I'm choosing to be brave ....

 "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." 

~ Anais Nin

If I was to dwell on the chaos that has been part and parcel of my life the past two and a bit years I’d implode.

  

That would be rather messy.

  

Staying strong isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.  The tears I shed should never be seen as a weakness though but rather a release from a situation gone crazy.

Despite the chaos there is so much to be thankful for.

Insanely humorous moments spent with friends, both in the phsycial presence and the cyber.  

Happy moments with a chocolate brown hound and the significant other in the waves.  

  

Proud and humbling moments sharing the joy of what I see through the lens. 

Magical moments witnessing the beauty and power of Mother Nature.

These are the REAL moments in time and these are what DEFINE me.

This weekend has been one of those REAL moments. 

 It’s been full of fun, of opportunities to expose myself ... yes, figuratively ... and marvel at the talent and creativity of so many people.  I’ve had the space to lose myself in the beauty created by others with the help of Mother Nature.

From rambling with Sam and the hound at Takapuna to participating in another successful market at Browns Bay to a Garden Festival yesterday, it’s been a weekend of highs.

Birds, butterflies, reflections, water, and an abundance of all things beautiful leaves my soul replenished and my camera so full of images that it groans.

The Heroic Garden Festval is an eye candy overload of a very different kind.

 It takes 21 gardens and opens them to the public.  

Gardens of every form, shape and size.  These gardeners are passionate about their gardens.  It’s THEIR blood, sweat and tears that creates the masterpieces that they are.  Cheap labour ISN’T an option.

We didn’t manage to see ALL the gardens but what we did see was awe-inspiring.

Even the significant other enjoyed it!

Not so the hound as she was ‘home alone’ but she’d had her share of fun on Friday and Saturday.

Sharing a glass or two of the fermented stuff and an impromptu evening meal with a friend finished our weekend on a high.

THIS is what life is all about and this is what makes the chaos more manageable.

Moments.  

Memories.  

Soul food.

My world has it all.

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

~ Dr. Seuss

Beware Crocodiles! NO swimming.

Loved this sign on a pole across the creek!

The youngest lemming is tired.  For the first time in I don’t know how many years he was in bed asleep before we were on Saturday night.  His lights WEREN’T still on at 1, going on 2 in the morning!

He has a job!

He’s working at the same Pub as his sister, but as a kitchen-hand over the week-ends.

The chocolate brown hound is becoming a sandy brown hound ... 

When asked by the manager during his interview if he minds washing dishes, his reply was 

“No, I have to do that all the time at home ... at least here I get paid for it.”

The end result ... before the shake!

Cheeky lemming!

She looks like something out of an alien movie!

He IS paid at home .... but in the currency of life - LOVE - and he’s loved abundantly, as are his siblings.  I look at them sometimes ... each a unique individual in their own right and wonder what on earth we’ve done to produce such wonderful caring young people.  They make my world and each day, infinitely more special.

... a Zombie maybe?

This weekend has been a busy one and the hound lost out on her ramble yesterday morning.  We participated in the inaugural Browns Bay Market and it was vibrant and humming!  When a new market opens up, there’s always the fear that it won’t live up to the hype.  There are SO many “Art and Craft” markets springing up and knowing which ones will draw in the crowds is a hit and miss affair.

This one was a hit.  It was in the Plaza of a busy village and we had an awesome position with street and plaza frontage.  They had live music ... a duo called Stray Dogs ... who played a great selection of music and created an awesome vibe. This is a market we’ll definitely be going back to!

So much happens in my part of the world some week-ends ... it gets difficult keeping up with it all!  Our roads and beach were inundated with visitors this morning as the Weetbix Kids Tryathlon took place in our bay.  It’s in its 21st year of running and St. Heliers is one of the 13 locations throughout NZ that it takes place in. 

We had to queue out the door for our caffeine fix at 8 in the morning!!

The hound couldn’t understand WHY she couldn’t go play in the waves with all these little people.  The race started at 9 and hounds have to be off the beach by 9 so we were leaning on the railing on the boardwalk watching the start.  Pete came along and joined us.  The hound was lying in the sand beneath us .... yes, illegally .... burying her ball ... until she saw all these bobbing heads in the water.

The wavery warbling started .... and it didn’t stop.  She was letting all around us know in a highly vocal way that she wanted to go join those bobbing heads in the water.  From her perspective it was a zillion different coloured balls, each of which needed to be retrieved.

We’d been discussing the cricket with Pete .... he’s a closet Protea fan I reckon.  He told us about the Heroic Garden Festival which takes place each year and raises funds for Hospice. 

This particular festival was started 17 years ago and was designed to showcase gay and lesbian owned gardens, and garden creators.  It’s become so popular and widespread that it now includes the gardens of other Hospice supporters too.

We only went to two of the gardens ... the ones Pete told us about .... which border on Churchill Park and have the creek running through them.  They were amazing and well worth the visit. 

Unbeknown to me, my friends the Lahoods sponsor this Festival through their business!  

Well done Pete and Carol!

An eel in the creek ... there were several .... but couldn't find any crocs!

How original is this!  An old car tyre turned into a Horse swing!

The mural painted on one of the walls at the back of the Phoenix Plaza in Browns Bay