Objects of beauty include - woodpiles!

Is there anything more beautiful than than the sight of a wood pile. It holds the promise of cosy afternoons with a good book in front of fire - it signals more than one worry free winter - just as face cream advertisements sell youth - a firewood pile equates to comfort, warmth and always knowing there will be enough.  So while the sight of this pile might not move any of you to tears in warmer climates - In Dunedin it brings great joy indeed.

It's been a crazier than usual time. Tom turned 20 and Rosie came home for 10 days before heading back to Wellington.  We went to the Catlines for a few very cold but very relaxing days.

 It's strange to think that I no longer have any teenagers.  Probably just as well. A young whipper snapper called me Grandma at the harry potter movie the other day ! Still I was soon vindicated. Rosie sent me a text saying that her good friend Jade could hardly believe I was nearly 50 because I have such a young face.  But my age is what I am and I love every minute of it and am making the most of it.  Even if that means most weeks out on the road for work and a strange existence inbetween.

Heres to a week of keeping warm

Marg

Hobbies and Interests Include ... firewooding.

 Yes  it's been a while since I had anything to say ... for a great many reasons.  Glitches with technology, time and generally managing a life in what I would called "Transition"... but from what and to where...?  My anchors are loose right now. 
Even so a number of weekends of late have been spent at a work- mate's  farm in Dunback where we are  clearing a gully for the farmer in return for the firewood. The farm is set quite high up in the backhills. It is quiet, remote and beautiful. I find the physical work deeply satisfying.

 You might be a little upset that it is native wood going down - but reassured the farmer is a great conservationist and has mature stands of trees - set aside to keep- and has cleared the land of the predators so that the native birds have thrived. This gully is full of scraggly wood and it is hard to see or clear the stock.

 We take plenty of food and work as long as we can manage without overdoing it.

 At a guess I would say that fire wooding is set to become the new hobby for 2011.  It certainly is a good feeling to know that already next years wood is in.
Tonight I have the fire going - it is warm and cosy. Tomorrow I'm back on the road to live out of suitcase in yet another motel with no fire. So I'm making the most of it 


 So here's to week of pursuing all hobbies and interests.

Cheers Marg

It's Friday Again......

I can't believe both how fast and slowly a week disappears. Here it is Friday again and I'm just getting around to thinking about what I did last weekend before I turn my mind to this.  Last weekend I went with a few friends to stay at Kakanui - that lovely seaside community not far from Oamaru. There's not a lot to do there except relax, walk the beach and generally solve all of life's problems as you do when you have a glass of wine or two with friends.

 we stayed in this cute little crib.  Really cheap at only $45 per night.

I was inspired by Mary Nanas post where she wrote about 10 things that her readers might not know about her. Given that my readership is mainly my family I have been trying to think of 10 things that they may not know about me - Lets see

1. Among other things my favourite foods are currently avocados, olives and feta cheese.

2. While I am happy to drink red wine my first preference is for white.

3.  I really really don't like country music.  Currently I am enjoying a wide range of many genres - especially jazz.

4. Every year I declare I will take a week off work when the film festival comes to town. So far I have not succeeded in that ambition.

5. I nearly always overestimate how much I can fit into one day and my capacity to succeed at tasks I set myself.

6. I never ever cry in movies (but can weep to music or poetry).  This has often given me a reputation of being hard -hearted.

7. I am very good at knowing the meaning of dreams.

8. If I wasn't doing what I am doing now I would like to design beautiful shoes for awkward and ugly feet. 

9. I do not like flying.

10.  I am speed reader.

That's all for now. Have a great week. 

Marg 

Up up and away .......

This weekend just gone in the frenzy of packing and getting all those last things done before Rosie took  flight this morning we managed to fit in a trip to Long beach -one of our favourites. 

I took my new  camera and made a startling discovery  - I can't use it unless I'm wearing my glasses otherwise I can't see the picture I've taken. Look at this dreadful shot above.That is supposed to be one seamless panoramic shot made up of 3 photos taken close to each other. Even I am surprised at my lack of skill there and annoyed that my eyes aren't what they used to be.Glasses are so annoying and I can never find mine at the best of times let alone wear them constantly!!!

That aside I'm  really pleased with the general ability of the camera to take a good crisp picture.

Later when we got home I made another bag for the USA.

This one was an old hospital blanket -lined with impossibly slippery  and sure to fray lining. But who could resist those Russian dolls peeking out at them while sitting in a not so interesting class.

I was nervous about this bag. I know that here in Dunedin you would have no trouble wearing it loudly  and proudly -but I'm not so sure it will be understood down in Southern USA.  Never mind I made it as an expression of my affection -not because it needs to be used.

It was  a muted goodbye at the airport this morning. We  sad but happy - she nervous but so excited. Good luck Rosie -missing you already!!!!   What an adventure you are going  to have.

Here's to a week of dreaming of new adventures.

Marg

 

Walks that leave you weary but happy.

Part of me wants to apologise for yet again showing you photos of my garden but the other part just wants you to enjoy the growth that has occurred despite the very indifferent summer we have had and sporadic bursts of input from me.

I love how things grow with or without me and I am amazed at what a constant source of pleasure it is to me as I look out on it as I sit at my dining table. When I look at the garden, I often see my neighbours white cat sitting on top of the fence gazing down  and  I am reminded of Rapunzels mother who looked longingly at the lettuces in the witches garden and sent her poor husband to steal some.

At work I am known for overestimating my capacity to achieve and underestimating the enormity of the task I have set myself. (by contrast I think a definition of anxiety is overestimating the task and underestimating one's ability to achieve the task). At times the same applies to my non work life. Last year I was determined to walk my way entirely through this great book which charts pretty much all of Dunedin's walk ways. Im not sure how many weekends I thought there were in a year but is clear that I miscounted. I think I need about 250 weekends to do all of these. Anyway last week as a preparation for the peninsula challenge this coming weekend I walked one of the very lovely tracks in this book. It was the walk from Henley through to Taeiri Beach. About 10 km in total.  There's quite a lot of going up and down which gives the track a cassification of moderate to hard but it's such an enjoyable walk that it's well worth doing whatever the weather.  I was weary but happy at  the end.

Here's a couple of photos along the way to inspire you.

Have a great inspirational week everyone.

cheers Marg

 

Imagine ....

Imagine way back at the start of 2009 that you wrote in the journal of sorts that you keep when the mood takes you, that this year you'd like to make a coat.  You thought to yourself that it would be a lovely coat with beautiful lining. You imagined yourself wearing such a coat. You thought it might look a little like this.

The only trouble is that when you imagine something there is frequently a very large gap between what you see in your mind's eye and reality itself.  Somewhere in the imagining the voices of commonsense and reason come knocking at the door.  Of course you don't answer it and certainly don't listen when they ask 


" Excuse me ma'am, do you actually know how to sew a coat?"
" Have you had much sewing experience?" 

So you forge ahead - you attend the course that helps you sort the pattern out.. you buy the fabric... you imagine the coat... you imagine the coat some more. You put the fabric away  so you don't have to look at it any more ... and then your sister Maryanna   

suggests you bring the coat stuff with you when you come up to Miri's for Christmas because she will be there too. 

Here they are the miracle workers. Maryanna who generously gave up 3 days of her holiday to give a personalised sewing tutorial on coat making and Miri (with Jude who slept in the tent so the Aunties could have a room to sleep in) who supplied endless amounts of  home baking, good company and wonderful hospitality.

The gap has been closed. What was imagined became real!  I have a coat with beautiful lining.  It is better than what I imagined.  Thank you everyone.


I wonder what I might imagine for myself in 2010??


Happy wondering and dreaming to you all as we move into 2010.


Cheers Marg

Why are endings always harder ?

Well I just had to show how my garden progresses and I have to say I'm getting more than my share of enjoyment out of my tiny plot. It's over planted and there is no coherent plan or record keeping going on just lot's of planting and some watering. And  I'm proud to say we ate all of the first spinach crop this weekend just gone. Spinach and feta fritters. Very tasty.

This week I've been overwhelmed with trying to finish things and been thinking a bit how often beginnings are spoken of as being difficult but in my experience it's the endings that are messy and hard to navigate. This year I got a small scholarship to find out about the experiences of teachers as they move into late career. While I was on leave for the first 6 months of the year and working for what is known as the "dark side" I got to travel a lot and had plenty of time to think and  read and get onto this study. Since I've been back at my real job  I have found myself so unmotivated and almost at the point of mental paralysis when it comes to writing up my findings. I have not done what I need to and in the process have also not done what I want to do . Now it's crunch time. The report has to be submitted by Friday. Finishing this thing, getting it onto paper and ending it is like a refined form of torture. It's not that the topic hasn't been intriguing and relevant it has - it's just not done. That's the problem.

It reminds me of another form of torture I subjected myself for a lot longer than I ought to have simply because I couldn't bring myself to end it. That was when I used to get a monthly massage from a naturopath who was not only poorly qualified but also terrrible at the art of massage. It was not relaxing, or refreshing. It was awful. The person in question used to talk all the way through the session - there was no soft relaxing mood music , no nice oil burning in the background and no soft lights. No - there were hard hands and  bad monologue. I heard all about the bad mariage, the arsehole of an ex , the troublesome teens and I lay there like a slab of meat being pounded for the barbeque  month afer month. Finally I got stronger in myself to ask the question? Am I enjoying this? Is this fun? Is this in my best interests?   I had my answer and after that I never went back. 

That's another question I've been pondering a lot lately. Asking myself which of all the things I do and agree to do are in my best interests. That is a hard one and one that sometimes people around me resist as I try to do   what is right for me .Recently I have been called selfish and heartless because I declined an invitation to do something with some people. I'm getting better at living with criticism as well. So much so that when the young girl told me recently that the machine had diagnosed my skin age as being that of a 47 year old and how terrible that was and that now I had to buy expensive products to repair the damage I just laughed and told her but of course my skin is 47 years old as am I!! And no thanks to the skin products.  Sunscreen will do the trick.

So make this week one in which you put your own best interests first.  You'll be glad you did. Cheers Marg