busy.

Well what do you know!? I found a moment to get here at last! It's been a busy summer. Alas, it is already Autumn. I remember always writing to my great uncle at this time of year to say how great this time of year was because Spring was finally on it's way and I could look forward to some Summer after having just survived another European winter. Particularly English Winters. Of course I'm now back in the Southern hemisphere and I'm a little sad as I talk to him in my head to wish him a happy birthday, because it means I have the whole Winter ahead of me...His birthday means Spring in the northern hemisphere or Autumn in the southern hemisphere. I also have my little boy's birthday on the very next day and my grandfather's birthday (my Dad's dad) on the following day. I hope my ancestors are watching my delightful little boy on his birthday opening his presents and playing with each thing before being bullied to open the next thing by his excited sister. He delights in the little things (marbles, whistle toy, torch) and is just so delightful. I think he really enjoyed being in the limelight and being sung to (twice!). Blowing out his candles was a breeze and eating sweets and cake and chippies all day (being able to help himself!) was just too much fun! I invited a few people round, deciding to do something similar to Mia's birthday celebrations. Hopefully next year I'll be up to a proper party and the kids would have made some of their own friends. Hopefully Joshy will make some little friends at kindergarten and Mia will no doubt have made some at school.

I've been busy - can you tell? I've started netball training twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday nights) which is great fun - hard work , but I can feel the rewards. I am definitely shaping up and coming down from size 14 to size 12. My weight is still at 70kg, but hopefully I can shift some of that this winter. Volleyball training has also just started, so that takes up my Wednesday nights. It's going to be a bit of a juggle, but I'm enjoying the sensation of feeling fitter. (I still hate running.) I haven't managed to go to Pilates for ages, but maybe when Joshka spends more time at kindergarten later in the year, I'll find myself with some more free time to go and stretch myself on a transformer...

Another reason for the absence of posts had been the crazy social commitments we've had to keep up. It sounds like a movie, but in 2 weeks we had 2 weddings and a funeral. Two of Ben's cousins (sisters) got married - one in Te Puke and one in New Plymouth. It was fun going to a new place - I'd never managed to see Mt Egmont/ Taranaki on my previous visit in 1998 since it was surrounded (hidden) in cloud, but the stunning volcano showed itself to us. (It felt quite bizarre to point out a volcano to my children - not something I ever thought I'd be saying really.) I finally got to wear my RED DRESS with my red shoes and red bag, and I felt great. I actually bought it for a wedding I am attending in Cape Town in oh, 2 weeks time, but it was a great trial run! Felt a million bucks. Our children were superbly behaved at both weddings and we had a lot of compliments from people saying what a credit it was to us as parents. They really made us proud and were good fun to have around. At the wedding in New Plymouth they had a babysitter while we had dinner, and came up after dinner to join in the dancing. Mia loved twirling around like a ballerina and Joshka was content bouncing up and down to the beat. There was a live band which was great. After a while it seemed the sound got louder and louder (too loud for me) so we moved onto the balcony outside (under cover) and danced in the fresh air listening to the rain, the sea and the band. Mia pushed Ben and myself together and told us it was our turn to dance, so we danced arm in arm, going slowly round and round, and it was a perfect moment of happiness for me. My family dancing outside, happy and together. A lovely moment and a memory I hope to keep forever. A photograph couldn't even do it justice, so I just savoured it for as long as I could. I felt truly happy.

My cousin, Andrew arrived after the weddings and we showed him around our town - it is quite spectacular, some of the sites to see. We both enjoyed a late night spa outside overlooking the lake. He enjoyed the children and they loved him and the presents he arrived with! Sadly it was also when one of Ben's ex-colleagues died, so I attended my very first funeral in New Zealand. I took Joshka with me and he was lovely. Ben was one of the pallbearers along with some of his other work mates. Val was a lovely woman and when I see her in my mind's eye I see a smiling face - she was quite jolly and giggly the first time I met her and that first impression is the one that lingers in my mind. She was a thoughtful and generous lady - she gave us a plant (honesty pods) which is my garden. At the end of the service her coffin was lowered to be cremated and a Maori woman (the wife of one of Ben's colleagues) sang a Maori farewell song/lament. It was loud and chilling and almost ancient. It really seemed to make Val's passing so final. It was moving and sad, until I looked down and saw Joshka with his fingers in his ears in silent protest. I nudged Ben and moved back so he could see - not the best moment to have the giggles at a funeral. Luckily I KNOW Val would have been giggling too.