Been on holiday for nearly three weeks.... and it is bliss. Particularly now that the rush of Xmas is over and the weather is hot and dry; too hot, but in the awareness of a frozen northern hemisphere and people shivering, I will just say that darkened rooms and fans on full are helping us cope in the absence of an air con unit. After having our post quake chimney removed, we might be eligible for a free heat pump instead of having it rebuilt, so fingers crossed. Anything to keep power bills under control would be great.
We had a lovely family Xmas, despite the earthquake swarm on Boxing Day, followed by a quiet but fun New Year, just enjoying the break with no issues... no resolutions either! A stress free and relaxing time.
The family are well. My daughter is in Thailand with her friends - if she is hotter than we are here today, she can keep it! Love the way they are all colour coordinated.
James and Jess went to Nelson Lakes and tramped for a few days - missing some heavy rain and getting four days of perfect weather.
Phoebe's family are making the most of an Auckland Xmas ... you can see all their photos on their blog
See Xmas: http://treacytravels.blogspot.com/2010/12/treacy-christmas-2010.html
or for them all :) http://treacytravels.blogspot.com/
Poppy has settled in now and is a bundle of energy and love. Our house appears to have toddlers living in it again, strewn with toys and chewy things, but the toilet training is going well!
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| New Brighton Beach |
Today we escaped the heat with a drive over to Lyttelton Harbour, enjoying the air conditioning in the car.
The beaches were all hot and packed and of course, no dogs allowed, but finally, we found the ideal spot to take Poppy for a walk, safely, by the river; cool, shady and inviting...at Horseshoe Lake, right across the road from our house, so we went home and got Jessie as well. While walking, we scared something into the water... I thought it was probably a rat at first but it was actually a red eared slider turtle.. floating tantalisingly just out of reach before diving away. Someone must have got tired of their pet... but releasing it into the local waterways is not fair on the turtle either.
I will leave you with Poppy pix.... which are hard to get as she is rarely still, and in most photos looks like a small black mop if you can't see her eyes.
Happy New Year to you all.
