Last week a really clear sky overnight presented the opportunity to try for some star photography at Wahine Park, my favourite dark sky spot near home.  Unfortunately it was also close to fully moon, which means its really too light for good star trails or star shots, but we tried twice – once at sunset, and again close to dawn.  John really is a trooper!!

Some pics of that experiment, and our walk to Scorching Bay later that morning follow.

Still cool here – but the days are starting to get longer and the daffodils are out; spring is close to springing!

Took a trip with Steam Incorporated last weekend up to the Raurimu Spiral, renown among train buffs as an engineering feat to overcome steep grades on the NZ Main Trunk railway line.  Steam loco as far as Palmerston North, then electric up to the Raurimu Spiral, passing through the Manawatu and Rangitikei districts and up onto the central volcanic plateau, past Mt Ruapehu covered in snow.  Long day out – we left Paraparaumu at 7:30am and didn’t get back until 10:30pm, but some wonderful views of the landscapes of the central North Island and John got to just sit back and relax, rather than focus on the road. The carriages on the train were vintage – read: no heating – so we came prepared with layers and a blanket, but not as well prepared as some of our fellow travellers, who supplemented the buffet car with their own supplies of sparkling wine, beer and nibbles.

Some pics below.

It’s been a cold couple of weeks here in Wellington.  Not a lot of sewing or photography action, lots of wind and rain.  As well as heading off to Kelburn twice a week for my university course, we’ve been out a Paraparaumu with my parents, and going to movies at the International Film Festival.  We had our last three on Saturday, Sunday and Monday: ‘Fuoco Ammare’, a documentary about life on Lampedusa, an island off Sicily and the first port of call for many refugees fleeing North Africa, ‘Bella and Perduta’, a fable set in Campania involving a decaying palace and a buffalo (yes, really), and ‘Le Ride’, a recreation by a kiwi and his American best friend of the route of the 1928 Tour de France and the experience of a team of Australians and a Kiwi who rode in it.  If a friend ever asks you to ride 3000+ miles on a vintage steel racing bike around France, just say no!  It was uplifting though, and a bit of a contrast with the other two, which were both confronting in the case of Fuoco Ammare  and sad. We’ll be looking for some escapism in the form of the new Jason Bourne movie next week!  Being out tho’ has provided us with reasons to try out old favourites and new spots for lunch or dinner around our movie-going.

It’s been cold – cold enough for there to be a dusting of snow on the hills across the channel, and  heavy snow has fallen in other bits of NZ. Obviously quite different from winter in Brisbane!

Recent pics below.

Not much by way of excitement this week – atypically for Wellington in winter it’s wet and windy one day, but then sunny and calm the next.

Have got used to travelling back and forth to university on the bus, and if nothing else, have seen more films in the last 4 weeks than I have in years.  As well as an italian film a week as part of the course (this week L’uomo che verrà based on a WWII massacre near Bologna and very sad), the International Film Festival is on, and we’ve seen two so far: The 5th Eye last week and Weiner today.

Have also been doing a bit of planning for a trip next year: walking in Sicily in late April and a small group tour in Portugal after.  And a side trip to Scotland to see family.

Dad has a small op scheduled for Monday, so will be spending some time at my parents next week – as Kapiti has been bearing the brunt of the north westerly gales for the last week or so, hoping for some calmer weather.

 

Because our time is flexible, I’ve been able to take advantage of what has, so far, been a mild winter, to try out some spots around Seatoun to practice my night photography.  We had a really still couple of nights this week (windy Wellington has not been living up to its reputation quite so much this winter) so we ventured to Wahine Park facing Cook Strait for me to have another go at star trails, and then to Seatoun jetty to play with light and patterns. There was a bit much moon light to get a really dark trail, but happy to be getting the technique sorted.

 

 

By co-incidence, Sunday mornings here seem to be consistently nice mornings for a walk, and so here are a few more shots from one of our Sunday morning walks, this time to Oruaiti Reserve and the old gun emplacements at ex-Fort Dorset, which overlooks Seatoun on one side, and Breaker Bay and Wellington Heads, the entrance to the harbour, on the other.

 

Another quilt finish.  The front and back were finished before we left Brisbane (with assistance from Katie and Spocky, the helper cats!), but there wasn’t time to finish the quilt.  So, next week this should be winging its way to our ex-neighbours in Brisbane for their little boy Archie, who turned one in May.

This was my second attempt at machine quilting, so a bit hairy here and there, but in general I’m pleased, and particularly happy at how the back turned out. And John doing sterling service as a quilt holder!

 Have been busy since getting home although not much to show for it yet.

After finishing off the long arm quilted quilt (see an earlier post) I’ve been working on finishing a baby quilt for our Brisbane neighbours although had a hiccup with that today. Hopefully it’ll be done at the weekend. Other projects are in various stages and there’s stuff all over my sewing room!

Karaka Bay has been a little island of Australian election coverage, so I’ve been working on my first knitting project in 20 mumble years for the last few days as we watch the coverage. Knitting seems to be a bit like riding a bike: you don’t forget how!

Have also signed up for an italian history class as a continuing education student at Victoria University  – no assignments/exams are involved. As the university campus is across town and has very little parking I expect to become an experienced user of Wellington’s public transport system!

And now it’s off to my italian class – arrivederci!

And a few more shots from San Francisco…

I’ll stop now 🙂