Respite is Nearly Over

My period of respite comes to an end on Monday.  It will be good to have M. back home.  I am still a little tired but that is because of having to go up to Kaitaia last week for a minor operation which I am still getting over.  Still I generally feel a lot better.

Have just been for a walk around the neighbourhood and noticed in particular this tree (not sure of its name).  I must keep an eye on it to see what develops from the buds.

Another tree that looks pretty at this time of year I thought was called Rhus but when I look up Rhus it appears to be something different and very poisonous.  Still this is pretty.  There are a lot of them about.

When I got home I thought the Banksia rose looked very pretty.  This was huge when we bought the property two years ago but I have cut it right back and still want to cut a bit more but am waiting for it to finish flowering.  The large trunk is to the right of the post.

We have a second more fragile looking Magnolia out at present as well.

Earlier I went out with some friends to the Town Basin (as in yacht basin) and on the way stopped at a new plant nursery and bought three kowhai trees and a red flowered titree or manuka.  Apparently every fifth customer qualified for 8 vegie plants so I also got some Italian parsley, leeks and a selection of lettuce plants thrown in.

Meanwhile the Rena is still spilling oil and containers into the sea in the Bay of Plenty.  It could just have easily been adjacent to our harbour.

Yesterday I had coffee with a friend who  has an avocado tree that is laden but she has trouble picking them.  The tree is planted on a steep slope.  We still have the pickers from our previous property so I went and picked some for her (and me) this morning.  Yum,  we are both pleased with the arrangement.

I also went to visit M. in the rest home.  They are going to move him to a room closer to the nursing station which is good.  Apparently, he has been wandering at night and causing chaos when he has inadvertently gone into the room of the lady next to him.

He was actually very bright when I visited and we took his coffee outside onto the deck and had a chat there.  he needed reassuring that he will be coming home again.  The trouble is he forgets and then gets worried that he is in there for good.  He seems quite happy to be there for a fortnight and I explained that in six weeks he will be back for another fortnight.

Anyway, I think his new room is a lot better - it is closer to the heart of the building and looks over the deck.  I hope he will settle in there.

When I got home our wonderful handyman was here - yesterday he put some batons on the top of the fence and today he painted it - I am thrilled with the result.  The top photo is the one after he had painted it for us.  There is still a lot more to do but we are getting there slowly.

Missing her "Dad"

Ever since M. has been in the rest home Kath has been missing him and spends most of her time on a dining chair situated in the lounge.  Have never seen her there before but she hardly leaves it.

The rest home has been very good and are trying to keep M. occupied.  I went to see him yesterday (and collect his washing) but he was out on a bus trip.  He will be at the Alzheimer's Club again today.  Unfortunately, they tell me he is very confused.  I will walk down again today after he is due back to see how he is.  When I phoned he was having difficulty - not sure whether it was hearing or comprehension.

Alzheimer's poem

Do not ask me to remember,
Don't try to make me understand.
Let me rest and know you're with me,
Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I'm confused beyond your concept,
I am sad and sick and lost.
All I know is that I need you,
To be with me at all cost.

Do not lose your patience with me,
Do not scold or curse or cry.
I can't help the way I'm acting,
Can't be different though I try.

Just remember that I need you,
That the best of me is gone.
Please don't fail to stand beside me,
Love me 'til my life is gone.

A new season?

Today dawned bright and clear the forecast is only for 17 degrees C. but it is great to see the sun and not have the cold wind and grey skies of yesterday.  Our plum tree is covered in blossom - the photo is just of a couple of branches low down but the whole tree is like this.

When we arrived here two years ago the tree was in need of a prune which we gave it.  In spite of this it has fruited well - just after Christmas - and the fruit has very kindly ripened in succession.

Let's just hope for another good crop this year.

Where has spring gone?

I gather that in the Northern Hemisphere summer has returned.  We, however, started to get some lovely weather and it was even too hot to be weeding in the garden.  All this has changed in the last week or so and it turned very cold.

Not so cold today but heavy showers and strong winds with the forecast that a severe storm front could bring damaging tornadoes.  It seems as though winter has returned.

The other evening the sky went almost black and I took this photo from our lounge.  The sky doesn't look as dark in the photo and, in fact, the storm went somewhere else in that instance.

On the home front I have taken M. into a Rest Home today to give me two weeks respite.  I do hope that he likes it (or at least doesn't dislike it).  Even though I know it is necessary it is hard to get rid of the feeling of guilt.

Still he has accepted that I will be going back in two weeks to collect him.  Now all I need is some nice weather in order to do all the things I have planned.

Rugby World Cup

Well, the day has come for the start of the  Rugby World Cup.  Last night on Close Up, our current affairs programme, we saw a contingent of French Supporters who were hiring a fleet of camper vans to follow the French team around.

We also saw and heard the choir that will sing all the anthems and they were singing what was described as one of the more difficult ones - the WELSH anthem.

We will watch the opening ceremony and I will follow some of the games (or results anyway).  One of my cousins has said that he expects me to be supporting Wales!  I tend to sway between  New Zealand and Wales.

There are two games here in Whangarei but I am not sure which teams are playing which shows how much I follow Rugby.