Nimmo

We've had some really good Summer weather lately including a lot of hot days. I was strolling around one of the main streets last week and noticed how many of the old buildings are having to come down due to being earthquake prone. We don't get major earthquakes here, so far we've only had a few small ones in the 2 years we've been here. The shop on the left "Nimmo" is one that sells not only artwork but also Possum/Merino clothing, pottery, jewellery and other Knick knacks. I must pop in one day and have a look.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Happy New Year

View from my work over the Pohutukawa Trees

With Christmas and the New Year finally over it's time for new beginnings. Yesterday was my last day at work and tomorrow is going to be the first day in my new job. We had very quiet New Year celebrations here - the fire works display in town was sadly cancelled at the last minute and we didn't hear any local ones at home. By the time I finished work I couldn't wait to sleep and apparently everyone else was in the same boat. I'm hoping you had a lovely Christmas and a happy new year to you!

Linking up with Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday, Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday..

Open 7 days

This is one of the local cafes situated on the road next to the Grey River and they serve mostly vegan and vegetarian food - I haven't tried their coffees yet but maybe that's something for me to do at some point. I'm glad they can handle being open 7 days a week, as for me I'm working 6 days this week because work is expected to me so busy. I'm kind of sad that next week will my last week working in supermarket retail after doing it on and off over the years since I was 18 years old but it feels like it's time for something new.

I did however manage to harvest some broccoli out of my vegetable/herb garden but we gave it to a work colleague who has been generous in giving us free range eggs from his chickens every week. It's neat when you can swap food with other people isn't it?

Lastly it's not often I see my doctor but I have done so twice in the last 2 months. Once was to get the flu vaccine and the other was to get another type of vaccine. As many of you have been reading my posts you would've seen that Winter this year was not good - I was sick just about every week with a different bug each time and in the end I got quite run down and exhausted. The 2nd vaccine I got was one my doctor suggested which was a 3 in 1 consisting of whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. The 100 day cough that goes around here is part of the whooping cough so I'm hoping next year I will be alot more better off

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

 

The cook's pantry

I had never been into this business until a couple of weeks ago when someone recommended, they sell home brew items, so B (being a home brewer was keen to visit). Most things I wasn't really interested in but I did find cans of stuffed Greek cabbage but tasted weird - I'm sure made fresh it's more authentic and some keto chocolate biscuits but apart from that most things were a bit over my budget.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Orewa Library

I am a BIG library fan, I've found many treasures over the years in books I've taken out. This library in Orewa I thought was extra special, it's not often they have free books you can take home with you. 

Linking up with Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday and Tuesday Treasures.

Dodo Bird

 I like to take random photos while we are out driving, I think from memory this day we were venturing into the top of Queen Street when I spotted this mural on the corner of Pitt Street in Auckland City.

This Dodo was painted by artist Paul Walsh and is part of the utility box series.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday, Mural Monday and Blue Monday.

Blue bus

Unfortunately while we were in Auckland I didn't get to venture into the central city which I spent years working in when I lived there - the traffic was just too heavy. It seems the bus system has been updated but New Zealand desperately needs a decent train/light rain system which I doubt is going to happen with our current government in power. The traffic regularly gridlocks and is literally bumper to bumper a lot of the time. 

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

The Ship and Anchor

Another of the restaurants we ate at while we were in Orewa last week was this one - The Ship and Anchor along one of the main streets in town. It had been raining all morning so we managed to get out just as it was starting to ease up. We were one of the few people in there at this point. 

One of the murals on the wall behind our table - I'm thinking it's paying homage to the country's early trading ships and settlers.

I'm a huge seafood fan so I ordered Garlic Butter Prawns with salad on the side - a perfect meal.

The bar area with 1 of 2 televisions on the wall screening Sky Sports - the owners must be cricket fans.

One of the other murals next to the bar area featuring the ocean and sealife.

Of course I had to order a cocktail with my meal  - this one is an espresso martini.

Linking up with  Mural Monday, Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Police

This is our local police station in town - looks like quite an old building maybe estimated construction to me is possibly 1950s? I've heard that it's going to be replaced at some point due to black mould being found in the walls, can't be good to breathe that in. In fact many houses here in New Zealand have mould problems but the government has introduced the healthy homes scheme under a grand where you can apply to have underfloor insulation done. All landlords are required to be a part of this by also having a heat pump and/or a fireplace necessary, no mould etc - too many people get sick otherwise.

So we watched the rugby world cup yesterday - what a load of rubbish. The better team won I think, between the rubbish referee and my team who were poorly disciplined, they deserve it.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Dog wash

This is where one of the local vets use to be but the building is now sold. On the side of it was this dog wash which anyone was able to use for a gold coin like $2, not sure but now it has moved to the side of one of the local petrol stations - I regularly see people washing their dogs in it.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Rainbow

So we had our general elections here and one party won that I hadn't voted for but oh well like I've been saying...life goes on right?

Rugby was a bit more of a fruitful exercise between the ABs and Ireland. Great game - I felt a bit sorry for the Irish as they played a great game. Looking forward to the rest of it.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

NBS Theatre

This is the local theatre in Westport and is located on the main street. We have a movie theatre in Greymouth too and despite the technology we have these days for downloading and streaming, people still seem to like going to the movies. I remember in the 1970s and 1980s my nana taking me to ones when we lived in Auckland and seeing films such as "The Muppet Movie", "Tom Thumb" etc. It use to be such a treat back.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Kereru

Another visitor we've had in the Kowhai tree in my front garden is this rather fat Kereru (wood pigeon). I'm guessing it's a pregnant female possibly? You can't really see how colourful she is but on average these birds as adults are 51cm in length and weigh about 650g. Killing them is illegal and they were once hunted for their meat and feathers. She was kind to me by sitting in the tree for quite some time.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Kōkō

 

I'm very fortunate to have a Kōwhai tree in my front garden. Kōwhai is the Maori word for yellow and as you can see from the colour of the flowers they are very vibrant. Every Spring they attract these birds known as the Tui or the Kōkō in Maori language.

In Te Ao Maori this bird has a huge significance. They are thought of as messengers of Atua (God's) in heaven. They are associated with life fulfillment, confidence and spiritual harmony.

Native birds including the Tui but also the Kereru (wood pigeon) and Bellbird all love to feast on the flowers which are an important source of nectar food for them.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Snow

This is what I've been seeing from my backyard most days over Winter and Spring. Mount Davy is the hill region in the distance - there has been the odd dusting of snow every now and again. It won't be here for much longer once the warmer temperatures come in.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Seagulls

This has been much of our Winter - sunny but cold chilly days. This photo shows the far end of the port of Greymouth. A small fishing boat to the right but most of them, the larger commercial ones are further up around the bay. 

Quite often people with smaller fishing lines will come here and try to catch the odd fish. I think these greedy seagulls were after some leftover bait.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Blue skies

I was in town last week having coffee with the girls again. That morning we had a nice dusting of snow on the mountains so we've had temperatures of 0 to -1 at night. I bought some red Camellia trees to plant along the front fence which will make a nice show of flowers next Winter. This photo showing Speights Ale House on the left and the defunct Royal Hotel further down (which is now closed due to earthquake problems) with the blue sky above shows how most of our Winter days go - we get a crispy dry cold with sunny days.

 Linking up with Blue Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Coffee

On a regular basis I like to catch up with friends that I use to work with. Usually we go to different coffee shops but the last few times we have met up at the Columbus Coffee Cafe at the local Mitre 10 store. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mitre 10, it's a franchise of hardware stores throughout the country that usually have a cafe attached.

My favourite coffee is usually a large mocha with one sugar, sometimes the staff will put a chocolate fish on the side (a kiwi icon) or a marshmallow.

As I was looking around I spotted that the side of one of the counters appears to be full of coffee beans - that's a novel idea.

 Linking up with Blue Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Reefton Courthouse

Another one from our visit to Reefton in early Autumn this year. Built in 1872 it was used during the gold rush to settle disputes, leases and miners rights. It was designed by William Henry Clayton who also was responsible for other court houses around New Zealand. It finally closed in 1972 and now court cases are heard in either Greymouth or Westport. It is now listed as a Historic Place Category 1 building.

 Linking up with Blue Monday and Mosaic Monday.

Art Deco

 

We seem to have found some more original art deco wallpaper in the house, this time on the floor of the old hot water linen cupboard. Funny thing is it's on top of the original rimu floor boards - not sure why anyone would want to cover these up. We are considering whether to sand and polish them or cover with the lino that's already there.

Spring is nearly upon us though. By September the 1st it will be the first day of the season.  My daffodil bulbs are flowering next to the dormant roses. I stopped by the local garden centre last week and bought a Pandorea Rosea which is a type of pink flowering climber, kind of like a Jasmine for the front fence - it needs some colour. My daughter dropped off her 3 rats at the vet centre too for neutering, they are cute but boy do they smell.

 Linking up with Blue Monday and Mosaic Monday.