On An Autumn Evening...

Every Friday evening there's a wonderful Farmers Market at Katikati's little domain.
The evening sun added to the delights of the plentyful produce and Yvonne called in for a time before rushing off to William and Kate's big day.
And isn't her little hat just so gorgeous for a wedding...

Politicians...

Recent polling in New Zealand indicates that the general public dislike politicians so much that they don't even want them running the government...

Amazing Aquaduct...

The incredible Magdeburg water bridge in Germany is at nearly a kilometre in length, the longest navigable aquaduct in the world.
Construction started in the 1930's but World War Two and then the division of Germany halted progress until work recommenced in !997.
It's been open since 2003.
Let's go sailing...

Colour Me Autumn...

Kiss me softly with your lips of light.
Paint me from your palette of purples and rustics.
Stroke me with your brush filled with textured ochres.
Let me be sated by the sun, marvelled by the moon, seduced by the stars as I grow more mellow with the years...

A Topsy Turvy World...

Real estate may be going through all sorts of upside down antics where you live but this upside down house built in Germany's Hamburg takes some beating.
Of course we living 'Down Under' are used to this sort of thing and learn at an early age to never stand under a toilet...

Brain Power...

Belarsian industrial design duo Maria and Igor Solovyor have created this flurorescent lamp in the shape of the human brain.
I wonder if this makes it brighter...

Introducing Benny...

You'll remember about a month ago, I posted what looked like and in fact was a modified 9kg gas bottle. Well now, named of course after 'You-Know-Who' the boy genius, here is 'Benny' the most wonderful outside cooker, brazier, bbq, water heater or just a joy to sit around under the stars and the moon. Very romantic.
Ben's constructed it out of 100% recycled materials, it looks very 'Heath Robinson' if you now what I mean and my Benny is unpainted to keep it authentic. It has a 1.5 metre chimney and amazingly, because of the 'genius' and his airflow design which I can't tell you about, all the smoke goes up the chimney.
As an option, a single burner gas hob fits inside the door using a cunningly designed device so it easily becomes a gas cooker too.
And if you'd like to buy one of these handmade masterpieces, I'm selling them on Ben's behalf so he can finish his amazing housebus, for $NZ250 plus freight to anywhere in NZ.
For me, Benny adds to my self sufficient lifestyle, enabling me to cook without gas anywhere anytime on any beach using the driftwood that is always in abundance.
Benny's my new best friend...

Raffaele Calace...

Raffaele Calace 1863-1934, was an Italian mandolin player and composer.
He also, like his father was a gifted guitar maker. This beautiful instrument, number 106 bears his name and was made in the year of his death.
I'm trying to find out more about this wonderful guitar. Click on the image for a better look.
Perhaps you know something...

An Anniversary...

Every year on this day I give thanks to the Universe and the wonderful medical team who gave me my life back when they performed a triple by-pass on my heart twenty four years ago.
My lifestyle has worked well for me ever since.
April seems to be my month for medical procedures. I'm glad it's nearly May.
I'm planning to live forever.
So far so good...

Autumn. It's Here...

Delicious Autumn. My very soul is wedded to it said George Eliot.
And if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking successive Autumns...

Damned Cute Isn't It...

It's a '79 CF Bedford and it turns up at many places I frequent.
Complete with a top quality 80watt BP Solar panel and kayak attached to the innovative roofrack, it's a go anywhere, within reason, home for its delighted owner...

Show Me Yours And I'll Show You Mine...

There you are.
You're looking at $30,000 worth of hip replacement courtesy of New Zealand Health.
Made from the latest and greatest materials and guaranteed to last a lifetime.
I'm not sure whose...

Keeping Traditions Alive...

Many cars wore one of these a few years ago, with a sense of pride, a status symbol of sorts. The ubiquitous wire coat hanger, aka the universal car aerial, aka the number eight fencing wire fixit tool.
One of the great New Zealand icons that made this pioneering country as good as it used to be.
It's so good to see it here on this old VW Combi.
Keeping traditions alive...

A Lifestyle Choice...

With their baby of a few months on her hip,
she cooked a simple, succulently smelling meal for her man while he sat on the steps of their housebus strumming his guitar.
The image here's a metaphor for a wonderful way of being that more perhaps might be living.
Such a desirous one for many and yet simply unattainable for most.
And no, neither of them were on the dole or a sickness benefit.
Their's is simply a lifestyle choice...

Surprise Surprise...

Is it really working again or is it like this image of natures wonderful evening sky, a figment of my imagination.
Thankyou Blogger and Picasa for finally fixing the problem.
Thankyou my friends for your patience...

Don Quixote...

My good friend Don Quixote said,
while merrily tilting at windmills.
"Facts are the enemy of the truth".
Well, I think that's what he said...

According To Leonardo Da Vinci...

Living in small spaces disciplines the mind.
Large ones weaken it...

The People's Choice...

If you are normal, people will accept you.
Be deranged like our friend Mr Gaddafi and the same people will make you their leader...

Love Language...

"I ask him if he's sorry we didn't find each other when we were young and he says he would have never recognised me when he was young.
And besides he says, he was too old when he was young. I feel the same way I tell him, remembering when I too, was so much older..."
From 'A Thousand Days in Venice'.
An Unexpected Romance by Marlene de Blasi.

A Joy Of Convalescence...

I'm a lucky man, enjoying the beauty of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour from one of it's most beautiful dress circle seats.
Today the waters are sparkling as vehicles motor on their missions across the harbour bridge as they do each day from it's early hours.
Yachts large and small wend their ways with lazy wind and thankyou, I'll just watch a while longer...

The Do's And Don'ts...

Do exercise and rest frequently.
Don't cross the legs, don't let the angle between torso and leg get to ninety degrees or less.
Don't twist or allow more than partial weight bearing on the operated leg.
Well I'm doing and not doing all of the above and still taking some of the medications.
Now if I could only upload photo images here...

Post Op. Day Three...

Relaxing, sleeping off the effects of the drugs associated with surgery and in between all that, short delightful pain free walks in the sun that my orthopedic surgeon says has been so important in making my bones so strong...

Discharged And Free...

So the physiotherapists are happy with my walking with crutches and for the next six weeks it's only partial weight on my new leg.
And the 'step' test was passed with ease so now it's on with the rest of my life.
Free of the debilitating pain that's been with me for years, I'm looking forward to fully embracing my lifestyle and to playing golf again, dancing, walking, cycling, playing table tennis and boogie boarding...
The Waitakere Hospital staff have been wonderful and I thank them for their professionalism and warmth, their considerations and their joyful dispositions.
And Chris and Don who with their knee surgeries and Pam with her hip surgery made up the little ward called Titirangi that we shared.
Four strangers when we met, we had a lot of fun and helped each other on the road to a quick recovery.
And thankyou to you for your kind words of support...

Walking Made Easy....

What an amazing time I'm having.
Twenty hours after surgery by the highly respected Orthopedic Surgeon Ali Bayan, I'm up and walking.
And for the first time in many many years, without the pain that has been with me all that time. I now have a very expensive Titanium hip joint where the original used to be.
The Waitakere Hospital is a great choice of hospitals with this newly established orthopedic unit staffed by dedicated and wonderful nurses and other health professionals giving patients everything they need to recover happily and quickly.
I'm delighted to be able to post this today but I'm full of drugs and what I need is sleep.
So right now, that's what I'll do...

Today's The Day...

Yesterday I asked you to be patient.
Today I'm the patient.
I'm just on my way to Waitakere Hospital for hip replacement surgery in a couple of hours time.
Hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about it in the next few days.
The surgeon assures me that the procedure will make me a much nicer person...

My Apologies...

Like many other bloggers worldwide, I've been contacting Blogger constantly to try and get the problem of being unable to upload images, fixed. We are all still waiting.
Thankyou for being patient...

The Road Not Taken...

Two roads diverged in a wood and I,
I took the one less travelled by.
And that has made all the difference.
From 'The Road Not Taken'.
A beautiful poem by Robert Frost.

In Case You Didn't Know...

New Zealand borrows $300 million each and every week.
Where does it all come from?
How long can we as a country go on doing this?
When and how do we pay it back?
Scary stuff isn't it...

It's Like Bacon...

It's like bacon without the eggs, the day without the sun and the night without the moon. A song without the lyrics and the words without a tune. It's like fish without the chips, like sweeping a floor without a broom.
Hopefully we'll see images again, someday very soon...

Like Waiting For Paint To Dry...

And we all know what that's like. We keep putting our fingertips to the paint to test it and end up with painted fingertips. I've been trying to post an image every few hours in the hope that it will get through but so far no luck. I will head back to the forum and see what's happening about a fix...