Tomorrow is the 1st of December folks, and all the signs of Summer and Christmas in New Zealand have arrived.
While you are all hoping for a white Christmas, and who wouldn't, we are looking forward to sunshine, BBQ's and our own New Zealand Christmas tree, the Pohutukawa, to blossom. With it's bright red flowers it epitomises our love of the beach and the water.
Together with the Pohutukawa tree, our native Manuka, with it's white flowers adds to the "Christmassy" feel.
And because tomorrow is the 1st December, and that means I am officially allowed to play Christmas Carols, here is our very own "Kiwi Girl" Hayley Westrena singing... Enjoy.
Christmas is approaching fast, and the Christmas tree has been put up in the Town Square where I work. What better way to show it to you all, than on a beautiful, sunny, balmy Summer day here in New Zealand. This is the top half of the tree.
Last Friday, the 19th November, the Pike River Mine just outside of the town of Greymouth in the South Island experienced an underground explosion. Two miners were able to get out of the mine, but 29 miners were left trapped deep down inside the mine.
Every day since the explosion we have waited with bated breath to see when the rescuers would be able to go down and get the miners out. Every day there has been high levels of poisonous gases recorded that has made it impossible for anyone to go down and get the miners. Families and friends have gathered from around the world, hoping for the best possible outcome. Yesterday, there was finally a little glimmer of hope, as there appeared to be some progress made and there was talk and speculation that the rescue teams would finally be able to go down and bring these men out.
At about 2.30pm, there were some concerns shown by the gas monitoring team about recent gas readings and it was decided to wait and do another check within the hour. Within minutes of the findings being found there was a second explosion, bigger than the first and lasting aprox 30seconds. The realisation then hit everyone concerned with the rescue attempt that there was no way that anyone would survive this second blast.
Today, New Zealand, as a nation, mourns the loss of those 29 men, whose ages range from 17 through to 62 years. They were not all New Zealanders, there were men from Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Our hearts are heavy as we think about the families that have lost a loved one.
All of a sudden the air has a different feel to it. It has become slightly humid of late, and even if it is cloudy it is very warm.
When the sun is out it is now burning hot, and the burn time is now 5 - 8 minutes. That means that if you are out in the sun you should only be out for 5 - 8 minutes without protection.
With the shift in the weather my thoughts always turn to Christmas, and by the end of this week it is only four weeks away. My Christmas shopping has started, and at the beginning of December we will put the lights up around the house and put up the Christmas Tree.
This year our Christmas is going to be very different. We will celebrate with our family on the day after Boxing Day, the 27th December. We have Evette and our grandchildren arriving on Boxing Day and my mother and aunty arrive from Sydney Australia so we will be having a large family gathering full of laughter, fun and lots of noise not on Christmas Day but two days later.
How are your Christmas plans going? Will you fall into the "Christmas Abyss" and leave everything to the last minute, or are you one of those truly organised people who has everything planned well in advance?
Here is a video clip of how most of us celebrate Christmas here "Downunder".
Thanks to Tracy over at Hey Harriet for hosting us, you can visit her over at Shadow Shot Sunday: http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/
I have missed a whole week with no blogging, and sadly missed out on SSS last week. Catching up on wedding plans with daughter no.2 and the realisation that there are only 4 weeks until Daughter no 1 arrives from the USA with my grandchildren has meant an awful lot of de-cluttering going on around here. I can't believe how much we have kept over Winter. Still havn't finished, but the "grandies" now have a room filled with toys and books, and we are ready for them to arrive. Very exciting..
My Shadow Shots this week were taken inside one of my favourite buildings to photograph, I was very lucky that the Vicar was around and she kindly unlocked the front door and let me spend some time inside. Hope you enjoy these, the stained glass windows were taken from the original church that was built in 1896, and transported by bullock cart to the new location in the mid-1900's. The church is the St. Andrews Anglican Church in Pukekohe.
Thursday evening at about 8.00pm I was standing at our kitchen window when the most amazing, perfect rainbow just popped up in the sky. It was so big that I couldn't get it all in my sight, and then I went to the front of the house and this sunset greeted me...
Thanks to Tracy over at Hey Harriet for hosting us, you can visit her over at Shadow Shot Sunday: http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/
Yesterday ( Saturday) we drove to the North Shore of Auckland, about 120kms from where we live, and an hours drive, to visit an elderly friend who is in hospital. After the visit we went to Devonport, a suburb in Auckland that is on the waters edge and has the most amazing views of the city. The majority of people who live in Devonport and work in the city take the ferry to work, as it is only about a 10 - 15minue trip. I have added a couple of shots looking across at the city.
The rescue helicopter, this was taken from the fifth floor window at the hospital..
These Clydesdales and wagon are waiting outside the ferry building to take tourists for a ride around Devonport..
It's the end of the month, and as done in previous months here are a few of my favourites that I haven't posted before.. Hope you enjoy them all, you can tell the weather has been good, my favs have increased.
Calf Club day at our local school, waiting for judging..
Water wheel at Wrights Watergarden, local wedding venue..
That's our cat with her head in my gumboot, and yes there was a field mouse in the end of the boot.
Steam train that goes to our town, it is part of the Glenbrook vintage railway.
And of course we have to end with some shots of Spring flowers...
