Still Kickin

With Summer here I've gotten busy with everything..Gardens flourishing - especially the weeds - And we are harvesting and scrumping and foraging and McD is making sauces and chutneys and jams...

And work is - well - work - 

Our south island city of Christchurch suffered a catastrophic earthquake yesterday...So many lives lost and people missing still....The nation is in shock....and those of us watching from the warm comfort of our homes, with our families safe, are humbled by the Bravery, resilience and selfless acts Of the People down there...The city will never be the same. The Cathedral - at the city's heart is lost - the spire that I've climbed before - gone.... But the People will re-build.

Meanwhile - life goes on....   

It's been a while .....

Well - been back at work .. .and Totally lacking in any kind of motivation.. It's not that I have nothing to do either ... I've probably over committed myself again in fact with the work I've taken on ..... But there you go - seems to be my lot at the moment. Hopefully the jobs I'm waiting on some movement in them being progressed and my getting an interview will all start next week .... 



Wellington Harbour



Even then i'm out of practice now in dong the interviews and realistically it's going to take an interview or two to get back to speed on what they are looking for now ..... 



Wellington Harbourfront



Plus I'd rather be fishing :O) 





Put on a little bit of weight over the xmas period ... Not happy about that. So time to stop mucking about and procrastinating and get back into it... Need to get myself another Quack too and go and get tested and get the meds as I've run out .... After some many years I've gotten fed up with the doctor I've had ... So have to change to somewhere closer to town perhaps ..... the Blood/sugar count isn't as good as it should be ...Though within the bounds generally ....



We are keeping the walking going ...but need to make it a daily thing again ... This weeks been hard all round .....



Other than that it's been pretty ho-hum ... Thinking holidays....Thinking hobbies,,,, Thinking anything but work really .......















Pictures are from the garden ... Summer flowers abound ... Pitty the summer isn't ...Pretty cool at the moment and now have the remnants of a cyclone heading for NZ next week .... Won't be bad like Austrailia's Queensland or Victoria though - but had better tie up the tomato vines etc .... 



   

Like this :O)   







Yeh - Bring It ON !!  :O) 

    





  

Pumpkin Harvest

Pumpkins by Us :O)   Not as big this year - biggest reached 20kg...... 











 

The Holiday write-up (6) Still at Tekapo

That evening having eaten fish and chips from the local township (very nice  but a very unhealthy food day) We set off for a walk along the lake side. ....It has become a common thing for people to leave 'rock sculptures' beside roads and anywhere really where there are pebbles ... At least they are easily knocked down I guess .... I believe these sort of things originate from places like Nepal etc ..... 



   













































McD leaves me to join the bus load of Japanese tourists ... All very friendly all said hello 

The Holiday write-up(5) ChristChurch - Lake tekapo

By the time we have gotten through Christchurch proper and found the state highway 1 the rain was coming down in sheets ...But we were in good time despite a fairly long car ride ahead of us to our intended stop over at lake Tekapo... After a while of driving we reached Rakia ... Still raining, but there is a nice cafe there and a giant trout statue ... I've posted the trout picture before ...The Ice cold rain ensure we did a quick sprint to the cafe only this time....



We're losing a lot of the Kiwi style cafe's ... Food is often now pre-packaged and the same plastic crap where-ever you go ... I'm pleased to say this is less of a problem in the South island  and we treated ourself to some wonderful pies and sausages stuffed  with Potato mash ... Not diet food but man it tasted damned good .... 





Then another drive to Ashburton ... A town ship with a good tourist advice centre... A lovely woman rang around for us as we had no accommodation for the night in Tekapo ... But she found a place for us on the side of the Lake. The unit having a complete view across the lake and to the mountains north of it ....



Another drive south and then we turned inland meandering to the lake through another township called Geraldine....A pretty place ...We could live here I mentioned to McD as we drove through missing the turnoff ......



The weather was improving as we drove along ... We stopped at a vantage point to look across a valley ..



 



And then as McD drove I took some shots from the car as we gained height .....







The first 'dustings' of snow had fallen on the mountain tops the night before .... 























And then we arrived - Our first glimpse of Lake Tekapo - The amazing colour is from the glacial flour (Ground rock) thats brought down from the mountains ...... 

























Two Most distinctive mad made features of the lake 1st 

Lake Tekapo, Church of the Good Shepard

 

 



The Hitchhikers guide to the Universe  tells us this was  built in 1935 to the glory of God as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie Country. Congregations of the three main faiths worship regularly in the Church, which offers awe inspiring views of the lake and mountains through the altar window.







We are not sure what the woman in the picture was doing ...She suddenly appeared from the bottom of the picture adjusting her garments ....!!  I'll say no more ...... 



But is there a church with a better view anywhere ?? Let me know :O) 

 

The Holiday write-up (4) Last of Ellerslie Flower Show

As we neared the end of our stay at the show the clouds came over and it started to rain. by we had reached the car it was raining quite heavily .. We set off for the rest of our holiday heading south to Ashburton. Stopping there to arrange accommodation later that night...



Last pictures from the show      























There was an indoor section which held the far mor "Arty" displays :O) 







































































This was a layout to represent the New Zealand forest floor... A light display accompanied the display showing of parts at a time ...See the mushrooms .... 















































This sadly blurry picture is of the famous NZ King Fern ... I think these would look great in the right gardens ..... 























a Fun kids garden ..or for those young at heart types :O) 

The Holiday write-up (3) Still At Ellerslie

Plenty of art work around the show... found this a little freaky... 









Skips as garden ponds .... Not my think but liked the effect ,,, 























The big display of the show - an award winning garden designer came over to do this .... He even persuaded them to allow him this site as it have the view of the lake ....



There's always on who won't get out of teh picture :O) I was stood on a platform to get some pictures....another woman grumbled about mcd being there ..."Tell her to move" I said .... "oh no - we can't do that" she said ... "Well I will" says me ..... 'Oi!!!'  :O)  

































This was about using recycled wood and making it blend with the landscape .... 























Well they seemed to have fun doing it :O) 





















Playground garden