Winter...

Winter has arrived here at my beach retreat.  It's pitch black when I get up and pitch black when I get home. But on the weekends when I get to see daylight I find the winter beauty that surrounds me. Some winter days like today are lovely, blue clear skies with fresh, icy winds.  As long as you are rugged up well, they are good days to be out and about.

Being a Melbourne girl, I have always loved the change of seasons.  Melbourne can change through the four seasons in one day which is what inspired Neil Finn and his brother Tim Finn to pen one of my favourite Australian songs sung by Crowded House. It was written about the city of Melbourne which is commonly known as being a city of "Four seasons in one day" Not all of Australia has the unique changes though, up north they have their wet seasons and extreme heats however when I lived in Brisbane, Qld for two years the winters were so mild that we were still in very light clothing and I longed to put on some jeans and socks or a nice coat.  I prefer to really feel as if its winter and have my boots and scarves take a turn out of the wardrobe and of course one of my favourite things to do is rug up on the couch under a warm blanket.

 

What I love the best here at night in my beach retreat is that we can put our coonara heater on and sit in our warm lounge room with the flame dancing in front of us.  Outside is cold and very dark, but also extremely quiet which is the part I love.  No cars whizzing by, no trains rattling the floor, no birds or any sound, just peace and quiet and when I come in from a long commute and day at work in Melbourne and close the door to the outside world, I am in my sanctuary.

I have been stressing lately about my long commute which is the wrong way to go about anything you wish to change.  I know this better than anyone.  For now, I need to treat my commute as something new which I must endure for a short while, while still keeping my eye on the local landscape. The right opportunity will surface exactly when it is meant to.  I strongly believe we did not get all this way without my last piece of the puzzle falling into place, I just need to remind myself of this and truly believe that all will be well soon.

So...For the rest of winter I plan to experiment with more cooking. The kitchen in my new house is a beauty with an island bench. It is much bigger than what I am used to which inspires me to want to cook in it.  I have bought for the first time in my life some decent cookware, and that really does make a difference.  I want to spend time looking through my cooking books for warm winter recipes such as casseroles, soups and one pot cooking ideas, which we love to eat when the cold is upon us. I also need to get out into the garden and start preparing my soil for growing vegetables. This will be a learning discovery on its own as I have never done this before but will teach myself by reading up and listening to anyone who has been successful with this venture. And for what I can't grow, I can go to the various farmers markets around here.

           

In my first blog My Autumn Dream, which was written for my husband while I travelled to the US on a long awaited dream trip in 2011, I wrote about the seasons throughout my life and as I sit here tonight I think its still very pertinant today as we struggle through another personal dark winter.. and a reminder for us to savour and really appreciate the good seasons... for sometimes they are all too short.  Its called:

'My life in seasons'

I’ve always thought of my life in seasons. Growing up reminded me of summer, always bright, always loved, my marriage and childrearing days, beautiful like spring, interupted by cold dark winters as we said good bye to those closest to us, I suspect I havent finished with all the winters of my life yet however am happy to have them lie dormant for a long while... and know, that always after winter, the sun does shine again...

I feel as if I am in autumn right now ~ my life in autumn hues, deeply contented and warm, as the beautiful colours envelop my life. I try to appreciate what I have achieved, count my blessings and look forward to many more autumn days ahead...

One thing I know to be true is that our seasons don’t last forever, so… for the good seasons, savour them, and the not so, be patient and ride the storm... for they too will pass in time…