Two Sues went for a cruise.....

Yes we did,

we did a roadie but I will share that later.

Wandering around in my garden I decided that the foliage is just as beautiful as the flowers and so often overlooked.

I am tempted now to put together a vase full of foliage, I do have plenty of interesting shapes and colours, and if I want something different a quick trip next door will bring me more selection.

 I forgot how beautiful this Gerbera is,

I so love these flowers.

The leaves top left are from my neighbours garden.  I now have them pressing between the pages of a large book.  That is where I discovered the ones on the right.  Does anyone else out there in blogger land press flowers and leaves?

OK, who wants to come on a ROAD TRIP?? 

Destination - Whangamata.

Friday was my sister's birthday so I had planned a visit to the beach to see her. Then I had an idea and ran it past the Webber woman, who said "YES I'll come", and that is exactly what we did.  The weather was shite!!  But a good day to go for a road trip.

My sister had fallen down some stairs two days earlier so she was sporting a moon boot and not up for walking, in fact she is on strict instructions to keep her feet up.  I purchased a divine Carrot Cake from our local supermarket and added some birthday love via the candles.  I gave her two potted Gerberas because I love them and a piece of Pottery made by Dawn.

Happy Birthday to my sister,

my best friend!!

After a couple of hours, Sue and I left and I then embarked on my role as her personal tour guide and showed off Whangamata to her.  The sun came out as we stopped at the harbour.

We grabbed ourselves some lunch in town and I took Sue into Garuda my favourite shop!  From there we headed to the main beach to have our lunch.  We were joined by a crowd of feathered friends.

Sue took these photos of me hand feeding the gulls,

so much fun.

I love how they just floated above my hand.

The clouds rolled in again but it did not bother us in the slightest.

I have been going to this place for 50 years and I LOVE it!!

But I love it best when it is quiet like now.

We watched the rain moving across the ocean in the distance.

Stormy days at the beach are some of the best.

 

Our last stop before leaving was at the Estuary end of the beach.  The weather was starting to turn so thoughts returned to getting home.  I was concerned about flooding in the Gorge as there had been so much rain and the road in there gets closed when the water level rises.

A quick detour to Whiritoa to show Sue another gorgeous coastal spot resulted in this spectacular shot.  Then we were over the hills to Waihi town where we called in on the St John op shop which was pleasantly priced and lots of goodies on offer.  Sue found some bits and I came out of there with an oil burner which I have forgotten to photograph.

In the Karangahake Gorge it was down to one lane so we got stuck in a traffic jam for about 5 minutes!!  We decided, well I decided to stop off for a break, stretch my legs etc.  Both of us don't like swing bridges but we did get out to the middle. The rain was off and on for a while so we kept going until I remembered something else I wanted to show Sue.

This cute as a button Kauri church.  The one I have stopped and dreamed about as having it as a home for years.

Come on in!!

But close the gates when you leave.

Also at Waihou, the post office is now a florist and we giggles at the Butchery shop, the skulls had red eyes which we suspected were lights!!

So our little road trip to celebrate my sisters birthday at Whangamata was great, we laughed and sang in the car, and planned our next day trip away.

Over the weekend lots of time was spent outdoors in the garden.  TOF was busy pruning and tidying up as we had a mini skip to use.  I of course wandered about with my camera.

Cheech and Chong could be heard singing from their Avery on the deck.

Under the watchful eyes of one Big cat.

TOF had helpers while he dug.

The Native plants are flowering, my Kowhai (yellow) and my Kaka Beak (red) continues to bloom.  Now all my Granny bonnets are starting to flower, with my poppies and sweet peas getting ready.

This little face was pleading to be picked up.

 I can handle the Ivy that is growing on the house,

but I am not liking the return of the FLIES!!

TOF tells me the white butterfly is a pest.

How can a pest look so good

on the Lavender?

Yesterday this beautiful wee girl came to visit with her mum and dad.  Baby Gaia is 3 months old and visiting NZ for a couple of weeks.  Her parents are good friends with the Heir.  I want one!!!  How cute is she and such a good baby.  I love that her parents came to visit us and share this gorgeous bundle of joy, cuddles a plenty!!

 

Today was a yawn for Big who decided to wash behind his ears to ensure more rain would turn up.

I managed to get sheets and towels washed and line dried before the drizzle turned up late this afternoon.

How smug does he look?  Hehehe I am the Rain Maker!!!

Thoughts....

 

 

You only live once....

I am a firm believer in doing things that bring you pleasure, and mine pleasures are simple.  My garden and my camera are at the top of my pleasure list.  I also like spending time with people I enjoy being with and luckily for me there are plenty of those sort of people. What gives you pleasure?

At the beginning of last week the Heir and I took our dogs to the 'Dog Park'.  It is like taking small children to a play ground.  They run free and make friends!! Such a great place and it is all about the dogs.

When we arrived we almost had the park to ourselves, all that wide open space for our dogs to go wild in.  By the time we left, the park was full of children and dogs as school holidays are currently on.

Oscar prefers to sniff and pee on every tree and then roll in unmentionables.  But Sheba just runs after any stick or ball that happens to be thrown.

We walked along the river bank and off course a certain large black dog somehow found her way into the river.  Well she is a water dog.

Large trees, wide open grassed spaces, river side tracks, and plenty of dog friends to be made. A perfect time and place for our dogs, and I loved being outside in some sunshine.

Two incredibly smelly dirty dogs then had a visit to the Dog wash to restore them both back to their beautiful selves.

We arrived home and disturbed someones SLEEP!!

The girls are laying daily at the moment, obviously taking turns, but we are averaging 4 eggs a day.  Some look eye watering big.

 

Check out my FREE STUFF!!  A good friend of mine thought off me when friends of hers were getting rid of the above garden stuff.  Such a score and I feel pretty lucky to be thought of, and it was all delivered.  Does it get any better than that??

 Not Free but a welcome new to me purchase, a Hall Table.  Never owned a Hall Table, does this mean I am growing up?

 

Photos of Big because I know you all love him as much as I do.

The blossom on our fruit trees has taken a pounding from all the wind and rain we seem to have been getting, but I am pretty sure we will still get the fruit later.

Things are moving in the garden, and I am amused how the Nasturtiums have managed to grow through a garden chair.

Old Dorothy aka Mrs Wickham has gone all clucky and sitting on all the eggs keeping them warm for me.  She gets pretty pissy when I take them.

My Lavender line up!

Just look at all that Purple and Yellow.

Sheba doesn't know that she is a big dog and not a lap dog, and she loves the Heir so much.

The Fungi keeps popping up in the Chicken Coop.

Second hand shopping success last week.  A top and skirt for $3.50 each, the plant was $7, but my MONKEY, well he was $10 and so darn gorgeous and quite old.  He is a childhood memory for me as my good friend had a big version and I loved her Monkey.

 A quick visit to the Potter found Shadow Boxes fresh from her kiln.

More Shroooooms!!

And some Wishes.

On a very dull day indeed, last Sunday TOF and I got busy in the garden.  We put the garden Arches into position, they just need to be dug into the ground.  We have exposed the path and edged it with branches.

The other Arch leads into what will one day seem like a secret garden.  I hope to get more plants along the edge to grow tall and plant a creeper to creep on the arch.

The once were Pink but now are White Flamingos took flight and have taken up residence in the recycled tyre pot.  Meanwhile Big was practicing his wild tiger moves outside.

Even though the day was dull, everything looked stunning through my macro lens. I am totally enjoying all the glorious colour and the return of the bees.

 I would say everything is coming up Roses but I don't grow them!

Spring is all about strategic dressing at the moment, layers of light weight stuff that are easily removed and put back on again.  The forecast is for more of the WET stuff but mild temperatures, OH JOY!!  At least all the rain is good for the garden.

True, but I have always had a feeling I have been here before, and I hope I get to come back again!!! Obviously I am not doing it right!!

Enjoy your week!!