a road trip & books

Last week hubby and I had a quick road trip down the West Coast and back to collect some meat from my brother's farm. We are lucky enough to know exactly where our meat comes from but not have to deal with any of the gory bits.

We left at 6.30 and were back by 3.00, which meant it was a quick trip with only an hours rest at the farm. As we travelled south the dawn greeted us and we drove past hills dusted in frost so thick it looked like snow. 

 Once on the West Coast it was a lovely sunny winter's day. I took all of these photos out of the car window, which is a bit hit and miss, but can give some nice surprises, as long as you ignore the crooked horizons.

 It was nice to spend some time together to talk and enjoy the amazing scenery.

My husband is a hard man to buy presents for - a task I dread almost as much as he dreads buying for me. So with his birthday looming I was clueless what to get him until I walked into a shop and saw Maddie. If you haven't come across Maddie the Coonhound before do go and check her out here or here. Theron takes the most amazing photos of his dog Maddie on a road trip across America. They are sure to bring a smile to even the most dedicated cat person.

A couple of days after his birthday I did find a book in an op shop that he really was pleased about. He'd told me years ago that there was a book on Wellington which had a photo of his dad in it, but didn't know what the title of the book was.

When I picked up this book by Ans Westra, I did go through it looking for my father-in-law, but couldn't see him. Still I brought the book as it was full of fantastic photos and was only $2. When I told hubby I'd found a book on Wellington, he said the photo was taken in front of a movie theatre, and straight away I knew I might have the right one. When I turned to the following page, there he was on the right looking straight at the camera.

When hubby had a look he was amazed to find his mum, aunty, uncle and grandma also. He'd never remembered that they were in the photo, as he'd only seen the photo once many years ago. His grandma is right on the edge of the photo next to his dad. And somewhere in the throng there would have been three very excited boys about to see a James Bond movie on a Saturday afternoon with their extended family, similar to the three hamming it up in the middle of the photo.

Ans Westra is a very well respected NZ photographer, there's a great interview with her here. This book on Wellington was published in 1976 and while I don't recognise all of the places, I do remember the times (just!). Here are a few of my favourite photos.

Meat workers picketing the offices of the company, with a bit of light reading to pass the time.

Two chaps enjoying a bit of a bogey.

Mowing lawns on steep sections in the city is still hard going, this guy has a rope to stop the lawnmower getting away. He was also working on his tan, something you don't see so often now with the Slip, Slop, Slap campaign against skin cancer.

Two girls with ice creams sharing a pair of wooden Japanese jandals, hence why they need walking sticks?

Love the kid wearing gumboots a few sizes too big, and the writing on the footpath.

A typical pub scene, I didn't started frequenting such fine establishments until the late 1980s.

These guys were getting ready for Friday night. The council was a bit lax on repairing the footpath in this street, or is it a construction site? That might explain the helmets too.

A typical backyard scene, rotary clothes line, wheelbarrow, trike. It could have been me on the left playing in the dirt.

Business men enjoying a beautiful lunchtime on the waterfront, one has taken his shoes off for extra sensory delight.

 

Sorry about the long post, I really should have done two, but hey I didn't - so hopefully you made it to here.

battery recharge

Things have been hectic around here lately. Who said it was easier once your kids started school? I find that I spend so much of my day driving kids, both during and after school hours. I'm looking forward to the school holidays next week.

I think the kids are too. Last week Miss L sat two dance exams, went to an inter school gymnastics competition (and got second place against real gymnasts!). This week she ran inter school cross country, and auditioned to be a model for the judging part of WOW (World of Wearable Arts), which she got accepted for so will  be doing on Friday. She has to sign a confidentiality agreement so can't tell us what the costumes she's modelling are. We'll have to wait until the show, which is on in Wellington in September, to see her in the programme.

The Teenager has also been busy. He went to the inter school gymnastics competition also, although didn't compete in the same competition as Miss L. His biggest achievement was to do accomplish a handstand on top of the vault without falling off! The great thing about the small school that the kids go to is that everyone gets to participate, which means kids get pushed out of their comfort zones. He's off with the rest of the seniors for an overnight tramp on Thursday to the mountains. It's due to get cold again, so they might even see snow!

And then there's been work dramas with the hubby's job. He thought he had another six months or so left on the particular project he's working on, but that rug was whipped out from beneath his feet last Monday when he was in Australia. Thankfully he's got lots of experience and ability to do various things, so by Thursday he had sorted out a new role! This one involves trips to Fiji, which is much closer to home than India.

We were hoping to all go with him on his first trip. But after failing to find self-catering accommodation on the internet, I gave up for these holidays, and we'll go later in the year.  Although with the weather here I was already visualising walking on warm sand.

Things are slightly chilly around here, although you wouldn't think it from today's walk on the beach. I hadn't been to the beach for a couple of weeks. It was so good to walk in the sunshine with the waves and birds as company. Just what I needed to recharge my batteries.

 I'm now a third of the way through the 100 Days Project. Some days I find it  quite hard to do a drawing, especially if I leave it until the evening. So today I looked for something to draw at the beach, and this piece of sponge was the thing that called to me. Here's the link if you'd like to see what else I've been drawing each day.

Well I wrote this post a few days ago, not quite sure why I didn't hit publish?!  It's now Saturday, but I can't be bothered going and changing the tenses! Now I remember I wanted to include a photo off my phone so has to download my Instagram photos.

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are, and I hope the school holidays are packed with sun and fun and not dampness and bored kids if you're in NZ. I'm definitely going to be dragging my two down to the beach regardless of the weather (yes they sometimes are reluctant to leave their couch grooves!)

finding joy

A few moons ago I took part in my first ever bloggy swap organised by the lovely Anne of My Giant Strawberry in the U S of A. She called it the Handmade Joy swap, and we had two partners one which we received some handmade joy from, and another we sent it to. This post has been sitting around in draft form as I was waiting for Anne to give us the all clear for posting - as one parcel hadn't arrived at its destination.

The swap partner who I received from was Sharon. Look at this beautifully wrapped box that made it's way from Wisconsin to me.

Sharon sent me a beautiful handmade paper box, glass bead jewellery (which Miss L promptly claimed!), and some crochet and patchwork - both handicrafts I'm not au fait with. The parcel arrived the day I was sorting out my first (and possibly last!) patchwork woollen blanket which I posted about here. The patchwork sachets are filled with lavender and flax seed, so I put them in the freezer for 24 hours in case there were any bugs in there. They were lucky to make it through NZ border control. They are now residing in my smalls drawers! Ironically I was going to send one of my lavender hearts but didn't want the parcel opened so didn't include it. I loved the colours of everything, Sharon chose them imagining that I lived on an island paradise (well she is close!)

Now I did take some photos of what I sent to my other swap partner Karen, but can I find them anywhere on my computer .......

Anne has a regular post on her blog about finding joy.  And it makes me think about those small things that you get joy from, especially when the big picture might not be quite panning out as you had anticipated. Here's same random photos of what brings me joy.

family time at the beach (roll on summer!)

where we live, a constantly changing view

Daisy, I love waking up to the reassuring lump on the bed

the rest of our animals (although some time they do cause trouble too!)

And here's something which I saw which made me feel awe inspired. I love watching the full moon rise, and we often get a great view of it. But this short video takes the cake. It was filmed in Wellington, the capital of NZ. Enjoy! (look there's 'joy' in enjoy)

Matariki

Friday night was a special occasion at our school, as we celebrated Matariki (the Māori New Year) with a powhiri and hangi. The school my children attend is small (approx. 55 pupils, up to year 8 (13 year olds)) and rural. It is the centre of our community, as there is nothing else here! We are close to two villages (5 minutes drive), and two towns (about 15 minutes drive in either direction). We have almost lived here for two years, but it feels like a lot longer as we are all so settled, and that is mainly due to the school.

 

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises just once a year, in mid-winter. Traditionally, Matariki was a time to remember those who had died in the last year. But it was also a happy event – crops had been harvested and seafood and birds had been collected. With plenty of food in the storehouses, Matariki was a time for singing, dancing and feasting. Matariki, or Māori New Year celebrations were once popular, but stopped in the 1940s. In 2000, they were revived. Only a few people took part at first, but in just a few years thousands were honouring the ‘New Zealand Thanksgiving’. [taken from Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.]

As the school had not held a powhiri (Māori for welcoming ceremony) for more than two years we were part of the manuhiri (group of visitors)  who were welcomed by the tangata whenua (hosts) to the school. This involved us waiting at the entrance with the other families while we were called on to the grounds. A powhiri must involve four people, one female to do the karanga (call) and one male to do the mihi (speech) on either side. [Further info can be found here.]

When we got to the top of the drive we took our seats and there was singing and speeches. We were honoured that "H" was chosen to say the mihi for the manuhiri.  We then lined up for the hongi - where we shook hands and pressed noses and foreheads, which means that one is no longer considered manuhiri (visitor) but rather tangata whenua. This was a completely new experience for the hubby and I. It was lovely to see how the kids took it so naturally, but then they have the benefit of a bi-cultural schooling. As I said to them all we learnt at school in the 1970s was a couple of pretty dodgy songs that had been translated to Māori. We weren't taught the correct pronunciation of  Māori words, so now the kids correct us!

 
H's mihi:

Kia ora koutou

Kua tae mai nei mātou

Ki tenei kura

Ki te hakari o te matariki

Ka nui te koa

Mo to koutou kaha

Ki te koreroreo

I nga take

E pa ana ki teneu kura

Ko (his name) toku ingoa

No Whakatu ahau

He uri tenei no Haina

Inananei e noho ana ahau ki Mahana i te Waipounamu

He whakatauki - Matariki ahunga nui

After the powhiri, the refurbished classroom was officially opened by the local MP, with "H" (being the eldest at the school) along with the youngest pupil cutting the ribbon. Then we waited for the hangi to be opened.

A hangi is the traditional way of cooking food in a pit in the ground. There is a real art to laying a hangi, and is was carried out by one of the dads. The kids had earlier dug a hole in the playground, and on Friday morning a fire was lit to heat up pieces of metal (traditionally stones were used) which were placed in the pit with the baskets of food wrapped up in tin foil and cheesecloth. The baskets of food were covered with damp sheets to keep the soil away from the food (traditionally leaves would have been used).  I think it took about 7 hours for the food to cook throughout the day.

Hangi food has a taste that is so unique it's hard to describe, it's definitely smoky but not like barbecued or smoked food,  its very moist too, very delicious. There were three different meats, potatoes, pumpkin, kumara (sweet potato), cabbage and stuffing. It had been years since the hubby or I had eaten at a hangi, and it was the first for the kids.

It was getting quite dark and cold by this stage, but with the fire still blazing, and the stars above us it was a magical night. We were home by 7.30 to light our log burner and warm up!

This is my attempt to get a shot of the super moon setting on  Monday morning, about 7.30am. Here's a much better photo of the moon rising, wish we'd been home to see it, but we were driving back from Blenheim after a weekend of dancing competitions with Miss L.

It's quite amazing to turn around 180 degrees and see the sun rising at the same time.

"H" actually got better shots than me the following day! And of the sunrise too!

And remember to come over and follow me on Bloglovin - if you don't already!

luxury

I've just had what I consider to be two and a half days of luxury - I went on a painting workshop! Thankfully the hubby wasn't away for work, so was able to pick up the kids afters school on Monday. At first I was quite apprehensive, as being the introvert I am, I was unsure of what to expect and who I'd meet. I did know one other artist, which helped. But what really helped me was painting. And having the time and space to focus on painting.

The setting was amazing, in a 1905 building (which is pretty old by NZ standards) built over the sea overlooking the Boulder Bank. I think I'll just let the photos do the talking.......

The workshop was taken by Richard Adams, an abstract painter from Auckland. I picked up some techniques for working on paper with texture, and colour. I haven't taken any photos of the end-product, as they're really only experimentations. Not only was it a great location and venue, the organisers were also great cooks! Ah luxury!

100

Life is busy, with lots of things going on. I'm off to a market on 7th July, so the kitchen table has not been seen for a few weeks! I'd read about The Hottie Project on Lisa's blog, which is all about making hot water bottle covers to keep children in Christchurch snuggly and warm this winter. Having spent about seven winters myself in Christchurch, I know it can get a bit cold, and add into the mix houses that have still not been fixed since the earthquakes, I know its a bit of a miserable time for some people. So hopefully my hottie cover will cheer someone up this winter.

I wanted to make a unisex cover, so chose a lovely soft gray jumper that I'd felted.  I'd never made a hottie cover before, but it really is quite easy with Lisa's template, or using a hottie as a guide.

We use wheat bags to warm our beds, which are heated in the microwave with a glass of water (a very important detail). No electric blankets around here! I love my wheat bags - yes I need three strategically placed about my person, and in the morning, if I haven't kicked them out, they are still warm. Here are some I made last year from a flanalette pillowcase.

When I'd finished the hottie cover there was enough left overs to make a pencil case. I've been making them like this for a year now, but felt like a change, so the rest I've made have different faces. It's more work, so I might have to put the price up slightly, it's so hard to calculate how long each one takes, I'm sure I have a very low hourly rate! 

I had to find time to finish off a small painting (A4 size) which is a donation to the Suter Art Gallery's redevelopment fundraiser. I did the background at art group, but it took me a few days to work out where to from there.  In the end I masked off the shapes and used white oilstick on the background. I've titled it "Glimpses", and have now got some other ideas for larger paintings.

There are quite a few other things going on in "life" which I'll not bore you with. Before I knew how busy this month was going to be I signed up for the 100 Days Project, where I'm doing a quick Sharpie drawing every day.  Seven days done, 93 to go! Some days I've found it easy, and others are harder, it's definitely a challenge!  Here is Day 1's drawing. If you want to check out the others take a peek here.

While on the theme of 100 - this is my 100th blog post. I've actually been putting off writing it, as thought I should make more of a song and dance about such a milestone and hold a giveaway (like proper bloggers do!). But I haven't quite got myself that organised - yet! I would like to thank my faithful followers and especially those of you who write comments. Comments are great - I appreciate them so much, if I was a better blogger I'd reply individually to you all, but I'm not, so sorry about that.

I'll leave you with a sunrise, we've been having some crackers lately, and heading towards the shortest day of the year I don't even have to get up early to appreciate them. Excuse the power lines but I was in my pjs and slippers and wasn't venturing off the deck to get the perfect shot!