Calm Before the Storm

It's very still out there in the garden. The mystery pianist a few doors down is playing 'Waltz of the Flowers,' and I went outside to have a better listen. There's a very small breeze, and both the sky and the camellias glow a soft blushing pink. Tropical cyclone Wilma is due to whip into the country tomorrow, but you'd never guess. All the weather is so upside down at the moment, you never quite know what to expect, but it sounds like we could be in for another blasting.

Back to Whiritoa

And back from Whiritoa, reaching home just as the rain starts pouring down. Until then, we had two glorious sun-filled days of nothingness, apart from a spot of eating, drinking, swimming and some photo-taking for my growing collection of caravan, bach and beach umbrella shots, one day to be revealed in their full glory. I've forgotten all about any form of work but this amnesia can't last for much longer or I'll melt into a puddle of  neverending slothfulness  (quite tempting).

Hurray for Thing-a-Day

'Thing-a-day is a yearly creative sprint where participants commit to create one new thing every day, every day of February and post it on the collective blog.'

This was my very first  drawing for Thing-a-day 2010. It was most definitely the beginning of an adventure, but at the time I was filled with great angst about not only producing a piece of work a day, but the thought of anyone actually seeing it. Oh dear. I'm happy to say that I am now mostly over that particular anxiety and that the drawings I did that month were the very first building blocks of what I am doing now. Last year I created an alphabet, which fit neatly into the month-long challenge. It was useful to have a structure and now I'm tossing up ideas for a new theme. If anyone has any bright ones, please send them my way! Registrations open on January 21 and close February 1. It's fun, intense, often difficult, but very rewarding - a shot of creative rocket fuel, which is a good thing for the beginning of a new year.

Dancers Among Us

One of my dreams is to go to New York. I don't mind what season it is, as long as I can go and see lots of dance and musicals and art galleries and museums, and walk around for hours through the streets I only know from films (mainly old ones) and television (usually the news). I love these photos from New York photographer Jordan Matter, and I love what he says about his reason for taking them. (You can see the entire gallery on his website).

'I’ve created these images for my two children, who are everything to me. There is so much I want for them. My hope is that they will live long and healthy lives, find loving partners and fulfilling careers, and experience the joys of parenthood. Most importantly, I want them to be free from self-consciousness, to discover the deep happiness of impassioned lives, and to find the serenity to be truly present. These photographs communicate my dreams for them more powerfully than words alone-relish moments large and small, recognize the beauty around you, and be alive.'

Dinners at the Beach

I love this time after New Year, when everyone goes away, the roads are quiet and there are no traffic jams. We have been going to Point Chevalier Beach for dinner, when the tide's coming in and it's not so hot. We sit under the same tree every time (it's always miraculously free, just waiting for us) and eat bits and pieces out of the picnic basket. I also love the history of this beach. There was once a dance hall called the Dixieland Cabaret, which opened in 1925, and burned down  ten years later. As well as a band and dancing, it had a skittle alley, bathing room facilities and special floodlights installed for night swimming to the two rafts anchored a hundred yards away from the shore. Sigh. I often think I was born in the wrong era. I never think of Auckland as  a particularly romantic place, so  my favourite stories are the ones that show it in a sweeter and more nostalgic light.

Happy Happy

New Year's Day is quiet. Not at the races, not at the beach, not even recovering from New Year's Eve excess. I'm feeling like tidying things up, tying up loose ends, and as usual, making new lists. 2010 was a year of finding direction, and I like that feeling of instigating plans and projects, rather than drifting aimlessly and waiting for some magical amazingness to change my life. I'm more determined to change the things I keep grumbling about (the dull part-time job, the shaky finances, the stuck feeling that comes from not much travel), and do some of the things that appear on my lists every single year (travel more, draw more, earn more, learn more). Happy New Year!