First world problems

Power outage = NO rugby.

I know.  First world problem.

I had it all in hand.

Alarm set for VERY early am.

Decoder set to the rugby channel.

Extra blanket on hand to wrap myself in.

Chocolate brown hound for company.

SOME things though you  can’t control.

Like the power.

So I MISSED the rugby

and from all accounts, it was a marvelous battle.

Back to the power outage though.

This hasn’t  been your more general run-of-the-mill power outage. 

Fires at sub-stations do that I guess.

Of the 85 000 households initially affected by the outage, 20 000 are still without power over 24 hours later.

We’ve been relatively lucky and were only without power for 16 hours, 

then lost it again this morning.

The business district of St. Heliers is STILL without power.

And mobile phone signal.

NO work for me.

No power = no lights, no phone line, no security, no till.

AND no customers.

The village looks like a ghost town.

I collected the paperwork and came home.

Having moved here from a country that suffers numerous and frequent power outages, 

it stuns me how inadequately prepared New Zealanders are.  

Granted, power outages here aren’t the norm 

but there are still basic steps that should be in place for an outage.

For a start, many homeowners don’t have the were-withal to open their automated gates without power.  It was a given in SA that you knew how and where the manual over-ride for the gates were.  One of the many tweets circulating yesterday was one lauding how marvelously quiet the streets of St. Heliers were as everyone was stuck behind their automated gates!

Funny, but true.

Even here, in The Flat @ No. 14,  I had to climb over the boundary wall.  Fortunately no avid happy snappers have been around to catch the candid moments.  

It’s necessitated the use of a stepladder and some rather precarious moves for one who is so vertically challenged. The youngest lemming, with youth and height on his side, casually lifts himself up and over the wall with nary a backward glance. 

Sigh.

It’s ironic that, in a first world country like New Zealand, a power outage of this magnitude has the potential to bring so much to a grinding halt.

It HAS been entertaining though AND I’ve had an unexpected day off work!

Punctured balls.

Who would have thought Sparrows could look so cute and fluffy!

 "When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge 

to test our courage and willingness to change."

~ Paulo Coelho

This was taken whilst we were in the car crossing Harbour Bridge.
I'm amazed that it came out so well.

I needed a morning like this one.

Breath-taking beauty and exuberance in abundance.

Our morning ramble took us to Takapuna.  

Not with my mate Sam as is the norm, but with the significant other.

... who's feeding the sparrows!

Other Carol, she with the exercise fetish, was heading off to Rotorua for the weekend

to participate in yet ANOTHER half-marathon.  

All the better to prepare her and Pete for their Great Wall of China half-marathon in May.

Takapuna Beach

Yes.  She’s nutty in the extreme.

The first bouncing hound!

She missed out on what was a glorious morning’s ramble.

Boulder hopping, rock climbing

and wading through the waves took us further along the coast than usual.  

Taken from the other end of Takapuna Beach before we began boulder-hopping and rock-climbing.

The remoteness is astonishing. 

The scenery breath-taking.

A food for my soul kind of morning.

My world still rocks, even in all it’s chaos.

Our ramble was FULL to the brim of smile-inducing moments.

Especially after meeting Hugo.

He’s a TIGGER in disguise.

He BOUNCES.  Abundantly.

Into the waves AND back out of them.

He’d even give Sam a run for his money with his exuberance and enthusiasm. 

His human had a tale to tell about Hugo and LARGE balls of the rugby and soccer ilk.

Hugo has expensive tastes where balls are concerned.

He used to have a rugby ball like the hound’s which he loved to chase in reserves and on the beach.  

Whilst chasing it at a reserve one day, 

he was distracted by a group of youngsters playing with a soccer ball.  

Another caffeine addict??

Hugo being Hugo discarded his own ball to join in their game.

Hugo being Hugo punctured their soccer ball in his attempt to catch it.

Maybe.

He had to hang his head in shame.  

The ball he’d punctured was a signed World Cup Soccer Ball with a replacement value of $300.  

His owner was left with only mothballs in his wallet after paying for a replacement ball.

No more pocket money for Hugo.

No more rugby or soccer balls either.

We took the warming signs about falling rocks VERY seriously.
These could cause a bit of damage.

The hound can relate to his story.  

She’s managed to burst a fair number of  balls too.

I'm relieved NONE of them were $300 World Cup Soccer Balls!

"Lovely days don't come to you ... you should walk to them."

~ Rumi

This is a whacky fur-ball.  The hound is wet but he has to rub himself all under her tummy
... and then expects to be dried too.
There's something amiss with the 4-legged members of this family

I need practice!!

Words.  My words.

My bay at sunrise when the tide's out

“I had the right to remain silent, but I didn’t have the ability.” 

~ Ron White

Neither do I.

Would that I could adequately describe an image with words.

In this case, with THIS image, words are superfluous.

The image says it all.

That magical moment that defies description

THAT morning was magical.

It took all the words, the angst, the confusion and blew it into the stratosphere.

Life is about living, NOT just existing and I need to remember that.

I asked the significant other to HOLD the camera whilst I replied to Em's text .... NOT to use it!

The hound has it sussed.

So does Sam.

They have no need of words.

They express themselves in a thousand ways WITHOUT uttering a sound.

Zak, Chocolat and Sam ... a Labrador Puddle

The Shag that Em's and I were stalking

Not so me.

I use a thousand words and more to express myself

and STILL don’t always get my meaning across.

It’s that ‘words falling out of my mouth’ thingy.

TOO many words.  

They tumble out, tripping over one another in their haste to be heard.   It’s not a pleasant sight.

Wine time at "The Spa @ 52"

I need PRACTICE!! 

Loads of it!

A fiery sunset at rugby on Saturday night

I should take a leaf out of Sam’s book.

He’s practised so much at being a feet-seeking missile that he can SMELL us on the beach BEFORE he sees us.

  His race along the beach is fast and furious and only ends when he flings ... yes FLINGS ... his body at my feet and turns upside down for the mandatory tummy rub.

Zak and his reflection

NO words are necessary to express his delight at seeing us. 

It’s BIZARRE but this is Sam.

Words ARE necessary when the time comes to LEAVE the beach though.

Both hounds would stay all day if they could.  

So would I.

I’m convinced they were both BEACH BUMS in a previous life.

That’s why they’re so practised at sand surfing and wave wallowing.

The sand and the waves are where they’re happiest.

I can understand why. 

It’s my happy place too.

Life. is. beautiful.

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” 

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Sky Tower all lit up on Saturday night