May and June

May was a busy month. After our trip to Wellington I went on a four day sewing retreat with my small sewing group - they call it a house group. we meet weekly.The weekend before the local big quilting club had a big Show with over 500 attending and the only one I exhibited was my entry in the scrap challenge - we were given 25 random 2 1/2 inch squares and asked to make a wall hanging. I had a vey disparate group of squares ranging from cars to flowers but was quite pleased with the result once I had added 65 of my own 2 1/2 in scrap squares. This is my entry. No prize this time as I didnt get it handed in by the specified date and time. A lesson learned.

and these were taken at the sewing retreat

These photos are from the retreat weekend - only five of us made it to the lovely property in a very isolated valley north west of Kimbolton, Sadly two of the group came down with positive Covid tests after the show the previous weekend. The purple quilt was specially made with one block by each of us for Judith who is a long time member of the group who had had to have both legs amputated a few weeks before. It was intended to be a lap quilt for using with her wheel chair although it currently lies on her bed. The next week I had arranged to go up to Auckland with the excuse i wanted to deliver my brothers 70th birthday quilt - only 9 months overdue due to lockdown restrictions. Also intended to visit lots of friends. The road trip both ways was windy and wet - not much fun for driving at all but it was a lovely week and I stayed a couple of nights at my brothers home in Herne Bay and the other nights I stayed at the School of Philosophy premises in Glendowie ( park like grounds) and a secure, quiet place to park myself in my campervan. I needed to be somewhere with wifi as i had two Zoom weekend long meetings at either end of my week in Auckland. I had a couple of lovely walks with Gilbert including a quick trip over to Takapuna beach with the dogs. The beautiful view is out over the Tamaki Estuary from Glendowie.

class="separator" style="clear: both;">

A very special day

Jonathan's investiture ceremony was at government house in wellington on the 4 May and he was allowed 6 guests so we all got to go, children included plus the Chief Executive of Blind Citizens Association Rose who has worked so closely with Jonathan over the last few years. We went down the evening before and stayed at the Brentwood hotel - dinner at an indian restaurant in kilbirnie "Chili Peppers"

and then a fairly excited bunch of kids who did eventually get to sleep. Early thr next morning and everyone was dressed in their best. Amy had even had her fingernails and toenails done - and the kids all had some new items of clothing. we were a pretty spick and span group who arrived early enough to get a space in the Government house visitors parking area. Then on into the ballroom which was arranged in a very welcoming manner - each recipient had a table that would seat 7 with everyone able to face th front. Paintings of the Queen, magnificent chandeliers, lots of gold braided military personnel around, and we got the centre front table ( probably to ensure joanthan and the guide dog had an easy route to the dais). The refurbished Governmetn hosue was beautiful with lots of wonderful NZ wood panelling and carvings abounding.

Frightfully efficient organisation, lots of clipboards and name ticking plus precise instructions about where to stand and when. Jonathan got taken away to be officially welcomed into the room by the GG's official Kuia and then Dame Cindy Kiro and her husband Dr Richard Davies came in. The knighthood on Sir Rocert Gillies, the last remaining Maori Battalion member was conferred with the sword. He did well considering he must have been at least 96 or 97 years old - the old soldier was very straight and upright although needed a bit of a support when he knelt before the GG. Jonathan was third to go for this Officer of the NZ Order of Merit and brought a bit of a laugh when Force, the guide dog, forgot his dress rehearsal and sat himself between Jonathan and the GG when she went to clip his medal on. A very proud moment ( I didnt cry but I did wish his father had been there to see it).

After the presentations we were served High tea and there was plenty, on the traditional three tiered stands. Lovely sandwiches, savouries and little cakes and some nice figs and cheese. Bubbly was offered as well as a manuka honey flavoured sparkling water.

Each recipient and whanau went in for a private audience with Dame Cindy and her husband - delightful extra touch we didnt expect. she shook hands with each of us ( our youngest Cordelia went all shy and didnt shake) but the other kids were good.

After we were ushered out we were able to take a bit of a tour of the lower floor of governmetn house and some of the gifts in the glass cupboards were admired by the children... gold and silver items especially. We went into the State dining room with its specially embroidered chairs - one for each area of NZ.

The a quick change of clothes for our driver - Amy wanted out of her fancy clothes as fast as possible - and a very easy drive back through the new Transmission Gully motorway. What a memorable day for all of us. The photos are superb, so glad we were all dressed nicely. Hopefully i will get some of them framed. The children were playing it cool but they will remember the day I am sure.

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!