I Might Have to Move to Australia...

...just so I can meet the people who put together and are featured in this magazine.

I was packing my "bag of wonders" as the kids call it for the trip to Billings and was just about to put these magazines in when I thought, "OH! I haven't blogged about THESE!" So everything came to a skidding halt so I could tell you about this incredible publication that my friends Myron and Ada subscribed to for me...

I know.

Focus.

But this is really, really special.  You'll be glad I'm a flake when you look a little closer...

The periodical is called "graziher" and it's about/for/of women in Australian agriculture and LIFE. It's independently published and is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. The paper is thick and sturdy, good quality, so it can bounce around in a farm truck or have a pie set on it to cool and you'll still have a good read. The photographs...oh, it's like they took my camera and captured the images I would have, except probably more professionally. Either that or they have amazing photo editors who spiff up the scenes.  

I love the fonts.  Yes. Even the typography is well done!

It shows women making a difference in their communities and branching out to impact world culture...

It portrays the tricky beauty in ranching. Not everyone appreciates a good cow picture, but I do! (And I think you all are starting to as well, as much as I inundate you with them.) Even the sheep in this magazine look good. I'm not a sheep person at all, so that's saying something big here.

There are recipes, too, but only a couple and they're really practical and fresh. Nothing with frou-frou ingredients that would be hard to get your hands on or keep in the pantry. (I'm going to do this tart, but I need to convert the measurements!)

Poetry (and book reviews)...

FASHION! But just a little. It's almost an afterthought....as though the editor said, "Well, we'd probably better have SOMETHING fashion-y..."

This particular ensemble is one that i'm going to try to copy, somehow, for this fall/winter.

There's art, too....not just photographic art, but watercolor and pottery and metal and screen printing art! 

One of my favorite features is the article they include in each issue (so far...all two that I have) about the "pioneers"; the women who preceded them in Australia, those who you look up to and say, "Someday, I want to be like HER." 

I wish a magazine such as this existed for women in Montana. 

Nothing political or with an agenda, but a good strong read that encourages and motivates us, that portrays us as we really are. 

If you'd like to look at graziher in person, you're welcome to drop by and have coffee (and perhaps the tart), look through and have a visit! 

Due to the fact that they're from Australia and basically irreplaceable, I'm not going to lean them out but I WILL share them here. 

(Yep. That's the way to get company!)

Myron and Ada, thank you so very much. 

When I opened the first issue and leafed through about 10 pages, I got tears in my eyes because I thought, "Finally. Someone 'gets' it. Someone made a magazine for us..." 

And then "But I'm not AUSTRALIAN!!!!"

Even so, I love it and it DOES encourage and inspire me here.

Okay, NOW I'll finish packing...

But not to move to Australia. 

I'm just going to Billings.

(Grandma came through surgery fine, as of noon today and now we can tease her about being into heavy metal because she's got a plate in her hip and a rod in her arm.)

I Think You Need to Know...

Today's assignment is to write about something I feel strongly about.
I thought a long time about this one, because this year it seems everyone feels strongly about EVERYTHING. No matter what I thought to write, it seemed heavy and controversial, and I don't know about you but I'm quite weary of that.

And then it came to me.

I believe that if you love someone, you should tell them.
Don't assume they'll be able to figure it out or that they already know or that you'll get to it someday or that it's too scary so it's best to avoid the matter.
Tell them.
Just say it.

In the family I was raised in, we always have and continue to do so.  When my grandpas each died, I was sad of course, but there was no doubt that the last words we spoke to each other were "Love you, Gramps" and "I love you, child".

(Yes, I'm crying, here. So many people I love and miss...)

It's good to back up the words with action, of course. Words can be empty without action, meaningless without the follow-up (or perhaps precedent). But I feel very, very strongly that if you love someone....friend or family or even pet....that you should tell them.

Some people are scary to say those words to. And there are those who are scared to hear them, or don't know what to do if someone has the nerve to speak of love to them.  That's okay. The older I get, the more I think "What's the very worst that could happen? An awkward moment? Is that worth the regret?".  It'll be okay. Tell them, anyway.

I have to go, now.  My grandma broke her hip and wrist yesterday and is having surgery today, so I'm going to try to get things squared away here, then head to Billings in the morning. I just had to get this blog post out, because it's too important to me to be packing it around in my head and heart.

For what it's worth, I also want you all, the readers of the Chronicles, to know that I so appreciate your faithfulness through the years. I've made some of the best friends of my life, and learned so much, laughed and cried and exclaimed. You really saved me in so many ways because when I started writing this, I felt very alone. Thank you. I do love you, too.

Bye, now!