She looks so much like both Steven & Jamie-Lee did at that age. It was neat to see Steven, Karen, Sarah & Jamie-Lee again. Once again Steven brought over a couple of his famous bacon & egg pies for lunch . They were delicious. He gets his cooking skills from me of course.
Check out Flickr for more pics.
The weekend before last we traveled over to Hamilton for Emma's graduation from the Sir George Seymour Travel course. It was a proud moment for her, as well as for her Whanau, when she received her Advanced Travel & Tourism Certificate. Well done Emma. The pic is of her & boyfriend Fernando, who also graduated. Our stay in Hamilton was lovely, starting from staying in the comfortable & friendly Ventura Inn, then the nice meal at an outside table at the Iguana, afterwards a taxi ride by a neat Somali driver who had no idea where the Founders Theatre was, but after listening to all our garbled theories, got us there in no time. The ceremony was pretty long, but there were many musical items from both staff & students, which made it a fun night for all. After a couple of drinks we decided to walk back to our hotel via Victoria & Hood Sts. The Scene was just getting going, & although we were tempted, we resisted going to boogie, & headed off to our comfy beds. Sighhhh! I hate getting old.
On Saturday we drove over to Tauranga to visit our friend Snow who has been in hospital for around 6 weeks now. Unfortunately he was having a bad day. He had had a procedure done the day before which knocked him about, but he had his radio on & was able to have a go at guessing some of the old songs from his better days. It was very sad to see him in such a bad way. Later we went to lunch with Maureen at one of the cafes in the Gate Pa shopping centre. Maureen had...,Bunny had...& I had.....No need to know that, but the waiter was pretty tasty. While there I checked out the Culinary Council, a fab shop selling cooking equipment & imported foodstuffs. That's one place I'll be shopping at when I've made my millions. 
Later we drove out to Julie's & Andy's new property out Pyes's Pa. They had just taken it over, but they have to have some trees felled, & some fencing done before they move in. Julie was happy to show us around the place, & was full of plans for their outdoor living area, including an outdoor oven. I know that it will be the scene of many memorable happenings. Never thought to take our binoculars, as they have a great (though distant)view down to Katikati & the Aldermans.
Last night we had a very pleasant evening at Marg's place, where we enjoyed a pot luck dinner in good company. The occasion was a welcome home to Maurie & Leigh. Andrew looks right chuffed with his Italian football cap.
Lucy & her catch early January this year. She's certainly had a growth spurt since then. This feature is designed to facilitate uploading from mobile phones & other such devices, so I'll give it a go with my phone when I've set up my email function in it. Where's Sam when we need him!! If you click on the pics you should see a bigger picture, plus access my pics on my Picasa Web Albums.
How's that for loyalty! I forgot that I had taken this pic the night of Maurie & Leigh's return home.
We drove over to Whakatane to pick up Maurie & Leigh after their fantastic trip. True to form we saw a couple of the locals at the airport, Kay & Hari, who were seeing family off. Also good to see Maurie & Leigh looking so relaxed. We then headed off to The Bean for a coffee hit. They hadn't had a decent coffee since Rome. 
I feel for them! I enjoyed listening to some of their experiences, & maybe I'll include Italy in my next trip.
I spotted it from my kitchen a couple of days ago. It was taking away nesting material from an old nest in the cherry tree. The Kereru have been very active lately, & I managed to get this shot today 
while one was perched above our drive. Note the blue sky. We've had the first sunny weekend for weeks.
Lucy had a better time at her second family's place the next evening, where Tina made her some of the Armstong's famous fudge. Last week I caught up with Paul & granddaughter Becca from US. Nice to catch up with him after so long, & also to meet Donna's lovely daughter.
Here is one of them on their way in May.This week we've had a good spell of dry weather, but wouldn't you know it, it's going to be another wet weekend. I ventured down to the bog 
area a couple of days ago & got this pic of our creek. Then the same day I noticed the Plum tree blossoming.
Spring is around the corner. Check out the Picasa link on the right for more pics.
Lucy was surprised to see Caitlin arriving from Auckland, & had a bit of a catch up with her, & Jim Bennett was on Lucy's flight.
Bunny, Lucy & I went down to Tirohanga Beach to check out the huge rollers. 
The beach was littered with debris, & we lost count of the huhu bugs. Enough for a good feed, but we opted for ice creams from the store instead. We didn't know at the time that a Sanford fishing boat had earlier got into difficulties at Hauhere, at Opape I think, with the result that two of the crew were lost. We were woken early in the morning with the sound of planes & helicopters, & wondered if they were searching for someone. There's now the problem of salvaging the boat & dealing with diesel.
Here's a pic of the "farewell committee" We've noticed the Kereru around more frequently, & today I got a pic of one on a tree just outside our front door. 
I had to get down on my knees to get it, because of the angle, so its not a very good shot. I was hoping to get closer, but Tama decided to bark at it & it didn't happen. A few days ago one of Tama's fans from Holland sent me this fab pic of their champion Icelandic Shepherds. I'm sure Inge won't mind me posting it here.
Bunny lined up for his 10th Polar swim today. The sun came out briefly as the swimmers emerged from the sea, but the air 
was pretty raw today. On Saturday we saw our first Kereru for this season. We're looking forward to seeing these big birds closer to the house as the season progresses.
accommodation in Stalos. Unfortunately it didn't survive the transplanting. I think it was because it was too big when transplanted, & was unable to cope with the extreme winter gales that occur there. 
This second tree is small enough to take off, & its location at Zourva is particularly beautiful, & a place which Kath was very fond of.
