Hi Everyone!

[Heartfire At Home]

Hi everybody...

My name is Linda and I'm from Ballarat in Victoria (about an hour or so away from Melbourne).

I'm a part timer at quite a few things which adds up to a really full and very busy life - lol. I'm a primary school teacher (this is my 24th year I think), a writer (I do some copywriting here and there although not much lately), a serious blogger, and an interior designer focusing on the emotional connection between people and their homes. I like to think of myself as a room choreographer plus an atmospheric designer (getting the 'vibe' and heartbeat of a home right). And, I just LOVE colour and pattern!

I also 'have a thing' for trees, owls, maps, books, butterflies, music (I perform in local amateur musical theatre when I find the time), and I have a cat called Jessie who's getting on a bit.

I'm so happy to find a forum (and an Aussie one at that!) where people love to talk about decorating and design. Bliss!

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and also visiting sites and links available here.

Cheers,
Linda.

[rosierose]

Hey Linda.........
You are right.......J-A has created a lovely warm forum with such a great bunch of members.......if you love all those things you listed then you are definitely in the right place. I have always loved Ballarat. As children we would go every year as my brother was in music competitions held there. We would go to Sovereign Hill, Eureka Stockade and I have a memory of swans at a lake(not sure if this was even Ballarat:confused:).....but it has been years since I have been back...... Even though I am living in Melbourne.....

Can't wait to hear all about your decorating....welcome again Linda

[Eli]

Hi and welcome Linda. Great to see another Victorian on board :clapping:

[Heartfire At Home]

Hi Rosie Rose and Eli, and thanks so much for the warm welcome!

Rosie Rose... YES it certainly was Ballarat!! And guess what... the school where I teach 4 days a week is exactly opposite that very same lake (Lake Wendouree). We have swans on our nature strip (and the accompanying poo!). It's called Pleasant Street Primary School, and it lives up to its name. If you walk out our door and over the school crossing you are basically on the lake foreshore! My classroom is on the side of the school whose wall of windows overlooks the lake... very lucky indeed for all of us! I conduct the school choir, and we are singing at the Royal South Street Competitions this year, which is probably one of the singing comps your brother was in? Ballarat has a rich history surrounding the performing arts, which is one of the reasons I love living here.

Linda. x

[Jess_F]

Welcome Linda - you'll love it here ... it's a very warm and inviting forum.

[Heartfire At Home]

Thanks 4sterftg! You're not that far away either - Ferntree Gully!

Linda. :)

[Jess_F]

No not too far ... I travel through (or at least past via the bypass) when I visit my two brother in Ararat. Ballarat is beautiful - very serene and gorgeous architecture and gardens.

[thisisme]

Welcome Linda!!!

:)

[Heartfire At Home]

Hi thisisme! Great to meet you. :)

4sterftg, it does have some lovely architecture, very true! I wish it were a bit warmer sometimes though. Although not as cold as 'legend' would have you believe, it's still really cold here! I used to live in Horsham and surrounds (much warmer) before I moved to Ballarat many years ago to attend uni... I did the drive from Ballarat to Horsham too many times to count. Ararat was always the halfway mark! I haven't been there for years, and I imagine it's grown heaps.

[Beverley]

Welcome Heartfire at Home, I hope you enjoy the forum :)

[Heartfire At Home]

Hi Beverley! I love your avatar, you look so happy! Lovely to meet you.

Linda.

[rosierose]

Just wanted to mention Linda that I am just reading your lovely blog and having a look at those fab cushions in your little shop....... Really enjoying your thoughts and ideas......

[rosierose]

In particular this quote on your blog resonates with me and will with many I expect:

'The way to find out about your happiness
is to keep your mind on those moments
when you really ARE happy --
not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy.

This requires a little bit of self- analysis.
What is it that makes you happy?
Stay with it, no matter what people tell you.
This is what I call, 'Following Your Bliss.'

If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while, waiting for you.
And the life that you ought to be living,
is the one you ARE living.
Wherever you are, if you are following your bliss,
you are enjoying that refreshment,
that life within you, all the time.

When you can see that,
you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open doors for you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.' ~ Joseph Campbell ~

[Beverley]

Hi Beverley! I love your avatar, you look so happy! Lovely to meet you.

Linda.

Hi Linda,
Thanks! My daughter bought a new camera yesterday and was practising with it. I hate having my photo taken and she had this huge lens so close to my face and I got the giggles :) Luckily it is only a small avatar, cos it certainly shows up all the lines...but I think I have either earnt or enjoyed (laugh lines!) every one of them :)

[Heartfire At Home]

Hi Rosie, and thank you so much. :o :love it:

That verse by Joseph Campbell is one of my all time favourite quotes. Usually most people only quote the last couple of lines that start with 'I say....', but the whole thing is so amazingly spot on I think.

I haven't read it for a while, and reading it here today made me get goose-bumpy and fired up about the things I love the most all over again. Thanks for posting it. It really is an affirmation that following the path I've chosen to is what's right for me.

Beverley, I know what you mean about photos. We had our school photos yesterday.... and believe me when I say I do not take a good one. My partner didn't believe me until he saw the first photo of me, and he begrudgingly turned to me and said unfortunately he had to agree because I'm alot easier on the eye in real life - lol.

I actually googled why it is that some people don't take good photos a while ago, and it said something about some people's faces not translating from 3D to 2D well. The camera loves some people, and not others. Most of the time it really hates me! Oh well.... no shot at fame and fortune in tinsel land for me!

I think laughter lines are incredibly attractive! They show a life well lived. So much better than the frozen looking faces you see in Hollywood - bleh.

Linda. xox