Day 61 - Fishing boat in Island Bay

A fishing boat in calm weather
Quite a different scene today ... what a difference a day makes!
Island Bay, Wellington

Day 60 - South Island from Wellington

Kaikoura Ranges, South Island
View from Wellington

The view of the Kaikoura Ranges is crystal clear from my front window today. Unfortunately my camera struggled to even begin to capture the beauty of the light as it falls on this mountain range in the South Island. Still, this is a very rare sight from somewhere as far away as Wellington; a moment in time until the sun moves to a new position.

Day 59 - Water pipe

Water pipe overflow

Today's photo is a short video clip, taken on my mobile phone. I saw this pipe pouring out water on the way to my osteopath appointment this morning. It looked to be some kind of temporary overflow pipe. After my 30 minute appointment finished, it was still flowing. I met a friend for lunch, and as I passed it again on the way back to my car, it was still overflowing; that's about two hours from when I first noticed it, and I'm not sure how much longer it was flowing for during the day.

I looked around the building entrance for someone who could fix it, or even someone I could call and report it to, but drew a blank. I ended up feeling completely helpless about the dreadful waste of this precious resource.

Day 58 - Turtle

Turtle
Curious, or popping up for air?
Island Bay Marine Education Centre

Day 57 - Fish and chips with style

Fish and chips with style
A classier take on a kiwi classic: fish and chips wrapped in newspaper

This was my Secret Santa gift at Saturday's mid-winter Christmas party. Actually, it was the third of my gifts but, being a Yankee swap, I had two gifts ungraciously stolen from right in front of my nose! The first was a gorgeous toy sheep, which baaed when you squeezed it. This was ultimately 'stolen' three times and the third 'thief' reigned supreme as the winner. My second gift was a reusable fold-up shopping bag (which I never imagined would be stolen, but Mr Practical decided it was perfect for him). Finally, I went in search of something which had caught my eye earlier: this cute porcelain French fries cup with matching sauce bowl.

Day 56 - Harry Potter and his Nimbus 2000

Harry Potter statue
made from LEGO blocks
poised and ready for action with his Nimbus 2000

Day 55 - A side of beef

A side of beef
Not for the vegetarian-hearted
Retro art at Maranui Café

Day 54 - Café ambiance

Outdoor café ambiance in an indoor setting
Smith the Grocer, Old Bank Arcade, Wellington

Day 53 - Soap

Looks good enough to eat
'Honey, I washed the kids' soap

Lush

Day 52 - Torture device?

Torture device?
Or something more sinister?

Such an innocent looking piece of furniture, this osteopath's bed is the scene of my weekly 'treatment'. And, to think, that I pay good money to endure this kind of pain! ;-)
(Actually, it's not too bad. Apparently my back is slowly improving. Slowly.)

Day 51 - Winter garden

Winter garden
Midland Park, Wellington

Day 50 - Flower bed

Purple and white flower bed
A touch of cheer in winter

Day 49 - Zed in bed

Zed in bed

This is where Zed chose to spend much of last night. And the night before. And the night before that. When he's had enough (or has been pushed off), he simply jumps onto my sweetie, then back onto me - kind of a night time pussy cat version of "tag". Lucky us.

Day 48 - Fire sculptures

Completed fire sculpture

Beach sculpture - work in progress

The Petone Winter Carnival is on today. A feature of the programme is the creation of five E Tu fire sculptures. Created and sculpted right on beach in just eight hours, they are set alight during the evening. Here are two we saw today, nearing completion. The others were less ready when we wandered past and will be worked on during the afternoon.

Day 47 - Explosion of red

An explosion of red
Display at the entrance of California Home and Garden, Miramar

Day 46 - Firewood

Firewood
Delivered for a warm, cosy winter

Day 45 - Up on the roof

Up on the roof
View of some Wellington rooftops from a carpark building on a gloomy winter's day

Not too enticing, is it? I wonder whether this scene would have looked different if only the sun had been shining?

Day 44 - Flu isolation area

Flu isolation area
Island Bay Medical Centre
Wishful thinking, or will it actually make a difference?

Day 43 - Makara wind turbines

Makara wind turbines at dusk

Day 42 - Alarmed door

Alarmed door

Really? I thought it looked quite calm and collected, actually - but I appreciate the warning! :-P

Day 41 - Priceless

Priceless

Dressing lengths of Elastoplast: $8.98
Cost of using a spellchecker: priceless.

Day 40 - Little piggy

Little piggy

This little piggy went to market
where he was suspected of having swine flu
and so this little piggy was sent home.

Day 39 - Carlucci Land

Carlucci Land

Giant spider

Carlucci Land is a sculpture park in Happy Valley, Wellington, just up from the Southern Landfill. Carl Gifford is an artist who creates large sculptures out of scrap metal gathered from local dumps and quarries. The giant spider is across the road from the entrance, along with a couple of cute hippos. There are plans to develop Carlucci Land into a larger scale theme park; however, it would seem that the Wellington City Council are less than enthusiastic about his current business plan.

Day 38 - Cupcake

Raspberry and vanilla cupcake
Freshly iced with lemon icing

Day 37 - Beach sculpture

Beach sculpture

This sculpture was made out of natural beach materials by the family of one of my former students. I had taught their son online by distance for six of his primary school years and we were both moving on. Although we never met in person, they considered me to be part of their family and I certainly feel that I 'know' them, too. This gift was their way of thanking me for this time; however, the pleasure was all mine. Every year or so, I refresh the scent with sandalwood or jasmine drops.

Day 36 - Cherub

Cherub

This ceramic cherub was made by a friend in Australia several years ago. Now, more than three years after her death, it is a lovely reminder of her years of friendship.

Day 35 - Zed the travelling cat

Zed, the travelling cat
Going nowhere fast

Day 34 - Shopping mall

Westfield Mall
First day of school holidays
Enter at own risk!

Day 33 - Table setting

Ready to welcome diners
The Cheeky Pipi, Island Bay, Wellington

Day 32 - Fern ball

Fern ball sculpture
Currently featuring a tennis ball stuck inside it
Civic Square, Wellington

Day 31 - Clos-ed

Clos-ed

I did a double-take when I saw this sign outside the City Gallery in Wellington. I wondered what clos-ed was; a new exhibition? A visiting artist? Photography? And then I looked to the right-hand side of the building, saw this sign, and I understood. Doh!

Open

Clos-ed for renovations until September 09!