Golden Mornings and Silver Linings

Summer has come, and summer has made its exit, to cooler days and warmer sweaters, warm fires and the dark nights of fall. Autumn, more than any other season, is a literal season of change, a lifelong practice of watching the leaves turn from green, to yellow, to red, before falling to the ground in an eventual blanket of white.

Here in New Zealand, the leaves tend to stay green year round, but the feeling of change associated with autumn remains palpable. Cooler weather, darker nights, and reflections of summer days past linger in the air.

Last year, I wrote about an endless summer, one that lasted until April, and ultimately ended in a country wide drought. It was, in the opinion of many kiwis,  the perfect summer, full of  long days of sun, smiles, and beautiful memories.

This year, instead of perfection, this summer brought us a calamity of hot sunny days, cool grey rain, and cloudy skies full of silver linings.

Our sun sure did shine in the first week of the year. After a surprisingly hectic Christmas week, Trent, Huff and I made our great summer escape, heading north, to a country side cottage in Lake Taupo, a popular summer getaway in the middle of the North Island. By some miracle, I had managed to book an amazing pet friendly place just outside of the main town, only weeks before Christmas, When we arrived, we found ourselves staying in a small piece of heaven. The 'Bird Cottage' was located on a small hobby farm stay, and came complete with three large cows who lived just outside our doorstep, several local chooks, and a beautiful orchard chalk full of fresh blueberries and raspberries that the owner, Lynne encouraged us to pick and eat daily. The cottage was small and quaint, with French doors opening up out from the bedroom to a sunny deck, a hammock on the patio, and a swing stung up on a big tree, not to mention the hot tub in the back garden.

Huff absolutely loved it, as this was the first real vacation she had taken with us. She was thrilled not to be spending the week in a kennel, but instead roaming around this beautiful property, rolling in the grass, hunting the local a rabbits, barking a the cows, and sleeping in the sun.

Huff ensures our safety from the less than threatening cows


Huff contemplates New Years Eve Dinner

We spent our days hiking and discovering some fantastic walks in the Taupo region. Huka Falls, the Waikaito River, Lake Taupo, and Mount Tongariro (an active volcano) served as amazing backdrops to the memories we generated hiking through this beautiful inland region. The weather gave us sunny warm days and cool nights. We spent the nights cooking, reflecting in the year past, and the new one to come, and relaxing in the hot tub. It was one of those true relaxing vacations, where you enter feeling frazzled and finish feeling refreshed and settled. It was one of my favourite weeks that I have spent in New Zealand, full of simple, quiet time spent with my two loves, surrounded by the sunny greens and blues of the kiwi landscape.

Hiking in Taupo

Mount Tongariro (an active volcano!)

The Waikato River

The next week we stepped back into reality and into the new year. Our sunny days started to feel a bit grey as we ran into more and more noise problems with our less than savvy next door neighbours. After several months of putting up with their consistent need to play loud music at all times of the day, we had finally had enough, and decided it was time to move again. In what became on of the fastest turnarounds in our relocation history, we made the decision to move one day, and by the next day we had signed the rental papers for a new place!  I remember sitting in the car after signing the papers looking at each other in disbelief and asking " did we really just do that?"

Sometimes, the universe has a way of making sure you end up exactly where you are supposed to be at the right time. Our cloudy skies began to fade, and reveal a beautiful silver lining in the form of our new place. As quick as our decision was, we know it was the right one. We love our new place, It is a bright, warm, and modern three bedroom house settled in the green hills of a suburb called Whitby, which is twenty minutes outside of Wellington, and twenty minutes from Paraparaumu Beach, where we used to live. Now, instead of being on the beach front, we are nestled in the green space of the hills, not far from the ocean. Moving here has meant we have both cut down our daily commutes by a significant amount, it now takes Trent only 30 minutes to get to work (compared to a former 60 min) and I have cut down my 25 minute commute to a quick and simple 5 minutes door to door. On top of the extra time we have gained, we have also found ourselves discovering  all sorts of new walking trails nestled in the green forest and waterfront, as well as enjoying the amazing peace of a quiet neighbourhood.


View from our newest walking trail in Whitby

Settling into our new place, we spent the first 18 days thinking only of gold, silver, and bronze, as the Sochi Winter Olympics settled into our half unpacked living room, and made itself comfortable. We found ourselves stuck to the TV during early mornings and late nights, watching live, recorded, and replayed footage of some of Canada's best athletes perusing their Olympic dreams. For two weeks in February, I remembered what it felt like to be Canadian. To stand up and cheer, cry, hold my breath, and feel a part of the Canadian experience again. These Olympics reignited a magical level of pride I have not felt since leaving Canada. It is this pride that found tears streaming down my face watching Team Jacobs, 4 guys from my hometown, fight their way to Olympic Curling Gold, even though they were considered the underdogs in the event. It was the same pride that had me sitting at the edge of my seat as the women's hockey team  scored that unforgettable goal to tie the gold medal game, with only seconds to go, even though I already knew they would go on to win the game. And it was undoubtedly the same red and white maple leaf pride that saw both Trent and I crawl out of bed in the early hours of the morning, after running a half marathon, to make sure we were a part of that golden morning when the men's hockey team so gracefully brought the gold medal back home where it belongs. Those golden mornings and silver sparked nights reignited the passion I have for being Canadian; for being a part of a country who prides itself not only on owning the podium, but on playing fairly, and helping those in their time of need, whether it be with a broken ski or with peacekeeping during the time of war. And let's be honest, nothing quite matched the joy of watching live hockey after a two year hiatus.

As the Olympics came to a close, life seemed to quickly pick up and take speed. In March, life hit the 'go' button as our calendar began to quickly fill up. The first stop in our agenda was at our very first Kiwi wedding. We met Heather and Josh last year in a local dog park. Their dog Stanley, and our dog, Huff quickly became friends, and more importantly so did we. Our relationship grew over weekend morning dog park visits and coffees to follow, during which we had the privilege of watching their beautiful daughter Elsie grow from Heather's belly into a gorgeous little human. Josh and Heather decided to make their wedding a fun, country themed affair. Set outdoors at a nature reserve, they transformed the space with hay bales for seats, a cool folk band that played all night, and a general country feel in every touch if the day. They encouraged their guests to dress the part, and everyone got into the mood, pulling out their cowboy boots, straw hats, and checkered shirts. Kapiti turned out the most stunning summer day and we celebrated long into the night, dancing and playing in the photo booth. It was one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I had ever been to.




The beautiful Bride and Groom and their daughter Elsie

photobooth fun

more photobooth fun!

Coming off the fun of Josh and Heather's wedding, we decided we both were hanging out for a little weekend getaway, a little time away from routine we had been living for the past few months. In the middle of March, we headed over the winding, hilly, Rimutaka Mountain range to Martinborough, a local wine region that produces some of New Zealand's best wines. We rented a beautiful little cottage that allowed Huff to come along, and spent a weekend just letting go. We ate cheese and drank local wine by our fireplace, discovered new scenery walking with Huff, and hired bikes to cycle our way around the vineyards sampling Martinborough's best wines. Along our way we ran into a Canadian couple who were living in New Zealand for three months, and spent the day chatting and enjoying wine with them. The last few month's had been a calamity of activity, and being able to step away from routine and get back to the simplicity of enjoying nature, good wine, and fantastic company was exactly what we needed to supercharge us for the next few months to come(stay tuned for the next blog!)


Martinborough farm beauty

we found this dog in the field we were hiking in and brought her home :)

Beautiful Pond on our walk with Huff

Huff has also had a jam packed couple of months. After moving to our new place, Huff met Justine, a fantastic woman who runs 'The Dog Park' a local doggy daycare service. Justine has created a cool, fenced in Dog Park with outdoor and covered play areas, play structures, doggy pools, and lots of attention for the dogs who use her service. Rain or shine,  Huff waits patiently for the dog bus (a van driven by Justine) to pick her up each day for an afternoon of fun and play with her friends. She generally comes home around dinner time, full of energy and stories to tell from her day, then promptly crashes about an hour later. Since starting with Justine, we have seen an amazing change in Huff. She has become a happier, more playful and energetic girl. Her tail wags more and she is more silly than she has been in a long time. Thank God for amazing dog people!

Fun at the Dog Park on Brown Dog Day :)

Huff waits patiently for the Dog Bus to come

 

As we head into the depths of our last New Zealand winter, it is guaranteed that we will see more grey clouds and rainy days. We know we must live through the clouds and rain in order to truly appreciate the sunshine that will shine to lift us up into new opportunities.  The past few months have shown us that every cloud has a sunny sky beneath it, and that that every grey cloud is often worth it's weight in gold.

So, we move forward, scarves and raincoats on, hoping for a forecast of silver linings and golden mornings.