Spring is in the air.....

Hello dear friends
It has been so long since my last post
almost a year....
So no doubt you all gave upon me a long time ago!

I have missed you all....
I am on Instagram as some of you know.
IG is not so time consuming as writing a post
and editing photos.
Having said that I have missed blogging
and I hope I can put up at least
one weekly post... time will tell!

Changeable 
weather over the last couple of weeks
sunny and warm one day
cold and wet the next!
…it’s 
Springtime  
in my neck of the woods!

New Zealand Kowhai Tree


Recently I headed up to
Cornwall Park
to find Spring Inspiration
it is one of my favourite places to walk





As you can see by the photo above
the farmer has a flock of black sheep.
They are such characters
in fact very nosey
and race over to the fence as soon as we appear!


Well I won't ramble on or this won't get posted!
Can someone please recommend a good
photo editing program.
I used to use Pixlr but it has changed
and I found it too complicated for me!

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

2017 - Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
from Auckland where I live.

Wishing you all good health
and a safe and peaceful world 
for each and every one of us to live in.

This year is very special for me as
 I'm looking forward to the arrival of my French family 
coming to live in New Zealand!
For me this will be a dream come true and
something that has been on my New Years wish list
for a very long time.😃

Here are the latest photos of

my granddaughters in Paris for

Christmas week

They visited Disneyland Paris

and Galeries Lafayette to see the Christmas Tree

and meet with Papa Noel!

For me the last six months of 2016 simply flew by.

My 2-3 days a week working

more often became 4 and sometimes 5 days

which sadly left me no time for writing blog posts.

However, I feel fortunate to be valued as a team member
in a young working environment!

With both of our children living overseas
I enjoy my contact with the younger generation.
I admire their 'can do' outlook on life
they all have dreams, plans and long term goals
and in today's market of higher salaries
life is good for them!

So here I am back in this wonderful world of
Blogging!
My goal is to post as time allows
I'm very much looking forwarding to rekindling
the wonderful friendships I've made while blogging
and I feel blessed to be part of this great on-line family!

Thank you to the special friends who popped in to say hello!

Please fill me in on what's happened, what I've missed
out on and any updates you think I should know.

Let me know if there is a new party you think I would enjoy
what books, CDs, movies you recommend not to be missed
special recipes you consider "must haves" and so on.
Whose had babies and grandbabies?

I'm way  behind the eight ball after missing 6 months here!!!

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Grow Your Blog Party & My Giveaway 2015

Welcome to the third
Grow your Blog Party
hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full.

Thank you dear Vicki for hosting
this amazing annual event
to bring together bloggers
from around the world!

For first time visitors to my blog
let me introduce myself!
My name is Shane and I live in
Auckland, New Zealand.

Yes I live in Auckland but....
my heart is in a little village in France
where my family and grandchildren live!
If you love France too
then we will have much in common
as many of my blog posts have
a french flavour... a certain

Je

ne

sais

quoi

I have been travelling to France for years,
and I love everything about it

who doesn't dream of a weekend in

Paris

but it's rural France I love the most.

Photography

has become one of my favourite
pastimes since starting my blog.
French villages are known for 
their beautiful old houses and barns,
windows, doors, gates, fences
and little country lanes to photograph!

My family are now used to me lagging behind
when we're out and about!
I simply can't pass up a
photo opportunity!

I have a very basic 'point and shoot'

Panasonic lumix camera.

I have learnt so much through Donna

thank you my dear friend for

passing on your wealth of knowledge.

I join several weekly and monthly blog parties
including these ones
Mosaic Monday
Tea Time Tuesday
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Roses of Inspiration
Wednesday Good Fences
Sunlit Sunday

We would love you to join us!
People post about all sorts of things
recipes, crafts, books worth reading and so on.
If you are a new blogger
this is a great way of making new friends
and increasing your followers.

I’m a gardener

My time spent in my garden
is one of the things I love most of all,
whether it's weeding and nurturing plants
or simply doing my garden walk each morning
with a cup of tea in hand
to see what's new each day!
It grounds me and prepares me for 
my work day ahead.

Swaps

I also enjoy taking part in swaps!

I've been part of groups

that swapped lace and buttons

tea cups, magazines!~

...and then I love to

Create

I enjoy making little books, cards
and bags for my grandies
using fabric, lace and paper.

I work three days a week and when time permits
I also enjoy making collage pieces 
such as the one below which I created for my

Giveaway

for

Grow Your Blog 2015.

I will draw the winners name on
February 15th 2015 and post on my blog
Bonne chance everyone!

You don't need to be a follower
there are no restrictions
and I am happy to post world wide!

If you write a comment on this post
you will be included in the draw!

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about me
I'm sorry it has become such a lengthy post
I do ramble on and love to chat!
have you noticed that already?!

Now I'm off to visit your blogs
Enjoy the party and have fun!

Dearest Vicki
thank you
for being the generous, giving and loving soul
that you are!
The world needs more people like you.


Thank you everyone for visiting my blog

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt




Shane