The blog that languished .......

Small things are so often underestimated.  Take my garden for example. On a tiny scrap of postage stamp sized section I have managed - mainly by neglect - and only by sheer virtue of putting things in -to have  produced so many beans, courgettes, onions and lettuces that I am sick of the sight of them. My neighbours and friends have smiled weakly and muttered a gracious thaaaanks as I deliver more bags of beans and courgettes. MY PLEASURE!!  I would never have thought that it was possible. I am reminded that you always need a lot less than you think and that applies not just to plots of land.  That's my garlic crop - grown from the bulbs Miriam gave me last winter. I think that will keep me going for a month or two at least.

It really feels like the end of the summer that never quite was. I got the first lot of wood in last week for the autumn and in a week or so am off to a colleagues farm where she has Manuka to get rid of.  Mind you that will be next years wood because it has to be chopped down and dragged out a gully first. Picture me wielding a chainsaw with gusto! No - I have managed to rope in some manual labour with the promise of some beer and a home cooked dinner as an exchange. Pretty much a win- win I'd say.( for me anyway)

Between working , and being out of town a lot and also juggling some house sitting my blogging has been languishing.  Also for practically the first time ever my plans this year are to have no plans. I'm trying to do less so I can do more. As a person prone to extremes I am teetering on the brink of complete inertia and kind of liking it.  Next weeknd I'm off to Papatowai to walk 15km in beautiful surroundings. That should get me going. Im taking my camera so you will see some lovely shots of the Catlins no doubt next time. The photo above is from the bedroom of the house where I was house/cat sitting. I awoke to a most glorious view of the sunrise in the mornings overlooking the city. Magic indeed!!!

Heres to a week of no plans.


cheers Marg

The travelling spoons

Look closely - what can you see there? 

Yes, a bunch of flowers I am still enjoying, but no, take a closer look - peek into that cup. It's full of  travel spoons - those strange little enameled implements that people used to pay a fortune for to prove they had been wherever they had been. Then they would take them  home and who knows how they were used?

What I do know a lot about is their eventual fate.  They end up in the junk shop for sale at $1 or $2 a piece depending on whether they are still in their plastic foam - lined cases.

Then I buy them. Not because I'm after my very own spoon collection but because these are going to be the leaving gifts for my staff.

I considered my budget - about $ 2 per person. ( NO I'm not being a cheapskate - we have a large team.- numerically that is ) And I came up with this marvelous plan of giving each person their very own spoon from me. 

First because they represent some things I like - they come from my favourite junk shop and the price is perfect.

Second each spoon is symbolic. It represents a journey that someone made to somewhere. Some of those places are familiar, some are not. Some of the spoons speak of times  and significant events. 

That's what teaching is like. It takes you both physically and figuratively to places you never thought you'd go before. Sometimes you end up in a place you never could even have imagined. There are always significant times and events as you teach that change you either for better or worse- inspire you or embitter you depending on how it pans out.  

 I plan to pass these wise thoughts along with some suitably silly ones on to my colleagues as I leave. I am sure if nothing else I will be remembered as being cheap and wierd. What better legacy can I leave ? 

 SO Here's to a week of  being cheap and weird. 

 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

 

Do what you love to do .......

These are some of the beans that got away. Hidden in the bean stalk they are now encased in green hides as tough as old boots - totally inedible you would think but Miriam suggests taking these and saving some for seed and making a bean feast with the rest. Apparently the flavour is so delicious - nothing at all like dried beans.  I just love how beautiful they are - nature sure has got a way with colours - green and purple together looks great and I do so wish they were magic. Then I could get rich the easy way.

I wanted to tell a story this week that I hope Doug and Rosie don't mind me telling.  Oh well it's a family blog so too bad.  When Doug and Cath lived with us last year we would often go out walking in the evenings. As well as admiring all the houses and gardens along the way the walk would also involve much admiring of lampposts.  Like this

and this .....


Being a linesman Doug knows all the nuances of a lamppost - all about their size shape, age and what different kinds of lampposts do. And may I add all of this is truly interesting information and if you'd been walking with him you would have admired them also.  Now Rosie who likes to live anonymously and as a normal human being in Wellington has so far managed to keep this lamppost interest under wraps but last week she reported that she was walking with her flat mate when she stopped to admire a lamppost.  If she had been with anyone else she would have been accorded freak status so she sent Doug an email blaming him for this curious obsession. This is his reply - which I found very funny

Dearest R Chops ,it may very well be true that you have crossed a line
> and become a hard wood power pole pervert.Brace yourself All the clues
> are there , you carnt fight it, like it or not it's all about DNA ,you
> are your gradads gran daughter. I can trace my obseson directley back
> to him and your only one step behind me. You have grandad to blame ,i
> mean thank. On the bright side you have access ,consider yourself
> lucky , unlike myself who lives in a land with only soft wood round
> poles , you however can enjoy every day contact with your square hard
> wood faverates ,should you choose to do so you can visit a lovely
> power pole daily, where as all I have are memories.Still with my new
> lap top and google street scene I to am able view the beauty of my
> favorates as and when ,but only on the Internet It's not the same
> Dont forget God has opened your eyes, you are now a member of a
> handful of select people,so select I'm the only other one. Now that
> your hooked may I surgest a visit to an Australian rain forest to view
> first hand these magnificent trees before they are cut down. REMEMBER
> your not a
> Tree hugger your a power pole lover!
> All I ask is you pat them,talk to them nicely before any photos are
> taken. Your friends will understand
> Love Doug
> Ps send me your bank details and if I'm not sacked before the months
> end I'll buy you dinner.


So here's to a  week of indulging your interests -  no matter how strange.


Cheers Marg

Happy Mothers Day Margi Moo she said .....

Happy mothers day to all mothers out there - especially to my own mother and to my sisters and sister in law who are some of the most amazing mothers I know. 

Today Rosie sent me a text which said "Happy mothers day Margi-moo", then Tom and I went off for a lazy breakfast at one of our favourite places from a former life- Port Royale Cafe in Port Chalmers. A warm autumn day with no agenda after what has been a hectic and at times gruelling week.

Just what can one dollar buy you these days?  Hardly anything. It wont get you a ride on the bus, maybe it will buy you 2 fizzy lollies, 15 minutes parking in the central city, perhaps a k- bar, a single fresh tomato or maybe 3 grapes. So I know you will be very impressed with this salt and pepper set bought for just one dollar - yep just ONE!!  Isnt it wonderful. I bought it especially for good luck because Rosie was waiting to hear if she had been accepted for the USA exchange and the waiting was excruciating. I thought if I put these in the parcel they would be symbolic of a positive outcome. 

I've been away for work again but while I was away the message came through in capitals. I GOT ACCEPTED. So well done Rosie - you and your friend Liz are off to America for a semester at Georgia Tech University.That's so wonderful. You have both worked so hard for this.   Tom has been working hard too. Last week he passed his heavy traffic license and is just waiting  for the apprenticeship to come through. In the meantime he cleans bouncy castles and does dishes. But hey - work is work and pay day is always sweet.

This weeks parcel also went off with a tin of homemade chocolate chippie GF biscuits (Edmonds recipe book)  , GF pizza bases, jelly just in case there was going to be party with party food; and one homegrown carrot from my garden. Apparently it arrived complete with earwig!!  

Heres to week of knowing that being a mother is always worth it ( at least to me)

cheers Marg.

The art of living ..... ( some people call it heavy breathing)

Have you ever read any books by Alexander McCall Smith?  I have enjoyed much of his writing and in particular the kindly view he has of people despite all their foibles and weaknesses.  I always want to think nicer thoughts after reading one of his books.

Anyway, this weekend I found myself in a situation along with 5 others where each one of us could have been one of the characters out of one of Smiths books. ( read - slightly odd)  There we were in the OUCA clubs and societies building for the whole weekend. We had given up one night and 2 days  to "master the art of breathing".  For those of you who are right now thinking we had come to learn to breathe heavily into a telephone let me put you straight .  This is serious self- improvement style breathing!!

  Saga from Christchurch had come to teach us.  The first thing she made us do, was promise to attend for the whole weekend. I think she could see each of us furiously planning unexpected deaths in the family or some other tragedy about to overtake us. Nodding in agreement wasn't enough.  The words had to pass through my lips. " I'll try to come tomorrow." A pen is thrown towards me. "Will you try to pick it up please?"  OK point taken " I will come back tomorrow".  And you know what?  I did come back for the next two days and all in all I can say  I'm really glad I did.

         taking time out of one's own life generally has good results, but learning to be conscious of your breath, your thoughts, your emotions also has positive spin offs. Gaining some distance and perspective allows you to see things a little more clearly or maybe to worry less about the concerns that are ever present. When you focus on breathing you certainly get to be present in the moment and that is much harder than it would seem.

 I also liked the way the course did not expect you to sign up for anything else, or necessarily to rush off and follow a particular  religion or adopt a dogmatic rigid lifestyle.  I could not bear to do that ever again. So yes - it was good. And where before I might have called the group slightly odd I would now say a group of really interesting people who I wouldn't mind saying hello to in the street if I ever met them again.


I can't show you Rosie's parcel this week. I decided you simply would not be interested in seeing packets of gluten free pasta, falafel mix, marshmallow easter eggs and a jar of homemade pickle. No that would be tedious. Instead take a look at some of the photos of the children's garden at our centre. Aren't these lovely? My philosophy has always been that if children are here all day then this is their world. Our job is to make it the best world we possibly can for them to  live and learn in.  

Here's to a week of many breaths.

Marg


  
        

....

Project Lovely .....

 

If you recall, last week I set myself the challenge of finding lovely things in dull places over the next week. 

I had been so precoccupied with life I forgot about all the great sights. So this week here are some of my top lovely things. 

- Above - my garden vegetables in my very dull old kitchen sink.  Below - a handful of sweet peas on the window sill. Also Doug and Caths kitchen sink which I think is very lovely and if I were an envious person I would be suffering from sink envy. ( actually  there is no denying it I am)

 

 
 

  

Last week we also got an invitation to attend a hospice memorial service for Dad but instead we decided to have a get together of all who live close enough to attend. So these pictures are for you MaryAnna, Jen , Mama, George and Rosie.  Miri's tomatoes and cheese from the farmers market set the scene for what we do best - Eat  and talk - Ken and Mary brought the juice, coffee and chocolate, Doug the customary bacon and egg pie, Cath's brownie, Miri's homemade foccaccia and well I pretty much just provided the venue. Somehow the day meandered towards late afternoon and we all went to see the gravestone

Here they go - our grandmother, sister and father. I think the stonemason has made a great job of the headstone,   with plenty of room for one last inscription.

Did you know that in 2010 Rosie has taken up collecting souvenir teaspoons? She doesn't know it yet but is about to find out when her parcel arrives to her new address in Wellington this week. I think she will love both of these. One is a Port Chlamers teaspoon - so that will be very sentimental for her and the other is a shilling or something like it beaten into a spoon shape. A bargain at a dollar each at Weirs. 

Lastly here is a strange tale of curious connections.  At our work we have a teacher who comes from Zambia.

There is a masters student at the university who is about to go to zambia for a reasearch project that is set in the same town our teacher comes from. Coincidentally I have some freinds in the geography department at the university who mentioned to me that they had  this student and who needed accomodation and contacts in this same town.

 I was able to put the student in touch with our teacher who has organised the student to stay with her family. 

Now for the curious bit. Today Rosie sent me a text saying that one of her friends and a friend of his had helped her shift into her new flat recently. The friend was a masters student at Otago about to go to Zambia for a research project. She mentioned she had accomodation sorted out with the family of a zambian woman who happens to be a teacher in Dunedin. It is the same person and the teacher is the teacher from our centre. I know it's a small world but I find it strange that Rosie just happended to meet this very same person.

 Bye for now 

Marg

Every Hood has a silver lining....

 

I made this hoodie for Annarose to take back to Wellington. She chose the fabric which included a piece of silver ever so stretchy lycra for the linings.  I may be on a sewing roll because now Tom wants one too, and so another project will soon be gaining momentum. He and I are planning a shopping trip to get a pattern and fabric but I'm going to have put my foot down on sewing with silver lycra - stunning it may be but to sew it is an absolute nightmare.  It slipped and stretched all over the place and in the end I had to sew it with tissue paper under the pressure foot. It got me thinking about that saying " every cloud has a silver lining".  It would seem to me that any benefits won by hardship are indeed well earned but does everything have to be so hard! There must be an easier way to sew lycra!!

 

It wouldseem the effort was worth it. Annarose said she had lots of comments on the silver lining when she wore it to University today. 

 

One of the reasons why I had my own back garden paradise constructed was because  this is the view from my kitchen window. Not very appealing you might think. You would be right and is probably one of the reasons why I won't live in this house forever. However yesterday when I was cooking dinner in the kitchen I happened to look up and noticed those sunflowers in the second garden over. It's not the best photo but there they were looking bright and cheerful and amazing over there! I couldn't believe that all summer I hadn't noticed them ! I wonder what I've been doing when I look out the window which I do all the time?  How unobservant is that? This week Im going to consciously look for lovely things in dull surroundings.

When Rosie came home for the summer I wondered if I would find anything of interest to write about as blog entries and I was surprised how there was always any number of possible posts. Now that I am back to sending parcels I wonder if any readers of this blog are still interested in seeing what goes in a parcel ?

I shall leave you to ponder the answer. Have a happy week. 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