Ode to the Moon

This was the moon's eclipse last night, and we all watched it - turning from a full white circle, to red for an hour. Lovely, lovely.
And I must wax lyrical - or at least borrow someone else's waxing:
THE HALF MOON SHOWS
A FACE OF PLAINTIVE SWEETNESS

The half moon shows a face of plaintive sweetness
Ready and poised to wax or wane;
A fire of pale desire in incompleteness,
Tending to pleasure or to pain:-
Lo, while we gaze she rolleth on in fleetness
To perfect loss or perfect gain.
Half bitterness we know, we know half sweetness;
This world is all on wax, on wane:
When shall completeness round time's incompleteness,
Fulfilling joy, fulfilling pain?-
Lo, while we ask, life rolleth on in fleetness
To finished loss or finished gain.

By Christina Rossetti

Family stuff

Yep, it's great hanging out with family - especially when you all share similar sense of humour. Here some of us are at Frasers Cafe in Mt Eden, yesterday, Phil, and his two eblings, and Helen and I.
We went to Mission Bay and walked around the drive to Kohimarama Beach, where we found a sturdy seat to lower ourselves onto. As you can imagine, we all had to move as one to lift up from it at the end. Made our way back to Mission Bay for fish and chips overlooking the ocean.
Phil does a magnificent impression of a Mako shark - and William is now adept at it. Sucking in his chin and throwing his 'ski jump' nose out, he now moves his whole body like a shark as he moves along. It is most impressive and had us in fits.

Three International Visitors. . .

Young brother Phil has arrived back from California with son William to celebrate Dad's 80th in a week's time. This was them on the first day here (yesterday) with Magda happily squeezed between brother and Dad at the kidney-shaped table at the parental abode.
Ah, lunch, and the delights of family humour bandied around.
Pretty typical sight, Dad waving walking stick around, William playing puzzle, Mum digging for cutlery. . .
Mum and I . . .
and that same evening I went to enjoy Hazel's company over dinner with Cathy at Heather's place. Did I say that right? Four of us enjoyed each other's company, over a delish meal at Heather and Steve's home. Just the girls. Hazel is here from Canberra for a few days.

Living in the music. . .

This is what happens when you drag out your cello again - you end up in 'celloland', painting it and then finding yourself listening to the music as well, on the radio. This is the second painting of a cellist I've done in succession. The other on the other blogsite. Just sold.

Dusting off the cello

It finally happened - last Sunday night, after a wonderful dinner with an old high school friend, Rachel, we got out our stringed instruments and whipped through a few hymns. Helen brought her violin, and Rachel and I resumed our old positions from the year 1971 - that of 1st and 2nd cellos in the Auckland Girls Grammar School orchestra. We had a few laughs, and I think we played probably as well as we did then.
And so far this is the only photo I have found of those days. Rachel joined us the following year. That sullen looking girl in the dead centre front is me. Ah, the memories.

Peter's birthday weekend

The sunrises have been glorious, on Jan and my early morning walks. The tempestuous state of the winter weather means that the sky is an everchanging canvas of colour and mood. How's this for one morning's work:
On the right is the Skytower and city, the sun is looking as if it just burst out of the crater on Rangitoto, and the harbour bridge is just below.

Peter came up for the weekend to celebrate his coming birthday. I gave him the painting I did of the two of us at the top of the Ruapane Trig on Pirongia. He's tilting his head in like fashion.
With the painting as a back drop, this is the four of us enjoying birthday dinner of lamb shanks followed by turkish honey and almond cake.

We also saw movies. This occasion it was the four of us seeing 'Starter for Ten' at the Bridgeway on Saturday afternoon.
And John and Naomi Cowan were on their way in as we were leaving, and took this of us.
Although we are standing by the poster of Amazing Grace, it was the movie Peter and I had seen the night before. Amazing movie!

Odds and Sods

It's the first day of August today, and on my walk home this morning, there were the first blossoms of Spring awaiting me.
and on the walk itself, lovely pastel colours of early morning, pre dawn, with a glimpse of the city on the horizon.

and yesterday - a new 'Spring' haircut. Yay. A change from fluffy curls and thank heavens for Photoshop which can add some colour and reduce the blemishes.

See - the shortest it's ever been at the back.

Old slides

Dad's been digging out old slides and has a programme whereby he can convert them to digital. These two were sent to me. Unfortunately, I haven't changed that much - there's still the furrowed upper lip, hairy eyebrows, deepset eyes in the top 5 yr old pic, and that sense of purpose and annoying probing into the affairs of others (in this case my 4 yr old brother Steve) as in my 2 yr old person, below.

Hoar Frost in Otago, South Island

My good friend, John, who works for Parenting with Confidence, often heads off to other places and towns for seminars over the weekend, and sent me these photos he took of hoar frost in Central Otago, where he's been recently. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
They remind me of a poem by one of my favourite poets, Christina Rosetti:
In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, Long ago.





Those little touches of pale gold in the middle of the photos, where the house is, are heartening are they not?

Winter walk at Western Springs

Trace and I came here last Saturday, for a walk, and Helen joined us when she found out! Western Springs was full of people and families and ducks and geese, but all spread over this pleasant lakey parkland. Trace is sitting in one of the many chunky wood seats facing the view.and here's another chunky seat and sitter, facing the prospect of my sister coming up and over the next hill to join us.
the FIRST thing we did was go to the entry to the Zoo and the cafe that's there and enjoy a fortifying coffee first.
and then we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw a Sheep family arrive to go to the zoo. Yep, that's Dad in the black sheep outfit, Mum in the white, and the little lamb in white to the left hand side. Cute and brave of them amongst all us wolves.
then the real walk began, and Helen and I are silhuetted against a winter tree.



Nice way to clear the head and get some exercise.

A glimpse of sun on a crisp winter day

The storm has blown itself out! There's flooding up North, but down here, I only have to clear the yard of fallen twigs and sweep. I had to rescue my only new Hyacinth, which was a little battered but still beautiful.

Then I visited the house being built by Habitat for Humanity for the Pene's who are part of our church.I found Kohe painting with a roller, the ensuite to their main bedroom. The five kids will be able to spread out over the other three bedrooms - yay.

Hard to get a decent photo of the house which is still surrounded by mud and building debris. . .
but there's a great big lounge which also has the dining room as part of it, and the sun streams in through the glass doors.
Here's a couple of guys (from various churches around Auckland) painting and constructing the kitchen cabinets.
Aw, it was great to take a pile of fresh scones over and check progress. Mark and Steve from our group have been over some weekends helping build.