Optimism aiming for a sustainable lifestyle. Curiosity in travel. Highlights in photography.
“Why start now? Won’t the builders just trash the new garden when they come on site?” “Be patient. Just wait.” Legitimate concerns I suppose, when I mentioned to people that I was rejuvenating my garden before the plans for the dwelling were even started. But I knew that to nurture my own mental health, I had to get my hands back into the soil and grow something. Any gardener will understand that!
Our sustainable new build starts this week. My image archive is a sober reminder of just how far we have come over eight years in this complex post earthquake rebuild process. Continue reading “Small Build – Sloped Site”
The establishment of a flourishing garden in an enormous clay pit, with NO ability to sustain plant life, seemed preposterous. But, as far back as 1995, Tim Smit had an idea for such an ambitious project as this. Thank goodness there are people in this world who have a desire to see the unthinkable happen – for the greater good – and this is what gives me optimism for our struggling earth.
My gallivanting red shoes have been replaced by a green pair this year. I’ll miss the excitement of solo travel but the plan for 2019 is to be grounded in Christchurch, New Zealand … quite literally. We’ve a post-earthquake cottage rebuild that begins next week; our developing garden requires attention and thoughts are dwelling more on the principles of sustainable living.
Undoubtedly I can build on lessons learned while travelling and I’ll be looking out for the bright spots during 2019. Hoping you find your highlights too.
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Random ideas bob into my head with tidal regularity. Most of them are usually washed away with the next wave of craziness. Except during 2017 one thought arrived like flotsam, and much as I tried to jettison it back, it kept returning. Continue reading “Living between two Shores”
A few years ago, when the earthquake damaged roads of Christchurch reflected my inner being, a friend lent me his compass. Continue reading “Life Intersections”
The mist has rolled in, silent and insistent. It’s crept under locked doors and into private spaces, obscuring what was. I want to return to when the sun shone every day; when he was strong; when I could call out “Dad can you fix this?” But for the first time in our lives, he can’t. So a fog has settled on the household. Continue reading “It can’t be fixed”
Spending time with my elderly parents is more adrenaline pumping than a roller coaster ride.
