Happy New Year 2010

Hi Everyone,

Hardly believable that another year has passed. Matt's birthday today so 'Many Happy Returns' to him. Now I know that many of you have had to cope with loads of snow so I hope that you have not been inconvenienced too much. The pictures of the whole of the UK covered in white were fantastic - it can't happen very often.

If you read Sarah's blog you will see that life was pretty hectic during December. One week I drove to Kate's 4 times, both to see them and to attend Ash and India's functions at school. I got really good petrol consumption that month! The one hope was that Joe would not have something on the same day and it all worked out OK. I really enjoyed helping in Joe's class last year and have volunteered for this year too. I will continue to help the same teacher, even though Joe has moved up the school, as we get along well. It is only one morning a week and the children call me Nana Carol. It is rather disconcerting when I am out to hear "Hello Nana Carol" shouted by one of the children - reminds me of when I was 'Brown Owl' and going to the Hadleigh Show and hearing "Hello, Brown Owl" screamed out over the showground! Happy days..

Before Xmas I went to see "Anything Goes" at the theatre with U3A (most enjoyable; hadn't realised how many of the songs I knew). I had lunch with the WI, U3A and my walking group. The latter lunch was at the Casino. I decided to have a flutter. Now the last time I played the slots was in Las Vegas in 1979 where I spent $5. There were handles to pull then! Does going again this time constitute a habit? Anyway, I bet $4 (buttons to push this time) and won $40, so quit while I was ahead. It paid for the lunch and then some!

Christmas was great. The family gathered here for lunch and the sun shone enough to eat outside. We all went to the beach afterwards for some boogie boarding - the first time in the sea this summer for most of us. The weather has been reasonably good for us so far - the sun has shone but (due to El Nino) a lot of the wind has come from the SW (Antarctica). This has brought plenty of rain on the west coast - they have an average of 10 metres a year, folks!!!! We haven't had too much rain on this side of the country - time for the farmers to mention the word 'drought'.

As usual I will try to get some photos on the blog so fingers are crossed. My very best wishes to all for the New Year. Take care and keep warm.

With love Carol xx

PS Managed to get some photos on the blog - yours truly, self portrait and Xmas dinner. Only had to phone Sarah once, so 'result'.

Count down to Xmas!

Hi Everyone,

Only three weeks since the last blog but this is my chance to get in early and wish you every good wish for the coming season of festivities and goodwill to all! I hope that you are keeping well as many of you head into winter. I hear from the news that there are many severe rain warnings in place for the UK so wish you and yours well.

We are still waiting for Spring to arrive properly. We have had some lovely days but that South Westerly wind will persist in taking over and, coming as it does, from Antartica it is a little chilly. The temperature reached 31C yesterday and so far today it is 15C. Quite a difference! I have chanced my arm and have planted some tomatoes and hope that there is not a very late frost. So far, so good. Another few weeks before the chop I understand. Ash and Indie have, naturally, given them names - not Lamb Chop and Mint Sauce though.

Olive celebrated her 2nd birthday at the beginning of the month and had a party in the garden. Her hat in the photo is not her cycle helmet but that of one of her guests but she took a fancy to it and wore it for quite a while. Talking of anniversaries - I moved into this house two years ago tomorrow! I keep saying it - time flies!

Another 4 weeks of school and then it is the long summer holidays. Joe's school is busy practising for a Carol concert in the Cathedral on the 4th Dec and there is the Santa Parade in New Brighton the first Sat in Dec. He arrives by boat. Indie's class attended a performance by the New Zealand ballet of 'Peter Pan' on Friday. A rather different school trip? I will be going to see 'Anything Goes' soon. My Xmas preparations are moving along but the cards are just not at the forefront of my mind at present. Dentist this week - oh joy!

Thus finishing on a depressing note I will ask you all to take care of yourselves and thanks for keeping in touch through the year. All my love Carol xxx

To Oz and back!

Hi Everyone,

It is quite a while since I last wrote and since the memory is so poor! I will concentrate on the last couple of weeks. The bad news was that I broke not just one but two of my crowns and made my dentist quite a few dollars. The second went the day before our trip - the timing could have been worse I suppose and happened a day later. Anyway, enough of my falling to pieces and on with the other news.

We left these shores, paying for the privilege (25 dollars per adult!) and flew to that little (only joking) island off to the west. We stayed in a fabulous house near Byron Bay (top of New South Wales and about 150 kms south of Brisbane). The house had everything - 5 flat screen televisions with Sky, kids videos by the score and more than enough crockery for all of us. It certainly made up for the hosue at Hamner we rented that had one large and one small saucepan!

Best of all was the heated pool in the garden - 11 metres long so big enough for all. The children especially loved it and spent hours in it each day. The adults prefered it when the children were not in it - funny that. With the beach only a couple of streets away we had the best of both worlds although the sea was a bit too rough for swimming. Malc went surfing a few times (early!) The weather was lovely and warm and we only had rain on one day although it did hammer down one night too. As the weather reports were forecasting storms for about 4 days we got off very lightly. Swimming in the rain was good fun too!

We didn't see any koalas but as the children now have cuddly substitutes they don't feel too cheated. We did see some kangaroos (in the wildlife park - cheating?). There were lizards in the garden and house and lots of birds including parrots visiting the garden. As ususal the time flew by and we got back on Thursday to a much cooler clime.

However, the sun is shining today as it was yesterday so I won't complain (much!) The washing is all done and next I must get into the garden.. The veggies will have to be sorted out and seeds sown for the summer and some plants that did not survive the winter will have to be replaced. Much to do - tomorrow! Will now try to get some photos loaded. The turkey gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'having christmas dinner on the beach!'

I do hope that you are all well, that the weather continues to be kind. Now start thinking about Christmas!!!!

With love Carol xxx

Spring at last!

Hi Everyone,

Quite a while since I last wrote but it has been a little quieter these last few weeks. Now we are in September and officially in Spring - the weather has been very warm with gale-force winds most of last week. Today sunny but much colder and maybe some snow on the hills. I don't mind the cold if the sun is shining.

Enough of the weather except to say that I hope yours is to your liking. I trust that you are all keeping well - we are still suffering the usual coughs and colds but hoping that the germs will disappear very soon.

Most of the accompanying flower photos were taken in the park yesterday - it still seems strange, if I think of the date in relation to the flowers, to see daffodils etc in September. Mother's Day flowers here are of the autumn kind - chrysanthemums and the like! Still commenting on the season - the pollen from the wattle (yellow) is everywhere, over the windows, (house and car) gardens and pavements. Not worth cleaning up too carefully as more will be there tomorrow. That's my excuse.

Well, Joe has had his birthday - six now. It was a long time coming as we endured his countdown of the number of sleeps remaining. Hope he hasn't started counting down to the next one yet! He had lots of Lego so was very happy. His first Rugby season is over and he really enjoyed it and seemed to be in the middle of all the action, with endless numbers of touches and lots of tries to his name. A very proud Nana watched nearly every game (well it didn't rain!)

All of the other grandchildren are doing well and keeping very busy in their social lives. I don't know how they manage to find time for school except that school is a big part of their socialising. We are in week 7 of the 10 week term so two weeks off very soon. I still help out in Joe's class one morning a week and thoroughly enjoy myself.

Annie and I went to the ballet a couple of weeks ago to see La Sylphide. Most enjoyable - it wasn't a story I knew or even music I recognised unlike Romeo and Juliet last year. I also went to the theatre this week with the U3A theatre group to see a home-grown Kiwi play "Four flat whites in Italy", described as an overseas experience for those 'pasta' their prime! (OE usually taken by kids between school and uni). 'Flat whites' are coffees here in NZ - very like a latte. It was very funny with a sad undercurrent. My favourite line was from one of the wives while shopping -

At our time of life, a dollar saved is a dollar wasted!!!

Later this month I will see 'Mamma Mia' so looking forward to that.

I have booked a holiday for us all in Australia in October so hope for some sunshine. I am very excited that Jennie and John are coming to stay in the New Year. Hopefully we will have a good summer. Just about done - only the photos to download. The one of Sarah and Matt cooking at the back of the truck was taken during an attempt to go sledging up the mountain and the weather defeated us. The family of otters were quite young and moved in concert as you see them here.

All my love to you all, Carol xxx

Past the shortest day. Hooray!!

Hi Everyone,

Bear with me ... this is the 2nd time I have typed this blog and believe me - I do not know where the 1st one has disappeared to. Finger trouble, no doubt.

I know that many of you reading this will be sweltering in a heatwave in the UK but I feel no envy as I sit here in the middle of winter, freezing and watching the rain fall! Much! Our time will come .. (quckly, please!!) Actually, we have had some beautifully sunny days where, even if the thermometer was lurking in the single digits, it felt warm and the blue sky !!!!!! Just to prove a point there is a photo of my orange tree. Can't think why it is on its side here but it still shows the ripening fruit. Small, maybe but still perfectly formed and hopefully, juicy. Many of us are suffering with colds but have avoided flu - both ordinary and swine varieties. So far!

We have had a very busy month, starting with a weekend trip to Hanmer Springs. Not a lot of snow but fine. The house and attached flat was big enough for all of us with 7 bedrooms all told. A little chilly but we survived. The walk up Conical Hill nearly finished me off. I puffed a bit - no, be honest, I puffed a lot. Still, we had a picnic at the top and the trip back down was easy peasy by comparison! We finished the day with a trip "off road" - have to let the boys loose with their toys!

The following weekend I flew up to Auckland with Sarah to see Simon and Garfunkel in concert. Absolutely fabulous!!! They sang all my favourites together plus a few of their own, individually. Two hours of great entertainment. I was so pleased to have gone. On the Sunday we went up the Skytower and caught an idiot jumping off the top on camera. I cannot think why he looks so happy - it gave me the collywobbles just to watch! We had lunch with another Sarah - Bob and Margaret's daughter. It was great to see her again. Thought for a while that we might not get back to Christchurch due to 'adverse weather conditions.' Fog. After checking with the pilot that he had enough fuel to get back to Auckland (No, anything but that - Wellington is closer), we sat back and kept fingers crossed. It worked!

A nice surprise last week to go to Tekapo with Sarah, Matt, Joe and Ben. Again no snow except on the mountains so we didn't get to use the sledges. We did, however, walk to get a good view of Aoraki, Mount Cook; snow covered and beautiful in the sunshine. Another walk UP to the glacier had me huffing and puffing again! Joe went up like a mountain goat and Ben was clambering over boulders bigger than him! I did manage it and was really pleased. Luckily I had my trekking poles to help me come down! We spent the last morning in the hot pools. Forgot the camera so had to take it empty once we were dressed and ready for lunch. For most of the time we had it to ourselves - sitting and looking at the snow on the mountains.

Great!

This weekend I watched 2 rugby games. The first was Joe's and his team won. A cold morning but dry. After the previous week of watching in the rain I have decided that I will have to be a fair weather supporter. Sorry, Joe. In the evening Joe, Matt and I went to watch the All Blacks play Italy. They won too. Matt had to explain the rules as we went along and actually I only went to see the Haka! I enjoyed it all.

Yesterday we got together (except for Annie, Malc and Olive who have abandoned NZ to surf and swim in the sunshine in Australia) to celebrate the middle of winter - our Winterfest! We were joined by Anna, Chris, Amy and James. Roast dinner and a Secret Santa for the children. A lovely day, hosted by Katherine, Roy, Ash and India.

That is about it for our doings. I have been to the theatre and the cinema a few times since I last blogged and, at last, have got some curtains at the dining room windows. The blinds don't give that same feeling of shutting out the cold and dark. I have been enjoying helping out in Joe's class one morning a week and think I am useful. It is the last week of term on Friday and then 2 weeks off. The children all need the holiday. Terms here are 10 weeks long with no half term break. And four terms in the year. Matt starts a new job today so Good Luck to him and Happy Birthday to Malc and India. Annie, Malc and Olive are due home at the end of the week.

Well, I have got to the end again and don't think that I have missed out anything I typed in the first time! Take care all of you and enjoy the summer. All my love Carol xxx

Another trip!!!

Hi Everyone,

Yet another trip away! Well, I have got to see the whole country you know! We are now well into the Autumn (probably more like winter if the truth be known). The mountains have their white hats on already and look beautiful, especially from this distance. We have also had some hard frosts; the photo of the rose I took while down South - it was frozen.

Those of you in the Northern hemisphere will, hopefully, be enjoying some Spring weather by now and putting all the cold and wet behind you. Talking of rain - my trip took me West, then South and East and North back to Christchurch. A real round trip. Luckily we missed the deluge of rain on the first day - they had 1 metre in 48 hours!! Roads were closed and we did not get to see the glaciers unfortunately. Parts of the west coast are blessed(?!) with 10 metres of rain a year. I can't really imagine it. Christchurch is rather like East Anglia and is content with half a metre.

One of the sights that you see plenty of because of weather like that is waterfalls and I have included a photo of one. During the trip on Milford Sound we were shown a video of a waterfall being blown upwards by the fierce winds but, luckily, didn't get to experience that.

The school holidays have been and gone since I last wrote. We had some nice, sunny weather and managed to fit in 2 picnics. Despite the range of ages the children all get on well. We had a barbecue at Sarah's to celebrate her birthday and next week it is Ben's 3rd birthday. Mustn't forget Katherine's either at the end of this week!

I was hoping to tell you that the winter veggies were going great guns BUT I came home to find the carrots had disappeared!! I know that they were not very big when I left but there must be a creature lurking that I haven't spotted yet that has eaten all the tops. Quite a space in the bed now! The rest of the garden looks a little happier for having received some rain and the 2 Robinia trees have been removed - they were too big and sending out suckers under the deck. The pond is not leaking now but I think that the pump is, so that is turned off for the present. A job for the Spring I think.

The last photo is of the dawn on the day I left for my trip. Red sky in the morning etc. But beautiful. Today is dull and wet and my weekly walk was cancelled (fair weather walkers only!) I have a bit of a cold so will stay nice and warm inside. I hope that you are all keeping well and enjoying the longer days. All my love Carol xx

autumn!

Hi Folks,

Another month gone and now, officially, we are in Autumn. Of course I am still waiting for the sun to come back out as it has been missing a bit in February. We have had some rain and that meant I could take a rest on watering the veggies. They have done well, especially the tomatoes, potatoes and spinach. I have already started putting in some winter veg too.

For all of you living in the UK, my commiserations on a cold and snowy winter. I trust that as you get towards Spring the weather will improve. You deserve it!

It has been a busy time in February with birthdays for me, Roy and Ash (who has reached double figures). We had a lovely family barbecue at Katherine and Roy's with our special visitors - Margaret and Bob. The group photo should be somewhere on the blog. You may note that I am not in it but that was because I could not remember how the timer worked on my camera. Well, I don't get to use it much! The timer, not the camera!

I flew up to Wellington (tiring work that!!) to meet Bob and Margaret - who are here visiting their daughter Sarah and son-in-law Simon. They live in Auckland. We spent a few days in W. sightseeing and catching up on the news. We visited the Te Papa museum, went to an island nature reserve, had a tour round the parliament building (1 of the photos) and walked through part of another nature reserve where we saw the Kaka (another photo). They are quite big - about 45 cm and beautifully coloured. At the parliament building I really would have liked to sit in the Speaker's chair and shout "Order, Order" but it wasn't allowed. All the children were still on their summer holidays, that is, in their constituencies so there was no squabbling in the chamber!!

We travelled back to Christchurch on the ferry to Picton and the train from there to Christchurch. The crossing was very calm and the Marlborough Sounds looked lovely in the sunshine (last photo). The train journey was good too. The train travels next to the coast for part of the journey and near Kaikoura we saw seals on the rocks. The train has an open observation car so that you can get your head blown off in the wind while you take your photos!

Margaret and Bob stayed with me for about 10 days and we went to Hanmer Springs - for the hot pools, Akaroa - where we saw dolphins, seals and penguins on a boat trip, Willowbank nature reserve - where we got to see a kiwi and Margaret was Kea'd, and Lyttelton - to see if any of it was familiar to Bob, who was last in NZ in the early 70s. (It wasn't!). The kea is another of NZ's native parrots, rather more numerous than the Kaka and destructive to rubber trim on cars if it gets the chance. We all enjoyed the Chinese Lantern Festival which marked the Chinese New Year and, unlike last year when Sarah, the boys and I got rather wet, the weather was sunny and there were lots of people there. The food was good too. All this and family barbecues and baby-sitting duties meant that the time flew past and it was time for them to head for Auckland again. I trust that you both had a good trip up to A. and that you took loads of photos, that you enjoy the rest of your stay in NZ and that you will come again soon. Thanks for your company and the chance to CHAT!!!!

That is about it for this posting, I hope that you are all keeping well. Keep sending the emails, they are really appreciated. Much love Carol xx