e start creaking and stretching, I rush to fling open windows and the sliding glass door to get as much air in as possible, or it'll start sweltering inside.And now that we're in Fall and heading toward Winter, it's time to heat the house. And how is our home heated here? With a fireplace. Sort of. It's a cross between a fireplace and a pot-bellied stove, which makes it both charming and inefficient. It's a tiny fireplace too, so it can only hold a couple pieces of wood at a time. But it does the job though, as long as your sitting in the living room. Luckily, we have the snuggliest down comforters and crocheted blankets for the bedroom, so all's good.
Also luckily, we don't lack for wood considering we live deep within them and so, have unlimited access to fuel. After much trolling, Beau finally scored a new chainsaw off of TradeMe which is New Zealand's version of ebay. He was so jazzed to get it, and when it came in the mail and seemed to be of a totally mysterious brand (i.e. NO brand discernible and questionable English in the user's manual, uh oh), he realized he probably got a cheap Chinese import. Ahhh well, so far it does the job, which is to cut wood, so as long as it doesn't fly apart and slice his face off, we're satisfied.
Over the weekend, with Tonks sitting happily in the back of the pick-up, we drove down the road to our neighbor, Paula, (the owner's sister), who had a giant pile of tree branches to be cut for fuel. Beau went to work chainsawing away, and me, with my new leather utility gloves (gift from Beau) started loading the wood into the back of the truck as Tonks was having a playdate with Paula's black lab. I even had a go at the chainsaw myself, but it spooks me, so I gave it back to Beau.
The air was crisp and as usual, the scenery was rugged and beautiful. I just couldn't help but think of the Italian line, "strano il mio destino," or "strange my destiny." Here I am, this total city girl, loading wood into the back of my beat-up "ute" as my pig dog runs around me in the middle of the woods, the middle of nowhere, in New Zealand.
Am I happy out here in nowhere land? For the most part, yes. I'm still dazed and amazed by the view of the ocean I see out my windows and the gorgeous fore
st around me. I'm writing, another dream come true. And hell, I'm in New Zealand. This is where I want to be.But I've also been shocked how such solitude, something I always dreamed of (complete with satellite internet and cable), can actually be rather difficult. Many days can go by where Beau is the only other human being I have any contact with, and there are times when he gets home, where I just pounce on him verbally, since I have SO MUCH to tell him. As much as I adore Tonks, and the kitties, Fern and Claus, they're really not enough unless I want to be crazy talk-to-her-pets-like-they're-REALLY-people lady.
We drive into town once or twice a week, but even the closest town is pretty pitiful and you can only frequent the same restaurant or same stores so many times before it stops being that satisfying.
So, strange my destiny, that a woman who has lived in Bangkok and New York is now living in a place that doesn't even have a real postal address. A woman who now takes care of her chickens, and hunts possums (more on that one later). A woman who walks around in gumboots more than she does heels.
The truth is, I'll always be a city girl, I just will. I miss the access to food, classes, entertainment, and jobs. But I'm living in a beautiful little dream right now, and I'm going to do my best to truly appreciate that. You never know when things change. Hell, it's me we're talking about. I could be moving in another month!
