I'm "IT"

THE RULES:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2.Post THE RULES on your blog.
3.Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Meggie asked for this (apolgies to her in advance!)

1. I sometimes get the feeling that I'm living in a parallel universe such as in Sliding Doors.

2. I have really great dreams and often wish I hadn't woken up.

3. Some of my best poetry has been written when I'm "under the influence, officer".

4. I always thought I'd marry a policeman. But didn't.

5. I hates PE at school.

6. I miss my dad very much. (No, not weird)

7. I very much get the feeling lately that "something is going to happen".

No 2

Watched a New Zealand movie the other night, No 2. Rather quaint, and child-like really but I did like it. It is basically about an ol' Nana and her desire to 'name her successor' within the family to carry on her work of looking after everyone. There is a distinctly Kiwi flavour to this film, heartwarming yet right on the nail. I'd go so far as to call it quirky, but have gone off that word for some reason - actually, I made a list of alternative words for quirky but have left it at my desk.
I also am pretty damn sure there is a person in the film that I was at 'varsity with too, but am still reading the microscopic names on the cast list. Why do film people do that?? The credits usually whip past at such a rate of knots you haven't a snowball's chance in hell of reading who was who, let alone who did what, or what that song was.
Then there is the other extreme where they roll by slower than a wet week in Taihape.
Thankfully, there is nothing as dark as in "Once were warriors" which was pretty much a film to watch thru hands over your eyes!!

I am from...

OK,Pixie, here goes!

I am from many places, we moved around a lot when we children were younger. I am from family sing-a-longs on car trips (I swear that as long as I live I will never forget the words to Morning Town Ride!)

I am from camping holidays, scared witless at night by possums sliding down the tent roof for fun in the night.

I am from the smell of freshly mown grass on a lazy Sunday, from Mr Whippy and melting tar on the road side. I am from a summer where the days were so hot and they stretched over the horizon; from stilts made from string and empty Golden Syrup tins; from marmite sandwiches and playing scrabble.

I am from a mother so crafty we sometimes call her McGiver, she can make anything from nothing - she spins, she dyes wool, she makes her own felt and paper, she knits. Ever trying to please, the leftover "affliction" from her own upbringing where she was never good enough.

I am from a Presbyterian turned Anglican-for-love father who taught me that there will always be easier ways but the right way is best and whom is miss with every fibre of my being (every day).

I am from frugal Scottish stock, from Ireland and Cornwall. My great,great-grandfather sold sunlight soap from a barrow in a London Market.

I am from an adventurous parentage, who took us children to live in far Islands; I too am from coal dust and whitebait; stony beaches and nikau palms

I am from boarding school where all manner of things influenced outcomes for us all. I am from failed netball tryouts - the balls I was destined to play with had more life!

I am from seething picket lines, I am from quiet contemplation. I am from many places and none.

Currently, I am from Christchurch.

Super 14 begins again

Yup, Richie and the lads are off to a great start!
Normal transmission will resume once the heart palpatations settle into a normal rythm for an ol' tart my age!! (That is, tomorrow and I'll catch up on the tags I've had)

Wine and Food festival

Yes, that is a whitebait sandwich. My favourite filling of all time.
Oamaru stone carvings. This was part of a "Women's" exhibition at the local Botanic Gardens, they were great. Very much like Beryl Cook stuff but in stone.
Yep, a beer all alone in the park. I agree, it is a tragic sight. Don't worry, the Stud rescued it. This beer is an organic thing from the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Yep, been at it again folks!! Went to Kakanui at the weekend. Mainly to surprise my mum for her birthday (and it was a surprise, cos her birthday is next week!) and had the added bonus of being the Wine and Food Festival at Oamaru. It was great. I know it's a small town and all but the Festival had the right amount of people to make it really enjoyable, and it was very sunny which is always a bonus.

Now, believe it or not, I didn't do any wine sampling. Nothing to do with the heavy night the night before, and all to do with the fact that I was the driver. Ab-so-rootly true. The band photo is one of my favourite Kiwi Bands (The Warratahs). They were in great rocking form. The Stud and I bumped into the lead singer once in a bar, we all felt like shite the next day but the last time we saw the band he recognised me. (Not the Stud, ME!!) Well, to be honest all he really said was "I recognise you from somewhere" and I said "Um, we had a drink or two at the Blues Bar once" and then he said "Oh shit, I remember now! That was a great night, I felt like shit on a stick the next day". Couldn't have put it better myself.

So, hope that makes up for the pukey post just recently. I am away up North next week, am going further north than I have been before on this soil and am really looking forward to it. I know Mike is going to Utah, but I am sure I can salvage something from Dargaville! Watch this space.

Meanwhile, I shall contemplate my navel and wonder why I haven't done deeply significant posts about really interesting stuff.

Ya want proof?

This is proof that perhaps inbreeding ain't the way to go, ya hear?

Things that go bump in the night

My younger daughter likes to collect Russian Dolls. She doesn't like to dust.

Guess what? I had a car accident last night. Wasn't my fault of course but I still get the inconvenience of dealing with Insurance people and assessors and panel beaters!! Anyway, a car making a turn at an intersection was slammed into by an oncmoing car, the turning one spun about and slammed into me (innocently waiting at the traffic lights). I had just been to the hairdressers actually, and as luck would also have it 2 policemen were in a nearby fast food joint so were on the scene fairly quickly. One of the "Boys in Blue" "Whallopers" "Cops" (call 'em what you like) was actually very cute, found myelf being pleased that at least my hair looked great. (Woke up this morning and decided I looked more like Daphne from Scooby Doo)

The Insurance person, by phone, told me I had to go in and fill in their forms, even tho' a work colleague got his faxed to him by the same company. I waited until the officious "Paul" went to lunch and rang back, thanks "Katie" for directing me to your website where I was able to download the form and fax it to them. Hope Paul had a shite lunch.

Tomorrow I have to run the gammit of panel beaters. But I won't be sporting the Scooby-do.

YouTube - Cat Stevens "Bitter Blue"

YouTube - Cat Stevens "Bitter Blue"

Old stuff

I thank Meggie for inspiring me for this post. I just love old stuff. The wee fellow above I bought about 14 years ago for $45 in an antique shop in Christchurch. You wind him up, he bangs the drums and clashes the symbols.
I also love Blue and White china. I am not sure if that is due to my Nana having a blue and white house, or if I just love the colour mix. Either way, when I was in Delft I loved it. Some of the china above is from Chezoslovakia...and in the corner (right hand) you can just see my great grandmothers china teapot. I am too scared to use it but love seeing it. It has a silver spout.
This is my Great Grandmother's hand crocheted tea cosy. My Mum has fitted it to modern-day insulation material but again, I don't use it too often other than to put on my head and dance about at parties. As you do.
Ah. My oldest dolls. Mary Christmas with the handpainted face. For years I thought she was a copy of my ol' godmother Lulu (her real name believe it or not) and I still have her (the doll that is) about but my kids were frightened of her so she took a rather dusty back seat. Next to her is Fatleg Molly, as you can also see she is staring to fall to bits and the bits of foam to the left of Mary belong to her. She is handknitted. And falling to bits. Jeez, they don't make wool like they used. This stuff must be only about 40 years old!!!
This is a doll that my grandparents bought back when they went round the world in 1955. She was bought in Port Said and they bought her for the first grand daughter they had. Now, my mum is their eldest child and she had just got married in 1955. When I arrived at the arse-end of 1960, this doll became mine. The next Grand daughter didn't arrive until 1977 and she is now teaching in China. Go figure.
I named her Sally, the doll that is. When I first got her she was almost the same height as me. I used to play dentist and pushed in her teeth. They were made of paper. Her eyelashes also got a hammering when I played at eye-doctor. In 1994, when I moved to Christchurch and had my own daughter I decided to get her "restored". Some of her has been lost but overall she looks great. She is older than me, but shorter. I take some comfort from that.

I guess that anyway, in my "moment of Zen" - we go out of this world the same way we came in - bald and toothless. Just that on the way out, not so many people are that keen for you to sit on their lap!!

Cheers for the old stuff.

Well, what a day. Here we are in quiet little ol' Christchurch, New Zealand. Jeez. Now we have to suffer the "oooh, is it a one off?" or the "oooh, terrorist" shite. Either way, nothing about this is going in inhance ANYTHING about my travels to and from Invercargill or Taupo or those other little tinpot places. Harrumph.

Post 100

Aw, sweet eh? This is Daisy. She looks sweet but is really a terrorist.
So far this week she has left a dead rat on the end of my daughter's bed, she has left a half-chewed dead bird by my daughter's bed and left feathers scattered all round the room. What next we wonder? a horses head??

Now then some garden shots - here we have busy bee doing its thing in a dual coloured "glady". We have a few of these plants, they grow well and don't need too much looking after, which suits my style of gardening perfectly.
Now I am going to show off my bloomers - there is the Ice Berg rose heading skyward...oh, and our wonderful blue sky.
This one is named El Dorado - and smells wonderful. I don't grow roses that don't have a scent, I reckon its the rip off of the century to stick yer beak into a rose, all set, inhale...and what? Nothing? Nope, that DOES NOT happen in my backyard.
Today is also our national day off, which is 6 February, but blogger will show it as some other date that it prefers...why is that?

Anyway, out at the Estuary at Ferrymead en route to Sumner is where kite surfers head on windy days. It looks so easy but I am sure it is hard work. They sure zip about fast. The photo shows blue skies, surf etc...idyllic eh, except for the stench that goes with low tide in that inlet. It was hard work taking the photos - the wind was whipping my hair about so much that my eyes started watering, and the smell off the beach was reminiscent of my nappy-chnaging days. 'nuf said methinks.

I had hoped to have some kind of epiphonic (is that a word?) post, being number 100 and all but this is the best I could manage. Thanks for taking the time out of your favourite drink to stop by! Cheers.

Oh and by the way....we WON!!!

I should have mentioned this earlier, but as I am nearing my 100th post I thought I would do it now. Besides, one of the sainted Crusader boys was there at the end.
New Zealand won the Rugby 7s.

If you go down to the woods today...

Yes, today was the Teddy Bear's Picnic in the park. It was fun, although we did get caught out and are a bit sunburnt (sorry to bring up the "s" word again). No excuse for it either really, even tho' it was mostly overcast today I am certainly old enough to know that we should "slip, slop, slap" before heading outdoors. However, along with a plethora of other bears I took along my old Ted. That's him there. He has been my best bud since I was a wee fart-in-a-bonnet. He used to growl until I tossed him out of my cot somewhere around the age of ..mummble. He is now probably getting along for 50 (taking into account the amount of time he probably spent in the shop prior to being bought I hasten to add!!)
The major gripe I have about the whole event actually relates to the blimin' cost of everything there. $3 to park, $7 for a Pita Pocket, $3 for a small coffee which you had to wait about 10 minutes for, $5 for the ride the kids HAD to go on....you get the picture. I dunno why these people go to so much bother to overcharge for things. I am sure they would make more money if everything was $2 (like the Shetland Pony rides - but the queue was a good 20 mins wait, probably popular because of the price!!) and a helluva lot more people would pay up, rather than a handful of those able to cough $5 more. Or, is it my Scottish ancestry kicking/reeling/jigging in?
At one point, the bears all got the chance to fly...their owners were encouraged to throw theie bears in the air in the Great Bear Throw Up. This is my youngests' bear, Little Bear. There is a line in the Velveteen Rabbit which refers to a bear having his/her fur loved off. I love that story and can't believe it is not in our home library. I must add it to the shelves, I really have a soft spot for well-written children's stories. One of my prized possessions is actually a Story Book of Nonsense which my Dad gave me and even tho' I was at least 28 when he gave it to me I loved it as much then as I do now.
Speaking of love, I JUST LOVE THIS NECKLACE. Of course, one would need the right accessories to wear with it...but I guess it would look fantastic even if "one" was butt-naked!!

Its all go here, mate!

Ah, this is one of my favourite tee shirts worn by The Stud. No more words necessary really, eh?
Now then, have been to Wellington - albeit only for a day trip but it was one of the best days to be there. The weather was fantastic - very warm, bugger all wind.
AND the Wellington 7s rugby tournament was due to start. Now for those who don't know it, this is a class event. The whole city had a real happy buzz to it, and that wasn't entirely due to the Sauvignon Blanc that I shared with Pixie.
The 7s (and that's our teams mascot above, with some of the team members) are held each year and its almost that rugby is an afterthought. People dress up and just go out there for fun. Mind you, the fun police have again crapped on an otherwise funevent by insisting on a dress code. What's with these people? As well as that, no "fake" weapons were allowed (tut tut, not even any foam swords...crikey, hope that isn't a wet bus ticket in your pocket sir!! Police!!!)

Anyway, everyone so far looks like they are having fun. Let's wait until out team cleans them all up....