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Posted on by Debbie

Thriving my way through February #WBOYC

Hello friends

It’s time for another episode of What’s Been on Your Calendar #WBOYC and linkup, where we share what’s been happening in a monthly wrap-up. I also do an update on how my word of the year has been going.

February in Tumbarumba means:

  • Tumbatrek and Tumbafest
  • Hot weather

What is Tumbatrek?

Tumbatrek is a bushwalk through the spectacular high country organised by Council each year to showcase the beautiful Snowy Mountains region.

An iconic annual event, Tumbatrek provides an informal opportunity for community and government leaders to discuss issues in the region while experiencing the beautiful landscape of the Snowy Valleys region.

Tumbatrek was the brain child of Tim Fischer AC, former Deputy Prime Minister, who in 1985 along with a few keen locals wanted to promote tourism in the Tumbarumba region. It went into recess in 2007 and was resurrected in 2012 by Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack MP.

This year Trekkers enjoyed an epic walk (13km) through the Bago State Forest along the Hume and Hovell Track moving downhill over boardwalks and bridges and crossing Reef Creek and Duffers Gully under a canopy of Red Stringybark, Peppermint Box and giant Alpine Ash. Source

The Mathematician was one of leaders (again this year) walking with our local students who are training to walk the Kokoda Track in April 2024 as part of Tumba2Kokoda. A dinner for invited guests was held on the Friday night before the trek – it was a lovely evening!

Read more about Tumbatrek 2022 and Tumbatrek 2017

Tumbatrek 2024
Hume and Hovell track
Rotarians on Tumbatrek
Tumbatrek Feb 2024

Tumbafest 2024

I think every February I mention Tumbafest, it’s always on the last weekend in February. It’s been running since 1997 and I have only missed one or two in all those years. It’s a weekend of fun with music, food and wine – an opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy some great music and socialising with friends and family.

Our daughter and her family have been coming in recent years and the grandkids enjoy the free entertainment – face painting, sculpture making, photo booth, bubble lady, colouring in and playground, plus the carnival style rides (which cost). They also enjoying dancing to the various bands that are playing! There are also markets open to the public, wine tasting and sales, gin sales, a beer tent and food vans.

We get a great spot under the trees, where we can see the kids play, we can hear the bands playing and we’re comfortably set for the day. My favourite bands this year were The Mighty Yak and Bloom. The highlight act, The Choirboys, were a bit of a let down unfortunately!

Photo booth family fun
Photo booth fun
Photo booth fun
Tumbafest view from the bridge
Relaxing at Tumbafest
Tumbafest under the trees
Tumbafest bands 2024
Debbie at Tumbafest

And the rest of the month included…

  • Booking a trip away with my husband – a week in New Caledonia in June. This trip is a long time coming, as in 46 years, due to my last trip there ending in tragedy. In some ways I’m hoping to give myself some closure.
  • Being interviewed by Sue for her podcast – all about thriving not just surviving!
  • My daughter’s partner in the UK turned 40 today (29 Feb) – being a leap year baby he’s had a lot less birthdays on his actual birthday.
  • Bookclub meetings x 2 – my online bookclub has now finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and my local bookclub discussed Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  • My Fierce and Fit 6 week challenge started mid month and includes boosting confidence, mental strength, information on meal plans, body scans and exercise – all with expert guidance. In full disclosure I had the body scan but refused to look at the results asking my coach to keep them safe and I’ll check in on them when we do the final scan and compare details. I just couldn’t bring myself to look at the results and felt too overwhelmed with everything else I had going on. My coach understood and took them for me checking that nothing was too serious. And I missed the first week due to being in Brisbane.
Patrick and Granny
Patrick and Granny in Brisbane
  • Going to Brisbane for a week to help care for my grandson who had his tonsils, adenoids out and grommets put in – which I wrote about here:
Fairy Godmother/Grandmother in Residence
  • Helping friends at an author dinner with TV icon Geraldine Doogue ( a post to come soon), but in the meantime here’s a photo. My friend Cathy is in the middle and I often mention her in my WOYP posts, she’s such a great cook! I was the hostess on the night, helping to welcome and serve everyone.
Geraldine Doogue with Cathy and Debbie
Geraldine Doogue OA with Cathy and Debbie

Thriving and not just surviving

In keeping with my Word of the Year, THRIVE, I was thrilled to be a guest on Sue’s podcast, she’s back with Series 7, and we talked all things thriving. Here’s a link to my post which has links to how you can listen to all of Sue’s episodes.

Am I thriving or just surviving?

Others Thriving

It’s great to see others thriving too. My 5yr old granddaughter Miss E has recently mastered the art of riding her bike without training wheels. 

We bought her first balance bike when she was about 1 and other bikes along the way as she’s grown. Her younger brother is now using one of her early balance bikes. It’s great to see her master this skill and the perseverance required to do so, is a life lesson.

No training wheels
No training wheels

Her parents have been instrumental using a new-to-me technique, which involves a towel wrapped around her torso and held up by one of the parents as the child finds their balance. It worked really well and I’m so happy for her as she is gaining confidence in her own abilities and enjoying the bike riding so much more now!

Thrive WOTY2024

What’s Been on Your Calendar plus Word of the Year

As we’ve done for a while now, blogging buddies Donna, Sue, Jo and I are continuing to run a monthly linkup where the focus is on what has happened in the month. It’s a good way to also keep track of your Word of the Year (WOTY if you have one) and I like to combine the two in my wrap-up posts. Please note that from next month the link up will stay open for 48 hours rather than 7 days.

We’ve set this for the last Friday of the month and the linkup is below – copy your post’s URL and add it in. We love reading about what you’ve been doing. It’s great fun so we hope you can join us.

Please note the two dates – the first one is for Northern Hemisphere bloggers (where Donna lives) it’s the last Thursday of the month and the second date is for the last Friday of the month for us Southern Hemisphere bloggers.

Dates for 2024 are:

  • Feb 29/Mar 1
  • Mar 29/30
  • Ap 25/26
  • May 30/31
  • June 27/28
  • July 25/26
  • Aug 29/30
  • Sept 26/27
  • Oct 31/Nov 1
  • Nov 28/29
  • Dec 26/27 2024

A quote to live by:

The difference.between try and triumph is just a little umph!

Marvin Phillips

How was your February and how can it be March already??

Happy Days 🙂

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Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

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52 Replies to “Thriving my way through February #WBOYC”

  3. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #377 – Thistles and Kiwis

  5. That quote is awesome about triumph.

    Loved reading and nodding along too…because SO many emotions.

    Whilst closure may be a goal for New Caledonia even more importantly (for me as an observer) is that you get a chance, in a safe and loving way with G, to be…with your memories, acknowledging them and not necessarily moving forward but adding more to your inner story and strength.

    Like many of us, I reckon February might be short but it always packs a punch or two.

    You are an awesome Granny…so much love to give and share…shame they are all so.far.away. at times…LOL

    Thank you for the link up….

    Denyse

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    1. Thanks Denyse, your wise words are much appreciated and I agree with you – if I can acknowledge the memories and add them to my story, and Grant will be a big help I’m sure. He will have returned from Kokoda a few months before so it will be a restful holiday compared to that!

      I really like that triumph quote and it’s very true isn’t it – sometimes we need a little umph to get through!

      It was a huge month in so many ways and I didn’t realise it at the time i was too busy living in the moment :).

      Thanks again for your support and I am thinking of you as you navigate this next stage of life without your dad. x

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  6. My cousing comes down from Sydney every year for Tumbafest and I’m always a tad jelly when I see yours and Judy’s photos. So much to love this month and good luck on your challenge!

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    1. Hopefully one day you can come and enjoy it too. I’m going well in my challenge and can start to notice a few minor changes so that’s good! Thanks Jo, see you down here later on.

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  7. I love that closing quote, Debbie! It made me smile. Also, your February events sound like so much fun. That trail is beautiful. I did listen to your interview on Sue’s podcast and found it spot on. Thank you for that.

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    1. Thanks Christie, that quote really appealed to me too! February is always a fun month with lots happening at the end of summer, and we then move into March and autumn. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the podcast 🙂

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  9. I can’t believe a year has passed already since you last talked about Tumbafest! It looks like a wonderful community get together. I loved your podcast interview with Sue – very inspirational. You have certainly had a hectic month

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  10. Looks like you had a full and fun February, Debbie. I read two books by Celeste Ng including “Everything I Never Told You” and I have her latest book on my e-reader atm. Thank you for hosting #WBOYC. Have a wonderful March!

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  11. What a full month! Tumbafest looks like lots of fun. Our little town does some activities, but parking is a mess as the town is really just a crossroads of two bigger highways. It’s barely a town at all when you come right down to it.

    My oldest granddaughter refuses to even try to ride a bike. She’ll be 15 in April and has rarely even ridden one. Her little brother fell off his and broke his elbow when they were both very little. I think that scared her. That towel method is so smart!

    Thanks for the link up!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. It’s funny how some people just never learnt to ride a bike for whatever reason, I couldn’t imagine not riding, so we’re thrilled the grandkids enjoy getting out and learning how to do it. The towel method is really clever and works well.

      Our town is very small but the events I mentioned bring loads of visitors to our town and hopefully they tell others or come back again. Many people have travelled through town and decided they like it enough to move here!!

      Thanks for your comment Marsha I always enjoy having you over for a visit!

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  13. THat set up by the river is beautiful – so charming. And yes, seeing old bands can be a let down, I spend much time deciding if I’d rather keep them in my memory, if I really loved them than having it tarnished with a new reality. Music has changed a bit…

    Good for you for going back to NC. I’ve been looking at that – they have a thasso pool at the Chateau Royal. I don’t think you’ll recognise the place – I don’t think I would either. it’s been 22 years since we went, but I used to go a lot. I hope you don’t get too stressed in the lead up to the trip. I know you’ll have a wonderful time when you are there…but our demons can be tricky to manage.

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  15. Pingback: 5 Favourites from February – Natalie the Explorer

  17. Can’t wait to hear you in Sue’s podcast! Tumbafest sounds great. We have a local festival but our “green” is quite small so it’s nowhere near the scale of yours. Interested in learning more about your 6 week challenge too.

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    1. I hope you enjoy the chats on Sue’s podcast Gail, I’d love to hear your thoughts once you listen to it. The six week challenge is part of my exercise studio in town and aims at giving us a bit of a kick start, I’m hoping to lose a few kgs along the way.

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  19. What a busy month February was for you Deb. Tumbatrek looks like fun event and a really great community event. You’ve definitely been Thriving lately!

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  23. A great month for you Deb – I always enjoy your Tumbafest photos – it looks like such a fun event. The walking one looks like it’s very well supported too – the joys of country town living where everyone turns out to support events. Congrats to the new two wheel bike rider – she’ll be zooming along behind you on the trail next time she visits! x

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    1. Yes Leanne they had over 150 walkers register for the trek and had to close it off. Tumbafest draws in so many people to the area but the creekscape never feels too crowded despite all the extra people! Yes Emilia is keen to come and ride with us now 🙂

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  24. It’s amazing when we look back at the month how much we actually do! I loved your post Deb – always full of vitality and energy and you are definitely Thriving. Thanks for the shoutout re the Podcast and your interview is very popular. I read Everything I never told you a few years ago and enjoy Celeste Ng books. I would have loved to have participated in Tumbatrek and who knows one year I might!

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    1. I know Sue, I probably say it each month but I never realise how much I got done or enjoyed until I start writing these posts! I feel like I’m thriving so that’s good 🙂 We’d love to have you join us for Tumbatrek one year, that would be awesome.

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  25. Hi, Debbie – Thriving, believing, achieving and joy radiate from this post – top to bottom. You have a magic ability to write and express yourself this way – which is highly contagious! I’d love to make it not only to Tumbarumba but to Tumbafest one year. That is VERY high on my bucket list!

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    1. Haha Carol! They were very comfortable bean bag chairs supplied by the organising committee in the ‘family’ area and I think I may have dozed off at one stage I was so relaxed (and tired). It was a great weekend of fun with thousands of visitors flocking into town.

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