Women – Lucy Taylor

How do you want to feel this Summer?

So, I got an email from this woman http://www.daniellelaporte.com/ a couple of days ago and I liked the idea of her motivation to share around “how you want to feel this summer.” There were some nice ideas on her pinterest page that her email linked to, but it was “her” story, not mine. It made me wonder if I could do a blog post, that emanated the kind of feeling I wish for this summer. Could it be a feeling that resonated with others?

Tell me if you get it?

The crazy thing is you and I know everybody has a unique perception of good living and that is the most wonderful thing.

Here is a summery feel, wrapped up in a short vimeo moment. There are notions of good health, sunshine and being carefree in this vimeo clip below. I just LOVE these bathers!

My family, each one of them, are a strong element in my living. Fire, air, water and earth. They are a part of me that at another level is lovingly felt in my deepest self, and I hopefully am in the most loving way, associated with the same vibe. I wish for that feeling to remain strong this summer and always.

Oh, the freedom though!! Of these spunky gals on their long boards ripping up Mexico. Long lithe legs and dashing ocean wear… Just being in a moment, so strong, beautiful and light, is surely a feeling that not only I could aspire to, this Summer!

Do you read me, wild women?

CIDER WAR’S and singing your own song

Blog posts are perfect for tiny portions of ‘language meets living’. For a writer, deep- headed in constructing a novel, this feels light and breezy; to speak of little wonders in life and, as comes naturally, write about them.

My wonders today include 3 things:

1. Apples

2. Organised Events

3. Making up songs

Firstly, my fruit bowls, and the beer fridge are packed with gorgeous home- grown apples. Red ones, cooking ones; apples that have little worms inside. Leo and I made apple cakes for morning tea, like the ones from the bakery with thick shortbread pastry edging and a pocket of stewed apple in the middle- so great for your middle too. The little boy version, was bright yellow play dough cut, rolled, shaped and eaten.

The apple recipe book, left at our home, when we arrive early spring 2013 is an absolute beauty. I’ve added to the hand- written notes this summer; feeling grateful to the woman before me who did the same. We’ve inherited a well cared for orchard. I have cider in the making and bags of apples leaving in every visitors car. I wonder about the past owner’s apple habits, and the future of our orchard. Mostly I just enjoy the wonder of having boxes of fruit and being able to try new recipes with it.

The second wonderful thing of note is organised events. Sounds dull as a way of wording something that can be so full of life. My recent wonder was a writers festival in Beaconsfield,Tasmania last weekend, with some Australian legends chatting on stage about their published writing and ideas about, everything you could imagine being spoken of. A memorable session and there were many, was about the ‘Black War’ in Tasmania at the time of colonisation, a hugely monumental period in Tasmania history that is hidden so cleverly behind other more recent wars. Some really nice ideas came from this talk regarding living ‘in’ the land, as Aboriginals have done for many thousands of years ‘in’ our island, as opposed to living ‘on’ the land as us immigrants have referred to as our place in the Australian landscape. Are you ‘in’ or ‘on’ the land right now? How do you perceive this?

There were also stories read out loud. It’s so nice to be read to as an adult, especially when it is normally you, as a parent perhaps, reading for young children. Moments of hilarity came thick and fast with some comedians in the line up and even tears and much tragedy which is so often the impetus behind some great published tales.

Another local event, saw hundreds of women at our local surf club, gather with their bra’s on the outside. Many fringed, tousled and flung into baskets that were to be shipped to Africa to women in need. Bra’s are a remarkable decorating spectacle, so colourful and diverse these days. The company of the local women is something fun in itself. Many like minded sorts seeking a dose of good fun. So this was both good looking and an enriching experience, which can sometimes be missing in the fly about catch up’s. Another super gal, has done something similar hosting an event at her home to raise enough for a water pump in a village.

There are the everyday organised events, that sometimes we take for granted but are like food for our souls. It is good to be involved with these things, appreciate and support what some clever people have the foresight to arrange. Organised events bring people together which is the best bit, sharing lives and opening ourselves to new wonders, that can fill us up.

A thought…

Anyone let me know (local larrikins, I’m writing to you), if you want to try and make some apple cider with our apples. I can do you up a cider kit (there’s not much to it, says the inexperienced one) and we can have a CIDER WAR event, sharing booze to see who’s cider turned out the best?

On a new note, making up songs is the third wonder today. A wonder in my opinion that never loses it’s wonderfulness. I can imagine this apple frenzy is going to rot by the turn of the season, but singing and letting words spontaneously come together with a tuneful voice wins hearts. Sometimes the words just come out that way when you are feeling a bit soulful or sparkly. Mostly I find it is spurred on by a child. When you have some fresh minds trying our their vocab by your side it might get the ball rolling. It’s awesome to see how children put words and sounds together (so quickly learning to rhyme), to make a new song.

I think as a parent, you really know you’re doing a good job when your child, singing their own made up song, also sings an instrumental solo that might otherwise be a complex drumming part or guitar riff. Sometimes our trips to town in the car are made up of wonders like this.

Its’ a wonder-ful life when you think about it.

5 secret signs you are a Superwoman

Love of Place

Women with a passion for their homes, gardens and the greater community and landscape around them are super charged with a sense of pride. This extends to greater care for visitors to their home or ‘place’. More careful food choices for the communal table; like greens from the garden or a local producer are the norm. Many superwomen are green thumbs or love going bush. They know some native flora, even recognise resident fauna that visit their patch.

These super ladies often exhibit local fashion; adorned with beads and hang a friends print on their living room wall. This love of place also presents a personal dimension to issues related to the environment; whether it be the necessity of a thermo- mix in the home kitchen to grind the excessive rocket to pesto, or debating the allocation of precious wilderness to mining in the back hills. Both topics might bring about emotive arguments. Stomped feet to the ground. For the Tarkine! You might hear one shout.

Creativity (behind closed doors) or out loud.

It’s a little piece of wonder when one of your contemporaries emerges from their home into the public eye with something home- made. Be it a new pocket smock dress, a rich family recipe Christmas cake or resin bead jewellery; it’s always bloody brilliant. This is the realm of a super woman. They don’t flaunt; only do their best and are quietly stoked about how it all came together.

Superwomen don’t bat out of their league, they are champions by getting out on the field.

Even runny cherry jam is beautiful in a tart. Lopsided hemlines, reminiscent of cat-walk trends.

Working Class Woman

A super woman finds value in a working world, with a steeliness about her ‘work’ ways. For superwomen, adaptability when faced with the conflicting demands of parenthood versus career ambition comes naturally over time. A super woman knows where the needle rests on her own scales. She often plummets desperately in one direction then immediately rebalances herself. Parenting is a wobbly lifestyle and a working one at that.

The super working woman evokes images of a frontier woman; wielding an iron fire poker, surrounded by exuberant children with animals to feed and threads to mend.

A contemporary image is more fuzzy with woman reimagining parenting, freedom at work and children in arranged care. Many still tend to fierce loving values at home and some grab rare moments to make work of their own from this same family space. Either way there is super power in women who reign their decision to work; and to parent or not to parent at all; living well in rich soils.

Superwomen have accomplices.

Superwomen learn from really listening, spending real time with others and intimately knowing other women within and beyond their familial ties. Collected moments add layers to friendships and small kind gestures are common trade. Accomplices are like good spirits that can top up your glass; give you a warm buzz; soothe you when you are weary. Superwomen are good friends and surrounded by such.

Men are wonderful accomplices for super woman too; of course. Sweet lovin’ helps bind the best mates, but then there is also good chat. Words spoken with no boundaries; opinions, dreams.

Accomplices are like nectar for super women.

Mind over matter; matters.

Super women wear their strengths like an invisible tool belt for success. Many have a knack for pulling out words that have healing properties, to soothe others. Some have such clever minds that they can make scientific discoveries or study new topics to aid health or give momentum to the business world, and others pick up the pieces with superb skills in service.

They may carry totemic words of wisdom “top of mind” and ensure their bodies are well fuelled and fit giving them a perceived capability that really does carry them through their tasks, even leaving enough energy to assist others. Super women also know by heart, how best to nurture themselves.

Superwomen exude a power that works magic into their day to day lives.

Note from the author:

Share any Super woman ingredients that you know add up. Below the gallery, if you please! This is coming from observations of a 30 something woman in Tasmania. There are great oceans of unique people and places; maybe some exotic ingredients would add flavour to this mix? Love to read some ideas from all.