So weird. So crazy. So beautiful. So nice. So peaceful. So pure. So funny. So wrong. So right. So special. So real. So messed up. So kind. So cute. So wonderful. So thankful. So grateful.
My world appears to be full of extremities and enforcements; the word so is everywhere and permanently used because adjectives alone just don't seem to be enough.
So sorry - to my loyal friends who noticed that I didn't post anything yesterday... I was too busy having an awesome day! Look at it:
It's the waterfall in the rainforest in Buderim, where Dom and me went on a free day. I always wanted to see an overhanging waterfall! And then I found one just a few minutes drive from where I've been living for so long. It's awesome :) And no, I am actually surprised myself, but the Sunny Coast hasn't become boring for me yet.
Let's go back on a hot day and have a hell of a shower under this waterfall! This will be soo good :)))
Look at that monkey with the gorilla brow. Freaky hippies.
Last week, Dom's 16-year-old daughter Kiwani moved back here.
Her first wish was a kitty, and so, one day after the first lovely young lady landed in the glass mosaic house, the second lovely young lady slinked in:
SOOOOOOCUTEE!!
Everytime I look at our kitty kiddy, I lose my shit because she is SO CUTE.
What in the world is more adorable then little cats? The oh-so-soft and smooth fur, the tiny face, the big hairy ears, the massive whiskers, always perked up, the striped flinching tail, the warm, tiny tiny paws...
and always the purring. Loud as a tractor, lying on our pillows and keeping us awake with her furry purry presence.
As you see, even Dom has got a serious crush on her...
Sleigh ride in Dom's trailer ! :D
The best way to get around, I think :3
Quite often we have pasta... but sometimes
I have never been a skilled chef, and cooking for Dom is a special challenge because he doesn't tolerate wheat and dairy, BUT for once I managed to make a kind of spinach lasagna and ... it was good! Quite good... so proud haha :3
And I finally got to take some pictures of that beautiful hotel we're cleaning every weekend, sitting on the mountainside looking out to the coast, it's so very pretty there.
That's where I spent the last weekend, having, said short and sweet, the most amazing time. It was a Woodford Festival in small, but not lacking any of its big sister's magic.
A great musical new discovery is the Formidable Vegetable Sound System. They are most passionate about easy fleecy electro swing and permaculture - if they don't dig in their garden, they sing songs about it! And along the way they are REALLY funny. So if you want to learn about permaculture - it's all in their songs!
Now some pictures of my shonky-first-try artworks on all the kiddies' faces! Not always I was sure if I did a good job, but it was a hell lot of fun for me and as long as my canvas starts smiling when I hold the mirror in front of her/his face.... ;)
He was the best! The wizard!! Love it.
Can you hear Nahko singing "Take a look at myself through my third eye, third eye, third eye...."
(This dreaded fellow in green is Janie's work)
And here the exhausted but happy painters - Janie and me. Janie is German, too, but she is for sure not one of the typical German backpackers who run around in this country is big bunches - not at all! It was refreshing to meet another different-weird German who does not talk German in Australia and doesn't even have the slightest German accent and is, besides all other things, just a very groovy person. Thank you, Janie!
The lanterns, the whole visual art aspect of Woodford/The Planting is so pretty, creative and original. Nowhere else could that photo have been taken but in Woodfordia!
One thing crashed right into my sweet little lifeisgreat happiness. I read that they were going to show a movie, and I just felt like watching a movie, so I walked in and watched the documentary "Between the devil and the deep blue sea". I walked out crying.
It is about the so called "boat people", desperate refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Irak, who have experienced cruelties and injustice that they get on nutshell sized boats trying to migrate to Australia, trying to get away from the horrors and live humanely and in peace. They get separated fro their families, little kids fall sick and die, weak people die, and many many of them drown at sea or go missing.
I knew that there were bad things going on, but I didn't know in that dimension!
They don't even have a chance... so sad. And what can I do to help?
I can protest wherever I can, hoping that there will be a change of laws someday soon, I can write to you guys on my blog about it, I can try to raise awareness and I can recommend to watch that movie and not to close your eyes for these bad things happening.
As hardcore Woodfordians, Janie and me and two other girls we had met by the fireside climbed up to the hilltop at 5 in the morning and snuggled up under the stars next to the big Woodfordia sign. With Chai tea from my little camping cooker, incense and a whole lot of blankets and jackets we kept ourselves warm and watched the morning glow slowly slowly grow behind the glasshouse mountains.
Wide countryside, the mist in the valleys, morning dew on the grass around us, kookaburras getting the giggles, the pointy summit of Mount Beerwah poking majestically out of the white fog, the sun rising over the clouds, pouring gold and warmth over it all -
Mount Beerwah and the Glasshouse mountains seen from Maleny later that morning. Sorry if I keep posting pictures of the Glasshouse mountains, but they just don't stop looking just so awesome to me.
And to give the story of this week a nice ending... no, the Nahko madness is not over yet! Love <3
“I see people stressin’ over space and possessions, Out of fear and a need for visual aids of our abundance. Give me examples or somethin’ tangible, Something I can get my hands on and find real meaning.
Where is the medicine? Well I’ve been searching, And I suppose each will find their own kind. Well everything’s at stake, It makes it hard to concentrate. And there are men who see a war and see a paycheck, Such different programming, To live so fearfully, Terror this and terror that, terrible reality. There is no medicine on the television, So turn it off and turn yourself around.
And let’s just face it, The world’s fucking racist. Even the most peaceful of us gets caught in the trend. To live cohesively is almost a fantasy, And we oughtta know it starts with humbling our egos. What is the medicine for cultural wounding? Has its moments, has its melodies, has its time.
Well I was listenin’ to the outgoing seasons, About climate change and some other reasons. When the sky opened like I’ve been hopin’ And there came horses by the thousands, And there was thunder on their tongues, And lightening on their minds, And they were singing this old melody from some other time.
They sang, Don’t waste your hate, rather gather and create. Be of service, be a sensible person, Use your words, and don’t be nervous. You can do this, you’ve got purpose, Find your medicine and use it.”
Gotta give gotta give! I gotta give my pappa little kiss, muaah! :D
Coyote came and spoke to me, he says: "Get used to your destiny"
Every moment is a mystery to me
getting pretty good at listening
every moment is a mystery to me
getting pretty good at honouring
-
My friend the astronomer, she is a stargazer,
I swear they talk to her
boy I wish I knew what they were saying while I was laying in her bed
with her chest to my head
were our intentions misread?
So I just said it, I said " Baby I'm a nobody, I ain't
got no money
just this amibition to tell the people we are equal
so come on baby, come out of your cave
catch a swell, catch a wave to another inspiring place...
-
...like when the mother met the father
kissed the horizon and gave birth to stars
Or when the lovers turned into thunder
then came the breakthroughs
then came the storm...
-
In the end my body's spirit anyway!
-
So tap me out and tap me into you
heal my brain and my body too
balance my chemisty, hydrate these cells
'cause the body talks and meditation helps
the body talks and meditation helps
oh oho oho oho ooohooo....
Okay, it looks so silly when you write it down - it looks just like some "ooh"s - you have to sing it out LOUD! :D Do it and I hope it makes you as happy as me!
Even if it's the 500th time you play the song :D
NAAAHKOOO :))))
Since more than one week, every evening, Nahko and Medicine for the People's songs are singing loudly from Dom's speakers.
Or we go searching Youtube for new songs and records and lyrics and videos that we haven't seen and heard yet.
And then we listen to the album again.
And then we watch some videos again, because they were so good.
And then sometime it's time to sleep, but next evening we can repeat it all!
We just don't get sick of it and those of you who knew me in my bestest (or worst) phases of Jason Mraz Freakiness - yes, it is like then. Probably even more, because I get to comsume music pretty much all day when I am working on the strawberry fields with my beloved headphones on. And because there is Dom sharing my crazyness, admiration and facination - if I would ever stop playing Nahko, he would put it on again. Therreee is noo waayyy ouuuutt!
Mentioning Dom, I finally got a picture of him!
I can't help it, he reminds me of this... :)
Dom: "Domestic violence is when I get a stick and mess up the place."
:D
So we climbed Mount Coolum on one afternoon without work
One can see most of the Sunny Coast from up there! If that's not another stairway to heaven
Found myself a beard in the bushes..
Such a very beautiful place. One could think I would love it here and be perfectly happy. But people with the same traveller's heart as mine know that I am not.
I have been here for more than 2 months now. It's been a great time, I have had lots of fun,
but now I just wanna GO!
So many other places to see! I wanna wake up without knowing where I am, I don't want to be able to find the lightswitches in the dark, I don't want to know all the names of the streets and which door is squeaking and which not... and above all, it's getting cold here. European summer is Aussie winter, and athough we're on the Sunshine Coast, it can get pretty cold at nights. I already stole another blanket and a big fluffy pair of socks from Dom. Can you imagine, SOCKS! :(
And how it smells... a smell that I last smelled in 2012 - autumn air...
I just wanna go, go north, where it's tropical hot and everything is new...
But I can't. I have my three jobs here, and I would be stupid to give them up now that there are finally some bucks flowing in.
But I am Oooh so thankful ooh so thankful,
for there are numerous things that make it bearable to stay.
First of all, Dom, Travers, Mau Mau and James, Blair and my friends at work...
Dom's food makes it hard not to smile when you come "home"
Coconu yoghurt with berries *_*
So and now I am off for a weekend in Woodfordia! Check out The Planting Festival - it's like Woodford in little and I am volunteering as a face painter - yay!
So there will be some nice photos next week.
See ya!
I WANT to introduce shortly all the talented musicians I got to see, so that those of you out there who are interested in music and such can discover it too and maybe share my amazement and folly.
First of all
NAHKO BEAR AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE
OH MY GOD I am in such a Nahko hype since the Bluesfest! I showed Dom, and together we got hooked, listing to the song "Black as the night" over and over and over....
and then the whole album. Singing it all day long, playing it all evening long, sitting in silence trying to understand as much of the lyrics as possible. These lyrics are awesome! Nahko's voice is awesome, the way he performs, the positive energy in every song, the strong messages, "real talk" songs played by a band of passionate musicians around a most passionate and inspiring young man.
Of course I already did some fan stalking. Nahko is a young American with a very interesting background: His grandmother forced his mother into prostitution at the age of 14, and so he was put up for adoption and raised by white Americans, although he is genetically a mix of Native American, Puerto Rican and Filipino. When he grew up he went on travels to find out about his biological parents, and as you can imagine he must have had a difficult time finding his identity in this mix-mess of culture, problems and blessings. He let his emotions out in the shape of this album; it tells a lot about his coming to terms with it all, and by the sounds of it, he found a great, happy peace in it all. It's a good message to share with the world, especially when it comes wrapped up in such an amazing talent!
Definitely the highlight of all my new music discoveries from Bluesfest, soundtrack to my life right now. Listen to the beginning of "Budding trees" and maybe you can see me smile!
KATE MILLER-HEIDKE
Holy guacamole, this girl knocked me socks off! :D
She's more than just a pretty blondie with a cute little chirpy voice!
She's a trained opera singer, you can totally hear that in her classy singing. Opera is usually not so much my thing, but she skilfully mixes the genres, and with her pretty charming smile on the face she goes up and down the scales over more than 3 octaves as if it's the easiest thing ever.. wow! Suuuuch a talent!
Next to her, it's easy to forget to listen to her husband on the guitar - but he also deserves compliments. They played at the Woodford Festival already, and I was too unaware and busy to see them.
Hope I can see them again!
Can you imagine me trying to sing along to this while driving in the car... must look funny to the other drivers.
HAT FITZ AND CARA ROBINSON
I saw them on the Woodford Festival already, twice, and because they are just soooo cool, I went and watched them on Bluesfest again, twice :D
Hat Fitz is a true Aussie with his massive beard and his massive accent... as if he was just coming in from the scrub :D
His wife Cara is from Ireland and beats her drumset with a passion coming right from her heart, and she's got a voice that's just the same! She plays the flute and the washboard, too, it's just so much fun to watch her!
They complement each other in a refreshing way, they're musically and mentally on the same wave lenght, and their oh-so-familiar, long-married-couple-manner, half-serious little domestic fights on stage are hilarious.
The most hilarious band ever, though, are definitely
THE BEARDS
Oh my goood I was laughing my butt off...!
They are some very bearded guys who have 4 albums with songs about beards only - and it never gets boring! They are beard addicts, it's their religion, every second word seems to be "beard" - for a true admirer of all those wise beard men like Gandalf and Dumbledore,...
You might think I'm a bit weird, being a girl, saying
I WANT TO GROW A BEARD! :D
I gotta share a true fun story:
I showed my friend and fellow beard admirer Chris their music, and his answer was:
Which is hilarious already. I sent this pictue to the Beards, and they replied:
Thankyou - we hope you one day grow a real beard or obtain a convincing fake beard.
:'D
BETH HART
Oh my gosh whyyy the hell is she not super famous!?? Listen to that voice it's amazing how powerful it is! She totally rocked the stage with her more than 40 years - and apart from all that, if I was a guy, I'd say she's pretty hot. So I say she's is pretty pretty. :D
DANIEL CHAMPAGNE
Oh wow. How any hours and hours of practice, determination& passion lie in this. Highly appreciated, cheeeers! I hope I'll see him again, too.
TIJUANA CARTEL
This guys guitar skills are outstanding.. He plays this spanish flamenco style stuff and it gives me goosebumps and makes me want to go to South America, hehe
SUZANNE VEGA
Coming from Beth Hart's show, she was just the opposite, but still very very nice to listen to - a clear, soft voice, good lyrics, beautiful acoustic guitar... and she's been in the business for so long, respect!
MATT CORBY
PLAYING FOR CHANGE
Check it out! It's more than just a band, it's a whole project, musicians getting together trying to raise money and awareness to built music schools and things for poor and underprivileged kids - making the world a better place with the help of music!
The music itself is awesome, I was tired from my shift, but I couldn't help dancing and clapping along with them and the whole tent - you can just see, hear, feel, how much fun they have doing what they do!
Especially their cover of my beloved "Teach your children" got me :D
Jack Johnson
Passenger
EVERYONE who has not checked out Mike Rosenberg aka. Passenger yet, yoouu are missing out! This boy is sooooooo talented, please please never stop doing what you do! I saw him last year in Germany on the Southside Festival and he and the whole crowd in this tent, everyone was so freaking HAPPY, I thought the happiness might rise up to the roof, accumulate and come dripping back down on us... so much love :) And he is GETTING BETTER! The tent on Bluesfest was much bigger, but just as jammed, and everyone, everyone, especially Mike on the stage with his guitar alone, had such a special time. Just busking, as if he wasn't so famous at all, so connected with his fans - He puts all of his big heart in it.
!!!! <3 <3 <3
Jake Bugg
I saw him last year on the german Rock am Ring Festival for the first time, and already then he was sooo very talented - and he is younger than me! You can imagine I was deliiiighted when I learned that I can see him this year again, and see what his new album's songs have to tell me! In the end, he was playing right after my last shift, and because the kitchen tents are right behind the big stage tents.... aha, got to see him from side-stage! Not really backstage... but still much closer than I ever expected. I love his new album! Especially "You and me". How good that he is as young (jaah even younger) than me, so we can go through life "together" and I will hopefully see him play some more times!
John Mayer
Hmmm.... my John Mayer JM II. in my life :D HOW I was - and still am - hooked by his music! The madness nis not over, now that the festival is over! Just the opposite, if you play now "Gravity" for me, I will swoon ober it even more, because it was the last song of his gig and - ahhr I can't fin good words. I just had - the most magic time. He played not all of my favourite songs, but a few, and a few that I didn't know yet and - ah I shut up. You can't describe it, but maybe you can imagine how I felt in this huge crowd of fellow fans, JM and his guitar singing all our songs up the in front of us, singing along, all the words, the smiles, dancing... :)))
