Pohutukawa

Pohutukawa

The New Zealand Christmas tree

Anniversary flowers

Anniversary flowers

Found in the boot of my car this morning!

Happy anniversary (and thank you), sweetie. xxx ooo

Flower arrangement

Flower arrangement

So simple and pretty

Duckies

Baby ducklings a few weeks ago

The babies are now teenagers!

Flag at half mast

Flag at half mast

A sign of respect for all those who died at the Pike River mine

Tulip Sunday

Although Tulip Sunday has officially come and gone, along with a couple of storms in between, the tulips at the Botanic Garden were stunningly beautiful as they danced in the breeze on a sunny day today. The Wellington Spring Festival is still in gloriously full force.

 

Project 365: One year on

It has been exactly one year since I began my Project 365, aiming to take a photograph a day and see my life in a whole new way. The title gives it away: there are 365 days in a regular year. As you will see from my the number on latest photo, I didn't quite make it, but here I am at the finish line exactly one year later. If there were 274 days in a year, I'd have passed with flying colours.

This project has had its ups and downs. I was hesitant to start as I wasn't sure if I could keep up such an ongoing commitment in addition to my regular blog, Tales from a Café Chick. I'm no more proficient in photography than when I started, and still feel quite reluctant to approach people to be in photos, so my project mostly featured objects, items, and scenery, just as I expected it would.

About four months into the project, the pressure to take a photograph and post it to my photo blog every single day began to get me down. That's when I decided that things would change. I'd not worry about the 'gaps' or missing days and just see what happened. I started taking photos almost every day but uploaded them in batches. This helped me manage things a bit better and feel a little less anxious. I also stopped worrying about how each photo would look to others; this was a personal project of images and scenes that I came across each day, and that helped, too. The result: 274 photos, or 75% success. A milestone of sorts, even if it's not the original goal I was aiming for. And that's just fine with me. :-D

So, where to next, now that I've officially reached the finish line? I'll keep up this photo blog if I see something interesting or photo-worthy. I can promise you that it won't be every day, but we'll see what happens from here on in. Thanks for joining me on my journey. My ClustrMap informs me that I've had 2500 visits this past year. Wow! (Sadly, the map will be archived tomorrow and all my pretty red dots will disappear, but that leaves it ready to populate again during the coming year.)

How's your Project 365 going?

Day 274 - Prize

Prize!

Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St

The competition junkie strikes again. :-)

Day 273 - Clever cake

Clever cake

Nothing quite like party guests eating the birthday boy

(baked by a very creative friend)

Day 272 - Motorway gridlock

Motorway gridlock

Everybody going nowhere fast

Day 271 - Ugly on the outside

Ugly on the outside?
It's what's inside that counts!

Day 270 - Whanau sculpture

Whanau sculpture

A family immortalised

Day 269 - Fish sculpture

Fish sculpture

Another fish out of water

Day 268 - Banoffee pizza

Banoffee pizza

A tasty variation of a classic treat

Day 267 - Banana loaf

Banana loaf

Tempting us with that fresh-baked scent

but not yet ready to devour

Day 266 - Sandy shore

Sandy shore

A brief respite from the wintry weather

Day 265 - Stately door

Stately door

Entrance to a grand old manor

Day 264 - Chandelier print

Chandelier print

Elegant, classy, quaint

Day 263 - Wood shed

Wood shed

Looks idyllic

Day 262 - Petone clock tower

Petone clock tower

Keeping shoppers to time

Day 261 - Makara wind farm

Makara wind farm

Trying to put Wellington's wind to good use

Day 260 - Finished product

Finished product

We went from slip sliding away, to making some progress, and now we're finally finished. What a relief!

Day 259 - Flower teaset

Flower teaset

Too pretty to use!

Day 258 - Kitchen makeover

Before

After

The kitchen makeover is complete!

Day 257 - Park swings

Park swings

Inviting and irresistible

Day 256 - Petone mosaic

Petone mosaic

Made by local school and community members

Day 255 - Toi toi

Toi toi

Gently swaying in the breeze

Day 254 - Salute

Salute

Petone Foreshore

The inscription on the plaque reads:

"These oars salute those who have arrived and departed these shores, and those who will arrive and depart in the future."

Day 253 - Spell check required

Spell check required

I couldn't believe this sign in a hospital elevator. Someone had already attacked two of the rogue apostrophes with a Twink pen, but somehow copy's remained. Seriously, how long would it have taken to ask someone to check the spelling and punctuation on this sign before it was produced? *shakes head in disbelief*

Day 252 - Good advice

Good advice

"Don't use chopsticks while driving"

Day 251 - Secret admirer

A secret admirer

A single red rose left at the door by an admirer, with an anonymous note constructed from letters cut out of a newspaper. (Its contents, although brief, prevent it from being a poison pen letter.) Unfortunately, the object of his affection had moved house several weeks earlier and never got to admire his handiwork. I guess it pays to always check your facts!

Day 250 - Rose tea set

Rose tea set

Sipping elegance

Day 249 - Half-baked

Half-baked

Banana loaf on its way

Day 248 - Piggy bank

Piggy bank

This is my original piggy bank from when I was just a few years old. It has collected change for more than 30 years. A friend of Mum's gave it to me. It has a big cork on the bottom so it can be used over and over. The cork cost 2c - it's written on the bottom, and I've never forgotten it!

Day 247 - Masks

Masks

Whispering their secrets

Day 246 - Seashore

Seashore

Day 245 - Throw parties, not stones

Throw parties, not stones

Sounds like a good idea to me!

Day 244 - Lady of the night

Lady of the night

Always ready for action

Day 243 - Days Bay jetty

Days Bay jetty

Day 242 - Extreme driftwood

Extreme driftwood

At what point does driftwood become a log?

Day 241 - Number 13

Number 13

An ornate welcome

Day 240 - Afternoon nap

Afternoon nap

Seagulls taking some time out

Day 239 - Lunch for a bug

Lunch for a bug

Or perhaps a whole bug family?

(Look closely - the holes in this plant's leaves would have taken some work!)