Rain drops and blue sky

Blue sky reflected

The sun finally came out in Dunedin and my mood improved considerably :).

Creative parking

A tight squeeze in Paris

There has been a lot of talk this morning about the ability of men and women to park due to the news item about the Mayor in Triberg, Germany creating parking spaces especially for women as they cannot park as well as men.

German mayor defends 'women only' parking spaces >>

It made me think of this picture I took when I was in Paris a couple of years ago. I was intrigued as to how this car got into this spot, and how they were going to get out. And now I wonder if the creative parker was male or female.

Pinocchio deux

I have to say, it was the most random children's play I have seen. Not only were the children in rapt attention hanging on every word, the non children were in fits of laughter :) (and being told off by snotty toddler parents).

Pinocchio

Went to watch Z in another play today - Pinocchio. It was hilarious. Random characters popping up in a story I new so well. J and I laughed all the way through while rows of toddlers were mesmerised.

Archives New Zealand

Today I was lucky enough to go on a tour of Archives NZ. I actually stood in front of the original Treaty of Waitangi, all nine sheets! It was amazing to think of the stories each of these objects held, the lives they had touched, the lives they could still touch. There are a wealth of resources that could be used in the classroom, and the best thing is that they are rights free as they are public domain. Here are a few links where you can access some of the items:

http://www.youtube.com/user/archivesnz

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/

http://www.ecasttv.co.nz/

http://www.etv.org.nz/education/login.php

http://archives.govt.nz/

Thoughtful and the Mighty Heart

I had the best day today. I went to the Attic to film Thoughtful and the Mighty Heart for their Rock Quest video. The venue was amazing.

You can see the videos on my youtube channel >>

Mercure

I stayed at the Mercure Hotel in Auckland, however I could see the Mercure Hotel through my bedroom window. Very confusing.

Rangitoto

A photo taken by a friend. I have just spent four days in Auckland and it was nice to see the sun again. I feel totally revived.

A romantic moon

1st place Smoke Free Rock Quest

Can you believe it, what a week! Tonight Z's other band, Thoughtful and the Mighty Heart won first place at the Otago region Smoke Free Rock Quest. It was very exciting.

My other team

Thought I would post a picture from my other team. I'm very lucky to have such wonderful colleagues.

The team

These are some of the lovely people I am very lucky to work with. Thank you Nigel for such a lovely photo.

OUSA battle of the bands

I stayed up late last night - real late for me. But it was worth it. A Distant City played in the finals of the OUSA battle of the bands and they won! It was the best I have ever heard them play and in the dark at 1am in the morning it was okay for a mum to scream and jump up and down when the winners were announced.

Googling

I was googling my online self and quite liked the way Google displayed the images I had taken.

Weekend walking

Random iphone images from my weekend walk. We walk across a bridge and down a path to wander around a reservoir then back down the path, out on the road past this marvelous old house which I am told used to be a corner shop that a certain little boy used to visit in his horse and cart (kidding).

Fabulous

I promised myself when my knee started to feel better I would buy some FABULOUS shoes. My knee is feeling better (sorta, kinda, ish).

Thoughtful and the mighty heart

Last night I got to see Thoughtful and the Mighty Heart play for the first time and it was a treat. My Z is a talented drummer.

Graduation day

Today was graduation day. I now have a Masters in Education. It was wonderful that my three kids could all be there, I'm a very lucky girl. Josh was the official photographer for the day :)

Autumn wanderings

Each Sunday I go for a walk/run with a friend. Over the years we have shared our life's ups and downs through the changing seasons.

Tablecloth

I took this photo when I was out to dinner with Christina and Chris in Auckland.

Skyflower

Playing around with merging two images ...

South Perth foreshore

My last image from Perth. I caught up with my friend Judy for coffee at the Boatshed on the South Perth Foreshore. The view was amazing. I was very lucky that Perth put on such great weather while I was there.

Deborah's Chair

One of the best things about coming back to Perth is catching up with Deb. We went for our Sunday walk around the bridges. We had planned to take this photo at Christmas but were talking too much that we missed the chair. So here it is now.

Artist

On a lovely warm ANZAC day, this gentleman was relaxing and painting the city of Perth across the Canning River.

Tree

I always like the look of this tree when I ride past it. So what did I do today ... Did my usual bike ride and exercises and run. Then took mum to the shops as she asked me to teach her how to cook with her slow cooker. So we bought a cookbook, ingredients, and came home and made a spicy red lentil soup. Then I braved the peak hour traffic jams to meet a friend for coffee. We hadn't seen each other in about a decade so there was lots of catching up to do. It is amazing listening to people's life stories, and a privilege.

Canning River

Another day in Perth. I was a good girl and rode around the river, did my exercises, ran for 5 minutes and then went to Yoga at the end of the day with Deb. My physiotherapist will be pleased.

Exercise

As is always the case, I woke up early because of the time difference. So I took the opportunity to greet the sun on a bike ride around the river. The golden glow started my ride ...

Then bathed the world in such a glorious light. It's a wonderful way to start the day. Makes you feel like everything is going to be an adventure.

Arriving

I landed at Perth airport and started thinking about clouds. Perth clouds are different to Dunedin clouds. They are big and fluffy and float in the air like they have nothing better to do. They have no where to go and feel like friendly creatures who are laying about watching the humans for fun. In contrast Dunedin clouds are all go. They are on a mission. They are thin and wispy and rush across the sky in a hurry (might be why they are thin and wispy). They don't have time to take notice of what the humans are doing, they have their own business going on.

Carolyn

This is my friend Carolyn. I took her photo today.

Games night

We had a family games night last night. Lots of laughter and CeeJ won everything!

Elizabeth

This is Elizabeth. She is now two weeks old. She is still perfect :)