A little peek of Spring

I have been a little slack on the blog of late, but not for lack of activity, just distracted. This time in two weeks, I will be unable to type at the same speed as I can today, due to my impending shoulder operation (rotator cuff to be precise), so will then be a one armed paper hanger for at least a couple of months. Patience has never been a great virtue of mine, so no doubt I could be a bit grumpy, imagine the texting, oh dear! But on the bright side there is always shopping and walking, yeah! I will be staying in Chch with cousin Susan for the first two weeks, and then take it from there. I havent told Molly and Charlie they are off to the cattery, maybe I will leave a note on the kitchen table, particularly as I accidentally shut C in the linen cupboard this morning, not a regular haunt of his as obviously there is no food there! Later I found him staking out the garden...

Early August has seen the first signs of spring, in particuar my beautiful magnolia tree has burst into flower, it is quite spectacular.

Not only the magnolia (which is blooming like a star) but the first rhododendron has also appeared, and is a lovely cerise, hence deserves a mention.

I have managed to keep quite busy with my little jobs, 'driving miss daisy' type role, and cooking the odd meal for the local elderly! Not exactly going to put me in the Bill Gates bracket, however keeping the cat bowl full. Yesterday I took the most delightful 95yr lady, Enid into Chch for an appointment at St Georges Hosp. She was just lovely, and afterwards we had coffee and lunch at a cafe, on the way home she asked if I knew whether we would pass a jeweller as she wanted a new watch, stating whether she dies in 3 months (highly unlikely) or 3 years, she was going to buy a new watch! I have made some new best friends, meet Hugo, a Welsh cardigan corgi, who with his brother lives on my friends, John and Jan's olive grove, and is a great guide when one is on the wander.

The pile of olives, is alas, the result of the early snow we had in June, and subsequent frosts, so the whole crop was ruined. Jan also has a wonderful natural soap buiness, Hancock's Excelsior Soap, which she makes from the olive oil from their Grove, and a number of other local products go into these soaps. My young cousins are all getting into the natural products and are Jan's newest customers. I now keep a small selection at the Vicarage for visitors needing gifts. You can see more on www.hancockssoap.com My month has also seen plenty of visits to ballet, both Olivia and Emma (4) are enjoying ballet, with a number of other 4 year olds, all dressed in pink, and just one of the best 1/2 hour periods of the week.

This together with the Harwarden school musical, featuring Oscar (a lead in the Crusaders jersey) Luke and Jackson, made for a wonderful day out. The show was called Money Matters, and the children took us through a series of how life would be if only money mattered, and the music started with Abba Money, money money and ended with John Lennon's Imagine!

Well folks that is all for now, look forward to the one fingered blogs next time up. The Duchess