It all began with pressies and breakfast for the Waiwera residents, Sue, Dan, Lexi and George…..Then A little food prep, and Ovin (Georges friend) and Michaela arrived. Dan and Lexi went off to Lexi’s family for a Christmas feast and the remaining four strolled to the beach for “two!” Swims…a quiet beer in front of the peaceful cottage and returned to my house for a lunch of “Ambrosia” and “Trifle” – satisfying the sweet tooth and cool in the heat. A pot of butter chicken for dinner and afternoon naps! Perfect untraditional and very relaxing.

The weather gods gave us a perfect kiwi Christmas Day!

Boxing Day dawned with another bluebird sky and the journey to Katikati to visit with the other kids in the family was a pretty easy run…biggest issue was where to grab a coffee and food(for George) as all he roadside cafes on the way were closed….a casualty of COVID lockdowns or the holiday break? So it was McDonald’s in Paeroa (an hour out from destination) for refreshments!

A pass by Georges house(investment) in Waihi, as brought sight unseen in lockdown and arrived at Jaxon’s around 1pm. Lunch and pressie time (round two) and a stroll to the beach(estuary) for a cool off…

Back to the house for (paddling) pool and play time

One little man scored the lions share of the new toys, camp chair, wheelbarrow, soccer ball and red bands!(gumboots – which impeded the newly acquired walking skill and didn’t last long on hot feet)

The next morning George and Sue ventured a bit further south to visit mums best friend, Barb, in Tauranga, and had a lovely morning catching up and eating her homemade scones.

Another warm afternoon saw Gran’ma Sue and George undertake the sandpit renovation project…Digging out old sand, pulling weeds, trimming hedge and building a cover!

Every kid needs a Sandpit! And our little man mastered climbing in and out and digging….great start! This of course meant wheelbarrow time was a must….

The long weekend came to an end with the journey home, ready for work tomorrow(for me at least)….accident prone Bonnici style – I have a sum-what sore twisted knee from digging! Might make container unloading this week a little challenging!

The 12 days of Christmas have brought a new level of busyness to our lives…

Floyd, the gold plated dog, came home on Wednesday after a four day stint in dog hospital, a result of eating something that didn’t agree with a canine stomach. But we are all very happy he’s come and back to his usual habits of barking at the poor neighbour while he hangs out his washing!

Work has been a combination of long days and evenings cooking (after daily supermarket shops) to create interesting soft food for a broken jaw (George!) Vege pie seems to be the winner! Followed by ice cream and custard.

Last week we had a storm for most of the week, which created chaos on the roads and my three hour round trip became four most days! It also sent little twisters roaring down the sides of my house, throwing deck chairs against the gates and rails and ripping out the Christmas lilies from their pot!

Thank goodness the weekend saw the sun come back – sunblock out, and swimming weather. Jack and Steph stayed at the cottage for a couple of nights and I got to play with my granbaby who has learned to walk since I was last able to see him.

A whole new Gran’ma Sue world, swimming, beach time and his first swing! The trampoline was an escape exercise, not sure about that one! After the initial hesitation of seeing a great big human in real life (after only seeing his Gran’ma on a phone screen for 4 months) he warmed to this old human!

Uncle George was no problem as he just became an extension of the chair. FYI George is only not smiling as the jaw screws don’t yet allow!

Now after a (sun)day of work catch up, tree trimming and weed spraying it’s an early night for yours truly to hit the road at 5am! Hopefully half of Auckland has escaped the borders and the motorway traffic will be kind!

Countdown to Christmas….

That time of year, when lights sparkle, and the kids are writing letters to the fat man in red! Humans scramble to meet last minute business mayhem, balancing family, friends and deadlines….the world is rushing and stress levels rise. And in a partial lockdown COVID divided vaccine driven environment – tensions seem higher than normal.

However, in the Bonnici-Carter world, there is no time for division, we need all hands on deck, and celebrate the Christmas Lillie’s in bloom as we race in and out of the drive!

In brief, my work…warehouse man walked out and I became logistics person- with a 3 hour round trip each day (no more working from home) ….. while still trying to hold up my sales role….then the accounts lady had a family emergency and voila….I added all the daily accounting to my workday! Job applicants are few and far between so I don’t see an end to it anytime soon!

Then the weekends have been filled with…container unloading, helping friends shift, cooking and weekly housework catch chores…with a breath catch before the next week starts!

Accidents and illness kick in….just to add to the fun of pre Christmas festivities!

One of Dans work team of three has post vaccine heart and blood clot reactions, and ends up in hospital, and the team of two is doing the work of a team of three!

Accident prone George, breaks his jaw and last week underwent surgery to screw it back in place- banded together and six weeks of soft food- scrambled eggs for Christmas lunch! The challenge now is to produce the 6 meals a day in soft food form that George requires.

And Floyd (my fur granbaby) gets sick

2nd trip to the vet in the last 24 hours, and finally last night he stayed in overnight as had stopped eating and drinking. I just wish he could talk and tell us what hurt – he just looked so sad. Waiting to hear how he is this morning.

Now is usually the time when I give you all the things we have done and milestones ticked off as we wind down to Christmas. We thought 2020 was a strange year as COVID reared it’s ugly head, but 2021 has had more to answer for, as the governments have taken control of our lives, divided families and friends, created unnecessary health issues, instilled fear in people who hesitate to carry on living their lives and crushed NZ business.

In my world we have no time for playing their game and none of us have had to stop working…I have a grand baby down country who I haven’t seen for several months due to a government ring fence around a super city!

Wishing my family and friends in other parts of the world a peaceful and happy pre Christmas time.

Sitting out an extended lockdown, coupled with a load of brainwashing and bribery to gain our freedoms for summer, has created a tedious boredom in our already narrow horizons! Most humans are over it, few read the news, watch the live updates and are unaware of Daily “Cases”…. We just don’t care, for the most part it’s not going to kill us anymore than other ailments we have lived with since babies! And vaccinated or not vaccinated……yawn! It just doesn’t matter, it’s like a last ditch attempt of the powers to be, to grasp at the control of a non communist society!

Anyway, some great things can still happen!

The sea is calm and summer warmth is filling our days – an evening walk along a peaceful waterfront! We live in a pretty amazing place, when the evening is quiet and the residents have their world back!

The ever changing colours of our world, some things that can never be taken away from us!

A Birthday….party for three! And Cake for 10! Roast Dinner, bubbles and cake!

Peonies in bloom – in the morning a bud and by evening in full bloom – the size of a side plate! Only grown in the South Island and a November treat for the lucky ones!

When sharing is caring – friends drop in fish – Dan fillets – Sue Preps – Lex makes salad and the Webber (BBQ) does the rest!

Work has been frantic – the narcissist left just as we were expecting four containers – all full of product our customers are desperate for – yes they all arrived and the awesome team of four have been doing long days – and weeks ! Consequently yours truly is putting a few miles on the clock, burning some rubber in a 130km round trip to work each day!

AND the dreams do come true bit….

Jaxon and his family have bought and moved into a house is KatiKati. They seem very happy in their new life – my granbaby is becoming a digital image – about once a week Jaxon FaceTimes me when he has Tyler on his knee, He seems to smile and recognise – and eat the phone!

George is a starting a new job and new ventures!

Dan is flat out with work – and my Reno’s are scheduled for January!

And Trudi is in Australia! Yep she can fly to Australia without quarantine but can’t go to Hamilton (an hours drive from Auckland) At least some dreams do come true and there is hope and granbaby hugs for my BFF!

One last thing – when the wine bottle is not a screw top – call in the tradies! (Like who owns a corkscrew anymore!)

Rolling into month three of lockdown- there are some out there who really need a haircut! And so much more, as a nation we have a carrot dangling on the horizon – if we are good sheep and do what we are told we can have a reward ….. but wait there’s just one more thing you have to do! and yet it goes on , the goalposts keep moving, people are losing their livelihoods, their pride and some their lives,(not from a virus)

Last two jigsaws done – think seven is enough for now, two books down, now yoga in front of the Tele is the next best thing!

Got a little excited a couple of weeks ago as the supermarket had racks of plant seedlings….veges and flowers.

Last weekend, in the rain, I planted new life into pots and dug(with Georges help) a small bean plot along the back fence! One week later the bean plants are full of holes(something is eating the leaves) and Floyd has enjoyed digging in the soft dirt to bury his stick- sending bean plants far and wide!

Another pot is devoid of anything green – no sign of leaves and flower buds – chomped off at ground level – I think Floyd is the culprit here!

Trudi is having a couple of weeks (her turn) at her cottage, while she does some maintenance jobs and looks out for the caretakers well-being (who actually doesn’t need any looking out for).

A new rule for Riverhaven (yawn) in level 2.95 is that 2 shareholders can stay at any one time for a 2 week rotating roster.

So fellow shareholders, get your name on the very long list (is it?) that one of our directors is managing….whilst staying there himself! It seems the rotational rule doesn’t apply to him, even though we all have the same shares and we all pay the same rates, while our bachs are rotting away needing some attention. We no longer have an asset we can sell – as who would buy a place that they can’t use! Surely I can’t be the only one who feels that one man (or woman) should not be able to dictate what we can do with our property. We are all grown ups – we know how to wash our hands and stay away from others – now that we can travel from one end of Auckland to the other and no mention from the government about not going to our bachs within our borders, do we really legally have to stay away?

Anyway another exciting weekend begins…grocery shopping, a weeks load of washing, plant more plants for the dog to eat or dig up, grind through an hour of TV yoga…the fun is endless!

As Dorothy (wizard of Oz) says if you wish for something hard enough – dreams will come true….

A plan to was in place, early in the week, to spend Saturday on the water…

While the COVID propaganda and updates and lockdown proposals plagued us all week, it was a welcome break to forget the plan for five million, pack a picnic, fire up the engine and let the boat know we still loved it!

George had kindly agreed to fur baby sit, and Trudi, Dan, Lex and I took to the ocean, along with the other escapees who had also decided some freedom was in order.

A bluebird day welcomed us, and we got in the water before the other hoards of Riverhaven lockouts arrived to dust off their boats.

At this time of the year less is more, we didn’t need to go far before the fish were biting, drifting in the channels only a couple of kilometres from the shore, no anchor needed as the sea was like glass and the wind factor zero!

A bin full of fish, early afternoon we headed back in, however not enough water to get up the channel, so all the fish were filleted at sea as we floated around for half an hour to wait for the tide to creep in.

Again we made it back before the hoards, only to find one tractor working…and the jockey wheel on the trailer snapped off. Number eight wire, wooden blocks propped up the boat, while we scrubbed and washed in the port, loaded the Ute, and escaped to our haven down the road. Done and dusted by 3pm, with our first feed of fresh fish in months!

After a busy work week, a day of sunshine, sea and fishing was just what the doctor ordered!

Happy lockdown Birthday! I guess many of us can now say we’ve had one..yes another year of my life zoomed by yesterday!

Finally, after a frantic two weeks of work, I took a day off, to….clean out the the old family home. With Dans help, and muscles, we sorted loaded, dumped Russ and my stored gear (from three years ago….finding some treasures and a lot of old bags! Big job done and some of the family relics (tools) added to Dans toolkit!

So the birthday bunny was a bit weary by the time our bubble gathered with click and collect pizza and cheesecake!

Spring is throwing us some clear crisp days, a lot of rain and more lockdown activities…

With some garden supplies now available the half polythened driveway has now been rocked! A bit of after work exercise…and job done.

Now able to have a short visit with an isolated relative, I finally got to see Dad last weekend….cooking him whitebait fritters for lunch – freshly caught from the waiwera river in lockdown!

Three more jigsaws done one to go! Courtesy of Cousin Trish!

And two weeks culminating in a little bit of Spoil Me(one of my big box customers)

Arranged by my Boss, Trev, and waiting on my doorstep yesterday when I returned from the house Cleanout! Trudi lined me up with another jigsaw, and a book that I have been wanting to get my hands on! A social Facebook call with my grandbaby and kids now out of town, a couple of Speights and a good movie….

A weekend of sunshine, and a welcome break for lockdown Aucklanders! In our sleepy little coastal village, it seems the best kept secret was shared with half of Auckland.

While the media is announcing border breaches the Auckland humans flocked to the beaches……

Wind back! Trudi and I decided that home jobs could go on the back burner, and a quiet fishing expedition in the estuary was just what the doctor ordered! We donned our shorts, bared the winter lily white legs, packed some snacks, dusted off the fishing rods (and Dan rigged them) and set off on foot (as one is permitted to do) to snag the hungry fish swimming in on the incoming tide! It certainly was a Thelma and Louise moment and one not captured on film as all hands were full!

But wait….cars and humans were arriving in hordes, having well and truly planned their beach day before the locals emerged! So 11am is not a time for the early bird!

Needless to say, we hauled ourselves and our equipment to a secluded point on the estuary!

The other side of the river was like grand central station, as all the visitors parked at the bridge and took their families and dogs for some outdoor exercise…fine….. until an oyster cracking, gum booted, swandried group (at least 10 of them) decided to stop directly opposite us and yell and scream and bang on rocks for about an hour! So much for a peaceful lockdown adventure!

Meanwhile on the Southside, Jaxon, Steph and , Tyler Russell had come for their morning walk…and sat the 6meters away up on the sand bank allowing us a long awaited glimpse of Tyler’s first day at the beach!

Photo sent by Jax, we weren’t allowed to get this close! Not daunted by the sand or anything he could put in his mouth, this gorgeous boy is a chip off the old block!

Trudi sitting on the bank enjoying the sun, about 20meters downstream…which was not because we need to social distance, but to ensure we didn’t tangle each other’s lines.

So I guess you are waiting to hear how many fish we caught? Ha, the million dollar question. Not quite the result we’d hoped for…We caught the rocks on the other side as our casting skills surprised even us! Then after about three hours we caught a chill…a nasty wind (westerly) picked up and swooped down the river…catching two scantily clad fisher gals!

Dan had made a brief visit and decided it was too cool, and a couple of the locals, clad in jeans and puffer jackets had stopped by for a social distance chat! Time to pack up, cut our losses, leave a little tackle in the rocks and head back to our house to catch the last of the sunshine rays on our sheltered deck!

Hot bath and…..Lamb chops for dinner!

As we wake to a clear sunny Saturday, after a week of cold wet lockdown we ponder what we have become.

In short, a city of mask wearing, home working (or not working), TV watching, handwashing humans! Apart from a few, where the lure of shopping, skiing and a feast of McDonalds, are finding themselves in the media headlines and in some cases…court!

We are playing the game, (most of us)….getting jabbed, not hugging, not moving house, not seeing friends, living off the government stipend, and not getting the dreaded covid….one could go on, the rewards are endless.

There have been some highs and lows to the week just gone. Dan and I celebrated (and mourned) the two year anniversary of losing our dear Russ…by consuming every last drop of beer. Russ would have been proud, although the next day was not pleasant for either of us!

On Thursday I woke, with a much clearer head, dreading the morning instant coffee! An advertisement for online sales and delivery popped up on my social media and I got to work! A coffee machine, a toasted sandwich maker and a smoothie bullet! Done by 6am. Expecting a delivery within 7 days, I was pleasantly surprised by a phone call at 7.15 from Harvey Norman to say I had ordered the wrong size coffee pods, so he would put the right ones in, packing my order and delivery same day! It’s the small things that matter! So by 4pm there we were surrounded with my new appliances and feeling like it was Christmas Day! All for the small courier fee of $8.75 from south Auckland to my Waiwera gate!

Needless to say, Friday workday flew by accompanied with flat whites and toasted sandwiches! And by 3pm the rain had cleared! This weather break prompted a round of golf – at the abandoned campground, lots of laughs and small signs of improvement (dare I say) followed by a social distance moment on the waterfront.

A modicum of life in a very boring lockdown world!

While the rest of NZ (apart from Auckland) languishes in level 2, we on the north east coast of the lockdown region are still in Jail! It really is time to open up north of the Bridge, as all the new cases keep popping up Southside and city!

It really was a TGIF (thank god it’s Friday) moment at the end of my working week as momentum around the rest of NZ picked up, I found myself in a seated position for long days pumping through orders!

Aside from work busyness – it was a relatively unremarkable week, as the cold grey days, rain and wind continued to defy us the September spring…however the cherry blossom tree in front of Dans provides hope that spring is in the (cold) air! And a home to rowdy Tuis, at least 10 most of the time, being one of those NZ Native Birds who travel in Pairs!

The first jigsaw is finished, Trudi is on about her 20th book!

George is honing up his iso golf skills – trying to teach his Old mum how to hit a golf ball! Occasionally (this is very rare) one connects without turf, and gives me the inspiration to keep trying! Having an abandoned caravan park with a wide open space, within walking distance, is a bonus. I do still manage to be able to find every bush, tree and any old post still around and, without fail, my shots just head in their direction!

Last weekend saw us complete our lockdown job list, with sewing and repairs complete, polythene (as much as we had) layed down the driveway garden in readiness for rocks, Trudi attacked the windows, and the bbq. Which then (the Webber) produced the most delicious lamb roast dinner, only to need another spring clean the next morning! George got his car out of the mud, jumper leads needed as battery flat, then gave it a much needed spring clean!

Jaxon sends me pictures of his beautiful boy (and my grandbaby) five minutes down the road, who I cannot see before he heads off south to live, as lockdown rules are lockdown law (or so they say) Having been housebound for four weeks with no signs of covid, I’m sure we have dodged that bullet! Might just go get a test, coz that’s what we are being told to do…if we cough once!

We have it pretty sorted in our bubble, Dan has been feeding George cooked breakfast, Trudi is fully vaxxed- so she goes to the supermarket, we cook tea…and George cleans up! Last night produced an epic Saturday roast (supplied by Dan – cooked by Sue) followed by (or in Trudis case before dinner) beautiful homemade apple pies an ice cream – made with fresh apples and built by Dan!

Yesterday (Saturday), it was home haircuts (by Sue) for George and Trudi, and Dan cut his own. Sunday, day of rest or day of water blasting! We’ll see…..but first Coffee!