Real Estate Bargain...

What more could you want.
Located in New Zealand's wonderful Northland.
Over one hundred years old and still standing, just. Lot's of character. Handy to shops and schools. All day sun. Blossom tree and one flower in full bloom. An almost immaculate front lawn. Glass in some of the windows. Partial roof. Chimney. No near neighbours.
What are you waiting for...

This Wheely Works...

At last, a bicycle with metal wheels, no more punctures and smoother riding.
London based designer Ron Arad and his team have come up with this wheely good cycling idea using ribbons of tempered steel bolted together in tension at strategic points.
The faster one goes, the smoother the wide.
Simple wheely...

A Happy Man...

I woke this morning a happy man. After ten days with my heart being in Atrial Fibrillation, it reverted to Sinus Rhythm of it's own accord and without any need of a Cardio Version procedure. Thankyou for your positive thoughts and communications.
Shona Mclean from www.laughingfishstudio.co.nz in Mapua, just out of Nelson created this happy man and other delightful illustrations you might like to have a look at...

Weird And Wonderful?

I found this very weird monster housetruck on http://www.htnz.co.nz You'll find more there.
It's certainly weird and I guess it could be wonderful...

Life...

No matter which road you choose, they all have their ups and downs.
That's life...

It Doesn't Matter...

There's no paint on the house.
It disappeared some years ago.
But it doesn't matter.
The sun's always shining up here in New Zealand's Far North and if it doesn't, it doesn't matter.
The bus doesn't go because nobody's fixed whatever's wrong with it but it doesn't matter.
Nothing really matters and so what if it did...

Rustic Charm...

Originally used as a schoolhouse over a hundred years ago, this rustic charmer just out of Ashville, North Carolina is now used as a wonderful bunkhouse for some lucky lucky grandchildren...

Tiny Tree House...

Someone, I don't know who, built this very gorgeous and whimsical treehouse somewhere in Philadelphia. The result evidently of a long summer and a fertile imagination...

Living In The Now...

I got to the hospital yesterday to find I'd left it too late to have a Cardio Version to return my heart to it's normal Sinus Rhythm. The standard international cutoff time is now 48 hours plus I needed to be on a special blood thinning medication to eliminate the possibility of any blood clot moving and causing a stroke or worse after the event.
A Cardio Version is an electrically induced 'shock' that is applied to the heart to restart it in the normal Sinus Rhythm. A simple procedure but like most medical situations, it does carry elements of risk. The risks yesterday were deemed too high by the medical team.
I now have to wait while some new blood thinning drugs kick in so the medical procedure can proceed at some future time.

Some Facts About Atrial Fibrillation.
It's commonly called AF.
It's the most common type of arrhythmia and an arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of a person's heartbeat.
AF occurs when rapid disorganised electrical signals causes the heart's two upper chambers called 'atria' to contract very quickly and irregularly.
AF increases the risk of stroke or heart failure.

Here's to living in the now...

Life's A Beach...

You know how it goes. And then you...
Well hopefully not today but I'm just on my way to the local hospital for a medical procedure known as a Cardio Version. I've had many of them, this will be number ten. My heart has gone from Sinus Rhythm into AF as it's commonly known. When the rate is fast and irregular it's not good and very debilitating. Usually it gets back into rhythm by itself with a bit of gentle coaxing and controlled breathing from me.
Not this time unfortunately and it's been ninety six hours too long so it's off to Kaitaia Hospital I go.
With a bit of luck, I'll see you tomorrow...

Singer Songwriter Extrordinaire...

Leonard Cohen, singer and songwriter extrordinaire celebrates his seventy seventh birthday today.
What a difference his life has made to our world.
Well, certainly to mine...

Sunrises...

At the risk of boring you and too, repeating myself, to hell with it, I'm a risk taker and I have to tell you, again, I'm a Sunrise addict.
Today's was certainly worth waking for.
I've considered therapy and said thankyou but no thankyou to counselling.
I'm happily sticking to my theory that the more sunrises you see, the longer you live...

Dilapidated Delights...

I'm back at Ramp Road for a well deserved couple more nights.
I was planning heading south but not to have stopped at this most wonderful place would have been sacrilege. To hell with plans.
I'd spent yesterday morning on one of my favourite pastimes, photographing as many of these dilapidated delights as I could find. And there's plenty more to show you of the real world up here in New Zealand's Far North.
It is, a world apart...

Michael Jantzen's Amazing M-House...

I was wandering on a bit of the wild side yesterday with my ten legged friend, The Laughing Squid when he showed me this amazing structure.
Based on Jantzen's M-Vironment system which consists of a framed grid clad in hinged horizontal and vertical panels, this M-House is designed to be energy self sufficient. Also it can be assembled and disassembled with relative ease.
The only M-Home built so far was sold to a Korean Art Collector for an undisclosed sum.
For those of us who don't have any undisclosed sums, Michael Jantzen has designed the M-Velope, a sort of modular gazebo...

Tiny Houses Between Some Rocks And Hard Places....

Monsanto is a lonely, enchanting village perched on the side of a mountain in Portugal's Serra da Estrela.
The whole village is built between rocks with houses squeezed between gigantic boulders and its tiny streets carved through the rocks.
A living museum, Monsanto's appearance hasn't changed in centuries.
Lucky they don't have earthquakes there...

The Pallet House...

The Palettenpavillion was created by Matthias Loeberman and is made entirely of shipping pallets, tie rods and ground anchors. Prior to their new life as a pavilion, the hundreds of pallets were used to stack fruit and vegetable on at London's Covent Markets.
The whole structure, designed to be easily assembled and dismantled is used as a temporary meeting place.
It's certainly a conversation piece...

Raceday At Ramp Road...

The first race in the Ramp Road Trotting Cup got under way a few minutes ago in perfect conditions. The track was firm and dry, but it did appear to be a one horse race.
I had my money on the one in front...

Delightful Derelicts...

New Zealand's Far North is very laidback, the nearest set of traffic lights at least a hundred and fifty kilometres away in Whangarei. It's an area that because of lifestyle and the local's attitude is almost detached from the rest of the country.
Fortunately nobody's got 'a round tuit' and pulled down these delightful old iconic structures.
I hope they never do...

Living Small In Spectacular Surroundings...

Way out west of Texas, about twenty miles from John Wells and The Field Lab, Jan and Jess are building their home in a simply stunning and spectacular landscape. It's easy to visit them at http://theshady80.blogspot.com/
Driving way out there you're sure to get lost...

Joseph's Gypsy Wagons...

Hopefully these images will continue to post successfully, please see the story about Joseph's Gypsy Wagons below...