You better watch out there may be dogs about (Pink Floyd)

I wrote in the previous post that we recently welcomed Coronation Street back into our lives and that theme has continued with the return of Dookie from Fanfa's care in Wellington. She's off to the city by the bay in a few weeks time and Jade did the mission of mercy trip to bring the Dookster back to the farm.

The menagerie is back to full strength. Time for a round up of the whole crew.

Bazie and Dookie

Waffles

Zen

 Max

 Meg

and the sheep 

x11

( plus the 2 rams who are cooling their heals in a different paddock as we await the lambs)

Speaking of expectant mothers...I think she's carrying a few.

Rest assured I will post pictures of the newbie lambs when they arrive (and survive - unfortunately I've had to bury a couple already).

Love and peace - Wozza

How is the air up there? (The La De Das)

I arrived back in the sandpit yesterday after a terrific couple of weeks in Nu Zild for Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

It's good to be back too, not that I didn't enjoy the break from the Al Ain apartment but it always helps when you don't have to go to the limited supply of clothes in the suitcase. Staying with relatives was nice but nothing beats being able to put a CD on whenever you want, eating food from your own pantry and sleeping in your own bed.

Arriving at Dubai airport was a treat, mainly cos I'm a nervous flyer and being on terra firma is always a great feeling anyway but Dubai airport is great - clean, friendly, and spacious.

The friendly bit is the starkest contrast between service in NZ and here. It didn't take long before I was asked (by the doorman at The Park Regis Hotel when I picked up my car) where Marm Jacky was! I know this will happen over and over again too. I told him that Marm Jacky was still in NZ to co-ordinate the move of our stuff into our new Hawke's Bay home.

I need to backtrack a tad before these posts get onto new business. Namely Zen/SWMBO and the wedding of the century (which lived up to its billing by the way).

Zen is big! Over 17 hands high which according to SWMBO, is big. But not as big as the grin on Jacky's face when she rode him for the first time. It was a thrill to see.

The wedding was also a special highlight of the trip back. We've been looking forward to it since last Christmas when Pat and Randy told us the news and invited us. Jacky and I felt really honoured to be included in the Cameron-Buckley global whanau.

Randy's parents and brother, Art, came from Canada; Pat's business partner and her husband came from Manchester, we came from the UAE and there were relatives from all parts of NZ in attendance.

Lindsay Loveridge, who officiated and is pictured between Pat and Randy, has had a long association with Pat, almost as long as Jacky, who has known him since she was a teenager. Lindsay did a great job keeping the ceremony on track when either laughter or tears threatened to deviate proceedings.

It was also a great chance for us to catch up with old friends, some of whom had actually attended our own wedding 28 years ago and it was fun for me to watch people as they recognised Jacky (Jacky Smith????? Is that you???). SWMBO looked stunning btw.

All in all, like everything Pat and Randy do, it was a classy occasion, even the rain cleared up and the sun emerged during the afternoon. Jacky and I loved being there and wish the groom and groom, two great guys, everything they'd wish themselves. Be happy!

So that's it for the NZ break - some great times with friends and family. It was so good to catch up with everyone - we even managed a couple of coffees with Jansy and Graeme in New Plymouth before I departed for Al Ain!

Now I'm back in the apartment which is VERY empty without Marm Jacky, but work starts again on Sunday which will be a welcome distraction.

Love and peace - Wozza

Could it be that I have found my home at last? (Steely Dan)

Zen (pictured right) recently talked the Light Of My Life (LOML) and me into getting a patch of Nu Zild dirt again.

As the blogosphere will appreciate, Zen, the star of a recent post, requires a paddock or five to live in, some poosh stables worthy of his zen-ness to visit when it rains, and a large three bay implement shed within which to store his moving bedroom (a.k.a. his 'horsefloat' - why is it called that? Stoopid right? I get the horse bit natch but a float? It's just...silly).

Oh...yes...and Zen's owners will need a place to sleep so that they are close by to keep an eye on him. That means a house which has commanding views of the surrounding countryside so that the LOML can preempt the rain and move Zen to the poosh stables.

Bazil, and Dookie will also be joining us in due course and I dear say that chickens, a cat, and a stable mate for Zen will follow along when we eventually return to Nu Zild on a permanent basis.

So, with all that in mind, we have obtained all of the above in a little country town called Otane, in the Hawke's Bay area, which is on the east coast of the North Island of NZ.

It's probably a good idea, at this point, to flesh out what exactly Otane is all about. Here is the entire Wikipedia entry for Otane:

Otane is a township in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a small village, with a school, general store, cafe and pub.

See - told you it was on the east coast of the North Island of NZ. What the entry doesn't tell you is how beautiful the countryside is, so I'll correct that omission now with some photos of Zen's new digs.

Stables on left, front drive on right.



Zen's owners will live here.



Poosh stable area.

Love and peace - Wozza, LOML, Zen