.

The movie was just beautiful, a sad reflection on society though, that we think we have the right to kill whomever we want.

This movie made me think so deeply about what I complain about and truly how good I have it.

Check it out, and then do something about it. Write a letter, say a prayer, do something!

Appalled

A

Place: My Office

Poison: Yoghurt!

Favourite Things: mug from home for my coffee, from Kym with two old grannies!

 
This time next week I will be in Paris for the first time and Im so looking forward to visiting new countries and all the amazing experiences that come with them.

Whenever I travel I have a few rituals, that make the experience turn into an Adventure.

(Some great Illustrations from http://www.kurthalsey.com)

1) Special Journals specifically for travel, which are written in on the launch of every flight, with a list of every plane, where I sat and what I was thinking at that time.

2) Plane Letters and Plane Jigsaw puzzles. Friends and family write letters and make jigsaw puzzles that make the time go by and bring it back to the centre of what lifes truly about relationship!

3) Lonely Planet Guide Books. No matter where I go I buy one and read as much as I can about the country and the culture and try to find the random places that are not number one on the tourist hit lists.

4) I write a list of have too’s in the country, which often include something I have never done before. Skiing naked, eating frogs and walking on hot coals. (NOT!)

5) I try not to over plan, over book or even have accomodation for every night. Makes it a bit more spontanious and see where God and my curiousity takes me.

Standby for some updates. My trip takes me to Paris, London, LA and Sydney in 3 weeks.

Creativity Explosion here we come!

All my love

A

 

Place: My Office

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: I’m shifting office!

I have just read my sisters blog: Jen, who is in London as we speak. I got inspired to tell you about my beautiful sister.

Jen and I grew up together surrounded by music, obsessed with theatre and consumed with dance. Wherever I went, she was not far behind and as we have grown older the tantrums about borrowing clothes and boys have decreased. With the conversations about life and the meaning increasing.

She is an outstanding woman, who has walked through a time of uncertainty and change, with her head held high and her smile still glowing.

Wherever you are right now Jen know;

1) Shame we can’t catch up on our around the world adventures…

2) I think you are amazing.

3) Family is everything, without it life would be so BEIGE!

Heres a toast to my hero, my sis!

A

Place: My Office

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: Judes New Art Installation downstairs

The concept of rest in our society is so undervalued. So many times I hear people rattle off all the achievements that they have attained on their day off and then wonder why, months later their lives crumble.

I have learnt the hard way, the importance of rest in my life. Work hard, play hard and rest hard: the recipe to a successful life…

This is a short post which reminds me and hopefully others, that a day of rest is that: rest. Nothing more, nothing less.

This photo taken whilst camping reminds me to take every moment I can to sit before the majesty of creation and rest. Even the creator himself after the mammoth effort of creating the world, had a day of rest.

Rested

A

Place: My Office

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: Carrot Cake Candle, burning right now!

Between Christmas and New Year, a group of brave individuals, drove unsuspectingly into the great outdoors of the wild West Australian coastline.

We went camping for four days, sitting on the beach at sunset, wasting away the sunlight hours with scrabble and eating whatever came our way with abandonment.

We were surrounded by many families and a few feral Aussies, but amongst that lot, we meet a french man, a swiss man and a canadian who were a breath of fresh air amidst the gum trees and hammocks.

The lovely french man, travelled and trained with Cirque De Solei, and my love of all things theatre created a great landscape for conversation despite the language barrier.

The sunset at Prevelly Beach was awe inspiring, but for me the combination of wind, fire and water (minus the mozzies) joined together for an unforgettable moment.

The guys were fire jugglers, and they put on an amazing show.

Wine glass in hand, friends wrapped in towels, the beach crashing and fire swirling was one of those arresting moments in time.

Check out these photos…

Toasts to random summer camping trips and the amazing people you meet along the way.

inspired

A

Place: My Office

Poison: Cappucino

Favourite Things: My new 2007 desk diary

Okay, so it has been such an amazing couple of weeks, and I have not posted because basically I haven’t been bothered.

Hayley asked me today what my Christmas and New Year was like, and I described it too her ‘A Jack Johnson song’ Chilled, vibing, surrounded by great friends and family, a hammock, great fiction books (Self help books have been banned) and I basically didn’t HAVE to do anything.

I have such amazing photo’s from my camping trip to Margaret River, Christmas and New Year, but will take the next few weeks to unravel them.

Today I have driven the city to find my journal for 2007, which is a moleskin diary. All the regular haunches that sell moleskin, are all out.

I’m desperate, anyone know anywhere I can get them? or I may have to be in detox from journalling till I hit the UK (the birthplace of moleskin) in one weeks time.

Here is the history of the moleskin for those intrigued.

The history of Moleskine notebooks

Moleskine is the legendary notebook that the European artists and intellectuals who made twentieth-century culture used: from Henri Matisse to the turn-of-the-century Parisian avant-garde, from Louis Férdinand Céline to Ernest Hemingway. Writer-traveler Bruce Chatwin picked up this tradition and made it famous.

A simple black rectangle with squared or lined pages, endleaves held by an elastic band, an inside pocket for loose sheets, a binding in ‘moleskine’ which gives it its name, this trusty, pocket-size traveling companion guarded notes, stories, thoughts and impressions before they turned into the pages of beloved books.

Chatwin used to buy his moleskine at a Paris stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie. He always stocked up on them before going off on one of his journeys. He had a ritual set up over the years -before using them, he numbered the pages, wrote his name and at least two addresses in the world with the promise of a reward in case they got lost. “Losing my passport was the least of my worries, losing a notebook was a catastrophe”.

He even suggested this method to his friend Luis Sepùlveda on giving him a precious moleskine before the trip to Patagonia that they were never to do together. It was precious because by then notebooks were no longer to be found. In 1986, even the last producer, a small family concern in Tours closed down. “Le vrai moleskine n’est plus” were the lapidary words of the stationer to Chatwin who had ordered one hundred before leaving for Australia Chatwin bought up all the Moleskines he could find but there were not enough. Now, the Moleskine is back again. It can go back to being a witness passing from one pocket to another and continue the adventure. Its still-blank pages will tell the rest.

‘I never travel without my notebook. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.

—Oscar Wilde

 

Here’s to a big new year of less stress and much love

Thanks for all who have been capturing moments with me in 2006…

The adventure continues

A