And the first month of Spring has nearly gone ...

Not sure where the time has gone.  Had a trip to Auckland in the middle of this month and spent 3 days with Amy, Matt, Kate, and Mark!!  Didn't know Mark was coming (they all managed to keep a secret!), and apparently my face was interesting when he appeared at my elbow in a menswear (of course) shop in Newmarket on the Friday afternoon.
It was good to spend some time looking at appliances and carpet.

We saw 'in the flesh' the cooker that will sit at the end of the Kitchen - once we get into the renovations!

 And Stuart fell in love with a hand knotted mat made in Nepal. Lovely and thick. So have a quote on that for an insert into our Living area in front of the fire to go with some Leather chairs and 2-seater.  We found a 2.5 seater to try out for comfort:

No luck with Lounge carpet yet, all the patterns available are not great colours!

 We all went out for tea on Friday night to Meredyths and had a 9 course degustation menu.  These were the first courses - Kate and I chose a non-fish option as you don't get choices in what is served up :)  Ours were the chippy starters and that went down just fine.  Mark's oyster which he tried cutting in bits went down and up and down again I think...

Some very interesting dishes ...  beetroot macaroons, salmon with sorbet, radish &  caviar, poached egg for so long at so many degrees (can't remember!) with bacon bits, semolina and other interesting things ..

The lamb and beef with horseradish fluff was lovely.  Two striped souls deep in discussion at one point.  Looks like it was something to do with numbers as Mark was counting with fingers :)

 Matt gave Mark a couple of lessons on how to tie his tie properly, and Amy had some lovely lillies perfuming the house while we were there.

 And, back on the farm... saucers for eyes!!  Redbands and mixing up milk .. week old calves... the year old ones are growing well, and clipping chooks wings to prevent flying away.  We picked up the second half dozen calves yesterday, so Dave & Stacey & Isaac have their work cut out for the next couple of weeks :)

There was no stopping the smiles on a beautiful Sunday in Nelson this week!
That's me for today, it has taken a while to load all the photos, and I've made a batch of biscuits, the salads for lunch, picked flowers and done a load of washing in between all this!!  Now it's time to get ready for work.

Fathers Day ... and Nana's Birthday today!

First Fathers Day for Dave, Thirty First for Stuart and Sixty First for Cyril...
Four Generations and a span of nearly 83 years!

The newest Dad modelled his Fathers Day gift from Isaac. 

Dave & Stacey cooked dinner for us for Fathers Day.  Lovely slow cooked lamb shanks.   Stacey even got up at 4am to turn the cooker on!!  Once Isaac had a wee nap, he showed us how much he loved his food.  Wide open mouth for pumpkin today!  Then he licked the spoon clean.

A wee boy has learned to open his mouth and make noises!  Stacey was chuffed that Isaac said 'Mum' on Fathers day..

A happy family, Isaac just 5 days off 6 months (and Dave nearly to his 30th year!!).  How time has flown.

 Last week I picked up Grandad up, and when we arrived out at the farm, this is what we saw:
One hot pink mama driving the digger! (Does this thing go any faster??!)..

And two boys breastfeeding their shovels!

Hope everyone is noting the lovely clear blue skies in Nelson!
Dave has a few lawnmowers he brings in when the grass is getting long around the house.  The beeves are doing well and putting on weight.  Good pastures at Swamp Rd for both beeves and boys :)

OK, rambled on enough.  This is the flat plastic 'fill with water' vase from Content I was telling you about Mark.

Have a good week everyone.

Flowers to Brighten ..

Marky Parky wanted to see my two lips and stocks to compare with his ..   They're just a little bit more upstanding.

A few mixed ones for the table - the daffodil in the centre came from our garden.  Just the one!

And a few for the bedroom. Now the place looks a little more spring like after cleaning mould off the aluminium windows!

Dad wanted Mark to see his 'happy socks'.  They made him smile to put them on this morning..
Only Dad can tie Grandads tie properly... He thought he wouldn't have to wear it tonight, so when I asked if I should phone Pauline to see what she thought, he replies "no don't worry about that"!!!

 And I think I've found some lovely fabric for kitchen blinds - once the alterations are done :)  I've no doubt I will get told if it's not the right selection !

Isaac came to see us (along with his mum & dad!) at lunchtime today, and this big boy can now hold his bottle all by himself!

And he drops his head against you for loves ...

Righto, off to make some buttermilk pikelets to drop around to Anne & Eunice in the morning.  Eunice is unwell with the flu and wasn't out tonight.

A dozen days till spring ..

And it's been the coldest winter anyone can remember.  Even though we've had lovely spring like days this week, I don't think we should be fooled the cold is over!
Stuart and I flew to New Plymouth the day before Mother's surgery, and we spent a lovely few hours waiting on the 4th floor of the hospital while big diggers and dump trucks were busy at work digging very large foundation holes, and shaking the building like earthquakes all the time.  Finally at the end of the day the nurse tells Mum she can get dressed and go home!  And, now she may have to wait until October..  So now that she's had a trial run, the next time will be a breeze :)

Anyway, we had a nice 3-4 days catching up with family, and managed to visit Mabel a couple of times who had just had surgery on her back.  I took a couple of photos of her, but I don't think she'd thank me for posting them here... so will wait for some better ones around her special big birthday in October perhaps!  She did get some lovely flowers from Shirley though!  There was a tiny yellow butterfly on the bottom right Gerbera also.

Managed to have lunch out a couple of times with Mum & Dad, and visited Russell & Debs, and Rob & Jeanette too.  Dad greeted us with a Trubet rugby jersey on much to Mums disgust!  He looked like part of the team we'd left at home.

 He did change for Sunday though!  It looked like Mum had tried to scalp him by the looks of his forehead, but he assured us he fought with a tree.

Dave was so jealous of Matts new glasses, that he wanted a pair just like them.. and he thought he quite suited them.

 And, we get occasional visits from the youngest of the clan, and even managed to receive a couple of 'loves' from him last time.  He just drops his head without warning and lays it on you!

Lots of love, dribbles 'n all.  Stuart has had our kids old rocking horse bought by Grandma & Grandad Flowerday used as a template to make a macrocarpa horse.  Just have to find the mane and tail.

A happy Mum and mummy's boy !   And, I'll tell you when I've had enough ...

G'night !  Think that's long enough.