See ya 2011...... Hello 2012

It is New Years Eve here in New Zealand and as I am writing this I am thinking to myself how this year as been a bit of a roller coaster ride...

Beginning with such happiness with the wedding of our daughter Samantha to Roland, it was wonderful having our family together in one place, and so much fun for everyone to catch up.

                                                     Photo taken by Evette

In August I took a trip to Utah to visit Evette, Jared, Emma and Lucca. Emma was starting school and I had promised her that I would be there to walk to school with her on her first day. Such a proud moment, and a memory that I will never forget. I had a fantastic time, and also had a chance to meet some of my blogging friends who live in Salt Lake City....

The rest of the year plodded on with not a lot happening, that was until November arrived and we added a new member to our family, we decided to adopt Max, who you have all been introduced to over the past few months... a (now) 15month old Golden Labrador/German Shepherd cross. He has become a great part of our lives and entertains us constantly..

 

Sadly, November also brought some news that has devastated our family. At the end of November my M.I.L.  Joy was hospitalized and diagnosed with terminal cancer. This has totally floored us all as there were no signs of her being ill. Her battle with this dreadful disease was lost on Christmas Day, when she passed away at 8.30pm surrounded by family. Our Christmas Day was taken up with trips to the hospital to be with Joy and was particularly hard on my son's partner who was celebrating her first Christmas in New Zealand away from her family in England.

R.I.P. Joyce Ada Dunn 1927 - 2011

So, as I ponder what is in store for 2012, let me wish you all a Happy New Year. xx 

Merry Christmas from Max......

Howdy folks....Max here. I had a wonderful Christmas Day starting with this present from my previous family..

It was so much fun playing with this fella, it was a shame that he only lasted 20minutes...

 

Later on in the afternoon we all went to the beach for a walk and play...

Everyone thought that this was such a "cool" photo, if you look closely you can see that I even managed to add my own footprints to the top ...little did they know that I was watching very closely and waiting for the opportunity to take that Santa hat and make it all mine!!

I grabbed it and took off as fast as I could, but Steve managed to get me to come back to him, I was so sure that he was going to play "tug" with me and that between the two of us we could Destroy!!! that hat.  But it wasn't to be, it turns out that he wanted that hat in one piece so that he could give it back to Alys.... honestly I can't understand these humans at times, where is the fun in returning the hat when we could have totally destroyed it!
I didn't mind too much that Alys got her hat back, she is pretty nice and she likes Steve, and I think that Steve is pretty cool so that's okay with me..

All in all it was a fantastic day, by the time it was all was over I was pretty tired and ready to crash in my bed...  life is good!!!!!

Looking forward to all that 2012 will bring......   

After the rain...

The Auckland Botannical Gardens is one of my favourite places to go, I never tire of going there, last weekend I arrived just after it had finished raining...

Hope you enjoy a small selection of the photos that I took.

Shadow Shot Sunday..

 Another couple from my archives, hoping for sunshine this week, it feels like it has been raining forever. These were taken in my neighbourhood, in an old derelict house, with this old garage that is just about falling down.

 Big Thank You to those who have taken over the Shadow Shot Sunday meme, and thanks to Tracy for starting it all off. Hope we see your Shadow Shots Tracy for a long time to come.

Friday Fences - #12

 This house is in my neighbourhood, I love the white picket fence, all the roses and the colour of the house. Perfect for Friday Fences..

 Check out the rest of the participants here  http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Finding Inner Peace...

This is so true...



  If you can start the day without caffeine,


If you  can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,


If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,


If you can take criticism and  blame without resentment,


If you can conquer tension without  medical help,


If you can relax without alcohol,  


If  you can sleep without the aid of  drugs,



 Then you are probably....


 The Family Dog!!


 

 Happy Monday everyone..




  



 

Friday Fences #11 Wildflowers or Weeds

Taken during my walk last weekend, I love the wildflowers/weed combination.

Join the rest of us over at Friday Fences...  http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/http:

Wordless Wednesday..New Zealand Christmas Tree

 Native tree to New Zealand - Pohutakawa  (pronunciation: 'po' as in go - 'hoo' and 'too' as in too - 'kar' and 'war' as in far the 'r' is silent) The tree blooms in early December, just in time for Christmas.



 http://faithhopeandawholelottalove.blogspot.com/

Shadow Shot Sunday..

I have had to go into my archives for my Shadow Shot this week. Whenever there was sunshine, I had no camera, today it is raining I have my camera and no shadows...

This was taken when I was in Salt Lake City in August, Emma and mum on their way to Emma's fiarst day at school
Join the other shadow chasers over here at Hey Harriet..

Flowers on Saturday...

Iceberg rose and a touch of purple Agapanthus, a wonderful combination from my garden..

Friday Fences #10

 Taken last Friday on our way to a wedding reception, another cute little white picket fence, this time with climbing roses...

Check out the rest of the Friday Fence contributors here below:
 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Max - Week Three.... How time flies

 I can't believe that we have had Max for three weeks already. He is making great progress, and is settling down to being part of our family.

He is chilled out, and has a huge personality. A lover of water, he loves to jump into the rock pools at the beach. And in particular putting his whole face in the water.

 Like any toddler, when he gets overtired he is put into his bedroom to rest. Last Sunday, when we were all chilling out, I was reading my book and when I looked up there was Max with his top lip resting on the wires of the cage. It was like he was smiling at me...

Going for walks is getting easier as he learns that not every person, or dog wants to have him rushing at them. Our mornings start at 5.30am with a walk around the park so that he can chase his ball, and more recently the rabbits that seem to be everywhere. In the evening we are off for another walk, we are both getting pretty fit, which is not a bad thing.

Shadow Shot Sunday ....

Yesterday we had a small gap in the cloudy weather, when the sun came out I quickly grabbed the camera for some Shadow Shots. Unbelievably we are still wearing long sleeves here, the wind seems a bit calmer today, I hope this is not a sign of the Summer ahead.

Come and join the other shadow chasers from around the world at Hey Harriet...

 

Have a great week ahead.  xx

Friday Fences...

I couldn't resist taking this shot yesterday when we were on our way to a wedding reception. This old villa was just begging to be photographed for Friday Fences...

 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Walk through the cemetary..

As bizarre as it may sound, I find it very interesting walking through the headstones at our local cemetary. It is sad to see the ages of some of those who have passed, and to see part of the history of our town.  I recognise some of the family names, and some of the families are still living in the area today. These are some of the photos I took a few weeks ago...

The Max Diary ... Week one

What a week it has been in Max's world. He was confused, and on edge for the first three days. To be expected, considering that his whole world has been turned upside down, and he has been taken from the only family he has known for 13 months.

My plan was to start him onto a routine straight away. Every morning we have been getting up at 5.30am for a trip to the park for a 10 minute run followed with a 30 minute walk. I figured that this would be the best way to use up his energy first thing in the morning. The plan has worked so far.  The only problem has been the hours in between me leaving for work and arriving home. In typical "puppy mode" he has managed to destroy my herb garden, chew through our rubbish tin, and throw the rubbish all around the back yard. Max has found things we thought we had lost, and has destroyed it all.
  But you know what, it is all only "stuff" and so what if there is no garden this Summer, next year he will be older and a lot more secure. My biggest fear was when he started getting through the back fence into the neighbours yard. So the Great Wall of China was built to keep him in.

The weekend arrived, and Max had his first trip to the beach, and he loved it. He was obedient when we let him off the lead, and we  had a great time. He is such a lovely puppy, and is going to mature into a wonderful dog. As each day goes by he is getting to know us and to get used to our routine.

All I have to do now is to stop him from chewing everything within his reach, and to stop him from jumping. Every moment we are together is training time as I reinforce what he already knows, and start to teach him not to jump. He is learning where he stands in "the new pack" and in typical puppy fashion has a memory like a sieve.

But more than anything, he is a lovable young fella, with a great personality and we are going to be great friends.

Shadow Shot sunday..

 The weather here in New Zealand is still not that warm, Spring seems to be holding on for such a long time, we have had rain, cold winds up from the Antarctic and cloudy days. Late yesterday afternoon we went down to the beach, and the sun came out long enough for me to capture some shadows :

 Thanks to Tracy over at Hey Harriet for hosting Shadow Shot Sunday, check out what other Shadow Chasers from around the world have captured this week:

Friday Fences... Wild daisies through the fence...

 I love this time of year, where we live, the fields are full of white daisies and look so pretty.

 Check out the link below to see what others have captured:
 http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/