96 years old!

We had a birthday party for Ailsa tonight. She was 96 on thursday and still going strong! There was 8 of us at dinner and this is a photo of the girls. They are my mum and I, my nana, Ailsa and her family Deirdre and Cheryl. We had such a great night. There's not many people who can say they have been to a 96th birthday party!

Braai

We had a Friday evening Braai tonight. We got some proper borewors and had lamb ribs with onion cheese and tomato toasts. Then we made a fire in our webber and toasted marshmallows!

Sunrise

We saw a beautiful sunrise on the way to work this morning.

Sandcastle

Today we made the most of the evening sun and went for a really long walk. We found a kid's sandcastle so got a photo of it.
There were a lot of sail boats out today so the other photo of the day is a palm tree with Rangitoto Island and the sail boats in the background. We got home after 7.30pm so had a quick lamb stir fry for dinner.

Shadow

We went to the beach after work. It was a beautiful sunny evening. The tide was low so we could see all the rock pools. The anemone was grabbing my finger.
The shadow is of mark and I - we are so tall as the sun is low.

Old Friends

Tonight we went and had dinner with an old friend of mine. Jade and I met in 2002 when we worked in the same office together. I then left to go overseas and she followed a year later. She started working on yachts and when i was backpacking in Europe she asked if i wanted to come and work on her boat for a few weeks to give them a hand. We spent a great season in the Caribbean a few years later (I was working and she was on vacation) and then I would bump into her now and then when we were in the same place.

I hadn't seen her since 2009 and she just came back to NZ for a holiday for a couple of weeks so Mark and I went out for dinner with her and her sister. It was great catching up but i forgot to take a photo. I went back through all my old photos to find one of us together but couldnt find any nice ones so there is no photo for today but a great story! The restaurant we went to was quite nice in Takapuna town - they have cheap night on Monday so we got our meals 2 for 1 so that helped the budget and it didnt end up being too expensive.

Our garden

Today we put our plant box together and got more soil and plants for our garden. It was hard burying it and getting it level. We found a caterpillar on our swan plant. Seems a bit late in the season but we will keep an eye on him for when he turns into a butterfly!

Weekend with Mum

My mum came up today to stay the night. We went for a nice long walk along the beach and rocks to a beautiful lake. Then we went out for dinner and watched the sharks vs warratahs rugby game. now we are waiting for to Skype my brother In Australia.

Local bar

This evening we went down to our local to watch the rugby. It's called the lone star and has a native American theme. It has an upstairs bar and and outside area with a fire place.

Fire!

The fire alarm went off at work today and the fire engine turned up. It turned out to be nothing but was still a bit of excitement!

Rain rain go away!

While we are grateful for the rain, we have had enough now! It is not as bad in Auckland as in other parts of the country but our beautiful lawn has some flooding. Let's hope it stops soon. It's been raining all week and doesn't look like it will be stopping anytime soon.

Nature Shows

Today it was raining all day but not as cold as yesterday. Still we didn't go for our usual walk on the beach. We had a quiet night in and made a beautiful spag Bol for dinner and watch "Natures Great Events". Today's episode was The Salmon Run which was just incredible. It is just amazing how far those fish go and what they do. I got this photo from the Internet. I'm grateful today for shows like this that show us what is out there in the world and how different species survive! What will we do when David Attenborough is no longer able to narrate these shows. Its so incredible what he has taught us about nature and the environment!

Butternut

We had a yummy stuffed butternut for dinner tonight. We had caramelised red onion, garlic, pork and red pepper with feta cheese for the stuffing. It was so tasty and I even have some for lunch tomorrow.

Braai

Today after watching the volvo race we stopped and got some groceries and then had a Sunday afternoon braai. it was so great! Good old NZ lamb, shisaties and toast. now it is nearly 6pm, we are feed and relaxing watching the fishing show.

Volvo Round the world race restart Leg 5

Waiting for the boats to come past!

And they're off!

Enjoying the race. Go Camper!!

St Patrick's Day

Today is St Patricks day so we went out for a few beers to celebrate. My friend Delwyn and I have celebrated it a few times over the years and this year is the 10 year anniversary that we met our crazy Japanese friend Yasu. We had a fun night and didn't get home too late.

Cockatoos

My brother, Zack sent me this photo of his front lawn today. We don't get things like this in NZ! I'm so glad he is enjoying it over there as he has never had the opportunity to travel.

Pick yourself up and carry on

It's been a tough day today so this is a fitting picture. Every time we get through one thing something else happens. We have to keep positive and grateful for what we have in life. We have our health and we have each other which is the most important thing. Everything else will work out in its own time.

Jordan and Taylor

This evening i got to chat with my nieces Jordan (nearly 9) and Taylor (6). They had a day off school today due to cyclones. it was 4pm when we talked to them and it was 7.30pm here. My brother Zack seems happy over there - he only works 8 hr days instead of 12 hr days in NZ and probably gets paid a lot more. I gave Jordan and Taylor our new address and showed them around the house. It was so good to talk to them as it was the first time i chatted with them since they left and went to live in Darwin, Australia.

A walk on the beach

Today we went for a walk on our local beach. It was low tide so we could walk by the rocks that are usually covered by water. We rescued a few stranded starfish and had a really nice evening.

Albatross

We went to an Albatross Exhibition. There are areas of the sea the size of Texas that are swamped in plastic and other rubbish. The albatrosses eat it because they don't know it's not food then give it to their babies. The young albatross don't develop properly and their wings never become strong enough to fly. One by one they are all dying. This sculpture was made completely out of rubbish found on an island where the Albatrosses live.

Volvo round the world yacht race

Today we went to Viaduct Harbour to see the Volvo yachts come in. We got to see Puma come in, which was the 2nd boat in. It was very exciting. Shame the weather was shite tho. We went on a simulator ride of the yachts in action. They had water coming at us too so we really felt like we were on the boat!

Butterfly

Today we got out in the garden. We mowed our lawn and weeded our front garden. It's looks so much nicer now and we get lots of butterflies and birds here.

Kitty

We have a beautiful big fat kitty living next door. He is very friendly and love coming over for a scratch!

My very own lamb curry

Today mark showed me how to make his lamb curry. He can't chop at the moment so I did all the chopping and stirring. It came out so great and I even have some for my lunch tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Today is Taylor's Birthday. I couldnt take a photo of her since she is now in Australia so i have posted some i took the last weekend I saw her. Hopefully my brother will send some photos of her enjoying her birthday and I will post those as well.

Train

I took the train today, it goes past my old house. i dont really take the train much, in fact i havent taken it at all since i have been back. I took this picture looking back at One Tree Hill (its hard to see it in the background).

Garden

It was a beautiful day to spend in the garden. I pruned everything back and got ride of all the weeds. We are so lucky to have such a big garden. Not many people have this in Auckland. We love having a lot of space. Just wish the weather would improve so we at least can enjoy it more often. We have a swan plant with monarch butterflies so there is a lot of activity - we want to get a bird bath and feeder to bring more birds in!

Devonport

Today we went for a drive to Devonport. It is only a 5 min drive and a really nice old village with a lot of character. We walked along the beach to the pier. It was a beautiful day but windy and cold. It's funny to look at the city from the other side!