Personal – Page 5 – Pamper Stamper

September 20, 2014September 21, 2018

I am in London!

Well….. I have arrived! And I am so happy to be here. G7 is gorgeous and she doesn’t seem to mind that this strange lady has taken over looking after her every day while Mummy and Daddy go to work 🙂 And I am so very thankful 🙂 Imagine if she was so shy and cried every time she looked at me. Instead, when she sees my face she smiles and talks to me in her baby talk…. I love it! I am such a super spoiled Nana 😉 and I love her dearly. We are going to have so much fun together for the next three months!

I arrived Monday afternoon and C2 and D2 showed me around the local area. Three parks within a half hour walk! I ventured out for my own discovery walk Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to see what the local area had to offer a visitor from far off who was a little scared to take buses and trains yet! I found lots of little dairies, hairdressers, land agents, fruit and vegetable shops, off licenses and a mini supermarket. There is a school over our back fence, so joyful sounds of children playing are heard at play times, lunch time and after school. Within two blocks I found a very old church dated back to 1884. It was called ‘Christ Church’ and is a Baptist church by denomination. The notice board advertised bible study groups, friendship groups, the Sunday service times, and a mothers and toddlers playgroup held every Friday morning! Yay… I decided that this will be my weekly activity and also a great opportunity to meet other locals, also very good for G7 to be with other babies and help with her social development 🙂

So today is Friday! Playgroup day! Arghhhhh… And I am off!

I am feeling a little apprehensive! I don’t know anyone! New in town! A foreigner! And a little old to be a playgroup mummy! How will I fit in?

I loaded the nappy bag with everything I may need for G7. It was bulging! I had forgotten just how much stuff babies may need on outings! And off I went!

I survived and I’m now back home again….

Yay! I had a great time 🙂 This playgroup is held at ‘Christ Church’ on Bellevue Road corner. The ladies that run it are extremely friendly and caring. They made me feel very welcome 🙂 There were 12 caregivers/mummies that came along with what seemed like hundreds of kids! Man it was noisy! I’m not used to so many children’s play noises all at once anymore. G7 loved it! She happily lay on the floor kicking her feet and joined in making noises! The young mums were very friendly as well, but best of all, there were two other Nana/caregivers, who I approached as soon as I could, and then sat with for the rest of the morning. One was her first time as well, and the other her second. We happily chatted while watching and interacting with our grandchildren and other children as well. I got offered cups of tea with plastic plates and plastic biscuits, which I played along drinking up my ‘cup of tea’. It was fun!

Next week I am meeting up with Helen at the local coffee shop for coffee together before playgroup. Helen is looking after her grand daughter every Monday and Friday. She drives a little way to playgroup! Both her and grand daughter are lovely. I may have found a new friend within a week of being here. This is such a great start and I am feeling very happy and contented.

I came home with a very sleepy G7 who is now way out of routine. She didn’t want to drink her second bottle of the day with all the fun going on around her. I finally managed to get her to drink it when we got home, and she is still sound asleep. It’s now 1.15 and by now she is suppose to have had her lunch time solids and another bottle! Hopefully she will be a hungry little girl all afternoon or Mummy D2 may growl at me hehe!

I also had a lovely skype chat with my man at home in New Zealand while G7 is sleeping. This day has been so good and it is only early afternoon.

Okay G7…. enough sleep. Nana is ready for our next adventure together 🙂

September 13, 2014September 13, 2014

Blog will continue when I am in London!

Today is Friday the 12^th of September and I am way behind in my blog posts! We only have 2 days left of our 16 day tour! I have missed blogging from day 2 until day 14! Sleep has been far more important than sitting up late trying to do my ‘diary’ of the day because our days have been very full, with early mornings and sight seeing filled days. We have also had very poor internet at most places. Believe me I have taken hundreds of photos, and there are many that I would love to share, but picking out the best photos and then trying to upload them would be a nightmare! So until I have spare time and a better internet, which will probably be when I am in London, I won’t even bother trying to write another blog post.

We are all healthy and happy and have had so much fun. The tour of the Baltics is not one of the most favoured tours, but it has been very interesting, and full of history. I can’t wait to write about Sarajevo and share in the photos and stories told. Dubrovnik is a place I will never forget, and the Mostar bridge!!! Anyway… more on them another day.

It’s 11.30pm and we are off to bed listening to the far off beat of music. We are in Brasov, Romania and tonight is the night for the 2014 Romanian Music Awards! Apparently the best musicians from all over Romania are playing in the old town square right now. Flashing lights are lighting up the night sky and there are hundreds of extra people here that have come to see the live show. Lucky for us, most of the bands (perhaps all of them) are staying at our hotel… NOT! And the majority seem to be on our floor. I wonder how noisy it will be when the show has finished and they all venture back to their hotel rooms?

Oh well, we only have to be up and about and ready for breakfast at 7am! Walking tour of Brasov starts at 8am…… Nice!

Follow up… We had a great sleep. Apart from meeting a young man in his boxers in the corridor, all was relatively quiet 🙂

August 31, 2014

Walking tour of Budapest

We woke to a beautiful, sunny, cloudless day! Yes finally we were going to get a lovely summers day in Europe! So out came the summer dresses and a venture out in the warmth of the day to discover Budapest 🙂

August last year Judy, Teresa and I met up with Daniel and Marysia in Budapest. They had travelled there from London for a wedding, and we had just completed our tour of Italy and Sicily. Because we had already seen a lot of the famous sights, we decided to do our own walking tour, and see some of the places we missed last time.

Our first place to see was only a short half a kilometre from our Hotel, the Sofitel. It was St Stephen’s Basilica. It was huge! Well worth the visit. We were lucky enough to arrive when a choir was singing inside. The sound was amazing! Here are some photos of this amazing place…

It reminded me a little of St Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican City but on a much smaller scale. That place is huge!

Our walk took us next to the Iron curtain memorial and the ‘House of Horrors’, but I’m not including photos of those places. We didn’t actually go in as we went through the museum last year, and the men weren’t bothered about seeing it.

The Parish Church of Terezverce was our next place to visit. A smaller Cathedral but still very lovely inside.

Last year we also visited the Antique markets in the Jewish Quarter and decided it was also a MUST SEE for this year as well. The atmosphere is great! So many people as well 🙂 This led us on to the ‘Rumbach Street Synagogue’, the spiritual home of the local Hungarian Jews and was built in 1872.

Sadly we couldn’t enter the Synagog as it was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath 🙁

Not far from the Synagog was the National Museum. We climbed the steps and wandered around the entrance, but didn’t want to look at all the museum contents. But it is a fabulous building with a huge statue in front.

We headed for Market Square. I love looking in markets and this one didn’t fail to impress me. The bottom floor was full of produce. Vegetables, fruit, fish and meat of many varieties. The top floor was clothing, souveners and restaurants.

We crossed the first bridge and then did the very long waterfront walk back to the Chain bridge, that is right next to our Hotel!

Crossing the greenbridge — Crossing the green bridge

Well it was an enjoyable day but also a very tiring day with LOTS of walking. We did see some amazing sights though.

At 6.30pm we met up with our Tour leader, and also all the other people traveling on the tour with us. They seem a really good bunch of people and it will be great to get to know them all better over the next two weeks. We had a lovely three course meal at a near by Restaurant, said out goodbyes until tomorrow morning, and now it’s off to bed for me after a very rewarding day.

Catch you all tomorrow 🙂

August 29, 2014August 29, 2014

Cesky Krumlov

Okay…. Judy organised a day trip to Cesky Krumlov. I had only seen a couple of photos of this small town, but I got the idea it was a favourite tourist spot, and a MUST SEE!

Once again our interesting tour/taxi driver picked us up and drove us the two hour journey there. Was it worth the trip? Yes definitely. We had a fabulous day! It’s now very late and my bed time, but I needed to quickly add some photos! Can you quickly add photos? NEVER! Everyone else is sound asleep, and I am hiding away in the bathroom so I don’t disturb anyone, just to get these photos loaded up. The hardest thing is trying to whittle down 300 odd photos to just a few of the best ones. They are all good! But here’s a few

Looking up to the castle from the village

I thought the open window was a great frame for this photo

We visited another town on the way back to Prague. The bikes/cars were on show! — We visited another town (Tabor) on the way back to Prague. The bikes/cars were on show!

The church organ at Torbay — The church organ at Tabor

'I'm sexy and I know it' hehe — ‘I’m sexy and I know it’ hehe

The river that meanders through the village

The Castle tower.... we climbed it! — The Castle tower…. we climbed it!

What do you think? It’s amazing isn’t it. I am so pleased we visited this place. Only 19,000 people actually live at Cesky Krumlov but after today I think about that many people would also visit each week. The place was full of tourists and understandably so. You only see places like this perhaps once in a lifetime!

I am so blessed!

August 29, 2014August 30, 2014

Amazing Prague

After two train trips we arrive at Prague. One train from Wroclaw to Dresden, and then from Dresden to Prague. Arriving we were met by our tour driver/taxi driver. What an interesting fellow. Could hardly speak English, and conversing with him was quite an undertaking. But he got us to our apartment okay and that was our main concern. The apartment is fabulous, with two bathrooms and two separate bedrooms. Judy and Len are sleeping on the sofa bed in the lounge.

Our first full day was spent doing our own walking tour….and it was great. We saw some awesome sights.

Standing at the door at the exit from the tower. We did it!

At the top with an open window for taking photos

After climbing the tower we walked down the hill through very picturesque streets, visited the Lennon wall, and then crossed the popular Charles bridge into the Old Town, and the square. That is one fabulous town square!

Inside with the amazing circular stained glass window above and behind me

Crossing one bridge with the famous bridge behind me — Crossing one bridge with the famous Charles bridge behind me

We also met Ben and Chloe for tea in ‘New Town’ Prague. They visited Berlin after the wedding then travelled down to Prague to see us once more. It was a great opportunity to celebrate Chloe’s belated birthday 🙂

I could say so much more about Prague and have heaps more photos, but a sample of the wonderful city is all that is needed for you to get an idea of how wonderful it really is.

Go visit Prague! I highly recommend it 🙂

August 27, 2014September 21, 2018

Wroclaw, Poland

We have just spent two days in Wroclaw. Now if you want to say wro – claw like it is written, like I did for a few months in the holiday planning, you would be very wrong 🙂 in Poland w is pronounced like a v, l is like a w, and c is like a ts, z is like a sh, and other letters are pronounced differently as well. So if you say Votswav it would be more accurate, although still not correct! Here’s just a few photos of this very picturesque city…

Casey sitting on street art at the old meat works — G3 sitting on street art at the old meat works

One of the many bridges in Europe with padlocks on it

The amazing town clock in Wroclaw square

One of the rooms we saw in the University

The University of Wroclaw and viewing platform we climbed up to

Street art depicting people of the communist era and their jobs and feelings about life

These were on one side of the street and continued on the other side

August 24, 2014September 21, 2018

The Wedding!

What a day! It was just perfect! I haven’t the words to describe just how wonderful it was. C2 scrubbed up great! D2 looked gorgeous! G3 the flower girl, and the men looked fabulous. I guess it will be easier to just show you a photo or two…

Daniel and Marysia... So happy :-) — C2 and D2… So happy 🙂

The men of the day, plus an extra (Nick)

Three of my boys with the beautiful bride!

Two beautiful girls! Grand daughter Sophie and her caregiver for the day :-) — Two beautiful girls! Grand daughter G7 and her caregiver for the day 🙂

Gregory (Marysias brother) Richard (Marysias Dad) and Daniel — Gregory (Marysias brother) Richard (Marysias Dad) and C2

The Bride and Groom sit on chairs as they say their vows :-) — The Bride and Groom sit on chairs as they say their vows 🙂

And look at Casey! Just beautiful....and cute :-) — And look at G3! Just beautiful….and cute 🙂

Youngest son Ben with Chloe :-) — Youngest son C4 with D3 🙂

Brothers and sister in laws :-) — Brothers and sister in laws 🙂

Gregory and Marysia, brother and sister — Gregory and D2, brother and sister

Richard escorting Marysia to be married — Richard escorting D2 to be married

Casey and Felix and another cute little girl — G3 and Felix and another cute little girl

A selfie with Judy :-) — A selfie with Judy 🙂

Pawlowice Palace. We stayed here for three nights, It's an amazing place! — Pawlowice Palace. We stayed here for three nights, It’s an amazing place!

My eldest son Matthew and his youngest daughter Casey xxx — My eldest son C1 and his youngest daughter G3 xxx

Matthew and Ben (inside the Palace) — C1 and C4 (inside the Palace)

Marysia's lovely parents :-) — Marysia’s lovely parents 🙂

August 18, 2014September 21, 2018

Last day at home…

It’s 7:45 and I’m still in bed, but definitely not sleeping or relaxing. I’m thinking about the thousand things I still need to do today. I need to get up! But, I do have a list! I love being able to tick off jobs as they are completed and then knowing I am fully prepared for our holiday…. Hopefully!

Mostly I am excited! Eeeee! I have just finished checking Facebook and Snapchat, and have seen photos of my family and their travel shots as they make their way to Poland. C1, C2 and G3 are driving from London to Leszno and they crossed from the Uk to France via the Euro tunnel early this morning. And they are now in Germany!

Looking very excited! G3 and her Dad C1 🙂

Visiting ‘The Shard’ in London

Waiting to board the train at the Euro tunnel.

On the train!!!

A stop for refreshments in Brussels 🙂

And now they are in Cologne Germany!
Meanwhile C4 and D3 have arrived in London and are staying on for a few days while C4 has some work to do. They fly to Poland later in the week.

Don’t they look very relaxed! Lovely 🙂

Now, I have to wash my sheets and remake the bed! Clean the whole house including the bathroom! Print out travel documents! Phone Visa! Fold heaps of washing! Pack my bag! Prepare a meal for us and my two Aunties for tonight! And… The list goes on!

I really wanted to finish my crochet blanket before I left but will have to leave it at this stage until I come back home in January!

It can wait! But getting up can’t!

I leave New Zealand tomorrow!

July 22, 2014September 21, 2018

Less than a month!

Here I am sitting at my laptop when I have so many other things I should be doing! Time is running out and I am beginning to feel the panic! But I wanted to share all the happenings with you…. my reader 🙂

On the 19th of August, Robin and I will be flying over to Wroclaw, Poland. My sister, her partner and her daughter are also coming with us. We are all going to my second son C2 and D2’s wedding! Now isn’t that something to get excited about! Checkout their wedding plans…

And even more exciting news…. Eldest son C1 and grand daughter G3 are coming to the wedding as well… from Sydney! G3 is going to be a little flower girl. And wait… there’s more… Youngest son C4 and daughter in law D3 are also coming from Sydney. Nearly a family reunion! I can’t wait!

After the wedding we will be travelling to Prague for three days and then onto Budapest. We are going on another ‘Insight Vacations’ tour! Yay! I am sooooo spoilt…..and don’t I know it! This time it is the tour called ‘Treasures of the Balkans’. We travel from Budapest to Bucharest! I will be regularly putting posts on my blog and uploading photos when I can 🙂 Here is the tour…

and the details a little clearer…

And the day to day travel and sights to see…

Sorry the printing isn’t that easy to read 🙁 But do you think a wedding and a tour are enough to get excited about? Well there’s more!

At 10.52pm on the 21st of April little 3.3 kg G7 was born. Our third grand child to be born this year. G5 on the 4th of February, G6 on the 18th of March and then G7 on the 21st of April. Look at this gorgeous little girl…

Brand new Baby G7

A very alert little baby girl :-) — A very alert little baby girl 🙂

I love this photo of Sophie having a tub bath! — I love this photo of G7 having a tub bath!

One of my favourite photos. Sophie and her Daddy asleep together <3 — One of my favourite photos. G7 and her Daddy asleep together <3

Now isn’t G7 a wonderful addition to our family! We now have seven grand children. Four girls and three boys! I have had quite a few cuddles with G5 and G6 but have yet to cuddle G7. Roll on August the 19th!

Now after the wedding and the tour, Robin, Judy, Len and Teresa are flying back to New Zealand via Hong Kong. I will be doing something very different. I will be flying to London. Yes London. I am going to be G7’s Nanny until Christmas time, when C2, D2, G7 and myself will be flying to Sydney to celebrate Christmas with family there. Robin and C6 will fly from New Zealand to join us (Joanna has to work).

So I am going to get plenty of G7 cuddles. Will be missing the other grand children cuddles and my other children/adults/husband/friends, but what an opportunity! I feel like I am the luckiest person alive…. and I am very thankful.

Watch out people… this blog is going to have so many updates over the next six months.

July 13, 2014September 21, 2018

It’s a Pom Pom making day

Another wet day in the Naki! And another day to entertain the grandsons indoors. I taught grandaughter G3 how to make a Pom Pom the last time I was in Sydney, so thought that it was the perfect opportunity to teach the boys as well.

Pom Poms are really easy to make and are a great way of using up all your old balls of wool. Especially if you only have one ball left of a colour, or a batch, or there isn’t enough to make a whole garment.

If you’ve never made a Pom Pom before, here are the instructions…

Cut out two circles of cardboard with another circle cut out of the centre

Put the two circles together and start winding the wool around and around.

Keep adding more and more wool until the centre is full.

Complete filling it up using a darning needle with a super large hole threated with the wool.

Now the tricky part! You have to cut the Wool between the two circles just like the photo below

Wind a piece of wool between the circles and tie it tight so it will hold all the cut wool together

Rip off the cardboard circles and do a little trimming to neaten it up and voila! You now have a Pom Pom!

Our Pom Pom was thrown around as a soft inside ball. Great entertainment for two active boys.

And when the fun of a new Pom Pom had worn off Maisy the dog found it on the lounge floor. She was loving it! Tossing it around like it was made just for her! If I hadn’t rescued it I imagine it would have been destroyed in no time!

All in all our Pom Pom making experience has been quite fun! G2 wanted to make another one straight away. He loved the idea of using a needle but I was happy with just one big Pom Pom for awhile. Perhaps we can make another the next wet day 🙂