Hello Home

It's nice to be back on good, old, dusty and often-dry Australian soil.  Where the gumtrees shed their red bark, and the chocolate lillies grow.  That same soil where the kangaroos leave their compostable deposits, and the bull ants build invisible nests... just in the place where I'm about to stop and stand... barefoot in my thongs... looking through a camera lens rather than at the ground... 

Yeah, I love Australia.

But New Zealand was pretty awesome too.

I have grandparents over there!  And there are no snakes!  What more could you ask for?

By the way, the mysterious and disturbing photo was taken in the Auckland Art Gallery.  I guess you could say I'm standing in the middle of a piece of art.  My Grandad is in that shot too, except I've only captured his reflections - the first of about 50 billion that is.

It was a trippy piece of art!

I took 991 photos and right now I'm deciding which ones will go in the album.

Here are a few which won't be getting printed or immortalised in my photo album.

A photo of New Zealand's first ever McDonalds (and just to make the picture even cooler, there's my Grandad's ear on the right).

Here is an excellent action shot of an ant bungee jumping off Sky Tower right in the middle of Auckland.  I considered trying it myself ... for all of three seconds (and then I found better things to do, like walking through the art gallery and watching paint peel).

Here is a photo of part of my favourite painting in the gallery - I like to call it 'The Expression On His Face Is A Masterpiece".

Here is another photo which won't be in the album.  No matter how many ways there are to look at this shot, I will always think that my foot is coming out of my head.  It was a pretty amazing lake though.

And then there is the Ambitious Shot in which I try to stand in the same place Peter, Edmond, Susan and Lucy stood when the train station disappeared and Narnia was suddenly there (Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian).

I promise, that mysterious shadow is me.

He, he.

No matter how many photos I cram into the album, I won't be able to capture everything New Zealand showed me... the awe I felt when I stood in front of God's own natural masterpieces, the fun of exploring new cities, the joy of being spoilt by grandparents you've missed, and then that feeling you get when you walk back into your old bedroom with a new sense of how blessed you really are.

:)

It's been a while... [a squeak from overseas]

I was tempted to get right on with my next post like I hadn't stopped blogging for several months.  But that would ruin the flow of my future blog book (which was apparently one of the first reasons I started blogging in the first place.  I recall that another reason was to keep myself writing, and another was to keep my camera snapping.)

Here is a snap from the mysterious location I'm in at the moment.  Clue:  It's not Australia.

Actually the location of that photo is definitely too mysterious and disturbing, so maybe I'll try again?

I'm in a place where...

The trees hug the rocks (it's a friendly place).

The sand is black (it's an explosive place).

The bicycles are parked (it's a cheeky place).

The sheep like to chill on the beach (there are a lot of sheep).

Pools of boiling water seem to occur naturally (watch your step).

Sometimes the tunnels seem to lead into a place which looks like Narnia.

And I guess the horizons could be a little crooked.

Blogging is not the only thing I've been taking a break from lately.  My degree is finished, I'm a BA like Anne of Green Gables, I'm still run around after small children and I still take a crazy amount of photos and write creative things on small bits of paper.  But for the first part of this year I'm letting my brain recharge, giving myself time to smell the roses and the sea air and try new things or pull out old hobbies and interests which have been collecting dust over the last three years.

I have an exciting new project on my mind at the moment which includes a whole new blog and lots of cooking, and plenty of Nonna appearances.  (I know, you're thinking 'she's going to try keep ANOTHER blog going?').

Yes ;)