two lips

some tulips for mum's library & driving home tonight in the dark.

central otago

i went down to wanaka on my own in the weekend & although it was sad to say goodbye to my family & of course i was happy to see them again, i really did savor every quiet moment, being able to do things at my own leisure was rather lovely.
i found this old rusty tin on my long walk around lake wanaka, i've got a thing for rust, it draws me to it. the crab apple trees down there were bright red & the branches were bending almost to breaking point with the weight of the fruit.
the lake was frozen over, it is called lake diamond & dad had a wonderful story about when he was growing up on west wanaka station, how they would come down at night to ice skate on diamond lake & there would be burning tires on the ice so they could see. imagine how gorgeous that must have looked & been, never mind the environmental impact. one evening i went for a walk along the clutha river & decided that it is my river, in maori 'ko clutha taku awa'. i feel a deep connection to the river & it felt calming to walk beside it, admiring it's clarity & colour & the weight of all that water.

me & my girl

we got each other...
(anyone remember that 80's tv show? the theme song has stuck to me all these years unfortunately.)

scores

as i write this i am listening to my youngest most determined child resist the inevitable that is b.e.d time. wow her stamina belies belief. i am happy for her knowing it is an admirable quality but that doesn't seem to make it any easier now somehow...well i have just returned after having had to sit beside my mungbean until she has settled into sweet oblivion - it is hard to believe, looking at her little rosebud mouth in sleep such a racket can project from that space. as part of her never say die attitude she basically falls asleep with one eye open so it's always a very nervous creep out of her bedroom.
these flowers were for ruth on her birthday today, she loves proteas so it was a sure bet they had to be included in there somewhere. the cup & saucer is from a set of 3 i picked up at the dump shop yesterday, i like how the hand painted wheat stalks curve so gracefully around the plate.

spring like things

yay i got to put some flowers together today, that was fun. it was exciting to discover the sweet peas at the wholesaler today - m-mmm the smell the smell. i just had to take another photo of the magnolia, it pleases me so. the tiny scallop shells we found at rabbit island yesterday when warren, louis & i biked down along the beach as far as we could go. it turned out to be a bit of an adventure as we decided to come back through the pine forest, so had to push our bikes up & over the sand dunes. (feeling aware of the damage we were doing, but self-consciously pushing on anyway) imagining it through louis's eyes i could pretend we were beyond human contact & had to navigate our way home.

school holidays

i haven't said a lot lately in blog world as in my main world we've been having school holidays, chicken pox, frosty mornings, working bees in the garden, sleepovers, playdates & also just generally winding down in preparation for winding up for the next school term. we have had some cold frosty mornings which in fact help to justify staying in pj's until at least 10am, the days following the frosts have been glorious so it's all made for a very manageable winter break. (so far!)

jan pienkowski & anthuriums

silhouettes have always given me pleasure & i think this probably came from the magical illustrations of jan pienkowski, whose books we were read as children. we have had some spectacular sunsets lately & that time of night as dusk approaches & the light fades is perfect for silhouette spotting, the sunset behind a black foreground object reminds me of jan pienkowski's gorgeous marbled backdrops. i read eliza 'the necklace of raindrops' recently & was excited to rediscover the joy i still got from his work, the stories by joan aiken are enchanting also & i know eliza enjoyed them as much as i did.

cast iron urns

today i made an arrangement for mum's friend's 60th Bday luncheon tomorrow. it was fun to use my iron urn that my best customer called 'mum' bought me.
louis & tom went fishing down at the port & when i went to collect them i had some playtime mucking around with my camera, i'm liking the way the sparkling sea turned into real looking stars in this photo.