A Day At The Beach

I enjoyed my couple of days beside the beach, and managed to avoid using the internet (so relaxing!).  This was my self-contained unit in Raglan Holiday Park. 

First thing to do after my morning shower was to make the bed and tidy up the unit.

Then it was breakfast (apple turnover and tea) sitting out on the deck.

There was a pleasant view out over the Opotoru Inlet.

And sometimes a light plane came in to land at the nearby airstrip. 

A lot of the morning was spent sitting on the deck watching the world go by, and next thing it was lunchtime!  I wandered over to the nearby takeaways and bought two pieces of fish (terakihi) in a crispy golden batter, to eat beside the water. 

There is a foot bridge that connects this area with the town, and for the first time in my life I got the courage to walk across it. 

The only problem was, I had to walk back again LOL.

I sat beneath a tree to let my shaky legs recover - and enjoyed just watching all the activity going on around me. 

Dinner was a bread roll filled with roast beef and salad  - have you guessed I bought all my meals this trip?  Doing so really added to the relaxed holiday feeling. 

The glass of bubbles is sparkling water!

As the day ended, I made my way down to the beach (part of Whaingaroa Harbour).  The sand here is black, composed of eroded volcanic material rich in iron-bearing minerals, and gets very hot underfoot on a sunny day.

I was hoping to watch the sun set below the oceanic horizon but Mt Karioi, a peninsula, and some clouds, all conspired against that idea.  I wasn't too disappointed though - it still made a pretty scene, and the beach was quiet and peaceful. 

I'm back home again now and loving the new carpet. 

Now the fun begins, putting everything back in its place again!

Margaret xx 

Running Away Again

Our renovation chaos is almost at an end, at least inside the house.

Even the cats will be happy when we get done.

The carpet goes in this week, but I'm not going to stay around. 

There is nothing I can do to help, so I'm heading to the beach again for a couple of days.  A different beach this time - to west-coast Raglan instead of east-coast Papamoa. 

Margaret xx 

This month's header photo is of the Ngamuwahine River in the Kaimai Ranges.  It is a lovely spot to visit on a hot summer's day.  This photo was taken after a family picnic in 2012.

Imagination In Marriage

"Love is a beautiful flower in life's garden, but it is a frail one, and needs careful tending.  In married life love dies much more often from neglect than as a result of active damage.  Such neglect can be avoided.  All that is needed is to use your imagination. 

To maintain a healthy and fruitful relationship three things are highly desirable  - adequate time for love-making, a congenial setting and some variety."

This little bit of advice was found in the 1965 book "Frankly Feminine: A book of comprehensive information and advice for the woman of today."  It was edited by Eileen McCarthy for The Grolier Society Limited of London.  (The picture was taken from the book.) 

Things are still chaotic here. The boys have one room of carpet left to lift, and there are boxes, paint cans, and bits of timber everywhere, although I am trying to keep my bedroom and the kitchen tidy.

Son has used acoustic wall panels to make a feature wall in his room. I like his choice, especially using the two colours, and think the end result is rather stylish.

Renovations can be stressful at times, but I'm really looking forward to the end result. 

Margaret xx 

Keeping Busy

It was great to go away for a few days, and good to be home again - even though it meant facing a lot of cleaning up.

Most of the painting was finished while I was away.  It's surprising how much brighter and larger a space appears when it gets painted in a lighter colour.

I am loving the new colours in my bedroom. 

Everything has to remain packed up until the carpet goes down next week.  I still have some china-ware to pack and then my part in preparation will be done.  I've been stacking boxes of fragile things in the bath so they won't need to be moved around to make way for the carpet as it goes down through the house.

Our strawberries are now producing and we have been able to pick a handful every couple of days.  The new plants Son bought this season are producing mammoth size berries - what a shame he can't remember what variety they were!

Sorry I haven't been able to visit other blogs the last couple of days.  Hopefully, once things settle down here my routine can get back to being normal again.

Keep smiling 😃 

Margaret xx 

Lunch With A Friend

I met up with a dear friend today for a spot of shop-wandering and lunch together. 

For my lunch, I had a hot milk chocolate drink and a bacon, cheese and onion toasted sandwich. 

Then, this afternoon, son whisked me off to his favourite hardware shop to buy interior house paint.

The house has a couple of walls that need repainting and I'm also going to have my bedroom freshened up.

I don't have to do any of the painting myself - that is what I have sons for!

My choice was for a creamy yellow with a pale blue feature wall (the photo colour isn't entirely accurate).

Our whole home is in quite an upheaval - but by the end of the year it should feel like a new house. 

I'm looking forward to that!

Margaret xx 

Lifting Carpet

I stripped my room bare this morning so that the boys could move the furniture and lift up the old carpet.

Thankfully, underneath is varnished chipboard so it was easy to vacuum up the dust that had accumulated over the last forty years.  (So gross!)

I took advantage of the bare bedroom  by vacuuming clean my mattress.  I used to do this every 6-12 months, but it has been a couple of years now since it was last done.

For breakfast this morning I made up a Breakfast Bowl with a Middle Eastern flair.  Chopped egg, cucumber and  tomato were placed on a base of Greek yoghurt, some chickpeas were added, then a sprinkle of za'atar spice and a drizzle of olive oil to finish it off.

It tasted surprisingly good and kept me going until lunchtime. 

Wishing everyone a happy day,

Margaret xx