Late December 2018 was a very special time for me...

It has been quite a year.

There have been some big changes (again) and plenty of fun times.

The best part was seeing and spending time with family in October, then eight weeks later at Christmas. Now looking forward to the next time in ten more weeks.

This was the first Christmas Day with Mum and Dad since we moved from Christchurch in 2015 - and even that wasn't actually Christmas, it was a quick road-trip up and back in 2014 on Boxing Day and the day after in between shifts for Lauren. Before that it must have been another couple of years as Christmases alternated between Wellington and Renwick or Cambridge.

We had a great time catching up and exploring with them. A day in Toowoomba to see a cousin of Dad's, wandering around the shops in the craziness before Christmas, cruising the river on the free City Hopper, checking out the flora and fauna at Mt Coot-tha, Roma Street and in local parks. Walks along the riverwalk at Southbank, dinners, ice-creams to cool down in the hot sticky heat.

All too quickly it was time to say goodbye - but in just a blink of an eye it will be our turn to fly.

#52Ancestors, Week 49, Winter

Winter in this hemisphere is at a different time of year. Strangely though, even 200 or so years after emigrating many of us cling to the images of snowy frosty rural scenes at Christmas, red breasted Robins on fenceposts, branches or spade handles in snowy gardens. All the while we plan Christmas dinners which don’t involve standing in a hot kitchen for too long – salads, cold meats (if any), barbecue, pavlova and look forward to afternoons in the shade, at the beach or by the pool.

How topsy turvy it must have been for those early immigrants to celebrate Christmas in the heat of summer and Easter in autumn rather than spring. (interestingly we still celebrate Easter with spring-like symbols too – baby chicks, baskets of flowers and other baby animals). What about birthdays? How did it feel celebrating your mid-summer birthday in midwinter and vice versa? Was seasonal affective disorder a thing then? Did the change affect people at all or was it just a “Oh that’s right, I live HERE now” type of realisation. I wonder did anyone even consider or realise that these moments in their lives would be forever changed after emigrating to the southern hemisphere.

Winter itself is not in the same realm in the southern hemisphere as those in the north which we perpetuate in our imagination. It does get cold, there are storms, we wear warmer clothes and heat our homes. But we don’t have snow, apart from on high mountain ranges (normally), or days where the darkness of evening begins mid-afternoon. We all say we are cold, but in reality, most of us have no idea what it must be like to live and work in temperatures of -15 or more; just as many of or northern hemisphere cousins cannot comprehend living in 30+ or even 40+ temperatures through summer.

I like winter. The one great thing about it, compared to summer, is that you can dress for the occasion. Put on more layers to keep the chill out, take them off when you have thawed out or reached an agreeable Temperature. Summer doesn't have that advantage, it is just hot so you wear minimal clothes to begin with.

Perhaps in 2019 a white Christmas might be on the horizon.

#52Stories, Week 51, What do you look forward to as each new season approaches ?

Spring

I’ll start here since I have a spring birthday. Blue skies, trees and shrubs bursting into leaf, blossom buds appearing – sometimes even before the leaves, spring showers and soft breezes. Slowly lengthening daylight hours. Cool nights. Birdsong. Baby animals and birds.

Summer

Sunshine, dappled shade, trips to the beach, lake, river. Barbecues. Warmth. Water play. Christmas, holidays, salads. Blue skies and sudden downpours. Stone fruit and berries – picked fresh if possible. Crickets and cicadas singing. Gentle breezes.

Autumn

Cooler mornings. Changing leaves, red, green, orange, yellow, brown. Dew lingering on leaves and flowers, first frosts. Clear skies. Indian summers. Cool breezes, surprise showers.

 Winter

Shorter days, longer nights, cosy evenings, comfort food. Stormy days, stormy nights, rain, frosty air, maybe snow ? Woolly hats and scarves. Camellia, Magnolia, Rhododendron, Daffodil braving the chilly air, a sign of what is to follow.

Settling In

Well, it has been about three weeks now since the move north, to the other side of the harbour. I'm enjoying it. For the first two weeks my commute was 10 minutes each way ! Quite a difference to 45-90 minutes each way. School holidays made a difference, but even so most days last week were less than 20 minutes each way.

The boxes are slowly being dealt with and it is looking more like home. This weekend I spent an afternoon picking my way through the boxes that had got wet and started disintegrating at the old place. Dry basement indeed ! The movers had done such a wonderful job packing initially that most things just needed to be placed into a new box. Some things needed to be re-wrapped before packing though. Some things mostly wooden bowls were pretty gross, so they have been washed in water so hot it was hard to keep my hands in it, or put through the dishwasher. I'll keep them inside for a bit to make sure they are all well dried out before going back into boxes.

I also discovered all the linen we hadn't seen since Christchurch and some of mine which had been packed around bits and pieces in Wellington. So that has all been washed and aired. Some of it will go back into boxes over the next few weeks. I'm still looking for duvet covers and blankets though - who knows where they got put in Wellington ! 

The weather is still not very autumn-ish so I cant see that I will be needing blankets anytime soon anyway. But if I do, there is the one I had to buy last winter in Christchurch and a couple of others which could be put to use. BUT I really would like to know where my nice woollen Onkaparinga blanket is.

Then, today was Mothers' Day. I had the yummiest breakfast home made for me. Waffles with fresh SUMMER berries, edible flowers and maple syrup. Who would have thought summer berries would still be in the shops in May !! Very spoilt, despite having given strict instructions not to buy me anything - rather save the money and buy me something while we are on holiday. Terribly disobedient ! But much appreciated at the same time.

In other news - we have a pretty good spot to check out sunsets at our new home too.
 

And the New Year begins

Following on from my last post, here are some photos of places we've been so far this month. 

Although it has been a novelty to experience a warm summer and have great beaches nearby, I can't help looking at the Northern Hemisphere weather reports and photos and yearn for some cooler temperatures. We have had some good rain as well which in itself is a novelty after the year in Canterbury with virtually none. But I'm beginning to feel that I am more an autumn/spring person, not entirely a winter person, but not so much summer anymore. Don't get me wrong, summer is great - if you have access to a great swimming spot without a two hour hot drive in an non-airconditioned car, if you live somewhere with airconditioning or which is at least built to catch any breeze nature offers, work in an air conditioned environment and actually have time to get out there and enjoy the water and weather with friends. But for me - nah, it's starting to lose it's appeal.

Most people are back at work...but not me yet...still. Things are looking more positive on that front though, so watch this space for upcoming developments.

New Year's Eve and first seconds of 2016

Redwood Forest, Rotorua

Sunset at Piha