A long way away from eating the dog ...

That may seem to be a rather strange waterways blog title!  I shall explain ...

Last week Barry and I went to see a New Zealand comedian and television personality called Te Radar. He was in Gisborne on his travelling show 'Eating the Dog', which won Best Local Show at the NZ Comedy Festival in 2009, and Best Show at the 2009 NZ Comedy Guild Awards.  What a top notch kiwi bloke he turned out to be!  We had a great evening learning more about New Zealand history, and the story from the title of the show brought much amusement. Thomas Brunner was a 19th-century surveyor who set out from Nelson, along with a number of companions and his beloved dog, to discover more of the South Island.  They travelled a huge distance on foot, over an extended period of time, and were eventually so famished and desperate they had no choice but to eat the dog to survive.  Te Radar is a brilliant story teller, with the upshot of the tale being when you ask someone how they are, they can say "Not so bad, I haven't eaten the dog yet"!  One review of the show states "It is a celebration of the awkward and interesting anecdotes of history that make us who we are: “rogues, morons and scoundrels… pooh-poohing the idea of danger.”

Te Radar was such an unpretentious and friendly person, mingling with the audience and selling raffle tickets, it was well worth every cent - and the delicious food platters and wine were a bonus!

Sandra and Te Radar (not the best photo, I think there was a finger print on my iPhone lens and the flash makes us look a little washed out!  Methinks it's time Barry got his camera out again ...)

A light hearted evening to brighten the wet weather we're still experiencing most days here in Gisborne. Roll on the spring - maybe it's just getting us acclimatised to returning to England next year?

Our bathroom is still not finished, after three months, but the tiling is almost there so possibly by the end of next month we'll have completed it.  It's challenging when Barry works six days a week in the shop, but we're making progress slowly.  The drains were completely blocked by roots from the hedge at the top of the drive, so we've had holes dug three metres deep in the pavement on the road we live in (we live on a hill) and also on our drive, as the council clear the pipes - now we just have to wait and see if we'll be paying for the repairs or no, we didn't dare ask!

Sadly, Barry's mum has been very poorly, and has been in hospital for the past two months.  Tomorrow she is going into a Rest Home - not a pleasant thought when she was doing so well for her age and still playing golf and line dancing in April.  All the more reason to 'seize the day' and focus on achieving our dream ...

My Life Coaching is going well, and I'm completing assignments for my Diploma that need to be handed in at my final weekend of the course early in September.  One of the assignments is an Online Coaching Survey, and I need a minimum of 50 responses.  I  have 18 so far from my Facebook page - so if you can spare me a few minutes, please click on the link and let me know what you would want from online coaching.  

Barry hasn't yet applied to renew his passport that runs out next year, and we've not booked our tickets yet, despite intentions to do so, maybe it's the miserable weather that's not motivating us?  I'm going to Samoa on 24th August for a week - yaay,  sunshine!  A reward for completing my assignments - or at least that's the plan!

Rain, rain, go away ...

So we've had the shortest day and we're now looking forward to spring, but in the meantime the heavens keep opening - I hear it's the same in England so it doesn't feel quite so bad!  It's so damp here at the moment, we've had washing on the line for days and the garden looks like a quagmire! 

However, on a rare break in the weather whilst walking up the hill where we live on Sunday, I spotted this gorgeous rainbow heading into 'Poverty Bay', which is the Pakeha name for Gisborne after Captain Cook failed to replenish his supplies when he and his crew landed here in the late eighteen century. 

I've now set up a Facebook page for my 'Holistic Life Coaching' business, which is part of my work for the Diploma as I need to survey people on what they would want from 'online coaching' - do take a look and 'like' the page - the survey will be posted in the next couple of weeks and I need at least 50 replies so fingers crossed.  They say that 'what you give energy to grows and expands' so I'm giving as much energy as I can to my life coaching, whilst juggling all sorts of other balls as we continue to work towards our goal of returning to the waterways.

The drain situation is ongoing, it was unblocked but work still needs to be done - ivy roots have invaded the pipes!  The bathroom is slowly getting finished and the tiler should be coming in the next week or two.  We've not booked our flights yet or applied for Barry's passport, but they're on the 'to do' list again this month ...

I wonder if it's the cold, damp and dark weather that stops us from moving forward as much as we plan to?  Roll on lighter brighter days ...

The best laid plans and a Happy Matariki (Maori New Year)...

There's one thing you can be sure of when you manage a project - there will be variances from the original plan!  Having finally managed to brainstorm all the jobs we'll need to accomplish prior to returning to the canals in 2013, including those things you do to make your house more saleable, yesterday we discovered a blocked drain from the kitchen sink (and horror of horrors, dishwasher!). The plumber hasn't yet discovered where the blockage is from, but we're suspecting it could be a rather large bill and not one we've budgeted for.

However, that's just money and 'stuff' that has to be done.  What's much worse now is that Barry's mum is poorly (more so than ever before), and in hospital, almost certainly she had a stroke on Sunday morning, and all we can do is take it a day at a time as to what the future holds for her.  Just two months ago she bought herself a brand new car (she felt sorry for Barry when I was working away and he was travelling the ten minutes to work by bike, so gave him her 'old' car, bless her!), was playing golf, and going to line dancing each week - at an incredible 88 years of age.  Her mother lived until she was 103, so she'll be most disappointed if she doesn't manage the same or a similar achievement.  Last December she travelled by herself to Australia, to visit her youngest son and daughter, so to now see her so unwell is heartbreaking.

It's also been unseasonably cold here in Gisborne, which doesn't help matters, but the shortest day is tomorrow and it's also Matariki here in New Zealand, which is the Maori New Year and the name of a group of stars known as Pleiades star cluster or 'The Seven Sisters'.  It seems logical that we should be looking at a New Year when the nights are long and winter is well and truly upon us - the same time of year that it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere.

So we get to consider New Year's resolutions twice in this beautiful country.  Mine will be around trusting the universe that all that's happening is as it's meant to be, that I be mindful of how easily I can become passionate about midwifery work to the detriment of other, more important things in my life (i.e. people such myself and Barry!), and to not be afraid of the challenges and changes which we'll be facing over the next year as we begin the enormous changes necessary to move from one hemisphere to the other.

We are greatly inspired by so many lovely people who contacted us when we were enjoying the canals aboard Northern Pride in 2009 and 2010, and have completed or almost completed the journey before us as a long-term prospect - Tom and Jan from narrowboat Waiouru who have had to overcome so many hurdles on their road to the cut from Australia last year, Paul and Elaine from NB The Manly Ferry (aka Narrowboat Caxton) who got to England this year from Manly (who we had the pleasure of visiting there twice) and of course Elly and Mick from NB 'yet to be determined', who sadly I read are also experiencing the challenge of a sick mum as they are almost ready to travel to the UK - our hearts and hope are with you.

Happy New Year!