Saturday 16 March 2013

Why Make Plans?

David aka Marcel frequently quotes Spike Milligan's saying that if you don't have a plan then nothing can go wrong.  I'm not at all sure that in real life that's particularly accurate but I can't recall a day in the recent past when everything I planned came to fruition.  Take today for instance.  There is a croquet tournament on at our Club for four days starting today.  I'm not playing today nor tomorrow so I decided that today I would catch up with correspondence and reading a friend's draft degree dissertation.
Last night The Family were here for dinner and Wendy said that she was experimenting with a new dish for dinner today and would I like to accompany them all on their afternoon walk, a swim and dinner.  Of course I would.  After all it's the perfect outdoors weather ....... provided that you are not a farmer.

So we went for a walk:

How does he do that?
and then a quick back flip
OK let's just walk
or perhaps plank
no, walking's too simple
and finish off with a little exercise

And then some swimming.  Actually the amount of swimming was minimal.  Why do youngsters never just get into a swimming pool?



Dinner was excellent and all in all it was a splendid day and I even managed to read the dissertation twice so tomorrow I will be able to concentrate on digesting it properly.  Unless, of course, things turn out differently....

26 comments:

  1. Now I am jealous.....a I'm too old for such gymnastics and here it is cold and miserable.
    You did well to catch him mid air. Perfect shot!

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    1. I could never do such things even when I was young Adrian. I cannot turn upside down without vomiting or passing out. Gymnast, moi? Non.

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  2. Lovely day - dry everywhere...
    We have those exercise machines here too . They break the walk up nicely :)

    Plans are helpful but they need to be flexible. Bend like the willow or you will snap.

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    1. Yes Fiona. Bend or snap. I learned to bend a long time ago but not before I'd snapped a few times!

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  3. Those are nice views from that swimming pool and the pool looks very inviting.

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    1. It was Kay. It was so warm too. We spent a lot of time in it!

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  4. Great walk , swim and story! Now if I did the post thing I break into many pieces.

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    1. I thought about several posts Red but decided on just one because it was just one glorious afternoon.

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  5. Oh look at those dry hills and dry ground! Hope the rain that blew quickly through here this morning lingered down your way. Great action shots of the kids.

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    1. No Pauline. It didn't really linger for longer than to dampen the surface. However we have a tournament starting tomorrow and we are promised heavy rain. Ho hum. Can't really complain though the farmers' needs are more important than our desires.

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  6. You have had a wonderful day!! Now I want to go on a vacation seeing these pictures. Cheers, Ruby.

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    1. One of the advantages of retirement and living in a place like this Ruby is that every day is a sort of vacation - however busy one is.

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  7. dat is toch heerlijk genieten.

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  8. Spontaneity is a GOOD thing....looks like a wonderful afternoon with the family...lovely family photos to reminisce later on.
    I like the outdoor gym equipment in the park, we don't have that here...but would be welcome I'm sure.

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    1. Yes, Virginia, It's been good to look back at the family photos I've taken over the last 8 years since I first came to New Zealand.

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  9. I would be a nervous wreck if that was my son, lol! An Olympian in the making?

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    1. Fraser has always been a natural gymnast Lisa. He seems to have an innate knowledge of what he can and can't do safely although even I sometimes (and I'm not a Mum!) have my heart in my mouth.

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  10. It's always great to be with family. Not sure I would have been relaxed seing my grandson doing these tricks. Great weather you're having over there.

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    1. Bill the weather's great for those of us who are not farmers although the loss to the economy could affect us all in the long run. As I said in response to Lisa Fraser seems to know what he can do safely but I'm not always that relaxed about it.

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  11. I notice that his Mum's hands are all clenched while he was doing the backflip :-D Nat used to do those on the trampoline. Marvelous! Oh, and I hope the tourney went well. RAIN (!) here.

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    1. Wendy should be well used to Fraser's antics, Katherine, but she is a Mum after all. Some rain here last night and again this afternoon but we need a lot more.

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  12. If your intention was to make everyone envious of the fantastic good weather and the equally fantastic pictures you took, then you fully succeeded - another plan that worked out :-D

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    1. Well it wasn't really a conscious intention Meike but I suppose it must have been a subconscious one and so, yes, the plan seems to have worked out.

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  13. I nearly held my breath viewing what those energetic dumplings were doing. fantastic capture on your part!
    thank you for the kind words on my posts.

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    1. Thanks Norma. I had the camera in my hand, of course, and just managed to press the shutter at the correct moment.

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