Dear Reader

It is a cold day today, and I don’t like feeling cold.  I love sunny days, and I was very happy when the sun shone over the long weekend.  What did you do over the long Easter weekend? 

I was very excited about going to see my daughter who is pregnant and lives in Hawea with her family.  I was looking forward to seeing my two grandchildren, and son in law, and I travelled through to Hawea without stopping.  My bottom was sore and my legs were very stiff after almost four hours driving with no break. I saw a policeman pull over an unsuspecting motorist on a straight piece of highway, an innocuous stretch of road, which would never be a cause for concern, but the policeman must have needed to fulfil his quota. Am I being too cynical?  It is true that we had a horrific road toll over the holiday period, but I don’t believe that penalising people on excellent straight roads is the answer. I say this, having been caught three times for speeding in areas which didn’t warrant a 50 kilometre speed limit, but I didn’t complain. I was speeding and took the penalty on the chin. It was such a stressful year last year, and my foot must have been a bit too heavy at times. I am now only five demerit points away from losing my license, so there is no way that I am prepared to speed for anyone! You may not believe me, but I seldom did speed, but the three times I did, I got caught, and that is the truth!  None of my family believes me, so I don’t mind if you don’t either!  Is speeding a problem in your country?  There is a lot of discussion on how to bring the New Zealand road toll down, but we seem to be a nation of reckless, impatient drivers, who, when we combine this national psyche with speed, alcohol or fatigue, it becomes a recipe for disaster.  Any suggestions as to a solution from your country?

However, now that I am a law abiding driver, I don’t panic when I hear the sound of the siren screaming at me from behind, and it was good to arrive safe and sound, and without a fine, in Hawea! It was wonderful to see my family, and we talked till midnight, as I sipped a welcome wine, and we caught up on all our news..  My daughter, Suny, is going to have her baby at the end of this month, and I am going to go up and look after the family.  When Suny had her last baby two years ago, I was in China so I couldn’t look after her family. I want to do it this time, although her partner, Nathan, has his mother and stepfather just down the road in Cromwell.  I am going to go to China in June again this year, so the baby will be two months old by then.

On Good Friday, we ate hot cross buns which I made for breakfast, a family tradition, and we spent a relaxing day playing with the children, and going for a walk along the lake. On our way,  we visited a dear friend, who used to be the Administrator at ELM,  and she had a lovely holiday house in Hawea. People used to buy cribs if they wanted a second house, but now many people much nicer homes as their retreat from the stress of their work.  Robyn’s house is no exception, being a beautiful three-bedroom house.  I always thought it would be wonderful to have a cottage in Central Otago as the weather is so amazing, but I now have my cottage in Portobello, and can stay with Suny and family in Hawea.  There was a big air show called Warbirds over Wanaka, and we could see the planes in the air.  I love watching airplanes fly over my head.  Do you?  I adore flying, and always get a buzz out of going to the airport.  I think I should have been a pilot, and would still love to have my pilot’s license for small planes.  Maybe, if I win Lotto, I will do it!  Planes are so powerful, and I love the noise as they soar overhead!  I wish I could fly too!!  While dreaming of flying, I made pizza and bread for dinner, and my son in law’s parents came from Cromwell, and stayed the night as well. We talked again till midnight, and I had such an enjoyable time.

On Saturday morning, Suny and I went into Wanaka together without the children because Suny’s mother in law offered to babysit so that we could have some quiet time together. Suny’s mother in law is called Jo, and she is very kind. Like me, she also loves being with her grandchildren, and she also loves writing, like I do.  Jo talked about the pieces she had written as we sat outside the previous night, and her husband talked about his love of astrology, and his dream of visiting Mongolia.  It seemed an odd dream for someone who had never travelled till last year, but I told him that he should fulfil his dream and have no regrets. Life is far too short. When Suny and returned from Wanaka, with Suny having bought a camera to capture all the happy times with her family, my second daughter, Nicky, had just arrived with her husband and two children.  They live near my house, in a place called Harwood, on the Otago Peninsula, and we had a pleasant afternoon together, watching the children play together.  Indi and Ella are cousins, both four years old, and Ella actually turned four on Sunday.  Moshe and Jade are also cousins, and these two boys are two years old.  At night, my daughters, Suny and Nicky, and I stayed up late talking, and the two husbands went to a party in another small town called Luggate.  We sat in front of the fire till almost midnight, and we hid some Easter eggs so that the children could look for them in the morning.  We told them the Easter bunny likes hiding eggs for little children to find!  When I got into bed, the men returned home, so I got up again and I made them a cup of tea and I ended up talking with my son in law till the small hours.  I love being friends with my grown up family, and don't take our wonderful relationship for granted.

Every morning, my granddaughter, Indi, woke me at about five o’clock when she hopped into my bed. I love giving her cuddles, and we both went back to sleep. I got up at about six o’clock when my grandson woke me up with his cries , signalling that it was time for him to get up!  He can climb the stairs to his parents’ room, so I watched him do this with absolute confidence, and returned to bed to read books to Indi.  This particular morning, as soon as all the children got up, they looked for Easter eggs. Because it was Ella’s fourth birthday, I gave her a present, and also gave presents to the other three children as well. It was Jade’s second birthday on Thursday, so I bought Barbie dolls for the girls and trucks for the boys! They were very excited, and played with them for ages. I usually buy books for the children, but I knew that Ella wanted a Barbie doll, and felt it was important for Indi to have one too!  They played so well together with their new friends!  It is amazing how girls seem to instinctively like dolls, and boys like trucks. I tried to give Suny trucks, and dress her in jeans, but she always made a fuss, to the point where I gave up trying to break the stereotype!

In the middle of Sunday morning, we had Ella’s birthday cake, and then Nicky’s family said goodbye, and travelled back to Dunedin.  The weather wasn’t very nice so I invited Suny and the family to the beautiful old hotel in Cardrona, situated in the stunning Cardrona valley about thirty minutes away from their home. In the 1860s, it was a thriving gold mining town, but now only the hotel reminds us of those halcyon days. The weather was much nicer in the valley than by Lake Hawea which whips up the wind onto the morraine, and we sat outside in the sun.  I love old buildings made of wood and stone, and I would love to have such a house one day. I have just remembered that I got an extra thrill as we left Suny’s house for Cardrona as four big fighter planes flew overhead, swooping down so low that we felt we could almost touch them. We don’t think it would have been sanctioned by air control in Wanaka, but it really made my heart pound as their throaty engines propelled the fighter planes through the blue sky.

When we returned to Hawea, I packed my bag, and said goodbye.  I hate saying goodbye, but when I saw red and yellow planes soaring in the sky as I was leaving, they  lifted my spirit, and I felt that all was well with the world.  I am lucky to have such a close family, and how could I ever take this for granted?

I arrived back in Dunedin about seven o’clock, and I picked up my nineteen year old daughter, Shahan, who was feeling lonely.  I had hoped that she would spend the weekend with us in Hawea but she usually works on Saturdays, and couldn’t find anyone to take her shift at short notice.  When we talked on the phone, she was devastated that she couldn’t be with us, so I was determined to leave Hawea on Sunday so that I could spend time with her on Sunday night and Easter Monday.  I took her out to my cottage for dinner, and invited Jan to join us as well.  I gave them both Easter eggs before going to Hawea and they loved the big boxes of chocolate they ate.  We had a lovely dinner of salmon and salad, and then Jan and Shahan helped me to write an invitation for my birthday party. I am going to celebrate my birthday on 17^th April, although my birthday is on the following Monday, 19^th April.  I am going to invite my family and close friends, but my daughter, Suny, will not be able to come down as her baby is going to come soon.  I would love her to be with us, but it is a huge drive down when she is so heavily pregnant.  Next year!

Yesterday, Shahan and I went to visit Nicky so that Shahan could cuddle her niece and nephew.  We then went into town to do some shopping. I don’t have time to go shopping, so it was good to relax and take my time.  I bought some sleepwear, and then we went to have a drink at Eureka, a bar near the university where you can sit outside in the sun.  That evening, we went to Jan’s seventeenth birthday party at my oldest daughter’s house.  It was a potluck party and I made sushi with my nine-year-old granddaughter who loves cooking.  All my family loves cooking, and it all began when they used to take turns helping me when we all lived together. We had a roster, and they took turns cooking, doing the washing, doing the vacuuming, and doing the bathrooms.  Of course, cooking was their favourite chore!  They have all developed the love of cooking, and now I cook with my oldest granddaughter, Mila. Jan’s birthday was a wonderful night, and as Jan wanted the parents to leave so that he could spend time with his siblings,, I visited another good friend who lived nearby, and stayed the night at her house. This enabled me to chat into the wee hours, and not have to travel the windy road home to Portobello. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends. 

As you can see. it was a very busy, social weekend, and I loved every moment of it!  I hope you had as happy a weekend!

Love,

Sharron