Okay, forget midnight

I’m heading off to bed now. Tony is on duty, Mum is asleep, there is c**p on tv. So, bed and a magazine for me.

But first – I did a scrapbook page yesterday about my wishes for 2008. They are:

A new kitchen
Mum to stay happy and as well as she is now
Tony and I to have a proper holiday
Time for me
To have fun and success with my art
Friendship, love and laughter
A spa pool
Our animals to have a healthy year
The chance to prosper at work

Whatever it is you wish for in 2008, may you find it an abundance.

Merry Christmas everyone

Not sure about the rest of the world, but it is late afternoon here in New Zealand. We’ve had the roast chicken, eaten the pavlova, unwrapped the presents, had a nap…

Mum has a new crossword dictionary to drive us nuts with, Tony has a Navman gps for the car to get lost with, I have an iPod to take music with me wherever I go. And the dog has a new cat toy. Don’t ask LOL.

Wherever you are, and whatever you believe, I hope you are having a good day with friends and family.

Rant about a rooster!

We live in town; we expect traffic noise, people noise, town noise. We don’t expect ROOSTER noise, especially at 5 in the morning.

Let me set the scene – our property backs onto high school playing fields, behind the fields is empty land that slopes down to the river. We are right on the edge of town; 2 minutes walk from the river, 5 minutes walk from the sea.

Some inconsiderate person has dumped two bantam roosters in the empty land behind the high school. No doubt unwanted pets; now they cruise the high school, and the houses that back onto the school, looking for food. They’re quite bold and go right up to people’s back doors.

And they CROW. I think they are young, because one has a crow that resembles a young man’s voice breaking. It would be funny if it wasn’t so irritating. Because let’s be clear what we’re talking about here:

They CROW and they CROW and they CROW. They start at about 5am and they CROW all day, till late in the evening. And this has been going on for weeks.

Why the sudden rant? Animal Control Services have been trying to catch them for a couple of weeks now, so they are wasting a lot of time and ratepayers money.

And it’s the silly season. My husband is an Ambulance Officer and, aside from working 5 days a week, from now till about the 7th of January he does every single shift outside his paid ones as a volunteer so that our community stays safe. Two nights in a row he has got back from a job after midnight, and two mornings in a row we have been woken at dawn by the CROWING. Are you beginning to spot the problem?

Why can’t people be more responsible with unwanted pets? Please, if you give a pet for Christmas, make sure it is truly wanted and will be looked after well. And if you get a pet for Christmas and you don’t want it or can’t keep it, be responsible about what happens to it.

Anyone want a bantam? Cute and going very cheep cheap!

Where in the world?

Michelle’s latest challenge was about where all the Street Team come from. This is something I have already scrap booked. My digital camera has a flat battery, so I have scanned and stitched – hence the slightly scruffy image.

Patea is a small rural town of approx 1,000 people on the west coast of the North Island in New Zealand. Not always an easy community; over the years it has suffered from high unemployment, closure of its main industry, loss of a school etc. but fights on, and is looking good. Most people are employed now, the businesses seem to be doing well. It has always been safe to walk the streets…and as I go about my business I know most people by name.

It’s a good place to live.