It is a beautiful day. The lake is blue and glistening in the sun. Lots of people were picnicking and swimming this afternoon. Now I am on my patio enjoying the warm air and the view down to the lake as I read my book and snack on cherries.
It was a day out today to Arrowtown, Queenstown and Cardrona.
We were back in time to watch the yacht race held each Thursday, weather permitting, on Lake Wānaka. I could follow it from my patio with binoculars as the boats appeared between gaps in the trees.
It’s a warm evening. I can hear the ‘pock’ of tennis balls on the court below.
Actually, I’m attempting a gallery of postcards today as I couldn’t choose just one. After a showery start (improved by scones with morning coffee) the weather cleared. I beat all previous personal records by walking 22,730 steps from Edgewater to Beacon Point and back.
At times, where there was little shade, I felt like that turtle on the nature programme walking purposefully across the desert. A smoothie at Scroggin cafe gave me the energy for the last push home along the lake where people were sunbathing and swimming in their thong bikinis. I had a cool shower and washed my sweaty clothes.
I’m having a day on the couch. The door is open letting in a soft breeze, the sound of wind in the poplars and the sight of waves on the lake. I’m listening to my “Make me Smile” playlist. Fat Bottomed Girls* by Queen is coming up, appropriate for a person on the couch all day. I’ve walked over 11,000 steps in the last two days however. I’m reading the NZ Gardener, getting inspiration for gardening when I get home.
A friend has requested digital postcards of my holiday. The real thing is becoming impractical as people increasingly communicate digitally and postal services are cut.
Here’s the first, taken as I walked along the lakefront today.
Uploading images is proving problematic as I try to post from Wānaka on my phone or iPad. I will try shorter posts with one image – micro blogging. Here’s the view from my door here…no, that didn’t work. Imagine grass, trees and lake! I have sent a request for more storage on the site. Sorry to disappoint.
I have been whisked away by my brother and sister-in-law to Wānaka for a week, while my sister and family look after Mum.
I shared the back seat with Stuart the Minion and endured – oops, enjoyed – my brother’s playlist.
We had lunch at Woodbury and there was a classic car meet at the domain. I particularly liked a blue Chrysler with a dickie seat.
I paid my respects to relatives in the nearby cemetery.
Now we have arrived to the Central Otago scent of warm summer grass and tussock – and a rabbit on the lawn.
A blackbird had a lovely long bath on Sunday. I was sitting in the egg chair reading on my ipad and was able to switch to camera and catch the action.
Sometimes insects such as bees and wasps settle on the edge of the water for a drink. Today, I saw a reason why the blackbird may have been so cautious before taking a dip.
Yesterday I was concerned by my lack of energy. It was a dull day which often seems to mean my ‘solar panels’ aren’t charging. Today I realised my energy was back when I began to visualise doing the gardening I’d been waiting to do when I had the energy. It was a warm, sunny day.
I made a list and completed it, except for washing the deck.
I have been transplanting worn-out plants from pots and hanging baskets into the front berm. Because of all the rain we’ve had, the soil is not like concrete as it was last summer when I planted lavender – only two of the six plants survived. This summer, a pink geranium which was looking very tired in its hanging basket is looking much healthier in the ground. A transplanted cineraria is also thriving. These plants add colour and variety to the garden strip between the fence and the grass berm. Today I transplanted snapdragons and pansies, digging out some of the over-abundant lemon balm to make room.
I tell myself that I can’t be on the go all the time and need some time to rest, ready for the next effort in the garden or whatever, but it has always worried me when I have no energy – is it creeping old age? Yet I remember in my twenties asking a friend to calculate my bio-rhythms on her phone app (did we have those then?) when I felt lacklustre or out of sorts. “That explains it!” I’d say.
My brother, sister-in-law and I took Mum out for lunch at Untouched World Kitchen today. It is Mum’s 96th birthday. Here she is, still on her first course while we’re onto coffee.
Mum and I were both wearing Untouched World merino-mink jumpers. In the showroom beyond the cafe, we were intrigued to see a window has been cut in the wall so you can see where the jumpers are made.
The sun came out in the afternoon, perfect for a happy birthday, and too hot for those jumpers!
We had an early birthday dinner last week with my sister and brother-in-law and nephews before their West Coast holiday. Here is the beautifully decorated cake my sister made. The flowers are from their garden.
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