Three weeks seemed such a long time when we left - how quickly the time went while we were away. As the sole purpose of visiting Auckland was to see my mother, the first 10 days away saw us doing mostly just that. We stayed with my brother and SIL who live in the countryside just north of the city so without transport except him to drive us, it was an enforced rest as well. DH spent time resting and reading and I was able to catch up on my cross stitch piece which I have now almost finished. Because of a comment made by my SIL, I need to change my plan for making it into a cushion cover for my brother's 70th birthday. It seems he may prefer it framed. I was planning to stitch our clan name in Celtic script however the space in the pattern is too small. I'm thinking perhaps a small clan crest if I can purchase one, could be pinned to the space instead. I'll take a photo to show when it's complete.
We found Mum reasonably well and much the same as I had left her 6 months ago. Of course she was overjoyed to see not only us but also her 91 year old sister who had traveled many miles to visit - she had a number of 'out of town' visitors over the Christmas and New Year period. It was unfortunate that about a week after our arrival, Mum became unwell and really doesn't seem to be much better. Tests were sent to the laboratory which all came back negative so the doctor doesn't seem to know what the problem is. A week afterwards, there was an outbreak of novo virus which put the facility into lock-down with no visitors allowed. The RN I spoke to didn't seem to think this was Mum's problem and when I made a phone call to her this morning she had been on a group outing yesterday so she may be improving a little. I do hope and pray so.
After 10 days with my brother, we moved 'residence' to DH's brother and his wife. They live close to the water and because we weren't able to visit with Mum, we took the opportunity to have some outings. We went to places we hadn't discovered when we lived in Auckland many years ago, had lovely lunches in some of them, drove to some beautiful scenic spots and saw the movie "Quartet" - what a hoot! Loved it!
We took a trip to Matakana Village, about an hours drive north east of Auckland on the coast and spent a few hours wandering amongst the market stalls, having lunch then later a huge delicious ice cream made locally. We drove to Black Bay Sculptural Walk which is in a bushland setting where many local artists have displayed large sculptures. Boardwalk areas have been made through the bush which makes the hour's 'wandering' very pleasant.
Isn't it surprising how quickly one gets back into 'normalcy' after arriving back home? Grocery shopping, laundry, housework - I guess we wouldn't have it any other way would we?
Blessings friends!
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