Sitting in the qantas lounge at Auckland airport, I can’t believe we actually made it!

Last night with the son we are leaving behind, Dan in his new swandri! A must have for every kiwi builder!

This mornings alarm was a call from George on the other side of the world at 5am! Followed by a couple of hours of work, cottage cleaning, last minute packing and finally a shower!

A quick drive by the building site…..if you have to work, not a bad place to be. Winter woolies and the new swandri!!

A quick hello and goodbye to pop as he zoomed off to have an X-ray! Loaded Sandy’s car, a few more work emails and at the terminal laden with bags by 11am!

Qatar was not quite ready to take us – so Russ found a spot to sit and guard the bags!

Then check in…business class! Mmmm…… we scored a young lady, who was very nice, but on trainer wheels! She took so long….and allocated our seat/beds on different sides of the plane, not only for the 17 hour flight but all the way! And….this is what you pay business class for! Ok getting a little cross, I played the husband broken back card, which incidentally almost backfired! More standing around, not good for broken backs, and seats shuffled around, so we can at least chat to each other…if we wish.

Then arriving at the lounge, yes as part of business class we get a feed, there was a message to call “Matt”(from Qatar) who now needed to determine how serious the “broken back” was to fly such a long flight! I assured him that is the reason we have business class so long as he can lie flat he is fine! Dodged a bullet…thought we might be ringing Sandy to come and take us home again!

But here we are, new nails! And snacking in the lounge. Are you all tired….I am! Oh yes and “happy birthday number two son” maybe check in online would have been a smart choice!

Talk to you all of the other side in a day or so.

Another year of mothers day celebrations around the world…..a time to reflect on the unconditional love your mum has given you and a time to appreciate the joy (?) your offspring have given back!

A kiwi mothers day, a visit to my mum in her residence, and appreciate that I am one of the lucky ones, my age, who still has my mum to share this time with.  Circumstances change, but your mum is still your mum…

The love can still be shared from afar, my brother in Malta had sent mum this beautiful bunch of colour….to brighten up a very wet stormy mothers day. I gave her slippers, ever the practical daughter….

As a mum in the middle, I then had the rest of the day to spend with my offspring and be pampered….well, Russ bought me McDonalds, a treat none the less…

The world is a big place and the youngest son in England chatted via Facebook, the middle son and his entourage filled up our cottage for the weekend and gave me a personalised, and very much appreciated present….

I guess this says it all….mums an alcoholic and a reasonably good sort! So not true, but I do enjoy a nice cold Speights at the end of the day.

The oldest son, gave me what all mums wish for….peace…..to watch movies and eat chips and chocolate with the entire couch to myself for the afternoon.

And Hubby cooked his own tea! Having devoured takeaways, chips and chocolate, a nice bland cup of tea and an early night was in order, the weather being most unkind to us mothers in kiwiland, and sending galeforce winds and torrential rain for the afternoon.

On a brighter note…10 days before the next big adventure and Russ and I head for sunny skies…..

In 19 days, the Kiwi travellers leave for another adventure to the Northern Hemisphere, the last couple of weeks have been littered with excitement, jobs and caring for canines and humans….

The second offspring proposed to his lovely wife to be, on the top of a mountain over the Easter Break and visited us on ANZAC day to dry out tents (and show us the ring – wedding bells are in the air)…..Jaxon taking some R&R with Chloe, the mischievious Corgi, at our cousins house in the hills. No this is not his new wife to be, she is far more gorgeous!

The week ended with a work from home day, visit to Mary with Dans’ Dog, Floyd, stopping at the vet on the way to get a foot bandaged.

After an exhausting (and traumatising) visit to the Vet, Floyd could only chill out on the carpet in Marys room and was very well behaved until Mary started rattling the shortbread jar, and the dog food alert burst into action.

The weekend included the annual spring clean of the boat, scrubbing and hosing and clearing out a summers worth of “junk” accumulation. Russ sorted the junk, and Sue scrubbed and cleaned….Ready for the winter lockdown. A good job done, albeit a full days work!

Then it was off to suburbia to babysit these gorgeous boys for a week….

Their Dads taking a short break, and Auntie Sue is in charge.  These guys are very easy to babysit: eat, sleep, walk (slowly), cuddles and treats.  Before their parents return, I think a run over with the vacuum cleaner may be in order. Here they are waiting patiently for their evening treat, then off to bed for the night.

From Beach to Suburbia in Millwater, Orewa…we still feel like we are in another world, as our temporary home backs onto the top end of the estuary and we are surrounded by bush and birds….

The Autumn sunshine and moisture is doing wonders for the gardens, looking very green, while we are enjoying clear bluesky days…This time of the year in New Zealand is rather pleasant, if somewhat chilly in the evenings and mornings.  The days are shortening, driving to work in the dark, and sunset by 6.30pm…definitely time for a move before the winter sets in.

 

 

Another two weeks have flown by and the autumn chill is cooling off the sea and sand

Morning walk with Dan and Floyd, Floyd behaving like a gentleman!

Easter weekend is upon us and heralds a number of milestones – the first of my offspring proposing to his lovely lady!

These guys xxxx

The autumn sunsets at our cousins rural escape – a lovely night spent catching up with our ex flattie and her fur babies…

This gorgeous girl chilling in her new home after twelve months living with Russ and I.

And her new sister lying at Russell’s feet! this baby is only 5 months old!

The kiwi travellers are planning the next few months and excited to share our new adventures, in the meantime enjoying the twilight of the summer sunshine, bbqs with friends and family and local wildlife…

A wood pigeon came to visit, resting in our trees by the Waiwera cottage….and the resident pair of Tuis (native NZ birds) are back here to live, and wake us at 6am every day!

On the beach – the architects are at play, creating a little village made from all the local flora!

Daylight saving has finished and the evenings are short, jeans and jerseys, and early nights!

Our beautiful beach, and estuary with Sugarloaf island in the background – a little piece of paradise in every part of our wonderful world!

Autumn in Northern New Zealand is producing some amazing sunrise colours, cooler nights and alot more moisture…. 10 inches rain in one day!

Six weeks until the Kiwi Travellers are off on their next adventure with offspring in tow.  Exciting times ahead.

Adult stuff is bogging us down, not ideal for middle age retirees!  Russell has never been so busy, managing contractors and doing repairs in readiness to walk away!

Living the Kiwi summer, and having packed away all the winter clothes, its the one pair of jeans, Malta purchased boots, Lake Jackson top and Denim Jacket to keep me warm on these chilly evenings.  I am told that one does not wear denim and denim, but choices are limited and with a wardrobe of shorts and summer tops, keeping out the chills is a challenge.

Russ and I are looking like the “Clampits” these days, and if you know what this means you too are middle aged!

Russ is furiously exercising to have premium fitness and walking power for our next adventure, and Sue is fighting off a nasty flu, driving in bumper to bumper traffic, working and getting all in order, to once again take the path less travelled.  Our story has been somewhat lacking lately as we have been caught up in “Life” and “Jobs” but moments of R & R creep in….with a couple of long weekends ahead, the easter break and ANZAC holiday in April.

Staying in touch with our friends and family on the other sides (England, Norway, Malta, USA, Australia etc…) of the world is best with a “Blog” feel free to add your comments and looking forwards to fun and games in the near future.

As the world rotates on its axis, we flick into Autumn – 1st of March in New Zealand brought a sudden drop in temperature, wind and rain.

The grand baby shut inside on stormy days and not too happy about it – cat door has its uses!

Life is very busy for the retired human in my life, who is trying to get lots of little jobs done and finding a shortage of eager contractors! Third world issues.

However, a little light in an otherwise grey week saw Sue enjoying the “Cirque de Soleil KOOZA ” production with the work team.

Big top at the racecourse, locked out for the first 10 minutes as the taxi driver got lost! But finally seated in for the duration to share the experience….. of one of the most amazing athletic performances of some super humans!

Music, lighting and a lot of breath holding (when untethered athletes were in precarious activities). Two hours of action, I was exhausted!

Makes hot yoga seem like a Sunday nap!

So the end of a working week, lots of life stuff going on, with flats being re -rented (tennants out and tennants in)….and raincoats!

A day in Auckland for the Norwegian travellers….

A cruise ship so large it couldn’t dock in Auckland and Lissa and Johnny were tendered to the shore, having to fill in time as we encountered the Monday morning traffic jams heading in from the Hibiscus Coast!

The day started a little cloudy and even a drop of rain, but soon cleared off to our summer sunshine!

First stop a coffee at orewa beach! Russ not the tallest in this picture!

We then took Lissa to the kiwi supermarket to buy supplies for a lunch at the cottage at Waiwera!

Lissa could not resist a small supply of our NZ chocolate, understandable as chocolate is quite pricey in Norway!

A cool drink and a wander around our summer abode, Lissa enjoying this waterside haven!

Lots of chats under the gazebo and a summer lunch, then time to tackle the traffic to have our visitors back to catch the tender back to their ship by 5pm…

A wander through the tank farm, Auckland’s social waterfront cafe area, and through the marina, parking was easy on this side.

Boats for hire, by the day. Judging by the number of boats not out on this glorious day, possibly a pricey exercise.

Said our goodbyes, after a lovely relaxing day, apart from Auckland traffic, Russ and I hit the 5pm rush hour traffic to head back to the hills!

A slow trip home due to some errant sheep running around the motorway and a flipped Ute!

Great to have our visitors for a day, albeit for a short time, but cruises to carry on with and back to work for me tomorrow.