Up To The Very Top

We left early. And drove through farmland, little towns, wild bush with rivers running by the side of the road. Then we left the road. And churned through sand, splashed through pools of water and stopped for fresh air and a swim for some of us.





Then it was back to the road, and up to the very top of New Zealand. A long way.



But worth the drive.

Swirling oceans meeting. The Tasman and Pacific. And a view as far as the eye can see. Beautiful Cape Reinga.

Butterscotch Peach Cake

Finally I was able to bake! I drove up the road to bake this cake, thanks to a good friend who let me use her oven. And I got to cuddle her little baby as well. Two lots of sweetness in one day.

Awe

A man of sorrows. My God. He is just incredible and I bow and I marvel. The tears burn and I see a glimpse but it feels like a chasm has opened. I see his inexpressible beauty. And I thank him. That he stoops down, becomes a man of sorrows, carries our burdens and loves us. Loves us with all the love in the world. Us wayward, hurting, afflicted people. I am overwhelmed by his goodness and I fall down in worship before him. The Lord of the star fields.

Whale Bay

We spent Saturday afternoon at Whale bay with Robyn. It was a stunning afternoon, the water was glassy and there were hardly any people there. Later in the afternoon we all went for a walk to one end of the beach and then turned around and walked to the other end. Robyn was sea shell hunting for most of our walk, stooping down to pick up the ones she liked. When we got to the other end suddenly she exclaimed "Where are my glasses?". And the hunt was on. She had had them tucked into her top so they must have fallen off when she was bending down for the shells we deduced. I quickly looked back on the photos I had taken and could see roughly where she had them on and where she didn't so we all went and searched that stretch of the beach. What a mission, they weren't on the sand so into the water we waded, combing the sand for any trace of her expensive prescription glasses. We couldn't see them anywhere but kept looking and just when we were about to give up a man came running down to us to ask if we had lost something. Explaining what happened he joined in the search and then his wife joined in and no sooner had she walked into the water we heard her yell and looked around to see her waving the glasses in the air! Robyn cried and hugged her, they were beaming at us and then after a little chat we said goodbye with Robyn wishing them a nice life. It was the best ending to a gorgeous afternoon.

Renovating and Ice Cream

We are in the middle of kitchen renovations at the moment. Watching the substance that made up our old kitchen torn apart and carted away has been strange. For so many years things are there, stationary, and then in a few days they are gone. And suddenly you see what has been hiding behind the walls all this time. Newspaper lined walls redolent of 100 years ago and big pink roses you can almost smell.
Our little kitchen set up on the deck is working quite well, with the only drawback being the lack of an oven. Which for me is rather a tragedy. I can't bake! I keep saying and thinking 'if only I had an oven I could make...'. But I am trying to console myself with the fact that I can still make ice cream. Last night we celebrated the arrival of Dad's cousin from America. With our whole family here (including James our cousin from Aussie) we ate and talked as the rain poured down on the tarpaulin. Robyn is lovely and it has been so interesting getting to know her. We keep noticing all the little similarities to Dad. Of course we ate homemade vanilla ice cream with berry sauce. And for a while I didn't miss the oven at all.

Briar Turns Eleven

Briar had a party today! I can't believe she is 11, it doesn't seem so long ago she was a chubby cute little toddler with a blond mop of hair. We had three little girls come for the party. So there was lots of giggling and fun. They went swimming, ate watermelon and marshmallows, played lots of games; including one where one of the little girls ran right into a rosebush and scratched herself rather badly. She was very brave though. Then at the end of the evening we sang happy birthday and she blew out her eleven candles. Eleven. Wow. Happy birthday Briar!

Summer Plums

Dad bought home a box of these luscious plums today. Today he also came home from his business for the last time. The business he built up faithfully and then sold making it even more successful. Ever since I was a little girl Dad has worked hard, long hours for our family. So it's crazy to think he will no longer be doing that. Crazy and great. Time for a holiday I think. With lots of plums.