Sorry folks, I forgot - it crept up on me.
Hope you find us.
Doodle feel free to delete this and start anew.
All welcome to join us for general chat and friendliness.
Jeeves will welcome you with Prosecco and Pringles.
Doodle please know how important you are. No one thinks you are self pitying but if you need to feel sorry for yourself occasionally, that's ok too.
* is self pitying and feeling sorry for oneself the same thing? *
I am enjoying having the young people around. The Frenchman came here as a helper back in 2018 i think. He came for 2 weeks and stayed a year. He was assistant to DH with getting the community store and café project off the ground. He made many friends here and enjoyed concerts. He misses DH ofcourse but still visits me. He has brought a friend this time. They've spent some days in the Highlands climbing and finding great weather. These are photos he sent me from Ullapool.
I set them to work finishing a DIY job and they cooked a fabulous lunch at 4pm!
They will need to fly home to Toulouse on Wednesday, alas. I will miss them.
I am awake in the middle of the night which is boring but at least I don't have to go to work. There are advantages aren't there.
See you later.
Oh dear, dear Doodle - it is NOT 'self-pity' - it's devastating grief and a totally understandable grief at that.
You have suffered what amounts to an amputation of half your life.
You simply cannot shrug that off and 'get over it' .
Your whole world has changed and you are learning how to live in a completely different one.
You are a brave and caring person and I am sure you would not think the ladies in your group are self-pitying if they wept or said how hard it all is now.
Why is it any different for you, dear friend?
I think DS will be living and working in Australia. He and Dil want to leave NZ for sure. As do thousands of others it seems. 
I may eventually be the only person here. 
I don't know when the family (sans moi) are flying over but there's a school holiday coming up at the end of Sept for 2 weeks, so it's likely to be then.
Cherry I believe that sausage on the Braai is a South African speciality, 
you naughty girl!
I must be very dense or naive because when three of us sang that children's song from aeons ago, 'Do your ears hang low, can you swing 'em to and fro....'
Whaea Huia said to me, 'And we always thought you were such a lady!'
And I didn't understand. I thought the kaumatua were in stitches because it's a silly, funny song. Duh.
The penny soon dropped however. 
All these years and I never realised.
Although I did look it up later and the 'ears' version we sang was originally innocent but as with so many popular ditties, pressed into military service in WW1, with saltier lyrics.
Excellent news that you’re feeling well again grammaretto and able to enjoy the meeting and Taize singing. 
The apple press idea sounds wonderful as well. Does the local pig farmer take the mush?
You are so right Doodle I’m certainly much more settled now he’s working with JG. Also, strangely enough, it’s an advantage that the area he's in at the moment looks rather English.
They enjoyed a Brai last night (pictures) – one of DS’s favourites.
And speaking of food, I completely agree with our dear *Cherry8 – having an appetite is a good sign.
Cherry Yep, I’m breathing again.
Does the weather affect your wellbeing? Good to see you posting regularly; I hope you’ll soon be dusting off your tigger tail
Most of the feathers for this ixion were provided by Waipareira from a specialist craft shop. There will certainly be significance for Maori but that’s when a Kakahu is made from scratch by a Kaiwhatu (weaver of cloaks), who will gather the flax, prepare it with special chants and prayers.
Each individual feather will then be woven into the cloak. I took a shortcut and sewed my feathers onto cream cambric by putting my thumbnail on the fabric and running the needle down it into the cloth 2,000 times
The feather’s on Gubbins’ look brown but are actually multi-coloured, possibly cockerel tail. I bought the white (poor quality) ones at a local $2 shop. I may replace them because having seen Gubbins' kakahu, my other grand-daughter wants one, so I will have to source these for myself.
Good to push myself out of my comfort zone as making it was by no means easy but immensely satisfying.
Whiteware: looked up planned obsolescnce on Wikipedia. Once a rare thing, now fairly standard. However, if you can replace the relevant chip........
My new doctor wanted me to have an X-ray on my left leg, still bruised and painful from the fall in early May.
Radiology wanted $40, way out of my pocket. So Karen took me to WaiHealth where I asked if they knew a cheaper centre. Doctor Charlotte came out to tell me they would make an appointment at the hospital’s X-ray department, which is free and provide free transport there and back
It took me a while to realise I wasn't dreaming.
I bet you’re wondering how I stand the pace.
Yes, frankly, I do!
I'm exhausted from doing a few small jobs and taking my mother-in-law to choose some secateurs!
Father's Day here and I am immensely grateful DS is not in London. He seems full of hope and plans and I couldn't ask for a better miracle.
It's also the first day of Spring 
and gloriously sunny after crashing thunder storms last night.
My day has been wildly exciting.
Laundry, washing up (what joy); making carrot soup, then paté; knitting a pair of purple slippers, splashing extremely noisome liquid fertiliser on my roses and Black Eyed Susan; inadvertently pulling a poor, blooming Freesia out by its roots. 
and listening to lawn mowers, dogs barking and the the BBCs' 'Just William' audio books read by Martin Jarvis.
So funny, poor William he means well. Richmal Crompton showed amazing insight into a child's thought processes to say she never had any of her own. (children, not thought processes)
Then, as if the day wasn’t spellbinding enough, I wrote to a penfriend of over 30 years after which I had my regular Sunday chat with another very good friend in New Jersey.
I bet you’re wondering how I stand the pace.
Seriously, it's been a lovely weekend, no dramas, no upsets.
I hope you are all having as happy a weekend as I.
Oh Grammaretto, poor you, just when you need to feel well and energetic. More Floradix perhaps?
My friend did exactly what you’ve been thinking about. She had a huge house and a garden divided by a little stream over which was a bridge.
She removed the bridge, then had a much smaller 2-bedroomed house built for her retirement.
It was all glass and polished wood and had a spiral staircase.
DS journey, from first leavving Aotearoa to landing at Sydney airport was close to 32,000 km. It's only, 40,000 round the whole world. 
I hope he remembered to register his airpoints.
I finally finished my miniature feather cloak (Whatu kākahu) ixion – and what a Herculean task it’s been but very well worth it.
Feathers look a bit messy but they're fine when the cloak is upright!
Mamissimo how are the Bored Beans?
Wishing you all a happier and healthier weekend.
Final picture is of a professionally made adult cloak, currently sold for close on $1,000. Mine, for Gubbins, is like the wee girl herself, pricless.
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