Coming Up Close

I'm not sure what this sign was still doing up on a fence next to the Cobden Tavern as I think from memory the local elections ended quite some time ago. I know that when I saw it, it made me laugh as it almost sounded like Harley Davidson motorbikes but spelled differently. The only update for us this week is that I've had to contact a 2nd garden maintenance company to take away some green waste we have in the backyard from when we took out some unwanted shrubs. The 1st company we contacted promised twice they would turn up then we never heard from them again so hopefully this lot are a bit more reliable. We have drizzle forecast for the rest of the week - rain is still needed here but I can't see it getting as hard and flooded as Auckland and Northland have it, in fact it's been handy being able to put my plants outside for a feed. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday , All Seasons   and  Tom's signs .  

B and I went for a short drive last week down our road and discovered the Grey River is about a 4 minute drive. This spectacular scenery is what we have virtually in our own backyard. Although poor Auckland has been under water with some serious flooding we've had 30 degree temperatures and the town is on water restrictions for those using the main water supply. Fortunately we are able to use this or stick to our water tank which we've done successfully so far, we haven't had to fill it up at all from the main town supply. It's strange that the north island and south islands seem to have swapped climates - you would expect we would be getting the opposite events that we've been having. I remember when I was a child growing up in Auckland, many summers were spent at many of the beaches up there and we would have endless hot sunny days but now they just don't seem to have them. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Ruby Tuesday ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of t

I've spotted some new murals around Greymouth recently which were created as part of the the Chorus Cabinet Art Programme. This one is in Cobden symbolizes a Cherry Blossom Tui and was painted by local artist Bless Groome. Linking up with  Mural Monday .

 Another one from Hokitika, this time an old worldly lollie shop we found. C (my youngest son) and R (my daughter) were happy to buy some of their old favourites from there but personally I've seen better selections in a similar shop in Arrowtown (Queenstown). So this week while we are sweltering in hot summer temperatures and the local council has put in place water restrictions, Auckland and Northland have been declared a state of emergency due to flooding and heavy rain. It's almost like the North and South Islands have swapped climates. Linking up with  Weekend reflections   and the  Weekend roundup .

It's not often any of us order from the breakfast menu at McDonalds - I just find their food a bit bland for my liking however as a one off B and I ordered some eggs benedict bagels which weren't too bad. While we were waiting for our food we were looking at this view out the window - apart from a couple of drizzly days of light rain this has been our daily view of the skies. Not bad I think. This week has been entertaining as our country's new prime minister has been chosen as Chris Hipkins (which I personally think is a good choice) after Jacinda stepped down. I tell you what, I certainly wouldn't want to have their job having my life in the limelight, being constantly maligned by people online and some of the things I've read people saying about her have been vile. How would they feel if it was their family member being spoken about like that? I have to wonder if she was a man would people have still treated her the same way? I think people should put their money

On Saturday before work B and I visited a local Antiques and Collectors Fair in town. I had a sneaky suspicion that everything being sold there may be overpriced but we decided to check it out anyway. Gold coin donation meaning $1 or $2 coin donation which was fine and although we found the displays of what people had found to be interesting most of the items being sold sadly were indeed a bit expensive for my liking. I loved seeing the Rupert the Bear annuals which were a favourite from my childhood and one book in particular which was about west coast gold mining caught my attention but after the seller told me the price for it was $85 I thought better of it, I can probably find the same book elsewhere alot cheaper. We were a bit disappointed overall and probably won't bother with next year's. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Ruby Tuesday ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .