back in the land of reality......

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The weekend was super lovely!

We visited several vineyards to eat scrumptious food, and drink fabulous wine in incredible settings. It really was all about eating, drinking and laughing all weekend.

We wandered the town center in search of all things girly. :) And while we were all fairly restrained in purchasing - I had great fun looking at things.

I did manage to order something for mum, which we saw when we were last there a few years ago - not bad planning for September.

Oh - and other big news... my brother got engaged last week. They had originally thought about having the wedding in Rarotonga in August - but it sounds like it will be closer to home in Septmeber, which still doesn't leave them much time to plan a wedding.

I'll be back to post photos later....

Peace and Joy!

xxxx

running away.....

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Since it's a long weekend, I'm running away to Napier for a girlie weekend.

My friend in Wellington mentioned it when I was down there, and since I went there with mum when I first moved here I've wanted to get back.

Napier is a town famous for it's art deco buildings. It's situated on the East Coast with the city skirting around the edge of the ocean and all around are vineyards.

I've rented a little cottage which is down a tree lined street and a short walk to downtown. It looks darling from the photos. I'll be staying there with a friend who is bring a friend of hers, and then the other girls are staying in a motel down by the beach.

So a total of 6 girls wandering the streets of Napier and checking out the scenery for a few days.

I can't wait!!

I've just charged the camera battery, so will be sure to post photos on my return.

Hope everyone else has a super lovely weekend.

xxx

Remember....

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It's ANZAC day tomorrow..... which stands for Austrlian and New Zealand Army Corps. This group was part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies back in 1915. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 7000 New Zealand soldiers were wounded at Gallipoli and 2721 were killed. The Australian army also suffered heavy casualties: 26,111 were injured and 8,141 were killed.

The first Anzac Day took place on 25 April 1916. As time went on, the ceremony of remembrance was extended to the soldiers of the Second World War. It now honours all New Zealanders and Australians who have served in a military campaign.

My Great Grandfather was one of those injured Gallipoli peninsula. Sadly he was blinded from British shrapnel during the attack. He later became involved in setting up different schools around the world to give soldiers skills to cope with their own blindness.

He wrote a book "Tales of a Trouper" which was published in 1920 about his experiences at Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli peninsula.

From what I've read, and heard he sounds like he was incredibly stubborn and unlikely to quit anything he started. Perhaps the strong willed attitude runs in the family?

This poem, while written by a Canadian medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae during WWI always reminds me of the sacrifice and the lives that were given for our independence and freedom.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Peace.

A Friday night..

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On a Friday night…..

I’m sitting in a café, Main street Hamilton, on the night of the first day of the Hamilton 400. The city has taken on a new look. There is a band blaring outside on the main street; it having been closed to all cars for the night – and the restaurants have made the most of it with lots of outside seating – no longer a footpath in sight as people begin to spill onto the streets.

I haven’t been in the best of moods today.

My boss ran off to watch the racing, which is great. In the lead up to the huge event he became more and more like a child in a candy store. It was actually wonderful to see someone who was looking forward to something so much. I’m glad he took the day off to go and enjoy it.

I don’t mind being left in the office, but it was dead!

Everyone in the electrical industry was down there enjoying it. I rang a few of my suppliers and all I could hear while I was talking to them was a brrrrrrooooooooooom every few seconds as a car zoomed past. Quite amusing, while they tried their best to convince me that they were in fact working hard.

I’m beginning to feel more and more like a little fish swimming in an enormous pool/lake/ocean…….

It’s not that I feel out of my league as such… more like I’m just stuck and don’t know how to grow this into something bigger.

I guess that ultimately scares the hell out of me because what if I do decide to start doing my own thing. Ultimately I would like to work for me, but would I get to this same place and begin to flounder around too. What would be different? Just the fact that I needed to succeed because it was that or fail myself?

Do I feel complacent because I’m working for someone else who just doesn’t challenge me, or really encourage me to do anything different – therefore I get more bored, but less inclined to jump up and do anything because it’s really not even expected.

Mediocre is alright?

Since when was I ok with being mediocre????

I’m not!

New Plymouth, Taranaki

another month.....

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I've been running around like a headless chicken for the last few months and finally have a weekend to myself this weekend. :)

I'm not complaining.... looking back, I've had a great time spending some wonderful quality time with friends. One can never take those moments for granted!

Danica and Neil got married a two weeks ago today. It was a beautiful day with the sun shinning and occasional passing shower.

The ceremony was at a vineyard and we had photos scattered around there before heading to the beach to play in the sand. It was actually a lot of fun! The groomsmen were all farming boys, who were cheeky, and extremely sweet. I'm actually incredibly surprised that no one ended up in the water. The tide was even coming in, making it very easy for someone to have become very wet.

We were then entertained or brought to tears by speeches, ate scrumptious meals and proceeded to rock and roll the night away!

WOHOOOO!!!

I didn't actually end up with many photos after we were all dressed and ready to run.........