Lawdy Miss Clawdy - it's hot over here.....

I'm staying inside today trying to keep cool

in this very hot humid weather.

Much as I need to have a tidy up in the garden,

because of the high temps in Summer

it's now become an early morning job!

The roses and perennials need dead-heading

in fact the whole garden needs a good weeding throughout

so I intend getting up with the birds tomorrow

to get a few hours work done.

I've photographed flowers from my garden

both dried and fresh.

For my friends in the Northern Hemisphere

I know you are looking forward to the arrival of

Spring

take heart because it's only a matter of time before

our seasons will be reversed and in the words of

Percy Bysshe Shelley

"O wind, if Winter comes

can Spring be far behind".

I'm joining Karen for Sunlit Sunday

and

Judith for Mosaic Monday

and
Bernideen for Tea Time, Cottage and Garden

and
Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Five on Friday

This is one of my new roses this season called

Munstead Wood, a David Austin bred rose.

It has the features of the wonderful old fashioned roses

full blown cabbage like petals

highly fragrant and

it has been flowering since November.

One can't ask more than that!

Little and Friday is a cafe/bakery here

they sell delicious cakes, slices, meringues and biscuits

as well as jams and pickles and chutney.

It's summer and the living is easy.

Kohimarama is a great white sandy beach 

on the Eastern Bays close to the city.

We have so many beaches in Auckland

that they are never crowded 

like they are in the South of France.

We're not used to wall to wall people at the seaside!

A couple of weeks ago we did a little road trip 

to the Bay of Plenty to see some of my cousins.

We had dinner here at Molly O'Connors restaurant.

Good food and good Irish music - just what I love!

It brought back wonderful memories

of our trip to Ireland last year!

If you read one of my recent posts you may remember

I'm on the hunt for tiles for the kitchen splash back

so I photograph them if I can't buy them!

I hope all my friends in the Northern Hemisphere

are keeping warm and safe inside.

We saw reports on TV about the storms - WOW!

Enjoy your weekend.

I'm joining Amy for Five on Friday
 and
Mimi for Five Star Frou-Frou
and
Cath for Fun Friday Favourites

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

French fences ooh la la!

Whenever I'm out and about with my camera

I'm always looking for fences, walls, gates and doors

to photograph.

I took most of these photos in Provins

a couple of years ago.

It is an ancient market town which sits

on the original trade routes.

This old fence has been softened with a creeper

found on many walls and fences in France.

I think these old style gates 

are both practical and beautiful.

When my daughter was replacing their gates

this was the style they chose.

Times have changed and there are few blacksmiths left

in the countryside these days,

young people want to work in the large cities

rather than take up one of the 'old school' trades.

Sadly the quote they were given was prohibitive

so they have settled for a much simpler version

to come within their budget!

 I'm joining Theresa 

of The Runaround Ranch Report

for

Good Fences

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Sunshine through my window

I found beautiful sunshine on my window sill 

when I came downstairs this morning!

This is the cup I use for my first coffee of the day

it's  Terre e Provence which I bought here at

La Cigale - you can see a previous post on

La Cigale Market here

I bought this pretty tile from Monsieur Bricolage 
(the hardware shop in France)
I'm collecting tiles to create a splashback wall area
behind the stove top in the kitchen.
Another project on my "to do" list 
to complete and tick off this year!

Also on the bench is a pot of basil and an aubergine
sitting in front of my recipe book holder.
I've been cleaning out my cookbook cupboard and
I found a recipe to use from this old cook book.

Annabel Laingbein is a New Zealander
she is a cook, food writer and has made 
a series of foodie videos and recipes called
The Free Range Cook
and
Through the Seasons
which have been shown internationally.

What I like is that she uses fresh seasonal produce
you can grow at home or find at
your local stores.

Have you seen her series on TV where you are?

The photo on the right is what I'm making for supper this evening
"Grilled Aubergine and Zucchini"
which I will eat it with a salad.
It's delissimo!
My husband doesn't like either of these vegetable
so he will have steak and whatever I can throw together!
Let me know if you would like the recipe
and I will email or post it to you.
I realise these vegetables are out of season
in Europe and North America just now
but you might like to try it in Spring/Summer.

I'm looking forward to catching up with 
Karen for Sunlit Sunday
Cindy for for Amaze me Monday
Judith for Mosaic Monday
and Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt


Shane

Irish Fences and Five on Friday

Behind the barrier at Dublin airport

a Scottish Highlander arrives 

to cheer on his team at the annual 

rugby game

Ireland vs Scotland.

The fence alongside Dublin's Liffey river

with the Halfpenny bridge

Our tour bus stopped at this shop

in the middle of the countryside.

It was jam-packed full of top quality
Irish linens, woollen jerseys and so much more.

I fell in love with a blue tweed jacket....

I dithered about and decided to leave it in the shop....
it was a hot Summer's day
and hard for me to envisage the cold Winter days back home.

Wouldn't you know, I've regretted it ever since

isn't that always the way - c'est la vie!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing a variety of fences from

Ireland!

I'm joining Theresa for Good Fences

and

Amy for Five on Friday

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

To market, to market, to buy....

To market, to market
to buy a fat pig delicious home grown goodies....
Home again, home again
Jiggety jig!!!

When my dear friend Carol was out from the UK
in May last year
we visited the Matakana Market
which is an hours drive north of Auckland.

It was late Autumn so the pumpkins and other earthy vegetables
were at their best.

Are you aware that most people in the UK and France
think of pumpkins only as animal fodder?
 Kiwis on the other hand can't imagine
the quintessential Sunday roast of
lamb, beef or chicken without roasted pumpkin and potatoes!

Are you a pumpkin eater like me?
I know my North American friends are pumpkin lovers!
If you have a favourite pumpkin recipe
would you like to share it with me?
You can tell me here when you comment and
then email the recipe and I will send
you one of my favourites in return!

The crepes here are delicious
but the queue was far too long for us to wait
so we headed off to the coffee stall!

Some enterprising girls have set up a
dog minding stall
so visitors can do their shopping in peace.

It's a marvellous idea, as the day we were there
the market was unbelievably crowded
 wall to wall people
and I'm sure the dogs enjoyed their time out
(I wished I had been a doggy that day 
as I don't like crowds or queues)!

Their are some interesting shops to peruse in the village too
and naturally I spent a while in the bookshop.
Oh and there's a really good shoe shop too!

This week I'm joining

Eileen for Saturday Critters

and

Karen for Sunlit Sunday
please pop over and visit Karen's blog.
Karen is a volunteer for her local cat rescue group
and she is currently caring for the beautiful Purl
whom you'll meet when reading her blog!

I'm also joining
Judith for Mosaic Monday

thank you ladies for hosting your lovely memes.

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt



Shane

Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda with me?

I love ‘outback’ Australia.

In summer it is dry, hot, parched and dusty

with a raw beauty

that has found a special place in my heart.

In my twenties I lived and worked 

in both Sydney and Melbourne

I preferred Melbourne.

Maldon where our son lives 

is an historic mining town from the

goldrush days of the 1800's.

It is made up of gold miners cottages

an interesting array of shops worth perusing and

footpaths shaded by wide corrugated iron verandahs.

There are deep gutters

to cope with flooding when the rains come.

Any new buildings are governed by strict building codes

and must be within keeping of existing.

Two styles of early Australian houses in Maldon.
I was surprised how lovely some of the gardens look
considering the dry climate.
Roses seemed to do very well
and hedging using native plants were lovely.

There were interesting shops to peruse
and I bought several bits in 'Much Ado'.

How about some dinkum Aussie country music

Waltzing Matilda

We enjoyed our week in Maldon
soaking up the Australian landscape, fauna and flora!

I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt



Shane

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