Speaking Engagements

I have been privileged to be invited to a couple of speaking engagements in the North Island and Appleby was OK with me taking a few days off to do it. The first was in the Wairarapa and Palmerston North talking to teachers about using Information Communication Technologies in their classrooms.
I got to spend the weekend with Chris as the days joined on to a weekend. He took me to the Karori Sanctuary that I have been wanting to visit for ages. We saw weta, tuatara and my very first kaka. It was great.
We also attended the very moving Pompeii exhibition at Te Papa. Chris took this photo on his phone as I had left my camera at home. I was impressed with the quality of the image.
My second trip away was to Koraunui School for an Interactive Whiteboard conference talking about using wiki to promote learning in Science. Both engagements were excellent and a great opportunity to get out and about.
I got to stay the night with Tom and Colleen before the conference started which was an added bonus. Little Lagar was happy to spend some time playing fetch while I was there.

Chris' Westland Holiday

I spent the weekend with Chris in Wellington. He had only just come back from a week on the West Coast and he shared some of his great photos with me.
Lake Brunner- this spot is one of my favourites as well.
Trumans Beach, Punakaiki
Robin, Charming Creek Walkway, Ngakawau
Sunset, Karamea
Oparara, near Karamea
Oparara, near Karamea
Oparara, near Karamea
Lake Hanlon
Karamea
Nikau Palms at Kohaihai- the start of the Heaphy Track

Wairarapa

Two Month's Worth of Photos

Two whole months have gone by and I have managed to keep my New Year’s Resolution going and I have uploaded a photo every day to my Wordpress Photo Blog. Admittedly I have stockpiled a few to use when school is all I get to think about in a day but I am quite pleased with myself. A big part of maintaining the interest is gaining inspiration from looking at other people’s photos and receiving feedback from people viewing my photos.

Here is a summary of two months worth of photos.

Lynda's Southsea Slideshow

Slideshow: Southsea 2008 - Slideshow

Ruth, Paul & Denzell Visit

Paul offered to come and have a bit of a 'holiday' in Nelson and give me a hand fixing some of the things around the house that Dad would have done.

Paul and Denzell worked hard water blasting the patio railing.
Denzell was very photogenic and went looking for pirates in the pepper tree.
Ruth, Denzell and I had a nice walk around the Queen's Gardens while Paul worked putting in an extractor fan in the bathroom.
We had a great day out salmon fishing at Anatoki. We all caught one.

It was good that Paul and Ruth were there cos I'm not very good with dead fish- only good when they're cooked and filleted.
This is one of our fish. The guy smokes the salmon while we waited.
Mmmmmmm. We thought of you, Adrian! Reka!
Afterwards we looked around a rather lame animal park. Denzell had a lovely moment with this young fawn.
After that we were off to Waikorupupu Springs- always an outstanding place to be.
Home to feed the swan and try not to let the seagulls get all the bread.
We even threw in a spot of reel fishing down the port. We only caught tiddlers but it is a good way to spend an afternoon.
As you can see from the before and after photos Paul did a great job of making the place look decent. It was in rather desperate need but I didn't know how to put it right..


As well as actually doing the work Paul gave me tips on what to do to do the other side of the fence when winter comes and the foliage dies down a bit.


Didn't he do a great job.

Pauline, Keith & Joyce

Pauline, Keith and Joyce came for a visit the day before they too headed back to the cold of the UK. Pauline drew a family tree to help me understand where I fit. Pauline and Joyce's grandfather was my grandmother's husband's brother. They live in Essex now but lived with us for a while when the first came to NZ when I was a young thing.

I look a bit stressed as I had the camera on time delay and had to dash about. In the photo are me, Alan, Pauline, Keith, Joyce and Mac.

Amy's Holiday in Nelson

Amy and I had a fabulous time while she was in Nelson- home from the UK for a month. We slept in, had a massage, went shopping & to the movies, ate out and tried to fit in a year's worth of catching up.
Amy took photos of the Nelson haven- it really is stunning.Before coming to Nelson she had visited Dunedin to see Danny. It was good to see them both together in a Facebook photo.
Amy was able to visit with Pop and his new bride, Helen, when she visited Taihape.
Amy and I caught one last photo together as she left Nelson to head back to the UK.

Snow Day

While all this is going on cousin Lynda took some stunning photos of Portsmouth in the snow. Magic. Some of her photos were published. Amy is pleased to be in the warm but she starts her trek back on Tuesday.

Slideshow: Snow local park 6.1.10 - Slideshow maker

Amy's Visit

Amy arrived for a few days after a month spent enjoying Thailand. She gave me some of her photos to share.
She did an 'Intrepid Journey' into the hills around Chang Mai.
She got to experience some of the day-to-day life while she was there.
The sunsets were stunning.

It looks like a tropical Pacific island.


She made lots of new friends.
It is great to have her here. We buried Mum today in the plot at the Marsden Valley cemetery with Dad. I miss her every day.