Playing with paint

Sherrie's image of Kapiti, a painting she has done as a project submission for her Art class.

Pity I do not have a good camera, the textures and definition are particularly good, especially in the gull and the fence. The green square will house a poem she has scourced.

I sense a frame comming and pride of place on the lounge wall.....

Then, on my painting front, from this.......(rusty, dented and buckled)


To this, almost done! now for the water paper and clear coat, more water paper and a little polishing.

Polluting the simple

(written on 11 August 2006)

The start of my long weekend!

Across from me sits a middle-aged couple from Invercargill. Chatty and relaxed, much as I would have expected of people from the “deep south”.

I have heard much talk that the people from “there” are more conservative, etc etc etc…The people from “there” simply live the “old” values. They live life the way it suppsed to be.

Uncomplicated and unfettered!

While they come from a city, they are not city folk. They appreciate being in the capital and all that the capital has to offer it’s visitors.

They appreciate the public transport the locals scoff and sneeze at. An appreciation that comes from folk that make their lives with so much less. My use of the word “folk” highlights it for me, it is like the word “kin”. It has meaning and depth. A kind of meaning and depth that city folk seem to have lost touch with. The kind of meaning that people of 50 or 40 or even 30 years ago took for granted.

Now we find ourselves trying to buy that kind of meaning. Buy a piece of land in the country, a lifestyle block, then move our technology and our petty kin-less lives into these communities and corrupt the values and appreciation for the simple. The inadvertent conquerours, seeking solitude and retreat, ultimately polluting that which we seek without a moments realisation!

Sad that!

Honeymoon period

(written on 28 July 2006)

Tonight as I sit on the train, beer at hand, the week done and waiting to depart Wellington for the Kapiti coast, I find myself analysing a thought that has been nibbling at me for a few days now.

Something triggered by a comment in a letter I received earlier this week. The scource is not important and the comment less so, given that the context and the text itself were not meant to provoke a response, analysis or reply. Fact is, it triggered a thought that I now need to explore and share.

It has to do with, for want of a better cliché, the honeymoon period.

That time when all is new and sparkling and the reviews are oft tainted by the desire to justify the decision. When the warts are there, but not seen for the blinkers and bias of the reviewer. Much, I suppose, like the adulterer coming to terms with the reality of the choices made. The initial excitement of the engagement is all consuming, all good and all that matters. Everything has a plausible outcome and the inevitable troubles that loom are easily dismissed.

That is where I have spent much of my quiet time these past few days. Those quiet hours when the mind disturbs your sleep in the small hours and you lie head on pillow, still, contemplating, dissecting, running and re-running the picture. Playing the scene this way and that. Stopping and recreating the scene each time the conscience is pricked by an un-truth, an embellishment or an omission of the raw emotion.

So what does it mean and where has it taken me?

I have discovered this; I am comfortable with our choice. Of this I am sure!

Even under the scrutiny of run-and-re-run, the application of the most illogic thoughts capable of a Capricorn and not ignoring my inherent stubbornness, of this I am sure.

Even when down-playing the achievements of the children and the acceptance they have earned from their peers, of this I am sure.

Even when I consider that my Love is forging a career and rightfully garnering immense respect from her clients, her peers and her superiors, of this I am sure.

Even in the face of new career challenges, of this I am sure.

I am sure that OUR life in New Zealand is the life we want.

I am sure that I do not need to sell our decision to be here. It is our decision and I do not have to justify it. I no longer seek confirmation from the children whether our decision was a good one, or not? I no longer feel threatened that my Love may be unhappy with our circumstance.

I am comfortable now that whether I sing New Zealand’s praises or take exception to it’s warts, I do so from my perspective of life and the world. I am not writing New Zealand’s resume, rather, I am documenting my life experience and setting it there for others to consume as they wish.

I am glad to have this resolved for myself! It creates a freedom of expression and I look forward to expressing my life’s experience thus.

Pictures

Missed this one....

Pictures from the Soccer Tournament

In Palmerston North at Skoglund Park

It is pretty chilly as can be seen from Meghan's cheeks

Travis on the ball in the final of the Plate Competition angainst Penrose from Auckland.

Kapiti College first team participate in the annual New Zealand Scools Soccer tournament. 16 League winning Colleges are invited to attend the week long tournament, so sides from all over the North Island were in attendance.


Just wide, which would have been his hatrick! in a 4-1 win.


The boys that made it happen.

and what could ever happen without our Moms!

Sogginess

Sogginess in the hollows, glistening in the early morning sunlight! Lumpy hills, deeply shadowed in the early morning sunlight. Paddocks inhabited by sheep, horses and some by cows.

Houses clinging to hillsides, windows reflecting the brightness of the day. Puddles of water not yet drained on the gravel road along the rail track remind us of the weather, now departed.

That Tasman, blue and calm again, a hint of haze on the horizon and jagged rocks, beaten thus, take a peek at the morning calm above it’s surface.

A rail sign says, “Slow 40”, wish it would “40” all the way to town on this glorious morning.

The darkness of a tunnel, interrupts the scene, heightens the expectation of the emergence.

A modern white fence climbs its way up a mountain side, disappearing over the brow in a attempt to demarcate it’s builders presence. On the other side a rickety twig and wire keep-me-in stops natures lawn mowers from wandering onto the tracks.

Waders go about their business in the wetlands on the outskirts of Plimmerton, while gulls stand idly around on the beach, the wavelets of the ocean gently caressing their delicate, stick-like legs.

The glassy surface of the Porirua Bay shimmers the contrasting images of the marina in the foreground and the low cost houses about the hills.

“Slow 35”, but we bustle along through factories and graffiti, drawn to the bustle of the city, sucked along, powerless. Nothing now but urban Wellington, where open spaces are cold parking lots, where foot bridges over the tracks stand rusty legged and sub-station walls sport the local youths colourful rants.

The darkness of a tunnel provides the viewer a moments respite, a moments reflection. An acceptance of what is.

Wellington harbour comes into view, the city looks calm and inviting and we continue on toward our days due.

Somehow, listening to Eva Cassidy singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” is apt and I remind myself of that which I reflected on in the darkness of the tunnel:

In eight hours time I have the pleasure of writing this observation; in reverse.

How fortunate am I!

News from Zealand

News from Zealand

Been some time since the last update and a fair amount has transpired.

On the weather front, well yes, it has been a front! A continuous wet, cold, front. We had a great spell fro about 2 weeks but the last week has been what we always see of NZ on the tube. Wet and cold! Today however, the skies have cleared, the wind is playing hide and seek and as a result Kapiti Island is once again framed in the window of the train. A pretty sight accented by the rising sun and surrounded by a lake-like Tasman. I have braved the trip into Wellington this morning without a padded jacket, though I suspect I am courting disaster or at least a few shivers for the homeward trip. The wind is bound to tire of waiting for us to find it and will punish us for not playing along, ensuring it circles the Southern Alps before visiting it’s biting qualities on the stupidly brave.

The work front is a little more relaxed at the moment and I am taking advantage of the lull to recharge my emotions and batteries. I have a few leave days planned which should see me raring to go again when the next wave of chaos hits.

On the sporting front, the big news of the moment is netball. Sherrie’s team achieved their first win of the season. Des and I arrived just in time for the “three cheers” at the end of the game. The girls were over the moon and are looking forward to this weekends challenge. I will not be going to Travis’s rugby this Saturday and will have an opportunity to watch most of Sherrie’s game. (Note to self: I really need to learn some of those netball rules)

First division rugby has been a bridge too far for Travis’s team. They just cannot compete up front and defend for most of the game. Unfortunate because they have some quality players and Travis hardly sees attacking ball. Notwithstanding this, Travis has excelled, especially at full back, though he has been doing duty on the wing for the past two games. A forced change through injuries. Their last game this weekend, so I hope it goes well for them. I also, quietly, hope that Travis will focus on soccer next year.

On the soccer front, Travis was asked to help-out the Kapiti College second team about 6 weeks ago, as they were a number of players short. The next week he was drafted into the first side and is a regular, scoring in every game to date. Notably, the first side is not age restricted, so he is testing his skills against much older boys, though watching him play senior soccer with the team I play for, I can see why he is doing so well. He is in no way intimidated by the bigger, older, stronger players. He simply lets his goals do the talking.

He is off to the annual, week long, regional tournament in Palmerston North next week. I will be driving him up after his representative cricket training session on Sunday evening. I will overnight and watch the first round of games on Monday before returning home. Des, I and the girls will be driving up early on Friday morning to watch the final rounds on Friday. Kapiti have finished 4th and 3rd the past two years, respectively and believe the squad they have this year they could improve on that.

As for the motorcycle mentioned in the last update, I won the auction and the garage floor now boasts a bare frame with the surrounding shelves sporting boxes of various bits and pieces, grouped and labelled, ready for cleaning and painting. The engine rests, quietly imposing, on the workbench. A con-rod, two pistons, rings and a gasket set will need to be ordered. Other than that all looks really good and neat and no major expense looms during the rebuild; and at this rate it may well be on the road in six weeks. I dreamed last night I was riding my XJR again.

Des’s soccer side improves by the week and they are now competing. The won two weeks ago and only two late goals saw them go down to one of the better sides in their league. Unlucky for the ladies that their games seem to be played in the worst weather, week on week. I can think of only 2 games that I have played in a bit of drizzle and 1 where it bucketed for the full 90 minutes. The ladies on the other hand are lucky if they have had 3 games in the dry.

Des and I have also taken the decision to purchase a second car. I take delivery of 1996 Nissan Primera 1800 on Saturday morning. The car is all round neat and mechanically in good nick. Mileage is a little on the high side at 180 000km, but it is a simple twin cam, 16 valve motor so with cam chain as opposed to cam belt. Nothing to fear in terms of working on it and these motors are like the Toyotas, they last longer than the rest of the car. It is an automatic (unfortunately) but with all the bits and bobs and a comfortable, if not un-sporty, motor car, with surprisingly sprightly performance and agility. Oh, the price? $3000.00 or R13 00.

So that is my news for this time around.