The rest of my last NZ day...

Today was simple and sweet.  quiet morning for me.  Unfortunately Noorz had had an off and on night with little Boh.  He might be sick and he also is growing for sure.  he is 4.5 months and trying all kinds of new things. He grabs things and can purposefully put them in his mouth.  He is trying to DO things that he cannot quite do, like sit up, or dance or talk...but he is really working at Learning how!   I held Boh more today and sang to him and played with him.  Really enjoyed that.  Around lunch time we got in the car to go downtown for errands and, since the weather was so clear and nice again, to walk around.  We stopped for lunch at Deville's.  They had a lovely, big gated courtyard garden out front and it was warm enough to sit out there for our lunch.  We ordered the Monk fish which was served layered with sautéed parsley, the ever-present roastie-style potatoes and a wonderful sauce with the essence of crawfish brewed into it.  Fabulous!

Following lunch I took the dog, Chi, for a walk to the Japanese garden near here.  Chi is much bigger than my Augie, and knew exactly which bushes and so forth he would explore, so we had a few strenuous (for me!) differences of opinion about the route, but we got along alright, even so.

Restful  afternoon, then I cooked while Noreen packed for our trip to her parents' place on the Gold Coast of Australia.  I made a thick lamb soup using up her celery, potatoes and some kumara (native sweet potato type tuber) with rosemary and parsley from her garden.  I also poached some pears with fruit juice, a stick of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves.  We ate that warm with vanilla ice cream. Heavenly!

It was a truly wonderful day.  I especially give kudos to Noreen for packing her bag extra light.  Parenthood has changed her in many ways.  she was surprised to discover that by adding a baby she de-cluttered her packing so much that she is taking less overall while taking everything she needs.  babies change our priorities, don't they?  she has started to talk of how nice it would be to have a GiGi "like you" come stay to help out...that Boh has fallen for me and so on.  She has even resorted to tempting me with thoughts of the good-looking local men!  I have fallen for Noreen and Boh and for New Zealand,too, but must continue my trek westward and northward until I return home where I have my grandbabies and my people to love and things to accomplish.  I will miss them and their cozy home, however.