Dizz Down Under

Christmas Planning

I have spent much of the weekend in bed or lying on the sofa ... sick!  There goes the things to do list ... which was mainly Christmas related.  Tomorrow I think I will be staying home as well, as my throat feels awful and the headache is still cracking.  I did manage breakfast out briefly, which was nice, we hadn't been to Arum for a while and I like it's location in a garden centre and it is quite quiet.  On the way back I did spot that our local organic butcher is now open on a Sunday, so we called in and the Turkey and Christmas meat order is complete.  

This Christmas is our second in Kohukohu, and we are both really excited about being back in the village for a fortnight.  It it likely that I will have to cut this short and return to Auckland due to a member of my team being terminally ill ... there is not much to say here given the circumstances ... But we loved our time in the village last Christmas, the sense of community, the sense of living by the tides, the view, friends and relaxing.

The next few weeks are full of the normal chaos before the Summer and Christmas break ... so I need to recover from this flu bug quick.

Work is going strangely well ... more on that another time.  Oh and I think I have added a new photo album to the blog roll!

Election Time in NZ

So the election is over and we have a new government ... this year, and more so than before, James and I have spent more time considering the contribution of individual lives to the collective community I think.  

Earlier in the year we were presented with a stark experience of life without responsibility and what this looks like collectively.  For me, this situation felt almost unbearable to be a part of, it accentuated the difference in the way we live now, whether it be in the Far North (Kohukohu and Kaitaia), professionally at work, or within our social / faith communities in Auckland.  Our sense of community responsibility and the burden of individual contribution has been challenged  and stretched again.  For me it means that when voting this year, I looked at how policy aligned with my thinking on this ... it also meant that where a party's policies made no sense in relation to this I was angered... We share a community and our responsibility to it is great to see it succeed, but each and every one of us has a responsibility to contribute to it as we can.

Today I am sick, sitting on the sofa, trying not to think about the "To Do List" but let my body repair ... at work I have the privilege and pain of watching a terminal illness right now, and so I am not wanting to moan about being under the weather, but feeling that Yeats "Lapis Lazuli" applies to different situations.

Just bought a new Album by the Rend Collective Experiment which is feeding my soul ... Onwards into Saturday..

Been a while ... 12 months again

Another 12 months on, and approaching 8 years of married life, and living in NZ.  Another year of adventure, growth, fun and love.  Next weekend we head to Queenstown to celebrate our wedding anniversary and I am growing concerned that I am forgetting them as time goes by, so for posterity a record here may be necessary:

1) Coromandel and the Hilton Auckland

2) Matua Valley Vineyard Cottages

3) Great Barrier Island

4) I think we stayed in Auckland

5) Kohukohu

6) Queenstown

7) Melbourne

8) Queenstown

This year has been about consolidation again, in every part of our lives.  So at home, work, with friends, in faith, financially ... There have been a couple of challenges to face this year, but mostly that means we have "grown".  This is mainly in terms of faith and careers, but I think it has meant we have developed the outlook on what we are living for and what our contribution should be within community and to society.  To some extent this "growth" has been a surprise, and certainly caused us to reflect more on how we live, but all in all it is good.

We spent time back in Europe at the start of their autumn.  It was good to visit, to see friends and family.  I particularly enjoyed a visit to the Clifton Lido, and English pubs.  We left knowing it's unlikely we'll visit for a longer time, but we returned home to NZ happy to be home in Oratia and Kohukohu, with a new outlook on life here.

In two weeks I will have been in my current role for 2 years, and just recently I have begun to enjoy it more than I thought I would.  In all likelihood there is significant change around the corner, so it may not last long, but right now I am feeling relaxed and good about work.

Things to look forward to include:

Christmas in the Hokianga with friends

Stevens visiting in January

A new passion for ski-ing for another ski holiday next year

A plan for a Cook Islands holiday next year

New Zealand Summer to come

Yep, life is good and I will try to write more and get back into this blogging thing while life is calm and full of consolidation ...

 

Summer of Fun and Frolicks Ahead

I always knew that taking on the role I have been in for almost a year would be a challenge, and there have been many times in the last year when I wondered whether it was worth it.  Right now however, I am enjoying myself.  It is still hard work and there is still lots to do, but I have a fabulous team and we are making change happen and in the main for the better.  I feel comfortable in my own skin again and I look forward to each day.  James has been working hard since the Christchurch earthquake, which has seen more growth in the company, which comes with the related stress and growth.

I also know that life is good because there is a great social time coming up in our lived.  At the end of November James and I celebrate 7 years of marriage and for me 7 years in NZ ... time has flown past.  We are known for celebrating in style and this year it will be across the ditch in Melbourne with our good friends Bruce & Denise, who we have know for almost all our married life.  We are looking forward to a road trip on the Great Ocean Rd, lunch at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, Ikea, shopping and good food, wine and Co. 

That is really just the start of a summer of good times with good friends, so far planned events include:

The Nutcracker

Christmas / New Year in the Hokianga with the Langlois / Akin-Smiths

Fat Freddy's Drop on the Road to Opononi Tour

The Otago Rail Trail and Queenstown with the Akin-Smiths

The Winery Tour 2011 with the Langlois

The Barratt Wedding and weekend in Wellington

Madness in Rotorua with the Akin-Smiths

and that is just for starters .... in there somewhere James and I supposed to be doing some work!

Also, the extension to the house is almost complete, this has been a mission but we already love the space it gives us. 

All in all, life is good, we have learnt to breath after another challenging year and we are really looking forward to the next few months.  I am also back to swimming and will begin racing again soon.

I was looking through the blog earlier this week and realised how poor I have been at updating it, maybe the breathing will give the time and space to write more frequently and more thoughtfully in the year ahead.  Maybe I'll even organise more photos.

We are ready Lord, bring the next year on!

 

 

 

Bula

Fab holiday in fiji - have uploaded some photos to share our week of heaven with you!

The Chooks have Arrived

On a rainy Sunday morning I got in the truck and trundled through West Auckland to fetch the Chooks!  What an adventure, they are now settled in and have worked out where to head to at night.  There are some funny antics going on around who sleeps in which nesting box, but I am sure they will work it out.  There are clear personalities between the two of them - Chickpea is the adventurer and Mother Hen is a homebody, although I am sure with time they will both cause me trouble.  Apparently it will be at least three weeks till the eggs start - so I am on a countdown. 

James is already planning a bigger, better chook house - it's all about the projects - and he is anticipating increasing the numbers of chooks soon!

New Arrivals and Getting Back on Track

Amazingly the exercise has started well.  I'm managing yoga, walking, swimming and the gym, although 1.5 hours of yoga on shoulders the day after my first swim back was pure hell.  It feels good, and I haven't lost the plot in terms of organisation yet.  My swim squad welcomed me back with good humour, and the coach is already encouraging me to get back in my normal lane ... another week is needed before I subject myself to that torture. 

The most eggciting news is that on Sunday I am picking up two hens - Chick Pea and Mother Hen - so that we can become egg self sufficient!  Yes I know there are comments about Tom and Barbara about to be sent in response to this decision, but I welcome them!  So on Saturday I will be off to pick up a variety of hen related objects to welcome our chooks to their new home. 

I am sure they will be the source of much hilarity and many stories to come!

NZ Film Festival Time Again = Fun Date Nights

I love this time of year.  I spend a week considering my options and narrow my choices down to 5 films, then I consider which 3 of these James will enjoy most and I book 3 dates and 2 introvert events (i.e. I go alone).  So this year I am seeing:

Exit through the Gift Shop (Banksy film) - saw last night, laughed alot and loved it

The Ghost Writer - 1st date night - will review

Gordonia - second date night - will review

Gaslands - possible date night - have a spare ticket

One other - a number of options still being narrowed.

I love the festival for the feeling of all these film geeks coming together for a fortnight of cinema fun.  James and I are not film geeks, but we see a few and get to experience the vibe.  I love it .... More to come...

Breathing Space

Wow, it's been a while.  When I took my new role at the end of last year I knew it would be tough, by Feb I was pretty much a breaking point.  Recently, I have begun to feel comfortable in my own skin again and I am beginning to breath. 

James and I knew that my change in job would mean living more simply this year, by which I mean not trying to squeeze too much in.  It has meant being more hermit like outside work (which is quite easy for us) and not beating myself up about not getting to the pool (it's been a couple of months now).  We have committed to getting to the Far North, attending the 9am service at St Pauls and I have been stoic about yoga. 

It is only now that I am beginning to see a sense of energy and balance being able to return, but all in all that's not bad.  I have been pushed out of my comfort zone, and still see challenges ahead, but they appear more achieveable by the day. 

The change has made us re-evaluate where we are going in the longer term, which is always a useful exercise.  To some extent I don't think that it has changed drastically, but we are a little more focussed on getting there.

Hampton Jones continues to thrive and grow, and James has come through the last growth spurt more easily than before - we asses this for both of us by quality of sleep.

We have been committed to having fun outside work too, some of the highlights include:  more wine tasting, the French Cafe with new friends, Easter in the Far North, John Mayer, High Tea at the Langham, the SPCA Mad Hatters Tea Party, progress on the house extension in Auckland, a new cluster group forming, and as always wonderful time with friends.

We have booked another week in Fiji in August, and I am counting down the days, on our return sees the beginning of a series of friends emigrating to NZ.  This seems to happen in fits and starts, but we will have 3 more couples here by the end of the year - BRING IT ON.

Other plans for this year include fitting in a trip to the South Island to see the snow and time in Melbourne with the Clarkes - dates to be confirmed.

Finally a few more moving to NZ issues have been resolved recently: decent cheap mexican food can be found at Mexicalli, my craving for licorice allsorts has been solved by RJ's and the best yoghurt in all the world is made by The Great Dairy Co-operative ... the only thing left is a decent Korma!!

Hope to blog more often going forward!

Hokianga Time

We have managed 6 days off, or at least I have.  Late Tuesday we left Auckland with the cats and headed for the Hokianga.  With a brief stopover in Whangarei for re-fuelling we were in town by 10.30pm.  The weather up here continues to be warm and dry - for the first time in my life I feel I am physically craving rain.  It is not forecast for another month or so, so we will learn to live with the drought.  As always the village is welcoming and restoring.  

Since Christmas work has been full on and will continue that way for months to come.  Am I enjoying it?  Ask me hour by hour and the answer will change.

Outside work we are playing hard, I am committed to swim, gym and yoga at least twice per week each.  Other highlights since Christmas include Tim, Bic & Dave at Villa Maria, the Wonderland High Tea @ the Langham, walking in the Waitakeres, a wedding in the garden, time in the Hokianga, regular brunch @ Blake Street .... the list goes on.  

Easter has been a welcome break, a time to reflect, a time to restore and a time to seek direction.

The autumn colours are strong this year - drought related I expect - not my favourite time of year, but I am looking forward to the completion of the extension - such an amazing space with a spectacular bush view.  It is where we love to retreat to now.