The Winter-less North

We've had four wonderful days in

the Bay of Islands

also known as the "winter-less north" of

New Zealand.

The days were warm and still

and the evenings quite cool.

As you can see roses are still in bloom

but so are the camellias

and the sweetly fragrant earlicheer daffodil!

The poor flowers aren't sure if it is

winter, spring or summer!

I've shown you lots of images of Russell before.

Top right of this mosaic is the Soren Larsen

a brigantine tallship used as a sail training ship,

brave young people atop the mast

learning the finer points of sailing.

I'm joining Mary for Mosaic Monday

  

Wishing you all a happy new week

I'm feel re-energised and ready

for another three days at work!

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

June Note Cards & Vicki's Giveaway

The 3rd Wednesday of the month is

traditionally

Vee's Note Card Party.

So in due fashion I prepared my little post

with a cat and bird theme - a little weird I know...

but my grandies will love these note cards!

So tonight I popped over to Vee's blog

to check that I have the right date

only to find that the next

Note Card Party isn't happening

until September......

Oh well I decided to go ahead and share mine anyway!

Vee probably told us about her plan

and I just wasn't listening that day!

Vee, I don't blame you for taking time out over Summer

and I hope you enjoy your break!

Well dear friends pop over to Vee's blog anyway

and see what she is up to.

She has an awesome sense of humour

and is always a fun person to catch up with!

Just a little reminder about Vicki's amazing

Giveaway

you only have a few days left to join in

here is the link

the draw is on Saturday 21st June!

Take care and 

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

STORMY WEATHER - PERSONAL PHOTO CHALLENGE

I took these photos a couple of years ago
on a stormy, windy day.
We went out to meet the Volvo Race boats
as they entered the Waitemata harbour.

I'm linking to Donna for her
June Personal Photo Challenge.

If you are interested in photography
you will love seeing everyone's take on this topic.
 Donna is a serious photographer and she
gives us lots of links to check out for
helpful tips on mastering our cameras.

We've had only one major storm in the last week
but it was at night - consequently no photos.
If I hadn't been working the next day
I would have driven down to the
waterfront where I'm sure there would have been
all sorts of debris to photograph!

My camera is a basic “Point and Shoot”

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3 with a Leica lens.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend.
It's been a clear and mild winter day here today
I spent some moments in the sun!
I hope you all can too!

Thank you for your visits and comments

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

Floral Friday Foto

Beautiful sunflowers

vast fields of them everywhere

when I was in France

last year visiting my family.

It is winter in my neck of the woods now

so these photos are wonderful reminders

of summer and the joy of

sunflowers!

I'm joining Nick for

Floral Friday Fotos 

Wishing everyone a very happy weekend

doing whatever you enjoy most.

I'm hoping to catch up with you over the weekend.

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

Beautiful gifts from both near and far

Earlier in the year I was the very lucky winner

of Barbara's beautiful giveaway

as part of Vicki's Grow Your Blog Party.

Barbara has a lovely blog called
Barbara Lilian in France
please visit her blog to get a taste of living in La Belle France! 

I'm very late with this post
I can't believe where the weeks and months have gone...

Barbara I'm so thrilled I entered your giveaway

and even more thrilled that I was the lucky

winner - thank you!

I was 'over the moon' with everything in your parcel!

everyone knows how I love lace...

Also in the parcel were two pretty note cards

with daisies hand painted by Barbara...

a little bag of lavender she grew

plus more cards, a calendar and heaps of lace!!!

To top it off Barbara lives in a little village

in France just like my family!

 MERCI Barbara xox

Not quite so long ago

I was the lucky winner of Julie's

Peace Angel Giveaway.

 She arrived in a parcel with more surprises!

Two bags of Julie's wonderful lavender,

a special Threadbear Cottage gollywog note pad,

gardener's soap and a fragrant sachet to pop in my drawers!

 Julie has the gorgeous New Zealand blog
My Threadbear Life
She lives on a farm where she has created
a wonderful country garden, open for visits.
 She creates beautiful things to sell in her shop
Threadbear Cottage.
  THANK YOU JULIE xox

I'm joining Ivy and Elephants for

What's it Wednesday

I'll catch up with you all soon.

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

Fresh-Cut Friday - June Flowers

 A couple of weeks ago I bought a bunch of tulips

at the supermarket.

Once the blooms opened, I was captivated by the

wonderful colours!

 The red ones with yellow at the base of the cup

were so vibrant and fun - like colourful parrots!

I wonder if they are a strain of the 'parrot tulip'

that Mary of Little Red House has mentioned

before on her blog - I'm not sure, if you can

tell me I would love to know!

The pale creamy white with a cerise stripe

was beautiful too and the perfect foil for the loud red one!

I'm joining Liz for Fresh-Cut Friday

please pop over to her party

for a floral feast!

Thank you Liz for hosting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I don't want you to miss out on
Vicki's amazing Giveaway here 
it will be drawn on 21st June!

 She is giving away her Woodland nest above
it even has the little eggs nestled into the soft fibres!
Vicki also called on her talented and artistic friends
to include some of their pieces
to make this a very special Giveaway. 

I would love all of my bloggy pals
to visit Vicki's blog and enter. 

2 Bags Full

I see there are already 204 entries

yours could just be the lucky one!

 BONNE CHANCE!!!

Wishing you all a happy weekend!

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

Gathering the Moments - May

May is all about birthdays in our embroidery group

as Rosie, Thelma and Mary

all have their special day!

Early in May we had lunch at La Forchette at St Heliers

to celebrate Rosie's special milestone birthday.

La Forchette is a french restaurant/cafe 

where most of the staff appear to be french, 

they have french accents

so that gives it an authentic french feel!

I think most of them are here

on a working holiday while seeing the world.

Photographing moments at home during May.

I've enjoyed watching Autumn come and go in my garden

and observing the way the light changes both inside and out.

These last images are from our embroidery

day at Mary's.

Good company, delicious food and

lots of interesting chit chat

together with some embroidery of course,

make for a great day with friends!

I'm joining Cheryl for her monthly meme

Gathering the Moments here 

we would love you to join us and

share your May moments too!

I don't want you to miss out on Vicki's
amazing GIVEAWAY here 
you have until 21st June to enter.

She is giving away her Woodland nest above
it even has the little eggs nestled into the soft fibres!

Vicki also called on her talented and artistic friends
to include some of their pieces
to make this a very special Giveaway.
I would love all of my special bloggy pals
to have the opportunity to visit Vicki's blog
2 BAGS FULL
and read her story and enter her Giveaway.

BONNE CHANCE!

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x