Thematic Photographic 187: Watery

Water: my favourite subject!
How to choose? I may have to do a daily post on this theme until it changes.  

(Well, I would if I wasn't teaching full time, and in the throes of moving house...)

Wind-surfing, Taranaki

 

Surfers, Opunake

After the storm, Waihi Beach

More posts on this theme at Written.Inc

Changes

I mentioned some time ago that we had sold our house and were having to prepare to move. Well, everything went through, the process has processed, and we will be moving out of here on the 24th of March (gasp) - 2 weeks from yesterday.

“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” ~ Deepak Chopra

Ever since we signed the bits of paper we have been packing, sorting, cleaning, throwing out. We have been in this house for 24 years. And we both have the hoarding gene.

Inevitably, there is to be a yard sale (here, it's called a garage sale). Next Saturday. Some things are just too good to send to the rubbish dump, and we'd like to make a little money,  Already I'm panicking; do you put prices on stuff? or just signs that say 'Make an offer'? I've never been to one of these occasions. 

Apparently people turn up at the crack of dawn, or earlier - and I've heard dark stories of subsequent burglaries, after the potential junk-buyers have cased the joint.

We haven't been able to find a house we like enough to buy, so we are renting one while we go about buying a section (= lot) and building a house. 

Guess how much fun that's going to be?

"Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied 

by drawbacks and discomforts"

~ Arnold Bennett

Changes are not just affecting us. Our daughter and son-in-law are preparing to move to Australia, taking with them our two beautiful grandchildren, aged 3 and 1. Guess I'm going to have to save those air points!

I'll keep y'all posted ...

Thematic Photographic 186: Past Its Prime

I have always wanted to do a trip which follows the ancient Silk Road route(s). I will do it one day. In the meantime, I have to make do with photos I took 2 years ago at the site of a Caravanserai in central Turkey. This place was certainly Past its Prime, but that only added to its appeal. When I look at these I can feel the heat, hear the insects, smell the Turkish tobacco the attendant was smoking:

For more posts on this theme, visit Carmi's blog at Written Inc

The summer that never was

In this part of the world, March 1st  marks the end of summer. 

It's the first day of autumn, of fall. 

This morning's sunrise

Normally by now we've pretty much had enough of the heat, the dryness, the long 

summer sunburnt days, and we're pleased to welcome the onset of cooler nights 

and crisp, beautiful mornings.

Not this year. 

This has been THE WORST SUMMER EVER. 

In fact, it never really was summer at all. 

You could count the number of really hot days on one hand. The rest of the time 

it has been wet, windy and almost, at times, cold. I love heat, and hate 

cold weather, so I am definitely feeling short-changed.

Grumpy, even.

I should hasten to add that it has only been like this over two-thirds of the country; 

the southern half of the South Island had a beautiful hot summer. 

I'm movin'!

The news from the northern hemisphere is that there have been 

milder-than-normal winters in many areas. Go figure.

I hope you all have a lovely spring.

sigh

Sunday Snapshot

A few weekends ago, I went with my daughter and my two grandchildren to the

agricultural fair at a small neighbouring town.

There were a number of events during the time we were there:
wood-chopping, Highland dancing, dog-handling etc.

By far the most unusual was a group of women, mostly middle-aged-or-older,
who presented a programme of belly-dancing. They were certainly having a great deal of fun.
The first few numbers were danced to middle-eastern-type music, but then they switched to country-and-western tunes...

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
~ Hamlet

Thematic Photographic 184: Curved

For this week's theme I have a collectic ellection an eclectic collection 

of curved shots from near and far...

I could have done a whole post on my favourite architect/artist, Gaudi - but I restrained myself to just one shot of a ventilation cover on the roof of the Casa Batllo, Barcelona ~

Now I'm inside the Grand Mosque in Bursa, Turkey ~

Walking into, and around the top of, a recently-formed crater of Mt Etna in Sicily ~

Back in New Zealand, here's a wintry late afternoon shot in Wellington ~

and some lovely curvy blossoms in a garden in Taranaki ~

Visiting the Auckland zoo - this is a whale's backbone ~

Three curved shots from my neighbourhood ~

And my last curve: goodnight, moon...

If you'd like to see more posts for this theme, visit Written Inc and look around!

Thematic Photographic 183: Pairs

Some pairs from a day in Auckland for this week's Thematic Photographic - 

visit here to see more.

This pair of native birds made a lovely mural on a wall of a shopping precinct:

And there's a pair  of mannequins in the window:

At the zoo I saw this pair:

 

And a couple of seals sunbathing on a rock.

 

At the Art Gallery I took a pic of this pair - I think the guy spotted me!