Welcome to 2024 - a long over due catch up!

Happy 2024 to you - I hope you have had a great start to the year so far. I was planning to begin posting here again at the end of my summer holidays but unfortunately I ended up very sick for a week with covid, couldn't believe it was as bad as the first time I had it, but I'm fully recovered and back to good health. Then it was back to work, a weekend away and now its February, crazy how fast the weeks are going!

So a few snippets from our Christmas and New Year - we had a very lovely, low key family Christmas day this year as my sister in law was unwell with covid.  The weather had been very hot leading up to Christmas too and the day itself was roasting. My parents and Glenn's Dad came for a meal with us later in the day, which was just yum, all the usual treats including the annual brownie trifle.

Between Christmas and New Year we enjoyed some chilled out days but also spent time catching up on jobs and gardening around the house including a much needed sort out of our garage and two storage sheds. Such a good feeling to declutter and sell unwanted items.

On the 3rd January it was time to pack up the campervan and off we headed on a summer roadie with our friends Bruce and Alison.  We had an absolutely fantastic time travelling around the East coast of the North Island.

Day 1: Home - Napier - Wairoa - Opoutama (a beautiful freedom camping spot)

Day 2: Opoutama - Mahia - Gisborne - Tolaga Bay

Day 3: Tolaga Bay - Tokomaru Bay - Ruatoria - Te Araroa

Day 4: Te Araroa - Hicks Bay - Waihau Bay. Up and around the East Cape and now in the Bay of Plenty.

Day 5: Waihau Bay - Te Kaha - Opotiki. 

Found a motor camp with the fanciest bathrooms we've ever seen at a camping ground.

Day 6 - Opotiki to Ohope - a perfect spot for swimming, trying to catch  fish and watching the boats and water skiers in action.

Day 7: Ohope -Whakatane - Rotorua - Lake Okaro. A very tranquil spot by the lake.

Day 8: Lake Okaro - Taupo - Napier - Home.

We travelled over 1000kms on our trip and it was amazing - the people we met, the beautiful scenery, along with devastation still from the cyclone and other weather events during 2023. There's so much roading work to be done in the months and years ahead.  This was a big tick on our bucket list of places to visit around New Zealand. Bit of an eventful ending to our trip with a back tyre blowing out about 20km out of Taupo, so grateful for roadside assistance, and poor Diesel had to see the vet once we got home as he was unwell with a bad ear infection. 

We're loving the summer fruits available - nectarines, peaches, plums, apricots and all the berries especially strawberries.

Glenn was able to finish another project he'd been working throughout 2023 - our new outdoor cooking kitchen complete with a new inbuilt Weber barbeque. He designed and made the entire area himself and it's been put to great use already this summer.

We also enjoyed a day out in Napier recently, spending our Christmas money and vouchers.

Our summer garden is going great guns and so far we've harvested brocoli, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, radish, cabbage, and cucumbers.

Thankfully I was well enough last weekend to go with Glenn to Wellington as we'd booked concert tickets months ago to see the Foo Fighters.  We had a great weekend, and the concert was fantastic. 

Next time I'll have an update about what I've been stitching over the holiday break, and some stitching plans for 2024.

See you soon x