Farewell, Waitarere!

Okay, this is the pits, I’m way behind in writing and in posting. That last weekend of our stay in Waitarere, Kevin had hoped to do some fishing, I had hoped to maybe take a nearby bike ride together…...instead he caught a cold, so laid low other than the long lunch, tea at the neighbors, and getting organized for packing up the place. You’d think I could have written and posted then, you say? Well, my goal for those few days became finishing knitting a sock :) and I’m happy to say I did get that accomplished, and the next one is started. Second sock syndrome has reared it’s ugly head though, so it’s been hard for me to get very far on it yet. Anyway, I mentioned we had a farewell tea at the neighbors, Ian & Felicity Clarke’s home next door. She served roasted lamb, with no fewer than NINE veggies, all delicious, and I'm not a fan of lamb. She had the mint jelly too, but she also served what she called mint sauce, which was basically a light sugar syrup boiled with fresh mint Yes, even better than the jelly. I brought some of those brownies, and as we were finishing up Ian’s brother and sister-in-law stopped by with a box full of...sweet corn! So we got to meet them, chat a while, and guess what we took home for dinner the next night? :) The Clarke’s are delightful, salt of the earth people and we have enjoyed getting to know them and their family, including some grandchildren who live nearby, very much. On our last night in the house, they stopped over and gave us some Kiwi remembrances, and we were able to give them one of the Bristol/Maas Iowa Impressions books that we brought to give as gifts.

Kevin worked T/W/Th that last week, so we could travel on Friday, March 18, to the south island. That Tuesday night the surgery held a farewell dinner at a local Indian restaurant. Thursday night I had hoped to make it do the lady’s night out, but of course Kevin got hit hard that day and had such a late night that went by the wayside. I have to say I had mixed emotions a little, about leaving...but, I'm ready to see the south island, and get on back to California, then to Iowa!