The end is nigh

in my garden, where I think best

The year is nearly over. At least it is in my world. I have decided to take the unusual step of officially finishing my work for the year at the end of November. This ties in with my daughter's last exam, and I think, given the strange year we have had, we deserve to put our feet up a little earlier than we would ordinarily. Unless of course I get work that urgently needs completing before the end of the year, I am looking forward to shutting up shop for 2011 and doing whatever I want till the end of January 2012, when New Zealand cranks back into life after their summer holidays end and the new school year begins.

This of course means that I will be able to do some of my "own" work, finishing off the e-book and related goodies in time for their roll-out in the new year. How exciting!

And since I have already started unwinding and tying up loose work ends, it means that I have time and energy for the fun job of getting the garden back to its productive state, especially now that the other owners don't wish to have their own plots this year, so it is back to being all mine. Bahahaha!

As well as that, I am still working on SHEDding, and for my wardrobe, I have taken it a little further than suggested. This involves a complete and thorough inventory of my wardrobe, which has been such fun. I have been taking photos every day and mixing and matching this with that. I wouldn't say I have a lot of clothes by some standards (it all fits in one small cupboard, including my few pairs of shoes) but what I do have are generally my absolute favourites, as I gave most of my belongings away after the earthquake before we moved away. But even with a small number of different items, it is amazing the number of different outfits can be created. I have been reading fashion blogs for the over-40s and becoming awfully inspired! So here are the details for this little get-up above:
Wrap top - from Jen Fashion at Etsy, she is a designer from Israel
Jeans - Barkin (I got them because they have cute little zips up the ankles, and they are a very comfy fit, seem to be made for me)
Shoes - by Prophecy (they are faves of mine, orange tartan, with wedge heels that are like rubber on sneakers)

I also have a very cool, orange retro coat made from crimpolene that I can wear with these orange sneaker wedges, but sadly the colour looks too strange next to my hair. But this is what happens when you take stock of your wardrobe and your life - you find what works, but you also find what has to go.

And this is the perfect metaphor for my learning curve of a year. The end is nigh. Some things have had to go.