Hawkes Bay Anniversary and Labour Day

It was a nice long wknd in Hawkes Bay this past wknd.  On Friday we had our anniversary day and I went to the A&P Show with my friend Viv.  It was pretty cool, I liked watching the fencing competition and the wood chopping.  The NZ Wood Chopping Team was there which was quite cool, and I decided I have seen too much wood chopping in NZ as I recognised many of the team members and knew roughly what their handicaps were lol.  The only disappointing thing about the A&P Show, and it's a kinda major thing, is that it was very commercial but not in a farming sense.  I didn't see any tractors for sale, mostly it was cars or fancy as utes (ok so those would be useful on a farm) and many stalls that you see at big markets or gypsy style fairs around the way.  There was also a disappointing amount of craft entries in the craft competition bit which has made me wonder if I should enter some stuff next year.  We will see if I remember that I thought that come this time next year lol.

On Saturday I headed off to Taupo to pick up my friend Jo.  Now for those of you who are wondering, and when you see the pictures think hmmm she looks familiar but not from NZ photos, Jo is my british friend who I lived with in my first flat in Edinburgh.  We met when she was in NZ many years ago, then chilled together a lot when I was in Scotland and now she is back in NZ working for a few years.  Sadly she is in Auckland, but hey Auckland is way closer than the UK so I will take it.  Anyhow she bused to Taupo and I went and got her and then brought her back here.  We spent the wknd just chilling really.  On Sunday we went into Napier to have some fun and chill and so Jo could see some of the things she loved when she lived here.  Possum World was an eye opener for me, I have been here for 18 months and did not that this awesomeness existed.  Such bad taxidermy, such a random museum of sorts but so good and random and funny lol.

Then on Monday we drove back to Taupo where we met up with Mum, Dad and Richard for lunch before Jo got back on the bus to Auckland.  Don't worry though she will be back at some stage and I will be up there to see her as well :)

One of the other highlights of the wknd was that we went and checked out Jungle Cafe in Havelock North.  It is a gluten free cafe and the food was amazing.  Definitely have to go back cos I could have eaten so much more than I did, it all looked amazing and what we got def was amazing.  And it was super cool that we could taste each others dish without either of us getting sick.  Go Jungle Cafe :)

Not really been up to much else, just pottering and trucking along really.  I am now a member of the Hastings Heretaunga Lions Club, the youngest member believe it or not hehe.  It is a good bunch of people, there are around 12 of us varying in ages from me to much older than me.  Viv, who I went to the A&P Show with is from Lions.  I am also happily in two books clubs now, one is the one at Hastings Library which anyone can go along to, and the other one I was invited to join from a current member of it who also goes to the Hastings Library one so that is cool.  I have my first meeting of that one later next month :)  Should be fun.

Other than joining stuff I have also been crafting and sewing, more planning sewing than sewing at the moment and I need a wknd at home to get some of the stuff I want done started.  I have started making my diary for next year as well, it's going to be just as cool as this years one, if not more so :) hehe

Anyhow here are some pics from the wknd with Jo :)

Napier waterfront area

 

 

Possum World

Sugar Loaf

Stop on the way back to Taupo, Cleo and I finally have a pic together :)

10 years ago it was Singapore...

Well 10 years ago, around about this time, I was heading home from India and I met up with mum in Singapore for a weeks holiday of shopping and catching up.  Now a lot has happened in those 10 years, as I am sure you are aware, and both mine and mums circumstances are rather different yet we have still managed to get together for another shopping and catching up holiday, this time round it is in Palmerston North.

I know, not quite as fancy or exciting as Singapore, but we don't have to go through customs, we can buy as much as we want and stuff as big as we want as we don't have to pack it into suitcases, and we don't have to exchange any money, plus we know what food is gluten free cos everything is in English (so what that I wasn't eating gluten free in Singapore, that was just cos no one had been smart enough to figure out what was wrong then).  And ok, we are limited on what we buy cos we still aren't mega rich (dunno how come, I mean surely it's our turn by now.... lol), but that woulda been the same in Singapore.

Cleo also says she is much happier chatting with Feebe in the parking lot of our motel than she would be sitting all alone in the airport carpark, even if it is wet and cold here.  She likes that I can go out and say hi and check that she is ok, and she liked that someone commented on her Kidnappers logos as well, that made her feel real important.

The company is still pretty awesome here, as it would be wherever we are, but that is cos it's me and mum and we can't help being awesome :) hehe.  We have had a fun wknd of catching up and wandering round, and doing some shopping, neither of us has gone crazy spending but we have got some fun stuff and some stuff we have needed which is about all you can ask for when you go shopping.  And most impt we have got me and Ken some pressies for our fun videos :D next week should be a fun one hehe.

We are sadly heading back to reality tomorrow, but since I have some good cds lined up for Cleo it should be a good drive back and then I have Tuesday off as well so some time to chill at home, probably will procrastinate doing anything useful and just chill and be lazy but you never know, maybe I'll do something fun and exciting or atlst something productive.... don't hold your breath though lol

Palmy through JBs lens

So I'm in Palmerston North this weekend for a CAMA Hui (Community Access Media Alliance Conference), yes work in the weekend but its fun meeting and getting to know all the other Access Station people.  I can say that they are all lovely and friendly people, and we are having a good time chatting and discussing stuff that we find is going well or brainstorming things that we struggle with and generally having a blast getting to know each other.  When I turned up ystdy turns out most of them know who I am from the videos we do on Facebook and Twitter, which did mean I didn't get told everyone's names but atlst they all were super welcoming.  Lol Jo from Planet FM (Auckland) was positive we had met before cos she has seen so many of the videos that she felt like she knew me already :)

I have found the time to wander round Palmy like a tourist with the main purpose to take pics and my aim with the wandering was to see the city as a newbie, not as someone who only comes here to shop and doesn't pay attention to the beautiful stuff around the place.  As per normal when a steeple can be seen in the distance my feet inevitably take me there, and I am never disappointed with the church under the steeple, though sometimes I am disappointed that the camera won't take a photo that does it justice.  Anyhow, below are photos from around Palmy, things that have captured my interest or intrigued me, or just made me stop and go woah cool :) some have captions/explanations, some don't, and yes I know that they are even grouped by location but tough, I am sure you will survive hehe.  

And here they are in no particular order....

Mum if you had just stayed at BNZ you coulda got yourself a camper :p lol

We went to Shed 23 last night for a meet and greet, it had a room with heaps of instruments that are to be played not just looked at.  Turns out I'm still horribly unmusical but I had fun, and many laughs :)

This is the street outside the hotel I'm staying at, so cool

If you saw this on the street, would you hopscotch it or just walk past?  I hopscotched both, of course :)

A very cool lady's toilet sign

This sign made me think of you Aunty Robyn :) no frogs were parked here though :( lol

Just liked this randomly placed small tree lol