Reviving Waters And Enduring Love

Not all love lasts,

nor do all marriages endure,

so when 50 years have gone by & you're still together, a celebration is certainly in order.

I was 2 months shy of being 3 years old when my aunt & uncle were married in 1963.

I was their tiny flower girl back then & their grown up niece last weekend; present for reminiscence & congratulations.

We're not very hardy travelers Rob & I, so we decided to create an adventure of our journey, take an extra day & stop in Taupo on the way north. I hadn't been quite on the ball in contacting my dear friend who lives in Taupo & decided to just pop in to her work & see if she was available for lunch. We pulled up at 12.16pm (random) & Rob was to stay in the car as I wasn't going to be long & as I stood on the road side waiting to cross the busy street, a white car stopped behind me & out hopped an astonished Cheryl wondering what I was doing there & so delighted to see us!! She had a worked a half day & was just on her way home. Synchronicity in very fine form wouldn't you say!!

We had a lovely catch up & coffee together, all the while marveling at such effortless connection & timing.

Later in the afternoon Rob & I headed just 5 minutes out of town to a place called Wairakei, where there is a great deal of geothermal activity & steam. I had read about hot pools called Wairekei Terraces & since we adore hot springs we decided to go & have a look.

What we found was so beautiful, 

so utterly magnificent,

 we were truly transfixed. We spent several hours in this magical place, at times, completely on our own! 

 The entire complex was designed & constructed in 2002 & in the ensuing 11 years has matured & settled into a fresh & tranquil paradise that no one has ever mentioned existed.

 These thermal terraces have been designed to imitate the famous Pink & White Terraces of Tarawera that were forever lost at the time of the massive volcanic eruption in 1886, that buried Maori villages in molten lava

& obliterated the marvel & beauty of this thermal wonderland.

The White Terraces

You can see more of Wairakei Terrace Thermal Pools on this Smile Box if you're interested.

 

Make your own digital slideshow

The following day we traveled on to Tauranga to join family in a celebration lunch.

 Two grand daughters made this scrummy white chocolate cake.

 Little people wanted to eat the icing flowers most of all.

 My two aunties attending to their mother's cameo bracelet that was worn to grace the day.

 "Nanna"...so precious such a heart-felt love.

 When I admired the tablecloths that were in service for the day Aunty Margaret showed me this beautiful work of art made by my grandmother Estelle during a lengthy visit to hospital back in England in 1939.

 We took a little detour via Mount Manganui on our way home & spotted this van at the beach.

 It's a very popular & beautiful beach spot,

 especially on a particularly hot & magnificent day.

 It's also a good place to pause & take some "selfies" since it was the weekend 35 years ago that we looked up & saw each other across the room in Miramar Baptist Church in Wellington.
And in that moment, at 17, I met the man that would change my life forever & love me for a lifetime.
I adore the native Renga Renga lilies in the background.
Very bridal don't you agree.

Pohutukawa is the "New Zealand Christmas" tree & loves to grow near the coast.

We had a lovely time at the Taikura School fete (Rudolph Steiner school) the weekend before.

Aren't these little felted Pohutukawa babies just so perfect & adorable.

(I have some more to share with you about the fete next time.)

Music very often speaks to me & this song "Take Care of the One You Love" by Imany, most particularly just at the moment. Do listen out for the children joining in.

It is an African love song.

So lovely to see you.
Take care of the ones you love...I know that you do!
You're wonderful!!
MUCH

♥♥♥♥♥

Save Our Seeds

Some people just seem to know where they fit in this world...

and off they go 

and just get on with it.

Others (many others) wander a bit, or even a lot, in the figuring out process of where their passion lies or quite which path they are meant to take, in order to find a sense of fulfillment & purpose.

Authenticity is deeply important for some of us.

Being true to ourselves & the values that we personally hold.

It's this quest that has brought Matthew (& Sarah & Fynn) back this way this week as lots of changes begin to unfold in their lives. 

Happily, best friends can be found just across the road.

Little Ezra was thrilled to see his friends again at our house.

  

Drinking coconuts are so much fun to share...

& so delicious!

Once you know that it's quite safe, trolley rides are great too.

There's been a bit of toadstoolery,

dancing

& riding the broomstick going on.

He's such a nice boy, our Fynn.

Lucy is very accommodating.

There are lots more seating options than first expected.

The bottle brush seemed a nice festive touch in the old milk bottle crate.
I can't believe that not a single toadstool has been sneaked, although it is rumoured that Ezra scoffed several "puffballs" when in Pop's company inside.

Some of my crocheted jar covers & their pretty contents have gone off to be sold at Christmas markets (thanks to my friend Wendy). I made some more in cheery colours for Lucy. The camera seems to have been a bit startled by their festiveness, however.

I am so glad that we live in the upside down hemisphere, celebrating the year's end & Christmas with fresh summer fruits...lots of which are very red & delicious.

I have never thought of roasting strawberries before but they are absolutely delicious cooked this way. I sprinkled these sliced berries with coconut sugar, coconut & lemon juice & roasted them for around 20 minutes. All the flavours mingle & condense...so useful & keeps well too.

This glorious, scented rhododendron has been out in all her fine glory over the last few weeks.

Right beside the driveway.

There are still roses at various stages.

I think that Evelyn is very beautiful & she's nicely scented too.

Somewhere in my garden journey I lost track of one of my favourite little annuals Blue Woodruff. After looking everywhere locally, without success, I finally tracked down some seeds in Canada. The people very kindly agreed to post them to me last year, but when I sowed them nothing happened, which was so disappointing. This year, however, I took another approach thanks to dear Julie & sowed the seed according to the moon calendar (I'll tell you more about this next time) & viola in no time at all strong seedlings appeared.

I will be very sure to keep the seeds from this lot for the next season. Such a sweet little plant with the softest powder blue flower.

Seeds are terribly important, so when they are lost or tampered with through time, so very much can be lost which is why we are so grateful to Kay Baxter for her life's work in safekeeping so many of our New Zealand heritage fruit & vegetable seeds. Koanga Institute  is situated about 2 hours north of here. This is where Matthew & Sarah journeyed to during this past week to investigate potential internships & training. This also just happened to coincide with a week of huge challenges & publicity for Koanga, which involved a TVNZ Seven Sharp camera crew filming on the day that they were visiting, so we were all very amused to find the two visitors seen eating lunch in the middle of the news segment.

Seen here.

I have been creating some fun bunting over the last week or two (once again thanks to Julie: My Threadbear Life for her fabulous ideas & inspiration!)

I got a terrible fright when I found feathers on the grass yesterday. I was so sad & quite convinced that Charlie (borrowed cat) had eaten Mabel!! But a few hours later I found her alive & well & foraging for worms on the lawn. Poor little thing has a wonky leg & she can't walk straight, yet undetered & fearless she's bravely out there doing what must be done to feed her baby. I think she's wonderful.

Mabel is rather a kindred spirit you see. I still seem to walk all wonky & cannot fly very well.
 Although I have all that I need (& I am very grateful for that) I have found life very hard of late & the days are often very gray inside my soul. It's a miserable place to be. With a legacy like mine (& Rob's is worse!), the journey to wholeness takes all my strength & determination...every single day. I hold on to the little things & the beauty & hope with all my heart that one day I will be free; free of the imprint of others uncaring & twistedness.
 It takes a long time to rebuild with goodness, but I believe that we are building a legacy together Rob & I, that will endure & restore hope & freedom to the generations.

Thank you so much for visiting & coming to see me. You make all the difference to my world.
MUCH

♥♥♥♥♥