My birthday!

And what better way than to begin my day with scanning pics of our grandchild

Marah came around with her scan photos, and now my laptop is working again I was able to scan them all for her.

I now have permission to introduce our first grandbaby to you all - 19 weeks and doing very well.

 

I did do a bit of whip cracking when I got up.

When I got out to the kitchen everyone was just sitting talking in amongst all the breakfast mess.

So I got them cleaning up and moving.

Can't bear mess like that when it is mid-morning already!!

Even the washing hadn't been done so I got that rolling too.

It was a really good drying day.

I was rather glad of the breeze as it took some of the heat out of the day.

 

Shoshannah & Maria wanted to make me a cake so I suggested a Caramel Cake.

Shoshannah got that underway while Maria made roast vege salad.

I gave instruction to Mahalia & Lily as to how to make the Cous Cous salad.

They also quickly made a lettuce salad before heading out kayaking.

S&M made foccacia bread and then decided to make another cake which I wasn't allowed to see.

 

Marah made me this delicious fudge for my birthday

I dragged all my baby stuff off the top shelf so Marah could go through it.

This is the very first swimsuit of my first baby Jesika - so it is now 33 years old.

Isn't it cute??

 Azzan was wanting to try on all his baby clothes

The boots were a tad too small

 

When Phoebe & Seb arrived around for dinner the two girls had loads of fun going through all the clothes to see what they would like.

With only 2 weeks between their due dates and neither knowing what little surprises they are going to get they will have to wait to see which clothes will be most useful.

Sandra & Phil arrived and while Tim & Phil picked plums Sandra joined the 'baby' corner.

The 3 youngest were in charge of the drinks

Anson was more expert with his ice block extraction method!!

The other young folk hung out on the deck while we waited for the men to arrive in for dinner.

Meanwhile, dinner was cooked and we were all waiting.......

Finally around 7:30pm the men arrived, grace was said and we all filled our plates.

Maria, Shoshannah & Luke enjoying their meals on the deck.

 

Azzan presented me with the caramel chocolate star cake - serenading me operatically as he brought it out smothered in candles!

Then Shoshannah brought out a grapefruit cake she & Maria had made - very pretty and with a lot more restraint in the candle department!!

Roger volunteered to dig serve the ice cream - before he realised why I didn't want to do it!!

It freezes very hard in our freezer!

It was a very pleasant evening with just a slight chill to the breeze as the night grew older.

We all milled around and chatted until it was time to get the show cleaned up.

Marah & Ella, her wee sister

I found the kids doing a bar lean - they looked like a bunch of pros!!

Dishes - there were plenty of them.

But it was short work with two sinks and two dishwashers & several dryers in action.

 

Thanks everyone for coming and making my birthday special.

I was so incredibly tired I just fell into bed once everyone had gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the long previous day and late night it was a bit of a struggle to wake up.

But I was through the shower and ready for the day by the time David & Sasha got up.

After a quick morning chat I headed off to get a few things done.

I stopped off at the Flooring shop and had a look at kitchen flooring.

The lady was very very helpful and I was able to come away with a sample.

Then into the city to join all the other Saturday morning shoppers.

Got Mahalia's phone sorted.

She had not only managed to completely block her sim card but she had also totally blocked her phone.

So a new phone had to be bought - as an early birthday present!!

And with major instructions about not stuffing this one up!!

 

Liby was home from Oz so we met up for coffee.

I dragged her through the crazy busy Saturday market crowds and got myself a salmon & avocado wrap from the Wrap Shack and then we headed back to Starbucks to enjoy our frappacinos upstairs in the relative quiet.

It was lovely to have an hour to sit and catch up.

All too soon we had to head our separate ways.

I was cruising the shoe sales when I got a phone call from Hitomi saying she could see me earlier if it worked for me.

It sure did, so I climbed up the stairs and spent the next 1.5 hours at Renaissance Hair.

I was so tired that it was just lovely to sit and let her play while I dozed.

Gillian arrived up with her Nutrimetics samples to show me while I was 'cooking'

She had to leave before I was finished - so Gill - this pic is for you

Once I had finished we went to get groceries, and I also wanted to get some photo frames for Nathan's graduation photo and his Licence Controller Qualification certificate he had just received.

His smile got a huge audience response on the day

 

I also found some great bargains at Briscoes while there so had to do some repacking in the Terrano when I came out!

Zipped around to pick up our new wwoofer, Tobias from Germany.

We then ran in and got our dinner to eat on the run from the Pita Pit.

They were delicious.

I got a frappacino and then we left town via Hangar 58 so I could give Nathan his pictures and say goodbye.

The two girls sat in the backseat and despite them telling me how tired they were they chatted furiously the whole way home!

 

The crew had not long been home from the Te Towoka Sports day.

Tim had taken Azzan, Mahalia, Lily & Ella around by road.

The guys all went out fishing and Marah hung out with Phoebe.

They were all tired but full of the fun of the day.

The children had brought home heaps of prizes so obviously did well in the races.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the alarm set for 4:50am.

Tim woke me at 4:30am asking what time I was getting up!
I could've had 20mins more sleep

 

I raced through the shower and was ready to leave when Anson arrived to get Tim.

I left just before 6am.

They stopped off at The Croft to fix the water before leaving.

I got to town at 8:15am and had time to do a few jobs before my 9am appointment at Nelson Beauty.

I had delegated a few of my jobs to Tim to do as he had more time than I was going to have.

That took the pressure off me.

Tim had a glaucoma check - got the results back and all is good thankfully.

He has to have them regularly as his father went blind from it and his 3 siblings all have it.

I raced out to pick up Mahalia & Azzan from Teapot Valley camp at 11:30am.

I had to get Mahalia back to her orthodontist appointment by midday.

The children were very tired but also very, very hyped with all the fun they had.

I was so glad to hear Mahalia was happy and planning to go to the next time as she had been a bit daunted about her first camp.

The orthodontist was running late - typical when I had our appointments running back to back.

I text Anson & Tim to get to the accountants and start without me which they did.

So for the next 2-3 years a 6 weekly visit to the orthodontist is going to be scheduled in amongst all the other things like music lessons etc!

The braces were all tightened and this time they are pink.

Mahalia is planning to change colours every visit!

We finally got to the accountants.

The children just wanted to sit in the Terrano and wait for me after they walked up the street to get themselves some cold drinks.

When we were finished I dropped them at the library while I zipped off to my counseling session.

The guys had to go load up the trailer etc.

 

We then all met up again at Hangar 58 for a business meeting at 3:30pm with Noel, Mandy, Ross and some prospective clients.

Unfortunately it was a bit too noisy there for hearing so next time we will go elsewhere.

Food was good though.

I was hungry as I hadn't stopped for breakfast or lunch!

At 5pm Tim & Anson left with Azzan, Mahalia & Lily and headed off home.

 

I went to visit Estelle for an hour and then met up with David & Sasha at Crusoe's for dinner.

We had a wonderful time with Anat, Rami & Ellie.

If you are a total foodie then you just have to go visit Rami.

He is the absolute best chef in town!!

.
Sasha & I both enjoyed the Chicken supreme- Pesto stuffed Skin-off roasted chicken breast, served over Moroccan couscous with pomegranate accompanied by onion, tomatoes and garlic sautéed baby spinach - it was to die for melt in your mouth!

David had the Lamb Rump - marinated in yoghurt & marjoram, roasted to medium, served with red wine sauce, accompanied by garlic roasted gourmet potatoes and butter sauteed trio cauliflower, grilled with mornay sauce.

 

Then to finish our evening we had the following divine desserts.

 

Drunken strawberries with cream & ice-cream for David.

Orange Creme Chantilly with fresh orange segments and triple sec for me

and

Brandied infused fresh cherries with dark chocolate enriched Greek yoghurt

Sasha couldn't wait for a spoon!

Finger dippin' great!!

 

We finally rolled ourselves out of there around 10ish.

I shot back to Estelle's to pick up stuff I left behind then headed to David & Sasha's for the night.

I was so incredibly tired that I just fell into bed and slept very soundly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My last childfree day.

 

Luke has been hanging out with Anson most of the time so even though he's sleeping here he really only has breakfast and then he's off and out doing stuff and eating with Anson & Marah.

 

I spent all day working at my art and and watching Grey's Anatomy at the same time.

Here is what I have been doing lately.

This is from week 2

 

I also have done another layout of the Whimsey's in my Art Heart & Healing board book.

 

 This is Week 3's project - really enjoyed doing this.

 

I took the technique I learnt and added it to this card.

 

 

 

The clouds were so cool - I took this panorama of the bay just before 8pm.

A close up of the clouds over Okoha & Titirangi - pretty cool eh?

 

I threw a salmon & vege pasta dish together for our last dinner for two.

It was delicious.

We enjoyed it along with a bottle of sparkling grape juice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was wet most of the day.

After breakfast Luke helped Tim with the arduous task of feeding all Shoshannah's birds and animals

Then Luke walked around to find Anson and they went mustering and then pig hunting and came back with two so they were happy.

First hunt for Anson's new dog.

 

Tim did some workshop jobs and I did art work.

I hopped into bed for a while to rest and watched dvds.

 

Seb & Phoebe popped in for a quick visit.

Then they went back to see Anson & Marah.

Stayed for dinner and then the 3 guys went out hunting until late while the girls watched movies.

 

Tim & I enjoyed a quiet dinner and then soaked in the spa for a while.

It is so lovely to be just us for a while.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday

 

It was a glorious day here.

The sun was shining and the sea sparkling.

Tim & Luke spent the morning reconditioning mussel ropes.

 

I stayed in bed until about 10am.

Got up and had a leisurely shower and made myself a delicious breakfast.

Grilled French bread with tomato & olive relish, avocado, tomato and herb cheese - yummy!

I then spent the rest of the day working on my art project and watching Grey's Anatomy - I am wading through season 8 now!!'

I finished my Week 2 page.

I will go back and do the rest of my Week 1 pages once I get my laptop back and can use the printer again.

 

Anson came round at midday and chatted with Tim for a while.

Then he took Luke off to do some mustering and spraying.

Tim did some weed spraying here too.

Later in the arvo they went out in the boat with Ella and did some fishing.

I wandered up to the garden at 6pm to get some beans for dinner.

Spent some time up there weeding the whole bean patch as it was a bit choked and the weeds were easy to pull after the rain.

I picked a heap of butter beans.

Got nearly a bucket full, plus some lettuce and zucchini.

Luke had dinner with Anson & Marah cuz they are going hunting again tonight.

Tim and I enjoyed another dinner just for two.

He smoked up some salmon for me and fried up some fresh cod.

With fresh butterbeans and lettuce salad from the garden it was a very tasty meal.

 

The sky was gorgeous tonight.

I took a panoramic view of the bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim and I woke around 5am.

The girls had gone at 4:15am.

Heard from Cat later in the day to say they had arrived in Mana at 12:30pm.

They had a good trip over the Strait apart from the last hour which was nasty.

Skip & Leann weren't happy sailors - but what's new

Message from Cat later read -

"Was a pretty wet rough trip mum but fast! Averaging 8knots for the last few hours, 13knts surfing down waves...fun for me but not the crew!!"

 

 

I could hear something in our room.

I sat up and and listened carefully thinking it sounded very like a rat or mouse.

Turned on the light and found the culprit.

The roof was leaking and the drips were landing on a pile of Tim's clothes making a sort of small animal sound.

Darnit!

Went and got a large bowl to catch the drips.

Went back to sleep and was woken by the phone at 7am.

The one day we could've slept in

It was another wet, murky morning.

The cats know where the best place to be is.

These are our supposedly 'outside' cats

Tim was in a cruising mood.

Nothing to do and no-one around.

I had a quick spa.

Tim meandered and did Shoshannah's birds while I cooked us up a special breakfast for two.

Omelette with onions & tomatoes plus fresh silverbeet & parsley from Shoshannah's garden and some delicious Karikaas cheeses that Josh & Charmagne had inadvertently left behind - sad for them but lovely for us - thanks J&C

I added some cheerios with Sundried tomato & olive sauce and of course, butter &  Vegemite on toast.

Tim was about to go and find out where the roof was leaking when we received a phone call from the Okiwi Bay ambulance saying that a boat was coming in to us with an injured person on board.

The bay was so murky we only just make out the vessel.

It was having problems locating our wharf but after several phone calls they eventually found us.

The tides are incredibly high and low at the moment.

I went on board and did an assessment of the patient and then called up Sebastian to come help us lift.

Thankfully the tide was so high - it made is a lot easier.

Tim zipped up to the shed and constructed a makeshift stretcher from a gate and foam mattress and ropes on each corner to give better grip.

We were very grateful for Seb's assistance - it was a struggle to get to the house but without him it would've been nigh impossible.

They tried to get in the back door but it was a few inches too narrow so they came around to the washhouse and laid the stretcher and patient on the freezer while we waited to hear from the ambulance.

The patient was much more comfortable lying flat.

Tim cleaned out the truck and they moved the patient on and we headed up the hill to meet the ambulance.

Despite the misty murkyness clearing here it was still too foggy for the helicopter to get out of Nelson.

It was a pretty hard trip up the hill but the patient was very stoic and breathed through the pain.

Tim did stop to give some respite.

We were pleased to see Ian & crew waiting in the ambulance when we got to the top of the hill.

It was very windy and cold so they did a quick and efficient transfer onto their stretcher and inside so they could do an assessment.

We left them to it and hopped on board our 'ambulance' and zipped back down to the house.

We heard a bit later that the helicopter managed to make a run for it in a brief weather window and flew the patient out to hospital.

I was so pleased as the rid out in the ambulance would've been very unpleasant as the road is so rutted at present.

We met up with Olly on the way home.

He likes to vet any vehicles going past so we had a wee chat.

 

Seb & Tim did some fixing of the dinghy and then Seb headed off home.

Tim then found the leak in the roof and fixed it as best he could.

The rain eased nicely while we did the 'rescue' but then closed back in again later.

I spent the afternoon resting and watched the last disk of Season 2 of 'Castle'.

Now that is over I can get on with some art

 

Made a simple dinner of chicken nibbles and veges but managed to burn the potatoes.

I have bought some new saucepans and they are just far too efficient for me to keep up with!!

Anson & Marah arrived back around 8pm with Luke.

We sat and chatted for quite a while.

They were very excited and had loads to tell us.

They had dropped Mahalia & Azzan at camp at 1pm.

Mahalia was a tad nervous as it was her first one but I am sure she will have a great time, especially as Kashana is with her.

 

Luke unpacked and got himself sorted in Nathan's room.

I reheated dinner and the three of us finally ate around 9:30pm!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was up early and had a quick spa.

Then did some catch up blogging.

Johnny was down early - he and Tim chatted over morning cuppas until Jane, Cat & Leann arrived in for breakfast.

Jane & Johnny headed off up the Sounds mid morning.

It was a grey wet and murky day.

Aviv & Inbar came in to say goodbye too.

They had already stayed several extra days and needed to hit the road.

I really did enjoy them a lot.

 

Cat & Leann spent the day packing.

They had planned to leave early in the morning but the weather wasn't great so they postponed their departure.

 

Mahalia & Azzan were all packed and ready to leave with Anson.

They are both going to camp at Teapot Valley this week.

Azzan was wired and ready for action, which was taking longer than he could cope with, so they ended up in our bed watching a dvd.

Then all of a sudden Anson was here and going!

So it was all action stations.

Bags out to the truck and away they went.

Olivia & Dave popped in to say goodbye too.

No sooner had they all gone when I got a call from Anson at the top of the hill to say Mahalia had left some essential stuff behind.

So Tim took it up and met them half way.

 

The house was unusually quiet and empty so I went to bed for a few hours in the arvo and watched some 'Castle' episodes.

Leann cooked dinner.

It was delicious.

Fresh butterbeans, carrots and silverbeet from Shoshannah's garden - so good

We said our farewells to the girls because they were leaving early next morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim & Seb went out early to get some mussel work done while it was calm.

The forecast was looking a bit feisty for the next few days.

I was up at 6am too cuz Bri, Nick & Abby had said they were leaving then.

There was no sign of them so I did some other stuff.

I decided to get things ready because Tim & I were going to a party when he got back in from work.

Just wasn't to sure when that would be!

Finally just before 9am the travellers came in to say goodbye.

They were heading back to Christchurch via the Molesworth.

Bri & Abby were planning on mountian biking through and then they were going to crash in the hotpools at Hanmer to recover

Anson, Marah, Ella & Dave went out fishing in the morning.

When they got home Ella went swimming with Mahalia & Azzan.

I made several pizzas to take with us and then made a large aubergine stack casserole for dinner.

Finally made it into the shower after 11am.

Tim came back and got ready.

Johnny & Jane sailed in the bay so we chatted with them for a few minutes before we hopped into Anson's boat.

It is a 5m KiwiKraft with a 70hp Suzuki on the back.

It was quite breezy when we left so we put on our warm gear and donned our life jackets.

Took Tim a few minutes to suss out all the dials and how the boat operates!

Clouds to the north east were gorgeous

It was quite choppy but the trip was a lot faster than the drive or in our boat.

To drive it would've taken over an hour on a very rough gravel road and in our boat it would also take an hour.

We got there in just over 35 mins.

The only patch that was a bit nasty was going across the entrance to Waitata Bay.

I was hanging on and trying to prevent my face from planting on the  alumnium dashboard in front of me!

 

We arrived at Canoe Bay around 2pm.

The tide was on the way out so it took Tim a wee while to suss out where to leave the boat safely.

There were heaps of people there already as the official starting time was 11:30am.

But despite us being somewhat late, we were still there in plenty of time for lunch.

Rossi & brother James

Rossi & Doug - 40 years of wedded bliss being celebrated today

A friend cranked up his accordian and soon the singing began in great gusto.

Herb & Tim enjoying a catch up.

The party spread out on to the beach.

Fantastic playground for kids!

Rossi's eldest daughter Pippi Ayesha is a circus performer.

Loved her eyelashes

Younger daughter Petra had the misfortune of falling whilst carrying a cake down the hill and sprained her ankle quite badly.

Harder still being 31 weeks pregnant.

The chair made a great zimmer frame

 

James's 3 daughters

Melody, Olivia & Heidi.

Knew these girls when they were barely school age - where had the time gone?

Olivia and I are Facebook buddies now

The girls entertaining the crowd.

I was sad we had to leave as they were so good.

But it was 6pm already and we needed to get back home.

Their music was echoing around the bay as we left.

Tim had a wee problem when we went to the boat.

It was out too far and stern rope was too tight so he had to strip off his boots and socks

and wade out to get it.

You can see that his legs don't get to see the light of day much these days

 

The kids and dogs were having lots of fun in the water

Ocean was wanting to be Tim's big helper.

He seemed a trifle sad that we were leaving - he was pretty keen to get onboard the boat too!

 

The wind had dropped quite a lot so the ride home was not as bumpy.

Leann & Cat had taken Jane & Johnny for a drive and walk around the farm and they had not long come in.

Leann was heating dinner.

Inbar & Aviv had picked black currants and plums for me and then had a restful day.

Mahalia & Azzan spent the arvo with Marah, Ella & Anson and stayed to have a bbq dinner with them.

They didnt get home till after 9pm.

Tim crashed out long before then!

Cat and crew headed around to see Anson after dinner and I chatted with Inbar & Aviv over a cuppa and cake then we all headed off to bed.

Another long but enjoyable day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ross & Andrea took Shoshannah out to catch the bus.

They left at 8am in their wee cube - apparently the 'radio' in the backseat kept them entertained for most of the 2 hour journey

She was heading down to Waipara for camp.

Katherine hopped on the bus in Nelson so they met at Rai and traveled together.

 

When I walked back down to the house this bush was swarming with bees and other insects.

They were busy buzzy, feeding on the flowers

They were so busy it was hard to capture them, but I did manage to catch 2 honey bees and a bumble bee all feeding on this flower at the same time.

The lavatera makes a lovely foreground looking past the house over the bay

 

Tim came in a bit later and gave me this cute wee rose.

He often brings me in a flower - an affectionate gesture from the man I have loved for over 40 years

My beautiful new kitchen bench.

Just love it!!

Also love this tiled feature Cat built for me at the end of the bench using tiles my aunt Anneke made and gave to me last year.

 

Mahalia made herself a sandwich for lunch

 

Ran down to the mailboat with Mahalia to chat with Jim.

Spent the arvo opening mail and reading newspapers.

Then did some art - continuing on with my Whimsey's from the Art Heart & Healing course while I wait to download the LifeBook 2013 updates when I am next in town.

 

Inbar & Aviv went for a long walk up to the top of Crichtons Hill - the highest point on the farm.

Anson, Seb & Nick went out fishing till late.

Bri & Abby zipped over to have dinner with Phoebe.

Leann made a venison hock casserole in the slow cooker for dinner.

 

Shoshannah was texting me throughout the day to let me know they had arrived safely at their destination.

They went for a swim in water hole near the river and then had a slumber party on the trampoline with another friend Claire.

Nice she can get away and have fun with her friends in a safe environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim & I were both up early as we had a meeting to get to midmorning.

It was really stormy so boating to it was out of the question.

I got busy in the kitchen before anyone else arrived so I could cook in peace without others under my feet.

I managed to get a very large dish of mince and tomato & vegetable casserole underway for dinner and then made blueberry and white chocolate muffins.

Shoshannah arrived out in the middle of it and decided to make sushi to take with her tomorrow for her lunch so we were falling over each other!

 

Here are her three youngest babies.

You find them in all sorts of funny places.

Tim's shirt pocket was a good hidey hole this morning!

 

 

I finally got a call from Mandy around 9:30am  - they don't have great reception where they are so it had been difficult to make contact.

We arranged to meet at Waterfall Bay at 11am.

Tim, Ross & I piled into the Terrano soon after 10am.

Andrea came for the ride and planned to walk back through the bush track.

We had only been at Waterfall for a few minutes when I got a call saying Mandy was on her way but Noel wasn't coming.

So we made a snap decision to take the meeting to his place.

Left Andrea to socialise with Phoebe and hit the road.

I drove and the three guys chatted.

Met up with Mandy and Seb hopped in with her and we headed to Elaine Bay.

Spent the 3-4 in a business meeting.

With a company that has only been up and running for 6 months we have been feeling our way and it was time to sit and talk through lots of operational and accounting issues.

We devoured muffins and sushi and hot drinks to keep up our strength

It all went well - was a really good time of discussion and planning goals for the future.

The storm hit with major vengeance soon after we arrived.

It was pouring down and the wind gusts were really strong.

There were intervals of calm between which made you feel like it was over and then it would hit again.

Around mid arvo we had talked all we could talk so decided to zip down to the wharf and show Ross over 'Tardis'.

He hadn't 'meet' the barge before and needed some concrete imagery to 'see' when back in his townie office

I was sitting in the Terrano on the wharf waiting for the men when another storm gust hit.

The rain came down and the winds were so strong and buffeted the vehicle so hard I was getting a bit frightened that it was going to take me and the Terrano for a sail into the sea!

Then Seb ran back and hopped in absolutely soaking wet.

When Tim got back we fueled up and then headed for home.

The rain was easing as we got closer but the fog was very thick around Okuri.

We dropped Seb at the top of his drive as he was happy to walk home.

We were chuckling because he had come out in his shorts & t-shirt, slippers and downie.

Quite the fashion plate

Got back to the house to find only Shoshannah here.

Bri & Abby had taken Mahalia & Azzan over to Waterfall to watch a movie.

Andrea had walked back from Waterfall Bay and then in the arvo had walked back there with Inbar & Aviv, so she was resting with her book.

Everyone eventually turned up.

Bri & Abby made buns and the others helped cut up salad veges.

Nick barbequed patties and we ate self made hamburgers for dinner.

14 for dinner again.

Tiramisu for dessert was delicious.

I sat and watched an episode of 'Castle' before dinner cuz I was too brain weary to do anything else.

Then I chatted with Andrea for a while.

Everyone went off to bed so Tim and I talked with Inbar & Aviv for a while.

They were trying to decide whether to leave tomorrow or not.

I think we have convinced them to stay a bit longer

Ross & Andrea are taking my laptop out to the fixit shop tomorrow so I am just doing some last minute saving of stuff so I can manage without it for the next week.

I will be using the kids computer while it is away.

But it will be worth it cuz when I get it back the logic board will be fixed and I will be able to use the usb ports again and therefore use my printer!!

Yippee!

You don't realise how much you use it until you haven't got access to it.