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/