The Traveling Kiwi

What a start to the year… and just when I thought it might finally stop raining I get COVID – I am day 7 and still wiped out and testing positive so it’s going to take longer than anticipated to get back to normal. I feel like I have slept almost all of 2023 so far.

But then tonight, still feeling grumpy and tired I looked outside and saw a wee secret rainbow pop out and then disappear. Maybe something is telling me to stop looking at the dark grey clouds and see the rainbows of possibilities inside them.

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Wishing everyone every happiness and peace for 2023. It’s been a very hard Christmas losing a good friend and going into the New Year with helping plan a funeral. Unfortunately there are no florists open in Rotorua till Jan 9th and all the suppliers are closed so the closest flower farm is in Auckland but no couriers so my job on Tuesday is to drive to Auckland and pick up the flowers in time for the funeral Wednesday. Only 3 hours each way with the new motorway, so long as I miss the traffic. At 93 Pauline deserves an abundance of flowers at her funeral and I am determined to make it happen. Smart as a whip and a glorious sense of humour she will be missed.

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It’s been so wet It’s almost like living back on the west coast. One day of sunshine this week and back into the endless rain. At least it’s not as bad as the poor Aussies whose swimming pools are now full of tadpoles and frogs. My poor garden has been challenged and somehow the plants I don’t want have flourished while the rest have drowned.

It’s that time of year that I wish I had grandkids to have a reason to get out and enjoy the festivities rather than avoid them. I would borrow some if I could and head to the beach. However I am headed for the other end of the spectrum with planning Christmas get togethers with my orphaned over 90s.

Yaap is a local celebrity, emigrated to NZ from holland in 1949 and worked at forestry research institute here. He has a huge native bush project along a stream and springs that flow into lake Rotorua that he has been working on for last 30 years reclaiming it from invasive blackberry, barberry and gorse. Now over 90 he is an inspiration and font of knowledge for others. Kor and Hettie are also Dutch and in their late 80s, Kor is a UN specialist on carnivorous and air plants, just two doors down from us they are also going to join us for lunch. I have never cooked a Dutch meal before so it’s going to be fun and challenging.

Luckily I am feeling better and have had almost a week back to normal, fingers crossed Zebo is finally gone. I think I lost most of 2022, I have read a whole library of books but really done very little. I hope next year is much more active, I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and heading back to Christchurch to catch up with family.

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Zebo had been watching too many terminator movies and came back, now he is just hanging around and leaping out when I least expect it. But little by little he is being beaten back and I am holding out hope to eventually banish him permanently.

It’s been non-stop wet and wild weather which has devastated the garden. First the late frost that wiped out all the plum and nectarine blossom so no crops this year. The spuds have sort of recovered but the nonstop rain has stunted their growth and for my other veges what isn’t struggling is bolting. The lawn just died completely and is now mud and random weeds. At least some of the weeds are flowering. Hopefully the rain will stop in a week or two and I can start complaining about the drought.

The azaleas and Rhodies have been hammered but I did get some photos in before they disappeared.

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OMG I couldn’t believe it when the path of the hurricane was straight into Fort Myers. My heart goes out to my dear friends who have had their home devastated. I am stunned, I must admit I was hoping that Buccaneer estates would be spared. I just look,at this and wish I could be there to help with the rebuild. ❤️

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I was lucky enough to dog sit Gemma over the weekend. A 3 yr old Labringer – Lab/springer mix. The perfect size puppy and the calmest most well trained dog I have ever had the delight to spend time with.

It is my stepmothers 100th birthday in a few days. It’s does make me stop and wonder if I will make it to a healthy mind intact 100. I have decided to do a class on how to make your own shroud out of harakeke paper. I am sure it’s going to be an entertaining class. Thought I might get onto it now as you never know… September is a busy month with two of my brothers birthdays and some very special friends being September babies, although they are certainly no longer babies.

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No one in their right mind wants a weekend in Palmerston North, especially at the cold wet end of spring. But here I was wandering around wondering what one does in this place. An Art Gallery looked like a promising refuge from the rain and what a delightful surprise it was. One of the best experiences of contemporary Maori art combining paintings, carving and music. Even better I was alone and able to capture a little of the ambiance.

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Zebo has left the building… some devastation in his wake but most of it is being mended. Going to be a long slow process but every step forward will be treasured. Just knowing that things will improve already makes it feel better. Everything has upsides and downsides, small hiatus hernia is now a very large one, downside is it’s not as easy or comfortable to bend, upside is I can now justify getting some help with heavy work in the garden 🪴

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A different Sunday walk this weekend. The first lovely sunny day in such a long time meant it was time to get out of the house. Turn into the pine forest at Kawerau – with a permit of course, drive over pitted muddy forestry roads, through bare hills covered in stumps and debris, bleak and unwelcoming. Then as it looks like the road is about to end in a cliff, it does. The river goes underground from the lake behind the cliffs and bursts out this side into an awesome waterfall. I gave climbing the cliff to reach the lake a miss and walked to the falls. The colour of the crystal clear water was mesmerising and massive random boulders made the whole walk quite an experience. I think I will be back with my camera a few more times.

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Well we are still waiting for Zebo results but feeling a bit better so fingers crossed things are headed in the right direction. End of month they tell me, I just have to keep my fingers crossed as my specialist has just emigrated to Christchurch.

But I have been totally distracted with preparing and giving a talk at the local Reiki conference. It’s been a while and I was stepping in for my business partner and the topic was Rongoa. Two delightful and well qualified friends helped me out and we managed to fill the 90 min slot and then run the totally over run trade table afterwards. The balms had a field day. After the last two years of things getting quieter and quieter it was so good to talk to interested and enthusiastic people and since the conference I have had such amazing testimonials and feedback it’s given the balms a whole new lease of life. It’s been a difficult balance between producing the balms which many have told us is life changing for them and never making more than enough to just keep making them. Working for free for last few years has been hard. This weekend has given me a glimmer of hope that maybe things could change and volume could possibly pickup. I now have gigantic lists of to do items that seem to grow daily.

A walk along the waterfront is always a gentle way for me to slow down and enjoy the lake, on days it’s not trying to create a lake in the backyard that is. I love to watch the mums and dads and grandparents enjoying time with the kids in the huge playground along the boardwalk, people walking their dogs and just hanging around enjoying the view.

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