Parked Up

James won't forget today in a hurry. 

Driving a Tractor

We took one of the big John Deere tractors for a drive. James got to steer. 

Big Toys

James likes tractors a lot. 

Fire Engine

John who owns the farm likes to collect vehicles. His latest acquisition is two Japanese fire engines. 

Down on the Farm

This afternoon we visited Dougal who is working at a farm in Lincoln. James got to collect apples and feed them to the pig and the goat. 

Tree Climbing

It is really hot today, we spent the afternoon in Hagley Park. 

Xmas Dinner

We had a lovely xmas dinner at James and Sandra's with their friends Jim and Margaret who are visiting from England. Tracy cooked a ham and we had it with new potatoes and mustard sauce. 

Mural

I like the new mural on the toilet block. 

Sand

Sunblock and black sand is not a good look. 

Water Fight

James and Tracy had a water fight with his new super squirter. 

Traditional Xmas

Another xmas at Taylor's Mistake. We almost went somewhere different for a change but at the last minute we decided to stick with tradition. There was a bit of a cool easterly breeze but the sea was quite warm and I caught a couple of decent waves. 

Merry Xmas

For xmas, James got LOTS of lego, including this very nice truck from Dougal. We HAD to build it before we opened any more presents. 

Xmas Party

This afternoon Santa visited James's preschool. 

Bookcase Update

My bookcase is nearly finished. It is assembled, sanded and ready for staining.  

Manchester St

Demolition has started on this block.

Abandoned

These buildings on Manchester St are abandoned and will probably be demolished. 

More Damage on Colombo St

Wreckage on Colombo St

I went for a drive round today to take some more earthquake photos. I was surprised at how much damage is still waiting to be cleared away. 

Earthquake Update

The aftershocks of the big earthquake have almost  stopped. About time too as we have had over 4,000 earthquakes in Christchurch since Sept 4th.

The rebuilding proceeds slowly. There are still a lot of badly damaged buildings awaiting demolition including this butchers around the block from us.  

Walk This Way

We watched this family of geese waddle down to the sea and go for a swim. There was lots of wildlife. We watched seals playing in the water and a small dolphin swam past me as I was swimming. 

Swimming

James swam all afternoon. I had a swim too. The water was quite mild. 

Beer in the Sun

Tumbledown Bay

The beach is a mix of white and volcanic black sand which makes interesting patterns in the wind.

Tracy and Tara

Tara is visiting to say goodbye before she returns to Scotland. We took her to Tumbledown Bay. Hopefully she will realise how mad she is to leave all this behind!

Kaitorete Spit

Summer is here so today we went to the beach. The southern bays are great for swimming and the view from the drive are great. This is Kaitorete spit which separates Lake Ellesmere from the Pacific Ocean.

The beach on the seaward side is Birdlings Flat  where we got the stones for our garden.