I'm an ALMOST functional person.

“Let go of what you think SHOULD be happening, 

and go with what IS happening.”

~ Sue Fitzmaurice

We took some time out this weekend.

Sat for ages on the beach enjoying the sunshine 

and pondering on the intricacies of life.

They are infinite.

Nukes wanting Tim to throw his ball .... it's a never ending job!

I should have learnt by now though to never be too complacent.

And I’m NOT talking about the Sharks rugby.

 The hound, the lemming and I are once again on the hunt for a new abode.  

As are the fur-balls.  

The Flat @ No. 14 is required for family so we’ve been given notice to move.

A bow for the hound's collar .... just to emphasise she's a girl, not a boy!

Quite obviously life ISN’T finished throwing curved balls at us yet.

The Shag wasn't happy about being snuck up on.

Sitting on the sand, basking in the sunshine and watching the hound revel in the waves allows me to forget for a moment the chaos that engulfs us.  

Finding hound friendly accommodation at a rent I can afford is a hard ask.

We’ve done it before though.

And can do it again.

Laughing at Marley as she played with the hound at Coatesville today reinforced the impact these hounds have in our lives.

They add something intangible.

Something necessary.

At least in my life that is.

She keeps me grounded and THAT allows me to operate 

as an almost functional human being.

Marley, Sharon's new Beagle pup, and full to the brim with cuteness!

Not having her as part of my life ISN’T negotiable.

No matter what one of the rental agents advised.

Despite our accommodation set-back, 

THIS weekend has been magical in so many ways.

Full moon, just prior to the eclipse

Sleep ins!

Long rambles.

Gorgeous weather.

MAGICAL Blood Moon lunar eclipse.

Brilliant market at Coatesville.

More mullah for the car fund!

“I carry the sun in a golden cup, 

the moon in a silver bag.”

~ W.B. Yeats

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.