Mt Eden 1

 Our daughter Jindina was going on a short break up north and I was only too happy to house and cat sit for her as I just love staying there in Mt Eden. Especially now that she has moved into this nice front flat from

 her old digs in the tiny back flat of the same house. Like a lot of old houses it was added onto a few times and this tiny add on was her first flat in her new life after living under our wing for over 10 years as she struggled with poor health. Now here she is working full-time and now embarking on her first half marathon walk.

 I saw her on her way and was very quick to pop down the road and catch the bus into the city with my gold card. It is such fun to travel by buss to downtown then hop on another bus up to Krd and my favourite stretch of this colourful street. I browsed a few quirky shops the several op shop and this wonderful store that is totally Indian themed. As you can see there is so much colour and crafty stuff to feast the eyes on .

 Shelves of lovely lovely things

 This beautiful Kantha quilt caught my eye but I do already have one and it was much cheaper than these.

 I love this patchwork dumpy. Food for the creative mind.

 These dangly beauties are inspiration too. Something to make for my birdcage. The owls are cute.

 At the door was a scrummy array of colourful bags. A lot of them patchwork. More ideas.

 It was soon time for some refreshment so I headed for my favourite place in St Kevens Arcade. The Aleluya cafe has so many tables out in the arcade all old, vintage, and quirky with chairs of the same flavour. I love it

 There is a big menu but I just go for one of their delicious quiches with chutney and as I wasn't driving I had a cider to go with it. Good stuff.

 The inside is also quirky with odd old chairs and old tapestry cushions and piles of books and mags to browse.

 I was browsing a mag and was drawn to this advert for washing powder. The words went
"This is not just a soft toy. This is Bunny: professional cuddled, part-time therapist. Its an important job". Isn't that cute.

 The next morning I pulled back the curtains to see an orange cat on the neighbours roof enjoying the morning sun. It was time for a walk, around the mountain I think.

 Across the road at the lights in the village there is this lovely mural.

 I love the door in the middle

 and this lovely mosaic on the public loos,

 And just a couple of doors down is this place that fascinates me.

 The oldest part of this home that is several flats and with a very rundown appearance.

 It has a joining piece attaching it to the later bungalow style house

 It all needs a lot of tlc. You will come to realise that I love old houses and would love to own and live in one. I am always looking at them and fantasising about what I would do with them.

 Like this sweet cottage which is in quite good nick.

 I'm not interested in the grander styles but I appreciate their beauty and aesthetics.

 Along the way there are open welcoming entrys

 And those that say make an appointment. There was a lovely big period house in the background.

 There are many stone walls. This being a volcanic area , this one covered in moss and lichen.

 Some walls are covered in ivy.

 There are flats and apartments in old houses

 And apartments in grand buildings like The Pines, there in the distance on the slopes of the mountain.

 This is the parklike gardens belonging to the Pines

 This is the entrance. Quite something and I bet theres a hefty pricetag to match. I'll stick to my daughters flat thanks.

 There are old stumps of trees that have passed on

 And huge trees on the pavement. This is an old Norfolk Pine.

 And here are the gates of Government House where royalty stays when in the country and it is famous for being the place where Prince William took his first steps on the lawn.

 This is famous for us as the place where our daughter was born. Right in that room on the end . It is of course the Mercy Hospital though back then 40yrs ago it was known as the Mater and was mainly a maternity hospital run by nuns. Now it is very much larger and is a private general hospital where many dedicated specialists perform their miracles to heal people. Some of the family have been blessed here including me.

And so I walked along the road sometimes blessed by some late cherry blossoms. It was such a lovely walk and its not over so I will continue in episode 2.
I hope you have enjoyed walking with me. Thanks for coming along and blessings,Trills.

tall ships and garden clips

 A few weekends ago there was a festival of tall ships in Auckland harbour and as I am a great fan of tall ships we ventured forth leaving our car at our daughters in Mt Eden and catching the bus with our gold cards right down to the waterfront and there they were inall their wonderful glory.  What a sight of  those tall masts of 3 ships in a row.

 This is the oldest one but Ive forgotten its birthdate. Very early 1900s. I am always amazed at the thoughts of families travelling the seven seas on their way to new lands and new lives. So many months couped up in close quarters with barely the basic necessities. True pioneers.

 This is the very stylish younger ship from Australia. We were allowed to go on board and look around but the queues were so long we flagged it.

 This little gem was taking people out for small excursions. What fun but we had a date with an old friend.

 Past this whale of a work of art on the wharf made out of rubbish, along a floating boardwalk

 and we were able to go aboard the R Tucker Thompson. Yes we ave had the delightful pleasure of sailing on her up in the Bay of Islands many years ago and she is still sailing up there and around the pacific islands during our winters.

 It was such a wonderful day we had . Setting sail from Russell and glidings serenely around the scattered islands, stopping at one island for lunch and a swim in the crystal clear waters.

 We were all encouraged to take a part in the crewing activities and I took the wheel for some of the return trip which was an unforgettable treat.

  we headed back to the Cloud just in time to catch this band playing. They played sea shanties and irish songs and reminded me of the old skiffle bands, do you remember. The base player had a half of a 40 gallon drum with his stick and string and had such a grand style I wish I could have caught better.

 They were true characters and we thoroughly enjoyed this wind up to a great outing. Of course there was the food too. Bacon and egg rolls for brunch, then the must have Mr Whippy ice-cream and then back to Mt Eden and a coffee at Ironique

 Where we shared our muffin with the sparrows. I'll take you there again one day soon for a better look around at this unique cafe.

 Back home to the garden and I'm afraid I lost some of my photos during transfer from my phone to laptop so I've changed the focus a bit. Here are the last few blossoms on the cherry tree where I have been clearing the surrounding weedy ground cover and it has been covered with a blanket of mulch home made from tree trimmings that are put through our shredder.

 Now this is supposed to be my stumpery, but so far it is just a beautiful earthy stump with no adornment and I'm not sure where to start or indeed whether its worth it as it may be in the way of DHs  new shed he hopes to build next year.

 The stump is from a Poplar that I planted along with several others when we first moved out here in 1994.

 See these twigs coming out of the stump, well that is what I stuck in the ground. They were cut off the tree at pour old home and as they grow quickly from cuttings I thought it would be a good plan to get some trees growing quick and quick they were. Eventually over reaching their limit for our garden and causing problems so  they were destined for firewood.

 Here is one that has been pruned and ready for felling

 Timber!!!

 then a big cleanup. At least done in winter there were no leaves to worry about.

 So now you see the stumps in the distance and the cleared ground waiting for the mulch.

 I rather like this view of the garden with the cinerarias still flowering.

 I did plant some roses and with the onset of a storm I thought I should pick the few flowers and enjoy them inside. They are Austins and I just love them.

 Next to a special purchase I made of this glorious birdcage. Of course there wont be any live birds in it. I plan to hang a string of pretty fabric birds when I get around to making them

 I kept one for my tidy pretty corner of my dressing table along with my latest special op shop find.

 another lace basket of the same kind as my other find. They are Italian and so pretty. Just needed a good clean with janola and a old toothbrush.

I'll finish with another drool of my roses. Theres Abraham Darby and Golden Celebration and another I cant remember .
Thankyou for visiting and I hope all is rosy in your part of the world. Blessings, Trills