A thousand thank yous

This little message popped up in my feed last night and I’m pretty chuffed!

ZimmerBitch started out last September as a bit of a giggle – a side-project from my family history blog Shaking the Tree. I wrote a couple of posts then forgot about it until earlier this year.

But thanks to you – visitors, readers, likers and comment-leavers – ZimmerBitch has become really important to me. It’s become my space to think through and get feedback on issues that matter to me (like learning to parent my teenage son). Your generosity in reading my musings and offering thoughtful, funny and helpful comments is humbling.

And – quite unexpectedly – ZimmerBitch has re-awoken my interest in photography. The weekly challenges posed by The Daily Post, Lens and Pens By Sally, Where’s my Backpack and A Word in Your Ear have all inspired me to dust off my camera or whip out my iphone and pay more attention to the world I live in. Not only am I taking more photos, I’m also editing them (especially those from my phone) to create images that I am proud of.

So thank you all – my blogosphere whanau*. A thousand thank yous in fact.

*Whanau is a Maori word that means family, but not merely or necessarily in a biological sense. It’s about the communities of care that we build, and I feel very connected to this community.

Vibrant: “full of energy, colour and life”*

I’ve always been drawn to the bold, the colourful, the energetic; in short, the vibrant. Food, people, colours, clothing, art (but not music strangely); I like to really see, taste, feel.

The boy-child has been encouraged to enjoy good food his whole life – and in recent years to cook it. His efforts are always healthy, tasty, fantastic-looking and, I have to say, beautifully plated. Everything about them shouts “vibrant”.

Eating the meals he prepares is a joyous experience.

Tofu, broccoli and cashew nut stir-fry.

Tuna steak, cherry tomato and egg salad.

Thanks to Sue at A Word in Your Ear for the word a week challenge.

* And thanks to Your Dictionary for a nice definition of vibrant that fits the post I wanted to write.

Weekly Photo Challenge: curving towards reality

“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
― John Lennon

The delicate curves of this sculpture remind me of ballet; of a dancer rehearsing – probably something like The Maple Leaf Rag.

I can imagine the  upright piano in the corner, with a long-haired, wild eyed young man playing for a solitary dancer who moves about the floor.

Of course, my image is not real. But neither is the sculpture. It is virtual; a clever piece of engineering design, mathematically modelled, rendered in 3-D and located in a photographic space.

The designer is my partner. He’s an engineer by profession, and an artist in his soul. His mastery of the technology allows him to imagine works of art, and create them in a virtual world – but one that can intersect with reality.

Travel Theme: flow

Auckland Museum behind War Memorial water feature

As part of Auckland Council’s upgrade of the War Memorial Musuem and Cenotaph; this wonderful water feature by Ian Vincent was created. Flowing gently over granite, the water beautifully reflects the flow of life around it.

This week’s travel theme at Where’s My Backpack? Flow

Weekly Photo Challenge: fleeting moments in a day; fleeting years in a life

The sun rising over Larkings Landing, Beach Haven, Auckland. From Hobsonville Point.

The boy-child has now abandoned his photographic project involving sky trails, sunrises, late nights and ridiculously early mornings. I guess that means an end to those frantic drives across town wondering if we’ll make it to whatever beach he’s decided on in time to capture the intense colours of a new sun sliding up from the horizon.

I’ll miss those drives; fleeting moments of togetherness with a child who’s becoming a man faster than the night sky transforms into day (metaphorically, ok).

This week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge theme is “fleeting”

Travel Theme: peaceful

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
— Rachel Carson (Silent Spring)

Lake Whakatipu, Queenstown, New Zealand.

Alisa’s travel theme this week is “peaceful.” You can find out more at Where’s My Packpack.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: even though the sign says …

The Kiwi Tavern, Auchtertool, Fife, Scotland.

For anyone who doesn’t know, a kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand. It is also the most common nickname for the humans who inhabit New Zealand; particularly — oddly enough — those who take flight and explore the world.

There used to be a pub in Symonds Street, Auckland, New Zealand called the Kiwi Tavern. It’s where I met my other half (significant other, soul mate, common law husband, him indoors — take your pick). That was in 1986  and we were both students at Auckland University. The Kiwi was our local. It’s long gone, replaced by the marae of another tertiary institution with Auckland in it’s name.

The Kiwi Tavern pictured above is in Scotland; Auchtertool in Fife to be precise. Auchtertool is about five miles from Kirkcaldy where I am originally from (weird or what?)

I first heard about it from the Scottish boyfriend of a New Zealand friend living in Edinburgh. In fact, we went there to find out why it was called the Kiwi. It was closed.

I’m going back to Fife in a few months. I’m going to visit the Kiwi Tavern in Auchtertool and ask the staff how the pub got it’s name. Even if I have to camp outside until it opens.

I’ll let you know.

 

Visit the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge and see more (and probably more interesting) posts about signs.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: I know what the sign says, but …

Er, sorry but I think the key word here is secret!

You can find out more about this tourist attraction by visiting their website.

You can see more photos of signs that might make you smile, chortle, laugh out loud, or engage in sober reflection even by visiting the Daily Post’s Weekly Challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says

Christianity with a sense of humour

I saw this sign round the side of St John’s in the City, in Wellington. I think it’s brilliant; funny and clever and understated and best of all, useful.

I’ve said before that I’m not really a Believer. I’d probably describe myself as a Presbyterian aethiest with catholic tendencies. I like the socialism of christianity and I absolutely love old churches and rituals and choral music. It’s just the notion of a God I have trouble with. That and any kind of humourless religion that thinks it knows best and wants to make everyone in it’s own likeness, preferably with maximum violence.

Life is ridiculous, humans are ridiculous, love and fear and hate are all ridiculous. So why not laugh?