“Actually, a small breeze of homesickness had been blowing over me for the last few days. I suspected, however, that I wasn’t homesick for anything I would find at home when I returned. The longing was for what I wouldn’t find: the past and all the people and places and cats that were lost to me. I’d been thinking a lot about that lately – the inevitability of separation, in one form or another, from all those we love, and, in a different way, from ourselves as we were in the past. “

Alice Steinbach, from Without Reservations

Just a little excerpt from a book I recently read. Alice’s keen observation articulated a familiar thought. Whether we move or not, we are often laying to rest a person we once were. It is only with a distance of space or time that we become acutely aware of that passage. And so it goes. We move, we change ……pieces of our old self dies, while new growth brings about yet another chapter.

When I first came here I was so obsessed with the future. How long will we stay? What will we do? Where will we return to, if and when we return? Somehow I’ve mellowed. I’ve met so many people who have lived and traveled the world. I’ve accepted the possibility of transience, the idea of being in a moment and letting go of the distant future and concrete answers. I am here and I am happy.

...…….what’s new? Well, Andrew’s lost a tooth. The daffodils are blooming - as are numerous other plants. (Quite frankly we’ve had flowers and foliage throughout the winter.) We've been invited to our first dinner. The days are once again getting longer (yeh!) and I smell spring in the air.




This Texas girl is ready for the heat!

Smoking House

It's winter, ok? And we are hunkered down inside the igloo. At night outside all around the house gets a layer of frost. Then the sun comes out and everything begins to steam. The entire car is steaming, the deck, the railings, the chairs. Here I'll give you a picture of what I'm talking about.

The whitish color on the lattice is frost. It'll be smoking soon as the sun hits.

Here's the deck chair:

That's what all the surfaces are doing. Pretty cool really, as long as you're inside where it's warm.

Last Wednesday we experienced what I believe would be called a gale. Purportedly the worst storm in thirty years with wind gusts between 75 - 90mph. I felt like I was back in Houston, TX in the middle of a hurricane. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCzlZogjZQ "Severe Weather Nelson, NZ" and you'll see one of our locals escape fate......amazing. Sorry our video is sideways...if you know how to fix that let us know

When the rains and wind began I just thought we were having a bit of bad weather. When after about two hours I looked out and saw limbs flying through the air I realized this was much more than that.The kids were in school and the administration had the good sense to keep kids until parents picked them up. Primary kids who normally walked home alone and could not have a parent pick them up were driven home by a teacher. Duane and I parked under a stand of giant pine trees when we got Dean and Andrew. What were we thinking!!!! Later one of those trees became uprooted.

Our property lost at least five trees. Good news, not our problem Even better news, no one was hurt!

About six weeks ago, the oven door in our rental shattered. There I was upstairs washing dishes while my cannelloni baked, when suddenly I heard a loud crackle. I looked behind and saw the oven door splintered into a thousand little pieces. Good news, dinner had been spared. Even better news, it was not my problem.

Much to my surprise, I have enjoyed being a renter in our fully furnished Nelson home. Rather than feeling untethered and homeless, I feel remarkably liberated. Instead of spending time and energy on improving my abode, I go hiking or biking. Perhaps I’d rather the walls were white instead of yellow. But, does it keep my up at night? No, I sleep quite soundly and carefree.

Used to be, when Houston had a torrential rain, I would fret…are the streets flooding? Is my studio safe? Have we sprung a leak somewhere? Now, I revel in the glory of bountiful rains and place a bucket beneath that little leak on our stairwell…..it’s not my problem.

Oh, and the money we’ve saved! There are so many things I haven’t bought - the dishes, the décor, furniture and home improvement. I never realized how much a home sucked out until I let go of ownership. About my only indulgences these days are fresh flowers and good food.

And, yet, this place feels like “home.” We are SO lucky to have this fabulous house. After four months, I am still as satisfied as the day we moved in. I like the layout, the dishes. I love the gardens and our big family room where we gather round the fire. And, Smudge, what a cat! In fact, if Kathleen and Robert asked, we’d probably buy this house…….

Wait a second. Then I’d have to fix that leak, and paint the walls. Oh, and what about central heat? New furniture, towels. Shouldn’t we recarpet????? AHHHHHH!!

The Golden Couple- Happy Anniversary Dub and Frieda

Group shot of Lee's family

I get high with a little help from my friends!

Matt, me, Lee and Sue at RMNP
Best burgers ever!!

I get by with a little help from my friends

Goodnight Highlands Ranch, see you soon.

Well, after 22 days in the mother country I am back "home" ....... back to my glass enclosed studio listening to my old friends Granddaddy and Michelle Shocked.

The trip was great in so many ways. I can't just do highlights, everything was fun. So, here's a chronological synopsis of the good times in the Northern Hemisphere.

Meiningers Art Supply - such variety, so many cool thing all in one place. Thanks to Nancy and all the good people there! I've missed well-stocked art supply stores.

Erin and Kimberley visit - How lucky am I to have such great friends come up and see me. Good food, good friends, good times.

Sister Sue returns - back from Germany bearing Maoams and Bockenschokolade. The Energizer Bunny prepares for a grand celebration as if she just returned from the spa.

Dub and Frieda's 5oth Anniversary - an event to remember. Congratulations to this lovely couple who have kept it together for so long - 50 years deserves a celebration. Loved meeting Jess and Dave and Lee's wonderful sister Melissa.

A visit with Sharon - My dynamic sister-in-law never ceases to amaze me. Hosting a panel on Native American land rights at Boulder University, Sharon squeezed in a bite to eat and talk of what's next - it will never be dull or predictable.

The Klinkes and Kories arrive - I feel blessed to have such a supportive family to come see me flop or fly. What a fine young man my nephew Matt is becoming - I am in awe.

The Cherry Creek Art Festival - The event I have been dreaming of. It lived up to all expectations and was a blast. Thank you to all who came and supported this artist from down under. To all extended, the invitation stands. Come sit at our patio in Nelson, NZ and enjoy a glass of wine. ....spend a night, or two.....or three.

Thank you Sue and Lee for having me at your beautiful new home in Colorado. I enjoyed our time together. Can't wait to do it again!

We are on a two week break from school and so far I've done lots of stuff. I did a week long soccer camp that was fun and I've been baking cookies and brownies. I have also been playing a real fun game called sumotori and here is the link where you can download it:http://www.toribash.com/downloads.php. Fun-motion.com is a site where you can find lots of good physics related games. Over the weekend I got to be the ball boy at a Nelson Suburbs soccer game. The Nelson Suburbs are a Nelson soccer team that are very good. We won 3-0. At halftime me and 3 other members of my soccer team who got to be ball boys got Cokes.

It's "mufti" day at school. For those back in the US of A, this means a day where you don't have to wear the school uniform. (Anyone who knows where this name actually comes from please post us an explanation).

Anyway, there is "gold coin mufti day" and "free mufti day," the difference being that you pay $1 to not wear your uniform on gold coin mufti day. The money usually goes to a good cause.

Today is a free mufti day. It is also a wacky free mufti day, meaning you not only wear street clothes, you can dress up. Kind of like Halloween. Driving to school we passed, early on, a Santa Claus pushing a bicycle, followed by a jester with a big jester hat, and a princess with a very tall crown-like thingy.

Suggestion for boys at Andrew's school was prince/king, and just fortunately we had packed a few costume changes. Again those shipping boxes come in handy! I'd say he makes a fairly convincing knight. Perhaps he is a king slumming as a knight. Perhaps he will attack that threatening one-eyed hoodlum. I'd say you can bet on it.

It's the day of the big "truckie" strike. Yes, as in Spain, France, UK and elsewhere, the truck driver protests have come to NZ. And it's not so much about fuel prices, though that's the backdrop, it's really about an increase in the road usage tax. Will we be able to get to school?

Here's a look down the hill from our driveway...












I can see they've already started. Wouldn't normally see a truck down there at the bottom of the hill. Uh oh, I can hear horns in the distance. Let's give it a go and see what happens--












Well having made it there and back, I can tell you these are the nicest truckies ever. As you can see from my windshield-cam, the drivers are leaving space for people to pull in and out. Yes, the works are a bit gummed up, but you can still get where you need to go.

No impromptu road blockages here, I flip on the news, which is broadcasting the routes the trucks will be taking in Wellington and Auckland, so everyone can know exactly where to go (or avoid). It's kind of like a parade.

Those horns? I think it's more a solidarity tap on the horn between truckies and the occasional auto driver. In fact the media is reporting in their poll as to, Do you support the truckies?, the results are 95% Yes 5% No in their most lopsided poll result ever. So there you have it. The great NZ truckie action of July 4, 2008.

Here's an update on the vege garden, which you first met here: http://franklet.blogspot.com/2008/04/veggie-garden-is-on.html


So it's a little over 2 months later. First of all we have eaten quite a few salads from the various lettuces. I'm sure things grow much more slowly in the winter months, and with the short days, but we can go down and harvest greens once a week or so.


The broccoli plants are doing great. That's them in the darker green at the end of the box in the picture below. They have not started to form heads yet. I don't know if that will have to wait until spring - I guess we'll see.












The whole thing has required remarkably little care and feeding. The balance of rain is about right. Can't do anything about the sun anyway. No sign of pesky critters. The one thing we've tried to keep an eye on is the weather at night. It's winter, and if the forecast was to go to freezing, we have been throwing a couple of bedsheets over the top. We often get a light frost and I figured that would be the end of our greens. One cold night the plants were left uncovered. I walked down to find the leaves frozen stiff. That's the end of the lettuces, I thought. Maybe not the other plants, but how can a thin lettuce leaf survive that?

Apparently it can. The sun came out and I checked a few hours later and everybody looked happy as... lettuces. I since talked to a neighbor and learned that everything would do fine. She doesn't do anything to her garden. Yea!

That's my kind of self-regenerating salad.

The other day my bike got a flat tire, so we took out the tube. The hole was really small, so we put duct tape on it. I had the idea of filling it with air until it bursted. It got so big that I was scared that it was going to pop, so I went behind the fence and I had to fit the pump in between the little posts to pump it up. It took quite a while, but eventually, it popped. Also look at my tags so that if someone searches "Barack Obama" or some thing it links to my post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz_mwWjoGdE

On the road again......I just can't wait! Tomorrow I leave for Denver, Co. After ten years of applying, I finally got accepted to the Cherry Creek Art Festival. I hope it's all I imagine it to be. But, no matter. I'll get to see my family, friends and whoever from the travelling art family makes it to this event.

Alot of people have asked if my work has changed much since moving. And, I have to say, not yet. For this show, I wanted to do what works. It's not a good time to make radical changes.

I've really enjoyed the notes from many of the wonderful people I have met along the way. It's funny how about the time I get ready to hit the road, I really do start humming Willie. ....going places that I've never been, seeing faces that I've never seen; the life I love is taking my art on the road. If you get a wild hair, come up to Denver, July 4 - 6. www.cherryarts.org/

To see what else is new, visit http://www.bfranklet.com/

First of all, I've been making different things, like this mobile with big wheels, 2 treasure chests and a guy with a paddle. Also, I made a new volcano. I got a new guy and I put him on the safe zone from the volcano. And the wolf on the flame thrower guy's ship got moved to the safe zone from the volacano.

Another new touch is that the chain got attached to the little mobile instead of the big mobile. And the big mobile had to use its thingies to grab onto the house. And I got a new guy that's a Chinese guy with a horn and fire. The side of the ship has a cannon. And there are 2 missiles, one is fire and one is brick, and you have to take the bottom off to shoot them since they are double missiles. As you see in the pictures, the stuff around them, the colored blocks are red, orange, brown, yellow, green, and blue. The colors of the volcano are red orange and yellow and the safe zone is these 2 really big brown blocks that are high. Also water is a safe zone. Grass is the only place you can die from a volcano (except for the red orange and yellow).

As you can see, some of the people in the picture don't look like they are usual people. Like the guy with a mousehead. The two guys without arms. The guy with only a helmet as a head. The flags that say Octan mean that 2 people have combined teams to make something awesome. Each part of the ship has to have one flag.

And spongebob swam up from the underground sea at bikini bottom to the ship. The wolf that you see in the safezone is injured. It's a good wolf. The team is coming to save it.

The Good Wolf

The End

Fall is gradually giving way to winter. The days are getting much shorter and the nights much COLDER. As there is no central heat in most houses in NZ, we light our evening fire and hang around the living room where it's warm and cosy. Life has slowed down considerably.

The boys are doing just fine. Dean's life is all about soccer. He plays on the Cobras every Saturday and for the Broadgreen Reps (his school soccer team) for tournaments. His new friend Jackson is super. Jackson lives in The Glen which is a beautiful area right by the coast. It's where we hiked with the sheep. Yesterday Dean asked if he could go with Pipsy (Guiseppe) to the Tahuna Soccer Fields right from school. Of course, I said, that's why we came here - to play outside and move about freely.

Andrew has fit in nicely. He's got several mates - David being his best buddy. He's a happy and kind friend to Andrew. They play Lego, swap Rugby and Pokemon cards and watch Spongebob together. Andrew has outfitted the two tents downstairs into a swank bachelor pad. He sleeps there every night...who needs a bed!! Otherwise, he's obsessed with rocks and exotic animals.

Duane spends his days tending the veggie garden, surfing the web and contemplating a self-sustaining lifestyle. Last week we went to look at chickens, though we're not sure our present house works for that. Every two weeks he goes to The Glen to do some work for Susanna. He's a jack-of-all-trades cleaning gutters, chopping wood, fixing computers and righting the letterbox amongst other things.

Me, I go about making pictures, reading books and overthinking what to do next. One day I want to work at a bookstore, next become a graphic designer. I definitely think it's time I learned to knit! I've made a couple of friends and that's about all I need at the moment.

As a family, we've played a lot more games together. Andrew has learned to play "Oh, hell" and is a force to be reckoned with. Last weekend we had a marathon Monopoly game. Dean firmly trounced each and every one of us. Often on Saturdays we go the downtown market. Duane and I pick up fresh produce while the boys squander their allowance. Dean (Mr. Sweet Tooth) gets himself a nice chocolate crepe, Andrew another rock for his collection.

It's all been good so far. Sometimes on a beautiful day, I feel this panic that I must go outside and do something. Then I remember it will be like this again and again. I am not on vacation.