THE FOURTH MONTH COMES TO A CLOSE

Who is God?

God is the one who is with us.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing. 

Zephaniah 3:17

Another month comes to a close

Bananas growing
on a tree at our last home

We brought the green bunch of bananas
with us to our new home!
They have now all been picked and shared,
with some of them frozen.

Hello to the readers of this  

"one-year-blog". 

Well, that is the intention!  

Welcome to new blog readers from  Russia, 
Germany, 

United States, 
South Korea, 

 United Kingdom,                                                                Ukraine            

and of course, Australia.                                 

The fourth month of 2013 comes to a close, and I continue to enjoy writing this blog - 

covering lots of topics with a Christian perspective......

*A January theme of garden plants, plus doing a daily “tidy-the-house-thing”,

*A February theme of more garden plants with their amazing  medicinal and culinary uses,  and doing a daily “who-am-I-thing”;

*A March theme of discovering bush tucker and edible weeds,  and doing a daily “pack-an-item-in-a-survival-bag”  

*An April theme of looking at our new home, and giving a daily retell of the “coast-to-coast-walk” from hubby’s diary.

I look forward to May which I hope will be a tribute to mothers, 
plus all of those wonderful people who nurture children. 

I will be taking snippets  from my own mother’s recipe scrap book and from her personal memoirs. 

Our Guest of the Month is Jonathan

 

Eight years ago, Mum and Dad had the great idea of carrying out the Coast to Coast hike in England – a hike from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay. Hiking was something that we enjoyed doing as a family, and we looked forward to the occasional day hike. However, the Coast to Coast isn’t simply a short day hike. It is a 309 km hike which usually takes 2 or 3 weeks. Somehow we managed to do it with 15 days of hiking.  It was tough and I remember wanting to give up on a few occasions, however I’m very proud that we stuck it out.

Positives of the trip: Getting to camp in a tent all to myself, the incredible scenery from the three very different national parks that we passed through, very comfortable boots, reading the map for the second half of the hike and eating some very tasty pub meals (which tasted all the more amazing after eating porridge and more porridge!

Negatives: I can only think of two negative moments from the hike. One of them was staying in a camp ground that was literally swarming with midges. They were getting into our eyes and mouths – all we could do was dive into our tents and pull our sleeping bags over our heads to get away from them. The other was one particularly tough stage of the hike which is usually split into two days – it took a lot of determination from all three of us to keep plodding along, until we finally reached our destination.

Other than those two moments I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I am incredibly proud of Mum, Dad and myself for completing the Coast to Coast. It is something I will always remember.

A journey's end leaves us able to begin a new journey.... 

when we are ready!

from Robyn       I am happy to answer emails to currimundioasis@gmail.com.

painting of robin by Bren

COAST-TO-COAST WALK Day 18

Who is God?God is the one who judges

The wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1:5-6 

Our New Home Survival of transported plants!
We brought many plants from our previous home on the Sunshine Coast to our new home in Toowoomba. 
                                        In fact, we brought 2 trailer loads of plants! 

Leaf ginseng now growing in Toowoomba's red soil 

Some of the plants died as I was too tired to look after them properly during the first week of moving, but I am happy to say that some of the treasures which I wrote about in earlier blogs, discussing their medicinal and culinary uses, are happily thriving, just loving their new environment - especially the comfrey. One day we will get chickens for their eggs, and they will enjoy fresh comfrey leaves for their lunch!

Sweet fruit root (yacun) survived the move

The Great OutdoorsMemories of England's Coast-to-Coast Walk

Day 18     Robin Hood’s Bay - London Tuesday, 26^th July 2005 

Here is the last entry from hubby's daily diary  on our long hike.....

We had a good, warm night’s sleep and woke about 5.00 a.m. when it started to get light.  Still overcast and cool.  We had finished our hike!!

Breakfast at 8.30 in The Wayfarer’s café, and what a feast – kippers for Denise, and full English breakfast for Jonathan and I.   We tidied and packed then left St. Bees on the 93 bus for Scarborough. It was a great coach. The journey took 40 minutes.

We parked ourselves in the waiting room at Scarborough Railway Station to wait for our train.  It was 11.00 a.m.  While waiting, Denise and I went for a walk through Scarborough while Jonathan minded our bags at the railway station.

Then back to the Scarborough Railway Station where we enjoyed eating our lunch while sitting on the longest seat in the world, according to the Guiness Book of Records.

We saw the Flying Scotsman pulling in with a long, packed train.  It then reversed out and pulled back in, half an hour later.  We photographed the engine and Denise talked to the fireman who invited us in to the driver’s cab of the Flying Scotsman!

Denise chatted to the driver of the train who is the “actor” in the Harry Potter movies, driving a red loco in the movie.  The driver, Bill Andrew, was very kind and offered to post some Harry Potter photos for Timothy, Denise’s nephew in California. He posted these a month or so later – one of them an autographed photo of Rupert Grin, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Walton, to be treasured by Timothy. Wow! 

We boarded the train a couple of hours early to get out of the cold – but it wasn’t leaving till 3.00 p.m. 

The one hour train journey to York was fast and smooth. We spent most of the time with our heads out of the window enjoying the speed – 60 mph. 

We pulled into York railway station and during the time we waited in York, Jonathan and I did a flying half hour visit to the York Railway Museum while Denise minded our bags.  Then we boarded the 17.35 train for King’s Cross, a 2 hour enjoyable and comfortable trip.  Then we bought tube tickets for ₤1 each from a young Hong Konger, selling off her family day-pass a little cheaper to any passer-by who would give her some money for it.  We arrived at Finchley Road just in time to buy some food at Waitrose before they shut at 10.00 p.m.  Audrey and Patrick, our hosts in Greencroft Gardens, London, were expecting us, and welcomed their late guests with a cup of tea and some cake which Audrey had kindly baked that day for our arrival.  Thank you, Audrey.   

 Denise Robyn's Memories of England's Coast-to-Coast Walk-
8 years after the walk
I still remember with a sense of achievement those determined days of hiking and camping as I crossed England, west to east, with hubby and Son-Number 3.  

I had been the one to pack all of those little things we might need like safety pins, mending kit, first aid, string for a clothes line, a camping stove, eating and cooking utensils etc. At the end of the hike, I was very pleased that I had packed everything that we needed on our journey.

My best memories were:
*Meeting and talking with a gypsie
*Perhaps seeing the author of "Wind in My Wheels" - the book which had inspired me to go on an adventure
*Food treats when we occasionally passed through a town with a shop
*Having a bar of scented soap and soaping-up my sore feet on many occasions
*Being able to share a challenge with my hubby and our youngest son
*Having the privilege of hiking through some amazing countryside
*Taking photos (apologies for the poor photos in this blog - that's because we lost them when our computer crashed! and these photos were from a little book I made, thankfully!)
*Our hiking sox were snug, and a real treat just to put them on! 
*Music on my ipod was fantastic - it helped to keep me going through the afternoons
*My carriers - Jonathan and David - who took my rucksack when I was tired - were very much appreciated!  Thankyou, Jonathan and David!


Would I do it again?   Yes, but I would have to consider some changes like: 

Not carrying  so much, but really, I don't know what I could leave behind!  

Perhaps next time I should go to B&Bs, and have a "carrier bus" to take my gear from post to post each day. But that would not be as much fun for me, as I love being right out there in the out-doors. 

And I would be more pro-active in map reading, and definitely not attempt more than is recommended for one day of hiking. 

I would hike with a greater degree of "safety awareness",  carrying a mobile phone and telling someone where and when we were hiking and keeping in touch with them every couple of days if possible. 

I would train for such a hike by doing some rigorous hiking with walking poles - not by simply doing  "long walks". 

It was a great experience!

May the challenges we meet and the challenges we create make us stronger people for our tomorrows

from Robyn

painting of robin by Brenda, Robyn's mum 

ANZAC DAY

Who is God?God is our refuge and strength

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
....The LORD Almighty is with us. 

Psalm 46:1, 11
Anzac Day in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

Red poppies and sprigs of resemary worn  on lapels
signify one's awareness
of sacrifices not to be forgotten. 

As a young person in the Brownies and then Girl Guides, I would annually attend an Anzac Day ceremony at the town's war memorial on the morning of 25th April. Anzac Day began as Australia's national day of remembrance - a solemn occasion to remember soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War 1. Today's ceremonies in all Australian towns and cities, commemorate all those who served and died in the various military operations for their countries over the years.

Our service in Toowoomba this morning followed the familiar pattern of an introduction, a hymn, a prayer, an address, the laying of wreaths, recitation, the playing of the Last Post, a minute of silence, Reveille and the playing of both the new Zealand and Australian national anthems.

 The Ode

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in Australia since 1921.    http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/rememwords.html

May we keep an awareness of and gratefulness toward those who have fought for our freedom. 

from Robyn

painting of robin by Brenda, Robyn's mum

COAST-T0-COAST WALK Day 17

Who is God?
God is the one who forgives sin and heals diseases

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits -
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103: 1-5

Our New Home  Welcome home Mr Possom

Mr Possom lives in our shed - not hubby's "Man-Shed" which is made of wood like our home, but another shed - a small galvanised iron shed which is behind his "Man shed".

Mr Possom goes walkabout during the nights, and sleeps in the shed during the day. However, he had been missing for the past few days.
So.... welcome back Mr Possom.  
Were you out with your girlfriend?

 The Great Outdoors

Memories of England's Coast-to-Coast Walk

Day 17  Little Beck – Robin Hood’s Bay     Monday 25th July, 2005

Here is hubby's daily diary.....

At Intake Farm, we had a good night’s sleep – almost. We wrapped the Sunday Telegraph around our sleeping bags to keep us warm. We took our time moving off as we only had 6 miles to go, or so we thought!  We left the farm, walking along the hiker’s track, but cut into the Great Wood earlier than the map indicated so as to avoid entering a field of cows, still recalling stories of cows attacking walkers, protecting their calves.  

Stumbling through the Great Wood 

Oh dear!  We had to stumble our way through thick brambles, nettles and fallen trees. We had much difficulty picking our way through the tangled undergrowth.  We eventually got down the steep embankment to the beck, then had to find a suitable spot to cross.  We had wondered if we would need to climb the sheer cliffs on the opposite side of the beck! It wasn’t easy crossing the beck as the rocks we stepped over were mossy and slippery.  We got to the steep, slippery bank on the other side and scrambled up to find a hiking path. Then we made our first stop for the day, to eat breakfast.

Eventually we made our way out and onto the right road.  I was reminded of my days as a scout, exploring the woods in England. Jonathan and Denise agreed that it had been fun in the woods, exploring where perhaps no-one had been before.

Robin Hood's Bay 

We crossed the last of the moors, picking our way through miles of low growing heather and then it rained!!  This was the most rain we encountered on our walk, on our last day, and we got soaked.  We rested for a long time in the heather, eating what must have been our 20^th bar of Kendell Mint Cake with drivers in passing cars waving to us. Then we followed the road to  Fylingdale where we were unsuccessful in getting money from our HSBC Powervantage Card, which we had been using to obtain money in England.   We were concerned about our money situation as we were down to our last few  English pounds.  Then on into Station Road at Robin Hood’s Bay where a shop attendant kindly gave us money from our HSBC credit card, not a normal procedure in a shop.   Off to The Wayfarer B & B to drop off our rucksacks, and then down to the Bay Hotel to celebrate the end of our long trek with a shandy!  Denise thought that Jonathan should be treated to his first shandy in a pub on this auspicious occasion, but he informed her that it wasn’t his first shandy!!??

The rain continued as we walked down through the old village of Robin Hood’s Bay, once a smugglers enclave. One house at the top of the village had a stone slab in the front garden, concealing an entrance to the village tunnel system. The old village has a series of tunnels leading from one house to another, where contraband was once easily passed from the dock right through the village without seeing the light of day.  One local remembers that as a child, there was a cupboard in his house, and he could get through this cupboard to the neighbour’s house!

At the beach, we dipped our feet in the North Sea and then went to find a souvenir stone from the shore.  It was 4.30 p.m. when in the old village, we had fish and chips for tea - or was it lunch?   We hadn’t eaten since quite early in the day – apart from chocolate and the trusty Kendel Mint Cake.  After fish and chips at Robin Hood's Bay, it was back to The Wayfarer to clean up and get warm.  

Weary survivors at journey's end!

We had completed our 200 mile plus

hike over hills and dales, mountains

and streams and the three of us

had survived! 

We decided not to throw our stones into the North Sea. These three stones had been carried  in our backpacks since picking them up from the Irish Sea at the beginning of our trek. 

Instead we looked for matching stones from the North Sea, to keep as souveniers. 

We were 'Survivors'!  No more hiking for a month or two!

To be able to complete a challenge is indeed something to be grateful for!

from Robyn

painting of robin by Bren

COAST-TO-COAST WALK Day 16

Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the one who gives peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 

John 14:27

Our New Home  Monday is 'wash-day'

When I was a child, my mother would without fail, wash the white cotton bed sheets on a Monday. 

We didn't have fitted sheets in those days, just the flat sheets. My mother would take the bottom sheet to wash it, and the top sheet would become the bottom sheet to be washed the following week. 

Today being a Monday, I gathered all of the white cotton sheets, washed them in the automatic washing machine and pegged them on the line to dry in the glorious Queensland sunshine. 

My mum didn't have the same time-saving appliances as me - she had a copper with a wood fire underneath to heat the water. she added "blue" to the water to whiten the sheets. The white cotton sheets were stirred in the hot "blue" water with a big wooden stick and when done, she lifted out the very wet sheets to wring them in a "wringer" which she turned with her hand.  Later she had an electric wringer, which one day, she got her arm caught in! Ouch!

The Great Outdoors

Memories of England's Coast-to-Coast Walk                                                             

Day 16 Glaisdale – Little Beck Sunday 24th July 2005

The best thing today was lunch at the railway station at Grosmont - apple pie and a pot of tea! It was lots of fun watching the steam trains.  

Here is hubby's daily diary.....

mother and son (calf born during the night)

Up late through lack of sleep from being cold and the cow in labour.   Woke once again to a cold wind and an overcast sky. After cooking breakfast, we got going at 9.00 a.m.  But not without Denise enviously watching our neighbouring camper, who was easily cooking eggs and bacon on a gas camping stove .  Denise had struggled throughout the hike with our Trangia stove which burned the metho at an alarming rate, giving out too much heat and coating our pots with black soot.

A tidy flower lined path at the camping site entrance

The day’s hiking began with the delightful walk along the long, flower-lined path from the camping site to the roadside entry of the farm. It was beautifully kept by the elderly farmer and his hard-working wife. We were very impressed with their labour of love in keeping their farm and camping grounds so delightful - a welcome place for campers. Out on the road, we walked past the calf who had been born earlier in the morning, still lying on the ground with its mother standing next to it.                                                                                            

                                                                                                                    

The countryside was fresh and green.  We passed through the pretty villages of Glaisdale and Egton Bridge, and then through East Arncliffe Woods along the Esk River before reaching Grosmont.

Grosmont Railway Station

  

We hung around the Grosmont railway station for 2 hours, watching steam trains come and go.  We very much enjoyed lunch at the station café – a real treat of meat pie, apple pie and icecream, and a pot of tea for Denise and I while Jonathan had a can of cold lemonade. Such delights were rare! 

The steepest and longest hill in the world!!

We walked off down the line to the railway workshops, passing through the world’s earliest passenger railway tunnel.  Then we headed off again, to hike up the road along the steepest hill that we think we will ever encounter -  we hiked up this hill of about 45 degrees for hours!

Australian hikers

Then onto heather and moss moorland and on towards Little Beck, a tiny village deep in a valley.  We crossed miles of peat and met a large group of  hikers, some of them Australians. This was the largest group of Coast-to-Coast hikers whom we met. They were walking from east to west, having set out that morning from Robin Hood’s Bay. We shared some of our experiences, and told them how awesome they would find the hiking through the mountains in the Lake District.  They were only carrying day-packs and were staying at Bed & Breakfasts. Their tour leader said he was taking his group east-to-west so that they would be fit by the time they reached the mountains. 

We had some difficulty finding out where to camp, and after some enquiry, we went hill climbing again, along a road, to reach a Bed and Breakfast which we were told might take campers.  We found the farm, and the very hospitable farmer’s wife brought us cupcakes (fairy cakes which she had made that day, with whipped cream on top) and a large pot of tea.  Shower and toilet were in the farmhouse, and instead of a shower, we had a bath – quite a  luxury for us campers!

What a luxury it is to have a bath!

from Robyn

painting of robin by Bren

COAST-TO-COAST WALK Day 15

Who is God?  God is the one who shakes all nations 

This is what the LORD Almighty says:
'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty.
'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD almighty. 'The glory of this present house will be greater that the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty. 

Haggai 2:6-9

Our New Home

These roses were blooming in Picnic Point Park, 
a 10 minute walk from our home.

From the lookout at Picnic Point one can see Tabletop Mountain 

as part of the superb view of expansive mountainous countryside. 

It's a  great hiking experience to climb Tabletop Mountain!

A view of Tabletop Mountain from Picnic Point near our home. 

Click on this link to see some images from Picnic Point Park.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=picnic+point+park%2c+toowoomba&qpvt=picnic+point+park%2c+toowoomba&FORM=IGRE

The Great Outdoors

Memories of England's Coast-to-Coast Walk   Saturday 23rd July 2005
We generally live our lives in a state of "comfort", so it was quite an unfamiliar situation for us to be cold, tired and sore as on this occasion.  But at least we weren't lonely!

Here is hubby's daily diary.....

Day 15      Lion Inn – Glaisdale

After a freezing night and not much sleep in our thin sleeping bags, we woke and cooked breakfast at 8.00 a.m. Denise had slept wearing most of her clothes for warmth, and we both used the daily newspaper inside our sleeping bags, also for some extra warmth.  It was cold, cloudy and windy as we packed our tents and bags.  We set off along the road for a couple of hours, then through heather moors. 

Dave helps Jonathan
with map reading

Jonathan was now doing
much of the map reading

The 10 mile hike wasn’t long, but we were getting weary of lugging our bags around.  We were looking forward to getting to Robin Hood’s Bay. 

We arrived at Glaisdale at 3.00 p.m. and bought supplies at the small store.  We discovered that the camping ground in town was no longer being run, and that another camping ground was some way back along the track. We had actually passed it, a farmhouse set back from the hiking track. Because it was a 2 mile hike back, the lady in the shop phoned her husband who was soon to drive along that way to do an evening milking of some cows.  He gave us  a very welcome lift, and we were delivered to an old farmhouse, well kept by an elderly farmer and his wife. The camping area on the farm was fantastic – complete with numbered sites, showers, toilets, a TV room, even a fridge for our milk, butter and cheese – and only 2 pounds each! This site was only for campers – no caravans – and we were lucky that the farmer’s wife found us a space on this popular site, which one is supposed to pre-book. A cow bawled most of the night, and she gave birth early in the morning!

A sheep dog entertained us with its skill with the sheep

In the evening we watched a farmer with his amazing sheep dog, rounding up a dozen or so sheep in “competition mode”.  It reminded us of the movie Babe, and indeed the sheep dog herding those sheep and getting them in lines, ran rings around Babe, the “sheep-pig”.   

P.S. The trainer for the pig Babe in the Australian movie lives in Toowoomba, our new home town. I hope to meet her one day.

What a blessing it is to stop at a clean and hospitable spot!

from Robyn

painting of robin by Bren