The Amypie Diaries

Blossoms

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Amy

I was walking around the middle of town last week and saw there are blossoms trees currently flowering, this one is outside the old library down one of the little side roads. Spring is here!

So the saga of my new reading glasses continues. I ordered some online but when I got them and tried them on I realized they were way too strong for my eyes so I think that the optometrist has written my prescription down wrong. I ended up going to the local Warehouse store in town and after trying a few pairs on, found some that made my vision crystal clear.

I have 2 plants pots of Freesia and Daffodils currently flowering outside on my deck, they make such a nice show of colour. We also got to mow the lawn and do some weed eating last weekend, usually over Winter we don’t bother as the ground can sometimes get a bit boggy but after I let the chickens out to free range they were more than happy to pick through the grass clippings.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom’s Signs.

Posted in greymouth, skywatch friday, spring, spring blossoms, tom's signs | 12 Comments

Poetry

Posted on September 28, 2026 by Amy

Under the Auckland Harbour Bridge is a place I’ve never visited until recently, despite living in this city for 25 years. One really interesting thing I noticed when we were there was that various pillars had poetry on them from various New Zealand authors such as:

A.R.D Fairburn – The Cave.

Janet Frame – The road to Takapuna.

Frank Sargeson – A great day.

Robyn Hyde – At Castor Bay.

Maurice Duggan – A small story.

Kendrick Smithyman – Passages of local poetry.

Bruce Mason – Excerpts celebrating local connection.

The poetry in the photo above partly says this:

“It’s only a hundred years since men dressed as chimneys, in top hats and black stove pipes, women dressed as great bells…..” which describes the arrival of early Victorian settlers and colonization.

At the time we were there, I thought the pillar in the first photo was the only one featuring poetry, had I known the significance, I would’ve searched for more there.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures and Happy Tuesdays.

Posted in auckland harbour bridge, happy tuesdays, new zealand authors, new zealand poets, northcote, auckland, tuesday treasures, winter | 13 Comments

Mobiles

Posted on September 26, 2026 by Amy

This is one of 3 places in town that sell cellphones. I can’t believe the prices of the new ones that come out regularly, why would you spend that much money? I do need a new one at some point as mine is a couple of years old and doesn’t get the emergency notifications in case of an emergency but it is going to have to wait and I won’t be spending loads of money either.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and Weekend Roundup.

Posted in greymouth, spring, weekend reflections, weekend roundup | 16 Comments

Rhododendron

Posted on September 24, 2026 by Amy

One of my favourite Spring trees is the Rhododendron. I remember there were lots in Kerikeri when we lived there, this one was outside one of the local churches.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom’s Signs.

Posted in kerikeri, rhododendrons, skywatch friday, spring, tom's signs | 15 Comments

Albert Park Memorial

Posted on September 22, 2026 by Amy

I really enjoy exploring urban places and finding history I didn’t know existed. This memorial/drinking fountain is in Albert Park in Auckland City and was built in 1901 dedicated to an early New Zealand journalist named George McCullagh Reed.

Updates from home: I ended up driving home in the dark after work on Saturday night going the long way around as our main road into town was closed for repairs. Despite the rain pouring down the 20 minutes home, I just had to drive carefully and pull over a few times for people that were tailgating behind me. New Zealand drivers are crazy…lucky the road opened again yesterday.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures and Happy Tuesdays.

Posted in albert park, auckland, auckland city, happy tuesdays, tuesday treasures, winter | 13 Comments

September

Posted on September 20, 2026 by Amy

It’s not even Halloween yet but one local store had their Christmas stock out on the shelves yesterday.

Linking up with Mosaic Monday.

Posted in christmas, greymouth, mosaic monday | 9 Comments

Looking

Posted on September 19, 2026 by Amy

There are lots of little alley ways in Auckland City. This one on the viaduct is next door to a bar/restaurant that was screening the World Cup soccer earlier this year. It’s very very popular for people to go to places like this so they can watch sports events.

We have been watching the rugby tri-nations here over the last couple of months. First the All Blacks played against Argentina and Italy, then against South Africa and coming up is the Bledisloe Cup against Australia. I don’t have paid tv with Sky as it’s out of our budget but luckily TV 3 which is 3 screens it later on for us.

This morning until Monday morning the rain road into town is closed for repair. We have had problems with the road for many years, way before we moved here to the West Coast. At one point the road actually slid off onto the railway tracks below but now after being fixed time and time again it’s getting water from the mountains above that are coming down and washing the road away bit by bit. After patching it and patching it and patching it, the powers that be (NZTA) have now decided a culvert under the road needs replacing so all the cars and trucks that travel past my house each day now are detoured around a different direction which takes about 20 minutes extra. Luckily today it’s my last day of work for the week so I only have to endure it for one day.

I ended up getting my eye test at the optometrist. $140 later which wasn’t too bad but apparently my left eye is slightly weaker than the right eye so each lens I need is different but I’m fine to drive, it’s just new reading glasses that I needed. They gave me a prescription so I ordered 2 new pairs of glasses online for around $100 instead of paying up to $400 NZD for 1 pair at the optometrist office then I took my certificate to renew my driver’s license which says I’m ok to drive. Such a rigmarole…

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and The Weekend Roundup.

Posted in auckland, auckland city, auckland viaduct, people, weekend reflections, weekend roundup, winter | 12 Comments

Colour

Posted on September 17, 2026 by Amy

One from our holiday in Fiji about 5 years ago. Although this country may be quite untidy and dirty in the towns, one thing I liked about it was all the colour that we saw everywhere from buildings to clothing.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Tom’s Signs.

Posted in Fiji, skywatch friday, tom's signs | 14 Comments

Fishermen’s Wharf

Posted on September 14, 2026 by Amy

This building brings back a lot of memories. When I was growing up on Auckland’s North Shore, my family went out to dinner at this restaurant once or twice. Back then in the 1970s and 1980s it was called “Fishermen’s Wharf and is located at the end of Northcote Point looking out at the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

It was built in 1971 by restauranteur Bob Sell to be a seafood restaurant on top of the old Northcote Wharf. It is now named “The Wharf” and from what I’ve read there is evidence of an Afghan/Middle Eastern eatery in there but that’s about it.

Linking up with Tuesday Treasures and Happy Tuesdays.

Posted in auckland northcote history, fishermen's wharf, happy tuesdays, northcote, auckland, tuesday treasures, winter | 11 Comments

Kai

Posted on September 12, 2026 by Amy

Kai is the Maori word for food. Cans for Kai has many drop off points – this one is at Westhaven Marina in Auckland. They utilize fish frames, offal and heads that normally go to waste as they are considered to be a delicacy in Maori culture. The normally discarded fish parts are distributed to needy families and community groups all over Auckland. The cans are collected for recycling.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections, Shadow Shot Sunday and The Weekend Roundup.