Good Fortune

Spring is definitely here and it's been sunny and beautiful outside, though at times still a bit chilly. I've had the good fortune of a museum shop being interested in some of my work, which has kept me locked up in the basement. I still love what I do, but I can really use a break to go out and enjoy our... weed garden/nature reserve.

Lachezar of Auckland got tired of waiting for pics of my newest pieces, he's taken off on a three-week holiday!

Daniel from Christchurch is now in the loop; we're fans of his bloky photos. And Ben found a new Christchurch DP this morning by Michelle. Chch is further down the Mainland, (that's what we call the South Island, seriously!), and is dubbed the Garden City.

The Seafarer's Memorial

Click next photo for closeup of plaque.

And here, you can find another shot.

Don't Stare at Your Fish Too Long

Especially the shy ones.

A Day for Catching Up with Friends

This is Monib and Mina; we met them within a week of moving to Nelson in '94, then I worked for Monib for a year around '98 at the Polytech, then they moved to Wellington in '99. (Ha ha, that sounds like I was a catalyst to their move!) You may not believe it from their expressions, but they came to New Zealand nearly 20 years ago as refugees with nothing because of Baha'i faith, and Mina has horror stories of hiding in the back of the truck for hours and crossing the border in the dark, which she retells hilariously. They travel the world, but this was Monib's first trip to Nelson since '99, and we had lunch with Ben, Joanne (another co-worker) and Jean (from my gym!) at Turkish Delight, previously In Vino Fide, former Faces Cafe.

Jean came in to have a quick lunch, while I was waiting for the rest of my group. Jean sat at the next table and we were having a nice time catching up, when M&M waked in and happily shouted "Meeeeg!!! Jeeeeeeann!!" It turns out they know Jean as well, so she joined us for the rest of her lunch.

Things like this happen quite often in little old Nelson, everybody knowing everybody, and though this was a surprising match, we are no longer surprised.

I missed the 2.30 and 2.50 bus coming home, and I even missed the start of two French films, both at 3.05, so instead of waiting for the 3.50, I decided to wait for Ben, who wanted to go home early-ish. I went to a craft shop, where I ran into another friend, Ros, who has been back and forth between Nelson and Oxford since around '99 also; I knew she's been back for a year, but this was the first time I had a chance to talk to her. And then Megg Hewlett walked in the shop..... and it turned out to be a great day of catching up with friends.

AAAAHHHHHH, I miss not having these guys in Nelson. He a man of so much integrity, honesty and culture, she a bundle of joy, broad-mindedness, and a seriously good cook.

CO2 Emission

Please forgive us; here's another of our domestic mess.

This is our wood burner, which is a fireplace with a lid, and the main method of heating our house in the winter. As of last month, homes in our section of Nelson can apply for an interest-free loan to replace old fire places and wood burners. Our is old enough, and we qualify for the loan, and we have three choices: gas heating, electric heating, or a newer, more environmentally safe wood burners.

I am terrified of gas, so that's automatically out. Electric heating, including something called "heat pumps" have been popular here, but one heat pump guy told us the layout of our house wasn't suitable for a heat pump. Besides, in NZ, electricity supply can get iffy at times, so I'm not sure if we want to rely on electricity.

I love the ambiance of burning wood; our wood burner is what is called a "wet back"; it is connected to our hot water tank. Our hot water is normally heated electrically, but when the fire is going, some heat is sent to the hot water tank as well, producing nice, soft hot water. And sometimes that little screen on the wood burner is far more entertaining than the TV.

But with wood, we must buy them before or during the summer and let them dry completely. We must lug them all the way from outside the garage to the living room, or at least stack them outside the kitchen at some point. Burning wood slowly mark the walls and everything else in the room, and leaves a lot of dust and soot all over.

And the worst problem is, what's on offer is an interest-free LOAN, so we have to fork out the money one way or another.

In Central Nelson, open fire places will be banned very shortly. So this interest-free loan means sooner or later outdated wood burners will be banned in this section of town also.

Oh, the wine boxes? I carry the log in those, because right now the logs are downstairs, outside the garage door, where we get quite a lot of wind. We bought a bit additional wood mid-winter, and they need some more drying.

Post Script: I just heard on the radio, 9AM Tuesday, that there is to be no "old" fire places in Nelson by 2013. They proceed neighborhood by neighborhood, so I'm not sure if we're given that much time, however.

In Between

Between the fancy waterfront apartments, there is a concrete wall holding the cliff behind the apartments.

Rugby World Cup

Well, for us, it started at 6AM this morning. I was up but didn't watch it. But it's a good thing Channel 3 is broadcasting the games.

In recent years, pay-for-view Sky TV had the right to the live broadcast, and Channel 3 had the delayed coverage. In the last one or two years, the delayed coverage moved to Prime, which we don't receive very well; in fact, Nelson is surrounded by hills and mountains on three sides, and the sea on the forth, so we get pretty poor TV coverage and cell phone reception.

That's the rugby-related broadcast for just for today - and the thing goes on for a month. I think I'll wait a while to start watching the games.

But Lara Croft sandwiched between all that rugby? Channel 3 sure knows its target audience, eh? Ben's been sick for a few days, so today's testosterone-ridden post has been brought to you by moi.

Apologies for the horrible photo. I'm having problems with my eyes, and this was the ... 12th photo I tried. I need to get the boy out of bed and have him try this with his fancy camera.

AO TEA ROA

I came back to this mural that I posted here in earlier. It clean sweep blue sky today and no cloud except one on the mural. (Another shot from same day.)

Captain Cook's Map of the South Island

Also on Saturday at Tim Wraight's. This sculpture, a 3D rendition of Captain Cook's map of the South Island of New Zealand, by Warren Viscoe used to stand in nearby Mapua, but was neglected and damaged. So Tim's brought it to studio for restoration. Later in the afternoon, Tim, his father and Ben took it off the truck and stood it upright on the lawn; it was quite a magnificent, masculine piece of work, and I really should have photographed it then, but I was busy talking to Claudia about textiles.

Cloud

It was a dramatic sky. If I spot a show like this, I cannot just pass by without a few frames. Another shot from same day.

Cherry Tree for Blossom

Friend and Motueka Sculptor Tim Wraight's dog Blossom (the gentlest pit bull terrier) died in June at age 18 or so. Last Saturday, we planted a wee cherry tree right on her grave; I'm glad I didn't have a bigger tree for Blossom, because according to Tim, she wasn't buried very deeply.

I've posted two photos of Tim's work here, and one here, and here's a tiny one of him holding... a boat part.

Tahunanui Beach

I love my new lens! This was taken with my new lens at 17mm.
I was at the princess drive look-out. This is the place you can see quite lot's of amazing seascape. This time, my lens was aimed at the edge of the Tahunanui Beach, featured with sunset just before going to bright orange/red colours.

Seed Pod

I've been missing Barcelona Bob, again. I loved his light/shadow contrast, among the gazillion reasons why his photos so dazzled us; if you're not familiar with Bob Shots, his former blog still exists here. (And I'm not claiming this one looks anything like Bob's, just so you know.)

While I was shooting this particular shot, I was reminded how much Ben likes his venison jerky.

September Theme Day: Street Lights and Signs

I prepared this for the theme day initially, then I changed my mind.

Today is the monthly theme day. To view other participating DP posts, please click on the link below.

Seattle (WA), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - Boston (MA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Mainz, Germany - Evry, France - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Nottingham, UK - Toulouse, France - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Manila, Philippines - Mumbai, India - Montpellier, France - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Moscow, Russia - Paris, France - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Lyon, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Hyde, UK - Hong Kong, China - Joplin (MO), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Chandler (AZ), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - San Diego (CA), USA - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Nelson, New Zealand - Quincy (MA), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Bend (OR), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - New Orleans (LA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Detroit (MI), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Selma (AL), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Arradon, France - Sheki, Azerbaijan - New York City (NY), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Tenerife, Spain - Auckland, New Zealand - Forks (WA), USA - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Chateaubriant, France - Madison (WI), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Ajaccio, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Budapest, Hungary - Lyon, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Le Guilvinec, France - River Falls (WI), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Naples (FL), USA - London, UK - La Antigua, Guatemala - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Trujillo, Peru - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Oslo, Norway - Grenoble, France - Shanghai, China - Toronto (ON), Canada - Durban, South Africa - Zurich, Switzerland - Cape Town, South Africa - Singapore, Singapore