What Fun

This morning, son and I scooted off to the Lions Club annual book fair.

This was the stash I came home with. 

I know my bookcases are already full, but the lure of some new books was irresistible!

I'm sure I'll be able to make some room - I have to LOL.

This was the view out the spare room window when I rose this morning. 

But the fog lifted, and this is how the day turned out. 

Browsing through my new books this afternoon, I found these pages in "The Housewives Handybook."

But the one that really made me laugh was tucked away on the back page.

The book, containing mostly recipes, was printed in 1964 by the Whangarei Young Wives' Group to help raise funds for the building of a new Anglican church.

I love these old recipe books and this will now be added to my collection. 

Margaret xx 

The Wet West Coast

Thankfully our weather today is a little cooler than it has been lately, helped along by a very pleasant breeze and a few clouds.  We could still do with some rain to ease our water restrictions, but we are not as desperate for it as those further north are (at the top of the North Island).

Heading south, to the bottom of the South Island, conditions have been the exact opposite.  In some places they have received a month's average rainfall in the space of 24 hours, with the end result being floods, washed out roads, and many stranded tourists and trampers.

The West Coast of the South Island is well-known for its high rainfall, but this latest storm has been excessive.  The "Coasters" are a pragmatic people, and I enjoyed this poem that was on display in the Haast Visitors Centre when I visited last year.

RAIN
It rained and rained and rained.
The average fall was well maintained,
And when the tracks were simply bogs
It started raining cats and dogs.
After a drought of half an hour
We had a most refreshing shower,
And then, most curious of all,
A gentle rain began to fall.
Next day but one was fairly dry,
Save for one deluge from the sky
Which wetted the party to the skin,
And then, at last - the rain set in!
Anon

Following are some photos I took while driving down the West Coast. 

Omoeroa Stream (been raining)

Fox Glacier (threatening to rain)

Knights Point (it is raining)

Haast Visitor Centre (in between rain showers)

Just to show that it didn't rain ALL the time!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope it is all going well for you.

Margaret.



LINKED TO My Corner of the World

Japanese Garden of Contemplation

One of the more peaceful gardens in the complex known as Hamilton Gardens, is the Japanese Garden of Contemplation.

Rather than displaying itself all it once, this garden reveals itself in stages.  

An entrance path leads into a foyer-type area that then goes on to a Pavilion.

On the left of the pavilion is a dry-landscape zen garden, depicting the movement of water through the raking of the stones.

Inside the pavilion are seats where one can sit in contemplation of the beauty of water itself.

 Sunlight reflects the water up into the eaves, perfectly captured in a poem placed in this area:

Fluid echoes dance –

Ripples of sun and water

Hold dreams in the eaves

~ Vonnie Hughs

There are turtles living in this body of water, but they seldom show themselves.  I think the reflections often found here are beautiful.

Sometimes I like to sit and sketch, and here is an ink sketch I made recently while sitting in the pavilion.

I hope you enjoyed this little wander around the garden.

Cheers,
Margaret


Linked to My Corner Of The World

A Summer Poem

We have hot summer temperatures here today, expecting to hit 30C later this afternoon.  I just wilt in this heat and have been trying to find something to do inside.

So far I have begun reading two different books and discarded both of them.  One was plain boring, the other was too hard-going.  It is too hot for serious reading at the moment.

Browsing through some of my old notebooks I came across some poems I had written.  The following one is about Summer, so I thought that was appropriate for today.

Mt Maunganui ocean beach (2010)

SUMMER

Skies are blue, washed pale with heat,

Fluffy clouds form and just as quickly flee.

Cows swish tails to chase away flies,

And cicadas chirp loudly from their tree. 

Next door’s children squeal with delight,

Squirting each other with the hose.

Gardens swelter beneath the sun,

As one by one we shed our clothes.

By the sea the crowds gather;

Claiming to have fun on the hot sand.

Splashing in the cool ocean waves,

As summer spreads across the land.

* * * * * * * 

This photo was taken in Napier during 2009.  I think it is a great way to disguise the functionality of public toilet facilities!

Linked to Monday Mural

A Matter Of Perspective

I recently came across this piece (I don’t think it could be correctly classified as poetry, but it is sort of), written by Abdullah Shoaib, and it got me thinking how things can appear to be so different depending to how we perceive them.

I’m very ugly

So don’t try to convince me that

I am a very beautiful person

Because at the end of the day

I hate myself in every single way

And I’m not going to lie to myself by saying

There is beauty inside of me that matters

So rest assured I will remind myself

That I am a worthless, terrible person

And nothing you say will make me believe

I still deserve love

Because no matter what

I am not good enough to be loved

And I am in no position to believe that

Beauty does exist within me

Because whenever I look in the mirror I always think

Am I as ugly as people say?

(Now read it again, beginning with the bottom line and moving up)

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah (2014)

Around the world there are many places that have awe-inspiring landscape.  The photo above was taken early one evening at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah in 2014.   There were no other people around and you can get a sense of the scale of the place by looking at the trees in the foreground. 

Standing there before such grandeur, in the intense quiet and isolation, it was easy to see how one could feel very small and alone and even a little frightened, but one could just as easily feel a sense of wonder and of being at peace with nature, marveling at the beauty of it all.  It all depends on how you view it, because the scene does not change – only we do.

It is said that there are always two sides to every story, and there is usually at least two opposing ways we can view anything that happens in our lives.  It is our choice which we choose.

Margaret.