How a cute and clever 3 year old came to know all about Pride and Predjudice..
her much loved board book! 

How a three year old can fill a house .
So busy and determined and living every moment.

There is a quiet small girl shaped hole in my house just now.

 

The coloured pencils sit undisturbed
and the butterfly, that a small time ago
was a princess fascinator,
sits forlorn.

The toy cupboard is shut
and the zhuzhu pet is strangely quiet... 

Little doll sits lonely on the stairs
and big bouncy ball is still.

The Teddy Boys lie exhausted on the
"Grandchild Bed".... 

and Tommy, neatly dressed again,
lies smiling with a head full of memories
and his backpack waiting for the next time.

We miss you small girl 
whose letter is
E
We miss you small girl
   whose number is
3

We have no one to explain which house Mr Bingley lives in,
or whether Jane said yes or no to marriage proposals.

No one to tell, word for word perfect,
the scary tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

No one to chase the bubbles we blow.

No one to exclaim when the Baddies Are About
or  squeal with delight at Naughty Mr Bean
as we watch yet another replay of The Olympic Games Opening.

BUT
 thank you for coming
with clever
Mummy and Daddy

and we hope that one day
you will all come again!

 xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Amongst some fruit
left at my door
some weeks ago,
 was this small pinkish glass vase
and a dry brown bulb.

Our winters being warmish
and bulbs liking cold
 I popped both bulb and vase into the fridge
and
pushed to the back
almost forgot that it was there.

Two weeks ago I brought it out,
filled the vase with water,
and placed it on the small red dresser near my table.

 

First the softest threads of roots
came birthing in the water
and then the small green shoots began to crack
the dry brown bulb apart.
There came an urgent
 thrust of six green leaves
tall and straight. 

Every glance today
I see a silent pinkish growth is happening
but
like a small child grows
so fast yet imperceptible
to a parent

this growth is silent
and immeasurable to my eye.

If someone asks me
what it was I did today
I'll quietly say

I've watched a miracle.

  

Sad news today.. the death of beloved New Zealand writer.. Margaret Mahy..

 ..You will live on forever in our hearts Margaret Mahy.
 May we learn from you .. and always
                                         "yearn to be astonishing"  !

Maori Language Week...

 'Were we to exchange
Even language learning.
Then like brethren
The people of the world
Would be bound by affection.'

A waka poem written by Emperor Meiji .. that I came across in The Meiji Jingu Temple in Japan.

Friend Kath and I enjoyed lunch today
at the only tea plantation in New Zealand..


The Zealong Tea Plantation.

We drank delicious oolong teas.

The appetiser was a shot of beetrrot soup. 

The food was delicious.
Kath ate Korean 

and I chose meatballs with a Japanese twist.

Out in the fields


we could see the tea plants growing. 

All tea is organically grown, hand picked and processed right on the spot. 

Giant brass teapots and cups adorn the garden. 

"Start with New Zealand's pure air, pure sunshine, pure water and fertile soil;
farm organically, hand pick,
have a skilled tea master process your tea according to ancient traditions..
and the result.. The world's Purest Tea."
Founder Vincent Chen.

Late afternoon around the lake..

After several days of rain
it was bliss to take a walk around the lake this afternoon.

Large puddles lay on the soggy field. 

Already the snowdrops are flowering 

and the first daffodils are out 

while the last blooms on the hydrangeas
are no longer bright blue but a pale greenish shade
and their leaves are turning yellow and soon will drop.

The winter winds have sent macrocarpa branches

crashing to the ground 

and the raupo reeds have died back
allowing room for new spring shoots to grow. 

The sunny day turns the lake into duck heaven 

and I watch this pair
engaged in some seemingly special ritual,
dipping beaks and dropping little diamonds of sparkling water
while circling round one another.

I'm taken by surprise when the male,
after flapping wings and posturing,
suddenly mounts the female
and I realise I've witnessed a courtship ritual. 

Quickly over,
the female dips herself in the water and flaps her wings
and gathers her composure.
He does the same, and after their ablutions,
she leads the way back to shore
as if to say..
come on.. we'd better get that nest built!

I walk on with a feeling of peace.
Amongst the dying of winter
the wondrous
dance of life goes on.

I was recently in Wellington
and my friend Eileen took me to visit
the gallery where she paints.
There is a new exhibition
she told me.

Her surprise was immediate.
The room
was carpeted in grass
and small canvasses around the walls
carried the words
NZ
SOLD


I asked Eileen to stand at the far door
and she pulled her hat over eyes. 

Outside the trees in the gallery grounds were bandaged in wet newspaper.



My thoughts after seeing....

GRASS

Out of the messiness
the chaos
came grass

a room carpeted in grass

Quick! Shut the door!
Shut the door!
Foreigners are coming!
Foreigners are coming!
This grass is ours!
This grass is mine!

Ah ha! Sighed the Grass
sadly smiling.
I too was a foreigner.
I, Grass
came from a foreign land
but

nobody said
wrap the trees
in love..
home of a million birds...
rain-callers
air-givers

Trees!

Ah ha! Sighed the Grass.
See my lush greeness
but see not money
not progress.

I have finished my 2012 visual journal
and it's only July.

That's what happens when you live by kairos time
instead of chronos time!




During quiet moments

while listening to radio or music 

or watching TV or a video 

or enjoying a coffee out on my deck

I doodle away to my hearts content 

adding bits and pieces 

that turn up in the mail or in the paper  

sorting my inmost thoughts and dreams

as the days go by.

Does this mean I can get myself another Moleskine journal
and begin anew?

School Winter holidays.
Yes. It is winter and we are enjoying the sunniest days.
Today was such a beautiful day
and it was our 'Victoria-Sofia and Joan' day out.

What better way to enjoy our day than a day at Hobbiton, Matamata,
here in the Waikato.
 
Victoria-Sofia is eight
and eight year olds are really into friendships,
so we invited one  of her BFF's to join us..
sweet Joanna. 

It seemed the perfect day to visit
Hobbiton,
part of the film set of The Lord of the Rings and lately
for the filming of The Hobbit. 

Set on a private farm, it is becoming a permanent fixture
and a popular place to visit.
People come from overseas to walk around this beautiful little valley.
That is BagEnd up there and
the tree on the top of the hill is fake.
Such is the land of Hobbiton.  

Fake too are the ancient looking beehives. 

The houses are really quaint.
I cannot stop from feeling I would like to live here. 

Over the lake we can see the bridge and the mill with a water wheel turning.
There is a Pub and stables and the market place.  All fake.
Further building is taking place.
I believe a motel is the plan.
Imagine staying overnight here, wandering around this dreamy place.

Hobbiton really caught the imaginations of my two small friends.
Here they are dancing on The Party Field beside The Party Tree. 

Every little Hobbit house is unique,

with delightful homely touches. 

Little gardens and seats to sit in the sunshine. 

 

 

 

 

This is Bilbo Baggin's house. Quite grand. 

 

Anybody home? 

What a happy day we had. 

I find myself dreaming of having my own little hobbit house.
A very small energy footprint.
Wonderful insulation...

and the Hobbit way of life being one of comfort and contentment
and  the simple things of life.
Mmmmmm.
Sounds pretty perfect to me.