2018 has been a very enjoyable year for us, and things are looking up again. We have had some fun times. Here are a selection of our 2018 best moments in photos...Click on the following link to view:
https://1drv.ms/a/s!AryAPWiR6imyjm9veKMnPDQErdJJJo has recovered her strength, her hair and re-connected with her favourite pastimes (still wine and golf). Without the drugs, wine tastes much better and we have a target to drink as much of the cellar as possible before her taste buds are killed again. Without steroids, the golf has been less exciting; drives are a bit shorter, but she still manages to feature in the prize giving (with monotonous regularity) even off 7 handicap. Her latest trophy was 10 kg of champagne ham.
Sarah has expanded her set of craft and outdoor hobbies and the list now includes pottery, candle making, woodwork, stand up paddle boarding, swimming, kayaking, golf, cycling and pack rafting. She is not much good at any of them – but enjoys them all immensely. Certainly, the pottery has proved much source for mirth. If only there were 48 hours in a day she might be able to fit in everything and master something!
Cancer has changed our view on life. Age has also had an influence! Life is the sum of what we choose to think, eat, feel, act and react, move and rest. We try to be positive and to influence as much as we can to stay healthy. We have changed our diet, adding turmeric and magnesium, reducing the amount of sugar and increasing fruit and vegetables. Stretch, yoga classes, and massage have been introduced as we try to be calmer and more focused on fixing the aching body. There is no point in getting frustrated with anything anymore; we just have to know our limits, get on with life and enjoy as much as possible for as long as possible. But no, we have not yet given up alcohol, cycling, chocolate or coffee. There are limits!
We have always crammed in multiple activities, combining this with travel; now we focus on bucket list items. Here are a few we managed to tick off in 2018.
Jan 2018: The seemingly never-ending renovations of our house in Queenstown finally finished.
Feb 2018: Around the Mountain (175km) bike tour in 2 days - Jo on an ebike carrying all the bags; Sarah doing it the hard way but luggage-free and in Jo’s slipstream! We ended up at a large sheep station where we were able to have a shower (in the staff quarters; we must have looked a sight so they took pity on us) a fabulous dinner and catch a steam ferry home.
April 2018: Made it to the capital of NZ (Wellington) to meet Robbie and Marti and staying with Phil and Paul. Sampled theatre, museums, galleries and island trips.
We finally made it for a long weekend at Easter to Stewart Island, staying in a friend’s Bach (like a beach house but better equipped). Great bush and cliff walks, fresh air and seafood. Decided that Muttonbird would be a once in a lifetime dish. This is a bird that is very very fatty and tastes strongly of fish. A Maori delicacy.
We also enjoyed visits from the Humble-Ryan Clan as well as Jessica (celebrating her ^%th birthday).
End of May 2018: Back to Europe. As Jo was given the all clear to travel for 4 months, we decided to empty and clean our beautiful cottage, Graces Barn, in Arrina, Wester Ross, Scotland. We were due to complete on the sale soon after, but ran into some Crofting Commission and Scottish Land Court issues. After agreeing a sale, it took us 14 months to sort out the legal side. As we write we are hoping to put the whole saga behind us and complete on the sale. Anyone who tells you the Scottish system of buying and selling houses is so straightforward and simple - is a liar. It would be hard to design a more archaic, byzantine, tortured system of commerce. But moving on.. We squeezed in a visit to Scone Palace on the way and caught up with Wee Devi, John and Betty Yarr for afternoon tea and scones (the must do thing at Scone)
June 2018: We started our new renovation project, Cowgill Grange, in Cowgill, Dentdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This is a really beautiful dale – if a little wet! On our first night after acquiring the house we arrived at 8pm one drizzly June evening (after a 9 hour drive from Scotland), opened the door to be greeted by a strong stench and tumbleweeds of hair billowing down the hallway. The previous owners had left the place in a dreadful state of dust, grease and damp. We wanted to cry. We headed to the village pub for dinner; arriving at 8:35pm to be told that the kitchen closed at 8:30pm. Not an auspicious start. Fortunately, we had already lined up a team to help us but a 4-week makeover turned rapidly into a 6 to 9-month project involving builders, damp specialists, electrician rewiring the whole house, new central heating system, new bathrooms, new kitchens, complete redecoration. We spent our first month of ownership organising the work, stripping carpets and wall paper, and filling 3 vast skips with rubbish from house and garden. We managed some evenings with Michael and Eric - our neighbours. As a weekend respite from clearing grease and dirt we managed to catch up with Hank, Gillie and Janie in Sarah’s old stomping ground, the Cotswolds. We walked with Hank for a few miles (one afternoon and one morning) of her Cotswold Way fundraiser/ challenge, and enjoyed dinners in Winchcombe and Broadway (the “Lygon Arms”, naturally). We also managed to catch up with Ozzy and Clive one Saturday morning in Kendal. And after many years caught up with Sarah's cousin Siobhan Kelly and her partner Jon. We also managed a couple of days in London and caught up with Angela, Jeremy and Clare, and Teresa. Seeing friends and family (somewhere in the UK) is clearly one of the benefits of living in Yorkshire!
July, August, September 2018: Our house in Italy was a welcome respite from housework and renovations. Whilst the UK and other parts of Europe roasted, fortunately, summer in Le Marche was not as hot.
We enjoyed as always the cycling, swimming, gardening, eating, meeting old friends and attending the Macerata Opera. We also had a memorable few days in each of Florence and Venice, visits from several friends (Jude and David) and family, and enjoyed some exploratory wine tours with Kjersti, and our first sea-borne trip on the Adriatic with Monique, Robert and M's mum. It was paradise!
Trips further afield included driving north via the Dolomites and Munich in order to attend, finally, the Wagner opera festival in Bayreuth. 3rd time lucky – and we actually made it this time. But it proved quite a challenge: sitting in 30C ++ without aircon on very hard uncomfortable wooden seats for 5+ hours. The plus side was the mediaeval castle we stayed in nearby, the company we kept, the interval activities - stein and bratwurst and an opportunity to cool down by paddling in icy waters (frocks, hitched up).
The Rossini opera festival in Pesaro is always a highlight; it is becoming something of a fixture for us. The singing gets better and better each year, and it is such a festive town, with amazing weather, lots of swimming in the Adriatic and good food.
October 2018: Back to NZ. The Currans visited and NZ put on a splendid show of mid-winter weather with fresh snow most days. Despite the resumption of trips to hospital, we managed to fit in the Central Otago Rail Trail overnight (150 km) again with Jo in the front on her e-bike taking the luggage and the brunt of the wind. This is really a spectacular off-road cycle route. We whizzed over to Sydney for a few days to catch up with our mates there, to visit the Blue Mountains and to see the always impressive, if rather crowded, Sculpture By The Sea. This time in hurricane conditions, which only adds to the drama of the sculpture and venue. Afterwards we flew up to the Gold Coast and took part in the Noosa triathlon as the Tea Ladies with Bev Brady and Simon Collins. None of us could remember whose silly idea it was to enter – actually we were each convinced it was the others’ fault. Sarah swimming 1.5km (in huge seas), Jo cycling 40km and, last minute substitute for Bev, Simon running 10km – both in sweltering heat. Sarah and I swore never to do it again. Watch this space. Fortunately, we were able to relax afterwards with David and Krysia in Buderim.
December 2018: Sarah headed off to Fiordland (one of the wettest places on the planet) to spend a week eating dehydrated food, not washing, walking and packrafting. She loved it.
Jo opted for a relaxing weekend in Auckland catching up with Wendy Ford and Robbie and Marti.
We are now preparing for Jo’s parents, Barbara and Joe, for their first visit to New Zealand. It will be a family festive season.
Finally, having slowed down (a bit for Sarah; a lot for Jo) we have been able to better appreciate the wildlife, plant life and flowers of NZ.
The cabbage tree is flowering beautifully. This is supposed to be a sign of a hot summer, although we have not experienced it yet.
The NZ Christmas tree is the Puhutukawa tree (red blossoming all over Auckland burbs) here next to a Norfolk Island Pine.
Back home in the garden. we have nurtured plants from seeds, watched the cherry trees shed leaves, grow buds, blossom and turn green again;
best of all have been the blackbirds. Every morning they fling the wood chips off the borders on to the path in the hunt for food (Jo painstakingly throwing them back again) They built a nest in our wood store, hatched 3 chicks and waited patiently, feeding them grubs until they could fly. Early one morning, we awoke to louder than normal tweeting; the fat Queenstown Hill tabby tormenting the last surviving chick (having killed the first 2) We chased her off but do not know for sure if the third chick lived or not. We hope so.
Meanwhile, the hedgehogs come and go; the fat cats hunt the quail chicks; quail are very trusting or stupid; instead of flying off, they just run across roads, round and around in circles or just back and forth. The feral goats pay nocturnal visits and eat whatever new shoots they can find on plants (mostly on our roses). GRRRRRRR!
The possums jump all over the trees and now and again we find a dead one on the road outside. Where is the possum lady, when you need her?
Wherever you are today, we hope that you have a great holiday season, with fun, friends, and family.
We look forward to hearing your news.
Best wishes for a very happy Christmas and a healthy and happy 2019.
Lots of love
Jo and Sarah
xxxxxx
