archives by subject:
archives by month:
dance, love, sing, live
A quote from Souza:
"dance as though no one is watching you,
love as though you have never been hurt before,
sing as though no one can hear you,
live as though heaven is on earth."
aurum, accommodation + heaven…
Filed under: spirituality, the setting — Iliana @ 9:32 amaurum’s story, part 2
So iliana contacted an Opotiki estate agent and began to search for a comparable property in the area. Some land bordering the property was being subdivided, but it wasn’t the same. Many fruitless trips were made all around the place, often ending in the parking lot at the bottom of aurum’s drive where that day’s offerings were discussed, in full view of aurum.
Nothing came of that, so iliana began searching in Whakatane and Ohope. A house was found in Ohope, an offer made and excepted. But upon her return from a weekend trip to Auckland, despite the assurances of the realtor that the trip would in no way jeapordize the sale, iliana found that the owners had sold the house to someone else, illegal as though that might have been. Never mind, there must be something better to be found.
And so there was. A beautiful section at Ohope. Negotiations began with the owners, now living in Hawaii. Telephone calls and faxes bearing figures. Trips to council and valuers involved, and the negotiations nearing the end, the last set of figures back and forth. But the wife answered the final phone call and put an abrupt end to the sale. This was a stunning property with a wonderful location, and it hardly seemed possible, but there must be something even better to come.
As over a year had passed at this point, iliana returned to the Opotiki agent to explore further afield. One trip yielded nothing, but a second trip was planned for the following Tuesday afternoon. On Monday, iliana discovered an unusual house at West End in Ohope, and made an offer. Tuesday morning the offer was accepted, with the stipulation that the deposit be made Wednesday morning at 9:30. Agreeing, iliana rang the Opotiki agent to cancel the afternoon’s outing. His wife answered: "You mean he’s not been in touch with you?" "No, why?" "He had some news that you would be excited about." Iliana knew that he knew what would excite her. "But if you’ve not heard from him by 8 tonight, he won’t be able to ring you until 10:30, as the projectionist in Opotiki is ill and he has to show tonight’s movie."
10:30’s phone call came, a mere 11 hours before the deposit on the West End house was due. The lovely couple had decided to sell, to shorten their list of 6 prospective buyers to 1, and were willing to sell to iliana if the family with first refusal rights should refuse.
Iliana rang her Ohope realtor the next morning to explain developments. Had she bought the West End property, she would have had to wait until the end of the summer to move in, to give the elderly owner time to make other arrangements. So she asked the owner to wait a week to see if her dream property was available, and the time was extended.
The prospective buyers with first refusal were to visit Ohiwa over the weekend. The weather was perfection, the sea sparkling constantly. But on Sunday night about 5 pm the phone call came: the house was too small for the family. Iliana instructed the realtor to drive now to the property and meet her there, and within 30 minutes had signed the purchasing agreement.
Iliana had little doubt that she had found her New Zealand home. Clearly, it was meant to be.
Filed under: Uncategorized, diary — Iliana @ 4:26 pmwhale on the beach
and i thought the sea was breathtakingly beautiful yesterday — you should see it today! but i digress.
sickened by the scenes of the japanese slaughter of whales on television, a group of local environmentalists and artists assembled today at waiotahi beach, just east of ohiwa and the home of the annual new year’s day beach sculpture competition, and sculpted a life-size (or larger) whale, with a sign protesting the continuing, "sanctioned" activity of japanese whalers.
it is just by the two tall totem-like sculptures for which the beach is known, if you are local and wish to have a look.
i had to go into town to courier some belongings which one of my guests left behind, and to buy you some fancy soaps, bath salts and lotions for the bathrooms. i had a look at the massive sculpture on the way through; it is impressive, and a strong statement of whale love.
that’s today’s news. more tomorrow…
Filed under: diary, the guest rooms — Iliana @ 1:20 pmsurfie news
now for some breaking news…
the quite decent waves are rolling in and peeling right off. it’s a beautiful sight, even for a non-surfer like me.
now is the time to go for a surf: the end of the summer, no crowds on ohiwa beach (though neighbouring ohope beach is still quite packed out).
if you are one of those who surfs for the solitude among other reasons, now is the time to visit aurum at ohiwa beach!! the pacific beckons!!
Filed under: activities, diary, the setting — Iliana @ 5:03 pmaurum’s story, part 1
iliana moved to new zealand in 1990, following her heart. no choice, really, as she had left it in new zealand after her first visit december of 1988. as she says, "i wasn’t born in new zealand but i came as soon as i could."
upon her arrival in new zealand in september of 1990, she lived in a flat in a nursing home operated by her employer until she located a house to rent at ohope beach, the beach just west of ohiwa beach where she now lives. she had never had the luxury of living at the ocean; it was a thrill.
friends from ohope invited her to a picnic the day after christmas on a neighboring beach. after enjoying a picnic beneath beautiful pohutukawa trees on the beach, it was time to go. walking back up the rise to the parking lot, she looked across the road and saw a cottage tucked away in native pohutukawa bush; it was love at first sight.
one day a few months later, she returned to the parking lot. she had decided to meet the owners of the cottage and request that they keep her name and number in the event they ever wished to sell this charming property. she didn’t get very far when she had what was to her a most unusual experience.
when she reached the gate, she clearly heard a voice speak to her. "we are so glad you have finally come. we have been waiting so long for you to arrive."
there was no one around, and she realized the speaker wasn’t there in a physical sense. this was quite surprising. (the last sentence is an understatement.)
feeling most welcome by she didn’t know whom, she proceeded up the hill to the cottage, where a lovely english couple greeted her. they quickly bid her farewell when she told them why she had come. they had no intentions of moving but if they ever should want a change, they had a list with 6 people on it already waiting for them to leave. this list was long enough already, good day.
quite a contrast between the experience at the bottom of the hill and that at the top…
Filed under: Uncategorized, diary, your host — Iliana @ 1:30 pm
welcome
aurum’s sign at the gate says "welcome." the sign pointing the way to parking and reception also says welcome. the office has a sign bidding you welcome. aurum’s host offers guests a warm welcome. welcoming guests is a big deal at aurum.
welcoming is also a spiritual practice.
to paraphrase jean klein from his book I AM,
welcome for its own sake.
welcoming, openness, is the very nature of Life.
how might your life change if you gave "all your heart and intelligence to whatever should present itself from one moment to the next" and made welcome each moment?
Filed under: spirituality — Iliana @ 8:16 am
the beach is all yours
new zealand’s busiest holiday season is from boxing day till mid january. this past monday, most shops opened back up and some small businesses resumed their activities. tomorrow, most new zealanders return to work. summer, however, continues for another six to eight weeks. often when i walk our long sandy beach, i am the only one on it. 2.5 miles of pristine beach, with stunning waves just calling one to dive through.
i personally haven’t had too much beach time lately, but yesterday i was able to go with a guest for a 2 mile walk. the dry sand was too hot to walk on barefoot and required jandals, but the wet sand was just right.
the oyster catcher that was just ahead of us for much of our walk was reflected in the wet sand, doubling the lengths of his long bright orange bill and legs. pipis (native shellfish) in the sand, on which the oyster catcher was likely feeding. the river right where i had left it the last time i walked, whenever that was. the volcanos majestic and still. clouds and sun reflected in the wet sand on our way home, while the aqua of the sea shone in a new-for-me way from some favorite shells. heartfelt conversation had the perfect setting. renewed, we prepared our evening’s barbeque.
my kayaking friends went for a roll in the waves, caught on camera for future laughs. a good day.
what will your day be like when you come?
Filed under: diary, the setting — Iliana @ 8:32 amthe beach crew
i first met rowan when he gave me a quote to repair earthquake damage to concrete structures. that was before construction began on what are now the three guestrooms.
i was impressed by rowan, the conscientious manner in which he calculated the costs and his courtesy and consideration of his client. here was a tradesman who cares. and one who is a self-professed perfectionist, as well as a devout Christian. and rowan just oozes integrity.
so there was no question about who to call for my concreting. and a fine job he and his crew did, too.
rowan subsequently started up his own business in ohope, specializing in decorative concrete. we hadn’t quite finished here, so i stayed with rowan, now The Beach Crew (he is located at a beach, and he and his crew are all keen surfers).
so one day my phone rings, and it’s rowan. "hi, iliana, it’s rowan here. look, i’ve got your final statement and want to bring it out to you today. and i’d like to do some work for you, since you’ve given me such a lot of business." (and i have, vast amounts of concrete driveway!) so out he comes. he seems to arrive on exceptionally hot days… and he starts repairs on the concrete retaining walls around my clotheslines. he didn’t finish and is going to work another day here, too.
so thank you, dear rowan. and if anyone locally is reading this and needs a fabulous tradesman, just ring rowan @ The Beach Crew, ohope beach.
this is just another chapter in the "built with love" segment of the aurum story.
i am blessed.
Filed under: diary, spirituality — Iliana @ 12:19 pmlavender house
lavender house in opotiki is a charming lavender kauri cottage with an out-in-the-country feel. glorious flowers and a variety of lavenders welcome you to the home and studio of the distinguished artist Shona Hammond Boys QSM.
shona will likely be busy painting or gardening when you ring her on 315-5014 for an appointment to visit. shona’s extremely strong creative urges result in all sorts of beautiful things for sale. she may be painting when you arrive, giving you an opportunity to watch shona producing one of her magical paintings. you may want to buy one of her treasured works, maybe even the one you watched her paint! shona works are rich and vibrant and exciting, like she is herself.
"lavender" is how shona is known to opotiki’s youth. shona gave birth to her childhood dreams and became the originator of new zealand’s children’s art house foundation, which has helped children find and live their own dreams, not to mention their creative abilities. shona’s foundation has been modeled world-wide, and she is the deserving recipient of a Queen’s Service Medal.
new to opotiki, shona is now recognized locally as well as internationally for her extraordinary abilities. she is currently working with troubled youth from desperate homes, helping them learn their own beauty and how to spiral upward.
shona is such a treasure that meeting her may just be the best thing about your visit to lavender house!
home away from home
if you are visiting new zealand for the first time, i would love for you to make aurum your north island base. it’s so lovely to come back "home" to.
there are several destinations a 2-hour drive away: rotorua with its geothermal attractions, the remote and largely unspoilt east cape, and the cities of gisborne and tauranga. there are many other places of interest and world-class beauty much closer, otarawairere beach and hikutaia domain for example. and this area is rich in maori culture as well.
whether you are a new visitor to aurum or a returning one, you will begin to unwind as soon as you arrive. it feels like Home. the sense of relaxation that comes from feeling free to just be yourself, like you feel when you walk into your own space after a long day at work, deepens the longer you remain here.
aurum was developed to enable people to stay for a month, longer if they like, although some only have a few days. and it is designed to be a place where visitors can have the space to come home to themselves, a beautiful experience.
Filed under: activities, spirituality — Iliana @ 9:19 am