I am staying at my Youngest Son’s house now – with him and his beautiful new wife and child – on the other side of the hill to Senior Son. With my relocation the weather turned on its heel, the warmth scuttled for cover and we are now being blasted with strong cold winds. And on this rugged coast the winds Howl straight up the crevasse like valleys.
My youngest son’s house sits on the beak of an outcrop on a twisted coastline just around the bays from the airport. The houses jostling and stretching their necks for a piece of the view. The land is a thin wedge, like a prow jutting out into the sea. Giving me many ocean faces to photograph on a short finger freezing walk.
The wind was so strong, I was having trouble keeping my feet, I should have taken a tripod.
Thank goodness my little sister gave me this big hand knitted natural wool jersey with long arms.
Today is Thursday here in New Zealand. I leave here on Saturday and return to America far across the sea on the same Saturday. My children will be able to see my plane blast off from this house. That sounds like such a lonely thought. Watching a plane fly away with your mother onboard. Such a tenuous thread.
My daughter left for Melbourne two days ago. Before she left we swapped kindles. So while we are apart, until January, we can read each others books. We are calling it The Great Kindle Swap. Such a comfort being able to travel with my daughter’s favourite books.
I hope you are all finding loveliness in your day.
I am.
Much love,
Your travelling friend
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
49 responses to “Rugged”
What a lovely place. I saw that wind coming towards you on Earthschool – http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-37.26,30.89,1116 – a mesmerising site where the winds of the world are animated and you can tur n the globe to look anywhere you like.
It will be great to see the Farmy people again.
Love,
ViV x
Cook Strait, I feel cold just looking at it.
The Land of the Long White Cloud beautifully captured …. all those white horses definitely make me feel queasy. I’m a terrible sailor 😦 Looking forward to our return to the farmy. Enjoy your last two days. Laura
Amazing photos. It’s all over so soon, and then it will begin again. Safe and happy return 🙂
I wish I knew why this sent me to the verge of tears. …
M xx
Beautiful photos. I can feel the wind. Worth standing in the cold for. It’s quite weird that I’m now getting you in the morning (because you’re ahead of us) and you’ll be travelling backwards in time to be later in time, once again. I can never get my head around it!! Enjoy the rest of your trip, and a safe, uneventful journey home. Kindle swapping – what a great idea!
What a whirlwind tour I’ve been on with you. The winds at younger son’s house blew right over to Morristown, thanks to your poetic descriptions. Safe travels.
I sense a certain melancholy in your words that matches the mood of the skies and scenery. And it is to be expected as soon you leave those dear loved ones. There are days when my heart hurts, too, for the missing my son. And he only lives half a country away in Boston. But I have not seen him since July 7 and will not see him until days before Christmas.
I love the kindle swap. What a great idea!
Such an interesting trip and so different from your life on the farmy. Time with your kids aside, where do you miss living most? Or would it just depend on if/where you could put kids and farm near each other?
that would be the perfect solution.. but they are in three different countries too.. c
Ah, so FAR travels it is… I’m happy for you all that you could make this trip. I know it isn’t easy when responsible for a farm.
How wonderful to be with family like that 🙂
What a lovely idea to be able to swap kindles. I wouldn’t have swapped books with my mum, she being into romances and me being into horror! Loved the photos of NZ, sure takes me back 🙂
This talk of tenuous threads makes me quite teary. But the photographs helped. Especially the sunlight breaking through on the last one. What a beautiful, beautiful place. You can still feel what order things came in there, can’t you. Earth first. Men much much later. As it should be.
What an extraordinary relationship you must have with your daughter that you share your reading lives! And Celi, I take it Chgo. John is going to meet your plane. Yes?
I get in very late, so i will have a rest and then drive home in the morning.. I hope my own John will meet me!.. c
Dear C. What a devastatingly beautiful place! I too have so enjoyed this trip to Kiwi land but find I’m quite missing the Farmy now! This departure won’t be quite as sad for as you’ll be back in a couple months! So think of it that way! 🙂 if you never leave..you can never go back…
Safe travels darling!
My sister said she would love you to visit, I must write and give her your email.. c