Keeping Cool in Tauranga.

Yesterday part 1 of water supply repairs was happening here  at our place so I took myself off for most of the day to do messages and visit the inner city of Tauranga. As well as walking around shops I went to the waterfront to see what was happening.
 It was a very hot day and folk were cooling off in different ways.

 Just the kiddies and mainly girls were really having fun running through or standing over the water spouts.

 Bigger girls read good books under a tree.

 Not many walked for too long it was too hot.

 I hope this person didn't stay relaxed there for too long as she was no longer in the shade.

 Kids mostly have lots of energy to climb and slide and swing and explore.

 It wasn't long before Lynley Dodd's characters Hairy Maclary: Muffin Mclay; Bitzer Maloney; Schnitzel von Krumm; Bottomley Potts and  Hercules Morse were attracting attention .

 Is that Scarface Claw  hiding or up the pole?

  If you are visiting Tauranga soon be sure to take any little people ( and grown up ones ) to visit these Characters.

Good Day for a Picnic.

By tradition, our Tauranga Patchwork & Quilting Group start the year by having a picnic at Kulim Park. The weather was brilliant. 

 We sit and talk and stitch or knit or just relax.

 Most of us haven't seen each other since early December so there is plenty to chat about.

 Every year I take photos and they are never wonderful as the light and shade contrast is too great.  Notice in the background a train going by. The ground trembles and we have to stop talking till the train is gone. This happened 5 times while we were there.

  Before lunch the tide was well in but by the time a friend and I had been for a walk mid afternoon it was way out.

 Every one else went home early ( probably for Nana naps )  so M and I walked along the waterfront from Kulim Park to Ferguson Park and back along this walkway.

 Along the way is a very large tree with hollows in it big enough for kids to hide inside.

 Very pleasant to have a day out.

Another Part Added.

 When it rained  I got a whole afternoon sewing in. All my sewing gear and machine had been having a holiday in the cupboard . Luckily I had thought to write myself a few notes before I packed it all away some weeks ago. At the top of the photo is the latest section  I made and now have pinned in place ready to sew on. ( the width of 4 rows of the small squares ) In front on the table is a small pile of still usable parts for maybe one more section. I am having quite a hunt to find suitable lights for the half square triangles. They are quite essential to make the design stand out.

 The rain we have been having ( thank you ) is boosting the size of the pickings I am getting from my strawberry  and blueberry patch . It is also increasing the number of rots in the strawbs.

 Having recently got a new blender we have been having some interesting smoothies. These blueberries ended up in one last night along with other fruit and some pourable yoghurt and almond milk. and  ground LSA. No 2 ever turn out exactly the same.

 This is an earlier version using yellow fruits ( gold kiwis ,frozen pineapple some orange  almond milk and a spoon of R's marmalade ) ( Coconut milk is also good in them ) 

 Every 2nd  or 3rd day I have to do a lot of bending to pick these dwarf beans called Tendergreen. ( Watkins seeds ) . I don't care for frozen beans much so have been giving some away. 

 The courgettes are being quite generous now ( you know  how closely they need watching unless you desire marrows )  and I have been making various recipes. This one was in the NZ Listener 1 week ago. It turned out nicely but is really just a frittatta.

 The main ingredients were new potatoes and courgettes ( which we have  ) eggs some cream seasoning and cheese. Kumara would work just as well I think.

 I also made a Donna Hay recipe called  Raw Peppermint Slice. It is from her magazine called Donna Hay - Fresh & Light Power Foods. It cost  NZ $ 9.99  and has more yummy recipes in it than any other book or mag I have seen lately.

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 Today we have a gang of 26 workers in to get us up to speed with our kiwifruit thinning. ( That means in one day they can do what would have taken me 26 days to get done. ) It needs to be done now so the fruit that remains can gain maximum size. The rain will help.

 We had fertilizer spread last Friday so that got gently washed in.( twice ) 

 It was a side dressing of 2 ferts and took this driver on his quad bike pulling a little spreader about 15 minutes to do all the kiwifruit blocks.

Time in the Garden.

We have been blessed with lots of rain so far in January. The birdbath tells the story.

 I spent the entire afternoon yesterday weeding my long border and around this tomato soup echinacea.

 I got such a lot done but realise all that rain will make the remaining weeds I didn't get to yet , double in size very quickly.Still it was just what the garden and our fruit crops needed so all good really.

 I have gift lilies in a vase inside and lilies in the garden.( a storm is coming so they may get trashed ) The yellow one is Lilium oriental belladonna lemon and the other in front is Gluhwein .

 The blue hydrangeas love the extra water.

 This Pink  Delight Vireya rhododendron is a cutting grown one in a big blue pot outside  the dining room door

 R spent some time weeding one vege patch  yesterday so the courgettes don't get smothered - they need picking daily.

 Beans just ready now too.

 My successions of plantings of Tom Thumb lettuce  are just enough for constant salads. They are crisp, with a little heart - that's how I like lettuce.

 The threatening rain still hasn't arrived  ( and it's 11 am ) so we may work in the vines this afternoon after all.

Nice Day For a Wedding.

We were fortunate to be guests at a wedding this week. I first met the bride when she was 4, so am very pleased she has found the right person to spend the rest of her life with.
 You know I don't put photos of people on here without their permission so I took some shots especially with the blog in mind. 
 There was a Champagne Fountain and this amazing croquembouche that the groom's Mother made. It  ( they - the cream puffs, held together with spun toffee  ) was delicious .

 The tables all had names of different fishing flies as the groom ( and more recently the bride ) are keen trout fishers.

 Our table was the Scotch Poacher, a fly used in the evening or low light.The  beeswax candles  were made by the groom from his own 3 beehives.

 There were lots of flowers as the bride, who is a lawyer  has also  been a florist, so even on the cake.

 The bride's Mother made a large heart wreath with fresh red roses  that was hanging in the garden to stand behind for photos.

 The show stealing moment was at the ceremony where the ring bearer just 16 months old toddled up the grass slope, fell, grinned, got up again and kept going to make his delivery amid great applause from everyone. So, so cute .

 We had a lovely evening out with much talk and laughter with old friends and young ones alike.

 I hope the newly married couple have a long and happy life together.

After a little Absence.....

It is already the 2nd day of 2016.  Happy New Year to All Readers of this blog.  May it be a happy, successful year for you. Since I last put fingertips to keyboard ( pen to paper so to speak )  much has happened.
    On the 23rd of December we squeezed in lunch out, to celebrate our 48th Wedding Anniversary. 
 The next day younger son and lovely wife and grandson came to stay (for 8 nights ). They went back home to the big smoke yesterday. As today we are getting much needed rain ( yes ,orchardists are always going on about the weather ) I can forget about putting washing out to dry or doing much needed garden jobs and catch up instead with photos and blogs and emails.

 Twice I got to take this and go off just Grandson and me walking, so he would sleep and give his folks a tiny respite.

 Look I peeped inside just for a few seconds to make sure all was well and he was in fact asleep. 

 You may notice that his first very full head of hair has gone and he is growing a second new lot.

 He moves his head a lot and has rubbed a bald patch across the back.too.

 Many photos  & little videos were taken.

 Here are just a few.

 During Grandson's stay we had other little people come to visit.

 Aren't these 2 wee girls adorable? The littlest one particularly wanted to hold and cuddle the baby and to have her photo taken many times. These 2 have an elder brother too who got in some photos .3 lovely wee children who are rellies of ours. Their surname is different but their Mum's maiden name was the same as ours.

 The children live here in BOP and the Grandparents live in Taranaki and were up babysitting and the great Grandparents live in Whanganui. Great Granddad of these girls was my head master  when I was a teacher at a country school back in the 1960. As often happens, I married while in that area and these girl's Mum also married into our family ( small world ) .

 We have had more visitors - too many to go into here but lovely to see all of them.

 One day we all fitted into Son and DIL's  new SUV  and went out to  their friends parent's place for lunch. It was a bright beautiful BOP Summer day and we have had lots lately. This is the view from their house .

 The Kaimai range in the background and just a glimpse of the sea. Notice also neatly trimmed orchard hedges and yes kiwifruit vines!