This is my third week of consciously getting my balance back. I have successfully managed to do everything that I intended to do this week, and am feeling pretty happy. I even voted in the general election, my first time in New Zealand.
This week in the garden, the onion and carrot seeds have gone into the cloche and we bought some baby tomato plants. The seed potatoes are almost ready too. The herbs are doing well, and I am having a go at growing garlic. Wow, listen to me!?
The hens are still doing well, and the cats are varying their catches they bring in and are now including mice. ACK! Here is one I was forced to catch earlier!
Last weekend, we went to the craft fare, and I was allowed to buy some stamps, so I am giving card making a go as my new pastime. It’s something I always wanted to have a go at. 🙂 I used to love crafts, it has been years since I did any, so it’s really good to learn something new.
Here are my first two efforts, born from a little experimentation session, not intending to actually make a card.
The spring flowers are well in bloom, and we didn’t know till this year, that we actually have a lot of daffodils in the garden. The parks are looking good too. Our clocks go back next week, the sunshine and longer days are already making me feel better.
Of course, no week is complete without a visit to the rugby. Sadly though, this week saw a loss for the Stags.
I grabbed the opportunity of a beautiful Saturday morning, and Mark out running, to go for this weeks long bike ride. Beautiful day, lovely bike, wonderful scenery in the country lanes near Winton and Wallacetown. Bliss.
We went for a late lunch at the Cabbage Tree, a cafe bar on the way to Oreti beach, we have never been in, in the 18 months we have been here! Beautiful inside too! And some amazing history.
We went for a short walk on Sandy Point that afternoon to find Silver Lagoon. Bit of a let down, no path access to its swampy shores!
Sunday was rowing day, and also orienteering. This one was a bit different. There was either a map memory course, where you just get a bit of map at each check point and you have to remember how to get to the next one, or one where you collect as many as possible inside 
one hour. This is the one I chose.
This is different for me because I don’t get descriptions of where each one is, or a suggested route. I have to work both out for myself. So, I decided to just walk it, it would also give me a chance to look at the mountainbike courses and see if I would be brave enough to try them. There was one point where I though I had gotten lost, the checkpoint 35 wasn’t at all where I expected. I got my phone compass out to check, and was still confused. Till I realised I had looked at the number on the gate upside down and it must have read 53! Oops! Still, it got back in time, and had fun (once it stopped raining!)
Melanie Magowan 