Touching base

Jacqui has a good crop of strawberries, I wonder if she has enough to share, though? Hmm..

Autumn has arrived and the weather has settled down to some extent. There's very little to no wind, mornings are cool and we sometimes need some heating on while we're having breakfast. Then at the other end of the day we can be sitting with the fan blowing the air around to cool us down. It's pleasant enough to sit out on the swing seat and read for a bit in the afternoons as well and that's always a big plus in my mind :) The picture below is taken from my granddaughter's office window, a city view, with the leaves just starting to turn.

The house next door has sold. Not the one with the new roof but on the other side. It has been empty for two years since the old couple both passed away. The family have been clearing it out and getting it cleaned up for sale. It took two years of family coming to get it done, about three months of intense daily clearing out of papers and personal items then weekends there was always someone there doing something. It taught me that I need to clear clutter out of our house before it gets too much for us and not leave such a big job for our kids. A young fellow has bought it, he looks to be in his 20's, and it'll be interesting to see what he does with it :) It needs a lot of work inside (and we wouldn't mind if he got rid of some of the trees on the fenceline). Just saying.

 

I'm looking forward to my sister coming over from Aussie next month. We're heading over to the West Coast for our primary school reunion and staying a week altogether. I wasn't going to go as both the girls I was really good friends with have passed away and I haven't really kept in touch with anyone else. And the old school building is gone so I can't even wander around there and reminisce - we'll just have to make do with photo's I guess. But sis was really keen and I didn't want to let her go by herself. I'm quite looking forward to it now and I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I'm there. One of our cousins is flying over from the Gold Coast to see us! He was thinking of coming over for a holiday anyway and thought he might as well come while we were at the reunion, he spent his early childhood there as well and wanted to do a nostalgia trip. So that's a bonus. 

This is the programme, or part of it, there is also a lunch 

on the Sunday. There's plenty of spare time to go gallivanting and looking up our old haunts, if they still exist :)

Not a lot has been happening, we're both in good health at the moment, have just had our six monthly checkups. And life goes on in it's own little rythm.

Keep well until next time,

Diana

Tuesday 4 - How?

How?

 

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...

Let's jump right in...

1. How did you end up in the place where you are living?

We've lived in three different towns and five houses since we were married. This was the fifth and last move obviously. Our previous house was a cold and damp and we almost immediately applied for a State House. There's usually quite a long waiting list for these houses but we were given one within a few months. I met one or two people who were quite put out that we had been given one so quickly, we were accused by them of jumping the queue and "how could you get one so quickly when you've only just moved here?" We didn't do anything except apply and our current home was inspected as everyone else's is. Anyway, we were put into a house that was only three years old and a few years later had the opportunity to buy it - and here we've been for nearly 50 years.

Our home prior to putting the front fence up. The cone? Who knows?

2. How did you end up with the job you have/had?

I was a nurse in a previous life, the one before I married. But the job I retired from was as a caregiver in a newly built Rest Home. They advertised for staff and I was interviewed but passed over. Then a couple of months later they called to see if I was interested in doing a few night shifts. After that I became a part of the furniture and worked in all the units and on all shifts as well as a short stint in the laundry. I worked there for over 20 years and retired when I was 70.

3. How did you end up with your life partner?

Well Bob is a dart player, he doesn't play any more but still follows the game. My cousin and I went down to the local pub to meet some friends and I walked through the door and straight on through a dart game. Literally. I walked between the dart board and the player who was about to throw his dart. Bob. He came over and introduced himself afterward and we've been together since.

No, I'm not floating, just perched on the very edge of Bob's chair.

4. How did your weekend go and how is the week ahead looking?

Busy, busy, busy. Saturday we went shopping for Theo's birthday present and Sunday was church followed by a shared brunch. On Monday we had a lovely busy morning with Arlo, morning tea, spending his pocket money and then the library. and I still have a couple of afternoons volunteering in the shop, a doctors appointment, bible study group and a visit to my friend in a rest home. So reasonably busy.

Spending some pocket money.

If you'd like to join in or read other's experiences here's the link:  Tuesday 4

Take care 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

A family gathering

We had a family gathering today down at Port Chalmers. A couple of birthdays were being celebrated but mainly it was to welcome our nephew and his family home. He has been living and working in China for 20 years. He met his wife there and has a lovely little family. They have been home on holiday  several times but this time is for good. 

In April our son will also arrive home for good with his wife. He has been living and working in Japan for 9 years and met his wife while there as well. They have also been home a couple of times on holiday. We're all looking forward to their arrival.

The gathering was held in an old building, now part of a cafe/restaurant but at the back of the property. The front shop was originally a fishmongers but my GKB couldn't quite recall what this building was. Anyway the owner has stripped it back to the original brick and beams (it looks like some of the beams have been replaced though) and it has a lot of character, a great place for a small get together like ours.

On our way home we thought we would take a quick detour and have a look at the first home we had together after we married.

It's looking quite a lot more run down, sadly, but it is over 40 years since we lived there and I am always surprised that it is still standing. It was the first house ever built in the area so is probably well over 150 years old. I used to love sitting on the front  verandah with my morning tea, I could see over to the harbour and it was so calm and peaceful with the bush behind. Lots of birdsong :)

As you can see, we are still having a wet, grey, dreary summer :) and have gale force winds forecast for tonight. So we'll be battening down the hatches before we retire for the night.

An ordinary week

Hoping to join Amy and her friends for 

Five on Friday, if I can come up with five.

So let's have a look at my week.

On Monday youngest daughter sent us a picture of a house 

being demolished and said, "guess where this is". 

We both looked and decided it was house in Port Chalmers 

so just ignored it really. But no, it was a house on our main

 road so we went down to have a look.

It was built in the 1880's and then in the 1950's was converted to a rest home which was run by a christian trust. Unfortunately the trust came to the point in the last year or so where it couldn't 

afford to keep it going and so the home closed and the house

 and site was sold to a developer :(  There were quite a few little boys watching, school holiday time, and quite a few

 bigger boys as well. A sad sight really.

We woke to a nice windy day on Tuesday. Generally Monday is my main wash day but I hadn't done a full wash because the day had started out really cold and bleak. Minus 5C  with a good frost.

But look what I found when I walked out to the letterbox, a tiny daisy trying to open, and another one just in the bottom right

 of the picture that hadn't opened quite as much. Talk about hardy.

Anyway Tuesday, I decided to get the towels and sheets 

out on the line and they got a good fluff up in the wind.

I don't think we saw the sun at all on Tuesday but it was slightly warmer because of the wind. We woke to snow on 

Mt. Maungatua this morning and a cold, biting wind.

On Wednesday our youngest grand daughter turned 18 and 

so we took off for the city to look for some hand luggage

 for her. We found something in our price range in about

 the third shop we went into. I do like these sales :)

 And I don't know what was going on but every shop we went into had done a re-lay so nothing was where it had been and we spent a lot of time wandering around looking for departments. Now tomorrow we need to go back in, but to different shops this time, as her young brother turns 10 tomorrow. We thought we'd find something out here, but not what we are wanting. 

On Thursday I had a meeting to go to and I was also on 'soup duty'. This meant I made a big crock pot full of vegetable soup and took it down to our venue. After the meeting was over those of us who could, stayed for a soup and bun lunch. Luckily for me I had wrapped a big old towel around the crock as somewhere along the way as I was transporting it, it slopped over the top and made a bit of a mess of the towel, but not the car thankfully. I have to admit I went to bed for granny nap in the afternoon, :) No photo's for Thursday.

No photo's for Friday either and it was quite a mundane day. We had 'not quite gale force' winds in the morning and bitterly cold as there was snow about. A bonus with the wind was that we got a few more feijoas from the tree when we thought they were finished. Youngest daughter came in for a visit and a coffee in the morning and during the afternoon we went out to do a bit of shopping and hopefully find youngest grandson his birthday present. My GKB found a light meter for his camera so I suppose that was something and I came home with a pair of tights but that's not what we were looking for.  And that's my five on Friday.

A house or two

After we, my sis and I, had been walking on the rail trail one day, my GKB took us for a drive around the countryside. The area we were in is known as the Strath Taieri. Quite barren, as you can see.

One Tree Hill
 Not the official 'hill', that is in Auckland, but at least this hill had a tree on it. Someone cut down the one on One Tree Hill in Auckland, in protest at something or other.

As we were driving back to the camping ground we saw this little cottage way out in the middle of nowhere. Imagine being a settler lady coming to live in this barren landscape. I don't think I would have liked it. Not my cup of tea at all.

This is the same little house, zoomed. You can see the roof is missing and a tree is growing in the living area, it  rather took

 my eye. Further back down the road was this house, 

this one was occupied. They are built from local stone.

Above is the view from the road and below is one of the back of the house taken from the roadside as well. Can you see the sky dish? It rather spoils the effect of the old house , but I suppose even in a house of this age you want the mod cons. And look at those stock pens - this looks like a holding area for stock going to the works. (abattoir).

Across the road was this more modern cottage,

it looked loved with a nice tidy front yard and fresh paint.

I think these must be farm cottages, but I am guessing.

This little stone house was near the road and quite derelict as well. Not much of it left at all. I do wonder when these old stone cottages were deserted, and why? It seems a shame.

And that is it from me for the moment. Next week Sis and I are walking again, weather permitting. We'll be fine as long as 

the wind drops and it doesn't snow. If it does I certainly 

won't be walking anywhere.

joining Amy at:

Five on Friday

Diana

We have a date!

Way back in July 2010 I started this blog with the intention of it keeping me accountable for when I trained (haha) for when my sister and I decided to 'do' the rail trail. The blog has gone it's own way, with the occassional nod to my walking and other exercise. And often lack of it :)

But we now have a date!

March 2016.

And we have a mode of transport.

Feet!

We will walk it - hopefully it will take us no more than four days, 

maybe three with luck and a good wind.

We have enlisted my GKB to drive a camper van 

which we'll sleep in at night and he can go fishing during the day, if he wants. 

And as he is a fisherman I don't think he'll have any problem with that.
So now I  need to go walking in earnest.

My GKB has to go walking three times a week 

so I am going out with him but it is more of a stroll than a walk.

.His legs get too painful if he goes too hard at it.

So far we have strolled along the beach once or twice

and earlier this week we went to the lake on a beautiful day

 and walked around the lakeside for a bit.

We've also strolled down the floodbank at the Silverstream. 

My GKB gave up after about 10 minutes, he hasn't learnt to pace himself yet.

 So I took off by myself for a brisk walk to the end of the section we were on.

 On one side was an extremely low Silverstream and on the other the playing fields.

It has been very hot and sunny for the last month but today

 the temperatures dropped and so I went out by myself.

I walked away from town and headed down to a crossroads where I usually turn back 

but today I decided to go a little further, straight ahead.

I've driven down here and knew there were some old homesteads

as well as some new modern homes but have never walked down before.

The picture above is Islington, one of the old homes,
and below is the entrance to Chelmsford, one of the new residences.
You can see the end of the garages through the gate.

Anyway, all that is to say, we finally have a plan and now I need to knuckle down.

Strolling three times a week with my GKB and three times out by myself.

I'll give myself a day off on Sundays.

That should do it - as long as I keep it up!

Have a good week,

Diana

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