lately

major pettigrew’s last stand was a brilliantly written, often hilarious, book that was so beautifully English that i felt a little longing for England. i sent a copy to a friend, hoping she enjoys it as much as i did.

i dusted off the hasselblad and took it to the beach with me for a week, making photographs of what i saw. I’ve sent the film off to be processed and think i might do a sea series with it for a whole month in september depending on how they turned out

i’ve written a couple of articles for an online foodie website that will be published later in the year. one of them, about the irresistibility of roadside stalls has now been published

the garden has been dug over and a whole heap of plants have been relocated, making space for fruit and vegetables in the prime sunny spot along one of the fence-lines

my parents came to stay for a week and i had the two of them out in the garden with me, cutting up firewood and collecting sticks, as well as getting my mothers advice on some of the gardening and pruning i want to do

i know where our septic tank is now. and what condition its in, since i arranged for it to be emptied. knowing its exact size and location makes some of the garden planning easier

we have had a water tank guy in, and a landscaping guy, talking through where our new, big, water tank will go. its all been ordered and our tank should arrive early august. a big hunk of money will go into this new tank setup, but it means we are in a lot less danger of running out of water this summer (or ever)

my first exhibition is now hanging in the photographers gallery in napier and i’ve booked flights to go down and see it in situ next week

its almost august, my birth month, and participation in susannah’s august break. this will probably mean even fewer words here, but (hopefully) more photos. if you’re on instagram, come hangout with me there too.