A year on

It is just over a year since my little mother went home to her Lord.

That time has passed quickly and she has been on my mind

 at some part of every day since.

 

One of my sisters in Australia sent me a beautiful flower arrangement 'for looking after our mother' in their absence.

They really are rather lovely and lasting well. A lovely gesture.

*************

I've been a bit off colour for the past week with an inner ear thing going on so I haven't ventured far from the house until today. So I thought I'd share with you some of the books I've been reading over the last little while. I 'borrowed' the Ruth Rendell book, Going Wrong, when we were holidaying in Aussie last year and I must send it back. I'd never read anything of hers before and found her rather intriguing, with the twist in the plot that you don't see coming. I've read more since then and that same twist in the plot seems to happen, her style I guess.

I always enjoy Dan Brown, Inferno this time, but with a bit of space between books :) I like a good page turning action thriller occasionally.

Then there is Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris, who I'd never heard of until I borrowed this book as well. Also while we were in Aussie and also needing to go back but this one can wait until next time I'm going over. The story is set in the depression era in the 'American dust bowl', the tale of a little girl who is accidentally left on a train and her long journey to finding her family. Also a page turner.

The ones I have enjoyed most though are 'The Seven Sisters' series by Lucinda Riley. I was a bit iffy about the first book, before I started reading, but now I am hooked. The books all stand alone but having read one out of sequence I wouldn't do it again as it throws things out of kilter a bit. Each book is about one sister, all of whom have been adopted, and her search for her roots. I've read the first four books and so far have been to South America, Norway, Australia and England. Beautifully written novels with a lot of attention to historical detail. If you haven't read any of them I highly recommend them.

A couple of days ago eldest daughter rang to say she was coming over and 'don't buy pumpkin'. No wonder, she had three in the car and left two with me. The big orange one is a soup pumpkin so I may put that in the community pantry around by the grandkids school. I certainly won't be making it into soup. I'll cut the other one up and give some of that away as well. It came from her partner's farm, he likes to grow unusual veges on a plot near the house. These are not too bad but we have been given the occasional strange, to us anyway, vegetable. Or odd coloured ones :) And usually enormous!

Winter has arrived with a vengeance this week, perhaps I should make that pumpkin into soup ;(

Until next time

Diana

A bridal shower

We had a bridal shower last weekend, at my eldest daughter's home, but before I share some photos with you

here is a little bit of whimsey :)

Can you see the face?

***********

Now to the shower.

My granddaughter Monica is going to be wed this weekend and so it was time to celebrate with just the girls. Pink was the colour theme and the instructions we had were that we should wear something pink :) but as you can see some people never got the message, oh well.

We were greeted at the door by the beautiful bride to be in her pink and white outfit. She and I both love pink. Somehow we ended up with nearly all the food being pink or white as well which meant quite a lot of it was very sweet:)

Once everyone had chatted for a while it was time to play silly games and have some fun. There was a mix of people, workmates, friends and family and the games were a great way to break the ice. Daughter in law was in charge.

Daughter with cake on her face after one of the games - don't ask - but it was fun and I think I won a prize in this one - always a bonus.

Time to open the parcels and I'm not sure why the face pulling but maybe she thought a pink teddy bear was a bit strange at a bridal shower :) She did get some lovely gifts though. Anyway, we all had a fun afternoon and as long as Monica enjoyed it that is all that matters in the end.

************

Middle sis arrives from Aussie late tonight and another grand daughter flew in yesterday. Monica's big brother is bringing the cake down from Christchurch on Friday, he's made and iced it, so none of us have any idea what it's like - well maybe Monica does :) So we're really looking forward to a wonderful celebration with everyone at the weekend.

I'll see you again once it's all over.

Diana

joining in with Debby over at

Friday foto friends

Beautiful colour

My GKB has been sussing out more features on his camera and below is the beautiful, colourful results of some of his sussing. 

And I had to show you this photo of Mischief (used to be known as Fluffybum as a kitten), our neighbour's cat. He is sitting under a bush at the bottom of our yard. Look at those eyes:)

Joining Debbie and friends for

Friday foto friends

A week in Brisbane

Spring has arrived in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

And with it of course the blustery weather, warmer days, rain,

snow and gales...but also a promise of warmer settled days.

Snowdrops on a fenceline after a rainy day.

***********

My GKB and I had had a holiday in Australia booked for several months before Mum passed away and so a month after her death we winged our way across the Tasman. It was a wonderfully relaxing time. We spent our first week in Brisbane, we had an apartment about 15 minutes walk from the CBD. All downhill.

Coming home we would get a cab.

This was the evening view from our balcony.

Across the road and to the right was a lovely garden and although we had stayed here before with the kids, strolling around gardens is not something they really want to do - they tend to like something a little more exciting, like theme parks :) We hadn't intended to spend time there this morning either, were just taking a shortcut but it was so tranquil and relaxing we spent most of the morning there.

We came across this little train while we were there and decided to go for a ride. A gold coin donation for the garden tour, about a twenty minutes ride. Fun. When it stopped we were just a hundred metres from a lovely tearooms/coffee shop and it was lunch time. A nice way to spend the morning.

Below, a garden view.

One day we went to Southbank, across the river from the CBD, and met up with our niece, Amanda. We also met her two wee daughters for the first time. Last time we saw Amanda she was only about their age, her parents had moved to Aussie and she had just started school. Southbank is a lovely place for a day out, food outlets, river rides, ferris wheel and a children's playground. Another relaxing day out and so good to see the littlies enjoying themselves. Below is a little portion of Southbank.

.

We also decided to go to Australia Zoo, founded by Steve Irwin.

We enjoyed our day here as well and of course we went to watch the crocodile show which we thoroughly enjoyed. There was a performance with native birds as well, trained to fly from certain places and put on a bit of a show and I have to admit I actually enjoyed the birds more than the crocodiles, but don't tell anyone.

Of course being a zoo there were heaps of animals, kangaroos, koalas, dingos for example but I was disappointed that the camels were gone, still have never seen one. I loved the rhino family lined up snoozing in the sun though :) Don't they look great? Daddy, mummy and baby bear, oops I mean rhino.

It was a long day though and I have to admit that we were pleased to see the bus arrive to take us all back to Brisbane. We'd been on the go for ten hours by the time we got back to the apartment.

And here we are, finally on our flight north to Mackay where we caught up with sisters, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. Oh and a contingent of Kiwis all escaping the cold southern winter :)

*************

My thoughts and prayers are with the folk in the Carolina's and other states that may be affected by hurricane Florence. Also with you in the Philipines and China. Such heartbreaking devastation is being endured by so many. Kia kaha - stand strong.

Diana

Stinky plant

My brother has been over from Aussie and is away again. Middle sister arrived the following day so it has been a bit of a busy time. This morning we, sis, youngest daughter and I, went in to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens to view the Corpse Plant as it is commonly called. It's botanical name is Amorphophallus titanum. We weren't sure that we would see it before it collapsed as it has already been open for two days but we were in luck. It was closing when we saw it and was past it's best and the stink had dissipated somewhat. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not as I would have liked to experience the whole shebang, stinking or not. Another time maybe.

This way.

Sis (in pink) talking to an attendant.

Corpse plant

or Amorphophallus titanum.

We have also been to a Chinese opera 

but I'll tell you about that another time.

Until next time,

Diana

January scavenger hunt

It's that time of the month again when we join Hawthorn for a photo scavenger hunt so if you are interested in seeing what others have come up with head over to I live, I love, I craft, I am me 
and have a look.

I'm also joining Debbie at Breathing in Grace for

friday foto friends

***********

Yellow

I went out one morning to see that one courgette flower was fully unfurled and shining in the sun. A lovely bright yellow. If you look closely you can see two or three others still tightly curled, they came out as the day progressed and the sun heated things up. I've since picked that one and am waiting for the others to become a decent size so we can use them. The courgettes, not the flowers.

Starts with an ... O

I was out walking one evening and saw this circular latch hole in a gate and thought it looked like an O. I know it doesn't begin with an O unless, of course, you want to call it an 'ole. Sorry, cringe :)

Light

Dark clouds threatening rain that didn't come. We've been watering our veges most nights. I loved the way the evening sun was breaking through the clouds and the silvery light it threw, but alas, it didn't come out as well as I had hoped.

Found

Walking on the beach a couple of weeks ago we 

came across a big old log. In one little cranny 

we found a mini garden growing in some sand.

Colourful

Don't you love the this colourful display of tulips.

 This photo was taken by my daughter when

 she was in Wellington a few years ago.

My choice

I was browsing through my photos a few days ago and decided to share this one as my choice. Taken on a Kobe Harbour cruise while we were in Japan for our son's wedding in 2008. 

L-R: DIL, son, middle sis, me and my GKB.

***********

I'm expecting my brother and his partner arriving in the next day or so from Australia. A week later middle sis also arrives from Aussie and then between then and March youngest sister is also arriving from Aussie so we are in for a busy time. Not sure where everyone is staying apart from my brother who will be with us. I hope to catch up with you all during this time, but we'll see what happens.
Brother's partner said they were coming over to cool down but they won't unless the temps fall dramatically, although it is just 25C at the moment and that is a vast improvement on the 40C we had a week ago.

*********** 

And that's it for this week. 

Diana

An icy start

I know I haven't been around much lately but I have managed to find some pics to put up for the photo challenge over at 

I live, I love, I craft, I am me with Hawthorn. Most of them were taken while we were on holiday earlier in the month. I hope to get back to normal in the not too distant future, in the meantime I will visit and post when I can.

*************

1)  Making

We have been away on holiday for a few days and decided to go into the city centre for a bit of a stroll and look around. It just so happened that there was a street party and a good crowd of people. Amongst all the food stalls were one or two more interesting ones and this one caught our attention. An ice sculptor at work. Making!

And I'm sorry there are two pictures but I wanted 

to show you some of his finished work (even though they are not very clear).

2)  Empty

Once more two photos but you need to see the size of the pre meal 'while you are waiting snack' to appreciate the empty bowl below. We were out with our grandson, his partner and friend while on the same holiday. An enjoyable meal followed.

3)  Starts with an F

On another nice day we decided to go and have a look at the 'Cardboard Cathedral' which is being used in place of ChristChurch Cathedral after it was devastated by the earthquake almost seven years ago. This is the font just inside the entrance. The font and base are made from beautiful wood but the upright is cardboard. 

4)  Paper

Now this one is from the archives. We went up to Alexandra one Saturday during the blossom festival a few years ago to watch the procession and just generally hang. When I was young I always thought the procession floats were decorated with blossoms but of course I now realise that is not possible if we want to have summer fruit. So these lovely floats are made with tiny paper flowers.

5)  Neat

I think this tiny pansy is neat. It was only half an inch 

across and those little light dots on the purple are actually

 specks of pollen. I hope you agree this little flower has a neat 

little face as well as being so dainty and pretty.

6)  Street

Still on holiday. On the day we went to view the cardboard cathedral we also found this memorial to the 185 victims of the earthquake across the street. It stands on a street corner and is quite poignant. It consists of 185 white painted chairs. The tiny chair in the front is a baby's car seat and what makes it more moving for me is that it represents a young girl and her tiny newborn baby from my town. They were killed when a building collapsed onto the bus they were sitting in at the bus stop. 

7)  Kettle

This one had my brain ticking over...what to do that was different? Copper kettles? Nah. Electric kettles? Nah. Then one night...an 'Aha' moment. We have a sports field in the city named Kettle Park! So last weekend in I went and took a photo and here it is. Football (rugby) and football (soccer) are both played here but not in the same areas obviously. The park adjoins the beach just over to the left and a wild wind blows off the water at times during the winter. Believe me I know - I've stood in it whilst watching my grandsons playing football (soccer).

8)  Unexpected

Another holiday pic - when we went out with our grandson for an evening meal we saw this round, glass topped table in the main bar but didn't take too much notice. It wasn't until we were leaving that we managed to have a closer look at it - a well in the middle of the bar! Totally unexpected. This is taken looking down the well and that is a light reflecting off water at the bottom. Unfortunately I never thought to find out the background story to share.

9)  Vase

Not very original I'm afraid. I mean what can you do with with 'vase'? I asked myself. And so all I came up with was this pic of shelves of vases in the Warehouse. A real challenge here so I'm interested to see what others have done with it :)

10)   My choice

Back to the holiday pics. I would love to have a ride in a punt sometime. It always seems quite romantic to me. This is a punt on the Avon River in Christchurch. Taken after we had spent a restful afternoon strolling around the botanic gardens.

A photo scavenger hunt

I am joining in a photo scavenger hunt this week with Hawthorn and friends over at I live, I love, I craft, I am me. Some of the photo's are from the archives, some I have used recently and some of you will have seen them before but I hope you still enjoy them.

1:  The setting sun

We had been up the coast to visit the blowholes and the pancake rocks. At the end of the day we headed back to daughters holiday accommodation for a pizza tea. This is the view we had of the sunset over the Tasman Sea from the upstairs sitting room :)

2:  My local wild place

This is a garden in the town where my GKB grew up, so although it is local it is not local local. It is on a hill on the other side of the city. It was established by the artist Ralph Hotere and overlooks the Otago Harbour. All of the plantings are native trees and bushes and those legs you see belong to a sculpture by Shona Rapira Davies titled They do cut down the poles that hold up the sky. A lovely peaceful place to sit and relax and enjoy the native bush without leaving the city.

3:  Mug of favourite drink in the garden

Christmas Day 2016. The family had gathered at youngest daughter's home to celebrate. Dinner was over, the dishes were all cleaned up and put away and it was time to take a cup, or glass, of our favourite drink and relax somewhere and chat. The photo below is me, my daughter and grandaughter sharing a quiet moment together in the backyard. The other two possibly had a glass of wine but my drink of choice was instant coffee, made the way I like it :) Goodness knows where everyone else was, there were at least 20 of us there for the day.

4:  My kind of beautiful

Isn't she beautiful? Well I'm guessing this is a she, cos she looks pregnant to me. Anyway I love these big draught horses and you don't see them around much these days. Don't ask me the breed, I couldn't tell you, I took the photo from the car while we were doing some sightseeing last time we were up Middlemarch way .

5:  Look to the skies

On the same trip up to Middlemarch this was early evening sky at the camping ground we stayed at. My GKB took this photo and some people have said the cloud formation looks like a giant hand in the sky. Anyway I think it is quite dramatic.

6:  Mini beasts

Well you can't see the mini beasts as they are inside the nest. 

This is the nursery web of a nursery web spider and the babies stay inside for couple of weeks. I guess if you don't mind spiders you won't think of them as beasts but if you see them magnified they are very definitely little monsters.

7:  Rain

One evening late last winter we had a shower of rain. Or maybe it was early in spring as I see new buds on these branches. Overnight we had a good old frost. In the morning my GKB took a sequence of photos. The raindrops had frozen on the bare branches of this bush and it looked rather pretty with the early morning sun shining on them. A little like the spindly little bush had been draped with a string of diamonds :)

8:  Something summery

Flowers always say summer but this is 
a photo I love, taken one hot day last summer.

Wouldn't you have thought it would be easier to just get under the table instead of clambering up on top of it to find the little bit of shade afforded by the sun umbrella? This puppy is a real character :)

9:  Urban wilderness

What can I say? An urban area in the wilderness. 

Queenstown, New Zealand.

10: My own choice

Parked up for the winter, caravans on a
 bleak winter's evening in Central Otago.

I hope I haven't been too wordy

See you next week.

Diana