recap

3 weeks of fun with the girls and nettie
girls with straightened hair
watching smiles come home from shopping for clothes all day
snuggling kids into bed on sunday evenings
camping in the garden
sneaking coffee and pizza on a thursday

i love a woman in gumboots

hot girl,
originally uploaded by ninefish.

who wouldn't love this hot girl?

another reminder from the gods of syncronicity

"So what do we do? Anything - something. So long as we just
don't sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we
wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late."
Lee Iacocca

another
gem from insight of the day

beautiful, but narrow and congested

Round are way,
originally uploaded by Jess amongst the pigeons.

it's a beautiful sight, but not sure i could put up with the proximity of the neighbours anymore after living in New Zealand's wide open spaces

see the rest of the "birmingham, it's not shit" pool images for more local colour

back with a quick quote

here's to affirmations

"I AM - the two most powerful words in the world, for whatever we put after them becomes our reality."
Susan Howson

from insight of the day

reuniting with your loved ones [nettie, straight hair and all]
baking with the girls
having dinner cooked for me





by the sweetest chefs i know

a resumé for the week

i haven't been posting but i have been smiling just the same
it's been a fun week with the children still at home and keeping me on my toes

i'm grateful for the warm cuddles as the little ones slowly wake up and come and find me first
being patted on the head while cooking by the big boy
pizza on friday nights
that the sea wasn't as cold as i imagined on friday
that sara's blog is working well for her family and friends and that she is also doing well all things considered
for sneaking off to the cinema while no one was looking
that the big lad is now mobile and seeing his friends more
for straight hair and narrow waists
sunshine and memphis meltdowns at the buskers festival

weekends are great

movies and chocolates
lazy sunday mornings
pancakes and showers
fun in the evenings
walks by the sea [see the latest fun here]
fish and chips
hot chocolates at coffee culture

surfing last week

we all went out to waimari beach for some fun in the sun

eliot and i stayed dry, but the girls had a full on surf, we all got a bit browner, but it was very mellow

being grateful, thinking more

was keeping my desk clean this morning, and was reminded by this

"16. There's always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: 'We're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time.'"

more of bob parsons here 16 rules for survival

thanks for the smell of cut grass
curly headed children with sleep in their eyes
fresh strawberries
the internet
warm sunshine after rain
tomorrow

thursday blessings

the kids are home again, and eliot can drive!
i'm really grateful that the kids are back, i've missed them and had lots of stories to catch up on. they've grown [of course] and got browner over the few weeks they've been with juli.

and for nettie who's my rock

they are all healthy, and i'm very grateful for that, and this makes sara's story even more poignant for me, please spare a thought for sara and her family at this time. [i found out about sara because a very good friend of mine, robyn garnett was holidaying with sara when she was diagnosed]

cleaning up for 2006

i've been having a big clear out, no new year's resolutions, but i do like to clear the decks, there's lots of broken things around my workspace [and in the garage, i know] so i've been taking stock and clearing house, and then today i'm reminded that tina turner said...

Sometimes you've got to let everything go...purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything...whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it

see the rest of the pertinent quote here:

and keep an eye on my desk to see how well i'm doing. all i need to do now is to get all the pieces of paper with task notes on them into one place so they actually get done. that's part of the getting things done book i'm also reading

rejecting inspiration

this is two sides to the argument, firstly those wonderful chickens have some input



and then there's this

If you want something new, you must do something different today. There's no finish line to this pursuit; you should always be planning for what's possible.

part of a longer quote that's here:on insight of the day

eulogy

Uncle Keith died the other day

i'd like to take this moment to acknowledge some of the contributions he made to my life that i'm very grateful for

his smile, was always wide, and whenever we were together he always made it fun

his love of music: he introduced me [and dad] to lots of raucous big bands, came with me to my first concerts[stan kenton, woody herman, buddy rich] it's been a long lived legacy and something i cherish every day. i've moved on from these early influences but still play stan kenton's music, love big band sounds still, and a very thankful that this exposure also stayed with me and my playing of the saxaphone. i never really got into frank sinatra quite like he did, but i'm a sucker for a crooner, and enjoy the phrasing of all the singers that came after the boss

the laughs he created, christmas time was always an excuse for a family party, and the sight of keith and dad taking off the beatles with their wigs and saucepan guitars jigging to "love me do" was not to be missed. except now we do.

the smell of his cigarettes was always very comforting, even though they shouldn't have been

his joie de vivre and encouragement

farewell keith and thank you, you did it your way