SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

Maia the love dog

It’s nearing evening time on a Saturday here in Aotearoa/New Zealand and I don’t know about you (where ever you are) but Saturday’s in my hood mean that somewhere, there’s a market happening.  So this morning it was into the car – dog, son, bike, cardboard box for baby plants and my good self – ready for the market.  I didn’t have any Kiwi dollars on me, I was going to use HANDS (our local complementary currency).

“Get them in the soil this weekend, it’s the full moon!” Called the friendly man as I walked away with my box of baby lettuces, basil and zucchinis.  The plants peaked up at me and I smiled thinking how they were going to feed my family.

Next my three year old son Kahu announced that he needed –  ‘NEEDED’ – to spend some time at the skate ramp – which happens to be right beside the market. Nice ‘n convenient for Mama Charlotte.

“Mum!” He said “I HAVE to go to the skate park because I’m a SKATE PARK BOY!”  How could I resist such a statement?  And so that was how I came to sit beside my dog, on the grass, watching my son be a skate park boy to the left, and the buzzing market buzzing on my right.

Sigh.  It was a classic and delightful case of motherly multi-tasking.

On one hand I was able to watch Kahu zipping back and forth across his beloved skate park, dodging the big boys and trying out his way cool moves, and on the other I was also able to greet many old friends, many of whom were running stalls.  I also indulged in a satisfying people watching session.  During my satisfying people watching session I remembered why I had moved back to this small geographically isolated community of 4000 people that you can only access by traveling over a range of mountains, or via the ocean, or by traversing a 100 km track on foot.

For the people.

I watched the kindergarten teacher selling hula hoops, and swinging her hips to keep them in the air, whilst playing with a small giggling child.   I watched the DoC (Department of Conservation) office administrator dressed in full clown regalia painting small children’s faces and making animals out of balloons.  I watched the drum maker selling wooden sculptures of naked ladies.  I watched the pirate ship (complete with on board coffee shop) owner selling pizzas straight from his portable mud-brick oven.  I watched a busker with attitude belting out some seriously good tunes and the people dancing without knowing they were as they strolled about.  I watched numerous people honing in on my Golden Retriever (the love beacon) and getting their quota of canine cuddles.  Maia the dog gave out so much adoration that eventually she collapsed, exhausted on the grass and could only be revived later by a swim in the river.

Yes, this is Golden Bay.  Eclectic.  Buzzing.  Accepting. Golden Bay.  Where women aren’t really expected to remove body hair and where you can’t tell the rich people from the poor people because every one dresses chillaxed style, often in vivid colour.  Also our second hand shops are so good that everyone gets a chance to wear great clothes.  Here it’s cool to wear bare feet and drive a horse and cart.  Here, when people ask how you are, they very often mean it.

Today’s rating: 9/10

PS I’m feeling musical so here are some great Kiwi made music videos (I even feature momentarily in one of them):

365 Days of Fun and Chillaxation (as I raise my gorgeous son and grow my good news website to a subscription base of 100,000 people).  The Low Down on this Blog.

Check out yesterday’s blog.

Check out my NEW ebook ‘Ten Ways to Have Fun and Chillax As You Live Your Green Dreams’ – how to mix positive thinking with going green to achieve fantastic results (for yourself and the planet).

Tags: takaka, tangata