Post Hols Photo Heap

…started a few things on holiday…

…a pile of these…(actually one of series of piles)….

…and couple of those…

…got a bit obsessed with “faces” on my palette….

…(they’re looking at me, I swear)….

…Dee came up mid-week and made a poster for her upcoming gig….

…(the one on the left is the one that will be used)…

…(see you there)…

…saw a goat….

…saw it again at night…

…Dee phoned in the sighting….

…(cell phone coverage exists at the water tank)….

…some of the above images are elongated because I may have had the camera switched to vid’ for a day or so after filming this…

,,,bit of a grey day on Friday….

…so we went on our traditional Central Otago charity shop run….

…did rather well…

…as is explained in this short documentary….

….spent the fine days removing bumblebees from the house…

…(…sign says “bug”…but battery died before second shot and didn’t want the wee fellow to be under glass too long)…

….and savoured the fine evenings enjoying the fragrance of the apple blossom…(or is it plum?)….

…all in all a bloody good holiday….

…(did I mention my Pitcairn Island carved flying fish?)…

Process

…receive test pressing of lp in post….

….listen to lp…..

…listen to lp with band….

…say “yes please” to record manufacturer people….

…receive large box of lps….(thank you Holiday Records on so many levels….you guys rock)…..

….open all the boxes…

…mmmm…records….

….make the covers….(we already printed them but “somebody” hadn’t glued ’em up yet)…..

….find booklet you DID prepare earlier…(it’s probably in THAT box)….

…all hand folded and stapled neatly….(sorry no vid’)….

…put them all together….

…oops!…don’t forget to hand stamp the labels (first identifying which side is which)….

…small printing blocks (cheers Tracer) taped together with masking tape may come in handy at this stage…

..place lps in in inners then inners in covers….add booklet…place in outer sleeve…

…and there you have it …

…all ready for the lp release on the 28th September at The Crown Hotel….

…see you there.

Let There Be Light Fittings

…I first “met” this particularly wonderful example of 70s plastic and “gold” plated light fitting when I had the record shop at Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers…

…I needed to own them…

…but they were attached to the pub…

…I’d drive by and ogle the only other example I knew of when ever I could….it’s a commercial double sized version that hangs in a glassed in stairwell on the side of a warehouse in the South Dunedin industrial area…just down from my favourite DIY materials haunt….

….then…

…having driven past a second hand shop sign outside Ranfurly on numerous occasions and thought “how sad that it had ceased operations on the main street”, I drove thru Ranfurly in the other direction only to discover that I’d been completely missing the other sign that indicated that said shop had moved to the outskirts town….(duh)…..

…The Curiosity Shoppe is now located in a delightfully spacious tin shed next to a converted railways workshop, where the proprietor resides….having met a kindred spirit in said proprietor and during the ensuing tour of the premises, right at the back of said railways workshop, we came upon two large cardboard boxes containing….oh be still my beating heart….not one, not two, but five of the coveted light fittings all separated in to halves and covered in dust….

….bargaining….

…bargaining between second dealer-collectors….

….I bought two….

…and promised photos when I’d got them installed…

…that was months ago, sorry Ali’, but now they’re up….

…in the living room….

…and the library….

….thank you Ali’….

…my life is near as damn complete….

…almost….

Bees

This summer “just” gone….on a long ramble down the Taieri River we…myself and intrepid, inflatable boat enthusiast, Dee…. discovered bees, hundreds of them, poking about on a sand bar at the waters edge….

… coming and going to a couple of spots…like someone had performed a waggle dance back at the hive and reported that the river was running with honey….

…took us a while to figure it out…obvious really….

….this is where bees go to drink….

….went back a few months later to confirm….

….yep…this IS where bees go to drink….

…and what happens if you get too close?….

…you forget which way up you’re holding you’re camera….

(…oh, and this is a only a mile or two down river from where that tractor driver discovered the moa footprints….(google “moa footprints”)…..)

Oi Frag Try This

…voila…nothing to see here….

: P

Deedrees Rekkid

…celebrated the release of Dee’s new album, “She Shanties For Frank”, a week back…

…wicked gig in a great room (let’s do that again)…didn’t get many (if any) good picks from the back (and under the influence)….but maybe if you know this guy…

…he recorded quite a bit of the gig and took loads of photos….

…anyways….

https://www.tpo8.com/music.html

…hit the address above go to the “music” section and there’s a couple of tunes to listen to….and if you click on the “She Shanties For Frank” image it will take you to band camp where you can download the album…..

….also available on cassette locally….

…and in these covers with a lyric booklet…(cover image and screen printing by Chris…booklet hand drawn/water colour washed by Dee….foldingstaplinggluingtrimming by me…)

…when we receive the round black plastic inserts…huge props to Holiday Records…bringing vinyl production back to NZ for the first time since last century…

….bring the noise.

Goodbye Mr Yuck Pantry

…or… “What I Did With My Week’s Holiday”…

….pantry inserted into old kitchen entry at end of hallway circa “when-everything-was-built-with-horrid-MDF”….sans ugly fake wood grain doors….

…enter 4+ days of hard, no building experience, labour….

…scratch built from a couple of pieces of rimu I got from friends, a huge rimu cabinet with three sliding doors that came from the folks new house, a couple of pallets from work and part of the counter from that shop I used to own…

…almost everything fits….

…and it makes me dislike my freezing cold pre 1900, mucked about by philistines, kitchen a little less….especially with it’s new found expansive sweeping views up the hallway….

….(actually, this will be blocked up again and I’m having a whole-house-heating log burner installed)….(just in time for the end of spring)….

Kokonga Chill Time

…sign should read “when frosty”….

…or….”when spider-webby”

….meanwhile down by the Taieri River….

…weeks holiday in K’….coupla blindingly good frosty mornings…with highlighted cobwebs and mist rising form the river as the sun comes over the hills….mmmmm…chilly.

Beach Visitor

…sun….sea…and the great smell of sealion…..

…(non-tagged female sealion soaking up some rays before going for a feed)…

Shedupdate

….finished!….

…and while we were moving the pile….

…wetas….lotsa wetas….(small)….

…and….coming soon….

….Shed II….

…just when you thought it was safe.