beautiful

Featured

Feature: Geographe Community Landcare Nursery Inc.

/ Rainee / 8 Comments

OPEN DAY – MAY 11

I am assisting in the promotion of the 94th Annual Busselton Wildflower Exhibition to be held on 26 &27 September 2019.

The Exhibition Committee and volunteers work in partnership with the Geographe Community Land-care Nursery Inc. and Coordinator, Rod Cary, a former TAFE lecturer in Margaret River. Rod’s scientific knowledge of native plant species is invaluable. He assists Exhibition volunteers with the accurate identification of wildflowers for display at the Exhibition. Rod is also available for the two days of the Exhibition to answer questions about the native plants and their requirements. Barry Oates, Chair of the Exhibition Committee, said the relationship with Rod is highly valued.

This amazing nursery is a not-for-profit community organisation, located at the Queen Elizabeth Avenue site in Busselton for the past 16 years. They look like being there for many years to come.

They are self-sufficient through plant sales for their daily requirements and they sometimes receive Government funds for special projects (a recent building was funded by the Royalties for Regions funding).

Some numbers to impress

  • The Nursery grows up to 90,000 plants each year.
  • They have around 80 volunteers with up to 60 assisting each week.
  • Volunteers may be retirees, people with disabilities (some with carers) and work-for-dole participants. Volunteers help each other with the tasks to be undertaken.
  • They have about 250 Australian native plant species available for wholesale customers plus there are around 300 species of cultivars (cultivated varieties) of native origin.
  • About 10% of sales are retail with the remainder of the plants sold wholesale to mining companies, local government, developers and small property owners.
  • Growing native plants from locally collected seeds produces much better results due to their genetic diversity – better chance of some of them surviving because of this diversity. They have had breakthroughs with a range of species.

***** I just love the wildflowers and really enjoy finding images to share!

Advertisements

An interview with Lyn Murfitt, Colour Consultant (on retirement)

/ Rainee / Leave a comment

I recently posted this interview on my Transitioning to Retirement blog and decided to share it here as well :).

Lyn Interview

Lyn, what does the word retirement mean to you?

BOREDOM! I love working, simply because it is so stimulating for my brain, and it certainly gets my creative juices going!  There is always an amazing experience or lesson to be learned each and every day!

What strategies have you used in transitioning from one phase of your life to the next?

Certainly staying in the workforce and working less hours. However, the remaining free days have allowed me to follow my passion in Body & Style Consulting. Assisting many women to feel more confident in themselves, and to feel less stressed about their appearance and body shape.  This gives me a sense of achievement and happiness in being able to help other women to realize their full potential, to work around the shape they are and to spend less time in agonizing about their appearance.

Exercise is very important to me also. It refreshes me daily to walk in the fresh air, thank the Universe for everything I have, keeps me positive and grateful for the life I have been blessed with!

Tell me about your Image Consultancy business?

This passion of mine came about 35 years ago, when I was employed as a Fashion Consultant with Liz Davenport.

Colour Analysis was an important factor when women were shopping with me. I saw so many mistakes being made with their choices; wrong necklines, lengths and styles that were not suitable for their body shapes. So I studied these factors and did many courses, especially the colour aspect, as that really ‘sets the stage’. Now I consult in Busselton and enjoy every moment of it!  Sharing my  knowledge is a large part of the process.

What drives you to want to help women be the best they can be?

I think the look on their faces when they have done a Colour Consult, or Body & Style, or even had a Closet Audit in their own home.  It really is an ‘ooh aah’ experience, and their pleasure and excitement certainly fulfills me.

Usually I make special friends out of my consultations, as it is a ‘personal journey’ into exploring working around the shape they are and not trying to CHANGE them.

What wisdom would you pass on to other women as they reach retirement age and beyond?

To attract positive people into your life, to make things happen, to join different clubs and organizations. This opens up a whole new world of experiences for you.  Don’t sit back and wait for it to HAPPEN!  Whatever your taste is …BOOK CLUB, SPORTING ACTIVITIES, CHARITY WORK, TRAVEL…….there is so much on offer out there! Read the LOCAL PAPER, that’s how I got started!

Now is the time for YOU!!

Anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?

CURRENTLY, I am ‘decluttering’ my life, and it is so UPLIFTING.  Also, it helps me to remember so many AMAZING POSITIVE things I have done and experienced.  Dare I say, it is tempting me to WRITE about my life, as many people do in later years when they have the time.

It is so enriching, even the sad and silly times.  It is always about GROWTH, and we NEVER STOP developing. There is always a SURPRISE around every corner!  Sometimes a CHALLENGE …..ONWARD INTO FOREVER!!

Thanks so much Lyn. We look forward to reading your book down the track!

Real Estate Tales

/ Rainee / 4 Comments

one (3)As part of my job I visit a different three homes each week and do a write up for the local paper. Sometimes the agency provides me with the keys to a house, especially if it is vacant. Well today I was given a set of about eight to ten keys for a house I was to visit.

The luxury home was fairly isolated in a rural setting and the house numbering was a bit confusing. I eventually found the beautiful ($1m plus) house, parked in the driveway and attempted to open the front door. I tried every key several times but none fitted. I located another external door and still had no luck.

It was in an elevated position and I couldn’t resist taking some photos with my mobile phone in between trying to open the doors. In the end I rang the sales rep and after some clarification I discovered I was a the wrong house! Oops!

Sometimes these homes have security cameras and I wonder what they made of me trying to get into the house and taking photos as well.

I found the house I was meant to visit but actually I preferred the first one. Shame it wasn’t for sale!

What do love and economics have in common?

/ Rainee / 12 Comments

Just recently while looking through some old documents I found my high school reports. I was surprised to see that I got top of my class in economics. I did enjoy the subject but didn’t pursue it any further beyond school.

Then today I was thinking about my Mum who passed away ten years ago. Over the years I tried to demonstrate my love and appreciation of her. Did I succeed in showing my love for her? I will never really know.

Then I got to thinking that love (as well as economics) responds to supply and demand to some degree. I tried to show my love through my words, gifts and time spent with her. That is what makes me feel loved.

Have you ever come across a book called “The Five Love Languages” by Dr Gary Chapman? The five languages are very briefly described as follows:

  • Words of affirmation
  • Quality time
  • Receiving gifts
  • Acts of service
  • Physical touch.

The book suggests that if we know the other’s love language we can learn to say and do the right things to make the special someone feel loved.

When we randomly respond to people by doing and saying what we ourselves want to hear and receive we may just miss the point.

Just with supply and demand in the economy we can be more successful if we are in tune with what our loved ones desire. Now I don’t claim to have a handle on this but thinking about it helped me see where relationships break down and misunderstandings can occur.

We mean well and love as best as we can and hopefully our good intentions are recognised.

flowers from Tom 008 (Copy)

 

 

The mind journey to work …

/ Rainee / 5 Comments

I am startled awake by the alarm
I get up and methodically eat and get ready for work
I don’t want to go – not really – don’t feel up to it.
I must go – just deal with getting to work
Then deal with getting started
Drive to my next location – notice the colours of the cars
Be in the moment
Be friendly and do what I have to do
Remember that life is about love – be loving – be friendly
Pretend to be confident – no-one will know I am pretending
Enjoy the sunshine – relax into it
Drive to the next location
Try and do a good job – be loving
It gets easier as the day progresses
Healed by the warm sunshine and warm smiles
Do what I need to do – be kind
I am grateful for a good day.

Passionfruit flower PS

Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy Space

/ Rainee / 8 Comments

My china cabinet next to my arm-chair is a happy space. It houses many gifts and treasures and I enjoy just standing by or sitting next to it and enjoying the contents. Many of them ornamental only but they are precious to me and bring me happiness.

China cabinet
Gift from Rachelle and AJ
Gift from Andrew and Rachelle
Old Country Roses
Smile!
Mini Old Country Roses
A gift from Amsterdam

Maggies

/ Rainee / Leave a comment

Over the last few months several magpies have been dropping in to our back garden for a visit and a snack. Sometimes they just hung out there not even looking for food. I took these photos a couple of weeks ago and I am glad I did as we have hardly seen them since.

But of course! It is spring and there are more important things to do!

Today I sat outside in the sunshine for a few minutes and I noticed a big nest in a tree in the bush-land behind our home. I saw a little black head pop up from the nest and the maggie flew directly to my fence and then onto the chair beside me.

I offered him/her some bread but there wasn’t much interest. It wasn’t at all fazed by my presence and would take food from my hand – just to be polite, it wasn’t really hungry.

After a few minutes in hopped back up on the fence again and then flew directly back to resume sitting on the nest. What a lovely encounter with nature :-).

Now for something completely different …

/ Rainee / 10 Comments

I am taking part in BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds Project. I have been allocated an area of beach to monitor along with another woman (see map below).

Map for Western Hooded Plovers 001 (Copy)

This morning I did my second monitoring visit looking for the elusive Western Hooded Plover (pictured below).

IMG (Copy)

These delightful creatures nest directly on the beach or the nearby dunes and their nests are susceptible to being stepped on by people or damaged by dogs. They are so well camouflaged they are very difficult to find. I didn’t see any this morning but I will be back again in a fortnight to have another try.

Here are some snaps I took while at the beach.