Your Home, Your Story

After 3 weeks of being in New Zealand (where I grew up) I am a bit flummoxed about what to write. So many ideas come to mind, but many would need to be edited, and others would be, perhaps, uninteresting to those who don't know me very well. So, I decided to write, in bite-size pieces, about the homes that I visited. Apart from the fact that I love all of these people, the best part is that who they are is truly reflected in where they live....

• A lovely home that was changed, discreetly, to accommodate a wheel chair. A rose garden, immaculately tended by an 86 year old who cares for his loving wife.


• Encased in sunlight and flowers, minimal but beautiful; this home makes me feel like a child again, taken care of and nurtured.


• A window seat in just the perfect spot, a place for dreaming. Random swatches of paint have become optimistic pieces of art.


• Years of memories are lovingly displayed in a grand, mahogany cabinet. Each piece is personal, and tells a story.


• Welcoming, wide open spaces (and cupcakes) lead to a stream and a stone bridge. Built by hand.


• An iron gate, flanked with tall, blue flowers leads to a family of chickens with funny feathers on their toes. The wooden porch is home to a very healthy, persistent passionfruit vine. Inside, the house is filled with comfort, laughter, kittens and dreams. Outside, the children climb fences and search for fresh eggs.


• Close to the beach, and surrounded by trees, a home has speckled, soft (yes, really) concrete floors. I have to stop myself from lying down on them, and try to be content to just touch them with my bare feet....

(The gorgeous photo above is of Hobbiton, a place created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and filmed in NZ)