I totally agree with the following passage in the Anne Lamott book I’m reading: “Hope changes as you get a little older, from the hope that this or that happens, to hope in life, old friends, laughter, art, goodness, helpers.“ That is it exactly how I’ve been feeling for a long time now. It’s not about achievements or stuff or titles, it’s about relationships, nature, enjoying and recognizing all the wonderful things in your life. I love this line as well, “Hope springs from that which is right in front of us, which surprises us, and seems to work.”
Got out for a little wander around the neighborhood first thing, mainly because I needed to stop at the local dairy and get myself some cream for my coffee! I saw a sign, it looks like it’s been up for a long time, warning people to watch out for a deaf cat that lives in the neighborhood. So sweet!
I noticed that quite a few dads were walking their kids to school, kindy (kindergarten), or crèche (daycare). I walked past one dad walking his dog with the baby strapped to his back, and the baby was wearing an admirals cap! I wish I’d been able to get a photo of it, it was adorable. I did get a photo of the flying fox at Central Park. What a fun thing to have in a kids playground!
Still working on remembering to first look right instead of left every time I get to an intersection. In the central business district in Wellington every crosswalk has the words ‘Look Right’ painted on the ground – a great idea considering the number of tourists that walk around there. I am spending most of my time away from that area though, so I have to remind myself.
After I got myself caffeinated and had a little breakfast, I wandered down through Central Park and to Cuba Street to check out a café my friend Mary had recommended that one of her friends owns, and stop at the seafood market to pick up fresh fish for dinner tonight. Annemarie has volunteered to make meals anytime I want to purchase food, that is heaven for me as I do not enjoy cooking. The café, Flur, is adorable. It’s very tiny, which Sarah the owner was intentional about because it’s just her running it. She makes all the pastries fresh each morning, the ones that I had were delicious, a coconut roll and some tiny Christmas mince pies, the first she had made this year. She also has fantastic coffee, it’s called Coffee Supreme and I am definitely going to pick some up from the store. After I got my coffee and goodies I had a little look around some of the stores and art galleries. I found a new exhibit called ‘Brain Drops’ at a an art space in an old house, one of the artists was there and offered to show me around. Most of it was not my kind of art, though the pieces that she had made I liked. They which were large curtains, probably 12 feet long since they covered the entire window and this building had very high ceilings. She had drawn all sorts of shapes and symbols in blue ballpoint pen on them. The effect was mesmerizing, and if I could have spent the $1800 New Zealand she was asking per panel, I would have considered purchasing one! It was fun to be able to talk to the artist about her work as well as learning a bit about the other art in the exhibit. The courtyard of the building had more art in it, including wood and metal sculptures and huge photographs blown up on the walls, they all look to be about 60s era, it was a really neat space.
Wandering further down the street I went into a store that advertised New Zealand made items, turns out that a lot of the items were not New Zealand made, but the selection that they did have from Kiwi artists were quite good. I found a graphic artist, Glenn Jones, whose work I just loved, especially his Kiwiana art. Think I will probably end up going back and buying a few of his pieces before I leave, especially the picture of New Zealand made out of two cassette tapes with the tape pulled out to form the shape of each island, so creative! I passed Dirty Burger, the place where Annemarie picked up dinner for us the first night that we were in New Zealand. They were advertising a new vegetarian burger called the Gee Spot, lol. I loved the pink neon sign on the wall!
As I was headed to the seafood market I was drawn to a shop that had very simple but colorful clothes in the window and earrings made from marbleized paper. I went in to have a look around and the shop owner asked if I was looking for anything in particular. When I told her I was just browsing she asked me where I was visiting from. We got into a discussion of marbleizing, something I’ve done a little bit of in the past. Turns out that she also teaches classes and invited me to join the next Sunday class. I am hoping I will be able to do that before I leave, as the artwork that she showed me her students made last week was very inspiring and beautiful. The clothing on display were her daughters designs and they were fantastic, bright colors, simple lines and all very comfortable looking. The owner mentioned that she was actually going to be closing the store in March when her lease was up because she was going to become a nomad for a while, living out of a van and driving around the country doing pop-up shows and fairs. I was very intrigued by this, and we ended up having a long conversation about how it would work. New Zealand’s form of social security is called superannuation, and is some thing that allows most people to live comfortably once they retire, even without a private pension.
On my way to Annemarie’s I passed a the construction site where the workers were shifting a barrier. One of them said very sweetly ‘You can go on past love, and have a great day.’ I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this from construction workers! I passed a creative Free little library made from an old refrigerator. The views from the street I was on were just gorgeous. They were also some cool houses in the neighborhood, a few with their own personal cable car s!
Annemarie broiled the fish to perfection, it was Tarakiki, a type of fish nether of us had had before. The sales person at the seafood market recommended it and I’m glad he did. Along with salad and spelt sourdough from the Brooklyn deli, it was a delicious dinner. We watched the movie What We Do In the Shadows, OMG amazing! So so funny and well done and especially fun to watch as it’s set in Wellington and references lots of places in the area.