Turning 50 is definitely a milestone birthday, but hubby Dan didn’t want a party so in February we decided to head away for the weekend to celebrate at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. Dan’s Birthday fell on the same weekend as the festival, in the sunshine summer month of February here in New Zealand, […]
On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before […]
It’s been a few quiet weeks at home for us, with the level 4 lockdown lasting for two weeks and then moving to level 3 on 1 September (basically level 4 with takeaways for us!). Tomorrow, on 8 September, we move down to level 2 with schools and hobbies resuming. Auckland remains in level 4, […]
On occasions, like right now, I feel the need to dump down where we’re at on this old blog, which I started in 2003 (long before social media platforms came into play!). I often wonder why I keep this blog, but then my husband and I will start talking about some memory or other and […]
The Paekakariki Escarpment Track, north of Wellington on the Kapiti coast, otherwise known as ‘The Stairway to Heaven’, is a 9.6km walk, comprising of lots of steps (more than 400) climbing to 220m above sea level, a couple of 40m swing bridges and a narrow pathway with some steep drop offs (not for the faint […]
Patuna Chasm is a place I’ve been aware of for years and finally got around to visiting! Having admired photographs of Patuna Chasm for a while, and hearing rave reviews from anyone that’s ever visited, I was hoping my high expectations wouldn’t be let down. I had no need to worry! This incredible walk, through […]
Happy New Year! I have to say I’m feeling very fortunate to be living freely in New Zealand at the moment. Writing about all our freedoms seems a little unfair when so many people around the world are struggling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, facing lockdowns and huge restrictions on normal day to day activities. I […]
We are half-way through 2019 already and so much has happened, but I’ve been too busy, living and loving it, (and side-tracked by Instagram and Netflix, ahem!) to write about it – so, before this year runs away on me all together I’m going to have to write this catch-up post. I continue to be […]
I run because it makes me feel free of thought. When I run I feel like I’m meditating (not that I’ve ever done that successfully, but it’s how I’d imagine I’d feel if I made time to meditate – though with a more elevated heart rate!). Running frees my mind of thought. I only think […]
Nineteen years ago, on 14th February 1998, my then boyfriend proposed to me at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival in New Zealand. It wasn’t overly romantic to any onlookers – simply a guy on one knee, kneeling on a random piece of earth, asking a girl to marry him. What made it special was that […]
For the first year, in many years of parenting, hubby and I got to do our own thing on Halloween this year! Having spent the Saturday decorating the drive-way with cobwebs and chalk drawings… My hubby and I left the children (two of them, the third was staying over night at a friend’s house) with […]
After eight sleeps away on business, the man of the house is back! He was away in the UK and flew the long haul to LA, and on to Auckland, before the ‘hop’ down to Taupo to meet up with us on Sunday. Taupo Airport is a gorgeous place to hang out, especially in the […]
Father’s Day, celebrated on the first Sunday of September in New Zealand (and Australia), was this year spent with a mix of action and creativity. Two of our three daughters were keen to get their Daddy out for some action and took him to the local recreation centre for an hour or two of roller-blading! […]
It’s been two weeks since we returned from our fabulous hols in Singapore (more blog posts coming on that trip!), and we’ve been so busy settling back into ‘Term 3’ of the school year – especially with the man of the house away, on business, for a week and a half. He was working in […]