Morning Coffee

The best coffee after an early morning run along the beach can be purchased at Kaos!

Squawkatoos

Early morning in Lorne is always greeted by a massive chorus of Cockatoos, Magpies and other assorted birds -- songbirds and tone deaf birds alike! If you're getting up for a dawn session on the waves, it's not so bad, but if you want to sleep in a little bit longer, you're out of luck unless you've got earplugs!

Dog and Ball

There's no teaching work in Melbourne during term break, and there are no classes at Latrobe next week, so I'm in Lorne working at the Cottages and at The Bottle of Milk for the next 10 days. In my next few posts, I'll share some of the many pleasures of hanging out and working in Lorne.

Taking Zephyr to the beach for a walk and a ball throwing session.

Should I be a Buddhist?

So,  several days after my birthday, it must be said that the occasion did not pass without due recognition. Thanks everyone for their emails, texts and messages of love and good wishes! 
(Thank Christ for Facebook, eh?!)

I spent a bit of time reflecting on this past year and I can safely say that I have sorted out the following: 

• I feel more when I have less. 
• I'm better off when I am aware of the big picture, but utterly focussed on living in the present moment.
• For me, it's not about the "teachable moment" now as much as it is about the "learnable" moment.

Australian Blue Sky

Dinner with Friends

It's lovely to have a get-together with friends midweek! It was potluck, so everybody brought a plate and we had a good catchup.

Alex and Christina

Damian and Benny

Nadia and Samara

You Know it's Time to Pull Back on the Cold Medication..

....when you catch the wrong bus to school in the morning and only realize it when you have arrived in front of a massive suburban mall YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE  instead of the bus exchange at University.
You have been gazing out the window the whole trip, blissed out on Codral Daytime Cold Capsules.

You may have had every intention to get to Uni in time to catch the last half of your morning class, but you end up doing your grocery shopping instead. It is not wasted time. And actually, it's somewhat comforting to know Australia has Big Box shopping wastelands  --- just like Canada.

Detox and old-fashioned home remedies begin immediately!

Signs of Warmer Weather

Weather records were set in the Melbourne area this last weekend. Temperatures hit 30 degrees with dry winds up to 85 km/hr in the city, while Lorne enjoyed 27 degrees. It was summer warm!  Some indicators of warmer weather:

The Skinks who live under the steps at the Cottages come out to sunbake.

Zephyr the Mighty Surf Dog continues to own the beach. Here she is lightly dusted with sand in the back of the ute.

No more booties in the surf! Back to bare feet... these ones are pretty ugly! Pedicure fairy, where are you?

While it's great to have a little taste of summer in spring, the warm temps and high winds made many people pause in their enjoyment. It felt quite a bit like bushfire weather, and last year's devastating bushfires in the Yarra Valley are still very present in everyone's mind.