"New Regent Street..."

A gorgeous sunny day this Sunday gone, so warm and balmy, it was t-shirt weather. Simon & I headed into town to see the re-opened New Regent Street. It was great While there were only a few of the shops occupied and open it had been cleaned and tidied up really well. In fact you could close your eyes an almost hear the rumble of the tram coming along the tracks. It was lovely, with the sun shining bright, it was well easy to believe in the rebuild of Christchurch and its success, no matter how long it would take.

"It went too fast..."

This is a belated blog. Time has flown by in the last couple of weeks, with having friends to stay and family too.

So to update....

The week following our friends' wedding was another week of blur. Bryan & Rachel left us to stay with friends' out in the country and we had a couple of nights to ourselves then Simon's cousin and her boyfriend arrived to stay for a week. They're over from England, having travelled to Thailand first, then kangaroo hopping round Australia to arrive in Auckland and meander on down New Zealand.

They arrived Tuesday and we all went out to met up with Bryan & Rachel, Sarah & Chris at Hoyts to watch Ironman 3. It was the first of the 3 that myself and Becka had seen. It wasn't too bad either. In fact the following Saturday we went and bought the first movie to see where it all started. The movie was pretty good. Afterwards we took the pair up to Victoria Park to survey Christchurch in its glory lit up in the dark night. She still is a pretty sight.

Wednesday night involved Bible group to hear Vision College teacher Mike Robb share his testimony. Always good to hear how someone from the depths realises God is ever present and that he loves them in spite of all their faults. At 20 he started to wonder what was the point of life if he'd done all the 'fun things' only to continue to repeat them, what was the point of going round and round and round in life? So he looked into religion, read up on all material he had lying around and while reading through the gospels (of the New Testament) he found a God who didn't expect things to be done in return for His love. He only wanted you to repent your sins and live your life according to His word. So he said to God "if you are real show me!" He said this on Wednesday night in September 1977. By the Friday, while out with friends at the pub he was sitting there and got this picture of his friends all wearing masks, putting them on to face society, when deep down they were all looking for something real. So he went home and realised too, that he hadn't had a craving for any drugs since Wednesday night, nor any withdrawl symptoms. God had shown him He was there and He was very real.

Thursday night Becka cooked us tea and a lovely carrot cake. While I packed for our trip away the next night. Friday was work followed by getting the car and heading north to the Hurunui River Mouth, where we were meeting friends who'd travelled to it the night before. We stayed in this really lovely lodge, which was like 2 buildings joined by the garage. The others were staying in the back rooms while Simon and I had the master in the front part.

We got up there in time for dinner, burgers, homemade and cooked on the BBQ, with assorted extras and condiments. It was delicious. We sat round and chatted with the beautiful wood burning fire going. I really miss having one in the house. It's so cozy to curl up, watch a movie or read a book with the fire going.

Playing 'Settlers of Catan'

Lovely wood burning fire

So that's exactly what I did, curled up in a chair and read my book while Simon watched a movie and the others played 'Settlers of Catan' (which I knew I was too tired to try and learn to play). It was so nice to just sit and read, something I don't often get to do. A late night followed by a lovely bed to sleep in.

Keeping in mind for future reference - nice & comfortable

Saturday morning - slept in but not quite as long as would've been nice. We quickly tidied up, the guys got in another quick game of Settlers. Then it was goodbyes. The others were heading off to Hanmer Springs to soak in the hot pools for a few hours. Simon and I were headed to the pub for lunch.

View from the back

View from the front

Hurunui River mouth

While they headed for the pools, we tootled down to the road to the River mouth to capture the view. Rather spectacular. Then head on a back road round to the main road. Nipped across the Scargill Valley Road and popped into the historic Hurunui Pub for lunch. It was a beaut day, sitting in the sun. The cafe/winery owner next door said we could have a look in one of the cottages up on the hill behind the grape vines It was just picturesque. Definitely a must to go and stay in one day in the not too distant future.

The weekend ended with dinner at home with Becka & Etie, watched Ironman 1 and spent Sunday lazing about, followed by a late night chatting with B & E as they were heading south the next day.

Another crazy week behind us. A few weeks of quiet to come...

Till next time....

"What a week..."

A 3 day week and a 4 day weekend - what a great balance.

The week started with rain, ad not being able to get all the washing done at the weekend like I like to get done.  But thankfully that all cleared up by Tuesday and I was able to get it all out and dried. Yay! But the best part of Tuesday was getting home to having good friends Bryan & Rachel here. They stayed with us until Sunday. It was great to have them stay. Miss them much when they're not here.
They made us quesadillas for tea on Wednesday night with guacamole, they were delicious and I so need to  try them myself some time.

Wednesday was also a great day because I got to get my pretty new puppies. A gorgeous pair of red patent high heels with gold studs on them and bows at the back. I am well in love with them. And managed to borrow the exact shade of red nail polish to match and tipped with gold. Fantastic.

Aren't they gorgeous......

And then there's the pretty bows, just to finish it off

The second exciting part of the week was that my/our weekend started on Thursday ANZAC day, a public holiday remembering the troops who died  upon landing on the beach at Gallopoli and all of them afterwards. But it is also my birthday and my darling husband took me away for the night, so we had Friday off too.

He had planning for a number of weeks and didn't tell me where we were going. It was a beautiful day and we set out just before lunch heading north. We stopped in Cheviot for lunch but first Simon sent me for a walk while he got something ready.

My Birthday Cupcake

When I got back to the car, Simon had a cute little cupcake with a lit candle in it for me. It was yummy. Raspberry & White Chocolate.

We went along to a wee cafe for lunch, then continued on our way.

Our destination was Kaikoura, The Fairways, a wee place just south of Kaikoura. We had a 1 bedroom apartment with an ensuite , which included a spa. It was just lovely.  

Throughout the day I opened presents. My brother gave me Fleetwood Mac's Rumours anniversary edition which included the album, 3 other discs of outakes and a live concert. DVD of the advertising film for the '77  Rumours Euro tour and the album on LP. Fantastic. It was conveniently packaged with the red tape like the union jack.

Union Jack wrapping

As the day unfolded I opened more presents, Simon got me a new laptop. Another Vaio but in white with a pink keyboard skin and pink mouse. I got a 2nd Viper badge in black, to with the red one Dad got me about 11 years ago. And "The Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible" from my husband, it's so cute.

Spa Bath

We went out for tea at Corrianders Indian Restaurant, which lovely and very filling. Then came home to watch he new Spiderman movie on sky.

Gas Fire

There was a great gas fire that was just lovely and would so be cool to stay during the winter and have this making the place cozy and warm.

Great View

Next morning we went up the wee hill behind the apartment to see the amazing view.

We headed into town to wander round town and had a really yummy seafood pizza at one of the bar/restaurants. Delicious!!!!

Saturday, the end of our busy few days, we went to our friends' wedding. Phil & Lynda make a lovely couple that certainly suit each other. Will have photos in a later blog.

Next time... another crazy week to follow before a little bit of calm before we get rolling again. Till then enjoy....