Kites

Toa

A weekend in Whiritoa (Toa for short, now that we've been there three times). Staying in our friend's old bach with its peeling lino, faded flowery carpet and squeaky old divan beds, we woke every morning to the faint sound of surf slamming onto hard sand. No email. No telly. Not a lot of anything, apart from reading, eating and lying around like lazy seals, while the kids did energetic kid things around us. We ate ripe salted tomatoes and passionfruit straight from the vine; started on the G & Ts at any old time in the afternoon. A very fine weekend of beachiness indeed.

Love Monster

Or maybe it's loveless monster - sad that he hasn't received a shiny purple balloon and cellophane-wrapped rose on Valentine's Day. Have you?

Tuesday Morning Monster

For Creature Mag's one minute monster project. This attractive creature took 65 seconds and looks a little like the way I feel this morning (except I'm not wearing polka dot shorts).

Small Summer Adventures

School's back after six weeks of flaky summer weather, small excursions around Auckland (we never managed to leave), tents built from chairs and sheets in bedrooms, new scooters and many falls, secret children's spy games with the girl next door and always, always longing for some real summer sun. In amongst all that I've tried to get my act together and plan for 2012, but it's just been so hard. I've lost my way but now a little bit of routine has returned, I'm planning on a new start. It's far too easy to drift, and I've decided that this is the Year of No Drifting, Wafting or Procrastinating. You can hassle me about that, if you like.

Weeds

Poor blog. Lonely and neglected, like my garden, overrun by a forest of summer weeds. Although I've pretended not to make any New Year's resolutions, of course I have - I can't help it. They include: weed the garden at least once before winter, and post a little bit more often, because I do enjoy it, honestly. It's that time of year when sometimes things feel a little stuck. For the past couple of years I've taken part in the Thing-a-Day project, which has been great for giving any gone-to-seed creativity a kick in the bottom. This year it's The Sketchbook Project, which closes in eight days. My theme is 'The Companion Book.' This page is about my weed-like thoughts (theme of the moment). It's a nice change to work in pen and coloured pencil (no digital tinkering), in book form. At the end of this month it will be flying on its way to New York to become part of the Brooklyn Art Library's permanent collection. How exciting is that!

Steve

A brand new year, and a brand new baby nephew, born just before Christmas. He's not really called Steve. We called him that as a joke way back at the beginning, and now it's stuck - at least until he gets a real name. Welcome to the world, little Steve. Your eyes are a bit crusty and you have to wear mittens because you keep stuffing your hands in your mouth and chewing furiously on your fingers. You have tiny little legs like a chicken, and your socks and hats are too big for you and you snuffle like a baby wombat, but you are lovely in every way.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, picnic on the beach, a new moon, a pink sunset, listening to the radio which is as usual playing Bing Crosby, just like every other year. A little soothing Bing is just what's needed. It's been a  big crazy week, the beginning of school holidays, the birth of my first nephew, two frightening new earthquakes in Christchurch. I don't have any words left in my empty head, so I will just wish you a very merry and calm-filled Christmas instead. See you in 2012!