Feather Stitching

… I always thought Auckland was incredibly, unbearably hot during the summer months, but after living in Sydney for two years I have decided that Auckland is in fact very pleasant (or at least it was over the last few days).  After being home for 1 whole half hour, I have had to put the electric fan on to quell the sweat drops dripping down my back and upper lip – there you go, way too much information, and a visual you definitely did NOT need haha.

Before I forget, thank you so much for all the birthday wishes – the day itself was very low-key thanks to a continued bug in the system.  I did go to lunch, though, and watched Katie and Jenny eat a steak sandwich and chips while I sat and slurped through my lunch of a soda, lime and bitters.  My birthday dinner consisted of a bowl of steamed rice haha.  Oh well, I made up for it the next day, as Wednesday my appetite came back with a vengeance and I splurged on a delightful beef and mushroom pie with a bit of mashed potato (their mash at Cafe Lucca is to die for) and steamed veges … I was in culinary heaven on Wednesday!

I managed to get away from work early on Wednesday and caught the train straight from work into the airport terminal – had no problems getting on the plane, which is great, so I had plenty of time to sit and relax airside before the flight finally departed.  Sydney International duty free is now HUGE, and it was really fun wandering around for an hour sussing out bargains.  I think the bargain of the day was perfumes for AU$20, which I got for AU$16 after I took off my discount – woohoo!

All-in-all it was a nice trip home – a lot more sombre than other trips, partly due to my still not feeling entirely well, and partly due to the sombre occasion of Erin’s memorial service.  Carl’s eulogy to Erin broke a few people down – and the finale of James Blunt singing Goodbye My Lover broke the rest of us down, including the tough policemen friends.  The service itself was really lovely, held in the Manukau Botanical Gardens.  A friend read the service itself, then people were given an opportunity to say their own farewells and tributes before wandering off to visit Erin’s memorial plaque on a seat overlooking the water in the gardens.  It is an incredibly beautiful spot, and one that I’m sure many of us will visit again in the future years to come.  To finish off the day we went back to the Weymouth Cosmopolitan Club (aka the “Cozzie Club”) for a bite to eat and bevvies for those who wanted to partake.  Here are a couple of photos of Erin’s seat and the lovely view it has.

Mum, Dad and Danial checking out the comfort level

The view from Erin’s seat, complete with a duck pond for
Auntie Anne when she visits 😛

The next day we were invited to join the family to scatter Erin’s ashes, but we declined that one – I felt it was more appropriate for the blood family to be there, and instead Mum and I drove over in the afternoon and spent a few hours in their company afterwards.  We laughed and laughed at the kids’ antics, and as always found something else to laugh about – usually my Mum!  It’s always a great time when we go to visit “the Smithies”, although the next time we see them in October will be for a much brighter occasion, that being Mum and Dad’s 50th (Golden) Wedding Anniversary.  Here are a couple of photos of the kids that I really like … Cameron never sits still, so I think these photos are just ‘him’ to a ‘tee’ – even the camera couldn’t keep up with him! haha.

Liam thinking, “OK, who put this ball here in my way?”

Liam – “Oh well, maybe I’ll just rest my head for a while
until someone kind comes to rescue me!”

Liam – “Hmmm, let me check what special dates are coming up soon”

And poor Liam is definitely having the following photo edited when I get the time – he keeps holding his legs and arms up off the floor and makes me think he’s got a little parachute on … either that or he’s missing his cape and he’s flying off to help some damsel in distress! LOL

Cameron doing his usual thing – getting his body in motion – that kid is the human version of the Duracell Bunny, I swear it! He tires me out just watching him – although he makes me laugh at the same time! I love to watch him running around 🙂

And a boy’s never too young to learn how to play soccer LOL –
this was taken just seconds before the yell “take it outside please” was uttered 😛

Rather than fill this post with a squillion more photos, I’ll split the visit up into several posts, as there are quite a few photos yet to come …