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Sunday 18 July 2010

Triumph and Boiled Lettuce

I have been so grateful for the world of blogging in the 
last few weeks. Reading the lovely posts of my blogging 
companions' creativity & everyday adventures has kept 
me anchored & sane.
We have been facing the most terrifying & stressful of times.
My poor darling has endured the most despicable work
related bullying over the last few years.
 Finally, this week, a number of nasties have concluded & 
at last been fully disarmed.
We have discovered through this time that we are both
strong & capable but also sensitive & vulnerable.
We have held on tight together & come back round once 
more to being so grateful for the simple, beautiful things
in life & for a love & friendship that has endured
& deepened despite the storms. 
"Grow old with me the best is yet to come"
I didn't fully understand how this would be 
until more recently.
When your children leave home everyone bangs on 
about the "empty nest syndrome" & the major upheaval
that this will be in your small wee menopausal life, 
 just the same as they always tell you that you better
hang on to every minute of your children being small 
"because they grow up sooo fast".
What no one ever says is that it's ok to wish your 
kids would grow up sometimes & that the adult relationship
that you get to have with them after they have left
home will be with you far longer & possibly be much 
more satisfying than you could ever have
imagined all the while that you were all growing up
& struggling through the early years together.
The thing is there are always
new miracles,
fresh starts
just around the corner..
let's hold tight to the wonder of the simple things
.....these really do look like fairy's hats
don't you think?!
And just look at Archie who I found in a 
recent NZ Gardner mag
bet he never imagined he would ever grow such a carrot!
I found these in a sheltered spot in my garden 
this week..
sometimes it's just seeing things in a new light that helps
although I am not very good at change, without it
there are so many things that we would miss out on.
The last few weeks have been profoundly wet & sometimes
very cold which means in spite of the feather duvet inner 
& snuggling up together we were still a teeny bit cold. 
Then I remembered the magnificent wedding cover 
that I had 
carefully tucked away in the linen cupboard.
It is just so exquisitely hand made.
I bought it at the Antique
Centre in Napier a few
years ago
now you see without winter I might never have retrieved this
beauty from the cupboard & marveled at the workmanship
and been just warm enough when covered in such loveliness!
a surprise bloom..no wonder she's called "Dove"
Today we headed down the road to a local car boot sale
but found that it wasn't on this week so we popped in to a 
garage sale on our way home & Rob came across this
well treasured National Cookery book by Una Carter
"medalist"
not so sure that we'll ever make the stewed brains or the 
 cooked lettuce & probably especially not the boiled
cock's comb but it is quite an astonishing thought that
this one cook book embodies the cookery life experience
of another woman in another time..
I didn't get out & about much this week but I did pick up
this vintage teapot at Connections. There was just something
so familiar about it. It'll at least make a good prop for 
a new tea cosy perhaps.

a bit chilly to be swimming just now I would have thought

but then who would imagine that this little one would 
be having ago just now too..resilience!





5 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading through this thought provoking post. The pictures are equally as inspiring.

    Thank you :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. A really lovely post with really lovely pictures, and a really lovely teapot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Catherine, I hope you and Rob are feeling a whole lot better about things and that it will be resolved. I often feel we women are the lucky ones, able to pick up and drop off jobs as we need to, but the men have to soldier on regardless. We are very lucky I think.
    I fully concur with your thoughts on children growing up. I found the teenage years to be a breeze compared to toddlers, and the feed back you get from them and the insights into their world are your reward for the hard yards with toddlers. It is lovely to know them as the adults they become.
    Love Jacqui

    ReplyDelete
  4. Honesty
    I really enjoy your honesty, Catherine. I read your stuff and its like a breath of fresh air has rushed through me. You should grow the plant honesty in your garden, Catherine as I will mine this coming summer. Just to remind us! I don't want or need to know what has happened in your husband's work place, but after years of nursing (before I was teaching) I know gossip and inuendo can become overwhelming. In the end you just have to believe in your own sense of fair play and your instinct for goodness. Hope you have a better week. Love, Stella
    Thanks so much for your encouragement Stella..thought that I would pop this in here since it went the long way round : ) can you actually still buy honesty seeds? We might just have to look on that good old Trade Me Love Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Catherine - Sorry to read that hubbie has been having such a hard time. Glad resolution is within your grasp. Smile together.

    ReplyDelete

So lovely of you to leave a comment. Thank you!! So sorry if you've tried to leave one & it hasn't worked. You are welcome to email me at catherine@sunshinevintage.nz instead, if you'd like to, much love Catherine♥

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