September 1st the 1st Day of Spring?

It always seems to surprise me when I encounter things that remind me that yes I am in the Southern Hemisphere. Such as the first day of spring being the 1st of September here in New Zealand. We are at a quandary to why the 1st rather then the 21st the equinox?

I am still amazed to find that I do not always understand what people are talking about. There are many words that are used differently or are just plain different all together such as the pedestals that you use in a gallery are called plinths or the money you start out with in a till is called a float.

Glenn and I celebrated our one-year mark, August 12th, when we first arrived here in New Zealand. So I just finished reading my blog entries over the past year. Pretty amazing the amount of things we packed in to those first months in this new place. For this year I will work on making less typos and spelling errors and hope to get back into a routine of posting tales of our adventures, now that we a have a new computer and my brain is shaking off those gray cloudy thoughts.

As some of you know I have also been working at a café here. What a strange and emotional experience this has been for me. Lets just say I have realized that this sort of work is not where I want to focus my energy so I am fazing out of this job and focusing in on my art. This seems to sound rather selfish with all the suffering that is happening in our world but I have decided that I need some time and what better time then the present. I suppose I could tell you all about the busy year and what I have been through over the last few months but most of you now this and feel it as well. It took this café job for me to realize that my heart and mind was somewhere else, I needed to do something that was more fulfilling. I have found this at Taradale Pottery not only because this is a place I can work on art but also because the people that I have met through this group have been so supportive and caring.

Enough of that on we go from here. These past two weekends Glenn and I spent out at a place called Pukeora Estates. We were there for an art show I worked at the gallery space showing work from the Taradale Pottery Group and Glenn made some money playing music and selling his CD’s. The building in which this art show took place was once a hospital for the developmentally delayed but the property is now owned by a couple that has made it a winery. There are so very many wineries here in Hawkes Bay. The building is situated on top of a hill over looking the river and the town of Waipukarau. It was a pleasant weekend but Glenn and I missed having our time walk along the beach. I must say we are very spoiled.