settling in.

i'm settling in. i wish i could show you some photos of how i'm turning this blokey bachelor pad in to a cosy family home, but photos will have to wait until i have an internet connection.

 

i still have a huge pile of boxes in the spare room but i'm giving myself permission to take my time unpacking them. obviously, all the necessary things - clothes, books, art supplies - are unpacked. but the rest can be done when ever.

 

john is happy for me to do what i want to the place - within reason, of course. "i'd prefer you talk to me before you paint the lounge turquoise," he says. and i probably will.

 

i've installed a big bookcase that my parents gave us in a corner of the lounge and now john's chess books [with titles like "how to beat the sicilian opening, volume 3"] are happily coexisting with my quaker books. on top of it is john's gorgeous lava lamp which i found in a cupboard. i've also hung up my silver mirror ball and sona reckons we need to throw a disco party just to celebrate the mirror ball. my cookbooks have found a home on a shelf in the kitchen, as have my spice jars.

 

i've claimed the vestibule at the end of the hall as my art space. i'll have to show you this space some time because it has been transformed from the junk zone to the loveliest spot in the house. this is MY peaceful corner of the house. sona and john may visit me there [and they do] but every thing there is mine and they're certainly not allowed to play their loud music in the art space.

 

last weekend i had a serious attack of gardening. ripped out a whole bunch of weeds and planted a herb garden. my herbs have been waiting patiently in pots to one day be planted in the ground [i've had one rosemary plant in a pot for the past 15 years!]. the next day, i ripped out more weeds, a giant daisy and a hibiscus [very hard work, that hibiscus] and planted a vegetable garden. tomatoes, basil, carrots and potatoes went in the vegetable garden. again, i've never grown veggies in the ground so i wanted to start off small. it's mid-spring here in new zealand and i am really excited to see how my plants get on over the summer.

 

it's nearly the weekend and i'm looking forward to doing more settling in during my two days off.