Re-establishing a routine

The last 6 weeks have been very busy getting- the house ready for sale, getting some work so I have an income and Sam leaving for his overseas trip. This has meant that my yoga, blog, knitting routine has been thrown into disarray.

Today, now that the house is on the market and all the hard work has been done I am trying to get back into a routine of living more simply and more stress-free. So yoga this morning, and knitting as well 🙂

http://harcourts.co.nz/Property/719657/MJ28225/4-10-Sunnynook-Road

Sam left last week for his big trip and is currently in Dublin. I try not to worry too much and just believe that he will be safe and have a load of experiences.

Last month I went to the Waiheke biannual sculpture walk. I think that I have been nearly every year. I have to say I was a bit disappointed this year and nothing really captivated my attention on the trail. I ended up taking pictures of the sculptural qualities of the plants rather than the actual sculptures. It occurs to me that nature must be the inspiration for so much art and sculpture work.

However, in the gallery that is part of the exhibition I was tempted to buy a small Michael Tuffery with which I plan to anoint my new house. Most of my paintings and art bits and pieces hold memories for me about an event or special occasion. I hope to put this up as a new beginning, a place to enjoy and be comfortable in.

The Māori kite is known as manu tukutuku or manu aute. Manu means both kite and bird, and the word tukutuku refers to the winding out of the line as the kite ascends. Kites were also known as pākau, a name for the wing of a bird.

Kites were flown for recreation, but they also had other purposes. They were used for divination – to gauge whether an attack on an enemy stronghold would be successful, or to locate wrongdoers. They were also a means of communication. It is said that when the founding ancestor of Ngāti Porou, Porourangi, died in Whāngārā, on the East Coast, a kite was flown and his brother Tahu, the founding ancestor of Ngāi Tahu, was able to see it from the South Island. Sometimes people would release a kite and follow it, claiming and occupying the place where it landed.

Kites were flown to celebrate the start of the Māori New Year, when Matariki (the Pleiades) appeared in the mid-winter night sky.

I am also doing quite a bit of fun day dreaming about the courtyard garden I will have. I will making an excursion to the library today to get some garden books out. I know I definitely want fragrance from herbs and lavender and also a kitchen potager for cooking.  But, I am also quite inexperienced and a bit lazy so it has to be something manageable. The space is around 50 square metres so enough for sitting, dining and herbs and lemons I think.

The picture of the house shows the grass patch but I really don’t want this. I hope to have a lovely mystery kind of garden that doesn’t require mowing! I like the stones in the above picture.

I’m thinking I won’t have a place for my French bed inside…I guess it is a bit ambitious to think I could enclose a bit of garden for my bed…

I am going out to buy a card and some flowers as our lovely neighbour, Norm died on Saturday. Nobody could wish for a kinder, more vigilant neighbour. He tended our drive way and generally kept an eye on the whole lane. Thinking if his family.

Seize the day, everyone. Have a happy week. FG