Dear Mama,

I am cradled by the magic of these islands. There is so much going on here! Music and festivals and theatre and art and sports and underneath it all the weather is constantly changing and giving a sense of movement to everything.

Dear Jake,

The other day in the library I met the most MINDBLOWNG PSYCHEDELIC MAYAN/CELTIC PANTS

Dear Mama,

I have been thinking lately of houses and what I want mine to look like when I build it. Jake is very good at fixing and building things, so that helps! My little nest of a room is coming along nicely. When you told me stories of living in California, I would picture you in houses like these.

Dear Mama,

This past weekend Newtown (my old neighborhood) celebrated its annual Fair Day. It was hot and sunny and crowded. My camera and computer aren't getting along, so here are some photos from other people.

Dear Mama,

I'm writing an essay on music in Sufism for my Mysticism class. Sufism is a branch of Islam that focuses on the mystic tradition, and although there are some fundamentalist Muslims who believe music should be illegal, there are many sects who embrace it as a central aspect of praise. My lecturer introduced me to two books by Hazrat Inayat Khan, a poetic author and master of the vina (an Indian stringed instrument).
I wanted to copy down everything he wrote, but here is just a little something:

It would be no exaggeration if I said that music alone can be themeans by which the souls of races, nations and familes, which are today so apart, may one day be united.
... there will come a day when music and its philosophy will become the religion of humanity.

Dear Mama,
The sun was so bright today! I left my laundry on the line while I went into town. It was probably dry in fifteen minutes!




this is the park I live beside

Dear Mama,
The other day my flatmates took me to Princess Beach. It is bordered by a series of rocky island bits with the most amazing tidal pools full of all kinds of life. I swam in the cold, cold ocean and it was awesome!