Road trippin'

On a blue sky day.

We had a couple of messages to do up the street before we left but were still away by 10:45am as we had planned. Whilst up the street I decided to change my clothes as I was already too hot and it was going to be hotter where we were going. No I didn't change while I was out, we went back home and my GKB also picked up a light jacket - just in case. Luckily going home was in the same direction as we were going so no time lost really.

We were on our way through the Manuka Gorge when I thought maybe I should take some pictures. So below is part way through. It gets quite rugged in places with a bit of bush overarching the road but the road itself is well maintained.

Coming out of the gorge into farming country.

Lawrence is a gold mining town and very proud of it's heritage buildings and mining equipment from back in the day. They hold an annual Heritage carnival which I've been to once. A family day with family friendly activities.

We were to have met up with Jacqui's partner for lunch but he never arrived. He was away working and we're guessing he just plain forgot :) We sat outside Bellview Wetlands, ate chips (crisps) and  had a bottle of ginger beer each then went on our way.

But not before we headed up to the Gabriel Read memorial. Gabriel Read was the man who discovered gold in the gully and so started the Otago gold rush.

On the road again until we arrived in Ettrick and stopped at what used to be our favourite wee cafe until it began to get rundown. It has new owners now so we thought we'd drop in for lunch and have a looksee. This is where we sat. It is so nice now and we'll definitely be making it our stop once again when we're up that way.

After lunch we were back on the road again. We were looking for a fruit stall selling peaches, we'd already stopped and bought plums, cherries and apricots from another roadside stall. We were in Fruitlands, orchard country. Stone fruit and berries in the summer, apple and pears later in the year. We bought a box of peaches that had been on the tree while we were eating our lunch - they were still warm from the sun.

Heading home again, sheep on one side of the road

and cattle on the other, not sure whether they're beef or dairy

 but look quite young.

There weren't a lot of campervans on the road, most people 

travelled home at the weekend I imagine, but we sat behind

 this one for a mile or two.

Crossing the new Beaumont bridge over the Clutha River.

Two horses looking hot in the mid afternoon sun in 

a paddock beside the river.

Look closely and you can see both the old bridge and the new one. The new bridge is only about a year old.

Back through Lawrence, the road heading home :)

A stop at Milton for ice cream, a family tradition when travelling from Central Otago, and only about half an hour from home.

The fruits of our trip. Some still in the fridge and some shared with a friend. Most family have just recently been through so didn't want any.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out and I hope it's not too long before we do it again :)

That's all for now.

Until next time

Diana

Trimmed

My GKB was getting worried about how he was going to get the hedges trimmed as they were getting rather overgrown and shaggy. Just recently we changed from our old rubbish bin collector, which we paid a fee for, to the city council one which was covered in our rates. This meant swapping some of our old bins for the council ones. 

The council green waste bin was quite a bit smaller than the old one and meant we were only able to mow half the lawn at a time and get the clippings in the bin. The other half was done the following week. No way were we getting garden weeds in let alone hedge clippings. 

But the kids must have been discussing it as this weekend eldest daughter, Jacqui, and her partner arrived with all the right gear on the back of the ute and got stuck in.  Well the men got stuck in, Jacqui and I drank tea, gossiped and kept out of their way.

The growth was quite prolific as it has been a warmish (🙄) 

summer (??) as well as a wet one. So everything is very lush.

Even after being trimmed back it's still looking nice, thick and green, and all the cuttings have been taken away on the back of the ute.

We ordered a new bin, but they won't swap them over, just deliver the larger one so that we now have two green bins and an extra fee to pay once a year. Never mind though, we now have more than enough green bins for our needs, 😄

And that's it from me today.

Have a nice weekend, keep well, keep safe, especially those of you in the fire or snow affected states in the US.

Prayers are being said for all.

Diana

Bookended

We had another wonderful day yesterday. It started with my GKB bringing me a fat envelope he had found in the letterbox. It was a lovely wee notepad and a Christmas card with a thankyou note from Friday Light, the outreach I cook for every now and then 

In the afternoon I went over to grand daughter's house. She's going away for a few days and we've volunteered to feed the cats. We had a nice chat over a cold drink and she showed me where everything is, and yes, I remembered to come away with a key to the house.

And finally our Christmas Eve dinner was going to happen, nine days late, but who's counting. I spent quite a bit of time in the morning preparing the fruit salad for dessert, mostly fresh fruit, yum.

Finally it was time to head over to Aaron's place for our meal where we sat out on the deck in the late afternoon sun and waited for the hostess to appear. She'd gone to visit a neighbour and lost track of the time. But it didn't matter, we enjoyed each other's company over nibbles and a drink. She was a bit embarrassed when she finally arrived back but we just had a good laugh.

Aaron had spent the day preparing a roast meal, lamb from a friend's farm accompanied by new potatoes, roast pumpkin, carrots and parsnip with gravy. It was delicious and I ate far too much. DIL then brought out a fresh cheese board and crackers while we were sitting letting our meal settle. You don't need this, I thought, but that didn't stop me from indulging. I should have known better, I knew there was still dessert to come.

After dessert, which I also ate too much of, we blobbed inside in front of the telly and did some karaoke. It was a lot of fun. Some of us performed beautifully, some of us just looked on and enjoyed - and laughed.

And as we were leaving we were given another Christmas gift. A gift box of barbecue sauces, rubs and nibbles. Another lovely surprise. You could say the day was bookended with gifts. 😄

When we arrived home I said to my GKB that really I should go for a run around the block after all that food but of course I was only kidding. I had a cup of tea and went to bed instead.

I did go for a walk this afternoon though, albeit a short one.

Keep well and keep enjoying the holiday season.

Diana

New year, new memories.

 The house is tidy.

The lawns are mowed.

The hedge clippings are raked up and in the bin.

The grands and the great grands have flown away home.

We're pretty well ready for 2025 although we probably won't see it in.

Tomorrow is the first of 365 empty days to fill with adventures and memories.

May 2025 bring all you hope and pray for.

Happy New Year.

Diana

A wonderful family Christmas

 Christmas is over for another year and we are sitting relaxing on a quiet Boxing day. We managed to do everything we wanted and I even managed to bake us a Christmas cake. I bought tins of biscuits and chocolates for the family instead of baking them cakes this year. I don't think they minded. 

On Christmas Eve afternoon in recent years our church has combined with one of the other local city churches to put on a free family festival. There are bouncy castles, food stalls and games and competitions and the last half hour is a presentation of the Christmas story. The local community has received it well and numbers have grown each year. I usually invite my little great grands and this year Arlo came along. He had lots of fun and food. The other two were away out with their paternal grandparents :)

That night I went to a Carol service at one of the local  Presbyterian churches as I'd been unable to attend any of the Christmas services in my own church for various reasons :(  It was a lovely service and I managed to sit with a friend I hadn't seen for quite some time. When I got home we watched It's a Wonderful Life on DVD, I always enjoy this movie at Christmas time.

Christmas Day dawned grey but warm and a bit humid. It was already 20C when we left to have breakfast with our eldest daughter at 9:30am. It stayed grey and muggy all day. Breakfast was simple, only the four of us and we had bacon, eggs, tomatoes and new potatoes chipped and fried with toast. Followed by tea or coffee. Just what we'd ordered. We never have a cooked breakfast so really enjoyed it for a change.

And then about 11:30ish we headed over to our eldest grand daughter's home to deliver presents and wish them Merry Christmas. We sat and chatted over a drink and Christmas fare for a while and headed home again to watch the live stream of our church's Christmas day service that had been held while we were having breakfast. Aaron had recovered from covid which was just as well as he was the service leader :)

Before long we were away again to our youngest daughter's home where most of the family were gathering for a late Christmas lunch. Yes, all the covid patients were finally testing negative by Christmas Day. Luckily we were able to open the doors and let the kids run around outside, and in. Lunch was cold ham and salads which we followed with cold desserts. Gifts were opened in stages, whenever someone felt like handing some out, which made for a nice relaxed time.

 Eventually in the early evening  we arrived home after a busy and enjoyable day - just in time for the King's Christmas message followed by the Princess of Wales' 'Together at Christmas' service. Tired but happy. I'd like to tell you I slept like a log but I think I'd eaten too much sugary food and found myself sitting up reading at 2 in the morning.

I hope your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours was.

Until next time enjoy the remainder of the Christmas season.

Diana.

A New Zealand Christmas carol

Te Harinui performed by Stonefields Choir

1. Not on a snowy night
   By star or candlelight
   Nor by an angel band
   There came to our dear landTe Harinui
   Te Harinui
   Te Hari-nu-i
   Glad tid-ings of great joy
   
   
2. But on a summer day
   Within a quiet bay
   The Maori people heard
   The great and glorious word

3. The people gathered round
   Upon the grassy ground
   And heard the preacher say
   I bring to you this day

4. Now in this blessed land
   United heart and hand
   We praise the glorious birth
   And sing to all the earth

The best laid plans...

It was all going so well. We were  all prepared for Christmas. The family from Palmerston North have arrived and are staying at one of their cousin's homes.

Most of the Christmas presents are wrapped and waiting to be delivered and the cards are all written and posted away.

Dinner was organised for New Years Eve at our son's home. Just them, us and his sisters and their husbands. None of us have little ones in the house and the teenagers who will be here have their own plans.

Breakfast was planned at our eldest daughter's place for Christmas Day and late lunch at our youngest daughter's. Everyone knew what they needed to bring to contribute to the meals.

But then this morning  a message from DIL- 'Mum, Aaron has tested positive for covid. I don't think we'll be able to do dinner on the 24th'. 'Never mind, I said, it's only the adults and we can do it after Christmas sometime'.  

Fast forward to this afternoon and another message, this time from our youngest daughter - 'Mum, Daniel (her teenage son) has tested positive for covid as well. We're not canceling yet but just letting you know'.

So now it's a waiting game. Monday will tell whether our best laid plans work out or are canceled. Monday is when they are able to come out of isolation if they're clear. It could be a quiet Christmas. The only thing for certain is that breakfast is still on :)

And Christmas will happen regardless.

Remember - Jesus is the reason for the season.

In case I don't get back before Christmas, Christmas blessings to you all and every best wish for 2025. Have a wonderful time whatever you are doing.

Diana