Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
It’s been a time for adjusting, with our oldest daughter moving to a different country to start University in Melbourne, my Mum dying in December and my thoughts very much with my Dad and sister, miles away in the UK. In the wider world there’s turmoil, with the pandemic lingering on, the atrocities of what…
Autumn is fully upon us here in New Zealand. The temperatures are still warm and the days mostly sunny, just noticeably shorter. Like most of the world our country is currently ‘in lockdown’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our surf boards and other wet play gear is all laying redundant in the garage,…
We’ve all enjoyed some amazing learning experiences this week (as well as watching the last week of the Winter Olympics!). Here’s some snapshots from our two home educated learners and our school going daughter… Science I enjoyed an amazing experience at Victoria University’s science labs this week, with my 12 year old daughter. We went to…
For the third week, in a row, I’ve had at least one of my three daughters home poorly from school. They have been hit hard by some flu type virus, that is doing the rounds across the country this winter. They are all slowly on the mend, though still not at full energy. In the…
Last weekend was spent with friends, in the beautiful countryside of the Wairarapa, at our Martinborough home. The weekend was full of special moments in the sun, made all the better for having good friends to share it with. Our three daughters each had a friend, their age, to buddy up with – which made for incredibly…
This is such a magic summer we’re having back in Wellington, New Zealand. Having hubby not working has made the school holidays all the more special (and less stressful!) too. We have just over a week left before our two older girls start the school year (our now 9 year old homeschooler is giving school…
The children discovered there was a ‘House of Air‘, in an old airplane hanger, in Crissy Field Park, San Francisco… Our first visit was in the evening, when the older girls could play an exciting game of ball tag on a dozen trampolines, but our youngest had missed out on the younger children’s bounce session,…
A few gems I’ve loved this week… ⤠Watching my daughters and dear ‘hubbie’, on a Sunday avo at a local school field, being active, having fun and keeping fit together (and eating pizza together al fresco). ⤠An afternoon visit to the marina and maritime museum in Santa Barbara with my three daughters. ⤅
It’s International Sauvignon Blanc Day in New Zealand – 16 May – and whilst I sit here sipping a local Napa Valley, Californian white, I came across this beautiful little video about the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines (a fav spot of the hubbie and I – and the sweet spot where he proposed to me…
After an amazing week in Disneyland California with our friend Frances, visiting from New Zealand, we returned back to our temporary home in Santa Barbara.We made a pit stop at Universal Studios Hollywood – where it was great to see New Zealand spinning on the globe outside the park – and gave Frances a chance…
My Facebook feed was flooded with lovely messages of ‘welcome to the club’ and ‘forties are the best’ this weekend. It’s been like reliving turning eighteen again, as I’ve watched friends slightly older than me party into their forties and then, last weekend, it was my turn. It was a fabulous weekend away in Santa…
A few things I’m loving from the past week… ⤠Colourful paper-towel art – dipped with fascination, in food coloured water; observed in awe, as the paper towel absorbed the colours; unravelled with surprise, as the pattern was revealed; put out to dry with love and a toy animal, to stop the breeze blowing away the…
Some family weekends are golden and this was one of them, the highlight being a delicious meal at a local restaurant (Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro, Montecito) with all three daughters behaving charmingly. It was an impromptu meal out (often preferred to a scheduled, overly anticipated evening) and the love around the table was brimming over…
This popped up in my Facebook feed and I’ve had so much fun looking up the tunes that were number 1 in the UK charts on some of my Birthdays (especially apt with my big 40 approaching this month!). Check it out and enjoy reminiscing on ‘What’s The Theme Tune Of Your Life?‘! When I…