Reflecting on Treasured Moments of 2018

The photos in my collage represent some 

of our treasured moments

over the past year.

Our French family have now been in New Zealand

for 16 months!

They moved north of Auckland in April,

and bought a cafe which they renovated and

it is now a French Bistro!

They found Auckland was too busy and expensive

and wanted to live in a smaller community,

close to beaches, as this was what our daughter

missed the most when living in inland in France.

The girls have thrived, both physically and intellectually.

The eldest has adjusted to the different school system

and is doing well academically.

At 15 she has set herself goals for the next few years,

through to university and more!

Our middle granddaughter is 13, 

she is very sporty, and takes part in everything that's on offer!

Before Christmas she had surfing lessons and just loves it...

She is very outgoing, has lots of friends and is up for

adventure!

Our sweet 6 year old turns 7 in a few days.

She found the change of countries the most difficult.

Initially the Kiwi school children

had difficulty understanding her french accent.

However, she has now made two or three good friends

and finished the year on a much happier note.

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane xx

Mosaic Monday - Ahoy There!

NEEDS MUST!

It's time for me to do some computer housekeeping!

I have far too many photos on my computer

and I'm having difficulty finding the ones I want to add to my posts!

So I'm systematically going through them,

moving the 'keepers' to my external hard drive

and deleting the ones I no longer require.

While doing a stint of sorting I found these photos

so I thought I would share them with you.

Life on the water in summer of 2017.

I have another reason for far too many photos.

My iPhone 7 Plus often takes photos in bursts

and I end up with 10 or more of the exact same shot.

If any of you have the same phone

and can tell me what I'm doing wrong

please tell me!!!

My husband perving looking at boats - a favourite obsession pastime of his!!

In summer we're on the water

and in winter we seem to spend a lot of time walking around mariners!

On a trip ashore we took photos of these beautiful donkeys

on Ponui Island.

My husband said donkeys have been on the island

for as long as he can remember!

that's 70 plus years!

I'm joining Maggie for Mosaic Monday

maybe you would like to join us

if so follow the link and you will find a great group of bloggers

sharing their photos.

Maggie will answer any questions you might have

or I'm happy too as well!

Thank you Maggie for hosting!

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Thank you all for popping in to say hello - I love reading your comments.

With my work committments I visit as time allows - usually at weekends!

Summer Boating in Auckland

I've taken hundreds of photos with my iPhone 7 Plus
so for Five on Friday this week I thought I would give you a taste
of Summer Downunder 2017.

1. Bean Rock Lighthouse in the harbour approaching Auckland.
(do you recognise it H from your visit to our shores in December?)
I so, so wish I had known you were coming......

2. Yachts of sizes and class enjoying the light breeze.

Our niece Amber and Tony shucking scallops!
Thank you Tony for diving - you're a great hunter and collector!

Their youngest shipmate 'Miss Pippy' who loves being out on the boat.

This is the Cruise ship season here, from November to April.

I love going down quayside to see what ships are in port.
This one is 'Ovation of the Seas' of the Royal Caribbean Line.
Auckland really comes alive when the ships are here and
the tourists add to the holiday atmosphere while visiting our shores.


I'm joining Amy for Five on Friday
Thank you Amy for hosting

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

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

When I visit my family in France
I enjoy wandering through the side streets
of the smaller towns in the vicinity of their little village.

Getting off the beaten track
provides opportunities to chat to the locals
like the shopkeepers and cafe owners.
Mainly, we discuss the weather, 
the ups and downs of business
and the government.
The french spend a lot of time discussing the
state of the country and the economy.
No different to us really!

The photo above is of the indoor market
in one of the larger towns.
The detailed tiling patterns are seen throughout
the Burgundy region.

I'm joining the following memes

 Blue Monday

Ruby Tuesday Too
and
Our World Tuesday




Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt



Shane

Thank you for your comments.

Paris Fences

The Pont Alexandre

is one of the most beautiful bridges in

Paris

It is a great vantage point

to view all manner of boats, barges and 

the Bateau Mouche excursion boats

on the Seine.

I'm joining Tex for Good Fences

Thank you for your visits to my blog

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

~Happy Easter~

Happy Easter

dear friends!

Easter Sunday has been

a beautiful early Autumn day of 26 degrees C here.

As most of you know both our children

are living overseas....

it's at special times like Easter and Christmas

that we miss them the most.

We've just had a long conversation on the phone

with our daughter and granddaughters in France, 

before they attend

the Easter service at the Cathedral.

We're hoping by this time next year they will

be with us for Easter in New Zealand!

I can hardly wait!

I hope you all enjoy your day with

Family

and

Friends

I'm joining Karen for her last

Sunlit Sunday

for this year

Thank you Karen

I'm also joining Judith for Mosaic Monday

and

Bernideen for her BTTCG party

Thank you both for hosting!

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Blue Lady Portrait

 I received a lovely birthday parcel

from the family in France.

My four old granddaughter

did this fun sketch for me....

I'm the blue lady!!!

I made this little Easter card for one of the girls

a few years ago.

I love the vintage image

of the little girl and her rabbit.

We're now in Holy Week with Easter

fast approaching.

I'm joining Jeanne for

Blue Monday

Thank you for your visits

Take care and

be kind to one another

à bientôt

Shane

Brittany blues

My daughter sent me this photo
in August last year.

It's the beach in Brittany
where they spent their holiday last year,
 but for the life of me
I can't remember the name of the town!
Just a little glitch in the memory bank
so please whatever you do,
don't mention the A or D words!

I looked back at her original email
hoping she would have written the name
but like all mothers, she is very busy
and 'on the go' with three girls
so she often emails photos without a message!

If when the name comes back to me 
I'll let you know!

Thank you everyone for your visits

Today I'm joining Jeanne for
Blue Monday

Thank you so much Jeanne for
carrying on with Sally's party
I'm sure she'll be looking down on us all
to see what we're up to, don't you?

Take care and
be kind to one another

à bientôt




Shane