Barbara's retirement year: Christmas and New Year

So, 2017 is here and I realise time will fly by now leading to my trip back to Europe in May, this year!

I am sitting in this wonderful shady spot in my gorgeous garden

On my very comfortable new sun lounger cushion, watching the trees swaying violently in the gusty warm wind , and listening to the beautiful ringing of my garden bells. Not quite as loud as the bells in Pfaeffikon 😀. Occasionally the bells are deafened by planes directly overhead, landing in this fierce norwesterly wind.

Not such a pleasant welcome to Christchurch and the New Year unless you like heat, 31 degrees, and wind. Sitting under the tree writing a blog is a good thing to do. Maybe a walk later and as night falls a spa!

It has been very changeable weather leading up to the new year, with lots of warm windy days. Evenings have been quite cold. Rain almost unheard of. The ground is drying out rapidly.

Thankfully there are plenty of beautiful sheltered spots to visit, to gain respite from the heat. I love these huge, rhubarb-like leaves down by the river

And the magnificent, complex patterns in the reflections of the NZ cabbage tree.

I have had some great walks cloae to home, usually through parks and along rivers. They don't quite match the fabulous Pfaeffikersee but they are still wonderful.

Christmas was a very relaxed affair , starting with a breakfast bbq in the garden with my visitors Jane and Rob, Ollie and Kerstin who are here till February, and David. We had a huge plateful of bacon and egg, and roesti, which was extremely popular. All very relaxed. There was a touch of the Provence thanks to my lovely tablecloth I bought there.

After a brief lunchtime walk, it was time to welcome Mark and his lovely girlfriend Emma for long afternoon drinks in the garden followed by roast ham and all the trimmings. Once again, I felt super at ease and just loved having the family here at home. We are still trying to finish the ham. I had never cooked a ham before and was concerned I would not have enough, despite being told by a very sweet shop assistant that the piece I had should feed 20. I did not believe him. I should have!

Mark and Emma showed us up by dressing for the occasion. Luckily for them it was not that warm so their outfits were perfect.

Boxing Day was fantastic weather so David and I went out to a nearby wetland area, Travis Swamp, near the coast. I had not been there for years and was delighted to see how it has recovered since the quakes. Christchurch was built on this type of swamp, so no wonder some houses had problems. Many neighbouring residential areas have been cleared and the land is gradually returning to its former glory and the birds and plants returning..

I loved the patterns of this very attractive weed which was covering some of the more stagnant areas.

Christmas by the sea! Fabulous. There were some people swimming, but David and I simply enjoyed the walk along the beach by the sea. We are very lucky here.

Then suddenly my house emptied. Mark had gone south to a wedding, David north to Hanmer and my visitors had left. What a strange feeling. I did not like it much so headed out to the botanical gardens, another lovely place to visit.