Ballons over Waikato

While seated stitching in the hospital the Balloons over Waikato festival was on so we managed to see some of the balloons taking of in the early mornings.
Here are some pictures, but none were taken by me.

It was the 10th anniversary of the festival and the first balloon off was an enormous birthday cake. It had to have been the size of a 4 storey building and quite impressive.

As you can see by the size of the basket the turtle was also enormous.

What did I do all day

So what did I do all day while Eric slept at the hospital.
He had a lovely view from his window across the lake at the Hamilton Domain.
So with a small quilt top all ready sandwiched I sat and looked across the lake with the sun shining and stitched all day long.
Never a guilty feeling that I should have been doing something else.

The quilt is just a lap one, made of a panel I purchased at least 5 yrs back.
It depicts garden tools and flowers.

Hello I am Back

Good day to you all

It seems ages since my last post in fact it was 16th March, so was ages ago.

Lots of things have happened since then.

Eric has had his radical removal of the prostate op..... for prostate cancer, we spent 4 days in Braemar Hospital in Hamilton where they looked after him , also me very well, thanks to all the lovely nurses there , especially Anne and Kristy who were Eric's personal ones for his time there.

Now we are home and it is recovery time, pain killers and "wee bags" are the order of the day but we are experts at it now.

The " frustrated nurse " in me has been fulfilled I have to give Eric an injection every morning to stop DVT's forming, he says mine are more gentle and not so painful as the nurses at the Clinic, they also left bruises ... none of mine have bruised.

So I am hiring myself out, injections needed ! just call me.

Our thanks go to Kathryn she stayed with me all the time while waiting during the op.

I must tell you about a lovely conversation Eric had with grandson Ben 51/2 when he visited him in the hospital, Ben he is a little worrier but is fine if he knows what is what... it goes as follows :

Ben " grandad why have you got that bag on your leg full of wee."

Grandad " Because my willy is not working properly"

Ben " Where does that tube go"

Grandad "inside my willy to bring the wee out"

Ben " does it hurt"

Grandad " No"

Ben " That's good then"

from then on Ben was watching bag to see if it needed emptying and when it had some in he wanted to help empty it. Kids are amazingly resilient and accept the truth so easily.

We have to return to see the surgeon in Hamilton next Tuesday for results of histology.

Time has gone by so quickly

Well ! life has been a little hectic in the last week or so and Blogging has been on the back burner so to speak.

10 days now since Eric arrived home from China, he has finished the first part of his treatment and time to see the Specialist again, but he decided to see another Specialist for a second opinion, nothing has changed with his health, but he has more confidence in the new guy.

After lots of talking on Glen's side ( the specialist), Eric has now been convinced in his own mind to take the operation instead of Brachy therapy... lots of the outcomes are much the same but feels the op is the way to go.

The decision was thrown I believe, when he asked Glen which way he would go ?

"The Op if I was in your place" he said I think that was it for Eric, there were lots of doubts on each option open to him, I think also it was when Eric saw his hand was steady when writing that gave him confidence to go with Glen , the other chaps hand control was very dodgy indeed, and the thought of him operating on him was a no, no.

So it is all fixed for the 24th March in Hamilton.

Now Kathryn has worked at this Private Hospital so she is making sure her Dad gets the best room and all the trimmings, she says this is one time she can use all her training and influence to help her own.

Windy Weather

Lake Rotorua

March has come in like a lion here in New Zealand.

We have had sever weather warnings now for two days, we have had enough rain for the present and I would be quite happy to see it stop, Lake Rotorua thought it was the open sea and had white caps and waves like I have never seen before.

There is quite a bit of tree damage and a few roof problems reported around the district but considering the wind and rain I think we fared very well.

Luckily we escaped any damage to our property, a few deep puddles and some plants took a hammering , but nothing else of any note.

The warnings are still in place for today for our area so it is a stay at home day and may be do some housework or even some sewing.

A Friend to Stay

Last weekend a friend who we met all those years ago in Jordon came to stay from the UK.
Helen visited us while we were in Dubai and we were telling her of the wonders of New Zealand and how she should visit us here. Unbeknown to us Helen has an old school friend "Fran" who has been in NZ for about 30 yrs, living near Wellington, they keep in touch and Fran has also been telling Helen "come and visit".
So finally Helen booked a trip down under.
She was here for 3 weeks and spent time with Fran then took a tour of South Island before coming to Rotorua to visit with us.
We did all the tourist bits and spent long evenings talking in to the late hours.
I think Helen was very impressed with NZ and hopes to plan another trip in the future.

Thank you Inland Revenue

Today I received a letter from the Inland Revenue to remind me that I am 65 on the 3rd April.

They also mentioned that I will receive my Pension at this time and please fill in the forms enclosed.

As though one needs reminding of ones birthday especially on such a significant year.

First day of Autumn.

Yesterday was the official first day of Autumn for this end of the world.
Wow ! it shows, the evenings are much cooler and the temperature just seem to drop as the sun disappears. The mornings are definitely darker and the sun seems to take longer to rise and heat up.
We have had an amazing summer this year with wonderful temperatures and long long sunny days it has lasted from October through till now, in fact the day temperatures are still in the mid 20's most days.
The time has come to close the windows and doors a little earlier in the evenings, then close the curtains and snuggle on the sofa.

If you live in the northern hemisphere you will be looking forward to spring, I hope you manage to get a lovely spring and summer this year I am given to understand that summer was almost non existent last year in Northern Europe. We will keep our fingers crossed for you down here at the bottom of the world.

Last year it was decided to extend " summer time" and our clocks here in NZ will be 2 weeks late in changing so we will be on the same time untill weekend of 4th / 5th April, then the clocks will move back 1 hour.
Just in case you have difficulty remembering whether the clocks should go forward or backwards here is a line I learnt all those years ago at school.

"You Spring forwards to the lambs and flowers and Fall ( Autumn) backwards to fruit and veg of harvest "
Here are some pictures for the northern hemisphere of your spring flowers and lambs, hope you don't have to wait to long for them, Spring was my favourite season when we lived in UK and I still miss it will for ever, just like the having Christmas here in the sun I will never get used to that if I live to be 100.

Another good one to share.

LITTLE GIRL ON A PLANE

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'

Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.

'OK,' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first.

A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass - . Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'

To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit !!!

I have to share this with you

I recieved this on the email and thought it was to good not to share.

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me.
I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident.
Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.
Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water.
After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mum came home.
My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!'

My Mum waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.
Then she says, (as only a mother would know... )
'Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?