Harvest!

The mellowness of autumn is here. As I watch the evening light falling on the flame tree, making the trunk glow like the coals in a warm fire, I reflect on my own harvest.

Yes, carton after carton arrived after being unloaded from the Cap Manuel, that sailed from Hong Kong last month. There was one little glitch. The man dragged the whole pallet down my steep drive, only to discover that he'd unloaded the wrong one from this truck. He attempted to deliver 50 boxes of heavy handles! However, we got the right ones up the stairs and into my living room

where I welcomed them home with hibiscus flowers and bright music. Then opened the first carton to reveal — da daw!

A delicious, new, fresh paper-smell of real book.

'Spirited Ageing' has been well and truly launched, with a big event at The Women's Bookshop in Auckland, last Tuesday evening. The shop was crowded and I was put on a coffee table behind the counter so that everyone could see me and hear my talk.
I was surrounded in well-wishers.
What a glad moment this is, when the harvest has been brought in and now can be distributed to all who wish to partake of it.

I have received so much! One of the contributors made me this little flax kete (kit) to mark the occasion. My water bottle nestles inside just perfectly.

I know some of you have asked how to buy the book. My new website went live today. Go to http://www.julietbatten.co.nz and there you will find the books page. You can contact me through the contact form and I will send you details. You can pay using your credit card on PayPal and it's all very easy. Your book will arrive in the mail about a week later.

*********

I want to thank the bloggers whose words have inspired parts of the book:

Penny from http://lifeonthecutoff.wordpress.com for her funny stories and demonstrating so beautifully how to maintain a positive attitude even when things are tumbling down around you.

Amanada Trought at http://realityarts-creativity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/z-challenge-reflection-2012.html  for her moving accounts of caring for her mother who has dementia. She took this as her theme for her A-Z challenge in 2012.

Joan from  http://sempiterna-me.blogspot.co.nz  for being a contributor to each chapter. She is away from her blog at present, walking the Camino Trail in Spain.

Anne Eldredge Harris (94) for her inspiring computer art, which you can see at http://www.art.net/~anne/

Barbara Wells Sarudy, who has a marvellous art blog at http://bjws.blogspot.co.nz  Barbara posted a poem by Betty Lockwood about ageing. When I couldn't locate the book in New Zealand, Barbara sent me her copy. So generous! I was able to obtain permission to use the poem in my book.

Check them out: they are all well worth a visit. And thank you to you, my blogging friends, for all your support and interest. I hope to be visiting more regularly before too long.