Glennis's other blog.

2011-11-17T23:47:00.000-08:00

Champion Nyle's Race Walking Record.

2011-10-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Nyle went to Palmerston North to do a race walk in an attempt to get into the New Zealand team for the Oceanic Games in Australia in Feb next year.
Only the first two placers will gain a place to represent New Zealand, Nyle told me although she could do the time necessary, it was not a sure thing because she has injured her back and pulled some muscles too. The best she could hope for was 2nd, which is good enough.

She raced the good race until 3kms from home when she aggravated her old injuries and had to limp on home, but still she managed a time of 1hr55mins 55 sec 1.55.55 a personal best again even with the slow last 3 kms. She came in 2nd behind Rosie her friend.

Well done Nyle you really are a champion.

So in February Nyle will represent New Zealand in the Race Walking at the Oceanic games!

In Court with Grandma!

2011-09-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is so funny I had to share it.

Spring-Fest, portrait

2011-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

A Maori lady Repeka,from our Church, invited us to the Spring-Fest Carnival on the foreshore, she shouted us wild venison sausages for lunch which we had with wine, then she made us try her Kina sandwich, Kina is a seafood not eaten by people other than Maori, but we had a try and it was .... sort of ok, edible anyway, The Kina comes from Sea Eggs and is yellow in colour. Followed by a special lemonade apple. Yumm that was a nice lunch. Then we both had our portrait drawn by a local artist, Repeka had her portrait drawn in a sea setting, he drew her as a mermaid! A siren singing in sailors,

He asked what I was famous for and I said taxi driving, so he drew me as a taxi driver, driving a Rolls Royce car! I love it.

We listened to the music and the singing for a while before we made our way home. Thankyou Repeka for a lovely afternoons entertainment.

2011 Buller Half Marathon.

2011-02-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

Nyle winning the Buller Half Marathon race walking.
You can see her winning style, and her winning smile.
Well done Nyle in a personal best time by 6 minutes,
sensational.

Porsche and her Dolly

2011-02-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Porsche puss cat and her Dolly, lazing in the sun and enjoying a snuggle on the conservatory sofa.

Nyle winning the Marlborough half marathon

2010-12-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

My Daughter Nyle, halfway through the Marlborough half marathon race, which she walked as a Race Walker.
Nyle WON this event.
She race walking at full speed here among the vineyards of Marlborough.
The short video which was supposed to be a still shot is of her crossing the line as the winner in a time of 2hours and 11 minutes. Well done Nyle.

Clicking on the video should allow you to see Nyle crossing the line and some of the crowd watching her do so before I lowered the camera and caught her legs!

Hanging baskets of flowers

2010-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Two baskets with Lobelia and other flowers and a small bird ornament in one.

One of my many hanging baskets of glowing colour, I think these might be Livingstone Daisys but I could be wrong, however I do know they are lovely and brighten our patio.

Time for a joke.

2010-11-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

A little boy was doing his math homework.
He said to himself, 'Two plus five, that son of a bitch is seven.
Three plus six, that son of a bitch is nine....'
His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, 'What are you doing?'
The little boy answered, 'I'm doing my math homework, Mum.'
'And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?' the mother asked
'Yes,' he answered.
Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, 'What are you
teaching my son in math?'
The teacher replied, 'Right now, we are learning addition.'
The mother asked, 'And are you teaching them to say two plus two, that
son of a bitch is four?'
After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, 'What I taught them
was, two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH IS FOUR.

2010-10-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

2010-07-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

My favourite Orchid.

2010-07-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

My favourite Orchid is flowering again, after an absence of flowers for 2 years, because of heavy frosts. the photos were taken one month apart as the flowers opened.

Qantus Award winning Photo.

2010-06-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Godwits in flight,

Photographed by David Halliett of The Press Newspaper. Scanned from the Newspaper.
A wonderful photo I wish was one of mine.

Qantus Award Photo winner.

Win a road trip in NZ

2010-06-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

Just click on Icon, answer 2 easy questions and your in the draw.

2010-05-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Just a little joke for the day.

Mussel and Peach Frittata.

2010-05-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Since you all enjoyed my other recipe for mussels I thought I would share another.

Mussel and Peach Frittata.

12 cooked chopped Mussels 1TB Olive Oil
Chopped Onion 1 clove Garlic
2 TB Parsley 2 TB SR Flour
1 Egg separated Squeeze Lemon juice
Half cup Chopped cooked Peaches Salt and Pepper
Mix everything together with egg yolk, then beat egg white stiff and fold gently
into the mixture. Stir til mixed. Pour into a oven proof pan and cook in oven on medium heat til nicely set and cooked..
Or this can also be cooked as fritters, fry spoonfuls in hot oil on both sides then drain on absorbent paper.
Or cook in a fry pan on top of stove til set then put in over under the grill to set the top and finish the cooking.

Curried Coconut Mussels.

2010-04-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to share with you all the special mussel recipe that we like. Hope you try it and enjoy it too. There are no hard and fast amounts just use what you have.

Curried Coconut Mussels.

Dice a large potato and a large onion and fry lightly in butter till part cooked. Add 1 t sp Curry powder salt and black pepper stir till mixed in hot pan. Add a can of Coconut Cream,about a cup full of chopped cooked mussels and simmer a further 20 minutes, stirring.
Serve over steamed rice with a green salad.

Porsche playing in her basket.

2010-04-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Porsche loves her basket, she plays with some of her toys in there too sometimes.

Nyle and Shane

2010-04-05T01:12:00.000-07:00

We spent a lovely afternoon in Nelson visiting My daughter Nyle and son-in-law Shane. Eating Chocolate eggs and hot cross buns.
Nyle won 2 gold medals yesterday in Christchurch, for 20km Race Walking.
Well done Nyle.

A great excercie.

2010-03-19T20:04:00.001-07:00

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.

Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.

Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

(I'm at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level,

put a potato in each bag.

St Patrick's Day

2010-03-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all.

Buller Half Marathon

2010-02-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

My Daughter Nyle finishing the Buller Half Marathon race walk at Westport, winning her class and fist lady home.
Well done Nyle, the weather conditions were atrocious by the sound of it.
Congratulations you did so well.
To read of Nyle's winning race walk click here to go to her blog.
This photo is from her blog.

Our visit to my sweet Great Gran Child

2010-01-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

We have been planing for ages to go to Nelson to visit my grand daughter Teagan and her little daughter Katie May, my only Great Gran child. Today we had the great pleasure of visiting them. I asked Teagan if Katie May could put on her lovely new dress, and Teagan agreed to do so. The long pretty purple dress looked so lovely on her and Katie May looked so very much older than her 2 years. She is an intelligent wee girl and loves to watch children's TV, in her special pink chair with her pink and blue What Not toys that she was quick to show me.

I went armed with lots of sweeties, cause all little children adore sweets and Mother's seldom allow many, that is what grand parents are for; to spoil the little dears. Katie May really enjoyed her lollipop.

After a lovely visit to Katie and Teagan we journeyed on to have lunch and a bottle of wine, with my Daughter Nyle and my grandson Kayne. We had a great afternoon together til Kayne left to assist Shane with his deliveries.
Just time for a quick visit to my other granddaughter Shakara as we drove through Nelson City.
Then it was time for the long drive back home, but what a happy day spent with my family.

Porsche's Christmas Present.

2009-12-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

Porsche got a Catnip filled monkey on a string with little bells, from Father Christmas, it made her go all silly! She had to have a little lie down!.

Christmas Joke.

2009-12-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all.
I hope you enjoy this Christmas joke.

My big red Amaryllis

2009-12-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

I am so pleased with my Amaryllis, its the first time it has flowered, so I brought in indoors so we could enjoy it in the conservatory. I have a second one growing in the garden, that is more pink with stripes of white, not so pretty.

Rowena's Paintings

2009-11-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Two more of my sister Rowena's paintings. A Cityscape and an Island, I like them both.
Rowena paints abstract so maybe you can see some other thing in them.
She must get her own blog to showcase these great paintings. Maybe she might sell some more of them.

My Sister's painting.

2009-11-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

My Sister Rowena has taken up painting with oils. She is going to classes and I think she is doing real well. This is her 2nd or 3rd big painting, it looks rather like a Masai shield all painted, or a pod full of bright red seeds, whatever it looks like to you its quite good and in fact she sold it straight away as soon as she showed it. I am not certain whether it was quite finished when I got this photo there may be some more painting added within the white area.

Porsche fishing cat

2009-10-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride Meme.
Porsche likes to sit on this pole with the string hanging from it, to watch the goldfish in the pool below it looks just like she is fishing, and maybe she is!
Doesn't she blend in well with the colour of the trellis.

Nyle's medals

2009-10-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

These are the real gold and silver medals that my Daughter, Nyle won at the World Masters Games in Sydney last week.
Her Auntie Rowena from New Zealand just happened to be in Sydney at the right time to watch her niece walk her Gold medal walking race. She is congratulating Nyle just before the medal presentation. It made such a big difference to have her Auntie there cheering her on.

Gold Nyle won Gold

2009-10-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

Gold, Nyle won a Gold medal at the world games for 5 kms Race Walking,
Wonderful, she has trained and worked so hard for this, she really deserves
her big moment. I am so proud of her.
Congratulations daughter.

Silver Medal for Nyle.

2009-10-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

WOW, Nyle won a Silver medal at the World Games for Race Walking in her age group over 10kms. I am so proud of her, she only lost to the gold medal winner by 1 second! And in a Personal best time!
Next race is only 5kms long, I am expecting big things from it.

Finding the road to success

2009-10-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Finding the road to success. ( from the Nelson Daily Mail Newspaper)

My daughter Nyle's story.

Sometimes it takes time to find your favourite fitness activity, but the passage of time doesn't necessarily mean you can't achieve at the highest level.

Nyle is 42. She's always had some involvement with sport and fitness, but only now is she reaching her peak in the sport she's chosen.

"I am fitter than I have been in my life. I feel younger and enjoy the extra energy I have now."

Nyle is a race walker. Today she leaves for Sydney for the World Masters Games – one of 25,000 competitors from more than 100 countries competing in 28 sports at 70 venues across the city. How did this happen?

"I represented my school in New Zealand national cross-country and inter-school athletics. I had tried powerlifting, and in my early 30s had entered a couple of bodybuilding championships. But nothing had really grabbed my attention as a permanent sport.

"As a dare, I entered the 2006 Taylors Women's Triathlon in the walk section as a recreational walker. It was at this event that I spotted my first race walker and thought, `Wow, how can I learn to do that?'.

"I tried to teach myself. I entered some duathlons at Rabbit Island, and even biked in the Lake to Sea and Lake to Renwick. But I didn't enjoy the biking as much as the other events.

"In 2007, I decided that I would enter the Taylors triathlon again, and so trained for it, and it paid off when I won the walk section and then later that year the Blenheim Women's.

"I then met Sharon McD at one of the Wednesday night 5km races, and she showed me how to race walk and explained the rules. I still couldn't get the hang of the style, and still looked like a recreational walker."

By this time, Nyle had a ton of motivation, but needed to be pushed in the right direction.

"It was Stephen arriving up from Dunedin that was to change how I walked. He joined us for Wednesday night walks in Richmond, and with his coaxing and guidance my style slowly changed.

"Last year I approached Stephen and asked him to be my coach. I improved quickly under his tutoring, winning the Nelson Shoe Clinic Half Marathon in May, then going to the Oceania Masters Track and Field in Townsville in September. I won three gold medals, one silver and two bronze. The golds were for the 10km road walk, 3000m track walk and 5000m track walk."

Nyle faces her first challenge of the 2009 Masters Games on Tuesday, when she will line up against nine other women in her age group at the start of the 10km road walk at Paramatta Park.

Her competition will end on Sunday with the 5000m track walk. There will be eight women in her age group, but a total of 83 on the track in the various age groups.

The route to the start line hasn't been easy. "I have a programme that my coach has made up for me. It alternates distances and pace times usually one long distance walk a week up to approximately 15km, one track session, two drill sessions and three road walks, 5-8km each walk.

"There have been days where motivation has been lacking. I had a long buildup to this event, and it gets hard day in and day out. I don't train well in the frosty cold mornings, so I do all my training in the evenings.

"When it's raining or it's cold and you know you have to go out and do an 8km training walk, you focus on the main goal. That is to get on the podium in Sydney."

Written and published by the Nelson Daily Mail.

My Pet has a pet of her own.

2009-10-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride Meme.
This little Silvery Eye flew into our lounge window by mistake and stunned its self. Porsche was fascinated by the bird and seemed to decide to keep it as a pet. She never did eat it, just gave it a few licks and pats then the bird recovered and flew away to safety.

Nyle's Sponsorship training gear.

2009-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

My daughter Nyle will be race walking in the World games in Australia, in two weeks time, to do so she has enlisted some sponsorship.

To start with she had set herself a goal of how much sponsorship she wanted to achieve. she wanted to sell 10 golds certificates, 10 silvers and 10 Bronze. I am thrilled to say that she have sold all 10 of her Golds, 3 of Silvers and 4 Bronze. she will try for one more week to sell off the last of the silver and bronze certificates and that will be it. Nyle has put her sponsors names and logos on her training top (as per photo's) and yes she does train in it. Her training partner says its like walking with a advertising billboard .. She has also put the same names onto her training bag, it looks very official now.
I think she looks pretty neat in her training gear, and its great that she has managed to find enough sponsorship to assist with her expenses while at the World Games. Now she just has to concentrate on her racing and her times and the health and fitness of her legs and feet,
You go girl!

A blogaholic.

2009-09-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this on Gillian from South Africa's blog and had to borrow it. Oh yes I am a blogaholic!

The Petonche Game

2009-09-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday.
My grand children play a game of petonche at the beach house while at a family gathering. There were no rules just fun.

A real smart dog.

2009-09-10T00:13:00.001-07:00

High time I featured a dog for Pet Pride Meme.
Not my dog, just one I found on the net and was impressed with. I hope you enjoy watching him too. He is better at pool than I am.

Stephanie's 9th birthday party

2009-09-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride, for the big orange Garfield cat toy!

Summer Stock Sunday.
We were invited to another important birthday party, Stephanie our youngest grand daughters 9th birthday. She had many guests both young and old to celebrate her day, a bubble machine supplied an endless stream of colourful glinting bubbles that danced around the girls as they played on a delightfully hot Spring day.
The girls had a big orange Garfield that was fulled with sweets to play toss with till he fell to pieces and all the candy was gobbled up quickly, there was all the old fashioned games like pass the parcel, musical chairs, pin the nose on the clown and hide and seek games all with prizes for the winner.
Then all the food came out and children descended like locusts and quickly there was very little left. A chocolate mud cake was the birthday cake with candles that we couldn't keep burning in the gentle breeze, but Stephanie cut it anyway, it was delicious.

My Sister's surprise birthday Party

2009-08-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday.
My dear sister Rowena was totally overwhelmed by the surprise 60th birthday party all her family and friends put on for her this Sunday. The lovely cake was baked by her youngest daughter Kirstie, we all enjoyed it and to give everyone a piece the whole cake was cut up and eaten. There would of been at least 100 people packed in to the restaurant to celebrate, we all had a wonderful time. She was given plane tickets for a free holiday in Australia, plus absolutely masses of both NZ and Aus $ as spending money, so wonderful when she has been very sick and has just lost her job, because of the recesssion. Arn't freinds and family wonderful sometimes.

Rooster lazing in the garden

2009-08-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride.
Camera Critters.

Do check out lots more wonderful animals at both of these Memes.

I spotted this big rooster lazing in the garden on Lifou Island, he was waiting for dinner time so he could eat up the scraps.
There was also a skinny cat and a mangy dog waiting eagerly for their share of the scraps.
Yes they did get plenty of tit bits from us all.

Fancy Sun Hats from Lifou Island.

2009-08-22T00:36:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday, wearing fancy hand made sun hats at Lifou Island. Couldn't stand too close together with the long fronds sticking out all around your head, but they were comfortable and covered with little flowers too.
Erle's expression shows about what he thought of the hats.
I am standing outside the Big Chief's palace/house, not exactly an every day Sunday experience either! (Seems I took off my hat for the big chief)

Man with pet Python

2009-08-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride.
This man in Langkawi, Malaysia with his pet python, he was so proud of this snake, he wanted us to have a hold, but as New Zealand has no snakes at all, we have a horror of the reptiles and wouldn't touch it.
He was a taxi driver who took his pet along on his taxi jobs! Wouldn't happen in our country!

2009-08-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday.
On board the Pacific Sun, cruising the Pacific, there is lots of time to just sit inthe sun with a book relaxing while watching the waves outside the port hole windows. Pull up another of these extra comfy chairs and join us, the cocktail waitress will be along soon, we can have a little party.

Scenic drive to the Wairau River Reserve.

2009-07-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday, scenic drive.

Scenic lane to a pretty view of the Wairau River scenic reserve, where there are lots of wild native birds and a nice picnic area, great for swimming on a hot day.

Porshe guarding the keys.

2009-07-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

Porsche, guards the car keys on our windowsill.
Sadly the car is a very nice Toyota Camry, not a beautiful Porsche.

Pet Pride Meme, check out lots of other delightful pets.
Camera Critters Meme. also has some really cute critters.
First time I have entered this meme, Porsche is a Silver Blue Burmese girl.

Sea Gulls on a stormy day

2009-07-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday and Pets Pride Meme
Red Billed Gulls catch a free ride on the fishing boats railings during a stormy trip down the Havelock Sounds. Not exactly pets just very grateful friendly birds, riding while others have to wheel and fly in the strong wind. Beaks to the wind everyone, and hold on tightly.
Taken through the front, sea spray covered window.

Queenie and Krishna

2009-07-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride Meme, follow the link to many more lovely pets.
This is from back in the days when I had a white Poodle dog called Queenie and a Siamese cat called Krishna.
Queenie had just been groomed, which she hated so much it seldom happened.
She felt she was looking so good that she should be allowed on the bed where she was not normally allowed, beautiful Krishna is just tolerating the presence of dog on her territory, one false move would have Queenie showed to the floor instantly. Krishna was always the boss.

Marlborough Sounds Walkway

2009-07-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday. Meme
There is a wonderful walkway around most of the Marlborough Sounds starting at Ship's Cove where Captain Cook landed a long time ago, the walkway winds its way slowly to Nydia Bay, a distance of about 40 km I guess, a long way anyway.
We just happened to be at Resolution Bay and decided to walk a very short distance on the trail through the bush enjoying the wonderful scenery along the way. The trail meanders through farm land as well as the forest, so you are often wandering among sheep or cattle.
A great way to enjoy a cool winters day, you soon warm up.
Check out how others fill their fun times.

New Zealand's National Anthem

2009-06-30T17:55:00.001-07:00

Here is New Zealand's National Anthem, sung first verse in Maori second in English, with a beautiful slide show to watch. Enjoy.

Raisin Cat and Yelow Orchids.

2009-06-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Pet Pride. and Summer Stock Sunday.
Big raisin Cat snuggled down to sleep on the chair, tucked in behind the pretty yellow orchid flowers, in the coolish autumn sunshine, I think he knew how well he showed off the yellow flowers. He is no longer with us but lives on in our hearts and photos.

Porsche smelling the flowers

2009-06-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Summer Stock Sunday from Israel and Pet Pride from India, Memes.
Our pretty Porsche sniffing the pretty flowers, a red begonia, the cold weather has now finished these lovely flowers, but the memory lingers.

Nyle's Thai silk gown

2009-05-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

My beautiful daughter's new dress that she had made to her own design over in Thailand, from heavy black Thai silk, she modeled it for me.
There is also a matching black silk scarf and hair piece snood.
In the background is a lovely series of three panels of Red Lacquer and inset carved Mother of Pearl of a pair of cranes, also from Thailand.

Link to my Daughters Phuket blog

2009-05-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

My Daughter Nyle and her husband Shane are currently holidaying in Phuket Thailand, you can follow their holiday fun here

http://nylesphuket.blogspot.com/

They are having the time of their lives and it makes for interesting reading. I can't beleive they actually got to ride elephants and even to pat and cuddle tiger cubs! I am green with envy!

2009-05-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by A walk through Auckland

The rules are simple: Tag and link back to the person who tagged you. List six (un) important things that make you happy. Tag six bloggers and let them know they're “it”. We all feel this blogging community to be one of inclusion and friendship.

The first six happy things coming to mind:
My Beautiful cat Porsche,
Traveling in the tropical warmth, with my Husband,
Swimming in warm waters,
Reading in the sun,
Having my daughter and her children visit me,
Getting comments on my blog from people around the world.

These are my six tagged bloggers in random order ;
: Sadly I don't have the knowledge to do this so my freinds who visit and comment often consider yourselves all tagged!

Porsche in hiding.

2009-04-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Pretty Porsche our Silver Blue Burmese cat, is hiding behind the teddy bears.

"Haha you can't see me."

But if you enlarge the photo you will see she is peeping at me from behind the candle.

Porsche couldn't let a good photo opportunity go by with out a small secret smile.

What Vitamin are you?

2009-04-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

You Are B Vitamins

~ B ~

You are energetic and lively. You have the resources to be very active in life.
You are likely quite athletic and healthy. Your body is a well oiled machine.

You seem to bounce back more quickly than most people. You don't stay tired for long.
Your energy seems to feed itself. Once you get moving, it's hard for you to stop!

.What Vitamin Are You?

99 things

2009-03-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

99 things

Saw this here and I thought it would be fun to see how many I had done..... No comments, just bold the things that you have done. If you do it, be sure to link back here and then comment so I can see what you've done too!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belgrove 18Km Race Walking Event

2009-03-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

My Daughter Nyle just gets better and better, this is what was printed in the Nelson Daily Mail.

In the 18km walk, Nyle S. broke the women's record set by Wendy Healey in 2005 by 3min 36sec in recording a time of 1hr 55min 7sec. Her time was also an impressive improvement of 7min 56sec over her time last year.

NZ Masters Champs in Tauranga

2009-03-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

My Daughter Nyle and several of her team mates from the race walking club in Nelson went to the NZ Masters Champs in Tauranga, they did expect to do reasonably well, but did not expect to actually win a gold each in their events.
Well done to all three Podium Winners.

The Buller Half Marathon

2009-02-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

My Daughter Nyle and Son-in-law Shane both competed in the Buller Half Marathon, in Westport on Valentines Day; their 6th Wedding Anniversary.. Nyle entered in the Race Walking and Shane in the running. Both did very well, Nyle actually WON the event in a personal best time, beating even her training partner and best friend! She had an injury to her calf muscle and was in pain most of the race, so it truly was a great effort. Shane who had never run a marathon before, finished in a very respectable time, and is now bitten by the running marathons bug.

Nyle won a nice trophy, a pair of running shoes, a huge bottle of Bubbly, framed photos of herself and Shane competing in their events, plus a handcrafted wooden Jewelery box made from NZ Rimu. A lovely collection of winnings.
Congratulation to you both, well done!

Fun with raisin

2009-02-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Life with Big Raisin.
Raisin could turn the radio alarm clock on any time he wanted, he loved to help with the lawn mowing, his job was to guard the wheel barrow from wheel barrow raiders, he loved to play with Porsche, play fighting and mutual grooming, he also went for daily walks with us trotting along beside us chattering all the way, a vocal cat! Life is so much quieter now! Porsche misses him too.

Raisin's Story

2009-02-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

Raisin’s Story.

I feel it is now time to tell the story of our big black Maine Coon cat Raisin.
Sixteen years ago, before Erle and I were married, I was a housesitter looking after a very nice home in Blenheim while the owners went overseas. These people owned a spaniel dog and a young girl boarder, which I was to look after and feed – both of them! No problem, the dog was well trained and the young girl Tracy was a pleasant person. One day she asked if her girl friend, which was going to be passing through Blenheim on route to Auckland to live, could possibly stay overnight with us. I was only too pleased to have her share the boarder’s room. Both girls spent their time giggling in Tracy’s room, as girls are likely to do.
During the evening I went outside for some reason and could see a big fluffy black cat sitting in the middle of Tracy’s bed. I gathered that was the reason for all the giggling and playing in the bedroom, but I didn’t mind and didn’t mention the word Cat.
After a pleasant night, I woke to hear Tracy and her friend, tiptoeing around the house and also out doors whispering ‘Raisin, Raisin here boy.’ They were getting quite desperate and started actually calling Raisin, then came and asked me to help look for the friends cat who had escaped outside during the night and was lost. The girl had to catch the ferry to the North Island, and was forced to leave without her cat. She told me he was a very special cat, not like others, with long silky black fur, she asked if I managed to find him would I please look after him. I agreed reluctantly, to do so.
By the end of the day a very hungry black fluff cat was meowing loudly at the door, but when I opened the door he ran very fast back to his hidey-hole under a stack of timber in the next section. The next day hungry overcame his fright and in he came demanding food with a loud voice.
Erle and I were to be married in about one month’s time, we already had bought our new home, but it was sitting empty until we were married. When Erle came around to visit for the evening we talked about how we were going to look after a cat, with a spaniel dog in the house it was not feasible to have Raisin for any length of time, so we decided to move Erle in to the new house from his little flat, he would settle in and take care of Raisin until we were married and settled. Both of us knew we would like to have a cat, and Raisin would do very well. We thought he was about a year old at this time, he was already neutered and a large cat.
Raisin was a quite different type of cat really, he had a huge long fluffy tail that looked like a squirrel or a possum’s tail, and he carried it sort of up over his back like a squirrel. He also had rather long fur around the side of his face, like mutton chops and curling out of his ears too, he was jet black with no white fur at all, rather a special cat. It wasn’t til many years later we were told that he was a Maine Coon cat, which are quite rare, especially in New Zealand at that time. He also had plenty of personality and intelligence, his main claim to fame was his ability to turn on radios, he could turn two quite different ones on, reason for this was that we used a bedside radio as an alarm clock, when the clock came on in the morning, we jumped out of bed and first thing we did once dressed was, feed Raisin, he was certain that we would feed him any time the radio clock turned on – and he was right, mostly.
So that is how we came to be Raisin’s Mum and Dad. He earned his keep catching masses of mice and some rats, since we lived in the country, even a few rabbits, he did also catch some birds but he was a cat and that’s what cats do sometimes. E also assisted us in raising three Burmese kittens; he was good at giving a quick wash and at amusing a wee kitty that just wanted to play all the time. We used to say; we called him Raisin, Raisin, Raisin, such a good cat we named him three times.
Sadly today was his last day with us, he has been a very sick cat for a while now, eating less, loosing weight and vomiting frequently, he also started howling in such a manner that we just knew he was in pain, so we finally did the last kind thing we could do for him, and had his suffering brought to an end.
Goodbye Big Raisin boy cat, we will really miss your companionship, life won’t be the same without you, for us and for Porsche.

Shakara my Grand daughter.

2009-02-08T00:11:00.002-08:00

Shakara.
My second Grand daughter took this photo last time I was visiting her in Nelson. Shakara is 18 years old and has grown in to a delightful attractive young lady, she is flatting with her brother in Nelson.
She was clowning around with me, and suddenly she just held her camera at arms length and said 'strike a pose Gran' I grabbed her for a big hug and snap, this is the result! Nice one Shakara.

What mystical Gem stone are you? I am a Topaz

2009-01-16T13:21:00.001-08:00

Click on the title to go find what mystical gem stone you are.

Almost tagged by my follower Pug.

2009-01-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

I Have been almost tagged by my follower Pug.
Picture Tag!

Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer\

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture.

4) Tag 4 people to do the same.
My 4th Folder 'Fur Seals and Otters' and this Fur Seal sitting on a lichen covered rock at Kaikoura NZ was photo number 4.
I would like to tag the next 4 people who look at this post!
Plus my Daughter Nyle and my freind in Finland.

Jingle bells Jog Fun Run, Nelson

2008-12-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

As a fun run Christmas event, both my daughter Nyle and her husband Shane, entered in the Jingle Bells Jog. Shane jogged and Nyle powerwalked. most people wore some kind of Christmasy articles to make the whole thing more jolly.

They both had a lot of fun, as did all the other participants. It is not often that they can both compete together, in any way at all. That's them with the Santa hats on. After the 5KM jog they rested a few moments, then ran the 5km back to their car.

2008-12-03T13:03:00.001-08:00

You Are a Sphynx Cat

Some say you're part monkey, part dog, part child, and part cat.

You're unique and mysterious enough to seem a little otherworldly.

You're so hyper active that you almost literally climb the walls.

You are also devoted and loyal. But you demand a lot of attention in return.

What Breed of Cat Are You?

My Daughters new Venture

2008-11-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

My daughter has decided to venture into the online retail business with some delightfully sexy lingerie and negligies and teddies and other wonderful things .

Go have a quick look at these naughty but nice garments by Goddess.

http://www.goddesslingerie.co.nz/

Maybe there might be something that you have just got to have.

Our new chair.

2008-11-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Soon after we moved into this nice new home we decided to buy ourselves a nice new chair. We specially wanted another lazy-boy type chair as they are so comfortable, but some are so heavy you can't move them around easily, so we saught out a lightweight model that was still very comfortable, and asked the company to order us one in a maroon coloured leather so it would fit in well with our other furnishings. The order was placed, overseas somewhere, and we were told it would take a while to have it made as we wished. We didn't expect it would take more than five months, but it did.

The new chair was delivered and unpacked and placed in position in a nice sunny place. next thing we know our two cats came flying across the room, jumped up on to the seat and settled down. They said "This chair is ours, thankyou." and have made it there own as much as possable ever since.

Big Raisin

2008-11-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

We have 2 beautiful cats, Big Raisin is a Maine Coon Cat, or so we have been told. We just know he is a long-haired black cat with personality. He has the bigest fluffiest tail, just like a squirrel tail we think. Raisin and Porsche are very good friends, playing together all day long, with never a cross word between them.

Raisin is now about 16 years old and still going strong, though he is not as active as he used to be and no longer catches birds or mice like he used to.

Porsche

2008-10-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Porsche, our Siver Blue Burmese cat, is such a happy cat, notice the big smiles. She is all grown up now. This was her favourite chair, but we have moved home and no longer have this old chair so she is still finding good sunny places to sit and dream.

2007-09-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

This is me enjoying a coffee in a waterfront cafe in the brilliant sunshine at Picton. My pendant is made from carved mussel shell.

Porsche

2007-03-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Our very beautiful Silver Blue Burmese Cat, now a year old.

She is very curious and adventurous, too much so in fact, as she recently managed to get locked in someones garage, about half a mile away from home. We had abslutely no idea Porsche roamed so far from home. Poor small cat was locked in the garage for two whole days and a night, she was just frantic when I finally managed to track her loud but muffled meows and get the owners to open their garage. We hope that she has learned her lesson but somehow I doubt it!

The trophy Nyle won.

2007-01-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the beautiful trophy Nyle won when she won her class in the Marlborough Womens Triathalon.
Didn't she do well!

My daughter Nyle in the Women's Triathlon.

2006-12-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend my daughter Nyle competed in the Womens Triathlon held in Blenheim every year. As she is unable to run, she walks the running leg with a powerful power walk that she has trained for. This time I was able to watch her as she raced past. She was first of the walkers, did very well in the biking and swam very well too. Due to a timing error she was not awarded the trophy, but that is being fixed as I write. It is expected she will be awarded the trophy after the times have been checked again.

Jolichat Porsche Silver Blue Burmese Cat

2006-10-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

Our very beautiful Silver Blue Burmese Cat PORSCHE.

My Taxi photo, husband and daughter

2006-05-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

This was me a few years ago when I first started taxi driving
as its my favourite photo of me, I shall use it.
My Husband, we have been married for 11 years now.

My daughter, who looks much prettier than this, I chose the wrong photo!