The Birds and the Butterflies

Humming along now, “let me tell you about the birds and the bees/butterflies…”. I can’t tell you how ridiculously pleased I am about the news from Hobsonville Point re the dotterels moving in there. They don’t seem to mind the construction going on around them, it’s a sign, it’s a sign!

And they aren’t the only ones starting nesting in serious fashion. I feel a bit of a fraud claiming to live simply when I have been hoarding for six months now- new towels, sheets, kitchen utensils, pillows you name it. I started buying pillows after I read that after two years 20% of the pillow is made up of dust mites (or something like that)!

I like to think I have a glory box or bottom drawer, I didn’t think I could get excited about cloths that are labelled kitchen, stove top etc. but you would be surprised. No doubt the novelty will wear off very quickly when I have three toilets to clean.

 

Move in date is hopefully sometime before the 20th but there still seems a lot to do. I was gratified to see men at work yesterday (Sunday) and so hopefully also over the next two holiday Mondays. Holidays? pah, who needs them, get concreting you lot.

Still each day another little job is ticked off so here’s hoping it will be soon. Mind you life is VERY tough where I am. I mean the other day I restricted myself to just the one swim. (Thanks Deb xx)

Deb has also taught me the importance of sheet folding, plastic bag folding, how indispensable a Dynamo labeller is, and the necessity of folding towels in a particular fashion. I should be able to keep it up for the first few days at least. I’m an ardent follower of Janey Godley and I m a slave to her instructions on how to fold  fitted sheet.

Regarding the butterflies by some strange coincidence the book I bought for a dollar at the market the other week is the book club book for this month and I’m really enjoying it. It is Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behaviour. Suffice to say it involves butterflies and more specifically, monarchs. It is set in Tennessee and while I do struggle to relate to the US, I prefer Canadian novelists, I really like her style of writing.

She wrote the epic Poisonwood Bible, which for me is right up there with Midnight’s Children and The Bone People so I thought I had read everything of hers so it was great to find a book I hadn’t read. How crazy that it only costs a dollar to escape to another world entirely.

The other place I have taken fright and flight from is the unreasonably expensive car parking in the city. If you arrive after 9 am it is 40 dollars a day. So the other day I drove to HP, parked for free and jumped on the ferry. I hadn’t realised the tedium of driving in had taken its toll as I sat relaxed and happy on the ferry, then cruised up Queen Street to work. I hope as the  population increases there will be lots more going to and fro. The other evening I took a late one and joined a friend at the night markets in town. What a great way to wind down on a Friday.

I felt as though I was on holiday.

 

Also in the last week I went to an art/craft fun workshop where we spent the morning contemplating 2016 and collaging to our hearts’ content. I decided to tizzy up my journal. I haven’t done a lot of writing in recent weeks as I prepare to shift as there seems to be quite a bit to do and then I have visitors though to the end of March but I hope 2016 will see me doing more.

Well we have reach the end of Jan and I have noticed the days are getting shorter. I would like to hear of any plans you have for this year, mine are very home-based as I look forward to a new chapter, beginning with my 60th birthday in April. As Deb said the other day, just 11 months until Christmas….FG