Well hello again

It's weird to come back to my comfortable old blog and realise how much of a different direction my life has taken since my days of being a stay at home, busy Mum, dedicated to my children, garden, being healthy, thrifty and considering in every day the impact I am having on my environment and others. These days my core values remain the same but my priorities differ so much. I have little time to appreciate the garden and the phases of the moon, in fact I guess it would be about a year since I accepted my direction was changing. I'm appreciating those values in little moments that are fleeting, like getting out of bed on Saturday morning and seeing the stars of Matariki shining so brightly that I could not help but think it's going to be a good season in the garden. Visiting a new friend in Tapawera and spotting a New Zealand falcon in the sky which scared up the ducks we were hoping to shoot for the freezer. I give my feedback on pruning and planting but spend little time with my hands in the soil. Instead I am thoroughly absorbed in my learning at teachers college. I watch lectures online and have written the first academic essays of my life. I've had brilliant grades so far and done very well with reflective practice and observations which my Playcentre training and few years blogging set me up well for. I have persevered with the technology and completed my first semester after a wonderful placement at a rural school. My favorite part of the course has been learning te reo, I've loved the culture and the language since I was a very little girl exploring the native rivers and bush in Masterton and doing waiata at Fernridge School.
 There have been only a few low lights, my blood pressure skyrocketed with the stress of study and exams and I do miss the authentic feeling of living in touch with my environment, however it is thrilling to be learning and teaching. Next semester starts in a week, I'll be doing music, drama, art, math and literacy. Can't wait. I just have time to sneak in a little bit of sewing and hopefully some adventure this week. Best wishes to all my friends and community.

My children are doing well. I am proud of them all. The teen is finding his path, Skatey is racing mountin bikes and loving it, PJ has made some wonderful friends and is still doing  tap, playing sport and trying very hard with her school work,  the Red head is excelling in maths and playing hockey. They are all benefiting from living so close to their extended whanau (family), multiple generations of relatives are sharing their knowledge and love with us.

The last month for us, has revolved around settling the children into their new schools and routines. It has been a huge change for them to go from a small country school to an urban school with over 600 children! After school pick up is crazy and I find it hard to even find my children amongst the sea of uniforms. They have had their ups and downs settling in, but I'm so happy that they embrace change as an exciting thing and are all pretty sociable and enjoy making new friends. The red head started cricket on the weekend, Miss PJ has been on a school camp and started at a new tap school and Skatey boy is exploring the region on his mountain bike. A few weeks ago we biked 9km around Rabbit Island with Granny and the kid's uncle on a beautiful not too hot summers day. PJ ended up in A and E though with a great big gash in her leg that required 3 stitches, but hey that's adventuring for you.
Last but not least, I have finally started Uni and what a shock to the system that was/is! I'm absorbed in a world of reading, online lectures and tutorials. With a little bit of face book for light relief. I'm really enjoying being a student and have a wonderful group of classmates.
I gave myself a brain break this weekend and made pickled onions and pesto, which reminded me of my former self sufficient bliss.

Happy New Year

We are settling into our change of circumstances and starting to explore what it means to live in an urban environment. We are renting my Dad's house in Richmond, which I am very grateful for. It's close to Nelson where my study will be starting in 6 weeks. The garden is handkerchief size, so I hope to get into more foraging, as well as ferreting out all the best roadside stalls in the area. I haven't been able to find anyone selling free range eggs yet but luckily I am still involved with Potters Patch in Motueka so I can get my eggs from there for now. I'd love to hear from any Nelson locals about all the best kept secrets in Nelson.

I thought I'd share some photos from my Christmas getaway, I drove through Molesworth station with a friend. Molesworth is New Zealand's biggest farm, I had heard the scenery was beautiful and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Moving again

My poor roots can't find any deep, cold, wet ground for summer!

We are on the move again!
This time it's home to the "folks" for summer.
Thankfully they have a rental on their property, but it does feel like a little backwards step.
I'm packing the few bits we unpacked while we lived here at the beach, blasting the ipod on the "do hicky" as you do when you are working. A little bit of Eminem, Adele, Black Eyed Peas and a bit of other angry angsty stuff.
Trying to find a house to buy,
accepting that I can only afford a little place,
perhaps without room even for the trampoline.
Or maybe I could be landlord
with tenants who refuse to pay on time.??!!!

Skatey boy turned 15 yesterday, we are both "cheesed" off the driving age has been put up to 16, he was so ready to drive.
Instead of saving for a car he's saving for a mountain bike to keep up with his uncle and his mates.
In January he will follow his big brother off to Tracks for a rite of passage.
Roll on summer, I have to start study come 20th feb.

How to convert a washing machine into a water powered generator - enough...

I haven't had many interesting things to share lately but, you might be interested in some of the ideas my brother has posted on u tube. He has a knack for making really use full stuff from things you would find at your local recycle centre. He's an accidental environmentalist, some of his creations fit really well with a save the planet philosophy. Check it out!

Accepted into teachers college!
Yippity Skip!

Sweet saturday

One of those lovely days.
We spent the day with our school community at the Brooklyn Book and country fair, shared out all our coins evenly, and came home with a pile of books, prizes and happy hearts.
It made my day to go and have a cuppa with Melissa whose family bought our house. Seeing the garden again was awesome, like visiting old friends (plants), some had changed, some had grown old, some were thriving and some were sulking. Melissa and her family have put the heart back into the land and it made my heart sing. The most exciting thing was to see a beautiful, huge crop of apricots for the first time ever. The garlic is also looking magnificent! Melissa loves the soil and it made my day after a really full on emotional week.

I'm such a lucky girl, my kids went with their Granny for the long weekend and I got away to the beautiful South Island West Coast with friends. We briefly visited the Punakaiki tavern where all the motorbikes were stopping on their way to the Greymouth street races but the majority of our weekend was spent on the Pororari river trying to catch tasty west coast whitebait.



I enjoyed some beach walks and bush walks and two nights in a batch where I could hear the sea roaring and night. We lit a fire to heat the water for showers and used solar power for music and lights. It was beautiful and I wish I could have stayed all week or forever.

Potters Patch

I thought you might like to check out our craft co-op. We have 11 members as well as numerous other crafters who sell on commission. We each work half a day in the shop which was established in 1982 by a group of potters. It's the best place in Motueka to purchase local craft , of course I am biased. We also stock a small portion of imported product including some Traide aide. Come inside and have a look, or even better call in when you are in town, we've always got something new.

finally wiping the slate clean

I had a go at rewriting my "about me" but I don't want it on my side bar. So I'll post it here and then start fresh, as a woman age 38 on her own with three children at home, having just sold our family home and all our old dreams along with it:
"I'm a keen gardener and creator, motivated mainly by the need to provide my large family with fresh healthy food. I created the garden and life of my dreams as my relationship destroyed me and my family with dis - ease.
My life has been tarnished by domestic abuse. I allowed it to happen.
Now I find myself at 38 starting over, having been displaced from the family home by New Zealand law which provides for a man to be entitled to the equity in his home no matter what the circumstances are.
My children have had the support of wonderful family and community as well as skilled Councillors and youth workers.
My older blog posts paint a picture of contentment, and for the most part I fooled myself that I was content, I avoided others in an effort to hide what was going on, I pretended things were all "hunky dory", but they weren't and the physical and emotional pain manifested itself with physical symptoms all too often.
So read my archives bearing in mind that they helped me escape and build strength and confidence, I discovered myself as I wrote and got feedback from my contacts all over the world.
I am still me, I share less but grow happier with every day.