6 Month Absence UPDATE

Bear with me as this may be a bit long – but I have been gone a long time and much has changed in my life.  The good news is with a switch in my meds, I am once again a happy, chirpy, loving life gal.  Work is the same – still being creative and running the print shop.  At some point it would be nice to live near my new house which I’ll tell you about in a minute, but for now things are great.  So let me catch you up!

So first off – I have moved.  I needed to get out of the concrete jungle and back to the country – so I headed North to Mangawhai. I live in a nice little old country cottage which used to double as a schoolhouse.  It needs a bit of work but it is worth it. Why Mangawhai?

Mainly because it is a nice, quiet, friendly country place not far from a very good friend.  I can see the stars, listen to the moorporks, stretch my legs, develop this place into whatever I want and it is only $100/wk.

Downside:  Work is 1.5hr drive in the morning and 1hr at night.  Didn’t seem like much in the beginning but now it is starting to wear on me.

But the best part, the part that makes all the driving and insane sandflies worth it is – I can have my animals again.  I have been living a long time with no animals, not even a fish – and now the menagerie has started.  I will introduce you to the stars of CCW Animal Farm shortly.

So let me give you the tour starting with the view from my deck.

Now onto the house itself.  It is a 2.5 bdrm house, with a spacious although ill equipped kitchen, and an extension housing the bathroom, shower and laundry.  It had these lovely hospital green walls when I moved in which I am in the process of repainting a nice Dulux Tea colour.  I quite like it – not too light or dark.  There will be cream trim and door frames and a warm chocolate accent border where the old green meets the cream top half of the wall.  Here is a before photo.

One of the nicest things is I can get to work on putting in some gardens.  Last month we put the finishing touches on my first ever veggie garden.  I learned so much in this process – like WEAR INSECT REPELLENT – sandflies are vicious!  Also veggies need more room than I anticipated.  Some things like mini cauliflower and dwarf broccoli need up to 60cm between plants – well the garden was only 3m long – so they had to be squished a bit – and I still didn’t have room.   And I have now learned why you should plant them that far apart…

It may look like this in the beginning but soon it is HUGE – and plants are squished in like this.  They don’t just tell you to space them out for no reason. LOL  But I’m learning!

Then there is the animals – my favourite part of living out here is the chance to have pets again.  So here are the current residents of the menagerie.

ECHO – Poodle x Bichon puppy … 19wks old
He is awesome. Cute, funny, acrobatic, sweet natured and a real softy.  He is exactly what I wanted in a new companion and we can look forward to many great training results from him. He is already picking up Zen, Sit, Down, Come, Twist, Turn, & Circus Dog.  You can follow his progress on my new dog training blog here on WordPress:  DESPERADO DOGS

KITTENS:  Then there are the new kittens.  One of my friends cats has a litter but started to fret and move them around too much.  She did the same last time and lost the whole litter so I went down and picked them up from Hamilton last weekend and Little Scott and I have been doing hand rearing them. They aren’t as big as they should be for their age – and the little black alien baby one (my darling) had to have surgery at 9 days old for a congenital birth defect – but they are thriving now and are happy, active kittens.

AVAIRY:  But wait – there’s more.  I also purchased an aviary and 12 budgies from a guy who has been breeding for many years and is looking to get out of the bird business.  I have always wanted an aviary – so this was great for me.

And last but not least – I am babysitting two very nice rats for a while over the holidays.

Well that should about catch you up.  If there is a delay in hearing from meit is because  I am at work or travelling from 7am-7pm and by the time I get home, check the birds, feed the kittens, play with the dog, cook and clean up after dinner, and finally sit down, I am too exhausted to do anything but go to bed.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Way overdue…

I didn’t realize I had been away so long.  The last few months have been a blur of work and friends, some photography and events, but mostly work, work, work.  Not alot of balance there.  So as I have just celebrated my birthday a few days ago – what better marker to get started with on renewing that balance.  This means photographing more, maybe starting a canvas painting or two and updating blogs (as well as all the work).

I am in the process of updating my photography blog with a new images – but here are some from today to get me started!  I went with a friend to Hamilton and went back to the gardens.  I have to say the new paint job in the Italian Renaissance  garden was not a good move – I miss the weathering and it just looks so plain now.  But the sun was shining, we got to be out in the brisk air and walk around, and I wasn’t working – so all is good!

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Sunday brought a spot of rain and a bit of a sleep in from the driving on Saturday.  I wanted to go to the Classic Car and Hot Rod show in Kumeu and we headed out at about 11:00.  The weather fined up and the drive was great once we got out of the city. 

We got to the show and I was entranced by all the chrome and shiny paint jobs.  I knew I wanted to do some photography before going, but had a truly blonde moment.  I was happily clicking away – and then after about 30 shots realized I had no memory card in and wasn’t taking pictures of anything!!!  And my battery was half flat – very prepared I was.  LOL

No worries – I always carry spares so I reloaded the camera and was going to start again but Amy was tired and getting a bit of a headache in the heat – so we decided to just go.  I was gutted as this was a $30 entry(for us both) and I had no pics to show for it.  She was great though – we got to the car and she rested for about 20 minutes while I ran back in and shot some photos. Keep in mind I know nothing about cars – I just see colours and composition – so I was looking for interesting paint jobs and great lines.

Ford Flames

Ford Classic

Hood Ornament

Classic Fins

Another Hood Ornament

Then amongst all the bright shiny beauties of the day – sat this glorious Buick – I fell in love with the weathering and the subtle colour shifts.  It was just starting to rain lightly and it peppered the hood with dark patches just adding to the weathering. This is probably my favorite pic of the whole day.

Weathered Buick

Now I had come looking for stunning paint jobs and just as I was leaving the main show area – I walked through the swappers area, many of who were packing it in.  Then I saw her – the vehicle I had come to photograph – a stunning purple truck with yellow and orange flames – I was in love.

Flames!

The Belle of the Ball

After that – I made my way back out to the car where Amy was waiting.  We had much more travelling to do.  We were headed back out to South Head to finish the trip we started in the dark.

Glenfield to South Head

If you remember from last time we stopped and met some great horses – loaded with carrots and apples – we headed back again.  They were grazing in the paddock and with some vegetable waving, were convinced to come see us. I even got to share an apple with one…then my camera battery promptly died.  LOL

Horses!

After feeding all the horses – we contined our drive.  We got to the top of South Head and apparently missed the turnoff road we should have taken to go to the beach – as we ended up at a private property dead end.  Ooops!  So back down we went – along a very rough gravel road – when the car started squealing like crazy.  A stone (or two, or ten) in the wheel ended up in the brakes.  Not being a car person, we stopped and rang various men in our lives who would know what to do.  The consensus said – keep driving – so we loudly squealed our way back down the mountain.  Not funny then – but I can laugh about it now as I still rattle and squeak a bit getting those last few stones out.

Making enough noise to wake the dead, we travelled on – and then coming around a corner I saw these deer – with HUGE antlers.  My camera was dead, but I was able to use Amy’s camera – awwwww ain’t they cute.

Deer

After that we headed back to Kumeu and had dinner at the Curry Leaf Indian restaurant.  Having not eaten all day, I definitely overate – much to my tummy and wallets dislike.  We headed home – overfull and sleepy.  Another good trip….

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On the Road Again……

This week my road trip journey continued – this time heading out to the East Coast past Papakura and going south in a loop.  To think that less than a year ago I couldn’t drive 10kms, and now I am humming along on the motorway and have clocked up more than 1000kms in less than 2 weeks.

East Coast Loop

After heading out of the city and into the country – I felt so much better.  The general bustle of city life is fun for a time, but I really need to recharge in the fresh air and stillness of the country – plus I get a kick out of bringing veg and feeding the animals we meet along the way.  Once we got out of the main roads, we made our first stop at an oyster plant that was closed for the day – good place to pull off and look around…

Pit Stop

I really wanted to get a more elevated shot of the surrounding landscape so we walked down into a neighboring paddock and I climbed through a fence (after checking it wasn’t on)  to get a better view of the mountains in the distance.  I was not disappointed with this shot.

Distant Mountains

From there we carried on down a series of winding roads, windows down, stereo on, singing, laughing and carrying on.  As we headed into Kawakawa Bay we slowed to a crawl as the road was down to one lane due to a very large landslide which has been worked on since October.  The road was open, but directed by a single temporary traffic light.  At the top, while at the light, I quickly hopped out and got this overlook photo and then we stopped at the beach at the bottom to do some more photography.  The tide was out so we could walk out quite a ways.

Overlook

Low Tide

From there we carried on towards Orere – away from the sea and inland for a little bit. Over a series of one lane bridges we bumped along, meeting very few other cars.  There was a few moments of straight road where Amy got to feel the wind in her face standing through the sunroof.  As we crossed one of the bridges I pulled over to photograph the stream running under it.  We got out of the car, and heard a very definite Baaaaaa! behind us.  This time we were prepared – getting out the apples and carrots we had bought when we hit the road – we got to feed this gorgeous lamb and his mother.

Stream Bed

Lambie

Back on the road again….we drove out to Orere Point – there is something amazing in driving til the road ends – reaching the natural end of a piece of land and knowing that for all rights and purposes you have reached the end of the earth.  I know all roads end, but this was the first time I could say I had driven a road til I couldn’t drive anymore.  I was overwhelmed with the magnitude of my accomplishment.  If you have known me before I started driving – you’ll understand.

Rocky Shore

But there were many more miles to go.  Kiwis may take this kind of scenery for granted but I am in awe of the beauty of most thing – especially wide open spaces.

Fields of Gold

Now I get excited about little things – but especially wildlife.  Just after this field was a group of wild turkeys on the side of the road…I quickly pulled over and amongst strange looks and smiles from passing traffic – took a moment to capture this lot in the sun.  The colours on Momma are just gorgeous!

The Whole Brood

Momma Turkey

We headed on again towards the coastline.  Stopping in a few places – I got this pic of some local fishermen down by the shoreline.  (Look in the bottom right)  The light was fading and just hitting the little inlet at the right moment.  Stunning!

Tidal Inlet

As we carried on – I was not to be disappointed – over a small lake – the light filtered through the clouds in glorious rays – illuminating the field and tree in a heavenly overture.  Now you know I am not Christian – but this was a striking moment of Divine brilliance.  A mere photo cannot do it justice.  It was serene and sacred.  The perfect wind down to a great trip.

Light Rays at Dusk

I had promised Amy a trip to the thermal pools in Miranda, so we carried on to the pools – and I soaked my feet in the 36 degree water.  There were plenty of other people there and Amy made friends with a young girl who took quite a liking to her.  From there – we headed home and back to Denny’s on the shore for dinner.  Another great trip!

Two New Classes/Groups Starting

Hi guys,
I just wanted to let everyone know that now that I am settled in back in Auckland, I will be restarting a few of my classes/groups.  For anyone who is interested here are a few:

Intuitive Tarot:
8 week course / 1 night a week
$10/week
Wednesday Nights from 7:30pm beginning Feb 4th
Can be done electronically or attended as a group in Glenfield.
This course is designed to get you working with Tarot on a more intuitive level, moving beyond the constraints of traditional book meanings.  It is great for those just starting out, or to reignite an interest in those who haven’t worked with Tarot in a while.  You may use any deck that contains 78 cards (Oracle decks are not really suited for this class).

Personal Power
Monthly Group
$10/month
Can be done electronically (though not as much fun) or attended as a group in Glenfield
Held on the third Sunday of the month starting at 7pm  (except this month – which we will be meeting next Sun the 25th)
For anyone who is looking to make positive changes in their lives, to move past the grind and start living the life you can have.  Become inspired, empowered and start seeing things and yourself differently.  Each month we will have a new exercise to complete and we will discuss it the following month.

If anyone is interested or wants more information – just let me know!  Hope to see you soon!

And for my 6th and final post of the night….

I started a book in 2001 based on the images from the Ancestral Path Tarot deck.  Part channelled, part inspired, the cards each tell their own story – they write themselves more often than not and I am just the fingers at the keyboard – it is one of the only decks that has cried out for more attention and the project sat neglected (but safely stored) for many years.  I am now feeling inspired to start again – so to this end I have put up the first chapter on a new page for you to read – see The Fool’s Journey tab at the top to read it – what do you think?

Exciting News!

For those of you that may not know – I am an avid photographer.  You will find a link to my Picture of the Day Blog to the right.  Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I have a very bad memory and photos are a way of me conquering that.  Besides the memory aspect – I love capturing the random moments in life that we don’t often pause to appreciate.  In every day – every place – there is something to be found, to learn, to see the beauty in.  If there isn’t – you aren’t looking with your heart.  Even gasoline/oil drops on the pavement in the early morning light can be beautiful.  You just have to see it with Open eyes.

Petrol © Lisa Wood

Our eyes can see only ugliness around us if we choose to.  I know this first hand.  I have walked in the darkness of fear and overwhelming sadness at the state of the world, of my life and our existence.  But there is beauty and grace to be found as well.  A great shift in the way we view things is needed – the more negativity we see, the more we create and perpetuate it. So look for the good – look for the silver lining and embrace the Life you have.  If you don’t like it – change it…if you need help – ask…but don’t live another day being miserable.

Now this all does have a point – I have just ordered a new camera to capture all this new found beauty.    A Nikon D90 – and I am so excited.  It should be here on Friday!!!!  For those of you interested in photography – here is my little excitment post about it on my Photo blog:

New Nikon D90 For Me

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The next adventure was following day on Sunday.  We had stocktake at work and a friend was up from Hamilton to give us a hand.  We finished at 9pm – packed the car and headed out for the 2hr drive to Hamilton. There is nothing like having the moonroof open, radio up, traveling a dark road with little traffic, feeling the stillness of the night and the restful quiet.

On the way home we stopped breifly at a school that I had wanted to photograph before leaving Hamilton, but never got around too.  With my trusty phone – I got a couple of pics to celebrate the event – the school, Amy dancing in the moonlight and the lovely rainbow ring around the moon.

School At Night

Amy's Moondance

Rainbow Moon

We were headed back out of town and at one of the stoplights a truck was sitting opposite us waiting for the green light.  In a fit of giggles, Amy stood up through the moonroof and waved at the trucker – always nice to be friendly.  He laughed, tooted his horn and we drove on.  I haven’t laughed so hard in years.  It is nice to be a kid now.  I missed it growing up, and to just be freespirited now is amazing.  Thanks to Lift Plus and good music, we arrived back safe, but tired around 3:30am.  (and worked the next day)  I am still recovering from it.  *laughs*

What’s the last crazy (but safe) thing you did??

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My next adventure of the week came in the aspect of a random road trip.  Put gas in the car and just drove – no destination in mind, no map – just drive to see what’s out there.  (I have since looked it up).   It was amazing – we ended up heading out West.

Glenfield to South Head

75kms over the hills, past the pastures, leaving the clutter and grime of the city behind to rejoice in the green lush fields of the country.  We passed a field with 4 horses running along the fence line and knew I had to stop.  So we pulled over and in a light evening rain, with the fading sun, I traded breath with a stallion and his herd.

If you have never worked with horses, they read everything with their noses.  If you want to make friends – you exhale softly, fluttering your lips, making a Ppphhhhhhtttt sound.  This gets their attention.  The big roan stallion was interested and came for a sniff and a lip nibble.  In a book I read many years ago – they suggested making a Shhhhhhpaaaaa sound – softly exhaling near the horses nostrils.   This got several of them very interested in the fact that I knew this secret.  I pulled some grass from a nearby pasture and fed them – and vowed to keep carrots and apples in the car for the next road trip. Across the drive were a group of cows intently watching the goings on – I have never wanted my camera more – but both it and my phone were at home. LOL

At about 9:30,  we reached a gravel road and figured we should head back.  We are going back on Sunday to finish the trip in the light.  We got back to Auckland about 11:30 and went for a midnight dinner at Denny’s.  We met a very nice guy there who is fast becoming a friend.  Amazing how it works…

Can’t wait for the next trip!

The Fool’s Journey Explained

When I started this blog I told you of an upcoming Tarot deck that captured my attention – and I thought I would share with you a bit about this Fool’s journey.  Again the image is from the upcoming Shadowscapes deck.  Here is what the artist says about her inspiration on her site.

“The Fool has come a long way, traveled from far beyond to come to this pinnacle that rises up upon the edge of the world; and yet her journey is just about to begin. She senses this with instinctive perceptions as she rises up upon her toes, caught up in the breathless embrace of the wind in the moment before the plunge. Her heart pounds and flutters in her chest with the force of a hundred beating wings struggling to break free of the cage of her being; until she feels she must be sprouting wings from her shoulders to glide forth from that place, transformed.

Wait! Don’t! cries a thin trailing voice from within. Caution! Fear! it rails. Hold back!

Unheeding, she steps forward, and….

---

Meaning: The Fool is a symbol for new beginnings and adventures, pleasure, passion, thoughtlessness and rash. Like the Fool, you may stand upon the precipice gazing out into the unknown; and there is either an oblivious foolishness to the terrible plunge you may experience, or a wild spirit of adventure, great faith and knowledge in that which can and will bear you up and guide through the times to come. There are unlimited possibilities opening up for the seeker.”

Shadowscapes Tarot Fool