I think I could be deemed a little crazy.

“You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life - but by realising who you are at the deepest level.”

~ Eckhart Tolle

I think I could be deemed a little crazy.

Who else in their right mind gets up in the wee hours to watch rugby ... in the middle of winter nogal!  My loyalty to my Sharks would have been sorely tested had they not won ... but win they did ... even if it was in the dying moments of the game.

This season of Super Rugby has been a disappointment, from my perspective that is, as my Sharks HAVEN’T played their best.  They’re still in with a SLIM chance of making the play-offs but only IF they beat the BULLS

 ... and IF they beat the KINGS

 .... and IF the Cheetahs LOSE to the Blues!  

So many IF’S!

IF that all happens my Sharks will be on the same points as the Cheetahs and will have won the SAME number of games.  Then it goes down to point difference and guess who has the BIGGER point difference?  

Yep ... my Sharks!

This is the joy of Super Rugby .... ANYTHING can and DOES happen.

Dam .... who am I going to back if my Sharks DON’T make the play-offs?  

Nope ... I don’t think I could EVER shout for the Chiefs.

The hound would though.

Talking of the hound, she has become an absolute CUDDLE SLUT at the markets.  She LOVES them.  She LOVES the cuddles.  She LOVES meeting all the customers and she LOVES my fellow stall-holders.  She has become a CUDDLE SLUT of note.  

She’s a chocolate hound with charisma and has become an integral part of my presence at the markets.  

I blame it all on the bum and the way it waggles when she’s happy!

Hmmm .... I don’t get quite the same effect when I waggle my bum.

We’ve had clear skies the past two days and the sunsets have been MORE than magnificent. Brilliant orange and red skies have accompanied that Sun dropping over the horizon.  The mirror-like surface of the low tide intensifies the reflections too.  I live in an awesome spot in the world and moments like this reinforce that. That sun’s still setting very early though  .... a 10 minute delay in reaching the beach and it’s all over ... dusk has already fallen.

I’ve always assumed that ‘dusk’ and ‘twilight’ refer to the same particular time of day, ie after the sun has set.  Google, that arbiter of all things inane has suggested that ‘dusk’ is the time at which the sky becomes completely dark.  That happens when the Sun is supposedly 18 degrees below the horizon .... how one’s supposed to measure than when the sun’s no longer visible befuddles me.  Again, according to Google, ‘twilight’ is the period between when the Sun sets and ‘dusk’!  

Thank you Google .... I’ll try NOT to get that confused in future..

Cuddle sluts and Toilet Roll Terrorists!

This is MY hound!

“If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been.” 

~ Robert H. Shuller

Sharing kitty treats!

I have a cuddle slut and a toilet roll terrorist!

Sam the Man has a thing about toilet rolls and I’ve lost count of the number of times Carol’s phoned to tell me she has shredded toilet paper all over her house.

Well, guess what? 

I have a toilet roll terrorist too!! It’s a small sharp-toothed black and white furball who thinks toilet rolls were made for her amusement! My bathroom floor was littered with shredded toilet paper when I got back from my ramble this morning. The only visible part of the floor was the area under the toilet-roll holder. Obviously toilet paper ISN’T meant to be anywhere near that!

Despite the mess I HAD to smile! There was the furball lying in the middle of her toilet-roll bonanza looking up at me and purring. When she purrs, EVERYONE can hear and feel the vibration .... it pervades her entire body. Even the toilet paper was rustling with the intensity of her purring.

Despite the mess my day was definitely improving. 

It hadn’t started too well ... I was so tired this morning I didn’t even participate in my usual early morning ramble with Julia. I just couldn’t summon up the energy.

Naughty hounds ... they're in the wetland!

The hound was perplexed .... it’s a Thursday and we ALWAYS have TWO rambles on a Thursday, I could see her telling me. She was trying to JOLLY me into action and couldn’t understand my reluctance to do anything but cuddle her.

He's got black socks on today!

I snatched an extra hour of sleep but STILL managed to be late meeting Carol to go to Waitarua. My internal clock is for some unknown reason just not in the right zone at the moment.

Sam is ALWAYS pleased to see me though and the exuberance with which he greets me leaves me with a smile on my face. The enthusiasm of the hounds for their daily rambles is contagious ... you can’t help but feel your spirits lift. Their excitement mounts the closer we get to Waiatarua and they get rather vocal .... in fact, they get VERY vocal. Car doors are NEVER opened fast enough!

They add SO much happiness to our lives.

I can’t credit the author of the following poem as it’s anonymous but it’s something anyone with a dog should read.

Every dog starts life with a blank canvas. His destiny etched by the hands of the painter, and each one an artist’s original. The portrait painted depends on the way the brush is held.

Paint with hostility, and a dog learns to fight.

Paint with cruelty, and a dog learns fear.

Paint with anger, and a dog learns aggression.

Paint with praise, and a dog learns confidence.

Paint with boundaries, and a dog learns respect.

Paint with tenderness, and a dog learns to bond.

Paint with affection, and a dog learns to love

Every dog is a product of it’s environment.
Bad dogs are not born, they are created.
If the portrait is flawed, look to the artist.

With that poem in mind, I’m posting a photo of the hound 
and wondering what THIS pic says about her and I??? Oh dear!!

Jack, a 5 year old Golden Lab ... he was gorgeous!

Oscar the Great Dane