Family Comes First

#smilingontheinside – 19-20 July 2025

Arranged months ago because of Alan’s need to put in a roster request, this weekend felt absolutely ages away. And here it is. The mid-year annual pot-luck in-law get together.

Sadly, it wasn’t as full as usual with six different grandchildren – the kids of Alan’s siblings – unable to make it. Traditionally, when Jack and Erina were alive, this event was held at the Parish Centre of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Stratford. The space was required with so many attendees. This year there was plenty of room and maybe, a little bit of an echo.

It’s always good to catch up with family outside of weddings and funerals and this event is it. If there’s one thing my inlaw family is great at doing, it’s keeping in touch with family. #smilingontheinside

A Dream It’s Time To Let Go Of

Twelve months’ ago we came oh-so-close to moving to Stratford. We weren’t looking, but found an absolutely beautiful house with plenty of garaging (double internal access garage + two bay shed + high roofed carport for the motorhome we didn’t yet have). It had glimpses of the mountain, a lovely room I’d nabbed as my sewing studio and a kitchen + butler’s panty I’d had in my dreams since forever). Plus it was only a few years old, warm and sunny.

I’d found us a buyer for our place – which wasn’t on the market – we had the pen poised, ready to sign a deal on the Stratford house. Then the purchaser on our place withdrew his offer. Then remade it, then withdrew it. It was a roller coaster two weeks with massive highs and deep troughs. Unbelievably, he called a few months after the second withdrawal asking whether we’d reconsider. We told him the price had gone up because we were in the middle of major renovations. We knew he wouldn’t be interested, and he wasn’t.

We let “Stratford” go, telling ourselves the time wasn’t right for us. The vendors of our dream house took their house off the market. It’d been for sale for over a year and they were over it.

Since then, I’ve been keeping an eye out for it to come back on the market. It hasn’t and so the dream has been held alight … just simmering enough for me to think One Day…

When we arrived in Stratford Friday evening we decided to go for a drive by … there was no motorhome under the carport of our dream house – instead, a tradie’s van which kinda looked a bit out of place … maybe the vendors had decided to rent it out and go on the extended motorhome holiday they were talking about doing…?

I contacted the agent. Turns out her mum had bought it privately from the proceeds of a divorce settlement.

The time to let that house go had come.

The section next door is on the market. We got talking to another neighbour – who gave us a hard time about driving a Holden. Alan was tempted to give him a hard time about needing a ride on for a residential section. I mean, really?? Who drives a ride on around a residential section??

The neighbour gave us the email address of the owner, who’s overseas. The email bounced when I used it last night. A hard bounce. I double checked I’d typed in the correct address (I had).

If we want to pursue this further we’re going to have to go through our lawyer, me thinks. Plenty to think about with that. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be, right…?

Best Time of the Day

Saturday morning was a stunning, chilly, frosty morning when I went for my walk. I was out at dawn and got to see the sunrise over one of the church spires on my way down Regan Street.

Somehow? I managed to give myself two blisters walking Saturday – in shoes and socks I’ve clocked up hundreds of pain-free miles in. Which I’d forgotten about when I went out Sunday morning, so I didn’t go very far.

Because it was such a stunning morning on Saturday, I aimed to get creative with my photography – street art, frost on fence tops, frost in fields.

Mt Taranaki – Taranaki Maunga

I usually take photos of Mt Taranaki when we’re in Stratford. It’s not always visible – hidden behind clouds half the time. This weekend I got a bit creative with the fence in the foreground – focussing on the frosty top – with the mountain in the background.

This photo set is almost like a before and an after.

The Big Az Ice Cream Shop – Waitomo NZ

Sometimes – not always – we’ll stop at the Big Az Ice Cream shop just north of Waitomo on SHW3 on our way back home. It was open so we stopped Sunday as well.

My choice – if I have an ice cream – is always a mixed berry yoghurt in waffle cone. Alan used to have mixed berry ice cream. Lately though, he’s been choosing scoops, instead. Yesterday he had hokey pokey and something I now can’t remember.

Because you buy the ice creams from inside a huge orchard fruit shop, it makes sense the shop sits beside an orchard. This is the first time I’ve noticed the citrus trees by the carpark.

Egmont Village and Petrol

A visit to Stratford is a tank-and-a-bit journey. We always need to refuel somewhere along the way heading back. The fuel was cheaper at home in Hamilton by about $0.30/litre so it made sense not to pay any more than we needed to in Taranaki. Rather than completely fill the tank (as we usually do when we fill up) this weekend, we put just enough in to get us to Hamilton. We always joke about me having to push if Alan mis-calcs how much we need.

The cheapest place in Taranaki on our way home was Egmont Village – yes – we detoured because we were told there were some impressive shed houses out that way… I’d like a shed house – Alan’s unconvinced at this stage.

Man! What a performance fuelling up turned out to be.

Because neither of us like extending the bowser pump over the top of the car we drive into the pump on the side of the fuel cap.

At Egmont Village when we arrived, both cars at the pumps were facing the same way – which was not the way for our fuel cap.

So Alan drove around the bowsers to sneak in when one drove away … except someone had driven in behind while we were doing our circuit thing … which didn’t impress Alan … which meant we then had to do a fifty-six-point-turn {okay, a bit of exaggeration there} to reverse up to get positioned with the fuel cap and bowser lined up.

What a performance! While Alan was huffing, puffing, grinding his teeth and snorting his frustration, I took the Egmont Village Met Service weather app screen shot … as I remembered I hadn’t recorded the weather in Taranaki that morning…

Egmont Village will now be forever etched into my memory banks as that day we had to do a fifty-six-point-turn around the petrol pumps! #smilingontheinside

The Weather in My World 19-20 July 2025

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Here’s to family get-togethers…

Here’s to safe travels…

Here’s to letting some dreams go to create space for new ones!

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Here’s to SmilingOnTheInside!