Number 6 - Valentines +

Pete and I never worry about Valentine's Day - in the 44 years we have known each other, he's sent me one Valentines card. I still have it - it says something like "I don't care if you're egotistical, difficult, hard to live with ..... I'm going to love you anyway!"

So I decided that this year I would invite him out for a Valentine's Day drink.  The only problem was, I had masses of work to do on Valentine's Day - a chapter of a textbook which was supposed to be with the publisher by start of business on Monday morning.  And it was proving hard to write.

I looked around for places we could go to and drink a quiet glass of champagne, out in the fresh air, in the evening.  Sadly, there are so few places that are safe to go to as it is getting dark.  Even the Botanical Gardens were out - they were closed for a concert.  I thought of going up to St Matthew's to sit in the garden, but that seemed a bit are when we have a lovely garden ourselves.

I decided that as we'd decided to share our dates with people we loved, that I'd invite our special friends, Rod and Fi, to join us.  And then I enlisted the aid of Kev.  he was to bring out a bottle of champagne and 4 glasses and serve us a glass of champagne.  And then I decided to add a few nibbles from Woolies.  But it was still simple.

Then Kev came to the party.  He decided the bench in the garden was too plebian - we should sit under the pergola which is covered with sweetheart roses.  He got the pressure cleaner and blasted all the grunge off the concrete bench.  He carried a rustic table and some chairs down to the pergola.  He wouldn't let me put a cloth on the table - he said the rust made it more romantic. He decided we needed lights - so strung outdoor fairy lights around the pergola.  He found candles and lit those.

Timing was of the essence - I'd asked Rod and Fi to come at 5.30 and the cricket was due to finish then as well.  Luckily SA won just before 5.30 and as Rod and Fi arrived, Pete got up to let them in, having watched the prize giving.  He was a bit taken aback, not knowing I had invited them and not really liking surprises.  (I think they are good for him .... )

So we spent an evening out in the garden, dodging the drizzle now and then, drinking Krone Night Nectar and sharing the usual sort of conversations we have with Rod and Fi - but with Kev as part of it too.

As I said to Sarah the next day, only a really nice 18 year old would bother to go to so much trouble for something he probably thought was a bit stupid, if not gross - his ancient grandparents having a romantic evening -but that's what Kev is - a nice boy.

So happy Valentine's day to all lovers and friends and family.  And Pete may have forgiven me .......

Adventure 5 - What makes it a date?

So what makes it a date?

It’s been quite difficult to define what makes a “date” – is it something we wouldn’t normally do, or do often?  Is it something we need to plan especially?  Or can it be something we normally do, but do in a different way?

So when we had our first “solo” Friday evening since Kevin came to live with us, we had to decide whether going to our favourite Pizza place on our own constitutes a date.

We decided it did.  Even though we forgot the bottle of wine we had planned to take, just being on our own for the first time in two weeks was a “date”

Don’t get me wrong – having Kev to live with us is not a hardship.  We love him to bits and having him here is like the completing of a circle – he came home to the bedroom he is in now as a baby – straight from the hospital – and he has always felt that this is his heart-home, even when he’s lived somewhere else.  But having him here full-time and not just as a visitor is different – and for two old people (although active) it is quite a change.

So when he had a hockey braai and Sihle was planning to go out, it definitely felt like a date to go out for pizza.  We love Pizzology – with its industrial chic décor, its unusual pizzas, its awesome cappuccino in double skin glasses,  its funky little orange Fizzers as a treat with the bill.  Sadly, the fizzer pulled a filling out – but that doesn’t count as part of the date J

Pizzology – a worth ruby date venue.

Adventures Three and Four - Dates with the family

We’ve decided that some of our “dates” can include people we love (apart from each other) – so a day in the Karangahake area was a great date with Ray, Nic, Emily and Ben.

We started with the drive to Waihi – about an hour East of Tauranga – to catch the train to Waikino.  It is a delightful train – an old train that rides along the original train lines.  The original leather seats that can face either way, the wooden windows which slide up into the roof of the train, the cattle truck and restored engines.   That would have been great on its own.  But it was made even more special by the original conductor’s caps which are there for children (and adults) to wear on the trip, the conductor with her train stamps for the arms of all the children riding, the bike stands on the cattle truck and the stuffed animals sitting on some of the seats.  Delightful!

We rode the 6 km/45min trip to Waikino with the family – pointing out all the cows (moos) and sheep to Benji.  Emily enjoyed looking for the road, the cars and especially the animals.  I loved the dad who was following the train on which his kids were travelling – wherever the train came near to the road, there he was, cellphone in hand, filming them – even to driving alongside the train with phone out of the window.

At Waikino, Ray and Nic got their bikes off the train and the 4 of them set off to ride the rail trail to Karangahake.  Em rode in front of Ray and Benji in the seat behind Nic – what a gallant little troop they looked as they set off. Pete and I took the train back to Waihi and drove the cars down to the picnic spot where we met.  The gorge is narrow and winding and at times seems almost to head into the river, and at other times, it seems as though it is about to hit the cliffs – so a bit nerve-wracking for me, especially as I drive very little when we’re away from home!

A lovely picnic at the Karangahake picnic site where we heard everyone’s adventures and shared our picnic with the sparrows who crowd the grass.  We saw and heard a tui in the trees – a lovely black bird with two white puffballs on its throat.

Pete even got a chance to fish the river on the way home – no fish, but a lovely evening on the water.

A day worthy of rubies.

Adventure Four

In our last week in New Zealand we decided to have a "venture" (as Emily used to call them) in Tauranga. 

Here's what Pete said about it:

Took the Number 59 bus down to the Strand this morning to visit Hairy Maclary and friends. Such a fun morning. I don't usually support the erection of statues which are often divisive and a huge waste of money - in my opinion. But here is a set of which I heartily endorse! Just from the looks on the faces of all the children, parents and grandparents and even those just passing by Hairy and his mates are a great success. Largely funded by private and corporate sponsors rather than public money I think this is a really positive enhancement of the area. The large increase in the number of people visiting the area must have local business smiling. Well done Tauranga!

What I love are the shiny parts of the statues where children have hugged, patted and sat on the statues. The only dull one is Scarface Claw who is up on top of the pole - no one can reach him. And as Nicky said - that's just how he would have wanted it!