rejuvenate

on the rejuvenating power of friendship and country air

To my dear Musers

Over Cup weekend we holidayed with friends and, gosh, time with friends is everything. We stayed up in the north-eastern Victoria near Bright and the weather was perfect. I can’t believe it now that I had nearly cancelled. M had been away looking after his mum for a couple of weeks after her lumpectomy and I’d just come home from my October retreat. I was tired and so was he. Home was looking really attractive … if you don’t factor in living about 500 m from the Flemington Racecourse and directly under the helicopter path.

So we went. Time on the road for M and I is our love language. He drives, I knit, we talk. It always gives us a chance to talk through things at length and this drive was no different. By the time we arrived in Wandi, my shoulders had softened and the fresh mountain air was the salve I needed to begin restoring myself.

The best part of the weekend was hanging out with our friends, chatting, cooking and just being together. It was a great reminder for me to make time for this more often especially in a year that has been off the charts busy for me. Time with friends dissolves a lot of work busyness.

On the Sunday, M and I hired electrics bikes and six of us set off on a 25 km rail trail to Harrietville. I had been a little nervous about it as I haven’t ridden my bike for a long time, but the ebike took all the pain away from it … apart from the pain of sitting on a bike seat for 50 km!

As we set off for our ride, our friend (who couldn’t ride because she was recovering from an operation) said that once I’d been on an ebike, I wouldn’t look back. I’d told her that I needed to buy a new bike as mine was kaput, to put it lightly.

The week before, I’d pulled my dusty cruiser out and checked the tyres – dried out, crack, flat – and decided to take it to the bike shop for a service. The guy there was very polite and kind as he looked it over. He began a list of all the things that needed to be fixed on it: gear cables, brake cables and pads, chain, spokes, tyres … He added it up and told me it would be over $600 to service.

‘It’s a restoration job, really,’ he’d said.

I’d run my hand over the dusty frame recalling the journeys she and I had been on: morning rides down the river every morning of lockdowns, rides to work, bonjour rides with Shelley while camping pretending we were riding through the French Alps.

When he said those words, it had stung a little, but I’m (mostly) a practical person so I conceded that I would take my now-six-spokes-less bike home and think about what to do.

So, it was ebikes for our holiday because that’s the done thing in Bright, and why not! It was so fun to ride to Harrietville where we used to camp every summer. Riding alongside the creek provided a different perspective and the path was super easy riding. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been hard on a normal pushbike. In Harrietville, a large crowd gathered for the end of Day 2 of the 4 Peaks walk/run event. People hobbling with ankles bandaged, people with their feet immersed in the icy water of the creek.

While we ate lunch at the pub, a dog was spooked from who-knows-what and ran away with the chair it was tied to bouncing along behind. It is only sheer luck that it survived the ordeal as a traffic stopped and the owner finally managed to grab the dog fleeing from the chair chasing it.

Of course, over the weekend, there were a lot of conversations about the impending political election and the depression that we all felt about what seemed inevitable.

One night, I stepped outside and was struck with the stars; I will never not be in awe of the night sky. They’re such a grounding moment for me, always. A reminder that bad and good times come and go. In that moment I felt so deeply grateful.

1) me, Shaz & M on our ride, 2) the starry sky in Wandi, 3) old bike and new bike

I am so deeply thankful for my friends, who know they can call on me, and I know I can call on them. They celebrate the little things with me and together we nut out the tough stuff. They bring me joy and that little holiday was a great reminder of this.

When my eldest was very ill, M and I reminded each other before we went to sleep that the sun always rises, no matter what the day had brought.

I hope that there are things that you can hold onto that bring you joy in an unstable time.

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What gives you joy?

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Other things

Writing courses

Writing Momentum

My second Writing Momentum online writing group starts tomorrow and wraps up the week before Christmas. It was a joy to make this space for writers in the last cohort and I’m looking forward to meeting the new members and seeing some familiar faces.

Writing Momentum with Meg Dunley is a great way to keep writers writing. Meg’s fresh approach and thoughtful prompts are a highlight. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to get back on track, to stay on track and to boost writing focus.

Rhiannon D

There’s only a couple of spots left so if you want a great prompt, accountability and solid writing time for an hour each Wednesday morning, get on to it!

Free coaching masterclass: Four Steps to Creative Freedom

I’m running a FREE interactive masterclass tomorrow at lunchtime (1-2pm AEDT) to help you get more time and joy for your creativity. In it I’ll share some strategies that I use all the time to make sure I have time for and joy with my creativity.

Reading

Last night I finished To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon. She wrote it inspired by her parents’ stories from their time in World War II. It’s an epic story that’s set in New Guinea, Japan and America and is filled with tension in the build up to ‘the’ bomb.

I also read recently Cienna Collins new book The Disappearing Season that’s just been released last week as an ebook. A pacy domestic thriller.

Currently reading

• Theory and Practice by Michelle De Kretser

• Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright

What’s on your bedside table? What are you reading and loving?

Watching

I’ve been doing a bit of an audit of our streaming services and have unsubscribed to Stan, because four was too much. We don’t watch nearly enough telly to justify it and there’s enough to watch on what we have.

I can’t believe I’ve finished watching Ted Lasso. Devastated. There were tears. I know now why everyone had banged on about it for so long.

While M was away, I watched Disclaimer (Cate Blanchett) which is about secrets that surface and the ramifications of them. Riveting!

I am over the moon that Somebody Somewhere has a new season out. It is one of the most beautiful shows I have watched.

What are you watching and loving?

Five things that have caught my eye

1. The Bright to Harrietville rail trail, which has made me start plotting out other rail trails I might ride.

2. Loved reading this interview of Lydia Davis. I love her work.

3. The Mavis Files. This podcast is from Dr Alice Garner about the pioneer of Australian superannuation, but there was much more to Mavis Robertson’s life. She was considered a threat due to her roles as the leading member of the Communist Party of Australia. And she was a knitter (not that this is discussed in this recording).

4. Anna Brones
   has a wonderful newsletter about finding creative cohorts

Creative Cohorts

5. Jerry Saltz
   posted this on Instagram recently. Weird and fascinating sculptures that reminded me of the War of the Worlds telly series

jerrysaltz

A post shared by @jerrysaltz

What has caught your eye lately?

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Thank you dear Musers for reading

Til next time

x M

PS Fortunately for me, when we came home from our break, the bike shop near M’s work was closing down so I got a bike on sale … not an ebike – I’m still happy for my legs to do the work. I rode it home, christened in the spring rain, reminding myself how much I love being back on my bike.