Roberston’s vote-grabbing spending cuts perpetuate systems that enable abuse towards disabled people and their families.

I know you were expecting a blog about taking a group of young people up to Whakapapa, but, in the week leading up to the house rising Grant Roberston pulled a stunt, that once again shows that disabled people, 25% of the population are not worth putting the money and effort into.

I don’t usually write while I am really angry, but this time I am making an exception. With that in mind, everything expressed in this blog is my opinion and not that of any of the organisations or groups that I work with. This blog may not have the refinement you’re used to as I have written it pretty quickly. I’ve tried to keep it reasonably short and sweet; feel free to share!

Read More

Conference Shenanigans

The end of May rolled around way too quickly. I felt like I finished my 10km in pretty good shape, but my body decided that I had pushed it and picked up a cold. I’d spent a lot of time trialling nutrition, hydration and recovery methods, before, during and after training. My legs and muscles didn’t feel too bad before the cold kicked in. Maybe the pace I set was a bit much with how easily I seemed to pick up that cold!

Read More

I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I had shut down the blog! I’m still here, just been busier than ideal.

It’s been well over a year since I last posted (Sept 2021), so I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I’d shut down the blog! Despite trying to keep a better work/life balance, that hasn’t quite happened. I had intended to write more; in fact, there are 4 unfinished blogs in my drafts folder. The way the world has thrown twists and turns has undoubtedly made for a year of excitement, achievement, adversity, persistence and progress throughout 2022.

Read More

May as well make the most of it?!?!?

All of a sudden we’re almost halfway through the year, and this month hasn’t exactly gone to plan. In the end, despite a horrific head cold that had me laid out for a week, May hasn’t been too bad; just a little different than anticipated. Once again I remind myself that “life is indeed an adventure” if we look at it from an etymological (background of words) basis. Webster’s dictionary defines risk as:

1a: an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks. //a book recounting his many bold adventures b: the encountering of risks. //the spirit of adventure. 2: an exciting or remarkable experience. //an adventure in exotic dining they were looking for adventure. 3: an enterprise involving financial risk. //she wanted to pay off her debts before embarking on any new financial adventures.

Read More

And the year is Marching on…

March kicked off with a visit to the local court to see ADNZ Raven’s support crew many of the courthouse staff all chip in towards Raven’s fundraising effort. The place was a bit chaotic due to a change in Covid19 Alert Levels. I don’t think Raven fully appreciates what “Social Distancing” means! Thank you so much for your continued support of Raven and Assistance Dogs NZ Trust.

ADNZ Raven wearing her blue harness. She standing getting a lower back scratch from a woman sitting down in an office setting. A sticker saying "Thank You" obscures the woman's face
Don’t let the judge catch you not social distancing Raven!!
Read More

A quick overnight wander to clear our heads!

Holdsworth Lodge; Tararua Forest Park. 9 & 10 Feb 2021.

I have been wanting to get out bush and clear my head for awhile. It was well overdue and thanks to a couple of friends we locked in a date and off we went. A lot of trips would be out of my “range” at the moment so I deliberately picked Holdsworth Lodge, a bit of a cruisy, glamping trip. I have walked past Holdsworth Lodge plenty of times on my way into Donnelley’s Flats and thought “I need to measure up that ramp and the doorways”. This was the perfect opportunity to do a measure up and see how feasible this site could be for others to use. However the main intent for this trip was to get out of town and cellphone range to chill for the night.

ADNZ Raven is sitting, looking at the camera in the fore-ground. In the background is a lofted out blue sleeping bag, an orange stuff sack and part of an empty black backpack.
Are we going somewhere?
Read More

Just like that it’s 2021, where did 2020 go??

2020 seems to have flown by, I know that it’s been a year none of us will forget. Globally Covid has been a bit of a shit-show; I am thankful and grateful to be in New Zealand and the decisions our leadership has made. On a personal level was a year of re-examining what is important to me and prioritizing, a year of accessing the medical and disability services and support that would have been beneficial over the last two decades. I guess like many, it’s been a year of uncertainty, confusion and a rapidly changing “normal”.

Read More

CHAOS seems to be the theme of 2020

Once again it feels like just the other I sat down and got stuck into writing a blog, but in reality it’s been awhile since my last one. For me life had been in this weird space of both carrying on and being on pause. While we in New Zealand have seemingly successfully navigated Levels 4 and 3 of our Covid Alert system; the sun rose each morning, yet so much of life was “on hold”. And now we have moved down through Level 2 and now after several weeks of Level 1 some sense of “normality” was happening before New Zealand had a “second waves” cluster/s appear in the last few weeks.

Read More

WOW in the last couple of months the world went a bit wonky!

It seems like yesterday I was writing a tribute to Assistance Dogs NZ (ADNZ) Ben, then next thing I know; the world is looking a whole lot different! ADNZ Raven is here and our entire country is in a state of emergency on “Level 4 Covid 19 Alert”; which is essentially “only leave your house for essential services like food or medical care, or your employment is classed as an essential service, the borders are now closed”.

Read More