My dream house

We are in the process of buying a house and I can vouch that it definately is in the "top 3" stressful things that you can do with your life.

Not only do we have to find something that we actually want to live in but we also have to both like it! Then there is the process of tenders - the house buying lottery as I have renamed it. You put in an offer against other people's offers and hope you have the winning powerball!

So what does my dream house look like? Well currently my dream house is in Carterton in the Wairarapa and unfortunately I dont want to move to Carterton. It has a huge market garden and an orchard! The house has character, a wood burner and great insulation. So how do I find something in Wellington that has enough land for me to have my garden and my orchard without moving to the Hutt or worse of all Tawa???

Look at the sunlight on this place!

Well we found this cute house in Northland and I took a photo of the back of it from across the gully in 5pm sunlight. That huge sloping section you can see is actually terraced and has an amazing vege garden and fruit trees. They actually put up photos of their pumpkins on the real estate website to help market the place - it was certainly a drawcard for me haha (note they have removed that image now - possibly because gardening isn't attracting the professional couples that usually buy in this suburb?)

I almost want to put in the tender document: 17.1: We are keen gardeners and promise to maintain the wonderful garden that you have created over the past 20 years that you have lived here. Surely that would help win us the tender??

So now we wait with fingers crossed... I have veges to plant!!

My dream house

April

I have a wonderful Matariki calendar that gives information on the months and what they are for based on traditional Māori ideas. I just wanted to share what it said April is for because it really rings true for me:

Paenga Whāwha, April
Tēnā te mana o Rehua, Behold the greatness of Rehua

As the warmer season ends, we celebrate generosity. This is giving that does not stint on food, time or sharing - in the manner of Rehua the god of plenty. One customary expression of this is for a visitor, whether expected or unexpected to always be offered a cup of tea and something to eat, even if the hosts have little to give.

And on that note I'm off to make a cup of tea myself!

April