A cluster of birthdays.

 We've had a little cluster of family birthdays.

On Tuesday I went out for brunch with some of my favourite people to celebrate my birthday. I rang the girls and invited them. Vanessa was working and couldn't make it but Bob, Jacqui and I went and enjoyed a relaxed couple of hours together.

Jacqui arrived with flowers from her garden.

Bob and I both ordered pancakes with berry compote and maple syrup, it was very yum. Jacqui is gluten sensitive so had to get something a bit more boring but she didn't complain.

When we'd finished the waitress brought a little carrot cake out with a candle on it which was a nice surprise. And a doggy bag just in case.

Wednesday was Amy's birthday, a great niece. She turned 17. She's in the North Island and we don't see the family much but her grandparents went up to celebrate with her.

Then came Thursday and wee Theo turned two. We'll take his present over sometime in the weekend.  We've seen photos and videos and it looked like he had a lot of fun. He had cake as well and of course two candles to blow out :)

Most of our birthdays seem to fall in the few months either side of Christmas with just a few scattered throughout the rest of the year. I don't think we have any for a month or so now.

And that is all my news for just now.

Keep well and safe until next time,

Diana

Market Day

Two or three Saturdays ago we caught the bus into town and visited the inaugural Market Day. It was beautiful day and the crowds turned up. The city had put on free buses for anyone who wanted to attend, so we took up the offer. The market was held in the main street and stretched for four or five city blocks. 

Market day is an annual event. Once known as Thieves Alley and held in a small side street it has now outgrown its space. A popular event, there were thousands of people there and numbers were swelled by passengers from the two cruise ships that were in Port.

There was street entertainment  

and stalls of all kinds.

Plants, crafts and food stalls amongst them. I'm afraid that hubby and I sloped off into the mall to eat though, to have a respite from the crowds and also to get out of the sun for a while. Remind me to take a sunhat next time. After several hours we headed back to the bus to join the others who were waiting for their lift home. An enjoyable day out.

Activity around us. We watched scaffolding go up on the house across the drive from us and the next day watched the chimney being demolished. It's a big old house, one of the original on the street and well over one hundred years old I would think. The following day a big storm blew through so there was no activity and the next day I got up and threw the drapes back and there were men up on the roof. Whoops, close the drapes, get dressed, then open them again. I'd forgotten all about the work going on on the roof next door giving anyone who cared to look a great view into our bedroom :)

They removed the old roof and replaced it again all in a day. Pretty quick I thought. A couple of days later there was a man up on another neighbour's roof doing an inspection. We're not about to follow suit though as our roof was fixed a couple of years back.

A house being transported past our place this week. It was in two parts. We'd had notification that this was happening but the route showed that they were using a road further down than us and we wouldn't have access. I don't think we were the ones who were mixed up either as there were cars parked on both sides of the street further down which they had to manoeuvre around. I'm sure they would have been moved if they had thought a house was being transported past them.

That's all I have for today. 

Autumn officially starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. Perhaps the weather will settle for a while. I certainly hope so.

keep well until next time,

Diana

Love Those Sports! ~ Tuesday 4

If you'd like to join in or see what others have to share in this weeks topic just click on the link: Tuesday 4: Love Those Sports!

Love Those Sports! ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Tuesday 4 friends!  I am always so happy to have people come and take part.  The Olympics are taking place and  we just had the Super Bowl for American football so perhaps we can talk about sports a bit.  Thank you to Diana of  Doodles and Daydreams for suggesting sports as a subject for this week! So, let's think about sports this week...........

 1. Do you enjoy any of the sports from the Olympics either Summer or Winter? Would you tell us about it?  

I love watching the summer and winter Olympics but probably more so the summer ones. I always wanted to take part in the Olympics, swimming, but never made the grade. When my sister was picked to go in the regional coaching team as a teenager and only stuck at it for about a month I was so disappointed. I couldn't understand why she didn't make the most of the opportunity. I gave up going to Swimming Club not long after. I guess my siblings and I were quite sporty when we were young. I'm thoroughly enjoying the winter Olympics just now, especially the ski and snow boarding events.

2. What sports have you taken part in and what good did you get out of participating? If not, was there one you wish you had taken part in? Did sports help you in life?

My summer sport was swimming, I was passionate about it, Our public pool wasn't covered and so we had to wait for the warm weather before it opened and that waiting was a terrible time for me :) I played cricket one year during High School and softball one year at Primary. Marching was another summer sport I really enjoyed. I loved the discipline of the marching and taking part in competitions, and I loved our gold and royal blue uniform. Athletics was once a week but I wasn't very good at them.

During winter there were two sports for girls to choose from, as far as I knew, basketball (not to be confused with today's basketball game) or hockey. I opted for basketball. Teams were nine a side and I was a wing defence, couldn't shoot a goal if my life depended on it :) I loved that as well and it is the only winter sport I played until I left school. 

in my netball (basketball) uniform aged about 16

Once I left school I didn't play sports until I came south to live when I played basketball (today's game) for a season but I didn't enjoy it and wasn't very good. Then when I met my hubby I played darts, because he did. I was picked for our local rep team once but played so badly it wasn't funny. We were in a large warehouse in the middle of winter with no heating and I was frozen. That's my excuse anyway :)

 I loved the team sports as they gave me a sense of belonging, when you're shy you need that. But I also loved the competitiveness of the swimming, me against the rest :)

3.  Is there a sport you still engage in or one you enjoy watching a lot?

No, I don't play any sports now, although my girls keep wanting me to join a leisure marching group. I consider it :) Hubby watches sport all the time and I think you can have too much of a good thing. I've tended to stop watching a lot any more, after you've watched the darts every day for almost a year you go off it a bit :) 

4. Have you any favorite teams you cheer on? Or perhaps a favorite sports figure? How about both??

I don't really follow the local teams unless they are playing a rep game, then I'll watch if I'm home. And any of the national teams, after all we're only a small country so we've got to cheer them on. We're a very sporty little nation with some of the top teams in the world for some sports.

What's the most memorable comeback or turnaround you've ever seen in a sports game, and what made it so special?

None that I can think of off the top of my head.

************

Well It's a rotten summer's day today. I have soup simmering on the stove for tea, the rain has been bucketing down and the Silverstream at the bottom of the street is in flood. Some schools have been closed and there is some surface flooding. But I won't complain - the North Island has taken a hammering in the past fortnight, first the top half and now the bottom half and top of the South Island. We're only getting the tail end of the weather bomb.

photo courtesy Taieri Community Board

So keep well until next time,

 blessings,

Diana

Tuesday 4 - Watching TV

It's time again for Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 and I hope you are in the mood for it. If you'd like to take part just click on the link:  Tuesday 4

Television has become part of life for many. 

Let's talk about Television okay?

1. Do you own a TV or do you have more than one? Is it old fashioned or one of the new wide screens?

We have one. I suppose our telly would be classed as old fashioned but I'm old enough to remember rabbit ears and getting up to change channels - we only had 2. Sooo...to me ours is modern. Not wall mounted, not 54 inch or larger, just your standard sit in the unit tv. It suits us or has done, hubby has made noises a couple of times lately about getting a big one for the wall but I want a new kitchen bench top. So we're at a bit of an impasse.  :)

2. Which progams do you like to watch ?

We like quiz shows, not game shows so much. At the moment we're enjoying Tenable. Sports are on quite a bit and we're enjoying the winter Olympics just now. Good to see a local hometown girl competing too. Other than that I pick and choose, I prefer to read really.

3. Were you ever a soap opera or serial fan and if so what series or soaps were your favorite?

I enjoyed the original Forsyte Saga series way back in the day but can't get into the remake of it. Also Midsomer Murders was a favourite and we watch reruns when there's nothing else on. I enjoy Call the Midwife too but its not on just now. Currently we're watching The Piano, where amateur pianists were invited to play a piano in various railway stations in Britain. Several were selected from each venue, then one from each group was invited to play in a concert with world renowned pianist Lan Lan and singer songwriter Mika. Each one who took part was invited to the final concert which we're watching tonight. Which means we'll have to find something else we both want to watch :)

4. Is there a TV character that stands out in your mind and if so what makes them special or noteworthy? 

No, sorry.

I hope you're having a good week. We started the day off having coffee with friends from Aussie who are away to other parts tomorrow. It was great being able to catch up for an hour this morning.

Have a good day and stay well until next time.

Diana

Wal's for lunch

 Out of the blue today Bob said 'lets go to Wal's for lunch'. So we did. Although it's only a five minute walk from home we take the car as half that time is walking up a dirt path and Bob's legs are not the best. I'm not sure whether he finds the dirt path or the asphalt footpath worse but he won't walk it.

Wal's Plant & Fun Land also has a cafe attached. On the left of the picture below is the mini golf course and the Miniature railway runs around the periphery. Another great attraction for kids and adults when it's running. I remember having a ride on it myself many moons ago :)

When you come out of the cafe its straight into the tunnel house with all its young seedlings and bushes that are waiting to be planted out.

It's always nice to take stroll through and browse the plants. Sometimes we even buy something, which I suppose is the reason for this being the way to the exit. Clever marketing.

To the right of the tunnel house is a large open area with all the more mature trees, bushes and roses. It's lovely in the summer just to stroll through, though we didn't today as I was feeling the cold. There's also this old rusty tractor.

Indoor plants and accessories are in a big open barn like space at the end of the tunnel house and no choice here either but to go through it if you want to leave :)

Turn 180 degrees and you are in the gift shop. There are some lovely items and we have been known to buy the girls Xmas presents from here. The exit is halfway down the gift shop :)

As well as plants, gift shop and cafe Wal's also has mini golf, a driving range, a maze and an ice cream stall and is a popular place with families. I haven't found the maze yet, let alone found my way around it :) I wouldn't mind having a go one day though but I don't really think it's Bob's cup of tea. Maybe when sis comes over in a few weeks we'll go and do it. 

That's it for today. 

Take care until next time, 

Diana

Anniversary lunch and Sooty.

 It's our wedding anniversary today so we decided to go to a pub for lunch as opposed to going to one of the local cafes. The cafes are good if you want something light or just a cuppa and cake but we wanted a hot meal so we could forget about cooking tonight. That was my plan anyway seeing as I would most likely be the one cooking. Mitchell's where we used to go has burnt down so we thought we'd try the Waterloo just down the road from where it was. Well, we'll certainly be going back. I had roast beef and Bob had the fish meal. Medium. I wouldn't like a full sized meal, I managed this one but...

Both meals cost less than $20 each.

On the way home we decided to call in and see eldest daughter Jacqui and have a cuppa with her. That is how the next sequence of photos came about with Sooty.

As soon as I sat down Sooty, who has been 16 for about three years, decided my knee was the ideal place to sit. His backside is also on my arm so not really the best place but he was comfortable apparently.

I also had my legs crossed so he had to hold on...and his claws don't retract so no sudden moves on my part.

After a short snooze he spotted my open handbag and decided to explore the inside. Luckily nothing in there that he could harm.

No, that's not very interesting maybe I'll just use it to rest on.

Eventually he decided my lap was the best place and curled up and had a nice snooze while we drank tea and caught up on the family news.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Sooty. I haven't posted about any cats for a few years, not since my friend went into care. Her cats were the ones who made my headlines so to speak :)

That's it for this week.

With all thats happening in the world take care and keep safe until next time.

Diana

Tunnel walk

 The North Island family have flown home again but while they were here we went for a walk through the newly opened Chain Hills Tunnel walking and cycling track on one of our sunny summer days. They've been few and far between so we make the most of them when they come about.

 I was wanting to walk through it and was thrilled when granddaughter Chloe rang to see if I wanted to join them, I didn't want to go by myself. She said 'Mum will be by to pick you up in a few minutes'. So I grabbed a quick snack for lunch, a glass of orange and then we were away.

When we arrived at the carpark the kids were already playing on the swings next to the community hall.

Once baby was in her pram we set off. Seven of us plus Sassy, the dog.

It was a couple of hundred metres further down the road to the track entrance then up a slight rise before we came to the tunnel entrance.

We hoped the lights wouldn't go off while we were inside, well I did anyway, but there were quite a few people doing the walk and I'm guessing we all pressed the button before we entered. No one wanted to be left in the dark.

It must have been a tight squeeze for a train to get through here.

No not a toilet stop just the kids playing with the stones.

Out the other end.

And a short stop before we headed back.

Baby had woken by now and wanted to walk with Mum ☺️

A short walk through a bit of bush and we were on the homeward leg.

 Eventually the tunnel track will link up with other tracks and tunnels on this side of the city to make a good long track for those who want to make a real adventure of it.

It was an enjoyable walk with family and I was away from home for just about an hour and a half so not too taxing for us older people :)

******

Take care out there. and keep safe, there are a lot of weather related disasters happening in the world, from fires and floods to severe snowstorms and land slips.

My prayers are with the people in our North Island and the families who have lost loved ones.

blessings

Diana