Monday 10 September 2007

Today Rach and I spent some time with Cathy our good friend from early days.

We went out with Cathy in the morning to Musick Point a place that holds lots of teenage memories for us. It is a beautiful park backing onto a golf course that is positioned right over the sea, looking out to Rangitoto Island, Motuhe and Brown’s Island. We used to go up there on weekends and ‘play’ Rugby with our friends on the grass and walk around the rocks. Things never look the same 15 years later, the grounds seemed much cleaner then, and we reminisced about times in the past as we walked around the grounds. Rachel wasn’t too keen to go down the steep slope to the beach, but we did anyway and enjoyed walking around the rocks like old times.

Nicole, Colin and Wesley joined us for lunch at Basalt where I enjoyed beef skewers on the stone grill. After that we went around to Cathy's for coffee and enjoyed an afternoon with good friends. Monday night Rachel had a prayer meeting at her house. It was really good to sing and pray and
hear other's opinions on christian things.

Photos from Musick Point.

The NZ coastline

Phew! That was some climb....!

What a view!

Great place for some touch Rugby...where are all the teenagers?? Were we the last lot?

Great view of Rangitoto

Cathy and Rachel below:

Stone Grill Beef Skewers

Nicole and I

Rachel's yummy Shepherd's Pie....sooo good!


Matthew's Caramel Pudding. More please...!

Tuesday 11 September 2007

Back to business. Talk about a day of 'not happenings'. I was supposed to go to the house we are renting in Howick and stain the deck and paint the white wall around the bottom of the house. My friend Maurice had arranged to come and help me, but he called in the morning to tell me he had forgotten about a doctor's appointment so had to cancel...then I get to the house and it rained! So, that was the end of that day! But I did get to do an inspection on the house....which was quite upsetting. That was the house I grew up in, and my mother always kept the house beautifully clean and was very house-proud, but the state it was in was disgusting. Mouldy bedrooms and a rotten bathroom, with junk everywhere throughout the house...old washing machines, space invader machines...junk junk junk...it was very sad for me to see it like that.
After that Rach and I went grocery shopping, and forgot to buy the thing we went there to buy...duh! Then we had afternoon tea with Rachel's parents. I really enjoyed catching up with them...it feels like my second home...
I think we went home after that and made origami cakes with the girls.

Wednesday, 12 September 2007

The 'real' day of serious SHOPPING!!! Rach, Nicole and I hit Sylvia Park, a new shopping complex out in Mt Wellington. I am a 'bargain' shopper and usually find good stuff for 5 and 10 dollars....today was no exception. I bought a pair of designer jeans for 10 dollars! It was marked down to 20 dollars, the only pair, and they fit me! When I took them to the counter she said, 'Oh, these have been marked down to 10 dollars now...' nice surprise!

In the afternoon I bounced on the trampoline with Rachel's kids while testing their spelling. I will miss them (and their trampoline!)...

Uncle Pete and Aunty Faye came around to pick me up for dinner at Denny's. We had a great evening. The food reminded me of childhood family visits to Cob & Co. Very nice and a relaxing atmosphere. I really enjoyed talking with them and love catching up with them when I get the chance...which isn't very often!

Me and Matthew

Danielle, Bethany, Rachel and Matthew, taken on her deck overlooking Howick

Rachel's beautiful family: Stuart, Rachel, Matthew, Bethany and Danielle

The sunset from Rachel's deck. Stu said they had the most beautiful sunsets for about a year after Mt Ruapehu blew....the best part of the day!

Rachel's family around the table in the evening glow...

Uncle Peter and Aunty Faye above, and Faye and I, out for dinner.

Oh yes! The best part of the meal....banana fritter with ice cream and CREAM. If God said He was going to destroy all food but one and I had to choose what food to remain...I would say CREAM, cream, cream, cream......

Thursday, 13 September 2007

I spent today catching up with my wonderful friend, Nicole. She took me on a walk through some old farm land that used to be owned by the Somervilles that is now a National Reserve. It goes over farmland down to sea along the inlet that separates Whitford from Howick. They have built a boardwalk along the coast so you walk amongst native bush and wildlife. It was so nice to walk along there and go back to places I used to play growing up. Nicole is a very good friend that goes way back and we talked and shared as we went. Then she made Rach and I some yummy lunch and we talked and laughed some more. Next came dinner where Nicole made us a huge chicken salad that was sooooo nice and finished off with Apple Crumble, YUM, while watching 'French Kiss' with Kevin Cline and Meg Ryan. (which I had never seen by the way). It was great to catch up with Doug too (her hubby and first 'true love'). What a great day.

'Don't be afraid of the cows Renee...!' laughs Nicole...

Friday, 14 September 2007

My trip to NZ just happened to coincide with the Sistas Conference in Auckland that Rachel had planned to go to! Sistas is a Christian Conference for women that is held once or twice a year. I was excited to go as I hadn't been to something so huge since I left NZ at 22. It was great to be able to worship together with so many women and sing along to really good music! Maree De Jong leads it and some of the speakers included Bobbie Houston, Darlene Zschech from Hillsong in Australia, and Deborah Cobrae, Lisa Bevere from the States. It was refreshing to hear their testimonies. (My favourite was Deborah). Rachel signed up for the whole 3 day conference, but I just joined for one day. I must admit it was hard to keep my concentration ALL day! I would have preferred a lot more worship and less jabber personally, just to break it up. If you cut out all the 'girly' talk (or, 'women rave') you could have cut the speaking time by 3 hours (sad really!) but the whole atmosphere reminded me of the passion I used to have in my youth for God, so it was nice to experience that again, and see the next generation enjoy it too. After the evening meeting there was a 'Princess Party' in the tent outside where Rach and I went and boogied for a little while, but I was the party pooper as I had to leave the country early the next morning...boo hoo...

Rachel and Debbie

Bobbie Houston from Hillsong

15 September 2007

I started the long journey home this morning. I left just before 9:00am Sat and will arrive home around 9:00pm Sunday night...

It was sad to say goodbye to all my friends and their families. I really enjoyed my time playing with their kids. Rachel had the Sistas Conference again today so Stuart drove me to the airport. (Thanks Stu!!). As some of you know, I am famous for having overweight baggage...and this time was no exception! BUT the difference this time was I had a NICE attendant behind the counter who kindly waived the fees, and this would have to be the first time I didn't have to repack my luggage on the floor in front of the check-in counter! Phew! What a relief. I managed to get a really cheap flight to NZ return, but not without a drawback. I had to go through Korea. Korea is a very nice place, don't get me wrong...it's just not where I want to be right now! I had to stop over for 6 hours going over and today, I have to stay in a hotel for the night before I catch my flight to Japan in the afternoon tomorrow...at my expense. Korean Air found a nice hotel for me. I have a suite with a massage super shower ( a little scary....!) and a jet bath. A huge TV the size of the wall and 2 double beds. I also have my own computer, and I am typing this blog page from it now. Very nice I must say. The other option was crashing on the sofas at the airport, and after a 12 hour flight, I really felt like a shower and a good sleep. Only 17 more hours before I see my family again! Yippee! I really had a wonderful time in NZ and feel like I have grown a lot. I have connected with my roots and gained a new confidence...lets hope it lasts!

Aerial view of Howick...and our house...I wish I had a bigger ZOOOOOM!