Greetings from the green beauty of our little retreat in Gippsland.
Sienna and I are here together.
We've been painting, picking berries, hunting for a suitable Christmas tree.
They grow in a clearing at the end of an overgrown bush path, and on that path live leeches.
So there was a little drama.
But we are calm and warm and inside our snuggly rammed earth house now, about to cook our hand-picked bounty.
These simple things: being in nature, being with family, moving our bodies, listening to the birds, expressing creativity, being connected with the food we eat; are for me, heaven after a busy week, month, year.
It is what I hope (and recommend) you have a little of over the holiday season – some nurturing, reviving, recouping, diggy vermont car insurance, rejuvenating and being in the moment.
I write to you lying in bed, in Castlemaine on a lazy Sunday morning. The view is beautiful of gum trees and the Macedon ranges. Matthias is reading to Sienna. We are sharing a pot of Grey de Luxe.
Life is good.
Mother's Day is approaching. I am looking forward to (giving and receiving) plenty of pampering.
Can you believe this is our fourth year enjoying tea together? (see coy tea tasting photo from 2009 below left).
How things have grown. There are six of us now. Yet the heart of it is the same.
I still receive your letters daily. They still thrill me.
Thank-you for continuing to make this journey possible.
How are you this Mother's Day eve? The autumn sunshine is streaming in but outside there's a chill in the air. Note to self: last day of bare legs. We are just home from balmy Sri Lanka, for the first time it was the three of us. It was magical and challenging.
I introduced Matthias and Sienna to my many colleagues; at the office, factory, our printer (yes, Mint Lavender tisane is on the way) all of whom I have grown fond of; and this strengthened the bond.
It was especially poignant to stay with Sienna at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo where my mother stayed as a young mademoiselle arriving from France all those years ago.
Mother's Day tomorrow will be gentle. Sienna could not wait so will give me again the little card and potted seeds she has made. We will enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea. Mothers, I wish you also a gentle day of family, and acknowledgment, of all that you do and all you have done.
I write on my way to Perth where we will celebrate my dear Maman’s birthday. At 75, she is glowing and vibrant, fulfilled and relaxed; a wonderful role model.
I reflect often on nurturing these days; how we are hard on ourselves, push and drive ourselves; and deprive ourselves of the things that replenish and restore – quiet time, alone time, a bath, a massage. This has led to a new project brewing in my mind, working title ’The Madame Flavour Pampervan’. More on that soon.
For now, the news is that the Flavour family is counting down the days to our European adventure. We leave for Paris on August 16. I will be sure to stay in touch with every wonderful detail.
Hello my Kindred Spirits, or should I say Chers Amis.
This is my first newsletter since arriving home from three months in Paris.
How are you feeling?
I am emotional. It is that time of year. Endings and new beginnings. My maman is visiting from Perth. My father recently turned 90. Sienna starts school in February.
We picked up her prep uniform yesterday. Hard to believe that she was just one year old when we started; barely able to say 'flavour'. Now she tidies the boxes on the supermarket shelves (voluntarily of course)...
