Thursday, April 14, 2011

Retrospect

A little over a year ago we'd just moved into this house just in time for Autumn & Winter. I have great memories of the warm Autumn mornings sitting out on the patio with my coffee & admiring the clear blue sky & relative silence of this place.
I'm still not entirely sure how the anniversary of that one slipped past me, given that we'd received the forms to renew our tenancy the day before the earthed moved on February 22nd.

Just over 6 months ago we were looking forward to enjoying a relaxing Spring & Summer in this quiet suburb & anticipating two weddings with no small degree of excitement.

3 months ago I was looking forward to the February Artistic Challenge that Mallory & I had planned. I had even started on it in advance...for a change!

A little over 7 weeks ago I'd put a rather nice bicycle on Lay-By with the intention of getting some exercise that wouldn't put too much strain, impact wise, on an aching hip in my attempts to get fit. In an attempt to challenge myself by setting a financial goal to reach over a set period I knew it would provide the impetus I needed to start making & selling beads again.
I wanted that bike before the colder weather set in so that a daily habit could be formed before cold rainy days arrived making for an easy cop out.

I also planned on starting to swim again...just to try & exercise the area's that cycling wouldn't, & I'd almost built up the courage to get into a swimming costume to do so. A friend & I  had planned on going along to Aqua jogging to see what that was like.
However now Christchurch has no swimming pools....so really, swimming isn't an option. My bike is still sitting in the shop & I feel as if life is on 'hold'. It's an odd feeling & extremely difficult to describe or attempt to explain.

Right now I am wondering what on earth happened to the last year or at least the last 7 months of it!! The idiom "Time flies when you're having fun" tends to indicate that time drags when you aren't.....that is definitely not so. I'm still trying to figure where the last 7 weeks have gone.
Trying to get back into the swing of things when life constantly shifts around you seems difficult & many of us here are still trying to get used to the fact a lot of what we did & the places we went automatically just don't exist any more. When you realise that you also realise all the changes it means to plans made & goals set pre Earthquake.
This year I had made plans & set goals to do with selling my lampwork & some jewelry locally. Believe me I'm not that great at putting things down on paper - but this time I actually did it. I'm having to re-evaluate in a big way.

The other thing I started on was a list "49 Things to do before I turn 50". Most of them were fun things, nothing big or unattainable & it was easily 'doable'. That was to be the first part of my February Artistic Challenge - making that list into something a little more than just a written list on the first page of my Art Journal. The February Artistic Challenge got postponed because of time constraints - so as it stands it's just a list. A number of the things on it can't be done now & others will have to go on hold for a while...which is probably a good thing since I only have 3 months left to reach the "before 50 deadline".

I've decided that I am still going to go ahead with what I can on my list & later this week I will publish it here.


One of the things that definitely wasn't on my "49 Things"list was getting a puppy. But there you go - we have & we love him to bit's.

4 comments:

Right Turn ArtWerks said...

Oh Deb - He is adorable! And he certainly came to you at a good time. You obviously have plenty of love to share. I think he is lucky too.

On that list - when DH was hurt and we realized it was beyond our control I made a decision that we would have to figure out what the "new normal" was. Luckily I did not have my environment in upheavel too.

So, go forth and adjust your list. You're a survivor kiddo - get both feet firmly planted and be patient - a "new normal" will soon assert itself in your daily routine.

Me, I'm adjust my list a little like a bucket list - although I don't intend to leave for a long time. On that list - I'd love to drive a Porche around for about 15 minutes....hey, all of you around here....who's got one? I'm patient.

Hugs Deb! Can't wait to see your list.

rosebud101 said...

He's a sweetie.

Deb said...

Thanks Sharon! You are right he came to us at the perfect time....& I wouldn't be without him for all the tea in China (can you even say that nowadays?lol!).

I'm reshuffling my list a bit before putting it up here - having problems thinking of what I can do that is achievable to fill in the gaps the lack of facilities & such has left.lol!

I may well have to cheat & add getting a dog to it - just so that I can fill a space ;)

Unknown said...

life is good ..

who doesn't struggle with it all

we're hanging in there with you.

it's been a year filled with some crazy stuff .. or aren't they all *0)


love mo & the girls