Art for Heart's Sake

Here they are!

Phew I finally managed to upload these photos.  I went to the help page and there was a message saying ''if you are using Internet Explorer 10 you won't be able to upload photos''.  Sure enough when I look at the updates my computer had done when I turned it back on when we got home, there was Internet Explorer 10 so I had to uninstall it.

I'm off to work this morning so will post more photos tomorrow.  Have a great day/evening wherever you are!  John is off to Blenheim to help his son and daughter-in-law shift into their new house.  I SO wish I was going to but there's not much point John taking Chester as that would only add major hassles to the move!  Also at this stage I'm not sure if I'm working this weekend or not (no roster.. hmmmmm).  Smiles..

Can't Upload Photos

Hi and oh blast and bother, I still can't upload photos to this page for some reason.  I'll try their help page and hopefully will be able to solve it.  Aaaggghhh..

Yesterday was fairly busy - lots of washing to do, art things to unpack, rocks to sort (ooooh) and lots of other bits and pieces.  I'm not really sure where the day went.

Today I'm going to sweep some leaves from the verandah and also from under our deciduous trees and add them to my leaf compost bin.  I also need to sort out what I'm wearing to work tomorrow, my lunch etc so I don't have a blisteringly mad panic to get out of the house by 8.30am. 

Chester seems to be a bit better today so I may cancel the vet appointment he has for this pm.  His stomach has calmed down quite a lot thank heavens so the bland food must be doing its job.  I'm not sure what caused the upset but I had thought it could be giardia from the water or other dogs at the kennels.  Time will tell I guess.  He seems a bit brighter today which is the main thing.

Not much else to report so I'll see if I can work out why my photos aren't uploading!  Smiles..

 

A Major Highlight!

Hi from a rather chilly Nelson, giggle!  It seems wintery temps are here at last and part of me really hopes it stays that way.  I always knew I liked cold weather but I really LOVE it, especially if it involves that white fluffy snowy stuff!  Yes I know, I'm odd, giggle!

Here is a photo of one of the major highlights of our trip.  I can't tell you what it meant to me to meet the lovely Donna Downey.  The minute she heard my name she rushed towards me and we hugged.  I've admired Donna's talent and inspiration for a very long time so was thrilled that she even knew who I was before we'd said a word.  Mind you I have emailed her and Bill (her husband) a few times about various thing, giggle.  OOPS NO PHOTOS AS THIS BLASTED SYSTEM WON'T LET ME DO IT!!  AAAGGHHH

I have a photo of the canvas I did but I just need to find it, then I'll post it for you.  Here is a photo of my lovely niece Jessica on her graduation day.  I can't tell you how proud I am of this girl - she's just turned 23 and graduated with a degree in Commerce and Law.  Very clever she is and she will go far!

 

I love this pic of us at her graduation dinner.  Just look at my smile - can you tell how much I love this sweet lady!

 

Today I'm trying to recover fast from this blasted head cold - it feels as though it's moving down into my bronchial area which is not what I need when I have to work on my feet all day Friday.  I'm determined that it is going to go away.

Chester came back from the kennels with what looks like gastroenteritis poor lad.  Big sigh.  We are hoping we don't have to take him to the vet and have him on bland food.  I'm kicking myself because I meant to send his special bland food with him to the kennels in case he got an upset tummy, but I thought he'd be okay!  Hmmm listen to your gut Philippa (excuse the pun, giggle).  We'll see how he is tomorrow.

I'm off to start sorting out the rocks I got down south which could take me a while and then we need to go grocery shopping this pm.  Smiles..

We're Home!!

Hi yay, we're home!  We had such a good holiday in my favourite part of the entire world and now we're back down to earth with a thud.  Giggle.. Pookies.. just picked up Chester from the kennels to find out he's had runny poops (to coin a phrase) for 4 days!!!!  Why the heck the kennels didn't let us know I don't know but I now wish I'd followed my gut instinct and given them his bland ID food in case it happened.  I think it is just stress-related because he seems happy enough in himself and also is still eating (bland food started now!).

Monty was so happy to see us it was really cute.  He has been following me around since we got home mid-pm.  We had an amazing trip home through the Lewis Pass (more info on that later) and I took lots of photos because there was snow EVERYWHERE!!  We found out just after we go through that they were now recommending snow chains and believe me we knew why.  It was pretty dicey in several places and for a lot of km's (miles).

More tomorrow when I have my head in a better space.  My head cold is making my head feel like a brick but at least my nose isn't pouring anymore.  It's bitterly cold outside so our wood burner is roaring.. oooh lovely!  Smiles till tomorrow...

Hi from Christchurch!! This is a late post because we have been traveling all day, wow! We left Dunedin at about 8.30am and made our way up to Christchurch. The major highlight was stone hunting at birdlings flat where there are agate stones for miles!! I was there for about 1hour and I was in heaven!!
My head cold isn't great but I was determined to be on the beach no matter what.
The weather is very dicey overnight so I hope we get home via the Lewis Pass again tomorrow. There is another route but its longer and I so want to get home now. I miss Monty very much and can't wait to give him a big cuddle.
I will post lots of photos over the next week or so, from our trip. Big smiles and keep your fingers crossed for a speedie, safe trip home!! Smiles...

Hi and wow what an amazing day we've had. Long story short, we got an unexpected tour of the inside of my grandmother's house here in Dunedin, I found my great aunt's house, my grandparents graves, my great grandmothers grave and my aunt and uncle's graves in an amazing cemetery here. Also got to see wild surf and oh so many other things. I have lots of photos to share when I get home. Tomorrow we are heading to Christchurch where we will stay the night before heading home on Tuesday. Just an amazing day!!! Smiles...

Otago on our route. Silly iPad keyboard, grrrrr.. We are meeting Jessica, her boyfriend Simon, my sister Judith, her ex hubby Chris and his wife Caroline at a lovely restaurant around the corner from our motel in about an hour.
Tomorrow I'm taking John to see where my mum grew up here and also my grandfather's boat house at a place called Port Chalmers. There is also a cemetary there where mum's family are buried. It's lovely to be here.
I am looking forward to getting home to Monty I must say!! Only two more full days. We also pick up Chester from the kennels he is staying at on the way home on Tuesday. Smiles from a very proud aunt!!!!

Hi, yay my niece has graduated with a Batchelor of Law and Commerce!! What a clever honey she is! Jessica and I have always had a special bond so I'm so happy we could be here in Dunedin for it.
We had a lovely drive over from Queenstown, the best part of central

Hi, we'll,it's been ours last day in the Queenstown area and I'm sad to be leaving tomorrow. I don't like Queenstown itself but the rest of the district is magical. I've been on quite a few rock hunting outings and today I found the ultimate rock!! I'd still like to get back down to the lakeside but I've run out of time to do that, pookies!
We are about to pack up the car as much as we can tonight because tomorrow we are leaving around 9am to go to Dunedin for my nieces graduation ceremony which is so exciting. I must go and start packing the car!! Smiles.. Until later tomorrow...

Aargh to this iPad! It is not easy topmost on this thing, giggle. Wanaka is about 45mins away and the crown range is fun to drive over. Yay! Smiles...