Photo Challenge June 17 to 30

Taking part in a photo challenge this month (first half can be seen here )

day 17 - centred

day 18 - street
When I first came to live here in Napier about 9 years ago I remember being amazed at the trees that grew on the street
with this in mind I took my photo this late afternoon
when I got to the right road I also rescued a rabbit
he was on the path and thinking about crossing the street
I followed him up a driveway where he got the fright of his life when a dog barked at him
I caught him
I door knocked several doors trying find out where he lived
no one was home
a lady and her daughter arrived home I asked her if she knew anyone with a pet rabbit, she didnt but we saw he had a collar and tag so she offered to phone the number on it
seems I had been door knocking in the wrong direction as the owners lived about 3 doors in the opposite direction
they came and got him 
Peanuts so big, fluffy and his poor little heart was beating so so fast
I know I should have gotten a photo of him
I did have a nice cuddle while I relocated his owners though 

day 19 
Im a bookworm I have many books on the go at once
I read to my older son for 1/2 an hour a day as part of our homeschooling, I read for myself, I read to my younger son at night before he goes to sleep, I read for ideas for Keas - Im a Kea leader, I read for my spiritual health 

day 20 - cute
my pet dog in my car, taken tonight  My older son brought me this several years ago. I wanted a dog, he has a cat end of story - yes I know they can coexist quite happily. This is one is cheaper to have thou and he sits on the dashboard of my car 

day 21 - lunch
made by my son whose taking home economics NCEA 1  as part of his home schooling.  Sushi and salad (with Spring rolls and left over rice)

day 22 - enjoying life
my daily walk
taking photos along the way
seeing God's nature all around me, and unusual and different sights, all while humming favourite tunes - todays - "Jesus Messiah"

day 23 - Last
last piece of pie - was on special at the supermarket this week :)  help yourself only youd better be quick . . .

with 2 growings in the house it wont last long!!

day 24 - negative space
This morning I was doing my part time job of delivering catalogues  not sure the 2nd one qualifies as negative space or not

day 25 - sharp
using these sharp scissors to cut up resources for a craft Im doing with Kea scouts tomorrow night

day 26 - empty
a yummy snack but alas all too soon the packet was empty

day 27 - into the sun
as good as it good

day 28 - red
my purse and favourite

day 29 - bag 
tonight as I made dinner I also prepared my lunch to put in my bag in preparation for tomorrow
Im a newish kea scout leader and there is some more training to do tomorrow 

day 30 - handwritingtoday I attended a Kea scout leader training day these are some of the notes which will form part of the assessment form that I have to send back :)

Ill be taking part in the photo challenge in July too

If youd like to join up to go over to Chantelles

The Grateful Project

For this post Im linking up with Simone – of ‘Greatfun4kids’ – who has started a new linky, called ‘The Grateful Project’.   Click on the button at the end of the post :)  I found this right when I needed it :)  Thanks to Sarah :)  Today has been good :)  Ill share that in a minute.  Tonight however just before finding this I had a jolly big cry.  

I have a distant cousin in the UK.   She is like a mum to me :)  I call her MaMeg.  She loves me unconditionally :) Shes been very sick since the end of April.  Shes slowly improving.  Shes in a nursing home.  She is hopeful of getting home one day :)  We use to email and Facebook regularly its been hard not having that contact.  Ive sent her letters and cards and have no idea yet whether she got them.  Tonight my sister sent me cellphone number.  Its very hard when we are both estranged from our parents.  I think its been one of the reasons the communication and not knowing whats happening with MaMeg has been very poor.  I emailed her and she emailed me back :)  :)  It was hard to know what to say.  I told her I loved her and was praying for her :)  I hope to send more emails from now on :)  I think I will just tell her things that are going on in my life :)  

Also grateful to MaMegs neighbour who took this photo just 6 hours ago :)

So what else has made today good.

Well, this morning I cleaned up my younger sons playroom and made a 1/4 of the room a place to dry washing.  (He mainly plays in the lounge anyway).  This is one of the sunniest rooms in the house.  Last week I was trying to dry washing in the lounge not so easy.  Then I still had time to clean up my office (boy did it need it!!).  I didnt think I was going to be able to do both rooms but I did :)

This month I am taking part in a facebook photo challenge.  Todays prompt was to take a photo of a street.  So late this afternoon I drove over to the street.  When I got to the road I saw a rabbit who was considering crossing the road.  I parked the car and jumped out and approached it.  It hopped down a driveway so I followed it.  I started door knocking.  No one was at home at any of the houses I tried.  Then the rabbit got the fright of its life when a dog parked at it.  I caught him.  Then across the road I saw a lady and her arrive home.  I asked them if they knew anyone that owned a rabbit.  She didnt.  However we took a closer look at the collar he had round his neck and discovered a name tag and phone number.  She rang it and it seems I had been door knocking in the wrong direction.  The owners lived about 3 doors in the opposite direction to the way I had searching.  They came and got him.  Peanuts was so big and fluffy.  I had a lovely cuddle with him as I relocated his owners :) 

Thanks Simone for this project it helps to focus on the things that make us grateful :)

Photo Challenge June 1 to 16

As I mentioned yesterday this month I am taking part in a photo challenge hosted by Chantelle. 



Day 1 - something beginning with B . . .
book/bible
i was away at a Christian conference and spent many hours studying the Bible :)

Day 2 -  a moment 
while I was away I took walks in the country :)

Day 3 - on my table
I homeschool my son (17) and these are waiting to be worked with 

Day 4 - After Dark 
the lights in the foreground are cars coming up the road 
its a cold rainy night tonight
this is taken from my lounge window :)

Day 5- Environment
this is the park just up the road from us 
where my youngest will be going to tomorrow with his school to plant more trees 
I will be going as a parent help

Day 6 transport
This is how I transport the catalogues I deliver around :)

Day 7 - bright
my youngest helping display the bright orange cones this morning
he maybe only 7 1/2 but hes a bright cookie and helpful too
we help the older children at his school on Wednesday and Friday mornings with school road patrols
they go on top of the yellow stripes to inform people the road patrols are on duty

Day 8 an animal
Spice :)

AND

this afternoon we popped into
http://www.hawkesbaynz.com/index.php/see-do/shopping/opossum-world here is my oldest son looking at an animal 

  BTW that is a possum not Spice as my sister worried it might have been.  Billy would not be so calmly looking at it had it been I assure you lol

Day 9 - From Down low
my youngest and I enjoyed an afternoon at the park   blogged about it :)

Day 10- You
I hate being this side of the camera

 Day 11  something funny
My 7 1/2 year son share a room. I was cleaning our bedroom this morning. I came upon all these. (These probably more in the lounge). Id say its fair to say he has gone a little plane (plain) crazy!! I try to live by the fact that being normal is highly over rated 

 Day 12  11 o'clock 
missed 11am forgot to look what the prompt was tried to do 11 pm fast asleep went to bed EARLY when my older son told me too as I was a grump - difficult afternoon and tired
so this morning I revert back to show in some way what I was doing yesterday day 12 what I was doing at 11 am 
studying the word with the ladies from the womens bible study 

Day 13  kitchen

Day 14  texture

AND

Day 15 from above blogged about it :)  

Day 16 family 
Half of my family arent here - my youngest spends most weekends with his dad and my daughter lives in Auckland and is at Uni.  So took photos of them and merged them into our photo today :)  

From Above - An unexpected history lesson :)

Prologue
I actually got my days mixed up and took the photos and did the research on the 10th
However having done all this research I decided to let it be my entry today


This month I am taking part in a photo challenge hosted by Chantelle.  To see the photos go on to my facebook page :)  I will be posting them sometime this month.

Anyway todays theme was "from above".  Id just finished working when I decided where to take my photo from.  I felt kinda naughty as one time this was private property and may still be.  However I did it - there were no signs up and I wasnt the only one there anyway.  A man and son where hooning around on a motorbike on the site.

When I got home and was researching the area I interesting enough found it use to be the site of the 2nd Hukarere Native School site.  Native schools were set up to provide Maori children educations in the very early days of New Zealands history post European settlement.

This particular one was set up as a boarding school for girls.  The original one was mysteriously burnt down, it was situated some 2 kms away on another hill in Napier.  It was run by the daughters of the first Anglican Bishop of the area - William Williams (who supported them).

The 2nd school was moved into and started to operate on 18th of July 1912.  There was a formal opening on the 22nd October 1912.  This new site was deemed a more roomy site.  Accommodating 55 girls.

When the 1931 earthquake occurred the students were relocated to Auckland while the buildings were fixed up.  A year or so on the students returned to their school.

You will recall my photo of Daniel and Pania a few days ago.  The model for the statue was one of the girls whom lived at Hukarere.  The statue was unveiled on 10th June 1954.

In 1969 due to financial reasons the school closed.  The hostel remained open.  So from 1970 to 1992 the students from the hostel walked to Napier Girls High to be educated every day just over 1 km one way (up and down hills) in all kinds of weather.  Hostel life offered the chance to learn about  Maori culture, Maori history and to practise and perform cultural dancing and singing as well as the spiritually side of things.

This paragraph is the memories of a student who lived there from 1981 to  1984
Nights were cold with minimal bedding and no heating.  The girls all did their own washing by hand in a small old room with concrete basins.  Chapel was attended every Sunday.  The girls ate breakfast and dinner together in a dining room.  A minimally packed lunch was provided which the girls took to school with them.  The girls were allowed to make 1 phone call a week.  Days started early (6am) with the ring of a loud hand bell.  The girls would walk to school in 2 lines.  This was after uniform inspection and picking up their lunch.  They were walked to school in a babyish way by the head matron.  Making sure they behaved themselves and kept in their lines.  Maori Grace was said standing up before every meal time.  The girls lived most of the year here only being able to go home a couple of times a year.

Continuing with the theme of the last paragraph and with a new head matron things changed a bit.  In the mid 80s surprisely they were allowed to smoke if they were seniors in a specified area.  TV was allowed and there was a movie night once a week too.  A town visit was allowed fortnightly.
   
In 1992, the hostel went into recess.  Most students went to what had been up until then the equative  boys school.  It turned co-ed for sometime.  A few senior students stayed on at Hukarere though.  Everyone seemed to see this move as temporary.  Sure enough in 1993 the hostel opened her doors again.  This time as both a school and hostel.  It had a roll of 20.

Over the years the roll steadily increased.  In 2001 however it was announced the buildings were no longer safe.  So the school relocated (in 2003) to the present day site in what I would call an outer suburb of Napier.  On the 21st October 2004 the site was sold.

Six years later this is what the site looked like.  Images from google maps.   Not sure if the house has always been there.  It is very old though.  I remember just a few years ago people living in it.  It is now condemned.  I still cant get over the fact of what use to be there.  It would be interesting to sometime go and see if I can find any building foundations.  

photos I took today

very overcast 

Id like to revisit the site when its sunny as it truly is a beautiful view then 

my sources of info

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WilThro-t1-body-d36-d2.html

http://hukarere.ac.nz/history/  there are some photos on this site that maybe of the site I am most interested in

http://www.for-the-spirit.com/hukarere.html  there are some photos on this site that are from the site and one of the girl standing by the laundry area is almost exactly one of the areas I was standing in today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Aute_College

Photo A Day in June

With my birthday recently came the ability to be able to take photos easily again :)

On Saturday it is June (already, can you believe that?)
I am going to be taking part in a photo challenge :)  Maybe youd like to play along too :)

hosted by Chantelle over at http://fatmumslim.com.au/

1. B is for…: Share a photo of something starting with the letter B.
2. A moment: You might have a special moment with someone you love, a little time to yourself. Just capture any moment from today and share it.
3. On my table: It’s likely that we’ll all come across a table at some point today. How can you capture what’s on the table? Get creative.
4. After dark: When the sun goes down, take a photo.
5. Environment: Today is World Environment Day, take a photo of your environment. This is our charity prompt for the month.
6. Transport: Be it a car, bike, skateboard, plane or another mode… capture transport.
7. Bright: Is it light? Is it smart? Capture bright.
8. An animal: From the teeniest of insects to an animal at the zoo, find an animal and shoot it. I mean take a photo, of course!
9. From down low: Get down low today and take a photo looking up.
10. You!: Show us you. Be discreet if you like. Or take a selfie. Or a photo of an old photo. Anything. Just show us you.
11. Something funny: What makes you laugh? A comic strip in the newspaper? A movie? A person?
12. 11 o’clock: At either 11am or 11pm take a photo of whatever it is you’re doing.
13. Kitchen: We all have a kitchen, so how will you take a photo to capture it. Black and white? Find a cooler kitchen to snap?
14. Texture: The sand at a beach? The knit in your scarf? A close-up of the hair on your dog? Capture texture.
15. From above: Stand on a chair, climb some stairs – just find a way to get high and take a photo looking down.
16. Family: It’s Father’s Day in some parts of the world, so share a photo of your family.
17. Centred: Put your subject matter in the middle of the photo. Make it front and centre!
18. Street: Take a photo of a street-scape.
19. Currently reading: Are you in the middle of a great book? Reading a sign on the street? Or a great blog? Share.
20. Cute: What’s your idea of cute? A person, a cat, or something else?
21. Lunchtime: What does lunchtime look like for you today? Are you eating alone? With others? Out? At home? At your desk? We wanna see!
22. Enjoying life: Today you have permission to go out and enjoy yourself. Do it!
23. Last: Interpret this as you please. How can you show ‘last’ in a photo?
24. Negative space: Negative space is where you leave a lot of blank space in a photograph to show off the subject in your picture
25. Sharp: This could be the blade of a knife, or a corner of a building, someone in a suit – or however else you want to interpret sharp.
26. Empty: This one pretty much explains itself, so how will you show empty.
27. Into the sun: Use the most beautiful light source in the world. You can shoot straight into it, or use something as a filter {a tree, a silhouette of a person…}
28. Red: Today is red nose day in Australia. Show us some red!
29. In my bag: Let’s take a sneak peek into what you’re carrying around. No bag? Show us what’s in your wallet or pocket instead.
30. Handwriting: Take a photo of handwriting. Maybe you’ll have to step away from the computer and pick up a pen!