TODAY'S PARKINSON WALK

With the break in our weekly walks because of Lockdown it is some time since we have walked from A.H. Reed Park to the Whangarei Falls and back.  A new  pathway has just been made in one place where it  was quite muddy in winter.  It was a lovely sunny day for a great walk which happens to be just a stones throw from our house.

ROCKING HORSE

Back in the day, Doug made Rocking Horses for both his daughters' children.  We have had the one belonging to youngest daughter in Doug's workshop - it had been well loved and ridden on by her three children.

She now has a one year old grand-daughter here in Whangarei so Doug has been working on the rocking horse.  It has a few scuff marks but the main problem was that the ears (which were wooden) had been broken off and the mane needed replacing.

Today Doug has finished sanding back where the ears were ripped off and sanded the whole horse,  he then gave it a coat of varnish and attached new leather ears and a new mane.  

He is rightly proud of the finished job.

HEARING AIDS?

After my hearing test yesterday I was told I was borderline for needing hearing aids and, I must admit, the audiologist did not try any hard sell.

I have had tinnitus for some time and one of the pros of having hearing aids is that it reduces this annoying noise.  On the down side I am worried as I have very small ears both inside and out - not a lot of room for a hearing aid.  Also on the down side it is admitting to getting older and needing such a thing.  The audiologist did suggest that it is best not to leave it too long before getting aids but also said that I could leave it for a year and then get tested again.  

It is all so confusing.  He gave me a quote to think about.  My ears were quite sore after the test so I will leave it for a while and do just that.

A lovely sunny day today with the occasional short, sharp shower - just enough to be annoying for the washing.  Tonight it is forecast to get down to 5 degrees C. which I am sure will be the coldest this year.

We put the new (to us) water tank in place yesterday although it will have to be moved and a stand made for it.  Doug is currently working on a Rocking Horse that he made for his grandchildren - he is getting it ready for the next generation.  When that is done the tank is next on the list.

TODAY (which I think is Thursday)

The Desert Road in the Lower North Island is closed because of snow today and trucks are snowed in and, I assume, it is also bad in the South Island.  Meanwhile, although we have a cold wind (off the snow) it has been quite a good day.  The occasional shower but sunny and quite warm if you were in a sheltered place.

We actually let two Monarch Butterflies out of the cage this morning and they were happy in the sun.  The piece of shade cloth pegged to the mandarin tree makes it easier for them to hold on.

This afternoon I went for a walk which takes me past Hospice and noticed a friend driving in so I went and had a word.  She recently lost her husband and told me she was going to a counselling session (the first) and was planning on calling to see us afterwards so I invited her for a cuppa and brownie (that I had made for the friends who did not come with the tank yesterday).

As I got home she drove up - it turned out she was a week early for the counselling session so nearly got home before me.  We had our tea and a good catch up and she was just about to go when we saw a pick-up arrive with a water tank on the back.  Friend left and I washed the cups etc  and put the kettle on.  After unloading the tank our friends came in for a cuppa and luckily there was still some rocky road chocolate brownie left.  They stayed for some time as we had not seen them since before Lockdown.  Great to have visitors but, once again, I have not crossed anything off my "to do" list.  There is always tomorrow although I am going to town for a hearing test.

Another day with nothing ticked off the list

We had just finished our breakfast this morning when the phone rang and it was the friend who offered us the water tank.  She and her husband have the new one and wanted to bring the other one here this afternoon.

Doug was still talking to her when the doorbell rang and it was a good friend M and his daughter A.  Doug met M and his wife B not long after moving here when they knocked on the door as they are Jehovah Witnesses.  In typical Doug fashion he asked them in for a cuppa and after that they called often and became friends.  They came to our wedding and B did a reading.

Anyway, it was M and daughter A who came today.  She is still at school and learning to drive and today was the first time she had driven into town.  What a lovely young lady but then all their children are a delight.

When I heard Doug on the phone earlier I had decided to make some rocky road chocolate brownies to have with a cup of tea when our friends brought the water tank so when M and A left just after midday I got them mixed and in the oven and then made lunch of a fish pie made with a tin of salmon, some sweetcorn, leek in a white sauce with some cheese added and a potato topping which we had with stir fried vegetables from the garden.

We had just finished lunch when we got a phone call from the friends who were to bring the tank around and as there are showers and wind gusts about they have decided to leave it for another day as they do not want to risk a flying water tank.

Anyway, we have a delicious cake - we tasted it to make sure.  The sun had come out again and I was just going to go for a walk when it went dark and we had a heavy hail shower although it has now stopped I think more is coming so will pass on the walk.

FIREWOOD

Because of Lockdown we have used a lot more firewood than usual.  Obviously, we were home so  the fire was going gently in the background.  Last week Doug ordered 2 cubic metres which we expected to be delivered at the end of this week.

We had today planned.  One of the gentlemen who used to come on the Parkinson walks has died so were going to buy some flowers and then visit his widow.  As we were going into town we were also going to do some shopping and get a piece of foam rubber for a bed for Sophie as the ones we bought were too soft and she had trouble getting up from them.

We were just about to leave the house when the phone rang and  it was the Firewood Man who was coming this afternoon about 3 p.m.  We still went into town and did the shopping, visiting etc. and got home just after midday.  I cooked lunch and then we put a pot of Sophie's food on to cook and started to bring in some of the old firewood when the new lot arrived.

Doug reckoned it was a good 2 cubic metres - his estimate over 2.5 .  It is lucky I kept my wheelbarrow as we got straight down to moving it to the woodshed.  I filled the barrows and Doug emptied them and stacked the wood.  

We kept at it and in just under an hour we had it all stacked.  A job well done.  Now it is time for a cup of tea and the last of the cake I made yesterday.  I didn't take a photo of the pile when it was delivered as we were too keen to get it stacked. 

STORM AND MONDAY WALK

Last night there was quite a storm - we could hear the wind and rain and I wondered what state the garden would be in this morning.  Everything was fine except the cactus in front of the house.  It had been knocked flat.  I noticed it as I went to get the paper from the letterbox this morning.

The storm had gone over thank goodness and Doug had an appointment so he dropped me off for the Parkinson Walk.  It is the first time I have been for a few weeks.  We were walking the final part of the Shared Walkway which goes from the city centre out to Kamo where I used to live in fact the path went to within a few hundred metres of my old house.  It is great as it passes most of the local schools.

This last part was not particularly pretty but it was good to get out and, although it was cloudy, we only needed our umbrellas for a short time.  We started our walk at 9.30 a.m. but it looks more like p.m. in this photo - it was just before the shower.

When we got home while I baked a cake and got lunch ready, Doug cut up the cactus and piled it up ready to be disposed of.

He also rebuilt the little garden bed the cactus was growing in.

The plants have been cut back for winter but won't take long to come away again.