Thursday 31 August 2017

Little mother...and a scavenger hunt


For those of you who have been asking about my little mother, she is doing well and talking about going back to her own home at the weekend. She takes care of all her own personal needs and is walking well. She hasn't walked for so long she had to ease back into it and now walks around the yard and up and down the footpath outside the house. I'm sure she will cope well with the help she has coming in and with my brother and me keeping an eye on her. We have a hospital visit this afternoon just to check all is well. Thank you for your care and prayers.
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I didn't think I was going to get all the photos this month but I enjoy the photo challenge and was determined to take part. Last night I found my final picture. Once again some are from the archives but I think there is only one I've used before. Most are new. I hope you enjoy them.

1:  Relaxed
This is our old boy, Claude, not long before he began to lose condition prior to his death. One of his favourite places when he wanted a snooze. The wood chips under the fern still held the heat of the sun as did the large stones. Very comforting for an old fellow. We miss him even though he has been gone a couple of years now.



2:  It begins with an M
and it's Mum, aka my little mother. She was only young when this was taken, in her early 30's I think, and looking at all the nappies on the line I'm guessing this was not long after my youngest brother was born. It was hard work with all those cloth nappies to wash every day but a fact of life. I rather like this photo of Mum, a peek into life as it was only half a century ago.
(I hasten to add that is not our house in the background
 but part of the neighbouring property).


3:  Time for...
...a hot chocolate on a cold winters day. We'd been out shopping and it was time to warm up. Really delicious and I love the marshmallows on the top to sweeten it rather than using sugar.


4:  Tangerine
I'd been wondering what to put up for this prompt and was going through some photos and spotted a pop of tangerine in this picture. We held a country gospel service at church a couple of weeks ago and one of the singers was wearing this lovely tangerine top :)


5:  It begins with an O
I was trying to think of something out of the ordinary for O. I thought I could look for something 'oresome' as a famous sportsperson once spelt it but then decided to just go for 'ordinary'. So this is my ordinary kitchen table with an ordinary bowl of fruit on it. And of course there are oranges in amongst the fruit. 
It also has some O shapes in it such as the table, place mats, fruit bowl, grapes and cake plate, none of which begin with an O.


6:  Whiskery
This is Missy. Isn't she gorgeous? I was visiting a friend when Missy decided to take advantage of the sun and leapt up on the back of my chair. I was going to put up a photo of one of my brothers, he has whiskers and looks like Santa Claus. Unfortunately he looked a bit cross in the photo I had so I decided on Missy instead. We can call her face whiskery I think, and she's cuter than he is anyway :)


7:  Lace
We went into the Octagon a few years ago to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the gold rush in Otago. Of course a lot of people were in costume and character and my GKB was chatted up by a 'lady of the night'. This is her back view with the  bodice all 'lace'd up. 


8:  Bridge
A road/rail bridge over the Taramakau River on the West Coast of New Zealand. Yes, this bridge is shared by trains and cars, trucks etc. There are barrier arms at each end of the bridge to stop road traffic if trains are coming. We always found it exciting when we were kids and wondered whether the car wheels would get stuck in the rails. When we went over at Easter a new road bridge was being built alongside this so I'm wondering how long it will be before this bridge is no longer in use or whether it will still be used for rail traffic.



9:  Letters
How to be original with this one? This may not be terribly original but while I was thinking about it I realised that whenever I was sitting in the doctors waiting room  I looked at a large wall hanging (about cot quilt size) with the alphabet on it, so I went in and asked permission to photograph it. What makes this a bit unique is that all the letters are orientated to New Zealand flora and fauna, that is why I study it. I always admire the work that has gone into it, all the individual panels have been beautifully cross stitched. People are so talented.


10:  My choice
My GKB took this photo of a goldfinch under our rose bushes. Isn't it beautiful? It was feeding on the chickweed that I had been thinking I should get out and remove very soon. We have never seen goldfinches on the property before and if the chickweed is what is attracting them then as far as I am concerned the chickweed can stay!


joining everyone at:
for the monthly photo scavenger hunt

23 comments:

  1. Goldfinches are so beautiful , I love your picture. Missy is indeed gorgeous and the hot chocolate looks heavenly. Good choice for lace too. :) x

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  2. First time joining in :-) I love the photo of your mum, as a mother of five I have always used washable nappies, they save money and landfill. Thankfully however they are easier to put on a baby these days. When our twins were born 31 years ago, I remember folding the "kite" shape but our last child born nearly nine years ago, wore the colourful "Bum Genius."

    Funny how cats just love sheltering under the shade. Our first cat Holly did just that. Poppy our new addition prefers sleeping in the cool shade of the workshop on the occasional hot day :-)

    San

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  3. Lovely to see your photo finds! Glad things are going well for your Mum!

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  4. Lovely photos, love the one of your mum

    Julie xxxxxxxx

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  5. Claude was a gorgeous boy. Ha ha, don't think I've heard the term Lady of the Night recently! Great photo for Lace.

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  6. I sure love all the photos and think most have been thought of outside the box, though animals and birds always seem to come top of my list. The one of your Mum at the clothesline is so like here in Oz, but of course you are only just across the way. The 'lady of the night's' lace is very clever. Glad you are joining in, hope your Mum keeps going well & take care.

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  7. Love the picture of your little mother, Diana. I remember hanging out clothes to dry when I was a girl. It was one of my chores. And really, sheets dried in the bright sunshine are one of life's greatest pleasures. So glad your mama is on the road to recovery. Here is is beginning to feel like fall...but I am sure we will have more hot temps before summer leaves for good.

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  8. Lovely interpretation of topics. I too remember cloth nappies and am all for them so was very impressed when I googled Bum Genius. Brilliant idea. I remember hanging them out in England for the first time and was horrified when they froze stiff! Funny how many cats are 'relaxed' this month. Love your O - very Original.

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  9. Your mom is so beautiful, my friend, and I'm glad she is doing well!

    Your photos were an absolute delight...thank you for sharing.

    Sweet hugs to you!

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  10. Hard to imagine washing all those diapers. Even the people who use cloth these days don't have to hand wash and hang dry...well, maybe some do. :)

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  11. As Jak said, lovely interpretation of the words. I too saw my first goldfinch about 10 year ago and I remember how excited I was; we still see them and they are lovely. I liked the idea of vehicles and trains 'sharing' the bridge. What a lovely bridge. As for your take on lace, well done!

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  12. Such wonderful pictures! I love the idea of the scavenger hunt! And I agree about the picture of your mother hanging out the diapers...those were the days! I used cloth diapers for my 3 sons...but often used the dryer to dry them so they would be softer. But I loved the feel of the cloth diapers as I folded them...such precious memories...and your Mother looks so pretty there. Love that she is doing better now and is able to walk a little. That is such good news! Your Goldfinch is different than our American Goldfinch...very colorful face! Interesting how many different varieties of birds God has created throughout the earth!! Thank you for sharing all of this with us. I enjoyed this very much.

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  13. What a crackingly good set of images! Such lovely stories too :) My favourite? Difficult coz I love the letters then I love the whiskers then your hot choc looks amazing and then the BW of your mum is a special one - thank you for sharing and joining in :) x

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  14. Oh, how wonderful to hear that God is healing your little mother! That is such great news today! Praise His wonderful name! He is such a faithful, prayer-answering God! I loved the pictures, but my favorite is the one of your little mother hanging diapers on the line. Such a simpler time...I love seeing photos of those olden days!

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  15. It lovely to have some old photos. I always loved it when my grandparents got out the albums. I definitely haven't printed out enough from our digital cameras. I remember mum having terry towelling nappies for my brother. What terribly hard work! I tried them for my two to try and be environmentally friendly but didn't get on with them at all!

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  16. It is such good news to hear that your Mum is well enough to go home! She must be thrilled and you all must be so relieved. Love the beautiful photo of her hanging the laundry, too. I have a Pinterest board titled 'Laundry' with wonderful photos like these. I used cloth diapers for my first 3 children, but by the time #4 came, I had enough of that! I remember hanging them on the line - a daily chore, but I loved it just the same. All of your photos are wonderful and interesting today. The little finch really is quite beautiful. The old bridge is amazing - so many of them are being retired these days, but sometimes they are saved as history in parks. So glad for your happy news about your Mum. xo Karen

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  17. Super photos and great interpretations of the prompts. Lovely goldfinch and also photos of Claude and Missy. Great photo of you Mum putting her washing out to dry:)

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  18. Lovely photo of Claude relaxing and I like your photo for letters too, an interesting piece.

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  19. That's good news about your mother and I love that old photo. What a colorful goldfinch! Enjoy your weekend! Hugs!

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  20. Happy to hear the good news about you mother!
    I could use a cup of that hot chocolate today. Feels like fall here today.
    Great bunch of pictures.
    What a beautiful bird!!

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  21. What a lovely post! I'm so glad your mama is doing better. The more independent she can be, I'm sure the happier she will be.

    I haven't been by for a visit in ages. I found your comment on one of my old blog posts, and it reminded me to come and visit. I am so glad I did. The photo scavenger hunt is such a neat idea!

    https://harvestlanecottage.blogspot.com/2015/10/my-day-book-october-5-2015.html

    Well, I shall bid you a happy week and be on my way. I do hope you'll come by and visit me at Harvest Lane Cottage.

    Laura Lane

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  22. LOVE all your pictures! I think my favorite is of the goldfinch. Such a glorious little face!

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  23. Great collection of pictures. Bridge one is my favourite.

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