Life in Paradise

It is hard to believe that we have been here for a week. Tomorrow ... Thursday we fly out with Lars and Roxcy to Scotland. Things are starting to heat up for us ... plans are in the making. Chris has done a treasure hunt for Lars and Roxcy of things that they must try, taste or see in Scotland. There have been many discussions around Haggis and what it is made of and who is going to try it and who is not. We even talked about blood pudding!!!! For those of you who know me I am a foodie so I am looking forward to tasting some traditional and new Scottish food. 

Pete's Grandma Gibson (Meg), who immigrated to New Zealand from Scotland in the very early 1920s when she was 20/21, is the reason we are heading to Scotland. As I mentioned Pete has had a longing to revisit Scotland and his roots for a very long time. Grandma Gibson arrived by boat in Wellington and went up to New Plymouth where she met her husband Gordon Shepherd. They used to get around on an Indian motor bike. I think Gordon was very smitten with Grandma with her brown eyes, strong face, olive coloured skin and sense of  independence. They married and had three children ... Margaret Jean, Hugh and Isabel. Isabel died when she was 9 months old from TB, in ChCh. Grandma missed her right up until the day she died, she asked for her ashes to be buried with Isabel, which is where they are now.

Grandma and Gordon were married for 10 years, he spent over half of that time in a TB Sanatorium in New Plymouth. Grandma left NP with three young children to come to ChCh for work and would travel up to NP to visit him. She was living in ChCh with her brother, Mother and Father, Margaret and Hugh when her husband died. I can't help but think how devastating that must have been for her, she got a telegram at work informing her of Gordon's death. Her parents and her brother came out to NZ when Gordon became ill to help Grandma support her children. It must have been a big sacrifice for them to leave their homeland and travel far across the world to a place that did not know at such a late stage in their lives. They were an adventurous, loving and close family. That would have to be the motivation for leaving the home of your birth and heart. Tomorrow we head off to visit all the places that Pete heard about from Grandma when he was boy. 

I find Grandma's story very moving. I remember her as being strong, witty and fun to hang out with. I really wish she was here so that we could share our adventures with her. She and Marg would be so pleased that we are taking Lars and Roxcy to her homeland. We fly out of NY @8pm and arrive in Edinburgh @8am ... a 6 hour flight. The temperature there today is 13C.

We have had a fun time here resting and enjoying the heat ... loving being with Lars & Roxcy who are so pleased to see us and hang out with us. Here are some stand out moments for us over this last week.

We never get sick of this view ... Paradise Pond. 

I am no fan of Canadian Geese. They scare me ... especially when they have babies. They keep a firm guard on their space and will attack if they feel under threat. We bumped into them on our walk, there were quite a number of them.

There are some very cool old cars in the States

Lars turns 10 while we are Scotland so we had a pre-birthday celebration. 

Lars sporting some of his fishing gear ... felt a little like 'de ja vu'. The last time we were here Lars got fishing gear from us. Dressed to kill.

Mike & Chris have bought a 'huge' TV with surround sound ... sounds better than a Dolby Stereo system at the movies. The picture is amazing. They love having family movie nights. We watched 'Where Eagles Dare' as part of Lars' pre-birthday party. Clint Eastwood, one of the cast, was sooooooo good looking!! He did not need to say much, his looks said it all. This of course is Richard Burton who apparently was drunk a lot of the time while filming and liked to spend time in the wood shed with his love interest? I love the cabinet Mike has made for their surround sound system.

This girl has quite the sweet tooth. We caught her grabbing fists full of cake and she would not be stopped.

Roxcy gave us a magic show ... when she laughs her whole face lights up and so does the room. She is a very enthusiastic magician with a great future in the industry.

Mike & Chris have joined an early morning bootcamp ... 5am. I joined in with them for a morning and ended up tweaking my back. It was fun though. There were about 7 of us there plus the trainer.

Chris has got lots of really good positive messages around their house for Lars and Roxcy. This is Lars's dream for his 'Big Life Summer '. I love this and the power of creating a positive life and belief in themselves. I can't help but think of the Mary Oliver poem The Summer Day ... the last two lines read ... 'Tell me what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?' I often wonder about my own life as I grow older ... I remember feeling like we had heaps of time ... now I realise that life is fast and furious. I want to end my life feeling like it has been wonderful, challenging and rich with loving relationships and experiences.

Roxcy's dream for her 'Big Life Summer' ... sparkling and organised. 

I count 7 bikes in this photo and they are all Mike & Chris'. There is also a tandem, Lars and Roxcys' bikes and a very cool orange bike with a Brooks seat that is not in the photo. I could be mistaken but I think Mike really likes bikes.

Meet Alexa ... you speak to her and she replies. You can ask her to play any song that you like. She is very polite, especially if she does not completely understand you. I am amazed by Her ... wasn't that the name of a movie with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson? Yes it was and it was kind of creepy. 

Time to finish our packing, going light again. Get to bed early and and rise early for all of those last minute changes that happened in our sleep over night. 

Away we Go ....

Saying Goodbye to Alice

I hate goodbyes! I find them harder and harder ... I am not sure why? I notice my breathing changes, I start to get agitated and teary!! The hardest goodbyes are always to our children and grandchildren. Maybe I don't need a reason ... saying goodbye is a good enough reason to feel sad. My biggest concern is 'will I see you again?' A hang over from the CTV collapse I think.

Marmite and Melted Cheese Bagel

It has been a while since we have been through Auckland's International Airport ... it has really changed ... very up market these days. I was impressed with the new layout and food hall where I had my last marmite and cheese combo for a while. It was yummy!

We finally arrived in SF after a long flight ... the plane was cold and we just could not get comfortable or warm. Next time I am going to look at booking extra leg room or 'Economy Plus'. We have to catch a connecting flight to Boston, I try to book a flight that will not have Mike having to drive through the middle of the night or early hours of the morning, which usually means we have a long wait at the airport.

Hanging Out at Starbucks

We found a Starbucks and hung out there using their free wifi. I love doing Clueword puzzles, they can get addictive for me and I can end up spending hours doing them, so I was entertained for a while ... Pete hung out at a table listening to podcasts and charging his devices. 

I am always going in the wrong direction or walking on the wrong side of the footpath when we are in the US. I seem to be walking into the foot traffic head on ... this was very helpful for me, I could have had a head on going into the restroom the wrong way.

We flew Alaskan Air ... very nice. WE caught their red eye special, their last flight at night and arrives in Boston first thing in the morning. It was a lovely morning flying into Boston. 

We got a real surprise when we opened the boot of Mikes car and Roxcy & Lars jumped out at us. We don't get to see them often  enough but when we do it is 'always' a treat. They are always so pleased to see us ... I am very grateful that we are able to do this. We love spending time with our children and grandchildren. Lars really enjoys hanging out with Pete ... they talk cars, mountain biking. Lars is into American history at the moment and we are being educated in the American Tea Party and Paul Revere.

Selfie time with our Roxcy ... she has the most beautiful smile, her whole face lights ups. I have mentioned in previous blogs how Roxcy loves her Mum. When we got back to Windsor and Roxcy saw Chris' car in the drive she squealed with joy and came running towards me saying 'I haven't seen my Mum for the whole day!' ... then she ran off to see her Mum. 

We made our usual visit to the ice cream store and bought ice creams. Their taste has not changed but the size of their ice creams have.

Roxcy's ice cream was almost as big as her face. In the past when we have bought ice creams for Roxcy she would never finish them ... someone else, usually Mum or Dad would end up finishing it. My Grandad would have said to Roxcy, 'your eye's are bigger than your belly!' Roxcy ate the whole ice cream ... impressive!

Checking out Lars and Roxcy back yard play ground, trampoline, fort, flying fox and a gymnastic beam for Roxcy. Jason came over to say hi. Pete has already made a date to join Jason in weight lifting while we are here.

Mike has always been a visionary ... never to be deterred. He moved over to the States with Chris after they were married ... the first few years were challenging but they have really done well. Mike has built a Property Management and Maintenance Business and Chris has a great job as Manager, Creative Productions at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital. They bought and renovated a house, have two beautiful children and have built a community and life for themselves here in Windsor. They have worked really hard to get where they are. Mike is looking at buying this space and he has something in mind for it. I have always really liked how Mike works with possibility and looks at all avenues to make something happen.

We really like it here in Windsor. It is very peaceful and restorative. Life is slower. You can walk to most places easily from Mike & Chris' house. People know each other and stop and chat on the street. There are no big stores here, just the essentials. We find it easy and simple. 

Roxcy lost her front tooth the day we arrived ... a big moment in a child's life. A sign of moving from a littley to a biggey. The tooth fairy visited and left her $2 ... inflation. On our way out to the Lyall's pool today Lars and Roxcy were chatting in the back and this is how it went ...'Roxcy, no offense, you look super ugly with that tooth gone.' Both Chris and I were gob smacked ... I did not know whether to laugh or sound shocked. Roxcy wasn't at all phased, she did no believe him and said that she looks different not ugly.

Family pool time at the Lyall's pool. It was so warm.

We are taking Lars & Roxcy to Scotland with us on July 4 and it is Lars' birthday July 10, so we had an early birthday party for him at the Escape Factory and had pizza for dinner. We had a lot of fun. I was a little concerned about where it might all lead, we never did well as a family at Monopoly.

It is hard to believe that we have been here for just over 24 hours. We have gone from winter to summer ... short days to long evenings. Wood burners and heat pumps to air con. Three layers to short sleeved t-shirts. Socks and shoes to jandals. This is our evening walk back to the Inn and catching the evening light.

Three More Sleeps

Two of my BFFs asked me to keep our travel blog again ... blogs seem so outdated now with Instagram but I am feeling the pressure.

This is for you ...

We fly out to the States in 'three more sleeps' ... to see these guys.

Lars & Roxcy 

Our Divine Miss Marigold

Our last visit to the States was 2017, it seems like a long time ago! We are spending two months with these guys. We fly into SF, catch a connecting flight to Boston, 'Red Eye Special'. Spend 8 days in VT and then we fly out to Scotland with Lars & Roxcy for a month, then back to the States for a month.

Scottish Thistle

Scotland has been a dream of Pete's for a long time. It seems like a hard choice for me ... time with family or Scotland ... but I am trying to live in an 'and/also' world rather than an 'either/or' ... picking up Lars & Roxcy seemed like a good 'and/also'. On our return to the States we will take 'our divine Miss Marigold' on a road trip of her own with Lars & Roxcy.

There always seems so much to do before we even start to think about packing. Packing is a headache! We are trying to go light! Scotland and the US are both in the middle of their summer but their summers are very, very, different. The temperatures today read as follows ... Windsor, Vermont is in the high 20sC, Scotland is 12C today ... a mild winters day for NZ. Everyone we speak to about Scotland say the same thing .... expect lots of rain. We are not deterred or discouraged, I learnt at Outward Bound many years ago that the weather does not determine the outcome. So we are heading off on another adventure. Pete is planning our route as I type this entry. He has done the research ... Grand Tour episode ... spoken to friends and he has our trip planned in his mind. He is starting to get excited and for any of you who know Pete, when he is excited he starts to jump about the house squealing ... there is a noticeable increase of that happening in our house at the moment.

 Travelling Essentials when visiting family far away

There is order in Chaos ... I think/I hope so??

We are working up to the 11th hour so we are feeling a little pressured and looking at the above feels a little overwhelming ... no doubt I will be culling my load a few times between now and Wednesday.

We the People

Lucy flew out to meet us in VT to spend some time with family and pick up Marigold. Those of you who know Lucy will know what fun she is to have around ... I have been amazed at her ideas for creative activities with Lars, Roxcy and Marigold. Every day she had a new idea for them ... making crowns for the girls, dressing up the letter 'L' and 'R' for Lars and Roxcy's  bedroom doors, the best was the tinfoil hats for the 'eclipse', they reminded me of the movie 'Signs', remember that scene where Joaquin Phoenix comes out of the cupboard under the stairs wearing a tinfoil hat thinking it would protect him from the alien power. She gave so much of herself ... to everyone! When she was not spending creative time with the children she was rearranging Mike & Chris' fridge. I forgot to mention in my last post that Lucy found a solar eclipse identity chart on Tarot.com, linked to our birthdates ... Pete = Seeker of Divine Passion (makes sense), Liz = Angel of Profound Truth, I like it!  Mike = the 'oracle of Cosmic Strength, he is the only oracle in our family, do you remember the woman oracle in The Matrix? Alice = Guardian of Cosmic Compassion (I think she will like that), Mack = the Guardian of Spiritual Wisdom. I remember being totally into Linda Goodman Sun Signs at one point in my life ... Lucy took me right back there.

Chris' brother and sister in law live in Windsor VT as well. After the Charlottesville protest march and killing these posters went up on their lawn, 'We the People'. I was shocked when I saw the photo of the car being driven into the crowd in Charlottesville and people being thrown in the air. I do not understand that level of hate against a person because of their race or culture. I have reflected a lot on my experience growing up in NZ ... for many years ChCh was a 'white' city ... but over the last 30+ years I have seen a real difference in the cultural diversity of our city and also in my Church community. I have thought about how this cultural diversity has influenced my perspective now. My exposure to Te Reo Maori and my own country and culture has had a huge influence throughout my life. Even within my own family the diversity of cultures has really opened me up to difference on many levels ... Maori, Fijian, American and Kiwi. I feel the richer for it.

Lars was baptised the last week we were in VT. That was a big event for our family. Lars was pretty excited about it, he wrote out his programme and Lucy did the art work. I felt so proud of our family ... Lucy working hard to help create something memorable for Lars. Every family has their 'thing' that brings them together, it can be many things, not just one. Our belief has been something that has brought our family together over the years, along with many others. 

Marigold, the Ruler of Radiant Pleasure, spent an afternoon jumping of this diving board, ... she was so much fun to watch. There was the odd moment of anxiety when my heart was in my throat as she jumped a little too close to the end of the diving board, all I could see was blood in my mind. Thank goodness that did not happen. Occasionally she would preface her job with 'Mum, look at me.' There is no sense, in this 2 and half year old, of the incredible fearlessness, bravery and magnificence of what she was doing ... all she wanted to do was jump, and she did time and time again.   

Roxcy, Seeker of Cosmic Peace ... I think these names are so cool, also joined in the jumping of the board activity ...  after this jump she took of her life jacket and spent the rest of the afternoon flying of the diving board. Facing her fear and doing it anyway.

Our last stroll around the lake ... I think these colours are stunning. Mike and Chris live in paradise ... I do not think there could be a more perfect spot. 

We drove Lucy down to Boston to catch her flight back to Utah, while there we spent a couple of hours trying on bridal gowns for her wedding party in January. She tried on some beautiful outfits and looked stunning in most of them! There are so many beautiful bridal outfit ideas now ... I found myself wishing I was getting married again so that I could wear one of these beautiful creations. In between fittings Marigold spent her time jumping off this box that Lucy would stand on. This little girl is definitely a keeper.

We had such a fun time walking around Boston after dropping Lucy and Marigold off at the airport. Boston is an amazing city ... beautiful! I googled hot chocolate cafes before we arrived and came up with one that looked worth a visit, so we did and had a really enjoyable hot chocolate each, I would come back here again. We walked around the shops and then went to see Dunkirk on an iMax screen. I loved Dunkirk ... Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors. The music score was beautiful ... if you go, listen for the ticking clock ... I found it stressful.

We stopped in at a cafe for a bite to eat before our movie. I love cheese toasties ... I remember reading what makes a good cheese toastie somewhere, The Zest in The Press in ChCh I think. The tips I remember are to use a combination of cheeses, the more cheese the better and do not put tomato in, they get too hot and make the cheese toastie hard to enjoy. I had a combination of cheeses and no tomato ... delicious!  

We heard, then saw this Ferrari driving along the road ... it sounded divine ...

Back to school for another year ... Lars, Ruler of Magnificent Compassion ... and his Dad heading of to school. It seems like only yesterday when Pete and I were doing the same thing with Mike, walking him to school. Mike does not fully realise what this really means yet, but to us that know, it is the beginning of the end!! 

Our goodbyes until December ... so hard to leave these two behind. We have had such an adventure with them. Every time I say goodbye to one of our family my heart physically hurts, leaving 11 of them behind is really painful ... not much I can do about it though.

We arrived safely at LAX ... the Tom Bradley terminal is quite nice once you get through security. The light and high studded ceiling is relaxing. There is plenty of shopping for those who can afford it at the end or beginning of their flight. Some good eating spots ... Sash and Jordan recommended a visit to Umami Burger, so we did, probably the most expensive burger I have had in a while but very nice. While standing inline at the check in counter for Air NZ we met up with Virginia Johnston ... such a small world. We spent a very pleasant few hours chatting, eating and relaxing with her before our flights, she was catching the 9.30pm and we were catching the 10.30.

We found the ambience of our terminal very relaxing ... there was great live music playing and changing screens with different images ... I was mesmerised by them ... they moved so gracefully. After we said our goodbyes to Virginia we hung out listening to the band and chilling some more ... little did we know what was ahead. Our 10.30 flight was cancelled, delayed by 12 hours ... I am fully aware that travel is a first world privilege so I was not about to complain, we just went with the flow. These moments are a real test of character and I find it really fascinating to watch how people respond ... but 5 hours later feeling really tired and Air NZ having stuffed up our accommodation I was no longer feeling chill about it all. I just wanted to go to sleep anywhere. We did meet some really interesting people and had some interesting chats that made our experience all the more bearable. At 1.30am we were in a very nice hotel room and sleeping for 4 hours ... up early the next morning to get down to the airport to go through the whole checkin procedure again!!! The plane boarded about 45 minutes late ... then sat on the runway for about an hour, waiting for the last passenger. This flight will go down in our minds as not to be forgotten ... for all the wrong reasons. The processes at the US end around the cancellation and taking care of passengers was a disaster ... I would like to think that the NZ end would be a little more organised and pro active. I am not sure ... We are back on NZ soil and heading back to ChCh ... feeling a little nervous about how life will be back at 29a and what pressures will creep in on us, distance is great for a different perspective on life. I am really looking forward to spending time in our new kitchen ... yoga, lots of yoga, seeing Alice and sleeping in my bed... for a long time.