Coming Up Close

  These 2 guys come into my work regularly. The one on the left owns this trike, apparently it cost him thousands of dollars to put it together. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday .

  A young man waiting for coffee at my favourite cafe, and they do make the best coffees. It's been a week for us of thunderstorms, rain and hail. Welcome to Spring. Last year at the same time we had constant rain week after week until finally in Summer we had drought restrictions and daily temperatures of 32 degrees. I'm predicting the same for this year.  Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Along Karangahape Road - the pub in the photo was licenced in 1862 to Mr George Pearson as the Naval Hotel but the licence was petitoned against by 90 local residents. It was the first on this road of Colonial Auckland but it is good to know that it is still being used as a pub. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  These flowers are currently on my neighbour's plum tree but sadly this tree is due to be cut down and removed in November when he plans to put a new fence in, he does have a second plum tree elsewhere in his backyard too but it means we will no longer be able to pick up plums off the ground on our side of the property. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday .

  About 20 minutes outside of Greymouth is the small village of Blackball. It has a lengthy history associated with coal mining and industrial action but it was originally a gathering place for gold miners. The cemetery is alot bigger than this photo shows, this is only a small part of it overlooking the road. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday .

  I think from memory I took this quick photo as I was leaving my hair appointment one day. The man in the photo looked like he was pacing back and forth waiting for someone outside the chemist next door. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Down Mackay Street which is one of the main roads in town is my favourite shop "Pins and Needles" - I usually buy my crochet wool here and they have lots of other crafts too. We've had such nice late Winter/early Spring weather here that it's been a pleasure to walk around without wearing a warm coat. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday , All Seasons  and  Tom's Signs .

  It's beginning to feel like Spring here. I drove past our local council buildings last week to see that daffodil sculptures had been put up on display in front of the fountain. These flowers are the one that New Zealand's cancer society use in order to raise funding for their organization. The wooden sculptures have been made by a local community group "The Menz Shed". I'm not sure why someone's rugby boot got thrown up onto the grass though. Edited to add: here's my first daffodils that came up last week. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday .

  Old Napier Cemetery in Hawkes Bay is literally one of my favourite places. So quiet, beautiful and peaceful. Some of my Scottish ancestors on my mothers side - the Dunlop clan are resting here. Linking up with Mosaic Monday .

  Grafton, in upper Auckland City is one of my favourite areas to visit. So many old buildings mixed with the new ones. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  This is an old photo from about 7 years ago when we lived in Tauranga. I think this is a suburb called Bureta? With Mount Maunganui aka Mauao in the background. The supermarket that says "Countdown" has now been changed back to the original name of "Woolworths". We class Tauranga has being a city now rather than a town as the population has grown significantly over the years. But the real estate prices are through the roof and are very very expensive. We would move back there if we could but it's above our budget. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  Lately I've been seeing 3 fat Kererū aka wood pigeons out in my backyard. We are just about to go into Spring in September so they are no doubt waiting for berries on trees and for my Kowhai tree to bloom as they like to eat the nectar from the flowers.  It was a bleak late Winter's day in the top photo so I found the above photo online to show whar the bird's colours look like. This video is a view of my neighbour's shed and plum tree which overhangs my backyard. The bird singing is that of a Bellbird aka Korimako. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday ,   All Seasons .

  I saw these 2 boys at the local skatepark yesterday afternoon enjoying the fine days we've had. This skatepark is always an incredibly popular place.

  Last time we were visiting Franz Josef we stopped at a local cafe and enjoyed quite a decent lunch. My youngest child who is 25 years old ordered a meal of chips/fries and to us this was a huge portion, bigger than I think we have ever seen. It took us all over an hour to try and get through them and then we ended up taking the rest home. Best chips I've ever tasted and here in New Zealand chips/fries are a big thing and very very popular. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  We have been fortunate enough this Winter to have had mostly sunny cold days. The highs in temperature during the day have been around 14 degres celsius with lows of around 1 degree at night. the colder it is at night, the more likely we will have sun the next day. We've had rain on and off but nothing like flooding around the rest of New Zealand. Apparently people are dropping like flies with the typical Winter coughs and colds. Every years i get the flu vaccination which really helps cut down the amount of times I get sick. This week has been the first time this year i've been in bed with the flu, not doing too badly I think. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  Photo taken in Autumn about 5 years ago. Napier - Wharerangi Cemetery. Opened in 1948 and is mostly dedicated to returned servicemen and women who played a part in the 1st and 2nd world wars. B and I visited here about 5 years ago to pay respects to his grandmother and her husband. This is not the entire cemetery, it's only a small part of it. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday .

  This is a photo of my late grandmother on my mother's side. Catherine Janet de Silva (nee Dunlop) born 1916 was 3/4 Scottish and 1/4 Irish. I have many memories of her, such a strong woman. My middle name is Catherine, as is my daughter's. Her mother and grandmother were all named Catherine. She basically raised 9 children herself, consisting of 5 under 5 and 4 at school while my grandfather worked long hours. When she was alive as a family we would have dinner parties and gatherings. Everyone would get together at someone's house and all us cousins would play together while the adults socialised. Referencing Dawn Treader's post about temperance involves this lady. She was a staunch Catholic but regularly she would come around to our house when I was growing up for dinner and she would enjoy a glass of Sherry or Carolans (a liqueuer). At family gatherings everyone would drink but no one got drunk if that makes sense. Drinking was a healthy thing used for socialising ...

  One from Auckland International Airport. This is only one small part of the whole area, a cafe named the Gypsy Moth. It is the busiest Airport in New Zealand but not the only one. The smaller regions have airports that are domestic whereas Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, Wellington and Christchurch are international. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .