Earthquakes and rugby and rain

St. Patrick’s Day had it all in my part of the world.

Disappointment and euphoria from my rugby teams .... webbed feet from all the rain .... excitement at Auckland having two earthquakes and to end the day, the very sad news of the passing of a special aunt in Wales.

Tools of the Trade at the Mount Eden Art Exhibition

I shouldn’t be sad at her passing.  She had an active and involved life and would have wanted us to celebrate her life, not mourn her.  This is when living so far away from family really hurts though.  She was my Dad’s older sister and her passing is almost 10 years to the day since my Dad died.  She was so similar to my Dad and I know my Mom’s feeling the hugest of aches in her heart.  

I just want to put my arms around her and hug her ... but I can’t.

And it hurts.

Sunsets remind me that everything should be celebrated ... 

There wasn’t much to celebrate in my Sharks performance this weekend.  They were anything BUT amazing.  They had home ground advantage and the support of their ever-loyal fans but they let the Brumbies run rings around them!  Worst of all, I got up at 4am to watch this drubbing.

I think I need my head read.

My leek-eaters, on the other hand, put paid to the English in a more than comprehensive fashion.  Those nay-sayers, who thought the English were too strong, were wrong!  Red rules in the northern hemisphere rugby world.

I am more than proud to say I’m Welsh!

We, we being Chocolatandco, participated in what was described as a last “balmy summer twilight market” in Coatesville on Sunday.  It was anything but summery OR balmy.  It was WET, WET and WETTER.  It’s not just the hound that has webbed feet after that much wet stuff.

The whole of North Island has been declared a drought zone so the rain is MORE than welcome ... I just wish it’d waited another day.

In ADDITION to all that rain though, my adopted city which is renown for having little volcanic and earthquake activity,  was rocked by TWO earthquakes yesterday!  Both of them had their epicentres beneath Motutapu Island which is the volcanic island next to Rangitoto.  Maybe that vision of seeing smoke erupting from the cone on Rangitoto isn’t such a fairy tale after all ..... yeah right!

We didn’t feel the earthquakes in Coatesville ... well, I didn’t ....  though the hound might have done.  Just before Gareth texted me to say the house had shook but nothing fell down,  she’d jumped up and barked.  I didn’t give her odd behaviour a thought until I got home and realised that she’d probably felt it too!

Our earthquakes are minuscule when compared to the ones Christchurch had. These two were recorded as a 3.3 and a 3.9 magnitude.

Ho hum .... just another mundane day in the land of the long white cloud.

My mate Sebastian.

 My mate Sebastian went to Doggie Heaven on Friday ... Carol wasn’t ready to let him go but Sebastian knew it was time. He knew that pic I took of him on Thursday was going to be the last one I’d ever take of him and he made sure it was memorable. When I looked through my photos on Thursday morning before posting my blog I was blown away by the light in his eyes and how wonderful he looked ... who would have thought it would be his last outing to the village.  

He was the most dignified of hounds .... and the MOST loved of any hound I’ve yet to meet. I will never forget watching Carol walk up and down the hill every day with Sebastian in tow, taking him for his daily constitutional. It was

always done at his pace .... with no hurry .... this was “Sebastian time”. 

Whilst Friday was a sad day, it also held many beautiful moments ... sitting with Pete and Carol as they reminisced about their hound and the joy and happiness he’d bought

to their lives was special.  I felt privileged to spend that time with them and to be there when Sebastian breathed his last. What a huge hole he’s left in their lives.

Taking photos of empty beaches in the Eastern Bays for Dog Friends ... for

Okahu Bay ... empty ... and it's a glorious day

the hearings Coucil is holding in May .... has taken on more significance. Because of Sebastian’s age and the length of time it took to come down the hill, he was never able to access the beaches during summer. I took several photos of empty beaches on Friday and have posted them to

Mission Bay

Dog Friends site for inclusion in the submission. Council have received over 10 000 submissions for the proposed changes to the Law ... I’m hoping the majority are in the hound’s favour.

Having to share my sandwich with the hound!!

Glen Dowie Boat Club

It’s wonderful that Friday was such a beautiful day, from a weather perspective that is, as empty beaches on gorgeous sunny days will have a lot more impact than empty beaches on overcast and rainy days. We truly live in an awesome spot and driving around taking all the

photos on Friday was a timely reminder of how magnificently scenic this island is. Gareth and I took advantage of HAVING to go to the beach and found a lovely isolated beach to have our lunch at .... the hound got to swim too ... but don’t tell anyone!!

My land of birth did me proud this morning .... getting up at the crack of dawn .... 3.30 am!! .... to see Wales defeat France and take the Triple Crown and 6 Nations honours was memorable. Listening to them sing the National Anthem gave me goosebumps!! 

Gav came down at 4 to watch the Sharks take on the Reds but ended up watching the rest of the Wales/France match first as it was so exciting.  Flipping between channels WASN’T an option!!

Fortunately my Sharks managed to pull off a win against the Reds too so, all in all, a brilliant morning of rugby here at the arse end of the world .... a lazy afternoon/evening elsewhere in the world!

My hound is the grateful recipient of two new rugby balls ... an “unchewed” South African one as hers is really looking the worse for wear ... and a new WELSH one.  She very proudly took the Welsh one to the beach this morning and enthusiastically showed it off to all those souls doing “Round the Bays”. I wonder how long it’ll be before this one looks as chewed as her old South African one!

Indy with her ball yesterday

Last night's sunset

... and a close up of it.

"Don't you dare TOUCH it Indy!!"

Maggie (one of my neighbour's dogs) on the beach this morning.

Me and my ball!

All's good in my world of rugby!

The moon setting on Friday morning at about 6.30ish ... so difficult getting the light right in photos like this!

It’s early Sunday morning ... very early .... and it’s RAINING!  Not the gentle pitter patter of soft soaking rain but the thump thump thump of heavy drops ... pretty much like the ones that were plopping on our heads in the Dell on Thursday.

On the beach this morning .... very damp and misty .... and Bessie's human Keith, was SWIMMING.

Sunrise on Friday morning

I’ve been up early watching the rugby .... my Sharks taking on the Lions in Super Rugby and Wales taking on Italy in 6 nations. The only company I have is a hound - she’s curled up on the couch fast asleep ... a presence rather than company I guess. I’ve got lots of cyber-company though ... friends in SA and the UK who’re also watching

Friday morning sun coming up

the rugby ... though it’s on at a much more sociable time of the day for them. That’s the only snag with living at the arse end of the world ... some of the sport I enjoy watching is on in the wee hours ... and yes I could record it ... but it just isn’t the same. It’s pretty much guaranteed that someone would tell me the score or I’d go on line and

.... and still Friday morning

there it would be ... right in front of my eyes, impossible to miss.


Nope ... far better to watch it live .... and then get some more zzzz later .... if the rain would stop that is ... it’s pretty noisy!!

The sea was rough on Friday but the hound loves it like that.

I really should try and get some more sleep .... 4 hours isn’t enough for a girl to survive on but it’s 6.30 in the morning now and I’m wide awake ... will try and have a nap later.  Both the Sharks and Wales won their respective matches ... all’s good in my world of rugby!

The new design journals ... they have a magnetic catch holding them closed and a detachable magnetic page clip.

The Page Clip and the Journal (A5 size journal)

Julia and I did another market yesterday .... in Parnell .... it has the possibility of being a really good market as it’s attached to the Parnell Farmers Market which is very popular.  Despite an early start - we had to be there by 7.15 ... it was a pleasant morning and we got to eat the MOST

Julia's stall ... and easel ... which she made HERSELF!

delicious food.  There’s something to be said for having a craft market attached to a Farmers Market!! 


There weren’t as many stalls INSIDE the hall as what we would have liked so sales were a bit slow, but the hall is adjacent to the library and we had a good trickle of Farmers Market patrons wander around the hall on their way to the library. Everyone was really friendly ... a lot stopped to chat .... we smiled a lot and did what girls do best .... talk!!

Waiting for coffee on Friday

We both realise though that we need to find a market that’s more art focused ... what we create is artistic and classy and needs to be exhibited at a market that attracts like-minded people. We know from the feedback we get at the markets we’ve attended so far that we both have a very distinct and individual slant to our

work .... we need to find the right environment for us. We’ve got a few ideas in mind so will see how they pan out over the next few weeks.


I love having someone as a sounding-board ... and I think Julia feels the same. It makes the world of difference having back-up

and support from a fellow artist who’s as passionate about what she creates as what I am .... it’s a match made in heaven!  The fact that we both have Chocolate Labradors that we love to pieces is an added bonus!

Getting to know one another

My world’s starting to lighten and all I can see out the windows are heavy rain clouds .... this is not the weather I was expecting this morning. I can’t even see the moon setting .... I saw it on Friday  and it was incredible ... the full moon heading back to the northern hemisphere.  It was QUITE beautiful ... makes for such a romantic picture!

Very high tides this morning after the full moon.

Swimming this morning

The birds are so funny ... I’m watching one sitting on a branch and fluffing itself up everytime a raindrop lands on it’s head ... you’d think it would move but nope ... it’s staying right where it is and fluffing itself up every few seconds! 


They're not the only ones getting wet in this weather ... went for my ramble and have just got back - we're wet now too ... but the hound's happy. She's

swum in the waves .. played with her buddies .... indulged her caffeine habit, and now she's happily chewing her bone! When people say "It's a dog's life" ..... I don't think they were referring to the kind of life my hound leads. 

In the Dell on Friday and she's found a log

Indy wants to play with it too

She's telling Indy to LEAVE her log alone!

Friday was a glorious day .... clear skies compared to today!

.... and the other end of my beach on Friday

Raindrops!

A Ford Galaxy 1966 parked down the road this morning.