An Autumn Walk

We are so lucky to have Cornwall Park

on our doorstep.

It is quite unusual - as this is a working farm 

as well as a recreational park

in the centre of a city of 1.5 million people.

125 hectares is fenced off  for the

Simmental cattle

 and Perendale sheep

City children can experience a taste of 

country living without leaving the city.

The park has a series of seasonal events

all through the year and everything is free.

There are sheep shearing displays

guided archaeologocal walks

art displays

school holiday activities

and much, much more.

Today I'm joining Mary for

Mosaic Monday

please do visit her blog to see some

great photo mosaics.

À bientôt

be kind to one another

Shane ♥

My talented Aunt

My 91 year old Aunt Josie

has always sewed beautiful things

for the benefit of the

Save the Children Fund.

"These are a few of my favorite Things"

She belonged to her local branch

which involved a group of like-minded

kind souls who made various

useful items which they sold at

their local Save the Children shop. 

Aunt Josie made many pretty

patchwork bags like these ones

which she still has at her home

hanging on door handles!

There are many wonderful people in

every country across the world

who use their talents and

give their time to help

raise funds for various

aid organisations.

Very few of them get the recognition

they deserve.

Yet little by little their efforts

help people in need all over our

World.

A beautiful bag made up of tiny hexagonal pieces

was made by my cousin Jane (Josie's daughter)

for her mother's 90th birthday.

I'm joining Claudia's

A Favorite Thing

and

Bernideen's
Open House

and

Mary's
Masterpiece Monday

please pop over and see what others

are posting today.

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

Vee's Note Card Party

It's Vee's monthly Note Card Party

and today I decided on a french theme

for my cards 

On my visit to France last year

my family took me to

Fontainebleau Chateau.

We enjoyed Sunday lunch at a bistro

in Fontainebleau village

and then spent the afternoon

wandering through the palace

and the peaceful gardens.

I've visited several chateaux

so I now know what to expect

however, the sheer opulance

is always awe inspiring.

I hope you enjoy my selection of photos

for a set of four note cards.

.

Please pop into Vee's blog

to see everyone's cards -

there's always a varied selection

which makes things interesting!

Welcome to my new followers

and thank you all for leaving

your comments.

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

Flowers - a photo Challenge

I'm running late for Donna's monthly

Personal Photo Challenge.

When I visited her blog I saw that the 

party linky had 53 minutes left

before closing.

I searched my photos and finally

made a decision on these three.

When I went back to link up the 

linky had closed.....

... so I left a comment on Donna's blog

telling her of my dilemma...

then I received an email from her

to say she had re-opened the linky

so I could now post -

how kind is that?

Thank you dear Donna!

I'm linking to this month's

flower

Personal Photo Challenge

Please pop in to see some great flower images.

I use a very basic 'point and shoot'

digital Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3

with a Leica lens.

I take most photos on 'normal picture'

mode.

I took all of these photos about six weeks ago

in the

Nancy Steen Memorial Garden

within the Parnell Rose Gardens in

Auckland, New Zealand.

You can tell from the colour of the foliage

that these are Autumn blooms,

they also have that soft spent out colour

which I love.

Nancy Steen wrote a beautiful book

called

The Charm of Old Roses

which is a bible for lovers of the old heritage roses.

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

For some wonderful tips and helpful suggestions

on photographing flowers

please visit Donna's blog

Cottage Days and Journeys .

Bonne Fête Maman!

Today we are honoring our
darling Mothers
and my mother Grace was
a real darling.
I still miss her sage advice
and wonderful stories she told me
about her family.

The gold chain and locket belonged to my great great Grandmother
was worn by my mother on her wedding day


Sadly my mother is no longer with us
she has joined my father
and most of her family in heaven.

She was an accomplished young woman.
Let me just tell you she made her
wedding gown and her trousseau.

My darling mother at 18.
I love this photo of her,
the crimped hair
the long string of pearls
and the beautiful sequinned
velvet gown.

At this time she was studying music
in Wellington and received her letters.
I have recollections from an early age
of listening to her playing works
of all the great composers.

My mother's family, she is seated far right

 My mother had six sisters
Ethel, Kate, Ellen, Cecelia,
Joan, Josephine
and one brother Jack.

My aunt Josie is the only one still with us
and she is 92.

Grace on her mother's knee

 My Grandmother Mary Elizabeth

with Cecelia and Grace.

You can imagine how I would love

to have those exquisite little dresses now!

I wonder what happened to them.

This sweet card arrived in the post on Friday

from my daughter in France

with wishes for a

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing you all a very happy

Mother's Day

I hope someone is spoiling you today!

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

Embroidery Day at Red Beach

Oops!

I'm running late for Mary's

Mosaic Monday!

These photos were taken a couple of years ago at

Red Beach on the

Whangaparaoa Peninsula

25kms  north of Auckland.

One of my friends in our embroidery group 

has a beach house here

and it was the perfect venue

for a day of mid summer stitching.

The photos were taken a couple of years ago!

I'm joining Mary for Mosaic Monday

...hope I'm not too late!

Thank you all for visiting me and

for leaving your kind comments.

WELCOME

to all my new followers too!

I will be having a little Giveaway

in a couple of weeks so

stay tuned!

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

A Gray's beaked whale in Whangaparaoa Bay

Spring Inspiration

Over the last couple of weeks

I've been inspired by your posts

welcoming the arrival of Spring

in your neck of woods!

Of all the seasons

Spring is the one we long for the most.

"O wind, if Winter comes can Spring be far behind?"

                                                               Percy Bysshe Shelley

In the Northern Hemisphere
you've come through a very harsh Winter.

I've sensed your longing for
the first signs of Spring ...

and now all of a sudden there's a great flurry 
with talk of trips to the garden centre.
I've seen photos of your trolleys
laden with pots, plants and packets of seeds,
fertiliser, mulch, and even a new garden fork!

So the cycle begins again

of planning, preparing and planting

your gardens

for the long awaited Summer display!

The regular readers of my blog

will already know that I live in

New Zealand, where 

Autumn has arrived in all her golden glory...

so I have dug deep into my archives to

bring you these photo memories of my

glorious Spring from a couple of years back!

I'm joining Mary's "Thursday's Inspiration"

the prompt this week is "Spring"

and

Bernideen's "Open House"

and
Kathy's "Home and Garden Thursday"

I hope you will pop in for a look!

Kathy is also having a a beautiful
Rose
inspired Giveaway here

À bientôt

and be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥