Blue Day

  Last week I attended my end of year work dinner which was held at one of the local restaurants " Monteiths " who also make their own Cider and Beer which most liquor shops in New Zealand stock.  Me trying to decide what to order from the menu. I was driving home so no alcohol for me. These above 2 photos show only part of the restaurant and the bar, there was more around the other side. In the end I chose a warm Thai Chicken salad which was very yummy.  Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and  Wordless Wednesday .

  Someone is very "zealous" in their protesting about what is happening in Israel. I'm not taking sides, in fact I think they are both just as much to blame - war is stupid, just my thoughts on the matter. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  The Weekend Roundup   and   Mosaic Monday .

  Last week while my daughter R and I were out and about we dropped off a load of unwanted items to our local Salvation Army op shop and spotted these Christmas trees in the foyer. Looks like people donated trees for others to buy who can't afford much. A rare photo of my outdoor furniture on the deck and washing on the line in the backyard while we had blue skies. So far for the last few weeks we have had rain, hopefully next week will be better.  And our dog Bug had a much needed play date with her best friend Max. It's a good opportunity to tire them both out. And I finished a crochet blanket for one of my daughter's friends who has been going through a hard time this year.  Lastly I would like to wish all you a Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great day. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday , Thankful Thursday  and  Tom's Signs .

  I spotted this Christmas tree in the entrance in the entrance of one of Greymouth's 2 local supermarkets. And this is my little Christmas tree - it's small enough to fit on the windowsill next to my armchair in the lounge. My children are all adults and they aren't fussed about it like they use to be so this does us well. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and  Wordless Wednesday .

    All of these Christmas decorations have been seen in local Greymouth stores over the last 2 weeks.  I think this year for the first time in a long time I'm feeling more festive. The last 7 years on and off I have worked in various supermarkets and let me tell you, people go absolutely nuts just because shops are closed for 1 day. I've seen people getting into punch ups over who would go through a checkout first and I've seen people get nasty and rude with no Christmas spirit at all. This year I'm working in a nice place with great colleagues and nice customers - no angst at all so I'm really feeling a lot happier. Linking up with   The Weekend Roundup , Xmas Linky   and   Mosaic Monday .

  Intercity is a brand of buses here in New Zealand that people can book tickets with - they go to different parts of the country. I spotted these tourists walking over to the waiting area near the railway station. More Winter puffer jackets..... Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

    My daughter R and I were at our local vets last week getting some allergy medicine for her dog "Bug". They had 2 Christmas trees up, one at each end of the building. And Bug saw another dog she wanted to play with while we were waiting - she thinks everyone is a friend. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and  Wordless Wednesday .

  I found this mural last week in our local town square, not sure who painted it, could be artist Mark Haldane but it depicts an old house in the bush, very reminiscent of West Coast historical miner's hut. The explanation about the new blog name is based on one of my favourite songs - Blue Day by a band named Mi-Sex who were well known in New Zealand during the late 1970s and early 1980s in which the lead singer is named Steve Gilpin. Well thanks to the wonders of DNA and family tree research has shown me I am related to him on my father's side, so there you go. For my Australian friends, I've just read the news this morning about the shooting in Sydney. I have Jewish ancestry on my father's side (hence my surname Franks) so this shocks me. War and fighting is stupid! Thinking of you there. Linking up with  Monday Murals .

  Greymouth has 3 main streets in town. On the way home from work at night I've been stopping to take photos of some of the shop window decorations. It's good to see businesses getting into the Christmas spirit. Please remember: I live in a small town, all shops except supermarkets close around 6pm so there aren't many people around in these photos at 8pm. So, sorry for the name change of this blog, I just thought it was time for a change. Please update your blog address for me. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  The Weekend Roundup   and   Mosaic Monday .

Back in 2022 I posted about this building in town - the Royal Hotel which sits along Mawhera Quay by the Grey River. It had been closed and boarded up but shortly after I took this photo, work started to remove the asbestos from inside in preparation for demolition.  The asbestos and the building being earthquake prone are the reasons for it coming down. It is privately owned so I imagine it will cost the owners too much money to bring it up to code.  Last Friday there was a post on the town Facebook page from the local council notifying everyone that on the following day (Saturday) the building was going to be demolished. So B and I drove into town to get some photos.  The top half had been toppled down but the bottom half was still hanging in there. We weren't the only spectators to go and have a nosey, looks like quite a few people turned up. By the time we got there it was half done, apparently it's going to take a few days to get everything cleared up. Greymouth is ...

  I don't know if you can call this a Christmas Carnival but I stopped in at the local one happening in the town square over the weekend on the way home from work. This band was set up and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some were even line dancing. Not sure why they were wearing puffer jackets as it is humid here. There were the usual food trucks and stalls there, all of them I've seen before. Photo not mine - taken from Greymouth District Council before the event started. By the time I got there it was all on the tail end of the event just after 8pm so probably not as many people as earlier in the afternoon. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and  Wordless Wednesday .

  Despite us still having Spring weather when it's meant to be early Summer here, we seem to be experiencing a regular supply of tourists. This bus was parked in front of the local Asian Sampan Restaurant . There is a lot of white in this shot with the driver and a passenger walking towards the steps. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  The Weekend Roundup   and   Mosaic Monday .

  Photo taken at K'Road - Auckland 2024 Seems like a strange name for a bar. This particular part of Auckland Central is a vibrant place full of ethnic businesses. Back in the 1980s and 1990s Karangahape (K'Road) Road was known as being very seedy, full of strip bars and prostitutes walking up and down trying to drum up business. These days it's more upmarket and even the nearby suburb of Ponsonby use to be a slum area but now it's posh and houses usually sell for nearly the $1 million NZD mark.  Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  Some more unique photos from our Fiji holiday about 5 years ago. We were wandering about Sigatoka one particular day and I noticed this street market. We were here in Winter but the daily average temperature was in the 20s (celsius) and the locals were selling their food. This one was part of the market but it was inside this warehouse. Lots of local vegetables and fruits. This was something I didn't recognize but I was later told it was called a " Bitter Melon " which has a long history as being used in traditional medicine but it is a member of the Squash family where it is often stir fried, used in soups or stuffed. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and  Wordless Wednesday .