Gypsy Jan

I visited Jigalong ... at long last! My very special friend Karen Wilson and her husband Mark taught at Jigalong in the 80's. Karen told me stories about how isolated they were there. They were newly weds and they didn't even have a phone! Any communication with their family and friends in civilisation was done by two-way radio ..... and everyone on the same frequency heard the conversation! My friend Annette is teaching out there at the moment, and who doesn't love to have take-away for tea on a Friday evening? So, I ducked into my favourite Thai Restaurant (KG's in Newman) and picked up some delicious Pad Thai Noodles, Green Curry and a Chicken and Cashew mixture. I'd already fuelled up the car, and Missy was on her favourite sitting place (the middle console between the two front seats) ready for the 2.5 hour journey.... so off we went! It was a lovely mild afternoon. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, I began listening to a Ted Radio Hour podcast (abo

As I was swimming up and down the pool this afternoon, doing exercise I really love, my mind drifted. It occurred to me that I have many journeys happening at the moment. I have been blessed to be in the position to be able to take 12 months of leave without pay so I can tidy up a few projects I have been working on for a long time and travel to see special people in my life. (When you're a full time teacher, at the end of the day you come home physically and mentally exhausted, and you can't travel leisurely during the limited school holidays.)  So this year has been in itself been a wonderful and fulfilling journey. And the best is yet to come. Only 21 more sleeps, and I'm off on the ultimate road trip of a lifetime, followed by catching up with a childhood friend I haven't seen in 52 years! I am also on a weight loss journey.  I am so grateful to the support team I have who are teaching me about the latest research and understandings when it comes to helping peop

I have lots of good intentions to make a daily post, but sometimes there are so many things happening, it's hard to find a few minutes to settle down and focus on writing. But, here I am to record the events of the lsat 3 days. On Sunday morning Jenny gave Missy one last cuddle before we hit the road to drive to  Newman. Despite there having been very little rain this year there were still some beautiful flowers by the side of the road. Most people just fly past these beautiful creations. I stopped and snapped their beauty. I took my time and listened to some great podcasts including the latest offerings of the TED Radio Hour, Ted Talks Daily, and the TED Interview . .. and my favourite ... Simon Manchester delivering a talk for Growth Ministries.  I love driving and find the solitude gives me a real sense of serenity.           When I got to Newman, Missy and I sat down to have a yarn with Geoff, and Hutch the dog decided to introduce himself to Missy. I'm gl

One Month (to the day) 'Til We Leave I'm at Yulga Jinna, in the middle of nowhere, Western Australia. It's Jenny's birthday, and we've had a happy day with Annette who drove down from Jigalong (also in the middle of nowhere, but a bit further north) to help with the celebrations. There's no mobile phone coverage here but we do have Internet access and a landline phone.  Jenny got a few calls for her birthday and then we went for an adventure. It's God's own country out here. The air is clean, the birds sing beautifully, the dirt is red, the sun is hot and it's just a really happy, friendly and relaxing space... and you should see the stars at night! Amazing! Tonight, it was a full moon and we watched it ascend the horizon at Peak Hill while sipping on some Andrew Peace wine, eating olives and other nibbles, and flapping the flies!! Before heading to Peak Hill, (during the heat of the day) I got my Visa Waiver for the US sorted out. W