I grew up with these books, read to me so excitingly by my wonderful Mum, and as I've grown I've enjoyed being able to read them to other youngsters. I can't wait to read this and many more to all my nieces and nephews. Check out Hairy Maclarey on Wikipedia to see all the books. Apparently there have been over 5 million books sold, so I am guessing they're not just sold in NZ! I think I always liked Hairy Maclarey's Bone the best. (Don't say it Doug. I'm watching you.)
Now that you've seen the book, please vote on my poll. Tell your friends and get them voting too! Let's see what people are out there in the world!!
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Queen's Birthday Weekend
Here I am at last writing about my Queen's Birthday Weekend. It was some time ago now - 4th-6th June - it's just that I've been fairly busy in the meantime and haven't taken a moment out to fill you all in.
My friends Jamo and Megs, and their son (my Godson), moved to Wellington last year and I have no longer been able to drop in and visit once or twice a week on my way home from work. I miss them a lot and so I thought I would make an effort to be with Megs on her birthday this year. I called her up and asked what she was up to and would she have me. Megs and her husband Jamo had already made plans to be with his parents for the weekend but it was a very simple business to organise to fly to New Plymouth on the Saturday, travel with them back to Wellington on Monday, the day of her birthday, and fly back to Auckland on Tuesday. Because it's a long weekend (or as the British would say, a bank holiday) I only had to take annual leave for Tuesday.
The flight down was rather uneventful which was a pity because the weather had been somewhat wild and I'd heard the plane had been subject to severe turbulence on its way up. I love turbulence so was disappointed to have missed it.
Now, we didn't really get up to anything spectacular over the weekend - there were no shows or sports events or games of backyard cricket to rave about. It was just a nice, slow, relaxing weekend with friends. On Sunday we went out for a walk with friends and dogs. I didn't take any photos because like a fool I left my camera back at the house. This was a mistake because New Plymouth has an amazing footbridge on the way to the beach which was begging to be photographed and I was gutted to miss the opportunity to do so. That night the same friends came round for dinner and Pete and I ended up spending the majority of the night playing with the little wooden train set I had bought my Godson so there was plenty of fun to be had by all!
The Wee Man (Godson's official nickname) was such a darling and it wasn't long before he had (once again) stolen my heart. He would climb up onto the chair with me and hand me his favourite book of fairy tales to read. I wish I could say I spent all my time reading to him, but he was always more interested in looking at the pictures and turning the pages for himself. Finally he would close the covers and declare "Ah-Duh!" which meant 'All done!' clamber back down off my lap and continue causing his usual havoc. We played plenty of games of chase and I was offered lots of hugs and snuggles. By the end of the weekend he was making sounds which his mother translated to be 'Auntie Sez.' For a 15 month old he was doing well!!
What else can I say? It was a wonderful weekend and I loved spending time with my good friends and my special Wee Man. Conversation with people who know me so well is therapeutic so it was as good for me to be there as it was for Megs to have me down for her birthday! If you're interested in seeing the photos of flowers I took after the rains then check out my Deviant Art Account.
(I'm still trying to upload the dancing video, so more on that later.)
My friends Jamo and Megs, and their son (my Godson), moved to Wellington last year and I have no longer been able to drop in and visit once or twice a week on my way home from work. I miss them a lot and so I thought I would make an effort to be with Megs on her birthday this year. I called her up and asked what she was up to and would she have me. Megs and her husband Jamo had already made plans to be with his parents for the weekend but it was a very simple business to organise to fly to New Plymouth on the Saturday, travel with them back to Wellington on Monday, the day of her birthday, and fly back to Auckland on Tuesday. Because it's a long weekend (or as the British would say, a bank holiday) I only had to take annual leave for Tuesday.
The flight down was rather uneventful which was a pity because the weather had been somewhat wild and I'd heard the plane had been subject to severe turbulence on its way up. I love turbulence so was disappointed to have missed it.
Now, we didn't really get up to anything spectacular over the weekend - there were no shows or sports events or games of backyard cricket to rave about. It was just a nice, slow, relaxing weekend with friends. On Sunday we went out for a walk with friends and dogs. I didn't take any photos because like a fool I left my camera back at the house. This was a mistake because New Plymouth has an amazing footbridge on the way to the beach which was begging to be photographed and I was gutted to miss the opportunity to do so. That night the same friends came round for dinner and Pete and I ended up spending the majority of the night playing with the little wooden train set I had bought my Godson so there was plenty of fun to be had by all!
Little Toys for Big Kids!
The Wee Man (Godson's official nickname) was such a darling and it wasn't long before he had (once again) stolen my heart. He would climb up onto the chair with me and hand me his favourite book of fairy tales to read. I wish I could say I spent all my time reading to him, but he was always more interested in looking at the pictures and turning the pages for himself. Finally he would close the covers and declare "Ah-Duh!" which meant 'All done!' clamber back down off my lap and continue causing his usual havoc. We played plenty of games of chase and I was offered lots of hugs and snuggles. By the end of the weekend he was making sounds which his mother translated to be 'Auntie Sez.' For a 15 month old he was doing well!!
The Wee Man helps with household chores.
No table is too high for The Wee Man!
Auntie Sez and The Wee Man read together
What else can I say? It was a wonderful weekend and I loved spending time with my good friends and my special Wee Man. Conversation with people who know me so well is therapeutic so it was as good for me to be there as it was for Megs to have me down for her birthday! If you're interested in seeing the photos of flowers I took after the rains then check out my Deviant Art Account.
(I'm still trying to upload the dancing video, so more on that later.)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
2nd Hand Gems
Found in the Sallies at The Mount:
How awesome do you have to be before you get your own orchestra?
Jim was always one of my Granma's favourites, and my parents have this record. Just seeing the cover reminds me of the music of my childhood.
Neil is so fantastic, and sparkly, I had to include his backside too. ;-)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ferdinand
When my sisters and I were still children we read or had read to us many many books. One of these books was The Story of Ferdinand - the Spanish bull who would rather smell the flowers than butt heads, snort and pant and generally succumb to the social norm.
One thing we found distinctive about Ferdinand, is that he was often drawn sitting back on his haunches under a tree:
Although neither Ju nor myself have spent the majority of our lives on farms or farming, Mel has. Farming and livestock are her bread and butter. She has worked extensively with sheep, deer and cattle yet has never in her life seen anything like Ferdinand. She always assumed it was a quirk of the children's tale - an image which illustrated how very different Ferdinand is to all the other bulls.
And then... one day, while I was staying with Mel and her fiance Al, we were driving back from town and we saw a real-life Ferdinand. Al turned the car around and we went back for another look - and photographic evidence.
What a pity there were no roses there for him to smell.
One thing we found distinctive about Ferdinand, is that he was often drawn sitting back on his haunches under a tree:
Although neither Ju nor myself have spent the majority of our lives on farms or farming, Mel has. Farming and livestock are her bread and butter. She has worked extensively with sheep, deer and cattle yet has never in her life seen anything like Ferdinand. She always assumed it was a quirk of the children's tale - an image which illustrated how very different Ferdinand is to all the other bulls.
And then... one day, while I was staying with Mel and her fiance Al, we were driving back from town and we saw a real-life Ferdinand. Al turned the car around and we went back for another look - and photographic evidence.
What a pity there were no roses there for him to smell.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Number Thirteen: Favourite Memory
I don't think I have the ability to sift through all my memories in my life and pick a favourite. But here are a bunch along the theme of 'home' which includes the land of Mesopotamia (New Zealand) and The Tui Station, and my family.
---
The sound of the Nor'West wind roaring through the trees which surround the playground. We are trying to play scrag rugby but we can't hear each other because the wind is so loud. We hope we get to see one of the trees being blown over. We abandon the scrag for a desperate competition to catch leaves. The grass is green and the trees are brown. They rise so tall above me, they are like the edges of the world.
---
Us four kids riding double and bareback on two of the horses. We're going to the river to swim and lie in the sun. This morning we watched Dances With Wolves, and now we are giving each other 'Indian names.' The horses are labelled "Dappled Ears, Shits A Lot" and "Farts A Lot." My sister's is the only name which sticks - "Deceitful Family Relations."
---
The feel of warm mud giving way to cool between my toes as I stand in the creek at the bottom of the hill. The summer day is warm and the air is for once thankfully still. It must still be the morning - a weekend - because the wind isn't up yet. The hills are golden and the grass is green. The sky a magnificent blue. I feel sheltered by the mountains.
---
Me and my sisters and brother, Mum and Dad, ten o'clock at night in the middle of winter playing Mafia. We're laughing, laughing so hard! Play acting, deceiving, tricking, convincing, every one of us determined to win the game. No television, no radio, just us. Just fun.
---
My sister and I dancing to ABBA's Mamma Mia after watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
---
The tailing gang. Slow, boring, hard work. But fun when everyone has to tell a story or make up a joke. Laugh together when the lambs knock someone over, drink billy tea together at smoko time. Six people vs. two lambs. The lambs win. We'll pick them up again when it's weaning time.
---
Kate Bell has to keep Fella the horse cool every night. When it's not too cold for us she rides him bareback down to Deep Creek. We go too. Toby loves getting into the water with his ears forward and eager steps. Fred isn't so fond of it, but he'll follow the others just to make sure they don't leave without him.
---
Mum, Dad, Mel, Ju, Adrian, Me, Andrew, Marian, James... it's the last weekend we will ever be at the farm. Vodka, baileys, beer and rum bottles litter the huge oak table. We've played Mafia again, we've laughed at each other and with each other. It could be a sad time, but it's the best time. We talk about lists of things we should do before we die. We take photos. We find old B&W's of Mum and pretend to be her. We drink more, we laugh more. We love. We are family. We are home.
This is my favourite memory.
---
The sound of the Nor'West wind roaring through the trees which surround the playground. We are trying to play scrag rugby but we can't hear each other because the wind is so loud. We hope we get to see one of the trees being blown over. We abandon the scrag for a desperate competition to catch leaves. The grass is green and the trees are brown. They rise so tall above me, they are like the edges of the world.
---
Us four kids riding double and bareback on two of the horses. We're going to the river to swim and lie in the sun. This morning we watched Dances With Wolves, and now we are giving each other 'Indian names.' The horses are labelled "Dappled Ears, Shits A Lot" and "Farts A Lot." My sister's is the only name which sticks - "Deceitful Family Relations."
---
The feel of warm mud giving way to cool between my toes as I stand in the creek at the bottom of the hill. The summer day is warm and the air is for once thankfully still. It must still be the morning - a weekend - because the wind isn't up yet. The hills are golden and the grass is green. The sky a magnificent blue. I feel sheltered by the mountains.
---
Me and my sisters and brother, Mum and Dad, ten o'clock at night in the middle of winter playing Mafia. We're laughing, laughing so hard! Play acting, deceiving, tricking, convincing, every one of us determined to win the game. No television, no radio, just us. Just fun.
---
My sister and I dancing to ABBA's Mamma Mia after watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
---
The tailing gang. Slow, boring, hard work. But fun when everyone has to tell a story or make up a joke. Laugh together when the lambs knock someone over, drink billy tea together at smoko time. Six people vs. two lambs. The lambs win. We'll pick them up again when it's weaning time.
---
Kate Bell has to keep Fella the horse cool every night. When it's not too cold for us she rides him bareback down to Deep Creek. We go too. Toby loves getting into the water with his ears forward and eager steps. Fred isn't so fond of it, but he'll follow the others just to make sure they don't leave without him.
---
Mum, Dad, Mel, Ju, Adrian, Me, Andrew, Marian, James... it's the last weekend we will ever be at the farm. Vodka, baileys, beer and rum bottles litter the huge oak table. We've played Mafia again, we've laughed at each other and with each other. It could be a sad time, but it's the best time. We talk about lists of things we should do before we die. We take photos. We find old B&W's of Mum and pretend to be her. We drink more, we laugh more. We love. We are family. We are home.
This is my favourite memory.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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