My present circumstances in no particular order:
Molly: she's been a temporary feature of our house and garden for a week or so now because her mum and dad, Sam and Marg, have had a real life human baby. Molly was their baby before and so is a little confused by this apparent rejection (they still love you Molly, they do, but they're a little busy right now), but once she found her place under this fern in a pile of dust, she decided that life on a patch of concrete with Pete and Catherine might be bearable after all. She doesn't really understand that her baby status is in jeopardy. We're breaking it to her gently before her return to Opua. Her chief skills are dragging creeper vines through the house, lying in oil patches, swimming in the sea and shouting.
Camera: I just bought a new camera. Most excited
I've felt since standing on top of
Ruapehu on a bluebird day with fresh slopes peeling away below me. It's a Canon Powershot S5 IS with digital SLR 'features' - a step up from my 3yr old point and shoot fuji finepix to a slightly pointier and shootier version for the advanced beginner (is that the same as amateur?). Actually, my Wellington photos (eyes down) were taken with this very model borrowed from my partner's sister visiting from Jakarta. She really IS a photographer and if it's good enough for her 2nd camera, it's good enough for me. N.B. camera in transit, these photos courtesy of the old finepix.Baby: aforementio
ned baby is really very cool. He shall remain nameless for the time being but he has a funky hairstyle and wriggles a lot. No, he's not mine (see above).Tomatoes: How can they drink so much?
Houseboat: We sold it!
Tin Shack: Artfully named by my father, my new house is indeed clad with wriggly tin. This isn't uncommon in New Zealand. Quite the norm in fact. And it looks like a real house on the inside. Most visitors have shown outright surprise that we might live in such a normal place. That's Pete's reputation, not mine, surely. Apart from my office being the bedroom and vice versa. And the creeper that grows in the cupboard. And the cockroaches. And spiders. Apart from all that, it's really rather nice.
Langford Ink: is just dandy. Not profitable, but dandy nonetheless. Consequence of lack of profitability means that Langford Ink is also providing a physio receptionist service at special rates in order to allow grocery purchase. Langford Ink has a charming array of clients though, and is excited about being in its fifth month of operation and is very much enjoying the support of some awesome local businesses.
Life: I am losing myself in new jobs, technology, systems, clients and need for money; kids sailing and volunteer community work; sunshine, friends, dogs. I haven't written anything creative for months, since we moved to the tin shack. That makes me feel neglectful. I am tired but happy. When there's a spare moment I sail, surf, swim. I share wine and dancw with my friends, I walk the beach. I can't imagine being anywhere other than precisely where I am doing exactly what I am doing; whether that's due to the absolute rightness of this space or simply lack of energy to do anything else, I'm unsure. Right now I'm going to put down my computer, pick up The Listener, pretend to read for five minutes and then sleep until the sun dips behind the bush-covered hills.
