Little and Large

"Daddy. Will I be like you when I grow up?"
The Handbag next to Mike's car in Gisborne.

Surely You Prefer These

This is an electricity Sub-Station in Gisborne. Surely, Marcel, despite your comments on previous postings of wall art, you must prefer this to some of the drab and unappealing buildings that are sub-stations in the UK.

Did I Tell You?

My partner for the Rose Gardens Doubles Tournament in Palmerston North was Zoe: A fifteen year old with huge potential to go all the way in New Zealand croquet and who has dropped in handicap from a 12 to a 10 in the last few weeks.   I don't think I have ever played with anyone with whom I've had a greater understanding.  We seemed instinctively to know what each of us required from the other.  We won the Tournament without dropping a single game. It was exceptionally rewarding.

At one stage I was flagging.  I'd played a hard week in the Nationals and this was our fifth or six game of the day.  I was walking up the lawn towards my ball when Zoe came up behind me and casually said "Come on Graham.  Lift your game."  Had any other partner said that to me I'd probably have been slightly miffed.  As it was it seemed to be so natural.  It lightened me and, guess what, I lifted my game.  I now need a little Zoe to sit on my shoulder whenever I'm down in a match to remind me.

There's An Urgency

Last night it was dark at 8pm.  The moon shone all night turning the night into a sort of blueish day.  When I woke this morning the clear sky had lent assistance to the southerly airflow and the morning was crisp and cold (6 deg on the deck).  Until now the morning temperatures have been in the high teens.  Instead of throwing them open I poked my nose through the ranch sliders.

Then I started thinking.  Yesterday I bought a pair of shorts which were on sale on a rack outside Tarradale's smart menswear shop.  And what else had I noticed as I walked past the Tarradale shops?  Signs saying that the winter collections were in store.  Shorts on sale and winter things in the shops. 

I think that I now have to admit that there may be a hint of autumn in the air.

Then I put out the rubbish and realised that it was Thursday.  I have been home for three clear days and have achieved so litttle of the things I mean to do before my visitors arrive.

I had put on Alicia de Larrocha playing Granados's Goyescas: music with an emotional urgency that almost drives you to tears. 

Suddenly I was gripped by an urgency I haven't felt for a very long time. I wanted to type faster.  I wanted to be doing the next posting.  I wanted my shower and breakfast to be over so that I could get to the next thing that has to be done.  Suddenly my mantra of enjoying every minute of life for what it is, vanished.  I have so much I want to achieve.  I want to be here and I want to be there.  There is so much to be done before the precious moments that I have left have vanished.   I do not have enough time.

And I'm not alone in that.

A Saying a Day

Signs like this are quite common in New Zealand. I don't recall it being usual anywhere else I've been. Anyway as a lover of quotes I enjoy it. This one was near where we had breakfast in Wanganui.

Breakfast in Wanganui

One morning in Wanganui we decided to go out for breakfast. I just love street café life and the weather was ideal so off we set:

No it wasn't wine - just water - even we don't have wine for breakfast!

I usually have muesli, honestly

I love arcaded shops: dry in the rain and shady in the sun.

Plan? What Plan?

My day today (Tuesday) was to be very simple. Crouqet this morning. Lunch with a friend. Put in an appearance at pétanque and spend the late afternoon and evening cooking dishes to be frozen for the visitors for the next few weeks. Did it all happen that way? Of course not.

Wendy rang just as I was about to play in the first game of the day. Would I take the children to gym this afternoon? No problem. Of course I would.

Because I was to be ferrying children I skipped pétanque and arrived home mid afternoon and started cooking. In hindsight I should have ironed the sheets for my bed because I've just had to make it using different sheets and late evening is not bed-making time! Wendy arrived home with a car hors de combat in need of some TLC. Eventually the children's gym was abandoned. Wendy took The Handbag and I was left holding the baby so to speak.

I decided that, as soon as Wendy came home have to go and get a few odds and ends to finish the evening's cooking. Wendy arrived home with a friend who promptly produced a bottle of vino and poured us all a drink. Wendy fed the children. By 8pm, we had put the world to rights, decided that President Obama was a Good Thing after the day's declarations on Science and consumed enough wine to ensure that none of us did anything too serious for the rest of the evening. We opened one of the venison stews that I had ready for the freezer and ate a hearty meal.

Having had just 4 hours sleep last night (caused by an exceptionally late to bed and early to rise not insomnia) I have decided to have an early night.

Another Good Day has passed. Perhaps tomorrow will go to plan. Then again.........

Post script: I was in bed at 1045 and by 1048 I was away in the land of nod.

Why Did That Happen?

All the fonts on my Blog suddenly changed. I tried three different browsers and the problem persisted. Did anyone else have that problem or see my blog with a HUGE font? I eventually went into 'Layout' and changed everything back. But I'm still curious as to how it all altered in the first place.

Bulls: A Good Place To Eat

When we arrived in Bulls on our way to Palmerston North from Wanganui we stopped because I wanted to take photographs and it was a good place to stop for a bite of lunch. There will be a lot more photos to come but this is where we ate. For some reason I haven't fathomed it was called Mothered Goose and was excellent.

On a wall was written: "Life isn't about dawdling to the grave, arriving safely in an attractive, wrinkle-free body but rather an adventure that ends skidding in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, totally worn out, screaming "Yee-ha. What a ride!!" "

It was here, too, that we saw something that cracked Jayne and I up - the othere didn't see it. One of the waitresses noticed fingerprints on the entrance door (above) and decided to clean them (it was that sort of a place) with a cloth on one hand and a spray of cleaner in the other. She held the door open with a foot so that she could clean both sides. With a hand on each side of the door she sprayed one side and rubbed the other. It took her a few seconds to realise why she couldn't wipe the spray off. It's just the sort of thing I could have done.

Moving House

In Wanganui we went up to the Durie Hill Elevator Tower.  From there one has the most marvellous views across Wanganui.  What really took my eye, however, was just below the tower where there was a house which was about to move.  I blogged about moving house last year. This was the first one I'd seen since then and, looking at the location, how they were going to get it away from the site completely escaped me.