We’re going to be building a house! Right now we’re giving our designer some idea of what we like and don’t like, and so we’ve been driving around our neighbourhood looking at roof lines. What does He like? What does She like? Where can we compromise?

Here are some photos:

We both like the pitched roof and the varying height. He really likes traditional-houses – but She doesn’t like ‘replicas’. She quite likes this but he dislikes it. We both like this one if only the silly tower wasn’t there. Long and low has an appeal. Two views of this one – photo above and the one below…. … not sure about this – does it look too much like a shed? We both like the balance of the house above. Here’s another we both like – varying roof lines and a bit different without being too avant garde. We both agree this is too long and low – it looks like a bunker. We both like the idea of two-wings-joined-by-a-bridging-section houses like this one. And here’s another one that has a central line of symmetry. But we don’t like tiles on the roof.. She likes this one but He thinks it’s horrid. They both like this one – the idea of a covered verandah is appealing.She loves this but it’s another one He loathes.Some nicely varying roof lines here for us both to like. Back to traditional – His choice; though She does like the varying roof lines. A ‘barn-like’ house we both think is OK (but a bit boring?). And another… We both like this one – something a bit different that we can agree on! This one is a real barn – but we like the roof line. And now three views of a house we both like – different enough but not too different. Above and below  are views from the back and front… … and here is one from the side-front Back to a traditional sort of house – but the varying roof lines are what we both like. Here is one we are united in dislike for. What were they thinking? And finally, one last that meets Her approval but not His.

The Calendar app on my phone has taken over from the small paper appointment diary I used to carry in my purse. Plans for December include:

• get together with some of Richard’s uni flatmates on Friday 9th
• Christmas scrapbooking session in Featherston on Saturday 10th
• get  together with friends from my ante-natal class on Wednesday 14th (we met nearly 26 years ago, before our first babies)
• Infrastructure Group Christmas dinner at the Pukemanu Hotel on Friday 16th

That looks like quite enough to me!

It’s hard to choose “the most perfect gift ever received”, but the “Sevilo” plaque, handmade by Rose, that we received for Christmas 2005 must be one of them. The families gathered at Kaitoke park in mid January to “do Christmas”. When Rose presented the heavy parcel to Richard & me as our joint present we had no idea what was inside. The sign (featuring our property name – derived by spelling ‘olives’ backwards) was beautifully designed and featured my favourite colour combination (yellow & blue). It must have taken Rose many hours of patient work to complete. The sign hung on the side of the garage at Fantail Grove until we sold and moved away mid-year 2016, but we didn’t sell the name “Sevilo”, which has come with us. We are building a garage at our new place, and surely we’ll find a good place to install the plaque so that visitors will always be sure where they are.

For me the approach to Christmas is inexorably tangled with the arrival of summer:

• roses blooming in the garden,
• the demand to complete the staff summer holiday leave plan comes out from the CEO,
• strawberry punnets are available at 2 for $5,
• the Summer Reading Programme staffer is at work & the library is decorated to the theme (yachts this year),
• finding lists everywhere (other people’s in books and on tables at work; my own in various bags and piles at home),
• boxes of Christmas books are out for borrowing in the Children’s library,
• Greytown shops (and the library) have their swags of evergreens and lights hung from verandahs,

and there’s a feeling in the air of suppressed excitement and anticipation that makes me happy.

I plan to take a few minutes each day of December to follow along with the Journal your Christmas prompts from Shimelle.

Christmas Manifesto 2016
This Christmas was always going to be different, as we have moved house from a large home with room for lots of Christmas decorations & entertaining to a very small cottage with Christmas supplies in deep storage. In addition our son will be in the South Island for the holiday. We decided to embrace this and make it more different still by arranging an away-from-home Christmas, for just the two of us. However, within all this difference I will retain the joy, generosity, anticipation and delight of Christmases past, as well as enjoying the pleasures of the new.