photostory friday: a sign of the times

i was browsing through my overseas trip photos from hong kong and rome, and though i'd share some of the more 'curious' and 'humorous' signs we came across in our travels

some make no sense at all, but i think that just adds to the fun...


i think this means don't stand idly by and watch your dog poop
or, no SMELLY dog poop allowed, but regular poop ok...

fairly self-explanatory 

if only it were that easy..... 

this was at one of the underground train stations

old news now!

...and no carrying MEAT on your BICYCLE either!

(i'm fairly sure that's implied)

does it say 'no fun'?

i'm sure they meant to include it

and all your libras - STAY AWAY TOO!!!

yeah, when they said fresh, i didn't quite have this in mind

this was taken in macau - maybe medicine in hong kong is more real?

this was a juice bar

it just made me want to run away fast from the scary fruit and vege head ladies!

 now where'd i leave the car?
oh, that's right - i parked it at the back of the mattress shop!!!

also in rome

i think the marketers would like you to believe that if you eat special K italian style, that this gorgeous man will appear and sweep you off your feet...

(preferably after you've got out of your dressing gown - sorry sandy!)

coz i ALWAYS want to wash my feet in a public toilet

and this one from POMPEII

i have no idea what it means, but i'm pretty sure that there's a LOT of stuff you can't do ANYWHERE near this construction site!

and this one from outside st peters basillica

no LEDERHOSEN allowed

no one-legged people

no swimming trunks

no one-armed lederhosen-wearing folks either

this was near a place we had lunch 

and no, i didn't go see the SEXY show!

so true...

and onto London at the Ace Cafe

*SIGH* i miss rome...

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

participating in supermom's finding friend fridays for the first time today

such a cool idea!

more show and tell

i planned this layout over a year ago and even printed out my 10 goals. i was very happy to discover (a year later) that i had already completed #1 on the list! the pic was taken at my old primry school in christchurch the weekend i took miss 19 to the snow patrol concert
- which rocked btw!!!

this is for creative scrappers. they run weekly sketch challenges. i've said it before and i'll say it again - i LUUUURVE sketches!!!

this is for sketchbook's fortnightly sketch challenge. these photos were taken at one of favourite local restaurants. you really can't take us anywhere!

and this for the 'how much is too much' blog challenge #100 to use a single photo and 100 words (journalling). kristi took this pic, and i LOVE it.

hubs took these pics when he was in san fran last year. in sept/oct, we had a revolving door to the airport at our place!

this layout is for inspired blueprints. these photos were taken back in 2006 when the hubs went to the UK and Europe on business. of course he had time for a whistle-stop tour of london, care of my sister! the thought that I'LL be riding that eye later in the year is VERY exciting!

there's the lovely kristi and that famous letterbox again. this layout is for scrapboxnz's monthly sketch challenge.

i miss kristi *sigh*...

and of course my new york 'peeps'! (*sigh* - i miss them too)
this layout was for forever and always

this is another layout i did from our time in hong kong at the rugby 7s.
i have no idea who the woman on the left is, but she supported pretty much EVERY pacific island rugby team, and she was SO DAMN enthusiastic about it! (maybe the glass in her hand might have had something to do with that?)

here endeth the show and tell

TOOT TOOOOOT!!!

check me out peeps!!!

ain't nothin' like unexpected 'snaps' to end your day (and it was already a PRETTY good day!) i whipped this layout together, photoshopped the crap out of the picture because it was dark by the time i photogaphed it to submit, then emailed it through at the 11th hour.

that makes three guest designer/contributor spots for september! i'll be sharing my layouts as soon as i'm allowed.

the challenge for the layout above was to scrap sporting pics (to honour our olympians) and use at least 5 circular elements (of any kind). i used pics from our hong kong trip earlier this year when we went to the rugby sevens tournament. i just loved wearing our flag.

snaps for my scrappin' mojo!

hong kong slide show - finally!

i haven't made one of those annoying flashy, bubbly slide shows, so it's quite easy on the eyes. i have also included captions and interesting info so it ain't just a bunch of plain photos. hope you enjoy it!

home again, messily

let' s face it, coming home from holiday CAN be a bit of a downer - no matter how much you have missed your kids and want to share all your newly purchased goodies.

my return was made much easier by the fact that my house was SPARKLING (my mother is a demon with a damp cloth) and because of this...

ain't nothing like a sunny blue sky to bring on the happy


then of course there's the unpacking...


i like to wallow in the mess for a few days. reminds me of where i've been.

hong kong happy

it's difficult to believe our time here in hong kong is almost over. the rain held off until today, so clive and i (along with 43,498 other fans) were able to enjoy 3 days of awesome rugby - helped of course by the fact that NEW ZEALAND WON!!!

clive and i have had an absolutely fantastic time and met so many interesting people from all over the world. there's nothing quite like new and shared experiences, and we've chalked up a few in the past week.

i will put up a slide in a week or two, but in the meantime, i wanted to finish with the happy...

12 floors of shopping heaven

that makes me happy

with a figure like that...
how could she not be happy?

imagining this guy without his shirt on...

yep - that would make all the ladies happy

OFF! OFF! OFF!!!

doncha just wanna spread this one on a cracker?here endeth the eye candy segment

watching your team win...

happy, happy, happy

ok, some of you may remember that i had a birthday recently. i may have mentioned it...

did i tell you what my pressie from DH was?

i'll give you a hint...

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

bling at 12 o'clock!!!

this baby goes next to my eternity ring from singapore (1989) and my diamond band from boston (1995). i'm working my way up to a fat diamond for our 25th wedding anniversary next year (which i think will be well deserved, don't you?)

my next post will be from the frigid shores of wellington, where i believe winter has suddenly set in. thanks for sharing the journey with me.

peace out...

it's a bloggerful world

my original blogger friend kristi has met (like, actually MET) several of her blogger friends. she has even lived to tell the tale, although there have been some close shaves. if you follow that link you will find the chap in question to be quite harmless (despite appearances), AND is responsible for much of the fun we are having here in hong kong.

charlie's suggestions of where to go, what to do and see have been invaluable. i even heard my DH telling someone that charlie had gone 'above and beyond the call of duty' with his helpfulness.

anyway, i digress. a few short days before we left nz for hk, i 'met' michelle who just happens to be living here with her husband vince, and i figured it just too good an opportunity to pass up!

and so we met...

and look - they're normal!!! (sorry guys lol). they took us to one of their favourite restaurants. it was hidden deep inside this market.

szechwan pork is my new favourite chinese food.

michelle is doing lots of volunteer work here in hk, working with stray cats and vince is in IT for a PR company (or something that involves capital letters in groups of two - kidding vince!!!) michelle's blog (cat and muse) is on my right side bar - go say hello!

we talked for ages, then went our separate ways. i'm so glad we met. we had a great time with you guys!

sue and clive's big adventure...continued

when we last left our intrepid travellers, they had seen the flower market, the bird garden, the goldfish market (not to be confused with the FRESH fish market), and the fresh fish market.

there were also fruit and vegetable markets...'help! a lemon ate my pear!' no wait. 'help! a pear ate my lemon!' i have to tell you, these looked MUCH bigger than the photo shows. we wandered past chopping board shops, curtain shops, and eventually found what happens to giant preserving pans when they try to be russian dolls.

you'd make a lot of jam in the bottom one!

at one point the sun even came out. (see photographic evidence below)

we have discovered that hong kong comes to life slowly during the day. most stores don't open until well after lunch and stay open until late at night. the locals are far more animated during these hours than in the morning. we discovered this early yesterday when heading to the MTR (underground). gone was the collective chatter of late afternoon commuters. they had instead been replaced by sad, morose worker-bees. clive and i decided to have a game of sardines once on the carriage, but i think we were the only ones playing...

cute furry animal interlude

don't panic. this little guy wasn't for sale. or on any menu, even though he looks like he's trying to make a break for it.

the following paragraph is for all the OCD folks out there (i know you hear me my people)...

in new zealand we drive on the left, escalators go UP on the left and people walk on the left. there is order and calm and everything is right with the world. in america cars drive on the right, escalators go UP on the right and people walk on the right. same same. order, calm yadda yadda yadda.

BUT in hong kong...they DRIVE on the left, escalators go UP on the right and as for the walking... well, there's no order, there's no calm - there's just one great meandering mass! and when i say meandering i mean dawdling. and when i say dawdling, i mean "walk faster people, i'm on holiday and have places to go!!!!"

the place really comes alive after dark, although you wouldn't know it's dark because the streets are lit up like christmas trees. it has to be seen to be believed. the trams are a great way to get around. $2 for any ride. we always sit up the top at the front. the trams are barely 3 feet wide and are 10 feet tall!

if you want the road to yourself, this guy has the right idea (to a point). the trams actually have car horns on them! it sounds so ridiculous, but if you saw the close shaves, you'd know they are a necessity.

last night we took the star ferry across to kowloon to the avenue of the stars to see the 'symphony of lights'. this event is in the guiness world records for the largest permanent light and sound show, and lucky for us, last night the presentation was in english! clive took these pics (and lots more) - aren't they incredible? we have a canon 400D and he had it on ISO on 1600. if you want to know any of the other settings, just ask.

the chinese are taking every opportunity to plug their upcoming olympics.

i thought this was an interesting way to use rice paper. if they spent as much time improving their appalling human rights record as they didplugging the olympics, the world would be a much better place, but alas they are not.

if only it were that easy.

ok - that's enough for today! i'm so glad you are enjoying our journey with us.

tomorrow - big buddha, scary bus rides and awesome architecture on macau, rugby sevens and more!!!