Another photograph. Another story.

Calm waters as we head over Harbour Bridge this morning.

Attract the LOVELY.

Kit, the 4 month old Chocolate Labrador pup we met at the market .... too cute!

It takes just a single thought spinning and spiralling through the universe. 

Grab it.

Hold it.

Believe it.

I do.

That's why I LOVE participating in markets.

My work makes people stop.

They ask questions.

We chat.

They leave SMILING with the story behind another photograph fresh in their minds.

They leave ME smiling too.

Plenty of people at the market ... there were cars EVERYWHERE!

The stories I tell the most are those of the Kingfisher,

Global Warming

Rangitoto Rising

 ... especially when I mention 007.

Yep .... I said EVERYWHERE.

The photo of the hounds and the rugby ball ALWAYS demands attention.

Another photograph.

Another story

... and the story is JUST as important as the photograph.

So much so that the printed story is now attached to every canvas or artwork that I sell.

Storm clouds over Mercer on my trip to Spring HIll on Saturday

It’s my way of sharing my stories with the world. 

A visual way.

I get to share the LOVELY.

AND the moments.

My canine companion is scheduled to see the Specialist Vet tomorrow.

Despite having a gammy leg, she’s become QUITE the tearaway on 3 legs.

She’d win any 3-legged race hands down!

There’s nary a hint of hesitation as she powers up the stairs on 3 legs.

Going down stairs is another matter entirely.

For that she needs the strong arms of the oldest lemming.

When she needs to, her eyes SPEAK volumes.

“We could never learn to be brave and patient 

if there were only joy in the world.”

~ Helen Keller

Magic and Mayhem.

Weekends don’t come better than this one.

Cooper trying to help the hound retrieve her ball

Stunning weather.  

Sensational market.  

Winning Rugby.  

Cheerful and noisy ramble.  

Full Moon.  

Website launched.

Phew .... it’s had it all and more.

The full moon was accompanied by clear skies on Saturday night.  They’re essential for any excursion on a broomstick ... especially mine as my navigational skills are abysmal.  The only person I know with navigational skills worse than mine is the other Carol. 

 It must be something to do with the name.

Love watching this drive into the water

When it’s a full moon and cloudy, the broomstick’s relegated to the basement.

... lifts up the wheels and off it goes

There was little need for creating magic and mayhem this weekend though.  It happened all by itself.  

I couldn’t have wished for a busier or more enjoyable market on Saturday. 

 It exceeded all my expectations and left my head reeling. 

 If compliments were currency I’d be the wealthiest girl in the world.

It wasn’t just me that enjoyed the market either.

The hound was her usual cuddle-slut self and created mayhem with her tail.  

What is it about Labradors and the bum wag. 

 It’s not just her tail that she wags, it’s her WHOLE bottom!   

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to rescue the canvas prints on the easel when she’s welcoming people to my stall.  Her tail is a weapon all on it’s own!

She’s my market mascot and EVERYONE loves her!

SHE loves it when we get up early to watch rugby too. Fortunately this morning’s match was on at a respectable time for us .... 6am instead of the more usual 3am.  She curls up at my feet ready to LEAP up in excitement every time I cheer.  That happened quite frequently this morning as my Sharks scored the necessary number of tries to earn a bonus point.  

What an awesome start to a tournament.

The Weetb-Bix Kids TRYathlon was SO well supported today.

No matter where in the world I live, I will ALWAYS be a Sharks supporter.  

I believe in the power of the BLACK and WHITE.

So does the hound.

When I'm grumpity, I'm NOT nice to know.

 

So our weather’s been a bit grumpity this week ...  as have I.

My favourite piece of real estate is trying to hide in the mist and cloud.

Grey skies, rain clouds and the left over winds from a tropical cyclone have been the order of the day until yesterday.  Yesterday the sun shone and the skies were blue but I was still grumpity.

Walking between Kohi Beach and our bay ..... wet, wet, wet.

Things I have NO control over occasionally get me down.  

It’s silly, yes, but even permanently positive people like yours truly have their 

‘miserable me’ moments.

When I’m grumpity I’m NOT nice to know.  Ask the lemmings.

The hound still loves me regardless.  

She follows me round with a worried look on her face and tries to lick me better.

She doesn’t understand that wounds on the inside 

don’t heal quite as easily as wounds on the outside.

I even contemplated cancelling my attendance at Browns Bay Market today.  

I’m SO glad I didn’t.

Browns Bay Beach with Rangitoto in the distance.

The Browns Bay market is one of the MOST successful markets that I attend as Chocolat and Co.  

For some reason the people on the other side of harbour bridge LOVE what we do.

We seldom have an unsuccessful day there.

The start of a new year can be a little different though.  Not everyone has recovered from Christmas spending and Back to School purchases.  In January people often look but don’t buy.  These thoughts had all gone through my mind as I contemplated cancelling.

I should have known better.

In terms of sales, it was one of the best markets I’ve ever participated in. That Kingfisher of mine doesn’t need any help to sell himself.  Several of his canvasses ended up on walls in new homes, hopefully to be looked at and admired for many years to come.

As for the hound, if I could clone her I’d make millions. 

She is petted and admired and talked about endlessly.  

She REVELS in it. 

 In the world of  hounds, she’s a celebrity ... and she KNOWS it.  

She GLOWS.

She’ll be asking me to pay her a patronage fee at markets one of these fine days.

My grumpity mood aside, this has been the most amazing start to the year for Chocolat and Co.

Not only has our first market of the year been incredibly successful 

but I’m about to go live with the website this next week.  

A little bit more tweaking and loading of products and we’ll be open for business. 

Little step by little step, we are moving forward.

He was a 'revenue-gathering' machine in action.

“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” 

~ Arthur Rubinstein

Yes, she was also puzzled by the Traffic Warden's behaviour.

Traffic Wardens have joined the ranks of Dog Wardens

 ... those individuals who hold down jobs that are detrimental to their health.

Sam's trying to add to his bark .... Carol won't be happy.

Detrimental from what perspective you might ask.

Let’s put it this way.  I wouldn’t swerve if one of the aforementioned individuals 

stepped in the path of my moving vehicle ... bicycle or otherwise.  

The Pohutukawa trees are flowering prolifically!

I was going to say ‘speeding car’ .... but I DON’T speed.

My favourite piece of real estate is looking magnificent.

Tiger likes to sit on something.  He knocked this piece of paper
off the arm of the couch then jumped down and lay on it.

I understand the necessity to ensure that vehicles using the road network are capable of being driven safely and aren’t a menace to other road-users.  

What I fail to understand is the mentality that dictates that these officials prowl the residential suburbs in the dawn hours, ticketing those vehicles parked on the road sans a WOF sticker (WOF = Warrant of Fitness).

Yes .... he's weird ... but is it any wonder.

The oldest lemming fell prey to these vultures of the traffic system yesterday.  

My apologies to the Vulture.  Vultures feed on the flesh of  the dead,

 traffic wardens dine on the living.

The oldest lemming recently lost his part-time job so is unemployed ... ditto the significant other ... AND penniless.  His WOF only expired a week ago.  Despite pointing this out to the Traffic Warden, he continued with the ticketing process.  Remove the vehicle from the road, he told me.

My gorgeous bay.

We bought home a huge bunch of balloons from one of the
markets for her.  She popped half the day before ... these are
what were left in the morning.

I should mention at this point that the driveway we share is full of scaffolding.  Our neighbours are doing external alterations which have necessitated scaffolding being erected across the span of the driveway. The Freelander has to breathe IN on the way down to the garages.  The oldest lemming’s vehicle CAN’T breathe in that much without seriously damaging it’s bodywork so is unable to negotiate the driveway. 

It didn't take her long to pop them all!

Not Auckland Council’s problem intoned the Traffic Warden.

There was NO compassion in his voice, 

no understanding in his gaze and DEFINITELY no heart in his body. 

He was a revenue-gathering machine in action.

Playing on the beach in the sunshine today and Sam wants her stick.

I know he has a job to do ... I just wish discretion was part of the job description. 

I wished him a nice day and told him I hoped he WOULDN’T be run over by a car.

There's not enough water to swim in so Sam shook it all over himself.

Grrrrr .... this is my first blog in over a week and all I’ve done is rant about the traffic warden!

At least the photographs are beautiful and tell a story all of their own!

“Purpose is the reason you journey.  

Passion is the fire that lights your way.” 

~ unknown

We met up with the gorgeous Panda and his dad at Browns Bay market this weekend.
What a treat it was to say hi to him!

The markets we've been at this week.
Top left - St. Helier's School Christmas Fair.
Top right and bottom left - Christmas Gift Fair at Telecom Building in town
Bottom right - Browns Bay Family Christmas Day out