The Funky Brown Lab Van

The little foal, next door to Yvonne

“Be everything you are.  It’s divine.” 

~ Sarah L. Harvey

Wow.

2017 is humming along.

Beautifully.

The Funky Brown Lab van, 

- the van’s silver, the hound’s brown and it’s rego is FBL23 - 

ergo Funky Brown Lab van,

is clocking up the miles as we go here, there and everywhere.

Just because we can.

It runs on a sniff of petrol.  

Such a contrast to the gas-guzzling Landrover I’ve just sold.

Make no mistake.  

I loved that Freelander but the running costs and repairs were becoming astronomical.  

The last straw was the hole in the inlet valve.   

It HAD to go.

I have my little van now 

and there’s room aplenty for the hound AND markets.

It’s a bit of a flibbertigibbet around corners though.

I’ve already experienced the rear wheels overtaking the front wheels

 as we rounded a corner on a country lane a tad too fast.

The gentleman in the car coming towards us had eyes as big as saucers 

as we pirouetted in slow motion in front of him.

I must remember that it’s Front Wheel Drive and NOT a 4x4.

I do LUV it though!

As does the hound.

We’ve even had a picnic in it after one of our rambles.

The intention had been to sit on the beach but the rain came bucketing down.

The back of the van made the perfect picnic venue with room to spare!

My mantra this year is 

“Adventure is calling and I must go.”

This little van gives me the freedom to do that!

As we sprint into February I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed 

by the success of the 3-day market at The Cloud.

I’ve never discussed my photography in so much detail or with so many people before.

It was phenomenal.

I couldn’t stop smiling.

It’s taken oodles of courage to reach this point in my journey.

But I’m SO glad I’ve persevered.

“Never be afraid to shine your light, 

it might kindle the light of someone in the dark.”

~ Wild Woman Sisterhood.

Devilish thoughts

“There are devilish thoughts even in the MOST angelic of minds.”

 ~ anon

LOVE that quote!

It was a public holiday here in NZ yesterday ... Queen’s Birthday weekend.  

It was wet and cold and I had to work.

No photos from yesterday morning as it was RAINING!

Ho-hum.  

The ONLY shop in the mall that was open.

This evening's sunset ... magical!

Part of my display in the Public Library

I wouldn’t mind if it were busy.

I wouldn’t mind if I had company.

I wouldn’t mind if I had an eye candy overload from the French Open to watch.

Yes, it's THAT time of year again!

But I had none of that, 

just the occasional browser killing time whilst they waited for a restaurant table.

That’s where all the people were

 ... in the restaurants.

Willie, Cocker Spaniel x Poodle ... and ALL legs!

There’s only SO much one can do in a shop before boredom sets in.

The week’s paperwork took about 20 minutes.

No interruptions you see.

Another part of my display

Dressing the front and side windows and the mannequins accounted for another 30 minutes.

Re-arranging racks and checking size tags and security discs took a little longer.

I even vacuumed the floor.

Coatesville Market on Sunday ... glorious sunshine!

Days like this frustrate me.

There’s SO much I could be doing at home.

THIS year is manifesting into an awesome year for my photography, despite the 

distinct lack of confidence I’ve had since the significant other was incarcerated.

My little spot in the world on a glorious winter's day

It’s been 7 weeks so far and I’ve found participating in markets really hard, 

from an emotional perspective that is.

I’ve struggled to believe in ME.

This last weekend though was different.

I found a SPARK of the me I know and love.

Happiness was IN and AROUND me.  

For the first time in a while I felt at ONE with myself and with the world.  

I like that feeling.

What we had for breakfast at Coatesville Market

It’s contagious.

Someone bought their MOP to the market!
This is a Hungarian Puli ... they had TWO ... this white one and a black one.

I might not have CHOSEN this journey I’m on but it HAS to be travelled.

There are NO exits.

Change IS mandatory.

Every step forward, no matter how small, is reason to CELEBRATE,

so I'm  celebrating.

Scrumptious morning tea at Coatesville Market
Sinful stuff that Em's found for us to eat!

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

~ Lao Tzu

It's a good job I'm NOT a man!

This morning's sunrise

“Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you and your life, not what’s best for everybody else.”

...... and reflections!

Good job I’m not a man ... there are certain extremities on a man’s body that might have frozen off this morning ... it was SO icy! Even the boardwalk had ICE on it which made it treacherous to walk on .... I guess there aren’t many people trying to walk on it at 6.30 in the morning though.

Sunrise was at 7.33 and the shadows and reflections on the low tide were beautiful. I’m still coming to grips with getting the ISO right for low-light photography ... it’s all trial and error right now but that’s how you learn the limits, or otherwise, of a new camera.

I just LOVE mornings like this no matter HOW icy they are.

It’s gloves and scarf AND ear muffs weather when the skies are this clear .... except I don’t have ear muffs! Julia reckoned the temp dropped even more as the sun rose. All I know is that I needed to don my jacket in addition to all the other layers this morning. The icy weather NEARLY stopped Sam and Carol from coming down to the beach this morning too.

Sam has decided he LOVES the rugby ball and he’s very definitely DEVELOPED an addiction for CAFFEINE 

...or should that rather be the froth on the top of our coffee. I THINK Carol and I might be to blame for that. It would be fine if it was just Carol’s and my coffee he liked to pinch but apparently he licked all the froth of the top of Pete’s coffee this weekend .... uninvited.

He nearly got mine on the beach today too. I, rather stupidly ... yes, blonde moment .... sat down on the sand to drink it whilst the hounds were fetching the ball. Sam, having pinched the ball of Chocolat, came charging over, ball in mouth, to offer his assistance with my coffee. He doesn’t seem to have realised yet that he’s too large to be a lap-dog.

He IS an awesome hound though and is growing into the most delightful character. He’s stubborn too as Carol’s finding out. Plonks his bum down on the ground and won’t budge when he’s not ready to go home. Thank goodness Carol works out at the gym ... for a little person, she’s incredibly strong ... and needs to be with a hound like Sam.

It’s school holidays right now so Callum and I headed to the Museum today to see the National Geographic Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. There were some incredible pictures there. Outstanding photography. It makes me so aware of  how important it is to never stop practicing and learning. It’s an international competition so there were several exhibits from photographers in South Africa too ... and of course, wildlife from Africa .... so awesome to see.

Sunsets and reflections were the order of the day this evening. The hound and I headed back down to the beach at twilight to see if the sunset was going to be as good as I was expecting. The hound of course was given strict instructions to stay out of the waves ... totally unnecessary instructions as it was low tide ... ANOTHER blonde moment. 

The sunset was breath-taking, especially with all the reflections in the low tide. The photos just don’t do it justice.