246/366 - Market day in Wellington

245/366 - WOW!

View of the Marlborough Sounds from our plane window on way to Wellington

Some passing aliens in the WOW show foyer

Band plays while we enjoy our gourmet picnic and wait for the WOW show to start

More details on the amazing spectacle that is the WOW Show here.

244/366 - "Wildfire" (Year 7 band) First public performance

Sonny Jim is the lead singer

243/366 - Brooding skies at Ruby Bay

Photo completely un-altered. This is how it really was. . .

242/366 - "Shakeout" 9.26 am on 26.9.12. . . NZ's first national earthquake drill. Plus a double rainbow!

Photo taken from under a desk in the meeting room at work.

Later that day we were at school for Parent-Child-Teacher interviews and were greeted with this beautiful double rainbow when we came out into the playground afterwards.

241/366 - Blur

Sonny Jim throws the ball for the dogs at Ruby Bay

240/366 - Japanese Garden, Nelson

The Japanese Garden has been the scene of many a family Sushi Picnic over the years. . .

239/366 - Snowy mountains, from Nelson Paintball battlefield

Paintball Challenge with Tamaha Sea Scouts vs Richmond Scouts

238/366 - "Well, it helped me get over my anger management problems - how about you?!"

Booster sits proudly amongst her scene of destruction!

237/366 - First "Dad hug" in 13 months

Emotional reunion between Sonny Jim and his dad at Nelson Airport this evening

And more hugs at home later. . . 

236/366 - First fig leaves of the season

235/366 - Back meets bark. Bark wins.

Ouch, poor Sonny Jim! Hope the Betadine I applied keeps it clean. . .

234/366 - Peekaboo!

Our Booster pup loves nothing better than hiding herself under a blanket. . . but this time she left her nose hanging out!!

233/366 - Hokitika sunset. . . photo by the Wifie

Photo taken  by the Wifie on a work trip to Hokitika (West Coast of NZ's South Island.)

232/366 - Cutting the quark curds

Cutting the curds after leaving milk and vegetarian rennet to set overnight - that's all there is to it!

231/366 - Frodo's habitual sleeping position

230/366 - Who said dogs can't smile?!!

Frodo smiles whilst taking care of post-surgical Sonny Jim :)

229/366 - Post-surgical dinner for two

228/366 - Are you happy?

This poster is on the wall at work, and makes me smile each time I see it!

227/366 - Ruby Bay looking towards Nelson - Snapseed-enhanced!

Photo manipulated in iPhone "Snapseed" app - straightened slightly and 90% Drama filter added

The original photo

 And this is why I think Snapseed is one of the best photo manipulation apps out there - it took 30 secs or less to transform the photo above.

226/366 - My first Gouda

Swimming in the brine

Drying off after its swim

225/366 - Gouda and Quark cheese-making course, day 2

Cheese press with fresh Gouda inside, mature Gouda, whey, bowl of unstrained quark and straining bowl.

Plus an extra photo that Sonny Jim took today - a self-portrait showing his creative photography. . . and just how far he can protrude his lips!!

224/366 - Homemade Gouda and dried apple crisps

Tasting platter at day 1 of Gouda/Quark cheese-making course

223/366 - "I love my dog. . . as much as I love you!"

222/366 - Baby blanket gift, knitted by the Wifie

Just before heading north to one of her Green Party friends

221/366 - Winner of the Motueka Primary Schools Year 7/8 Speech Competition

Sonny Jim won the Speech Competition despite being one of the youngest competitors in his age group and never having taken part in a speech competition until winning the school comp this year! Go him!!

There were six set topics to choose from, and SJ worked his speech around the title "Pushing the Boundaries." Link to video of speech here.

Text of his speech below:

Pushing the Boundaries

Pushing the boundaries you say... What do you mean by that? Do you mean taking a world record and beating it, or pushing against a wall? I am not doing a speech on how to push walls or even push physical boundaries. No, I will be focusing on boundaries of attitude and how with a few brave people pushing the boundaries, attitudes can be changed and social justices achieved.

“Women getting the vote? Pshaw! Yeah right!” In 1892, that was the attitude of most of the public, even some women. . . In 1893, however, New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the basic human right of voting in a Parliamentary Election. To all the women in the room . . . how would you feel if you werenʼt allowed to vote in the next General Election simply because you were born female? By pushing social and political boundaries, suffragist Kate Shepherd and her supporters achieved this social justice for the women of New Zealand. Much of the world was soon to follow.

And to think that in New Zealand in1985, you could be put in jail, just for being gay. That seems ridiculous nowadays . . . well to most people, anyway! Thanks to MP Fran Wilde and her supporters, the Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed in 1986 and around 10% of New Zealandʼs population no longer had to live in fear of imprisonment.

Only the following year, in August 1987, did Te Reo Maori finally become an official language of Aotearoa-New Zealand. How can it possibly have taken so long to officially recognise this beautiful language? For so many years it was

the only language spoken in Aotearoa, and yet it nearly died! Isnʼt it a human right to be able to speak your own language in your own country?

Then in 1994 Apartheid (the hateful segregation against black people) ended in South Africa and the world rejoiced! Nelson Mandela pushed this social justice boundary every day of the 27 years he spent in prison. After all his struggles he became President of South Africa and is still an inspiration to millions.
All these things were radical in their time, truly seen as pushing the boundaries of life as we knew it. When we reflect on them now they seem regular and commonplace - but many of our basic human rights didnʼt just happen. . . they were bravely fought for.

There is still a lot of discrimination that exists in our world, and even in our own country.
What issue do YOU feel is worth pushing the boundaries for?
Will YOU be our next civil rights champion?
If you ARE, I truly hope you are successful because pushing the boundaries makes our world a better place.

220/366 - Stained glass panel, made by the Wifie

219/366 - Words of wisdom?

Seems I didn't take a photo today, so here is one I snapped in a café in Petone on 1st September. . .

218/366 - Nelson houses on a rainy day - photo by Sonny Jim

217/366 - Cats Galore, Petone, Lower Hutt. Dogs not invited in!