The carvers are back

It's always a bit of a surprise to realise that another two years have passed.  The stone carvers are back on the foreshore and although this photo was taken in sunshine they have had mixed weather, including torrential downpours over the last couple of days.  At this early stage it's difficult to see what the finished product will be like but if previous years are anything to go buy it will all be stunning.

Ornithophobia

Fear of birds - Ornithophobia.  Not a thing you would want to have if you are flying domestic out of Wellington.

Hint: the terminal has "Welcome to Middle Earth" emblazoned on the outside so you see it as you are taxiing.  You guessed it!  These guys and Gollum in the background (if you squint you can see his arm) are promoting the latest Hobbit movie.  Actually, I kind of love it, nothing says unique quite like giant eagles.

They speak my language

Recently my supermarket finished a major upgrade, everything is looking much slicker and there is now a cafe at the front and new trolleys that go where you point them.  However a couple of trips ago I noticed that despite all the corporate loveliness they have still managed to be a little quirky.  Look - chippies!

Christmas craft

It's been a little while since I posted, things have been busy but with nothing much to share.  But it's December and that means that the decorations are going up.  In our children's library we have a wonderful advent calender - themed this year to match our summer exhibition on Surf.  Various staff from across the organisation have put their creative hats on and decorated a board, 25 in all and here the are...

this one is mine...

 and here is Santa, arriving in Taranaki on Christmas day

35,000

That's the number of frequent flyer points I had that were about to expire so, rather than waste them, I went shopping.

I realised when I unwrapped them that I had gone a bit retro but all in a good cause.  The phone because I only have a walkaround one that will be no good if the power goes out (emergency planning in action!), the mincer, well, just because. The wine aerator is the mod con, I only drink one glass at a time.

Going low tech

A few thousand travellers, including me, were at the mercy of mother nature on Friday, trying to fly into or out of Wellington.  The fog was going up and down, flights were cancelled, delayed and diverted.  By the time I got to the airport late in the afternoon to get home, surrounded by high tech (people on their on their mobile phones, ipads and whatnot, automated everything for checkin) someone had decided that low tech was the way to go - worked a treat too.

Wandering Elephants

Yup, elephants.  These guys are an installation for the Garden Festival which began yesterday.  They are on the landing outside work at the moment but will be wandering to locations right round the mountain over the next 10 days.  They are life size, made of woven willow and very beautiful.  The local duck population however, were looking less than thrilled.