Mingenew and wildflowers

Last weekend, we hit the road again and drove around 150km southeast to the small town of Mingenew for the largest Agricultural Expo in the Mid West region.

Rob was exploring possible new job opportunities with exhibitors including local farmers. So, we met some interesting people from Irwin Valley Milling that are involved in lupins production (low GI, high in protein and gluten free grain), Perth based farmers producing carob beans that are quite often substituted for chocolate. We also met some business people that are introducing GPS based farm mapping software that enables farmers to do very efficient automated planting, fertilising and harvesting these days with self-guided tractors and things - my granddad would probably love this high tech stuff for "efficient" farming.

Here's one of the "non-GPS" tractors from a few years ago on display...

Gotta love those wooden wheel spokes! Beautiful works of art!

On the way back to Geraldton, we decided to stop in the Depot Hill Reserve located northwest of Mingenew and finally saw what everybody has been raving about - wildflowers of many varieties set among the vast landscape. I've no clue what we saw and was told that two of my pics included South African weeds - interesting and a bit unusual to see such variety of colours wild in nature.

This week, Rob is fully engaged with job hunting and hopefully, he'll find more suitable job/project that would enable him to apply himself. I'm getting busy with my Pilates teaching, marketing and also seeking new business opportunities within the social media arena.

In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you if you're considering to make a trip to the Wild West in the near future. Don't forget, we're now moving into the "windy" season and there is plenty to do if you don't like to be out when it's blowing.

Seven months in Gero!

It's hard to believe but we've been living in Geraldton already seven months.

Since Rob's departure from his last job, he has had finally a chance to catch up on his lost sleep over last six months or so, and also do more enjoyable things such as fishing, chilling out, a bit of surfing, and getting back to his backyard - now also growing potatoes, more corn, etc. 

 Happy Rob

THREE fish

I'm now teaching three Pilates per week, and getting more and more people interested in my group and also private classes so, my marketing efforts are finally working. A few weeks ago, I started doing Iyengar Yoga that puts emphasis on details, precision and alignment in every posture and must admit that this practice nicely compliments my Pilates teaching. 

Happy Kat

Last week, I've been also working on one of the upcoming event "Dare to Dream 2050 - Future of the Mid West". Attached for you is our logo that we created for the event. More information re this project will come later on. 

Next week, I'm off to Sydney for a Pilates Conference 2013 and also to renew my passport - yep, it needs to be done in a person these days including pick up--in SYDNEY. Something to keep in mind for all of you who are still holding your European passport. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to seeing some of you while I'm in the Big Smoke again. 

 Geraldton Port during the sunset

Stormy clouds in Drummonds

Life goes on...

Well, since our last blog, things have changed--in particular for Rob as his contract was terminated under interesting circumstances. What happened? I could give you the details and was asked to suggest a phone call instead if you'd like to hear more. The good news is that Rob is free to use his entrepreneur's spirit and seek new opportunities that would enable him to apply himself.

Last week, Rob turned 29 - (again) and we had our first house party at our place in Drummonds. We had around 20 guests in our house and at least half of those people were Rob's colleague who came in to say to Rob how much they miss him and his positive attitude that has now completely vanished from the office.

Happy Rob

Rob and amazing clouds

Me's been busy with blogging, updating website, building newsletter, marketing and also running my Pilates business.  Have to say that it's not easy for one person to do it all.... it's damn hard work. And the most important thing is that I'm doing it for myself and can do it the way that suits to me and not to somebody else. Saying this reminded me a famous quote "It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project." - Napoleon Hill. Therefore, I must be half way through my life. 

The weekend before last, I was fortunate enough to be asked to teach Pilates at a women's retreat in Horrocks (60km North). Luckily, I ended up teaching around 15+ ladies as some decided to watch only. Rob came with me on this trip and met our new friend Bruce who took him around Chapman Valley.

 Canola field, Chapman Valley WA

Sunset at Horrocks

So, life goes on and as my granddad use to say "Life isn't a feather and it's worthwhile to give it a full shot." 

Brrrrrrrrrr!

Brrrrrr. Last couple of weeks were, well -- cold!  Colder than we expected in fact. Early morning temperatures dropped down to 4 degrees C. BUT, at least it was nice during the day and it  went up to 20+ degrees C which was really pleasant.

Not much has changed in Rob's work life other than he's been spending more time in the office than he's home - poor thing. I wish, this situation would change as we're soon moving into "windy" season, and you know what that means.

I've been working mainly on growing my Pilates business and doing a bit of events photography. As a result, I'm now teaching three classes per week. I'm also considering to take on Aqua Pilates in local Aquarena from mid September.

A week ago, I went to the Camel Man Fashion Extravaganza - a fundraising event to support suicide prevention. Camel Man is an Australian brand that prides themselves about making high quality products that incorporate aboriginal designs.  I was privileged to be the photographer for the night --I really enjoyed it and here are a few photos.

Another opportunity came up straight after the Fashion Extravaganza, and it was too good to be missed. Geraldton was hosting one of five Chevron City to Surf series and I was asked to shoot this event. First of all, it was a bit unusual compared to back in Sydney, I used to participate in this event as a runner so being the photographer was new role for me.

"City to Surf in Geraldton is a bit different -- well, if it was really "City to Surf" the whole event would only last about 15 seconds, because the "city" is right on the beach here! So, everyone runs away from the City then up the beach and back to the city again! Much better view than in Sydney! AND now Heartbreak Hill, just flat running!

Overall, it was another well organised event with some entertainment, and I had a great time - meeting new people and taking pics.

More English folks in our lives

Doesn't matter where we go, English folks seem to be going there as well. Not quite certain why this is .. maybe the English people just enjoy the sun more than the rain and cold. 

Early in April, we met our new English friends, Rachael and Garry. They are living in our neighbourhood (30 metres down the road). Garry is a train driver who's working long hours driving trains to/from mines at Kararra and Rachael is enjoying her free time until September. Then, she will need to go to work -- like anybody else. Rachael is a great asset to our family and also my current businesses adventures. She's been doing my Pilates classes, and also a bit of modelling for my portfolio (see some pics attached). 

 Rachael posing in porch setting

Rachel's profile at sunrise

Garry and Rachael have two additional members of their family - boxers Tilly and Uki (will show you some pics next time). 

Not much has changed in our lives since June. Rob is literally working 24/7, and it doesn't look like it'll change anytime soon. I'll leave it to him to say more about his current status. However, the Rob's backyard is making progress every single day. 

Since July, I've been teaching three Pilates classes per week, doing some marketing for my own business, and also thinking about what else I can do to get back my financial freedom. 

Last week, I started a Street Photography course that I hope will give me more insight into the art of seeing. My course notes are talking about Henri Cartier-Bresson who's considered to be the Master of Street photography. Make sure you watch his video The Decisive Moment which makes it clear that good photography is not about what camera you own and it's more about understanding light and the ability to see and feel the right moment to press the shutter.

 Let's see who's going to get there first ..?

Down under

'Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation.'- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Trip to Greenough with a Kiwi

Early in June, we met Noel. He's recently relocated from NZ to run a Communities and Technology project for Mid West Development Commission. He's nice guy (even though he's from Kiwiland) and what I really like about him is his contagious passion for photography. He gets on his push bike and travels around the town until he finds some pic opportunies. Then he stops, takes a pic and has a cigarette to gain more energy to peddle.

Look closely and you can see Noel right underneath of the sun

Three weeks ago, we went to Central Greenough settlement village where we took some pics. The scenery was just amazing to watch during sunset. For those of you who've been in Australia since 1993, this place may sound familiar due to the tragic event featured on the Australian TV show Crime Investigation Australia - Greenough Family Massacre. 

 St. Catherine's Hall

 St. Catherine's Church

 Hackett's Cottage 

We also went to the Walkaway Wind Farm that has 54 wind turbines and is WA's largest renewable energy project. Unfortunately, it was little bit late for the sunset photoshoot as the sun was already coming down. Therefore, a couple of weeks later, we decided to make another trip there. This time, we had to get up at 5.45am (on Saturday) to be in the Wind Farm for a sunrise  photoshoot. I think, it was worthwhile.

 Rob and turbines ... and the wind! 

 The sun is trying to find a way up in between 54 turbines

Upside down turbine blade..

What else is new? We have new friends (our neighbours) in Drummonds - Rachael and Garry from the UK. I'll write more about them in our next blog. Until then have a great time wherever you are. 

Gero is my oyster

Things are looking up in Gero -- I'm more contented with our new hometown and our current lifestyle--despite the fact that I'm still wanting some things to happen faster. I'm finally beginning to accept somewhat the WA="Wait Awhile' state of mind and just realise there's not a lot I can do about it. On the other hand, I love having a free hand to take on new challenges like teaching Pilates at a health and wellbeing retreat, mastering my culinary skills in the kitchen, meeting new people (online and offline) and exploring further my great passion -- photography.

Rob is posing for me during the sunset

Sunset in Drummond Cove, WA

Last week, we stepped into what is the Geraldton version of "Indian Summer" that is just a beautiful time of the year here. Still hardly any rain after the storm a few weeks ago. Warm and sunny days, and tiny bit of rain definitely helped our garden to look more greener than last week but still needs watering a couple times a week. We hope to start our first harvesting soon with bok choy but the rest of the group will take a bit longer.

Corn is doing really well

Bok choy, tomatoes and black kale

Next week, I'm looking forward to new challenges or opportunities, including the commencement of a brand new website. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

“The world is your oyster. It's up to you to find the pearls.” 

Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness