60 years!

Diamonds are forever....it is our party season as I record every year, but this year we have an added family celebration.  My lovely aunt and uncle celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary this weekend.  It was especially poignent as Brian has been hanging in for over a year for this day.  He spends some hours of each day on oxygen and Fay is tireless in her support and spirit.  They are a testament to the strength of love and support during a long and varied time together.  And, they look fantastic!!  It was a perfect sunny afternoon in my cousins gorgeous garden.

Ruth in her lovely new dress, very garden party  

Shona and my mother (she was the bridesmaid)

Lovely cousins, Wendy and Penny

Fay (standing) and Brian

Nic and Olivia giving Fay a lovely private concert.

4 things

On the way home from a family birthday tonight as a completion of Nic's 'perfect day' he uttered, 'there are four things I would change in the world'
1.  the environment, I would get a better environment.
2.  health.  I would change health so no one got sick
3. school uniform.  I would make it rainbow coloured
4. the colour of the sky.  I would make it green.
...mmm, still processing all of that.  Who'd a thought?

George

We had a lovely relaxed family bbq last night to welcome our lovely George to Christchurch.  Andrew and George made a road trip to deposit George at the 'halls' in time to start uni this week. Yay George.  It is very cool for us to have a new family member in town after 2 decades of just us.  George is also my godson and I have pretty much neglected him for the last decade so now I can make up for that with home cooked meals and really annoying texts to check that he is ok.  He doesn't know anyone at CU but I am guessing with his lovely nature and quiet good looks, he will be sorted in no time.  Great to see Andrew (cousin) too but so little time to catch up.  It has been a year since we gathered for his dad's funeral.  Happier this time but a tinge of sadness as well.  Welcome George

Just finished reading #31

The Third Angel -Alice Hoffman

I read this on holiday too and really enjoyed it.  There were some similarities with the previous book I read which was a bit weird.  There often seems to be connections between books I read which is fun but a bit odd sometimes.  I might share those when I find them in the future.  Back to the story...

Lazy me has cut and paste this from the Alice Hoffman Official Site

This stunningly original and magical story follows three women in love with the wrong men. Headstrong Madeline Heller finds herself hopelessly attracted to her sister’s fiancé…Frieda Lewis, a doctor’s daughter who has run off to London, becomes the muse of an ill-fated rock star… and beautiful, reckless Bryn Evans is set to marry an Englishman while she’s secretly obsessed with her ex-husband, a dangerous and love-besotted New Yorker. At the heart of the novel is Lucy Green, who blames herself for a tragic accident she witnessed at the age of twelve in the same London hotel where the others have found themselves. Lucy has spent four decades searching out the Third Angel, the angel on Earth who will renew her faith.

I enjoy triptychs in all forms, books, films, paintings so the inteconnection of the stories and the sense of location made this, for me a really enjoyable bunch of characters and interesting women.  I would not say it was anything other than really well written and enveloping and a good companion on holiday.

Just finished reading #30

Her fearful symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

I pinched this bit from somwhere else

'When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.


The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.'

I didnt read The Time Travellers Wife and I have no real desire to do that.  So, I came to this book without any expectations and I loved it.  I have read mixed reviews so it is either one you love or not so much. I thought it was a great read for a holiday and the characters and setting were so interesting.  The writing enabled me to visualise everything and I got very tied up in the whole thing.  Don't want to say more, but if you are looking for an absorbing read about interesting people, read it.

holiday snaps

Back from a week of watery fun frolics at Lake Rotoiti.  Sorry there are so many but what fun we had.

Off the jetty for the first of many times

Freedom!!!