Visiting the big city

As they say on the answering services, I'm away from my desk until next week. So, as a place-keeper, here's a pic of what I was up to on Monday night. Thanks to the organizers of NightOutWithAuthors.blogspot.ca

See you next week, Tuesday or Wednesday when I'm settled down enough to catch some thoughts!

p.s. Last words on our stay in New Zealand

We were fortunate enough to have five days 'off-duty' from the family. So we hired a car and drove to visit a friend in the beautiful country north of Auckland not too far from where her pioneer ancestors arrived from England. Then we drove to the Coromandel peninsula and spent another couple of nights with a friend in Whitianga. Here's an idea of the kind of scenery we saw. You can be sure we feasted our eyes and soaked up its beauty.

Kiwi vernacular sounds quite a bit like our South African accents, seeing as they too do the flattened 'e'. However, they have one idiomatic quirk that I'd like to mention, and that is, they cut off their similes. And so, for instance, instead of saying 'sweet as (whatever)', they simply say 'sweet as'. I rather like this leaving it open, because you can escape the cliche of thinking 'sugar' or 'pie' and let your imagination run rip.

Personally I can say that I found the countryside as beautiful as paradise.

And that's it for the moment, folks.

Living Off the Grid: Summing up

So what was it like, actually, living off the grid? In some ways, a bit of a pain. See, you had to be conscious of how much hot water you used, how much electricity. And this meant being aware of the weather. It brought an awareness of dependence on the elements.

And I'd say neither of the above is a bad thing.

On the other hand, living off the grid brought a sense of freedom. The atmosphere seemed purer, as if there was something gentle, more peaceful about it. (Did I mention non-exploitative?) Also quiet, inside and out, seeing as a gas fridge makes only a little noise.

We lived with the sound of the occasional passing car or truck, the occasional chain saw cutting down a tree; and the song of the birds, mainly the tui (yes, that's what their call sounds like) and the pesky pheasants -- non-indigenous and destructive to plants, especially veggie gardens. At night we heard the morepork, the small New Zealand owl named for its call.

This is probably my last Kiwi post, so I'll finish off with a kind of silly poem. I hope you'll enjoy it. You can check the photo in my previous post to get the location reference, and look below for a photo.

"You'll find the secateurs in the shed," she said,

the abundance and peripheral variety of blooms having given me a yen

to make a vase --

not really an arrangement

tho. Something more in the modern style.

I wandered around the cavernous space,

looking on tool shelves, and counters and hooks,

unseeing of secateurs  until...

aha! I spied a white-handled pair,

some rusty-looking snips

with pointy tips

right there

waiting on the counter.

The spring was somewhat stiff

but still

those scissors cut the soft-stemmed calla lilies

white and green

that I wanted for my vase.

My floristry was interrupted

by other tasks.

So I set the scissors aside in the kitchen

for later.

And later Kate said,

"Mum, those are for cutting goat toe-nails!"

(I should have noted the shape of the blades and maybe remembered their long-gone goats!)

Living Off the Grid #3: And now a few words about other appliances.

This post begins with... toast! Have you ever survived for months without it? I did, in the days when I lived in residence at the University of Cape Town. When I returned to Johannesburg in the vacs, it was such a treat to have toast again.

So, although there was no electric toaster in our New Zealand dwelling, we did manage. And here's what our 'appliance' looked like:

You place this perforated tin thingy over the gas flame, rest the piece of bread in the bottom ridge, turn it over when it's suitably toasted, and voila!

We had wonderful organic bread while we were away. We got it on a Friday at the weekly open-air market held by our grandsons' local Waldorf school. But the first week, my instructions weren't specific and I discovered there were several types of loaves on offer. Having bought a few, I thought of asking the grandsons which to buy. They replied, 'the one with the yellow label'. So I went back to the young guy who was selling so I could exchange them. He was amused because I'd bought all the kinds except the one with the yellow label!

The other appliances we were missing were washer and dryer. Usually the family takes the laundry to the local laundrette for wash and fold. But I decided to save a few bucks by going there to do it myself. Not such a hardship when the beach was only a five minute walk away. Here's a photo, taken in the evening, so imagine more sunshine! In the background you can glimpse Mount Maunganui which has a sacred significance for the local Maoris and is a popular tourist attraction too.

p.s. the bread we bought each week was called 'Maunganui gold'.

To tide you over...

What next about living off the grid? Oh, the suspense!

To tide you over till tomorrow, here's a vase I made, all picked from the property. Such a lovely thing to do and it took me right back to my childhood when this was part of a Saturday ritual.

I made this, actually, for the first Sunday in Advent. And yes, during our visit we used the stove for warmth at least twice.

Living Off the Grid #2: Salon Honda

So to start with I made two mistaken assumptions:

1) that I would be able to use a hair dryer while we were staying with the family

2) that my North American appliance would work in New Zealand.

Shock, horror when I discovered no and no. What to do? To translate roughly from a great South African saying, 'A farmer makes a plan'. Hair gets dry in the air, for sure, but what to do about the style, seeing as I couldn't do a 'blow out'? (i.e. what used to be known as a 'blow dry').

Okay. I headed to the dollar store and bought some self-stick rollers. I figured an investment of $8 was altogether justified.

After showing me the gondola where the packets were hanging, the cheerful and helpful owner took my money at the till and said, "We sell a surprising number of these!"

Go figure...

Now the air dry was a problem. The weather at the beginning of November was cool. So I decided to head for Salon Isuzu. Equipped with Eleanor Catton's Booker-prize winning 'The Luminaries' and my special glasses for reading in sunlight, I climbed in and sat in the warmth.

I even had a coffee, courtesy of my thoughtful husband. But it wasn't such a good idea, the one time I left the mug in the van!

Later in our visit the days grew warmer so I was able to graduate to the terrace outside the studio. And here I am, in all my rollered glory!

I'm wearing my sweater like a bib in order to protect against the sun.

Lastly, to give you some idea of the results, here's a pic taken when we went to visit a friend. The style is not perfect, but good enough. And 'good enough' is fine for me!

Living Off the Grid #1

Here is the foot of the stairs that I walked down every morning while in New Zealand. Our son-in-law, Ken Smith, is a sculptor. He built the studio, steps and cottage all by himself. I hope you'll get a sense of how pleasing the staircase is. The sculpture at the bottom is a bonus.

Yes, I was quite happy to run up and down these many times a day! An easy way to keep fit.

So what does living off the grid feel like? For me, there was a gentleness about it, perhaps a feeling of being less exploitative. Certainly I became even more aware then usual of the weather -- especially as we relied on the rain for the house and garden water supply.

The North and South islands that make up New Zealand attract clouds. (already mentioned, I know.) So the constant questions were: Will there be enough rain to keep the storage tanks filled, and will we get enough sunshine today to provide for our hot water 'needs'? The answer to both was... mostly. Okay, you don't have to shower absolutely every day, but it is best to have hot water for washing up.  So then we'd have to boil a kettle on the gas stove. And every day, remember to turn the pump on and then off so that the hot water circulated between the studio and the cottage.

Too many dry and sunny days made us more aware of how much water we were using and how much we ran the tap. Having lived with water shortages in South Africa, I used to be good with that. But over the years in North America I've slipped into the habit of letting taps run (for rinsing plates and so on) without much thought. Early on in our visit, my elder grandson was doing the drying of dishes while I washed. He politely leaned over and shut off the tap. That was my wake-up call, and I quickly put the plug in the other side of the double sink.

Fortunately, we didn't run out.

Here's our younger grandson keeping the flowers alive. This bed was overflowing with flowers by the time we left.

One totally scary aspect of living off the grid -- the electricity wasn't strong enough for me to use a hair dryer. Yikes! I'll show and tell you how I managed ze hair when I blog on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

From Southern Hemisphere to Northern

We (my husband and I) have been back home for almost two weeks. Today for the first time, when I surfaced from sleep, I wasn't surprised to see snow outside my window instead of this:

I took the photo at our daughter's home on the North Island of New Zealand, where we stayed from the end of October (no Halloween!!!), all of November and most of December. Over the next few posts I'll be sharing some of my experiences in that breathtakingly beautiful part of the world.

Our daughter and her family live 'off the grid', on a windy road, almost at the crest of a hill. Every morning when I stepped out of our studio 'apartment', I looked down over the valley and across to the waters of the Bay of Plenty. It was quite something, living at bird level, and the skies too with their drifting clouds made for wonderful observation possibilities.

So I'll share some stories about what it's like to live off the grid. In the photo above you can see the solar panels which provide hot water. The electricity comes from another set on the roof of the main cottage.

Yesterday

Only after I'd posted yesterday did I realize how appropriate the subject of gifts was, seeing as the 6th January is the Three Kings Day. Epiphany.

When I went on facebook I discovered something very different. That was, that the 6th January has been deemed the most depressing day in the year!! Huh? Who said? And in any case, I thought that was supposed to be in February sometime.

I discovered that it was some kind of alcoholic drinks board that made the proclamation. Sad, really. And if you did happen to be in a bad space, would it be helpful to know this was a depressing day, or would that simply make things worse?

So that's it for today. Just a short post to put in my two cents.

Presents

'What did you get for Christmas?
This was an important question when I was a child, and a good opening conversational gambit.

Presents, I guess, come in various categories: the fun, the useful, the entertaining, and of course the 'what on earth am I going to do with this?' kind. Fortunately, I receive very few of those. If any.

This year my husband and I were on our own for Christmas and we didn't exchange gifts. However, we agreed to buy ourselves a new toaster. One morning last week, off he went to run some errands. And he returns triumphantly with said new toaster. Fine. You know how it is. Go into a store, remember that this is what we need, take a look at what's on offer and buy what seems most suitable.  Whereas me, I would have done some research, price-wise and design wise before making a choice. But I guess that's the gender difference, isn't it?

Still, it's not totally true when I say that we didn't get any gifts, because (also last week) a friend arrived with a shiny bag filled with three different treats: tiny chocolates, a box of special tea and some Weleda rose body products for me. How truly delightful!

Some people, it seems to me, are simply brilliant at gift buying and giving. But me, I largely lack the skill, with the exception of the occasional flash of inspiration or stroke of good shopping luck.
I suppose we've all felt that sense of gratification and gladness when a present hits the right note -- often one of surprise, certainly one of delight.

So what's the secret? I suspect the answer is quite complex. Once you've decided on a budget or, if it's a craft, a time investment, maybe it goes something like this: observe the person you wish to give a present to, think about them and get a glimpse into his or her soul. Then keep your feelers alert and search both outwardly and inwardly for what this person would like.

Words, words, words

Well hello there! Yes, I'm back, literally as well as digitally. It's almost a week since I returned from two and a half months (!!) of far-flung travels. More about those later, as I'm still picking up the threads of my life. Long-distance travel, especially when it's between hemispheres, always turns me upside down for a while. But you might find my experiences of living off the grid quite fun.

Reading emails and a few blogs while I was away got me to thinking about how our language is changing, and I'm wondering if it's time to simply accept that we're going to simplify. No use rolling the eyes, or getting even a little bit irritated when, for instance, the writer neglects to differentiate between the various uses of '2'.

I mean, to, two and too. So you might read, 'will you be there to?' Well, I knew what was meant, didn't I? And typing makes it easy to make mistakes. I do it to. Although a sentence such as, 'Are you going to town to?' will probably always look wrong to me.

The question is, does it matter?

I'm not sure.

The other one we see a lot of, is of course 'your' instead of 'you're' as an abbreviation of 'you are'. Having recently acquired a smart phone, I've discovered that getting a correctly typed message onto the screen is actually quite difficult.

Then there are those circular emails that show us the human brain can decipher a message even when the words have mixed up letters.

Hmmm. Okay. We'll see how things go. I just hope I can stop myself from going digital and always writing 2 and 4 instead of to, two and too, and for, four, as I've been tending to do when writing notes to myself.

Bad Brenda!