11 years in a civil union!

This is a photo of me at our civil union, sitting with my Grandmother, who is still staunchly independent and about to turn 98 in a few days.

I cannot believe that 11 years has passed since M and I said "I do" on a stormy day in a little school hall on the edge of a wilderness reserve.

I have such precious memories of that time.  Wine tasting with the USA crew to choose the tipples for the big day.  Watching the Japanese visitors teach my brothers how to fold paper cranes and everyone banding together to decorate the hall. Dancing to music played by our family, friends and neighbours.

So much had changed since then.  Are we even the same people?  Sometimes I see a beautiful moment, like Rangimarie picking a flower in the back yard and handing it to M and I think...these are the moments I dreamed about.  This is where I want to be...where I have always wanted to be.

Life is definitely not perfect.  I still struggle with my body, the house, the garden, paying the bills, the isolation of parenting.  But I feel very blessed.  While I can't have everything in life, my dreams have come true.

and the rain helps things grow...

I guess I need to count my blessings.  It's been a rainy, cold and windy summer but the garden is flourishing.  Finally some sunshine has arrived and we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour in the garden.

The salad walk is coming along well and I have ordered a bunch of seeds from Kings seeds.

I planted some snow peas at the end of the walk and scattered some arugula seeds in the gaps.  Can't wait to see those take off.

Every year since about 2006 I have intended to plant sweet peas on Anzac day.  This year I'm actually going to do it.  I promise!

Our tomatoes are starting to ripen - it will be salad for dinner tomorrow.

Work is going well - frantic but I'm enjoying it.  We had a Palmy rocks event on Monday and Tuesday and this Friday we have a Rainbow Tea.  Campus is so vibrant and fun with all the students around.

We have finally scheduled the work on our house.  Looking forward to having that done.  Manaaki is showing an early aptitude for interior decorating.  We were talking about colours for wallpapering our living room and I suggested green.  He said "No, it's already green outside.  That will be too dark.  I was thinking a peach or beige." and quick as a flash he brought up some examples on Pinterest.  It was his confidence that most struck me.  How many seven-year-old boys know the colours peach and beige?

We are in a good place right now.  I'm starting to look out for jobs as my contract is up in July.  I'm really hoping I can continue it to a permanent role as I love the job.  I guess there is just know way of knowing what is around the corner.  I just need to keep plugging.

A Fresh Start

our edible salad walk garden

We are zooming away from the starting blocks of 2017 and it seems like all of a sudden it's almost February.

We had a really relaxing Christmas and New Years break with lots of family and friends in the house and we kept things pretty low-key and simple.  Christmas was a BBQ and salads with pavlova and berries for dessert.  Everyone pitched in and it all worked out without too much stress.  The weather was rubbish but that didn't matter too much.

For New Years, we had some friends staying and we went to the kids countdown concert in the square, getting there just in time for fireworks. Then we went home and put the kids to bed and stayed up past midnight, playing records on the turntable and cutting up magazines to make vision boards.  It was a very satisfying start to the year.

After New Year, my Mum and her partner came back to stay for a week.  They looked after the kids while we went back to work and Mum's partner did an amazing job in the garden - clearing all the weeds, mulching and doing the lawns.  He cleared the garden near our living room and I have planted it as a edible salad walk with greens and herbs and edible flowers.  I'm very excited about it.  Our vegetable patch is finally cleared out and we are going to cover it in straw over winter and plant it out next spring.  He achieved in ten days of hard yakka what I have tried and failed to do all year.  I guess sometimes I do just need a bit of help actually getting stuff done because try as I might to stay on top of things, I often can't keep up. I feel like just as I'm getting somewhere I get a spanner in the works, like a child who won't settle until late at night or someone is sick, and all hopes of progress go out the window.

Work is starting to get busier and I feel like I'm making progress.  It really is my dream job and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity.  I love my office.  It feels like a real sanctuary as it's quiet with a very green outlook.  I have a standing desk and a table and chairs and a couch so I can curl up on the couch and read documents in comfort, or have a coffee at the table while I check my emails.

House maintenance is going to be a theme of 2017, I think.  We have discovered a leak that needs some quite serious repairs and there is general painting and fixing that is overdue.  At least I have a job so we are in a position to do something about this, although it will set us back a bit.  I'm trying not to stress about it and to just put one foot in front of the other - do the next step as it needs to be done without getting into catastrophic thinking.

I thank the goddess for our peaceful, mundane existence at the bottom of the world.  Especially against the backdrop of an inauguration happening tomorrow that defies belief.

Wishing the world a Happy New Year and may we find hope amidst the madness!