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April 2012
Winding up summer with a beautiful Easter break
March 2012
Hooray for the Mosquito Bar!
February 2012
The summer that never was ...
January 2012
Is this summer?
Winding up summer with a beautiful Easter break
I think Mother Nature must have been feeling sorry for us here in NZ because our summer was so disappointing (you can tell I'm still not over it) so she laid on an absolutely gorgeous Easter break for the whole country last weekend. It was simply divine - beach walks, bright moonlit nights and a champagne lunch on the lawn. Lovely!
Easter weekend is the last long holiday weekend before we set sail into the dark days of winter so many take to the roads for one last hoorah and this year we set a new record with no fatal road accidents. Often Easter weather is less than clement and I can remember many years when the holiday was gale force winds or thunder and lightning but this time we enjoyed sun, gentle breezes, and a mighty fine time.
I had visitors for part of the weekend and one night we sat out on the screened porch until the moon came up, full and round and gleaming white, silvering everything with the most gorgeous gilding of pale light. One of my visitors is a very talented young musician so he enjoyed playing his guitar for us and having a go on the drums.
But make no mistake - winter is breathing down our necks. I am more ready than usual this year because the insulation is in the roof and the firewood is stacked in the garage.
We’re very lucky here in Whangaparaoa because there are several beaches to choose from. I've been making time during my work week to get to at least one for an enjoyable walk. Last week I trucked on down to Shakespear Regional Park which is now a pest-free zone with a very imposing pest protection fence. Wow – looks a bit like a prison actually but if it keeps the pests out that’s a good thing. Looking about, one doesn’t see too many indications of native wildlife re-populating the place but no doubt 
the word will get out via the bush telegraph and the multitudes will arrive.
There used to be peacocks at Shakespear and while I do miss them and their raucous screaming and outlandish preening, I am really happy to see the creation of a safe oasis for our natural birds, animals, trees and plants. The beach is as gorgeous as ever and during the week, I often have it all to myself ...
And another little local secret I'll share with you. The other day a friend and I stopped in at Ripples cafe at Gulf Harbour Marina. Its one of my favourite places. Indeed it’s just a modest take away place with some colourful tables (you can play snakes and ladders on the table top while you have your lunch) inside and out, plus a bar where you can get a nice cold glass of beer to go with your fish and chips or hamburger. There are two big TVs and the game is always on. Guys come in wearing their work clothes, sailors wander up from the boats – it’s quite the melting pot, groovy and relaxed and the food is good.
Last week I had dinner with two friends I went to high school with. Those were the days!
Westlake Girls High School and these were friends from my third and fourth form classes. We were quite the little terrors and made teachers cry from time to time - whether that was from fear, sheer frustration or just outright horror we could never tell but we remember lighting little fires in the tin rubbish bins during science class, not being quiet when told, wreaking havoc on certain teachers .. the list goes on
. What ghastly creatures we were and the intent of the regal school logo of the crowned swan and the inspirational motto of Virtute Experiamur unfortunately were somewhat lost on us.
I sometimes think back to those days when we were just 14 year old kids, very innocent in every sense of the word (well, mostly ...) but surprisingly wordly for our age in what we thought about and the things that interested us.Maybe that's why our teachers continue to say we were a 'very memorable class' (or maybe that's because we were so horrid).
I wrote one of my best selling works at that time and it was called The Fable of the 4LB Freaks - here's the cover and the artwork was done by Helen, one of the women I had dinner with. Yes - the arrow points to me and I did indeed have pigtails and glasses and looked like a right twit most of the time. However, the Fable lives on and there are actually a few of the original copies still in existence. I remember when my friend Adrienne and I went up to the school office to print out the copies. Back then we used to run them off using what I think was called a 'cyclo-style' machine, a hand-cranked thing which must have used meths because we came out pickled and positively drunk after printing out one copy for each member of the class and those teachers whom we no doubt slandered in the writing. What good sports they were!
At that age we certainly had our lives stretching out before us and there was no way we could have known where those lives would take us, the adventures we would have, the choices we would make, the challenges, joys and sorrows ... what journeys we take in our lives, journeys that can sometimes lead us back together after 40 years or so (gosh that makes us sound old!! Talk about the Westlake 'old girls'!) to dinner together at a downtown restaurant.
Yes - it is done, apart from a bit of painting to do. The Mosquito Bar is fully operational and we've had some lovely christenings already, including The Roof Shout where Richard the Builder came along with some other friends to celebrate the completion of the screened-in porch and the realisation of a vision.
We had The Shout on the night of the Great Weather Bomb which caused a lot of damage to the lower part of the North Island (the Weather Bomb, not the Shout) - fortunately we were OK up here and indeed, enjoying ourselves so much in the Mosquito Bar that no one noticed the wind blowing away.
I've assembled a few pictures for you, so you can get an idea of what the bar is like. You'll remember last month things were still under construction - but now that's all cleaned up, things are organised and it's downright homey.
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| Here's how it is coming out from the living room ... | .. and how it looks as you come through the door .. | There's a little dining table and chairs with a view of the backyard | And here are the beer bottles after The Roof Shout |
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| And here's looking the other way towards the dining table | Candles and Little Boy's watering can | From the outside.. | And just to remind you - here's how it was during construction ... |
I used to so enjoy sitting out on my screen porch in Atlanta and have always wanted one here - mind you, it is a little different to the southern style in that the mosquito creens don't go all the way down to the floor. I decided to put walls half way up to keep a bit sheltered from the wind - and also enclosed the far end to make it an even cosier space. The afternoon sun comes in there during the winter so it'll make a nice reading nook - nippy, no doubt - but nice. That's why I have polar fleece booties!
We've all been moaning about the ghastly weather and today as I write to you, it's warm-ish but the rain is pouring down. Even Little Boy is thoroughly put out, as he will explain to you in his Journal (which can now be found on my Wordpress Blog - yes, I gave in to his persistent demands for a more public venue for his blatherings). It's supposed to clear tomorrow and that's good because we're taking the roof off the house to put in some insulation ... but that's another story.
I think I've been for only 25% of the swims I would usually have over the summer - the water has been cold too but one does feel remarkable refreshed and proud afterwards. But Corinne the gardener has been a real trooper all summer, arriving every Tuesday to tidy the garden and plant some nice new shrubs in Mom's little garden that we made for her several years ago, when she was still at home. Corinne has been up the back of my place for the last few weeks, cutting back the bamboo and the ginger - not a nice job but one she has taken to with vigour and determination.
So it's all about getting things ship-shape for the oncoming winter whicih honestly does not feel too far away.
But having had a good complain about the weather, there have been some stunningly beautiful days which we have noticed and appreciated in the midst of the wind and rain. I took this photo on one of those days recently, and I don't think the water had ever looked so blue ...it was an absolute joy and I remember taking twice as long to hang out my undies, enjoying the view and the feel of a gentle wind on my face. It was simply perfect .. as nature usually is.
Well the summer that never was is continuing. Today it's very windy and quite cool - I'm wearing my track pants and a pair of old socks. Both cats are indoors in their respective spots, sheltering from the breezy conditions outside. What a bummer.
I can count the number of swims I've had on one hand, almost two now. The shock of each swim has almost stopped my heart, the water is that cold ... may have to start wearing my wet suit.
But one cannot complain endlessly about the weather and a lot of great stuff has been going on in spite of it all. The construction project here is ripping along (literally) as 
Richard the Builder works away on the new side deck extravaganza - the top notch, state-of-the-art mosquito-proof Bar facility. Structurally sound now, it won't blow away like the old Mosquito Bar had a tendency to do (in a good easterly gale) and there's even a very sheltered and weather-proof spot which Richard calls The Snug to which one can retreat should the weather become too inclement on the main porch. Entirely enclosed in bug-proof netting, it will take me back to the happy times spent on my screened porch in Atlanta where I would sit and watch the world go by in such a state of happy bliss (is that an expression?).
Plus we have Corinne the Gardener continuing her 
fine work around the place. She is setting up a series of escalating planting beds, a bit like the hanging gardens of Babylon, alongside the steps one takes to reach my place. We've laid down bark and placed in some lovely ferns and green things so it's coming along beautifully. Mom's hydrangeas have flourished under her care as well and have made a most glorious display of colour this year.
I've been painting frantically outside to keep pace with Richard's work and spent several hours yesterday, throwing white paint on myself, a few pieces of wood and Little Boy and tomorrow we shall move a window to it's new location which could prove to be quite challenging. we are up for it. I must say I'll miss the swamp-like ambience of the old screened in area. I hung manky old pieces of green shade cloth around the place to keep the bugs out, and the opaque, very old and brittle plastic roofing filtered the sun giving everything a kind of smoky, yellowish tinge. We had some fun parties out in the old Jungle Room Bar (out the front - pictured above) and of course in the more intimate surrounds of the Mosquito Bar. But comfort and reliablity of contrsuction is replacing the depravities of the past and actually, I can't wait. Little Boy is excited as well, because he has already claimed it as his outdoor boudoir.
So it's all go around the house. The weather has been so disappointing that I haven't been away yet - figured I'd hunker down and get this construction work done, then have a break. Of course I keep hoping the weather will improve a bit but it hasn't yet. You see? Here I am banging on about the weather again.
For goodness sake.
We're really not sure. Summer should be at this time of year, yeah that's right, but gee wizz - this is really bad.
Christmas Day was a real ripper - bright and sunny and warm. People were taking their Christmas Dinner to the beach and enjoying a swim and time together. It seems like a distant memory of days long past ...
We're experiencing the La Nina weather pattern which seems to blast its way across New Zealand every so often. I cannot recall a Christmas/New Year period as diabolical as this one. Christmas Day was nice then we rollercoastered 
downhill into warm, tropical winds and rain, grey skies. Then we had an OK day at the New Year ... and one brilliant day yesterday ... and today it's stormy as anything with cold wind from the south east. I've moved all my fragile potted plants around to the side of the house in an attempt to keep the wind from ripping them to shreds.
I feel sorry for us all ... this is our biggest holiday time. We hang out for these weeks in late December/early January for our camping holidays and summer activities. What a bummer.
But there is no point complaining about the weather. Indeed little can be done but ride it out. I have a good movie to watch this afternoon and several engrossing pot boilers on the go so I will occupy myself well.
Until everything turned to crap we were enjoying a deceptively beautiful lead-up to summer. The skies were clear, the days warm and long. Ah yes - we were lulled into thinking that would be the way of it all season. The pohutukawas have been simply gorgeous, blooming with their vibrant red flowers, attracting the bees making that delicious pohutukawa honey, pale and creamy ... we have several trees along the beach here and they all decided to go off at the same time, making such a delightful promenade. I was up north a couple of days ago and noticed that many of the trees up there are just starting to show forth whereas ours down here are almost done.
I wish I could share with you stories of my summer parties, photos of guests lounging about in the glorious sunshine on the lawn ... sigh. Instead I will share some photos of Little Boy and I taken by one of my summer guests who braved the wind and rain to s
tay for a few days.
I'm also keeping up my daily Journal again and will be sharing extracts from that on a special new page - take a look. Some of the best things mentioned there are simple pleasures - plum cake and coffee, watching the birds eat bread on the front lawn and visiting a glorious Coatsville garden.