top of page
WHO AM I?
Some call me retired but I'm too young for that. Some say I'm on a gap year, but there's no end in sight. What I AM doing is taking time out from the 9 to 5 to write, explore new opportunities and generally enjoy life in the beautiful Wairarapa region of New Zealand. This blog will capture my adventures, challenges and general musings along the way.
Search
Immobilized
“Your vehicle is fitted with an anti-theft engine immobilizer system,” reads the small white card tucked inside the folder containing my...
marisaking
Feb 95 min read
35 views
0 comments
Awake, my soul, and sing
“I dreamed a dream,” writes composer Joseph Martin in his dramatic choral work The Awakening , “of a land where no bird sang, no steeples...
marisaking
Dec 9, 20245 min read
44 views
0 comments
"Sorry, I'm booked."
Twilight. A month after the shortest day of the year. I leave Masterton and drive south. The dusky blue sky hints at the thick fog that...
marisaking
Jul 28, 20244 min read
124 views
0 comments
Now hear this
I wouldn’t call it selective hearing exactly. The word “selective” implies the ability to choose what to listen to and not listen to. But...
marisaking
Jun 3, 20243 min read
45 views
1 comment
These boots are not made for walking
I used to look down on second-hand shopping with all the snobbery of an Aucklander visiting the Eketahuna Inn. But after asking various...
marisaking
Feb 5, 20244 min read
34 views
0 comments
Weed in the dead of night
“How are all the books today?” the grey-suited divisional manager asked as he strolled up to the pod of desks occupied by the library...
marisaking
Jan 24, 20243 min read
40 views
0 comments
Of beds, cats and credit cards
When life starts to get a bit gritty, there's one place I often want to be, and that's in bed. For if a woman’s home is her castle, then...
marisaking
Sep 21, 20233 min read
38 views
0 comments
Anzac Day
Up ahead, a row of braking lights, all turning right. Groups of the warmly-clad wait to cross the street. A priest cuts a clean white...
marisaking
Apr 27, 20232 min read
33 views
0 comments
Why I love Joan Didion
It is easy to see the beginning of things, and harder to see the ends. I love that opening line from American essayist Joan Didion in her...
marisaking
Mar 28, 20235 min read
72 views
1 comment
Pity the poor agapanthus
Did you know that agapanthus comes from South Africa? Neither did my South African partner, who sacrificed two broken spades and a great...
marisaking
Dec 7, 20223 min read
51 views
0 comments
It's been four and a half months since my last post
A few readers have made gentle hints about the lack of blog posts recently. I have even been accused of “leaving us all hanging”. That...
marisaking
Nov 16, 20224 min read
85 views
0 comments
Ko Waingawa te awa
We worried, when we moved to Masterton, about how we were going to give Arki his daily exercise. It was no issue when we had a park-sized...
marisaking
May 13, 20224 min read
86 views
0 comments
Another end, another beginning (part 2)
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash Liminal space: a location which is a transition between two other locations or states of being....
marisaking
Mar 20, 20224 min read
127 views
0 comments
Another end, another beginning
One still, sunny morning in the week before Christmas, I opened the front door to find a white gift bag on the verandah. NOEL was written...
marisaking
Feb 7, 20226 min read
155 views
0 comments
And so this is Christmas
It’s taken me longer than usual to get in to the festive spirit this year. “Can it just be over already?” I thought as the first...
marisaking
Dec 21, 20214 min read
59 views
0 comments
The birds and the trees
The Card House garden is full of cherry trees. Some are well-established, and confidently streeetch! their muscular branches up and out...
marisaking
Dec 4, 20214 min read
112 views
0 comments
Welcome to The Card House
It’s one of my favourite sayings: When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I had the chance to do that last weekend with a lovely group...
marisaking
Nov 19, 20213 min read
87 views
0 comments
Let's go outside
This is my favourite time of year. As Spring gently glides into Summer it brings a sense of new possibilities, holidays and parties. I’m...
marisaking
Oct 28, 20213 min read
38 views
0 comments
It's performance review time
That simple phrase strikes fear into the heart of many a Wellington office worker. Not because of the performance review itself; most of...
marisaking
Sep 29, 20214 min read
54 views
0 comments
Shop 'til you drop (Wairarapa style)
When you live in a town of 2,500 people, you expect your shopping options to be limited. However, I was pleasantly surprised the first...
marisaking
Sep 23, 20213 min read
40 views
0 comments
bottom of page