Officially the first day of summer in New Zealand is 1 December. This past week summer has come early. Normally we have a fair bit of unsettled spring weather all the way up to Christmas, but not this year. Calm, sunny skies have made for some primo beach visits. For the first time ever Charlotte […]
seasons
Free range Friday
It’s been a week of sunshine in Wellington. Summer officially starts on 1 December and the weather sure is hotting up in preparation. This past week we’ve been enjoying the fun of the season in the garden and at the beach. It’s also been busy with organising Christmas post to the UK and trying to […]
Growing in the spring sunshine: The Gallery, Week 34
Today was a blissful day of sunshine. It felt GREAT! Spring is of course a tumultuous time of year. One day I’m reaching for my summer skirt thinking the worst is behind me – only to find my lilly whites shivering and knees knocking as an unexpected southerly blows through; the next day I’m putting […]
Coming Up For Air: A day like any other?
Sometimes it feels good to dump down the activities of the day in words. To let everything go like a leaf at the mercy of the autumn wind or blossom raining down to carpet the ground in a spring shower. To come up for air. To appreciate the two forces at work in a strong […]
Whooga Boots looking like a toasty Christmas pressie idea!
I am no longer in denial. Christmas is approaching and with most of my family living in the UK I have to be super organized. Thankfully online shopping makes for stress free shopping, there’s no need to pay for crazy postage and I’m not leaving such a large carbon footprint. Whilst I am baring my […]
The bog’s dried up, time to play!
It seems like ages since we’ve simply ‘played’ in our garden. For months and months it’s been too cold, windy and wet. But, finally, there’s more finer days and the grass is actually drying out enough between drenches for us to give it a good mow. We can actually put down a picnic rug and […]
If trees could SMILE: The Gallery – Week 28
I like to think that this tree is smiling at me and my family. Its branches wave hello to us as we greet it with our eyes each day. The leaves wink green at us in the breeze and signal ‘go’ for brighter days to come. It’s been a rough week of weather around the […]
Loving, Not Loving: Yo-Yo Weather
The weather, like my mind, is unpredictable at the moment. It is Spring after all. Some days we run barefoot in the waves, remembering what summer feels like and getting excited at its approach (LOVE). And I think of the daily collection of sand we’ll bring home in clothes and shoes (NOT LOVING). The need […]
Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” ~ Robin Williams
I think that no matter how old or infirm I may become, I will always plant a large garden in the spring. Who can resist the feelings of hope and joy that one gets from participating in nature’s rebirth? ~Edward Giobbi And Spring arose on the garden fair, Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere; […]
Loving, Not Loving lately…
Whoop! Whoop! Spring is sooooo ready to spring (1 September officially in New Zealand). Strawberries are in the supermarket (all be it Australian ones), daffodils are blooming in the garden and filling our vases, the buds on the silver birch tree in the garden (one of our few deciduous trees, marker of the seasons and […]
SkyWatch Friday: Last of the sun before the rains
This was the sky on Sunday, as we ran in the last hours of the setting sun. It’s now Thursday and we’ve been corked in with an oppressive grey sky, incessant rain and now the wind has started to throw its weight around. Few parts of the country have escaped and there is flooding in […]
Sophie’s Tulips
We found a lovely quick craft idea to make tulips for Easter (we’re in total denial of autumn!). Sophie loved this little project. We started by painting old egg cartons green (as in the video demonstration on About.com), for the bud of the tulip, but then Sophie came up with the idea of covering the […]
Deliriously Whimsical
Tynley Hall – sweet memories from our Wedding night. Author Philippa Gregory has me caught in a deliriously whimsical state of mind with dreams of roaming the English countryside and visiting National Trust properties and other country homes. But this isn’t one of those ‘grass is greener’ / I’m feeling home-sick posts. I simply love […]
Getting in the flow
Okay, I’ve accepted it, finally! Always takes me a while to get into the swing of the change of seasons. The toy box of board games has an open-lid once more. The books are steadily streaming off the shelves for the girls and I faster than I can put them back. The indoor retreats of […]