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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.
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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
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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
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"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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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