A stroll on the floodbank

It's a lovely blue sky day today after some very cool and wet 'back to winter' days, and quite warm, so I decided to go for a walk along the Silverstream. 

The trees and bushes were in full bloom, so I thought I'd share some photos of some of them.

New Zealand native - cabbage tree (Cordyline australis). This has a white flower but I think I've missed them. It looks like they've died off already.  A friend planted this, she was given it as a gift but it didn't fit with her garden so she planted it over the fence on the flood bank. I'm quite partial to the cabbage tree although some people find them ugly.

Another native - kowhai. Beautiful yellow flowers. The birds love these flowers for their nectar.

Rhododendron over the hedge in someone's back garden.

Ornamental cherry.

And coming home the wind came up as you can see. Another ornamental fruit tree.

The householders are pretty good at keeping the patch in front of their homes tidy. Can you see the fellow mowing the grass?

And if you look carefully you might spot a cyclist heading away into the distance.

Things are getting back to normal here. I have started back at the shop and hopefully will get to church tomorrow; someone is picking me up. Bob's short term carers have finished and he is pleased to be able to shower without supervision :) A physio is still coming in two or three times a week though. He's also doing one or two light chores and baked some buns yesterday. It's just his speech he needs to work on - we're still waiting to see a speech therapist.

And that is it from me.

keep well until next time,

Diana

A 50th birthday

It is a beautiful warm, blue sky day today. I went for a walk earlier before it got too hot but it was already 24 F by the time I got home. After lunch I thought I'd sit outside in a nice shady spot but unfortunately the wind spoilt things so I'm back inside.

A week or so after we came out of hospital we celebrated our youngest daughter's fiftieth birthday. 

Her birthday had actually happened while we were in hospital so she decided to celebrate after we arrived home. Aaron and Sofi had also decided to come down from Auckland to visit us and so she put her party off until they arrived. She didn't want anything fancy, just dinner at home with her hubby and her brother and sister and their partners. She didn't think the kids would be interested but the boys had other ideas and turned up anyway, bearing gifts.

We went out shopping in the morning and bought her a nice present and some flowers. Jacqui and I had already wrapped a lot of silly and fun little presents for her and we bought a 50th helium balloon. One of the boys' girlfriends, baked a cake - decadent chocolate, yum. Very rich.

Vanessa had cooked a lovely roast meal and set it up as a buffet. Roast lamb and chicken with roast veges, peas and salads for those who preferred it. And new potatoes. We had fruit salad and jelly with cream and ice cream for dessert as well as the chocolate cake. At the end of the day there was enough left for us to bring some home for another meal.

And seeing as we were all together it was a good opportunity for a family photo, even if only two of the grands were there and one great grand.

It was a lovely day with the family, and we didn't have to do a thing. It does make me feel old though, knowing my baby is fifty :)

*****

As for our health, we are getting there slowly. Bob is doing remarkably well and has started doing some of the light chores around the place again. We are still waiting for a speech therapist to see him but at the moment he has a physio coming in to do exercises with him three times a week. I am starting back volunteering at the shop this week and I'm hoping I'll be cleared to drive again soon.

And that's it from me for today.

keep well,

Diana

Update

Good evening, all. I thought I would quickly nip in and tell you where we are at since my last post.

Bob is doing extremely well after the stroke. Within an hour of it happening he was being airlifted from our hospital in Dunedin to Christchurch hospital by helicopter. Their stroke unit is apparently better equipped than the local one and they removed three blood clots from his brain. His right side is affected but he is walking well unaided but having a bit of difficulty with his speech. Our girls drove up the next day so that he had some family support while there.

I spent three days in hospital in Dunedin while they ascertained what was wrong with me but we're both home now with a good support team in place. Bob has carers coming in three times a week to supervise his showers and from next week will have physio and speech therapy. There's also someone coming in once a week to do the heavy housework, but that's probably only temporary - until I recover more. In theory the support is all for Bob as the social worker decided I was well enough to do things for myself without bothering to come and see me. I wasn't impressed.

We both get tired easily and I don't have a lot of energy. A funny story - when Bob's carer left today I decided to go back to bed for an hour as we'd had a busy day yesterday with appointments and I was still tired even after an early night. I had a lovely hour sleeping, got up and dressed and who should arrive but the needs assessor who wanted to see how he managed getting on and off the bed - which I hadn't yet made! Ah well, these things happen and I don't suppose it is the first unmade bed she has seen. 

Thank you so much for the prayers, God has been good in answering them and I am deeply grateful to Him and you all for lifting us up in prayer.

I don't know when my next post will be, things are still a little unsettled.

Take care,

blessings,

Diana

Taking a blog break.

 Good morning. Just checking in to say I'm taking some time off. 

Bob has had a stroke and still in hospital. My body reacted by having a Takotsubo Syndrome event so I've been in hospital as well. Just home yesterday.

I'd appreciate prayers if anyone feels so inclined. I'll be back when things settle down a bit. 

Look after yourselves, 

blessings,

Diana

Spring's coming.

 I haven't been blogging much lately. I've had a cataract op so my eye is still on the mend but the fortnight prior to the op I also had a cluster of migraines. Not fun believe me. I have checked in a couple of times but haven't been up to commenting, so I apologise for that. I really need to wait until I'm discharged and I'm able to see properly to type much. I still have a little double vision and some blurring but otherwise I seem to be healing well.

Anyway, I thought I'd post a few spring blossom and flower pics I've taken while out and about when the weather is nice. Not many though. Camellias seem to be blooming well just now. And the garden is my daughter Jacqui's.

Your new town - Tuesday 4

 Welcome to Tuesday 4 begun  by Toni Taddeo and kept up in her memory. We are so glad to have you joining in!   You can make your post as elaborate or as simple as you wish. The object really is to share with others.

This week let us talk about a new town/city/village that you are going to create.   It is brand new.

1.  You are establishing a new community.    Where will it be located? What will the surroundings be like? Describe the environment and the weather which you get to create.

Not too big or too small. Large enough to have all the shops and facilities that we need but small enough to have a community feel. It would definitely be located further north of here but I would like it to be near the sea or a lake so I could take walks on the beach. The weather would be temperate, not so cold it snows but not too hot either - but it's nice to experience all the seasons.

2.  You are in charge of naming this new town.   What will you call it and is it a town, village , city? Is it country, suburb or city? 

We're in a town and it would be named Mackburgh.

3.   What features will your new town have? Library? parks? restaurants?  Rural or metropolitan area?

My town is in a rural area but with access to a larger city and has good public transport for those times city visiting is necessary. There would definitely be a library, books are expensive to buy and childrens parks as well as spaces for teenagers to skate, bike or whatever. A couple of supermarkets and primary and secondary schools as well as daycare facilities for babies and the elderly. There would be motels and a hotel and of course a restaurant or two, most of us like to eat out occasionally.

4.  Your new town has a high school and it is your job to name it.  What name do you give it?

The high school is called The Aurora Secondary School and it's colours would be red and blue.

Join in the fun at Tuesday 4: Your New Town

And that's it for today. 

Keep well, and enjoy life.

 blessings

Diana

Random ramblings

It's been a much slower week and to be honest I think I needed it. My cold didn't get too bad but I had a couple of days where I had no energy and didn't do anything much except sit. I couldn't even be bothered reading - and that's not me. But apart from a blocked nose and a post nasal drip (yay) I'm pretty good. I just need it to clear up completely before I go for my cataract op in about three weeks.

The country has experienced a couple of big earthquakes in the past couple of weeks. One in the South Island and one up north. We were relaxing in the evening when our chairs began rocking and we were getting ready to head to a safer position in the house when it stopped. Phew. It was centred on the other side of the island and lasted about 30 seconds and was felt all over the South Island. The second one was just a couple of days ago in a more populated area but no injuries and not a lot of damage to buildings thankfully. My granddaughter was woken by the jolt but the rest of the household slept through. Of course there were the normal slips and roads out in both events. But that is the joy of living in the shaky isles on the Pacific ring of fire :)

The Commonwealth Games have begun in Glasgow, and we watched the opening ceremony yesterday. There are seventy-four teams and I did feel sorry for the King and Queen having to sit there smiling and clapping as they all paraded in. We watched a few of the events yesterday morning, it was too cold to do anything else. It was snowing in the hill suburbs but thankfully not here. We'll watch more as they go on, depending on what sports are happening. I enjoy the swimming as that was my sport when I was young. Bob just enjoys sports :)

My niece has started a fb page this week which she has named The Creaky Knees Group :) She's hoping to encourage people to keep moving and have fun as well. Our fun thing this week, yes I joined, was to paint a stone or rock with dots. Well I found a stone, bought some paint pens and had a go. I was disappointed with my result but after a second coat it looks better. I may even do a third coat. Why do retailers hang things (read paint pens) upside down when the instructions say to store flat or tip/nib down? I'm sure it would have turned out better if there had been more paint in the tips.

My paint offering after a second coat. Not the ideal stone but the best I could find. And not a masterpiece :)

And I think I'll leave you there.

Have a good week.

Blessings,

Diana