Blog365 - Day 39

For my 'self portrait a day' challenge photos I took some in a couple of weird places today - at the hairdressers and the blood bank! Weather still unbearably hot but I managed to get caught in the rain without an umbrella so that cooled me off!

Okay so it's not so flattering but I was just pointing the camera in what I hoped was the right direction and hoping for the best, at least it's not up my nose! The hairdresser now thinks I'm a little potty as do all the nurses at the blood bank!
I asked the one who was seeing to me to take a few photos but she didn't really have a clue about what to do, she was looking through the viewfinder holding it about a foot away from her eye! They all turned out blurred, oh well never mind I did manage to take this one with my left hand. Now for some more photos from yesterday.

This is part of the Port of Auckland with the start of the yacht marina and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

A bit further around this is the Westhaven Yacht Marina and the approach to the harbour bridge. The large buildings behind on the North Shore are the Chelsea Sugar Works.
Now you can see why Auckland is called 'The City of Sails' - it's a wonderful sight when yachts come from all over on our Anniversary Day (Jan 29) to join in the Southern Hemisphere's largest one day yacht regatta.

My house is somewhere in this photo! Looking out toward the Waitakere Ranges in the distance, I live at the foot of them on the edge of Titirangi/New Lynn.

The large brown building in the middle is the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell where Sir Edmund Hillary's body lay in state when he passed away last month. Just behind it (to the right of the photo) you can barely see the roof (behind a tree) of the smaller older 1886 church St Mary's Cathedral where his state funeral took place before he was laid to rest at a private cremation. Don't forget you can click on a photo to see a larger version.

A small version of an American motorway! On the right hand side a bit more than half way up you can see a large old red brick building, that is Auckland Girl's Grammar School that I went to back in - oh heck the mind boggles - 1952-1954!

Looking out towards the Hauraki Gulf on the way to Waiheke Island.

I took advantage of the empty tables to get a shot of the revolving part of the restaurant, they didn't stay like this for very long though, it's a popular place. The outer perimeter where the tables & chairs sit is the only part that revolves with the kitchen, toilets, lifts etc being stationary in the middle, you have to remember to check the closest number to your table so you don't get lost if you go to the toilet.

This is Albert Park in the centre of the city where they're holding the Festival of Lanterns in 10 days, I'm hoping to be able to make it one night while it's on.

I was fascinated with the reflections of all the red lanterns in this building.

And finally for tonight the ship up close, as close as I was allowed anyway.......and so to bed.

Blog365 - Day 38

Today I took the train into town to meet some friends from England who were here for the day on their 'Around the World in 80 Days' cruise on the P&O ship 'Aurora'.

So starting from when I hopped off the train at Britomart Station I took this of the old facade that used to be the main GPO in town before the railway station was built a few years ago. You can see the start of the modern station just inside the doorways. BTW the clock was stopped, it was only about 11am.

This is one of the city link buses that does the round trip of the main city including Ponsonby and Newmarket.

With it being the Chinese New Year the whole length of Queen St was decorated with these beautiful Chinese Lanterns. I like the contrast between them and the old ferry building, that clocked had also stopped - maybe there is some truth in what they say about NZ 'the last one to leave please turn out the lights'!!

This is the Queen's Arcade at the bottom of Queen St, another very old building that has been upgraded in recent years but still has that olde worlde feel about it.

Oops how did that get in here? It must be Valentine's Day!

I was meeting Allan & Elizabeth for lunch at the Orbit Restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower but I was early so I sat outside & had a cup of coffee and saw everyone looking skyward, when I looked up there was this man jumping from the top of the tower, just had time to point the camera up and he went zooming past - just as well he had ropes attached LOL.

This is the Orbit revolving resaurant from down below, the restaurant is behind the middle row of blue windows, the row below is the observation deck that we stopped at on the way up and where I took this photo for my 'Self Portrait a Day'.

Taken 186 metres up above the Auckland city centre. Photo fixed in PhotoShop because while hanging on for dear life I took one photo and was out of there before that very flimsy looking 38mm (15") thick glass broke under my weight! Not the most flattering photo of our city but I don't care!

Elizabeth & me sitting in the restaurant, one full circle takes about an hour and the views are out of this world but very hard to take photos when the glass is blue! We are laughing at Allan trying to take the photo, it was about his 4th attempt and it wasn't until afterwards I noticed I had forgotten to take the lens hood off!

A shot of all the new apartment buildings down in the Viaduct Basin area, you can see one of the really old shop buildings still there down the bottom on the right.

The Aurora, wonderful how the other half live isn't it!

The city in the forefront with the container wharf and looking out past North Head on the North Shore to Rangitoto in the distance, one of the many volcanoes that Auckland is built on, none of them extinct either! That's enough for today, my legs are aching from all that walking in this heat, more tomorrow.

Self Portrait - Day 2

Seeing I am 18 hours ahead of EST I'm able to post my second day today because EST has now gone ahead one day since I posted my first self portrait. This one shows how hot it is here, in the time it took me to take a few photos it melted all over my hand!

And look at this, just delivered to my computer! DH was sick of waiting for his dinner! Doesn't it look delicious, miles too much but I'm not complaining :).

Oh my goodness I'm going to burst! I suppose I'd better go and do the dishes now.

Blog365 - Day 37

Today must be the hottest most humid day of the summer so far, I have a sleeveless top on and for me to do that means it must be hot and I don't care what I look like! Earlier on the sky was black which promised some rain.

And sure enough down it came, in torrents!

But not for long, it cleared up soon after. While I was hanging out the window getting a shot of the rain I took this one of my neighbour's roof, I quite liked the shot.

Today on DSP I joined in a photograph 'Self Portrait a Day' challenge, goodness knows why anyone would want to look at me everyday but it sounds like fun so here's my first one, taken with my new love. Note I've hidden the bare arms!

Heritage Photos Again

Yes photos of me are now considered heritage! Born 1940 these are of me from 6 mths to 2 years - a two page layout for my 'Pieces of My Life' album.

Credits: As I Ride By by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/24ycox

As I Ride By Again by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/2sbpub

Charming Ages Word Art by Tina Chambers, http://tinyurl.com/3byyc5

I Heart You 2 Page QC by Elisabeth Weaver (slightly altered), http://tinyurl.com/33rdp4

Scraps of Us Word Art from Lynnette Siler aka FormbyGirl

Blog365 - Day 36

I picked up some fabulous Quickpages (also known as Ploppers) from godigitalscrapbooking.com designed by Theresa Borntreger a few days ago, this is one of them. They're so easy, all you need to do is add the photos and a little bit of journalling if you want and it's done. There are lots of places you can get freebies just like this if you look around. Join a digital scrapbooking website and get put onto their newsletter list, there is usually a couple of freebies in those each month. It's a start if you don't want to go the whole hog right off.

Credits: My Shining Star QP by Theresa Borntreger

Text Paths #1 by Lauren Bavin, http://tinyurl.com/33whne

Journalling reads: The whole world is your stage, with your shining morning face - with apologies to Shakespeare.

Scatterday I - 9 Feb 2008

Something Australian was easy, one of my grandsons who is a real IMP was born & lives in Melbourne, obviously the photo is not by me but taken with my camera when I was there a few years ago (we don't talk about the hair, whatever was I thinking!). I also managed to get a not too bad photo of Australia the ISLAND on my TV screen one night during the weather forecast. The something yellow is an INDIAN sari I found in the window of a shop, there was an iron grill inside the window so I took it up as close as I could so the grill wouldn't show. Lastly, I found this horrible INSECT at the park today - okay so it's not actually in the air but have you ever tried to photograph a fly on the wing?
BTW there is a very easy comment box on the right if you scroll up/down a bit, easier to use than the other one - please use it, why isn't anyone using it?

Credits: Australian Opals 2 by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/39y2r4
Australian Opals Addon by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/34dr3s
Funky Fresh Alpha by Amber Gray
Glitter Alpha by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/2dwl6s
Special Place QC by Elisabeth Weaver, http://tinyurl.com/2ctzzs

Hot Dry Summer

While I was waiting for the washing to be done today I walked to our local Manawa Wetlands Reserve and was shocked to see how dried up it was. I've been visiting it for 8 years now and I've never seen it like this before. Hope it rains soon, the poor ducks are looking very lost!
This is what it usually looks like.

Click on this one to get a better view.

And this is what it looks like today.



Actually I hope it doesn't rain soon, I'm loving the weather and could go without rain forever if I had to!

Blog365 - Day 35

Posting before I go to bed today because I have a busy day coming up. Off to the Laundrette to do the washing, price some washing machines and look for photos to take in one of the Scatterday categories - something you find in the air starting with I! Is that hard or what? All I can think of is 'insect' but to get a photo of one actually in the air might be next to impossible! I also need to find something yellow starting with I - I'm going to the Indian Sari shop to see if they have a yellow one, then I have to talk them into letting me photograph it! It's either that or find some yellow Incense - which hopefully will be in the same shop. The something Australian starting with I was real easy, but I'm not telling yet.....
Today's layout is Becky contemplating something - probably up to no good!

Blog365 - Day 34

Well it seems the fault doesn't lie with my ISP, still getting very slow Internet all around. The council are laying new drains in our street so maybe someone has dug into the telephone lines!
Today I have a layout of Lauren & Becky trying to drown themselves while on holiday a few weeks ago, it sure looks like fun.
The weather is a little cooler today, didn't have to have the fan going flat stick which is nice. Bought another external hard-drive yesterday so I now have plenty of room for my photos, sorry there's been such a long lull in my photowalking, starting up again soon.
We need to go washing machine shopping on Saturday, I found the original receipt which says it was made in May 1992 and purchased new on 7 Feb 1994 for $92.40! It's hardly worth getting fixed after all these years, up until now we've never had a moment's problem with it so it's done a good job. Except for that one time I tried to wash an old floor mat that disintegrated into a million pieces and clogged the machine up so bad it took DH days to get it all out! Anyone want to bet I won't get another one for $92.40?

Blog365 - Day 33

Have been having computer problems today, my downloading rate has dropped to below 5kb/sec instead of the up around 250kb/sec I usually get. Waited ages and ages to download files and then all of a sudden they drop out and there's either nothing or a corrupted file left behind! I've been tearing my hair out doing all sorts of scans for spybots and viruses and you name it, defragging, rebooting, resetting the router, blah blah blah - with no success at all! Going to son's place to do my downloading tomorrow and if it's successful you'll hear me yelling down the phone to my ISP when I get home!
So then I thought mmmm I'll catch up on printing my album pages, did six and the black ink ran out, of course I only had about 3 coloured cartridges & no black in the house!
So in the end I was forced to do housework - how bad is that? Started on the washing and would you believe it leaked water all over the floor which gradually got worse so it looks like we might need a new washing machine, it's over 10 years old so it's not worth paying out heaps of money to get it fixed when a new one will probably cost less!
Another public holiday in NZ tomorrow (well today actually it's 1.41am!) - Waitangi Day - and it looks like I'll be spending it at the laundrette!

Blog365 - Day 32

Went to the dentist, this time took my camera but forgot to take any photos! I've been going to this same dentist for 57 years although the current dentist took over from the original one about 20 years or so ago. So the other day I asked if I could get some copies of my first dental cards all those years ago and he gave me the first four - first treatment 22 Jan 1951, I would have been 10 years 2 mths old. An xray and examination cost 10/6d, 2 fillings and a prophysomethingorother each cost 10/6d also, total £2.2s.0d paid for by the Health Department on 4 Apr 1951. And so it goes on - on 13 Jun 1963 free treatment and clean as a wedding present, I was married on the 15th. And an interesting little note on the 19 Nov 1965 'baby overdue' no fee - my son was born on the 25th Nov. Nothing much else of interest really, just lots & lots & lots of amalgam fillings that I still have some of today! No fluoride in those days.

Blog365 - Day 31

Posting early today because I have to go to the dentist again tomorrow. Still hot although we had a heavy downpour of rain this morning, cleared up in the afternoon so we had a stroll to the supermarket for our weekly shopping - dead exciting huh? Today's layout is another for my heritage album, photos taken about 1956/57 with an old friend, we met each at school when we were about 13 and when our mother's finally met they realised they knew each other, they had flatted together in their young pre-marriage days - how spooky is that!
She just sent me the photo on the top left yesterday which prompted me to do this layout with the photos of us I posted a few weeks ago. I thought they were all taken at Cornwallis beach but those landmarks in the back don't look similar at all so maybe not.

Blog365 - Day 30

Mmmm I'm wondering why only Andrea has used my new comments box and everyone else is using the old way - get with it boys & girls, keep up with technology!
Today you get yet another layout of one of my grand-daughters, fans still going flat stick here!

Blog365 - Day 29

How funny is this?

Broken Escalator - Amazing videos are here

ScatterdaZe - 2 Feb 2008

Here we are again, another week gone by. I didn't really feel like going out much thiz week, the weather and my feet conspired against me! So I had to see what I could find around the house starting with Z, I was really zurprized at what popped up. Something a little bit different are my herbal Zinger teabagz - then came the Zoom lenz on my camera - and lastly I grated the rind of a lemon & an orange to get the Zest and then shaped it into a Z, made an awful mezz but the zmell was divine! I put it onto a sheet of white paper, took the photo then imported it into PhotoShop and brushed away the background to leave just the Z!
Then I added a couple of alpha Z letterz, a clip art Zebra zitting down, some Zigzag ztitching, a Zero, word art of my Zodiac zign and another clip art of the word Zoo.
And there I waz thinking Z waz going to be hard!

Credits - All American Alpha by Amber Gray
Alpha Mosaic N-Z QC by Lauren Bavin, http://tinyurl.com/38hdtx
Antique Autumn by Valeria Brumfield, http://tinyurl.com/2b9u85
Chocolate Chip Cookies Alpha by Kim Liddiard, http://tinyurl.com/2hz47m
Golden Allure by Valeri Brumfield, http://tinyurl.com/3xl7tz
Natural Harmony by Valeri Brumfield, http://tinyurl.com/37hlo3
What's Your Sign? Word Art by Tina Chambers, http://tinyurl.com/23rp7b
Clip Art by Wendy Sefcik, Seebee & pcCrafter

Blog365 - Day 28

No photos or layouts today, it's been just too hot to do much lately & my feet swell up if I sit at the computer for too long :(.
I found this new comment box (you might need to scroll down a bit) on another blog so thought I'd try it out - at the moment it's free with just basic features but if it works well I might upgrade to the Premium version.

Blog365 - Day 27

Mmmm seems I've missed two days not just the one I thought I had - I think I must have slept through one of those days! Today's layout is the next month in my 2007 Year in Review album.

Blog365 - Day 26

Today is grand-daughter sitting day so there might be a few photos later on. In the meantime here's a layout of my father, another one for the heritage album.

Blog365 - Day 25

Another day another dollar - gone to my dentist! My front tooth fell out on Friday and as it was a long weekend here my dentist had the day off and so couldn't see me until today - hence me not getting to go somewhere I haven't been before over the weekend like I was promising myself - it was rather hard trying to talk while keeping my mouth shut when out in public! Besides it's too hot to do anything strenuous. Today's layout is another heritage one of my mother as a baby in 1913.

Blog365 - Day 24

I've been delving into my family tree for about 20 years now so I've decided I should try to do more of my heritage album pages - this year is going to be dedicated to getting all my old photos done. This one is my maternal grandparents on their wedding day - they both migrated from different parts of England to meet, marry and live in NZ the rest of their lives.

This one is of the two sisters of the father of my above grandmother. They were both widowed in this photo taken with my grandmother's brother and his wife. Click on the photos to get a larger view if you can't read the journalling.

Blog365 - Day 23

Okay I forgot again! It's a long weekend here so we've been out and about being very busy doing not much really. Sunday morning we had a stroll through the local monthly artists' market day & bought some lovely scenic cards I thought I might frame. Then off to lunch at our old neighbours' new house for a Sri Lankan meal, very nice very hot!

No photos this weekend as I don't have much room left on my hard-drives (two computers!), I need to have a good clean out before I load them up again. Here's my June 2007 Year in Review layout.