Ten Days In Christchurch...

Well... Here I am again. Have you missed me?

I haven't really been doing anything exciting...

And for the last two months I've been battling colds

and had pneumonia. I'm well again now - more or less -

I don't cope with the cold South Island winters very well.

I was in Kaikoura, both getting over pneumonia and

spending time with a friend here who had a hip replacement.

Then went back to Christchurch to see my Dad again 

for ten days. I had a rental car... And I tell you I could 

hardly keep up with the old bugger. It's hard work 

taking somebody out in a wheel chair.

 Here I am parked on the side of the road again - In my usual

spot outside Dad's rest home. Over time I have become a

bit of a fixture and a regular part of the neighbourhood. The

lady who lives in the house where I am parked gives me

vegetables out of her garden and asks me to have showers

in her house - I never did get round to that. Another neighbour

brought me fresh eggs and gave me firewood and the people

who live in the villa that Dad used to occupy come and visit

and chat and sit by my fire. It's lovely.

 As soon as I told Dad I was getting a rental car he wanted to 

go out... He would have gone out every day!

Here we are at a cafe up on Cashmere Hills in the

sun enjoying lunch. There is a view out the window looking

out over Christchurch. It takes Dad ages to decide what he

wants to eat. After being in a rest home with little

choice, it takes a lot of thinking about. Here he's enjoying

bacon, mushrooms and sausages with ciabatta bread and

a beer as big as he is. He laughed and laughed at that!

At the end of this month he will be 97! Nothing

wrong with his appetite when he's out.
 

He had a lovely surprise visit from one of his grand daughters.

She and her family live in Brisbane so it was a special

time.  We all went out for lunch to Pukeko Junction.

Again great choices of food and it was all lovely.

We also had hearing aid check ups, stocked up on

necessary new clothes and toiletries and whisky and

chocolate and he likes to have his own jars of honey, marmalade

vegemite and the pickle he's very find of - on his

toast for breakfast.

And it was time for me to go again... Back to Kaikoura

where I am house sitting for a friend for a month and

I have become a working girl, also for the same friend

looking after her shop "Gecko Gearz" that sells

clothes, jewellery, woolly hats, scarves and slippers.

But more about that soon...