Pickled Onions....

Had cravings for these lovelies for the past few days...

Couldn't find any decent ones in the shops so decided to make some...

Now for the wait.... !!

Neighbours for supper...learned some of the past history of this house... I am not the first offbeat to live here.... ;o)

I am the Fool....

You are the Fool

You are a fascinating person who is way beyond the concerns of this world.
Young at heart, you are blissfully unaware of any dangers ahead.
You are a true wanderer - it has be difficult finding your place in this world.
Full of confidence, you are likely to take a leap of faith.

Your fortune:

You are about to embark on a new phase in your life.
This may mean changing locations, jobs, friends, or love status.
You are open about what the future will bring, and free of worry.
You have made your peace with fate, and you're ready to start down your new path.

What Tarot Card Are You?

And the winner is.........

I just love meeting and finding happy, beautiful people, and my latest origami crown award goes to:

http://jimmahgee.livejournal.com/

Go see why for yourself :)

Monday Monday....

Not sure wether Mondays get easier or not but I don't mind them too much.... Actually it was always Sundays evenings that gave me the real downers..anticipation being far worse than realisation in this case ;o)

Helped out in school which was fun and had busy day in town.... with a Mocha thrown in of course...and a new Tarot deck...and a very old book about NZ I started reading a while back, lost and then managed to order..... :))))))

My firstborn has been accepted into the college choir as a soprano...... :o) Joyful stuff indeed!!!

Got a book from library called *I Live Here now*.....about a Brit lady who moved to NZ in the 50's at the age of 46 and started a new life...

Well... I live here now too... and I grow pumpkins, and have developed a taste for the local ales... current favorite is Monteith's Summer Ale.... most slurpalicious ;-P

Body Painting.....

Today we did body painting......

I always wanted to be painted and me and the kids had a go..it was fun!!!

We painted Phoebe too, she was so cute ;o)

Would love to be painted properly..maybe even tattooed....

*More* tattooed......I want a tattoo to tell a story of me and this land I love.....

Beautiful Bays.....

Spent the day driving from Rarangi to Picton, via Port Underwood...

The bays were so peaceful and just stunning...... I wanted to swim in all of them....

But we had to get back for the school bus...

Had lunch in Picton, and discovered Monteith's Summer Ale *slurp*....

This land just gets better...and better......

Go Phoebe Go....!!!!!

Yay!!!

We took the stabilisers off Phoebe's bike tonight, and she was pedalling on her own, right away.... woohoo!!!

Go little Phoebe go...!!!!

and Jandals.... ??

Went to town to get Polly new trainers and they had a Jandals sale (Flip Flops to the Poms..)

buy one get one free....

I just love Flip Flops.... especially the Pink Panther ones... :o)

Hmmm I thought I didn't like *PINK* !!!!!

Pumpkins....

My pumpkins are thriving here..in spite of it being fairly dry...we have had some decent rains recently though...

Liked this shot with the fence and the shadows...

Valentines Day..and the *PERFECT* gift...

I got my first ever Valentine's gift..well the first I remember...and cards and messages!

Actually I got the gift on Friday, it is a combined *Anniversary and Valentines* gift...and was a total surprise ..!

Since I first came to New Zealand I have wanted a Greenstone Koru... Greenstone is found on the South Island and it's name in Maori is the same name they give to this Island...

Te Wai Pounamu ..... The Water of the Greenstone

The Koru is symbolic of a curled fernleaf.... unfurling and reaching towards the light, towards new life....

It strives for harmony and perfection and positive new beginnings...

It represents rebirth, spiritual renewal and hope for the future....

What more perfect gift could I have been given?

Thank you...x

A Birthday...!

It's all anniversarys right now it seems and emotions are high..

Polly is 11 today..her second Kiwi birthday....

She got chooks last week wekk 3 bantams, they are called Gentleman, Cobbled and Peeper..

Tried to pose the bantams with the lambs for a surprise birthday card, but had to get some help from Photoshop :)

I wish photoshop could make cakes....

Possum guys have gone now, seems quiet round here...

Our Kiwiland Anniversary !!!!!!!!

Hmm the morning was lazy....

Went to the Wairau Bar this afternoon.... where the river meets the sea...neat..

...the sea.. woohoo!!

We have beeen here in NZ a *WHOLE YEAR*

feel very emotional....

Saturday.....

A year ago I was crossing the Pacific.....

Made a kind of fence so the sheep could stay in their paddock..

Jo came round and we had a laugh with Baza..see pic ;-P

My friend Bruce rang from LA..we spoke for ages, he sounds good....

A Lovely Day...

Lovely day......

Had slow lazy breakfast after bus run, and then went into town where they had a big street market...and we had Mochacinno and lovely juicy plum and ginger cake in CPR....

Warm day but this evening was pretty cool.. Terry came round and Baza and I got a fire roaring..the open fires are awesome!

First to see the *LIGHT*

This is soooooo cool !!!

New Zealand is the first place to release this new light marking technique for fruit instead of the stickly labels they use.

They released these plums on Waitangi Day as part of Celebrate New Zealand month, and were giving out free samples in Countdown.

Very clever marketing with the first to see the light phrase, and I love the laser etching....

The plums were sweet and delicious too :o)

Waitangi Day.....

Lazy day....

I been here almost a year.. remember this holiday last year from the other end of the planet!!

Went for a walk and took this cool pic.... another *O*

Well I like it; the other pic is just this gorgeous valley......

Blues Brews n BBQ's

Had a brilliant day!!!

We went with Jo and Bernie to BBnB...

Beautiful weather, neat music, great atmosphere and I tried some lovely beers to boot..

Yummy indian food, although the last taste I had was too hot... funny cos now I crave more of it LOL!!!

And the company was delicious......

Tofu :)

I love this guys tat... !!!

Oh and I just liked the colours in the Coke pic!!

Soap and Mocha and Possums...

Boo and Phoebe have made a new friend....

This is a photo of him with them...

And a close up of my *M* for Mochaccino (little things.......)

Another neat day..found a wonderful soap shop.. *YUM*

Had to come home today though :o(

Baza was here to greet us, he is monitoring the valley for Possums so is staying a while...