Its been a great summer

>Well - this first weekend in February has been rain all weekend. A good time to catch up on some of the small creative projects I have been procrastinating. The summer started with a lovely family dinner for Amy's birthday on the 22nd of December. With her parents and son and all of us it was just what she wanted - all her loved ones together.

Then we had a family Christmas at my place - so I got to have the christmas tree and all the presents. The family had spent Christmas Eve camping overnight at Bush lane and we had great fine weather for Christmas Day. Jonathan's new Guide dog, Force, was settling in well although very enthusiastically energetic. It was a stress free warm and lovign Christmas. My most unexpected present was a framed letter from our Prime Minister announcing jonathan had been awarded the Office of NZ Order of merit in the New Year's Honours. A huge surprise and a much deserved one. Such a delight and a fitting reward for all the work he does for the blind and disabled community with his advocacy particualrly at government and policy levels.

Then I had a day at the beach at Himatangi ( west coast) with the kids - they loved trying out their boogie boards in the surf and another beautiful sunnny day we drove to castlepoint which was a 2 hour drive away on the East coast - good swimming and lovely spot. Then each of the girls wanted an overnight camping trip with nana so Cordelia and I went to Woodville Ferry Reserve on the Manawatu river and Annabelle and I went to Vinegar Hill reserve on the Rangitikei reserve. Then a long awaited trip I had booked for an "in memory of Peter" trip with the whole family on the top end of the Wanganui River. We sorted out minding the dogs and animals and everyone made the effort to come. Splendid weather and with a great feeling on my behalf of gratitude for the love that surrounded me we all arrived at Ohinepane a recreation reserve on the wanganui river 20km down from Taumaranui. Jonathan and Amy made their trip from PAlmerston north a real "road trip" and called in to lots of scenic tourist spots. Including the Big gumboot at Taihape, the big carrot at Ohakune, the two engineering masterpieces the Mangaweka railway viaduct and the Matakote railway viaduct as well as the Te Porere Redoubt ( from the Maori Wars) .. The tree in the photo is a lovely totara treee Amy gave Jonathan and I for Christmas, and we have dedicated the tree to Peter. It will be his memorial at the farm.

I had organised getting us all up to the starting pointin Taumaranui and after a couple of hiccups rearranging who went in which canoe we set off. It was a beautiful day and I had flutterbys in my tummy but we all negotiated the first rapids Ok. I am not sure whether I took us through rapid 13 Herlihy's bluff down the big drop by accident or design but we all got through rapids no 14 and 15 Te Whenua, which was where I thought we might have trouble.. Lunch on the bank down on the left bank. Then set off again. Then disaster - to cut a long story short I didnt steer us well on the right hand turn at rapid 16 and realised too late I wasnt going to get us round and we got stuck on a couple of reasonably small rocks. we had to bale out as the canoe tipped up and took on water. Robyn grabbed Annabelle who had been a real little warrior and not cried out and I floated down the quite lengthy and shallow rapid ( my bum took a bit of a hiding) and one dip was big enough for me to go right under. I eventually got to the right bank and saw that Annabelle and Robyn and the canoe were safe on the left bank being helped by Peter Sommerhalder and David who had himself tipped out trying to go in and help Peter. Then when I was thinking that all was well I was told that the top had come off the barrel that we had put our valuables in. I had kept my wallet and watch in my own little dry bag but put my phone in the barrel but Robyn had brought both her phones and her hearing aid and put them into the barrel - so bye bye to phones and hearing aid. She was probably scared and shocked but gave off very angry vibes. I felt quite sick - shocked and upset with myself at such a stupid calamity but it had been Robyn who had done the fastening of the barrel lid so she was probably kicking herself as well. The rest of the trip was actually accomplished well although Robyn was clearly doubting that I would follow her instructions when she called back directions. I found the Canadian canoe not as responsive as a single kayak, they steer OK but slower to respond than what I was used to, and I was possibly naughty using my double paddle instead of the single paddle. On a personal level our little disaster spoilt the day a bit for me but everyone else was having a great time. Karen and Joanthan in one double and Marcus, Amy and Cordelia in the other. Thank heavens Marcus and Amy did well and Callum in a single gained in confidence to the extent he led the way down some of the later rapids. Karen was her usual very positive self and Rachel and David were helpful. Luckily Karen had purchased a waterproof phone bag and they were able to take some photos. Very grateful to Pater Sommerhalder and Su for coming down , Peter for leading us down the river and Sue and theri daughter Heidi who minded the dogs Tui and Topsy.

REgardless of our little disaster, it was a great weekend and everyone co-operated magnificently. The kids will have made a great memory of a memorable family outing.

Most of the group had to leave straight after the paddle, but Robyn stayed overnight and she and I and Peter went down to the river at sunset and quietly said a prayer for Peter and sent him on his way. So after a safe trip home with Callum keeping me company in the campervan, we are now into February and all our activities are starting up again. Looking forward to 2022, hopefully without too many Covid distractions.

August is flying past.

This being retired is keeping me busy. There always seems something i should be doing around the house or garden. My gym sessions havent got me as fit as I want yet but it took a few years to get overweight and unfit so i guess it might take at least a few months to reverse those outcomes. weather was horrible last week and certainly not cycling weather. I have been using the heat pump and hopping into bed relatively early with the electric blanket so not much more winter to go. The daffodils are out and spring is on the way although the first real frost I have had was only a few days ago. last weekend I had another residential weekend in Auckland and after a trip up in the rain I spent a congenial night staying with a friend in wattle downs and then friday visiting othr friends that i havent seen since shifting. Minor fuse problem int he van was fixed by my favourite motor home repair place in South Auckland. My residential weekend was peaceful and some good opportunities for meditation and reflection on study topics. Tui was, as usual, a great little companion and warm huggable body to have along with me. On the way back the forecast was not good so I went as far as Lake karapiro amidst some quite heavy rain and it was no surprise to find no other campervans there. It was a very quiet night albeit a long one, winter nights in campervan are very long but a good book and a hot water bottle make them bearable. Then the next morning I checked google maps and discovered that what i thought might be my alternative route because of a snow forecast was closed. both central routes south of Lake Taupo were closed due to heavy snow falls and I was directed to go via new plymouth which was certainly the long way round but only probably an extra couple of hours driving, so I wasnt too upset. It was an easy drive and rain was intermittent rather than persistent. Home by about 3.30pm so I was in time to do the Cubs and Scouts run int he evening with the children. I have been reading a lot this week - a couple of good books - one a thriller "Archangel" and the other romantic fiction by Jude Deveraux. Also listened to "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek " which i enjoyed - - set in the 1930s and the heroine was a "blue skinned " woman from the Kentucky mountains who was employed as a pack horse mobile librarian bringing books to the pverty stricken people of the Appalachian mountains. well researched and a good story and I am now listening to "Kal" by Judy Nunn - set in kalgoorlie goldfields - family saga - also well researched and interesting. Need to get back to my sewing - I have a couple of projects I want to get finished. One for a significant birthday. Going to be a quiet weekend as we dont have the kids and jonathan and amy both have a busy weekend - amy at Donkey show and Jonathan in wellington at board meeting. I have several commitments planned so quiet is good. Suddenly found out when going to re register the campervan that it didnt get given a wof when i got it serviced back in february so i have been driving round without a warrant of fitness for months! Oops - need to get that sorted. No pictures this time. More later...

Oh my gosh it is almost the end of July

Time is flying by. I have kept myself very busy this colder wetter month. Myheat pump is doing overtime and I jump into bed early with my electric blanket. This last week I have been following on with a "learn to paint" free series of you tube tutorials from the Australian based learn to paint academy. Working in acrylics is in some ways easier than watercoluors but in other ways it is very challenging. certainly I am not a natural artist but I do enjoy having a go although I get very frustrated when the result is not as good as I want it to be. The first picture is a practice still life and the second is a practice of a cottage in the NSW Southern Highlands.

I also registered with a project with the Aotearoa Quilters which is meant to improve the use of colour and design in our quilting. I had what i thought was a good idea but it has necessitated buying extra bits of fabric - damn - I have so much fabric already that I had hoped to only use what I had already on the shelves. Photo will follow later Also been reading some interesting books - I like Ann Cleeves Shetland series - read them all and watched the TV series as well. Some very interesting foreign movies on netflix. Korean, Indian and french and even Turkish - with English subtitles. I took the children to the movie Peter RaBBIT 2 LAST WEEK - Real movie - even popcorn in a real theatre... they enjoyed it - lots of good humour - I enjoyed seeing the kids laughing at the antics of the rabbits in the movie ( it wasnt a cartoon and didnt have horrible violence - no robots, guns or aliens! or monsters) The last three days Amy has been visiting her parents in Christchurch so I drove Jonathon out to the farm each morning and we brought the donkeys and pony into the yards and fed them as well as chickens, ducks, goats and the cows. I drove the quad bike with a bale of hay on the back on the sloping paddock - very carefully! We dodged the forecast rain and I enjoyed the fresh air. Jonathan has been round to my house and decided I need several things fixing eg new railway sleepers to edge the garden at the back fence where the rain and wind has been washing the bark mulch over the lawn, and my gates are warped, so Jonathan wants to re hang them so that they close more easily, and several other outside jobs that I couldnt manage on my own. Very thoughtful of him and I will appreciate his help. My sewing group is a nice group of ladies and the one who lives in my cul de sac is someone I can easily imagine becoming a good friend. This is a quilt I rushed to make in three days for Peter's great grand daughter Willow in Bathurst. She kept trying to steal the one I made for her big brother.

I have continued to go to the gym - and although the weight is not peeling off it hasnt gone back on - definitely the key is as few carbohydrates as possible and no sugar! My legs are still pretty stiff and knees dont bend and lift as easily as they should. But the gym is helping so I will continue. I only had the children 3 out of 5 days last week - school holidays are challenging as Jonathan has had to give lectures each day so we split the kids one to him, one to me and one to Amy.. Amy and Cordelia had a couple of really good days with the new pony. Cordelia is really enjoying him and Amy says Governor ( the pony) is a very quiet easy fellow so far. He is very young and not broken in yet but he let them put a saddle on him and Cordelia sat quietly on him without him batting an eyelid.photos are School holiday activities - girls at my place painting and making models and Cordelia with the new pony. Amy says she is a natural rider and fearless (so far!).

Weather has been pretty cold and wet the last few days but we havent had the torrential rain as bad as the West Coast of teh South Island which has had massive flooding of all the river which come down from the alps. All in all after nearly one year in Palmerston north I am settled in pretty well and happy enough with my move. Good to know family are near should I need them and I am lucky enough to have enough money that I can pretty much do anything I want to like buying paints and fabric when i desire... Even took the family to a restaurant for a dinner in aid of the girls' birthdays. All well but roll on spring! I love the daffodils!

May 2021

 Well autumn is almost over and the winter begun. the month has raced past with a couple of trips away.

The first weekend in May was the local Rose City Quilters Tote and Gloat quilt show which is like a giant "Show and "tell"  - over 100 people displaying their quilts from the last 2 years as lastyear's event was cancelled due to Covid.  I was impressed with the attendance and the standard of organisation and quilts presented.

Then the following weekend  I drove up to Rotorua to the Great NZ Quilt Show and what a wonderful array of quilts were tobe seen. Many would be in th categrory of "Art Quilts", certainly even the more traditional big quilts were of extremely high quality of workmanship and design.  I was able to stay in the car park in the campervan which meant not far to walk and quiet nights. the Event centre is right by the lake and although lots of thermal activity there wasnt too much smell thank goodness. I atttended a  "thread painting"workshop on he Saturday which I enjoyed very much.  I am no expert yet but gained a lot of confidence.   

My little thread painted landscape..

Drive back was Ok although I did not like being on the Desert road after dark.

I had a couple of commitments back in Palmerston north to come back for on the Monday and the Tuesday  and then on the Wednesday i set off up North again basically for a Philosophy group resdiential weekend but by going a couple fo days early i was able to catch up Dorothy and Gilbert on the Friday. My weekend went well and after calling in to the Counties Manukau Quilters Guild show on the way south ( they were my group when I lived in Auckland)  I got as far as Karapiro lake before stopping for the night. An early start the next morning meant I was able to take it more easily and the drive seemed to go really easily. I was back in time to take kids to Cubs and Scouts on Monday night and catch up with the family.  3 quilt shows in three weekends was more than usual I must say. Quite inspiring though. 

1800 km in two weekends was enough driving for a little while though. The autumn colours were absolutely beautiful and gosh one does seem to appreciate natural beauty even more as one gets older. Maybe more time to observe as the mind ismore restful.

I was quite busy with the groups I had joined and heard some splendid seminars on the Future of Food from the U3A organised Autumn seminars. Some real food for thought contained in the talks and very well attended. Particualrly interesting was the concept of  3D printing of food. Sketh group met  in a cafe last week - warm and dry and we did all sketch..

My U3A sketch group

My sketch - sittin in the cafe with a variety of jugs and vases on the shelf.

The weather not too cold yet. I am getting increasingly annoyed at this body of mine - legs are stiffer rather than getting better. Cant get back on the bike until I am confident that the calf muscle will allow me to put out my leg for balance. I have been to aqua aerobics a few times and have also joined the gym. Going to need real discipline to fit in sessions in the gym - the diary is already quite full.But I MUSt do it else I will have real problems.  

The house sewing group I have been invited to join is some interesting and ncie ladies and it has been a real pleasure to join them a couple of times this month. So fortuitous - one lives only two houses from me and her house backs on to my cul de sac. 

29th June  ... Ok so a quick update. we have had a week of wet weather and I did quite a lot of sewing - two neonatal quilts to be donated to the Hospital and a quilt for peter's great grand daughter in Bathurst ( by special request).  Life has been busy the last couple of weeks as i have hit the gym four times a week - including once to aquarobics andonce to a circuit class for active seniors. Today my achilles and calf muscle felt Ok enought o go for a ride on the e bike. I am still alittle nervous abut if I go out each day i will gradually get more confident. Still have the seat lower than it should be so that when i stop I can touch the ground with my toes. I am trying the keto diet and so far it is a nuisance as i desperately am  addicted to nice comfort food but I am being very disciplined and weight loss is starting so keeping my fingers crossed i can keep it going. 

One of my "baby quilts for hospital donation

quilt top for Willow - Peter's great grand daughter in BAthurst

Another quilt top i have made recently

Another baby quilt for donation.  

This morning I took a waffle maker round to Jonathan's to make a special breakfast for our birthday girl Annabelle - 9 years old! Now I have a  quieter week and weekend ahead. I tookt he family all out to a restaurant on saturday night as a bit of a celebration. No more birthdays for a few months!

Annabelle - 9 today - we are going through a tomboy phase but she loves that damn panda! Carts it everywhere.

Weather wise there is apparently a cold Antarctic weather bomb making its way north so we will apparently be getting very much colder in the next few days... But all I do is wind up the heat pump and put on some more clothes. Thank goodness for the electric blanket.  

South Island trip week 1 -

 Week 1

MArlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay

Our first night at nNgati Toa Domain Plimmerton  24th February - closer to Wellington for me to catch the ferry the next day and i couldnt wait to set out. 

Crossed over from the North Island to the South Island on Blue bridge ferry

- over 20 campervans and motorhomes on board. very calm crossing. 

The next day I met up with peter and Sue Somerhalder who had crossed over the day after me, - they have been friends for over 50 years and we parked at Havelock Holiday park - and had a delicious feed of fresh mussels at the Mussel Pot restaurant - gorgeous fleshy mussels. We met up each night that first week, and did 2 boat trips - one the Pelorus Sounds Mailboat cruise and the other the Abel tasman National park

On the Marlborough Sounds mail boat trip leaving from Havelock. Stopped at lots of homesteads and delivered mail and people. Most had no road connections. 

One of the lodges in Pelorus Sound. This one had a restaurant for boaties.

An idyllic setting for a home and farm.

The pets came down to meet the boat and were obviously always given a treat. The pigs were drooling while they waited. 

Tui came along for the ride and was very well behaved. Peter Somerhalder and his wife Sue were with me on the mail boat.

A "stretch your legs" stop - I camped here some 20 years ago on a kayaking trip round the Sounds.

Walking beside the Pelorus river - beautiful and clear

Pelorus river

We parked with Peter and Sue at this private property - a church converted to a private residence - possibly a wedding venue - it was beautiful - one of the NZMCA "POP" Park over Properties - free usually and not crowded.

Peter and Sue in the yellow bus and I at old Macdonalds Holiday Park in Marahau - the start or end point for those walking the Abel Tasman track. We had a very pleasant dinner at a restaurant in Marahau.

Kaiteriteri - where the tours and cruises leave from - would be gorgeous on a blue sky day! Really busy tourist spot. Because of the weather on ly 6 on our cruise but we were given a really personal commentasry and comprehensive look at the whole park - did see seals but no dolphins. 

                                                                                   

Split Apple Rock - quite unique!

Not my photo - but this is one of the beaches - perfect kayaking area. 

 
One of the lovely beaches on the track - we dropped a couple of trampers off here

One of the super curious weka - they would steal anything shiny or food like.

 

Then over the Takaka hill (awesome climb) -  to Golden Bay - walked through a Nikau grove with interesting rock formations at Clifton near Takaka.

I drove up to the base of Farewell Spit but signs in the car park "No dogs allowed even in cars" so I didnt think it politic to go for a walk and leave Tui in the van - hefty $10000 fine! - the Spit tour was not happening because of inappropriate tide times - need absolute low tide to take the vehicles up the Spit 

But Idrove back a bit to where there was a walk through to the most northern part of the West coast - a very deserted piece of beach.

Kaikoha - on the west coast - a 2 km walk across farmland and wetlands to get there

The Langford store, Bainham,  is nestled in the heart of the Aorere valley 15 minutes inland from Collingwood on the way to the Heaphy Track. The general store and post office has been in one family since 1928 and  is full of memorabilia. Serve a quaint tea and scones experience and also expresso coffee for those who prefer.

My last stop that day was to the Te Waikoropupu springs which are the largest freshwater springs in NZ, the largest cold water springs in the Southern hemisphere and contain some fo the clearest water ever measured. 

They were beautiful - and a lovely walk. Lots of NZers enjoying but no tourist buses!

We stayed at the NZMCA park at Port Tarakohe - just out of Takaka - apparently penguins often come ashore here but I didnt see any although i did go for a walk at dusk to see if any were round. Possibly not the right season - apparently it is moulting season. 

The harbour and breakwaters were originally built for shipping out cement from Golden Bay Cement works but further development is planned to cope with  potential of increased mussel markets.

Golden Bay was well worth the trip and  while the dreaded Takaka Hill must have been ghastly in the days when it was a gravel road  it is now reasonable although very steep and some big drop offs and hair pin bends. ( IT was easier when the cloud was down and i couldnt see over the side).  The campervan drove it easily and there were no slips on the road that week although major road works were doing repairs.

So ended week 1.