Rainbows that only I can see.

“Don’t grieve.  Anything you lose comes round in another form.” ~ Rumi

My stall at Matakana today

Some days are good and some days are bad and when I have a bad day I need to remind myself that it’s not going to last forever.  Yesterday was a BAD day but today has been gorgeous .... a sunshiny kind of day when what’s wrong with my world seems repairable and when I feel invincible.

My world is full of rainbows .... but only I can see them.

I’ve been experimenting with Chocolatandco and lugging stock to markets further afield.  Whilst it’s fun and exciting exploring new areas and meeting new people it means earlier starts on my weekend mornings!

Yes, yes I know ... people like my friend John get up when the sun’s still sleeping EVERY morning ... but I don’t have to.  I CHOOSE to get up early to ramble with the hound on weekdays.  Hmmm .... I say it’s a CHOICE but since the teeniest of fur-balls arrived it’s like having an EXTRA alarm clock.

She has her very OWN internal clock and woe betide ANYONE who DOESN’T respond to her early morning cuddles. 

They start off gently enough .... albeit noisily.  You HEAR the purring before you FEEL the body.  She’s normally warmly ensconced between us but as her internal alarm clock goes off she stretches and stands on tippy toes ... and stretches again.  You feel the vibration of the purr as she moves up the bed and the purring intensifies as she lies on my neck.  I can not only HEAR the purring LOUDLY in my ear but my whole head is VIBRATING with the intensity of it too!

It’s designed to get me to move and, if I ignore her for long enough, she’ll head over to Gav and try her luck there.  She is one CLEVER fur-ball.

Returning it all to the studio

But back to the early mornings .... and my desire to sleep a tad longer on weekends.  It just doesn’t happen.  If we aren’t rambling, we’re at markets .... and both require an early start.  You can guess which one of those activities the hound DOESN’T like! 

Rumi’s quote comes to mind but I don’t think he meant it from a loss of sleep perspective.

Talking of Rumi, here’s another of his quotes I like ... and this one REALLY appeals!

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.  Destroy your reputation.  Be notorious.”

Be NOTORIOUS .... 

Tonight's moon .... before the sun set ...

.... and after the sun set.

Hercules

Oyster Catchers in flight

Bessie and Chocolat

If Sam could write, his life story would make such an amusing tale!

It was the slurp that did it ..... a great big Labrador slurp. 

Those with Labradors will know exactly what I mean.

Carol heard it from the bedroom as she was getting ready to come and pick me up to go to Waiatarua. 

Pete had left the butter on the kitchen counter and Sam had helped himself.

Early morning sunlight  bathing my city.

Sam couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about ... it had been delicious!

Carol’s look said it all when she arrived at the Co-op. 

Sam the Man was in the dog-box. She needed her caffeine fix!

Best of buddies ... it's just too special

The fur-ball likes to share her bed.

The girls at the Co-op wait eagerly each morning to hear the next story in the saga that is Sam. On Tuesday he blew up the hair-dryer .... not intentionally of course. He’s teething and anything and everything is gum fodder, including power chords. It wasn’t quite the reaction Carol expected when she turned on the hair-dryer.

If Sam could write, his life story would make such an amusing tale!

Early morning sun on the hound.

Ebony and her man-servant Anthony AND her other human, Amy, were at the Dog Pond when we got there this morning. Ebony was delighted to see us and came racing over to say hello. She knows the double ‘C’ are the weird whachos that bring rugby balls AND hounds for her to play with. 

It was great to finally meet Amy in person as we’ve heard so much about her from Anthony.  

Ebony, like our hounds, is much loved by BOTH her humans.

Labradors and rugby balls make for fun times in the reserve and I’ve come home with a VERY tired hound. Sam, on the other hand, could do it all over again ... and yet again!

I had a new adventure planned for this weekend .... I was going to learn stand-up paddle boarding. I have this vision of the hound and I paddling on the waves past Ladies Bay and Karaka Bay, and all the other bays that are only accessible at low tide when you’re on foot. In my vision the hound’s sitting perfectly still on the board as I paddle us along on the mirror-like surface of the sea. I think I might be visually impaired as the reality could be vastly different to what I see in my mind.

I think we might both end up in the water.

Sam and Ebony don't care which ball they have as long as they have a ball.
My hound's more particular ... she wants a SPECIFIC ball!

I think there might be waves.

Not double trouble but TREBLE trouble .... all 3 chocolate mousse flavours!

The paddle-board lessons are going to have to be put on hold though as, rather unexpectedly, Chocolatandco are heading off  to the Matakana Indie Market this Sunday ..... our first market of the year .... yay! 

Lots of preparation to do this week now!

Sam drops his ball immediately as he wants it thrown again ... the other 2 are more reticent
.... or maybe the're just plain stubborn!

Paddle boarding might have to wait till the weekend after.

Waiting for Anthony to throw the ball ... and yes, Ebony will JUMP in with the other ball in her mouth!

Bubbly .... from BOTH ends!

Ef-fer-vesce ~ definition: 

1.  to show liveliness or exhilaration     

2. to bubble, hiss and foam as gas escapes.

I love the way the rock shelf in the front of Rangitoto resembles North Island

Effervescent describes my hound completely! She’s lively, high- spirited AND bubbly ..... from both ends of her body!

Ask the fur-ball!

The fur-ball is 8 weeks old ... and boy, has she grown!

What started out as an awesome morning is rapidly turning to custard. Those fluffy white cotton wool clouds that were reflected so beautifully in the mirror-like “waves” this morning are no more. They’ve gone AWOL .... scared of the big grey rain clouds I’m thinking.

We’re supposedly going to be affected by Cyclone Evan towards the end of this week but he’ll have lost some of his aggro by the time he hits our shores.

Even Sky Tower is reflected in the mirror-like sea today!

EVERYTHING needed a wash this morning .... not just the hound! My trainers are caked in mud .... my socks and feet dirty beyond belief. That’s what happens when the tide’s way out and it’s a beautiful morning in the bay. Let’s not even mention the holes in the trainers .... courtesy of kicking rugby balls!

Mud, GLORIOUS mud!

The mud oozes in everywhere ... even between your toes!

Uh-oh .... she who LOST her shoe in the mud!

At least I didn’t lose my SHOES! Someone, no names mentioned, managed to leave her trainer IN the mud. A great big SQUELCH and I managed to pull my foot out ... trainer intact .... not so Julia! She had to hobble back to shore one shoe on, one shoe off. Sadly she didn't fall over .... that would have made for an EPIC pic .... spoilsport!

The new café in 6 Maheke Street opened over the weekend and, as Julia and I walked past with the hounds today, we were stopped by a lady having breakfast in the café. She has two chocolate labs of her own, mother and daughter, called Coco and Chanel. She’s a New Zealander who’s now living in the States and is back in NZ for 3 weeks. She was missing her hounds and couldn’t resist saying hello to ours!

It’s always great meeting fellow Lab lovers from all over the world!

Life has been hectic. I’ve donned the Chocolat and Co hat today and been working from home for the first time this week. The hound was in seventh heaven as we were able to stay on the beach a little longer than we have the past few days. Anthony had offered to give me a lift to Waiatarua as my usual chauffeur and her hound are away .... I was sorely tempted but sanity’s prevailed. 

Today I’m on a mission!

It’s Chocolat and Co’s last market for the year on Sunday ... the twilight market at Albany. I’m hoping we’ll finish the year on a HIGH!

“Love all, trust a few and do wrong to none.” 

~ from All’s well that ends well by William Shakespeare 

It’s easy to LOVE everyone ... but doing no wrong .... hmmmm 

.... that’s a different story altogether!!