Conferencing by the lake

I had an Aglow conference to go to at the weekend

and so my GKB graciously drove me 

and a friend to Te Anau to attend.

This is distance of several hundred kilometres 

which took about four hours including a lunch stop.

Te Anau is situated on the side of Lake Te Anau 

and I would like to tell you that this was the view 

from our lakeside motel, but alas, it was not.

No, twas this :(  

We had a back unit, but never mind, we weren't 

there to look at the view from the motel window.

Te Anau is the jumping off point for tourists heading

  to Milford Sound and the surrounding area, 

so it was interesting to people watch 

as I was eating my breakfast. Some caught buses 

and others were walking into the Town Centre

with their back packs.

The hotel the conference was held in was really 

nice but not so posh that you felt out of place.

Geoff Bear was in the foyer.

On Saturday night we had a dinner and my GKB 

attended with me. That's him on the left beside our friend.

Not many men there but we did have 

another man at our table for him to talk to.

The food was beautiful, cold salmon, 

a selection of hot meats, salads and hot vegetables.

Afterwards there was a selection of cold desserts 

that were replenished as fast as they were eaten. 

It was too easy to overeat , unfortunately :)

especially when there were things I had never tried 

and thought this was my opportunity to do so. 

Oh well, I'll just have to watch what I eat now I'm home again.

joining in the parties at:

Blue Monday

and

Wake up Wednesday

Have a wonderful week, 

take care until next time.

Diana

Black and blue

Because things are a bit all over the place here

 at the moment I don't have time to put up

 a 'proper' post so thought I would join in

 with the party at Blue Monday. 

My GKB has been playing on his camera

 (which is really his cell phone) and loaded

 this to the computer so I thought I would use it.

 I don't know whether it is good,

 bad or otherwise but I like it.

Blue Monday

Have a good week, 
Diana

Saturday's light party

It's a wet and miserable day here, 

not at all like last Saturday evening 

when I volunteered at the Light Party

 in the city's football stadium.

face painters receiving their instructions

The light party is an event put on by 

the Acts of Kindness charitable trust as an alternative 

to the trick or treating of halloween.

It was nice and warm out on the field under the roof.

on the big screen - a *Kapa Haka group on stage 

A gold coin entry and various stalls around about

 selling eats and drinks, at (mostly) reasonable prices.

Non stop entertainment on stage all evening

and lots of bouncy castles, races, games and such like

 for those who are young or young at heart.

Chloe and her mate

Youngest grand daughter Chloe and her friend 

were volunteers as well, on the face painting booth.

the crowd coming in - gate is at the centre right

Their younger brothers and sisters were 

somewhere in the crowd. During the course 

of the evening we went for two 

Guinness Book of world records. 

The first one popping bubble wrap 

and the  second was for holding your hands in a heart shape.

I haven't heard how we got on but it was a lot of fun,

I was roped in as a marshal for that as well :)

tea or coffee and cake $2-00

My main job was working on a tea and coffee booth

and I must admit I had a ball and will 

be volunteering again next year.

The photo above was taken at the end of 

the evening just before we cleaned up.

***********

*Kapa Haka is part of the cultural identity of 

most, if not all, of our primary schools in New Zealand.

I've put an explanation from Wikipedia below.

*Kapa Haka -
Kapa haka is the term for Māori performing arts and literally means to form a line (kapa) and dance (haka). Kapa haka is an avenue for Maori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identity through song and dance.
Kapa haka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapa_haka


Well I hope you all have a wonderful week.
I have a very busy one coming up 
but today's outing has been cancelled so this morning
I took the opportunity to write out some Christmas cards!
I know, I know, but November is a busy, busy, month for me.
Diana

Catch of the day...

...from river to table via the smoker...

Brown trout

Marinating fillets

Smoking

Done

Labour weekend saw my GKB out on a fishing trip 

and he finally caught something he could

 bring home and put in the smoker! 

We bought it a couple of years ago and 

this is the first time we've used it.

Hoping you've had a good weekend.
Until next time,
Diana

Introducing 'Her'

Do you remember 'Missy the Manx minx'?

We looked after her for a couple of weeks at Christmas

 a year or two back, just after she came to live with our daughter.

Well she is now a mama herself and below is one of her offspring.

Meet 'Her', one of three kittens.

She has a lovely long tail.

Her brother has half a tail and her sister has no tail!

We can only assume the daddy was not a Manx, 

which means Missy is still a little minx :)

Then and now...

Back in the beginning of autumn I took this photo

 from the car park up above the motorway into town.

The autumn colour was just starting to show. 

This is what the same area (taken from a 

different angle) looks like at present.

Last week we had fire sweep through and as if that 

wasn't enough there were also gale force winds.

This is just a little bit of the damage.

Behind the treeline there are houses but

 fortunately no homes were affected

 although a lot of outbuildings were destroyed.

About thirty homes were evacuated 

and more in the vicinity were on standby.

You can just see one of the homes

 through the trees in the top left of this picture.

The cattery where Leo goes on holiday 

(my friend's cat) is up this road

 and had to be evacuated as well.

It's just on the edge of the trees.

The road on the left is the motorway 

so the fire came quite close. 

My youngest daughter lives about 500 metres 

up the road from here, their suburb was cut off 

with road closures at both ends.

Something I found quite amazing was this 

blossom tree with everything around it 

burnt black and yet it wasn't touched.

The crews watching for further outbreaks

 have just been stood down today 

and we are expecting rain so that

 will be a relief for everyone concerned.

I think a lot of people are counting their blessings this week.

Daybook entry for October...

I enjoyed taking part in The Simple Woman's Daybook community
way back in June so thought I would indulge myself again this month.
Back then I said I was going to make myself a hot ginger drink -
someone asked me how I made it and I have given the method at the link above.





For today July 6th 2015

Outside my window - the sun is shining and there is a warm breeze.
This a nice change as we have been experiencing 
gale force winds in the last day or so.
The street is quiet with just two kids wandering 
up the footpath with a skateboard and a backpack.
It's the school holidays - another week and they will be back
 to school until the Christmas break.

I am thinking - I should really be doing my daily reading
or sewing up that knitting I've finished.

I am listening to - easy listening radio. This is what I like,
music from the 50's, 60's and 70's is playing at the moment.

I am thankful for -  good health, I can still hear, see and get around,
so what more could I ask for?

I am wearing - red and white tee shirt, navy 3/4 pants and bare feet.

I am creating - I have just finished knitting a snood for my daughter.
I still need to sew it up and I have been putting that off,
 I find it a chore. It hasn't turned out the same as in the pattern
 but it is still okay, she's happy with it and that is the main thing.

I am going -  out for lunch with three other ladies, 
looking forward to it.

I am wondering - how I am going to sleep in this heat.
 I anticipate a lot of tossing and turning 
or sitting up reading when I should be sleeping. 
Maybe we'll turn the fan on in the bedroom, 
we don't have air conditioning through there.

I am reading - I have just finished reading
'My Sister Clare' by Sara Hylton.
I have just discovered this writer and have read
two of her books and found them very enjoyable.

I am hoping - this wind doesn't get any stronger, 
it is no longer a breeze!

In my kitchen - my good kiwi bloke has just made us a coffee
so I will take a break and join him.

In my garden - the spring flowers are getting a beating from the wind.
I've started tidying up and weeding but am pleased that some
of the plants are starting to bush out and hide the weeds, phew.

A peek into one of my days - today, lunch with the girls, 
two trips to the supermarket, 
once for a sick friend and once with Mum
 to do my own shopping and hers. 
Too hot to cook tea so tonight will be
fresh bread rolls with salad fillings :)
My GKB is easy to please.

One of my favourite things - on a hot day like this
 has turned out to be (28 C.) I love a bowl of
 fresh fruit salad and ice cream, any flavour will do.

A favourite quote - Never give up.
Never, never give up.
Never, never, never give up.
- Sir Winston Churchill.

Seems like good advice to me.

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