Gosh! Where did this year go. It seems only a short time since I last
wrote. Guess that is just another sign
of old age.
It has been a fairly quiet year in the Price household. We did eventually have a lovely holiday on
the boat last summer. We sailed as far
north as Manganui Harbour. What a
beautiful old world town with the best fish & chip shop in NZ. We would love to get up there again and spend
more time as we were rather rushed but had a great time anyway. We still love our holidays on the boat and
are planning another one for after Christmas this year.
We returned to Auckland at the end of January. I had to return to Wellington to sort out
June and Dad’s affairs. We could not
leave the house empty for more than 60 days and so the decision was made to
empty it and rent the place out. It was
a mammoth task and sad getting rid of things that had been around for such a
long time with heaps of memories. We
each kept some mementos and then gave the rest away. The house is now rented to a young couple who
seem very happy. Dad and June are well
settled in to the retirement village life.
June is very happily confused. Dad has good and bad days, with the bad days
now out-numbering the good. It is sad to
see such a proud independent man like this, having to get everything done for
him. I try to get down to see them as
much as possible and keep them in nice clothes etc. I am happy to say that Dorothy and Derek have
returned to live in NZ after 5 ½ years away.
That takes a lot of the load off me.
They brought a big motorhome with them and are living and travelling in
that until they tire of it. Then they
will move back to their home which is now rented.
I had a knee joint replacement in July, the result of a skiing
accident 21 years ago. The knee had
collapsed so much that it was taking a toll on my health. It is now four months since I received the
new knee and I am better than I have been for years. I am so lucky to have had the option
available for me. I am able to do things
I haven’t been able to do for a long time.
In September we went for a ten day trip to Brunei and Kuala
Lumpur with the NZ SIFE team ( students in free enterprise). Tony is the NZ CEO. It is a voluntary organisation although he is
supposed to be paid but like most of those kind of enterprises there is never
any money to be had. They do pay for his
airfares and accommodation though. So I
pay my own way and we travel together.
The SIFE World Cup is run every year in a different country and this
year it was in KL. The NZ team did very
well but were out beaten. However, a
good time was had by all.
Apart from that trip we had spent quite a lot of time doing
the usual repairs and maintenance on the boat over winter. Tony has been installing a new radar which
will help in bad weather and at night.
I have spent a lot of time in my garden. I am really enjoying this and the vegetables
are always handy, and of course they always taste better than bought ones.
. Both girls and families are
coming up to Auckland next week for the holidays. We are all going to Stephen and Rochelle’s
holiday home for Christmas dinner. They
have a lovely home in Matakana, about an hour’s drive north of Auckland. We will all bring a portion of the meal. Then on Boxing Day we are taking Rowena and
Bella out on the boat for 3-4 days and after that we will do the swap over and
Naomi, Alastair and Nate will come out for 3-4 days. We will finally get the boat to ourselves
about 4th January when the tribe all go camping together. We have decided that they get the house while
they are up and we will sleep on the boat.
During the few days over Christmas it will be a bit crowded in the house
with so many people and we will appreciate the peace and quiet of the boat at
night. So it will be a really family
Christmas.
Once Tony and I get away on our own we are hoping to stay on the boat
until the end of January even though Tony may have to do some work during that
time. We will come back to Auckland for
14 January as Tony’s sister Glenda is getting married and wants us to
attend. She and her partner Peter love
ballroom dancing and have lots of friends who dance. So they are having a dance after their
wedding. They have encouraged Tony and I
to learn to dance. We have only mastered
the waltz so far but are thoroughly enjoying it and are determined to learn
more. We are very fortunate that the
local RSA is just around the corner, a 3-4 minutes walk for us. So we have joined up and are now going for
meals there regularly. We are amazed at
the number of really elderly people who attend and dance. Tony’s mother had written him off as tone
deaf when he was young and so he has never thought he could dance. But now he is learning to listen for the beat
and is doing very well. And the biggest
thing is that we are having fun together.
All the family is well. Caleb
turned five a few weeks ago and finishes at his pre-school today. He will attend the same school that Stephen
went to next year. Ethan will be four in
February and is talking really well with a huge vocabulary. I spent yesterday afternoon with him and we
had a great time at the park. I really
enjoy the times I have with the children but am exhausted after they go and the
house always looks like a tip then.
I was in Wellington a couple of weeks ago and caught up with Isabella
and Nathaniel and we are both looking forward to spending some time with them
at Christmas. It is a shame that they
live so far away but we talk most days and the children now have a natter with
me on the phone. I don’t always
understand what they say but we get by ok.
July 12 2012
Another 8 months have passed since this was updated by I will try to
add to it over the next week or so.
