Trying to be thankful

It's funny how life throws us all the proverbial curve balls every now and again. It was once described to me (I can't remember by whom - So it must have been some time ago) as life's way of pressing the 'Reset' button for us all, whether we think we need it or not.

Put another way 'Life is what happens to you whilst you're busy making other plans'. This saying has resonated with me for some years now and I'm a firm believer in its validity, even more so as I slide gracefully into middle age. I guess the fact is that, at almost 48 years old, people around you become ill, have crappy things befall them for seemingly no good reason and generally have life happen to them. 

As one of my favourite F1 drivers, Martin Brundle, once said you make your own luck and I think that there's some truth to that but sometimes you do have to wonder abut the reasoning behind it all...

The reason I've started off with this rather sombre tone is related to the photo above. Mike Gilbert, a super keen biker, founder of a company called Beatnik based here in Blenheim, super nice guy and someone whom you'd be proud to call a mate contracted terminal cancer just over a year ago. As part of this he sold up the business last year which included selling the Ducatis which he used to hire out as part of his tours around the region. I bought the bike above from Mike and as a mark of respect kitted it out with a few stickers and a Daffodil from the Cancer Society. In a weird way the bike is a form of metaphor for Mike in that it's youthful, stylish and rather effective to boot. Indeed whenever I've ridden it I've been minded to think of what he's achieved in his life thus far - It gives one a real sense of perspective to be honest.

On a more cheery note pictured above is Fraser, one of the three ex-racing Greyhounds that we've adopted from a charity called 'Greyhounds as Pets NZ'. Fraser here is the youngest of the three and he turns 7 this year. He's also something of a character as he follows Emma around like a shadow, even accompanying her to the toilet when he can!

The look above is typical if you venture into the kitchen and look as though you may be making something resembling food. He really craves human company and comes into our bedroom most mornings to say hello - In the nicest possible way of course! The dogs are our children and are now very much part of the family it must be said.

Talking of which Emma suffered a rather stressful experience last week when Hannah, pictured in the previous blog post, decided to take a dip into the local river (Taylor river in Blenheim) and found it somewhat deeper than she thought. Fraser thankfully stayed where he was and simply watched things from the safety of the river bank - He doesn't like water one bit and he wasn't going to jump in after her! Sensible boy you could say! 

I arrived at the airport to find a rather wet and smelly Emma and two dogs and was then regaled with the story of what had happened. Never a dull moment with our pooches!

Here's Hannah in typical pose - Thankfully having recovered from her impromptu swimming experience. I guess as racing dogs they simply don't come into contact with much water so learning to swim isn't really high on the list of things to do. I always thought that dogs loved swimming and getting in amongst all things wet - Apparently not...