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

Baby has a name

My GKB was up and out of the house before I was out of bed today. I was wide awake at 5am and sound asleep when it was time to rise. He saw where the greengrocer had very cheap fruit today and didn't want to miss out, especially on the strawberries. It was all sitting on the bench when I went out for breakfast. I think we'll be enjoying strawberries and ice cream some time during the evening :)

It was a beautiful blue sky day last Saturday when five of us drove down to Gore for an Aglow leaders retreat. I'm no longer a leader but was invited to go, which was really nice. We had a lovely day enjoying each others company and eating lunch out on the deck. It was a bit breezy but warm and with a garden like this who cared? Not me:) During the course of the day I had some personal insights which were then affirmed on Tuesday evening by a lady who hadn't been there and knew nothing about me. Very encouraging.

This is a beautiful garden with several 'rooms', the one at the very end of the section with seats and a swing :) Good fellowship, good teaching and good food! What more could you ask for.

And as per the post title, baby has a name. 

Lucia (with a soft c) Carolitta. Very pretty I think.

This is Lucia after her first bath - which didn't happen until after the cord had fallen off! Things have certainly changed since I had my babies :)

It's been very warm and wet in the past week or so and so the growth around about has been lush. This is down the side of our driveway. The foxgloves are looking a bit shabby because of the wind, which hasn't really let up though it isn't so strong as it was. We're hoping eldest daughter's partner is going to come and cut bushes and hedges back before too long.

 I'm slowly getting what I call my garden into shape for the holidays. With the wind has come the pollen and I can only be out in it for about twenty minutes at a time then need to come in. Hayfever is a real bummer. I blame my lovely wee maternal grandmother :) she used to get it too and spent most of spring and summer indoors due to not having the access to antihistamines that we have today.

On the domestic front I have finally got cracking on my Christmas cakes. We bought the ingredients a few weeks ago but I've only just got started today. This is the GF one for Jacqui. I think I'll need to buy a new cake pan though as this is not quite as big as the normal cake so is not so deep. I think it would be a nicer cake if it was deeper.

And that is about it for now. 

Keep smiling until next time and enjoy this Advent season.

Diana

Random happenings

I've been out tidying up the garden in front of the house today. I started weeding it about a week ago but rain interrupted and I never got back to it until now. It was looking awfully untidy once the jonquils had died leaving just the leaves. They still haven't died off but I managed to get the weeds out and it looks a lot better. 

Peony in bud. It's going to look gorgeous when it flowers. 

 Miniature rose in full bloom. No I don't know what it's called but I love the colour. Sadly it's not scented.

This is the wee jacket I sent our new baby, the grey is lighter than it shows in this picture and it looks quite attractive. They decided not to find out whether they were expecting a girl or a boy and I thought these colours would suit either. And no, she doesn't have a name yet - I just call her Sweetpea at the moment. As my sister said we can't keep calling her 'she'.

And this wee fellow came for a visit at the weekend. Theo was our youngest great grand but now he is a big cousin. Here he's eating chippies and laughing at Great grandad who was pulling silly faces. He's a sweetheart at 18 months.

A couple of Sundays ago there was a plant sale in the grounds of the school where we hold our church services. We were praying for good weather as if it had rained we would have had to move out of the hall so they could come inside. It's an annual event and as you can see the weather was good to us. Several of us wandered around after the service but I never bought anything. I had plants at home I'd already been given and still have to get in :)

And a sunset one night last week. The colours were quite deep, they haven't shown up very well. It's not the Aurora which I forgot all about, and was quite spectacular from the photos I've seen. I thought our sunset was quite spectacular too :)

And that is all I have for this time.

We haven't been out and about much of late 

so not a lot of interest to talk about.

Keep well, keep smiling, until next time,

Diana

A new addition

          We have welcomed a new addition to the family. A lovely little girl joined us at the beginning of last week.

  Big brother was very, very disappointed she wasn't a boy but now is quite besotted.

Big sister is just in love and very proud.

    She doesn't have a name as yet but I'm sure it will suit her beautifully when she does.

    I don't know when we'll get to meet her as she's in the North Island but I hope it's not too long.

That's all for now.

See you soon,

Diana

Here and there

Well the kids have been here ... and now they're there. 

 It's been quite an emotional few weeks.

And I'm feeling a little blue.

My GKB came home from hospital and the next day was Aaron's ordination. He wasn't able to attend but I went with Jacqui our eldest daughter, our youngest daughter was away visiting her grandchildren for Easter or she'd have been there too. 

Aaron and Sofi after a relaxed but suitably formal service. 

Very proud Mum and sister.

There was a nice celebratory supper put on afterwards.

Aaron called in on his way home and donned his robes so his father could have his photo taken as well which was really thoughtful of him. We appreciated that :)

A couple of days later it was time for our house group to farewell them so we had raspberry chocolate cake before we started our study that evening. Yum. Very rich though.

Then at the weekend the family wanted to have a farewell get together and as Vanessa was home from her visit we gathered at her place. Nothing formal, we had takeaways - fish n chips, Chinese and pizza so there was something for everyone. Including the wee fellow.  Followed by GF cream puffs :)

Not long after Aaron and Sofi left on their trip north to their new home and appointments in Auckland.

They crossed on the ferry on a beautiful day, after the crossings had been cancelled for three days due to stormy weather. 

Out for a meal with Chloe, Atu and the kids in Palmerston North.

They drove up and stayed with friends and family or called in for coffee and a catchup on the way.

Catching up for coffee with Andrew in Cambridge,

and spending money in his shop before they left.

Then arriving in Auckland to discover their furniture hadn't arrived and was still on the wharf in Picton. I was quite pleased to hear that's where it was as we'd seen containers toppled on the wharf in Wellington due to the winds and hoped theirs wasn't among them.

So they're camping in their new home at the moment. Luckily they'd packed their camping gear in the car in anticipation of their first night being without furniture so are coping okay for now.

So they've been here, and now they're there. Not a five minute drive away but a two hour flight. Sigh.

Hoping everyone is well and enjoying the season, whatever it is. There is always beauty to be found in our surroundings if we only look.

Until next time,

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.

Fun in the park.

It was a lovely sunny day day even if a bit nippy. Middle daughter called to say she might bring her two North Island grandkids out later.  We decided to meet at the playground and then come back to my place for a cuppa and, as it turned out, lunch for the kids. Eldest daughter joined us at home for a drink as well.

Fun in the sun.

On the climbing ropes.

Teamwork.

Higher Granma.

Quiet time with Lego after lunch.

It was great to see the wee ones from Palmerston North, down for a big birthday celebration. One of their cousins is about to turn one and that is a big milestone in the Tongan culture and they celebrate BIG.

That's it for today, 

until next time,

Diana

Diggers Tavern for lunch

Today our daughter in law shouted us out for lunch. So at midday we presented ourselves at Diggers Tavern which was formerly the RSA (Returned Services Association), and were shown to our table.

 Spitfire Restaurant was looking good with the tables set nicely, a table for two for us :) My GKB is looking a bit solemn but he was enjoying himself. The entertainment hadn't yet started.

There was only one course but it was well worth the money and filled us, so just a snack for tea tonight. We both ordered crumbed Schnitzel with gravy, chips and green salad. We managed to eat it all but I noticed some people took doggy bags home. And we didn't have to wait long for it, it was on the table about 10 minutes after ordering.

I'm also looking a bit serious but was distracted by the entertainers arriving. To eat or to watch them setting up? Eating won out :)

A lady I've known for about 30 years played background music while were dining. She is a beautiful pianist but unfortunately she was on a keyboard today and it sounded bit tinny but no one seemed to mind. It was also a little hard to hear her over all the background chatter, but that's a good thing - chatter usually means people are enjoying themselves in my experience.

Tea, coffee or something cold from the bar was available after the meal. I'm a tea drinker and my GKB went and got our drinks. He ordered me Earl Grey tea, not my favourite but I didn't mind today.

And then the Rhythmix started their turn. It was a wonderful hour and a half of 60's music, the Beatles, Beachboys and the like. Tom Jones. A bit of a singalong and finishing off with Vera Lynne's 'We'll meet again'.
 

We had a lovely time out and grateful thanks to daughter in law Sofi.

********

And just because I can, a photo of two of the great grandkids with feijoas the neighbour has just given them. Alice and Sitiveni.

That's it for today, 

until next time,

Diana