Away & Back Again . . . . . . . .

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

I had been wanting to do a trip south to check where Mum & Dads ashes are buried for quite some time now.  I had not been down since we went as a family & laid Mum's ashes to rest.   I had a small window of opportunity & I seized it as The Mr is now calving & I need to be here when he is busy & gone long days.  

When I returned last year I went online & purchased this new plaque to put beside the one Mum had there that read "Resting with the Angels".  It had sat in the wardrobe for over a year waiting for me to take it down. 

I drove directly from Home to the Crematorium where the Gardens of Remembrance are.  I was pleased to find the area was not overgrown this time & I only had a few branches to clear. I removed all the old flowers & left a new bunch of red silk roses - this was something Mum always purchased to take to Dad whenever we visited.  I've placed the plaque in the ground & hopefully it will not get removed.

I spent a day baking before leaving as I was staying with people & I never wish to arrive empty handed.  I did a huge lasagne, a coleslaw using homegrown cabbage & a double batch of chocolate fudge cake.  

I spent the first 2 nights at my brothers home & on the first day my Uncle travelled over from the Hawkes Bay to visit, along with an Aunt & my cousin Janine.  It was wonderful to see them all again having not seen any family since Mum's funeral.  

Left to right - Aunty Margy, myself, sister in law Leonie & cousin Janine

We were so busy chatting & catching up & eating a delicious lunch that I forgot to get any photos while inside the house.  Uncle Rol snapped this from his car window - it was a bitterly cold day with a southerly wind blowing.

Here we are tucked around behind the Glasshouse trying to get a quick pic with Uncle Rol in it. He is one of Mum's younger brothers & is now aged 82.  Aunty Margy is one of my favorite Aunties, always kind to me & such a gem of a person.    

After they left I snapped this from my brothers deck - it was raining by then & icy cold.

My sister in law had said to me "you don't need to bring any winter clothes, it's still very warm down here".  Foolishly I believed her 😐  It was FREEZING!  Look at that cap of snow on Mount Taranaki.  

My brother lit the fire for 2 nights while I was there & it warmed us all.  That is Bubby, Mum's old cat on the left.  She must be over 10 by now & has the most wonderful life out on the farm.  

My brother had recently built this little hut for holding garden tools, potting mix etc.  He used salvaged wood pallets that were thrown out at his work.  For someone with only one arm, he is very clever & also has good vision of what something will look like.  He even made the sign beside it. 

I was lucky enough to be able to spend 24 hours with my friend Claire & stayed a night at her home.  This was such a treat as I have always visited, but never stayed.  Look at that table dear friends - I was having conniptions eating my breakfast on that gorgeous cloth - afraid I was going to slop something.

This was the bedroom I got to sleep in !!! 💗Just look at all that gorgeous-ness.  I tried really really hard but I was not quite able to squirrel any of the treasures into my suitcase 😉

I was admiring this chair in the room & the little vignette in the bowl, when Claire picked it up & said "This is for You".  Oh be still my beating heart 💓  How special indeed ! How spoiled I was. 

Some more treasures in the room - that pink vintage teapot was actually a burner & had a lovely wax melt burning gently in it.  Yes dear friends - I slept like a log in amongst all those treasures!

The next morning Claire & I went into town & visited every single Op Shop in the town, bought lots of goodies & then went to the new cultural centre in the middle of the town.  Last time I visited this was just a pile of rubble & it was indeed stunning.  

Inside the new centre is a lovely cafe called The Gathering & we both enjoyed a delicious lunch there.  That is my lovely friend top left, wearing a new-to-her op-shopped scarf !

Claire & Peter have 2 dogs & 2 cats.  Though the other cat Asha hardly showed her face, Daisy the one above followed us everywhere & was very much the star of the show!  Here she is reclining on the wet freshly washed linens that Claire had just pegged on the rack.  

After a wonderful time together I travelled around the Coast to stay a night with my dear friend Carolyn who lives in Okato.  We chatted into the night, drank tea & ate delicious food.  

We went for a walk down behind Carolyn's property & there is a swing bridge there with a stream running along.  I would LoVe to have this at the back of my property.  

All too soon it was time for me to get up early & leave for home. I did not manage to catch up with all the people I had hoped but I did a pretty good job of cramming a lot into a short time.  And as always it was wonderful to be home again as it really IS my favorite place!

Dear friends we are still having computer issues & it is taking ages to load photos on to my posts.  But I will persevere & hopefully I can sort it out. I have lots still to share so I will endeavor to be back again soon with another catch-up post.  

As there are no cat pictures today, I have slipped this one in especially for dear Willie

Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
With much love & friendship to you all,