Day 55: Punakaiki
Day 54: Okarito
I love Okarito. It’s a tiny little town we visited in the spring, and is the prettiest, most loved wee place we’ve been to. We blogged about it over here.
Day 53: Autonomy
The last three weeks have been intense. We’ve been on a whirlwind North Island tour with visiting family, hung out for three days at an amazing music festival, swum in in thermal creek, braved the wildest winds yet, waved goodbye, and realised we’re almost fully booked with jobs until June. In that time I haven’t … Continue reading Day 53: Autonomy
Day 52: Happiness
Day 51: Salt dish
This little japanese china salt dish with its wooden spoon was another visual treat at Renay’s house.
Day 50: Handpainted lidded jar
Number 50! I’m halfway there! Thanks to all the people who are following my blog and liking the posts. It’s going slower than planned, but I’m totally enjoying the journey.
Day 49: Renay’s house
We house sat for friends who have the most calming, beautiful, curated little flat. I could have sat and drawn all their stuff for hours, only I have two children who, while beautiful, are not always so calming. It was a nice weekend of space, and it made us appreciate our tiny home all the … Continue reading Day 49: Renay’s house
Day 48: Observation
A quick sketch while trying to cook tea with a two-year-old. Otis slipped outside and I could see him perched on a rock for half an hour, watching divers swimming around in the reserve. It was chilly, the rocks were hard and sharp, and he was in heaven.
Day 47: Fossil hunter
It seems crazy that the staff at our national museum, Te Papa, hadn’t found it already but, would you believe, Otis uncovered a complete Mosasaur skeleton in their sandpit!? Nuts!
Day 46: One more chapter
Day 45: Cook Strait to my Heart
We used to live in Wellington, then lived in Germany for a while, and the idea of travelling in a housebus for two years is that we get to see the whole of New Zealand before choosing where to settle down. Despite good intentions to keep our options open, crossing the Cook Strait felt like … Continue reading Day 45: Cook Strait to my Heart
Day 44: Sea Lace
Our housebus is parked on the edge of a wonderful marine reserve at the moment, on Wellington’s south coast. The rock pools look like aquariums filled with all the most amazing specimens, and the beach is strewn with paua shells, cat’s eyes, kina shells and more. I’ve I’ve been drawn to the wonderful sea-weedy things … Continue reading Day 44: Sea Lace
Day 43: Colossal
My knowledge of squids pales in comparison to my 4 year-old son’s. He is quite right in pointing out the tentacles are far too long and squiggly and I’ve drawn the arrowey tail all wrong. I am one up on him in the self-regulation stakes though, not having a complete melt-down that I can’t rub … Continue reading Day 43: Colossal
Day 42: Treasure I’ve been trusted with
At the moment a lot of my time is spent looking after things picked up off the ground, consoling children who can’t hold all the fallen leaves in their too-small hands, designating places for giant sticks (outside), pieces of gravel (pockets), and sea glass (we could make a bag out of my jersey, but we’re … Continue reading Day 42: Treasure I’ve been trusted with
Day 41: New Beginnings
Yesterday we crossed the Cook Strait on the Ferry from Picton to Wellington – the head of Te ika-a-Māui – the fish that Maui pulled from the sea to become the North Island of New Zealand. It feels like we’re leaving more than the South Island behind us and a new part of our journey … Continue reading Day 41: New Beginnings
Day 40: Peter Pan
I’ll call this a learning drawing. There is no life in his face, his pose is cliched and stiff, his hair is weird, and his legs are shaped like a woman’s, not like a young boy. On a positive note, I like the leaves and the lettering. Maybe I’ll do a redraw sometime.
Day 39: Contentment
Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, after two years of nothing but exhausting, rough, aggressive, tear-inducing love, I looked up to see this moment between these two on the couch. My heart almost floated right out of my skin.
Summer to behold
I have been having this internal debate for the last few months about which of the two bays I prefer: Tasman Bay or Golden Bay. They both mean beach, the elements, tides, and now summer, to me. Our summer started a week before Christmas and has not stopped yet. I think I can get used to … Continue reading Summer to behold
Day 38: Milky mouth
Filled with a rush of love for that straight-backed, sideways look of concentration when they drink, I had to capture this moment at the pub the other day.
Day 37: Let it be
I’ve been having some quiet revelations lately about parenting and work and life in general. After drawing this phrase and then realising it wasn’t particularly legible, i decided to take the message to heart and publish it anyway.