After several nights of not getting to sleep until the early hours I was glad my alarm clock was set as it jarred me awake at 4:50am.
I staggered through the shower, which was only luke warm, but thankfully Shoshannah had lit the fire for even that short time last night so it wasn’t stone cold.
Got the kids up just before 5:30am.
I had the can pretty much packed up and then the girls came out with their stuff.
What!
‘That much gear for just 2 nights!’ I exclaimed to Mahalia as she towed out her large suitcase and carry bags.
‘We are sharing the bag Mum’ she said.
And Shoshannah was taking all her school work too so I couldn’t argue with that!
So we unpacked and repacked to fit in all their gear and make sure the harp travelled safely.
It was dark when we left at 6am but as we drove up the hill the dawn was breaking and we could see that the whole bay was enveloped in sea fog.
We stopped at the top and revealed in the glory of the beautifully ethereal morning.
The fog was covering all the bays on both sides of the farm, out into the Strait and up the Sound.
And the sun was just beginning to rise through it.
The morning star was shining so brightly.
It was glorious.
Mahalia & Nathan braved the morning chill to enjoy it with me and take photos.
Mahalia leaping as the mist began to rise and swirl around us.
And the the west, this is the back of our farm – there is sea way down under all of that fog.
It was rather chilly so we hopped back in to the car and turned on the heater and headed to town.
Nathan knew he had to work late tonight so he slept most of the way.
Skip was sleeping between the girls.
It was a very quiet trip so I asked Leonard to keep me company which he gladly did 🙂
In the mellowness of the morning my mind was reliving the past as I drove.
And for the first time I clearly remembered the moments of the afternoon when I said goodbye to Timmy for the last time.
I could feel his arms around so tightly around me and his kisses as he said goodbye and ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
I had the privacy of sleeping passengers to allow tears to pour down my face.
When we arrived in Nelson we dropped off Nathan’s gear and then Mahalia took her harp up to Annemieke so she could fix the broken string.
It was an F string this time, not the G string which had amused her siblings last time 🙂
Then into the city centre to meet up with Cat & Leeann.
They arrived moments after us and we had 10mins to quickly catch up before they had to go meet a friend.
There can never be a serious photo which this lot in it 🙂
Leeann happy to be reunited with Skip.
We said goodbye and then Nathan & I went to Starbucks for frappainos and Shoshannah whizzed up the road to Colombus to get drinks for her and Mahalia.
Mira arrived.
I think Nathan was very happy to see her 🙂
Was trying to get a quick pic of them both but someone kept photo bombing!
Becky had organized a morning tea for some of my friends at Melrose House.
Unfortunatley she was unable to come as she is still recovering from an operation.
Michele & Gabrielle came
As did Phillipa & Margaret
And Ella & Chrissy.
Shoshannah & Mahalia were there too.
We had a lovely time enjoying the good company, lovely food and beautiful surroundings.
Mahalia had to leave just before 11am as she had to walk up the road for an appointment and then go on to her harp lesson.
Shoshannah and I had to leave at 11:30am.
It would’ve been so nice and very easy to stay much longer, so next time I will not be making any appointments which will cramp the time with my friends!
We said goodbye to everyone and drove to Richmond.
We had an appointment with one of the 2IC’s at Waimea College.
Shoshannah is looking at many options at present and one of them is to go to school.
We had a lovely time with the lady there.
I was very impressed as to how she was happy to meet Shoshannah’s needs and not squeeze her into their boxes.
Shoshannah was very happy with what she heard and saw there.
Some decisions to be discussed over the next week!
We then zipped up the street to pick up some dvds which were being redone for me.
The first lot I had gotten done had been botched – thankfully Nathan drew my attention to that so the situation could be redeemed quickly.
Back into Nelson, dropped Shoshannah off at the Winnington’s.
I am sure the car groaned with relief when all the girls gear was unloaded 😉
Then down to the cbd to do a few things.
Had a 3:30pm appointment with my therapist.
It was a very emotionally draining time as I worked through some major stuff.
Felt really wiped out by the time I walked out the door.
But had some new tools to think over and work with.
Just had time to go do a few more things before closing time.
Met up with Shoshannah & Katherine at Nelson Beauty Therapy.
Good to get Bedelia to check out something for Shoshannah.
Seems her skin problem could be a stress related eczema so needs to be treated differently to what she had been doing.
Dropped the girls up the street and then I headed to Hangar 58.
I was supposed to be meeting Cat & Leeann there but they had text to say they were too tired to come in so sadly I ended up there on my own again.
Nathan had reserved a table which was tucked in by a screen.
A great place to sit and people watch and not feel too conspicuous about being alone.
He made me this wonderful cocktail – it looked so delectable that several ladies were asking me what it was 🙂
I was really hungry so ordered a salmon trio.
Sat and lingered over the food and drink for an hour or so while they did the Friday draw.
I had saved up a lot of vouchers – over 100 actually – but despite the odds being greatly in my favor I didn’t win the $2000 tonight.
Ah well, always another time.
Popped into New World and picked up a container of Kohu Road Salted Caramel Ice Cream.
Then I went to pick up the harp and spent half an hour or more chatting with Annemieke on the street.
It was after 8pm by the time I arrived at Pat & Phillipa’s.
It was really good to collapse for the rest of the evening.
It was quite late when the adults of us cracked open the lid of the ice cream.
I think I have two more converts 😉
It was a most relaxing evening but obviously time to find our beds!
I spent some time researching some school and boarding information for Shoshannah before my head finally hit the pillow.
Rabbits Nest 