A long trip and a short flit.

So Reader here I am again.  Back from endless cuddling, kissing and cooing over new beloved baby.  

She has quite a name to conjurer with Xanthe Olympia.  The well travelled parents spent a summer in Greece and went to the site of the first Olympic Games and Xanthe was born during this years Games in Paris. 

If you needed reminding it is winter down under when we have our summer.  I've seen heavy rain before but this was something else, almost biblical and it goes on for hours.  The the next day I was in a tee shirt.

Anyway after a bumpy start mother and baby were doing marvellously and I loved every minute, I could retire to Auckland....

Moi leaving on a jet plane

Xanthe in a swaddle, these were soon dispensed with and she liked to have her arms free.

View from Cornwall Park Auckland.

So odd to Magnolia trees in flower in the summer, I was seasonally confused all the trip.

Mitchell's adorable mother and her two sisters.  (I now count them as my honourable sisters.)

Verity's lemon tree in the garden, I LOVED having lemons on tap.

Xanthe asleep in the shade of the Camellia tree, under the blanket knitted by my mother.

Unusual Irises under planted with parsley, a novel idea.

Part of Onehunga harbour and somewhere down there Verity's house.

One Tree Hill, visible for miles around and Verity's kitchen.

One day I drove to Mission Bay, where they serve Italian Gelato in Pistachio flavour,  to die for. 
This is Rangitoto Island, you can catch a boat and walk up it, I didn't this trip.

Tulips 

Bird of Paradise plant or tree.

Kowhai Trees coming into bloom

This amused me, we are the Carr family and we DID have a herd

Verity and I at Auckland Harbour

Saying goodbye was horribly hard, luckily they are coming to visit all the family later this month.

So to celebrate my return, seemed David missed me!  We have come away on WaL for a short waft up and down.

We had several ideas, first the Ashby, not enough time so just down to Hawkesbury Junction and dinner in my favourite pub The Greyhound.  We got to Fradley on a windy day and moored up on the end of the moorings immediately before Shade House Lock, as we approached a boat left the exact spot we fancied mooring on, great.  

The next day was high winds and rain on and off.  Maybe we'll just go as far as Tamworth or even Hopwas.....

We went to the Mucky Duck pub.

The following day was rain the entire day.  Luckily we had the car so pootled off to the cinema in Tamworth, on the way home again we had supper in the Tame Otter at Hopwas so we did go there one way or another.

The next day it was blowy but brightened up nicely.  We winded at the entrance to the Coventry Canal and retraced our steps.  We'd pretty much ran out of time to get down the Coventry so inserted a detour into the end of the week of going to London instead to see the Granddaughters (And their parents of course) so we had an uneventful run back to Great Haywood and are sitting on a nice mooring in Tixel Wide, I intend to drink the champagne that's in the fridge, stretch the old legs around Shrugborough grounds and read my book.

Shrugborough Hall almost completely hidden now the trees have grown around it and the hedge is unchecked.

I am a good Boater and get off to walk ahead in Plum Pudding, plenty don't bother and just plough though.

WaL was covered, but I quite like the coloured leaves.

This went on half way though the week.

We returned in sunshine and needed our sunnies.  The gorgeous hills come into view that is the beginning of Cannock Chase and tells me we are almost home.

Look carefully and you might just make out the Sweet Chestnuts ripening, we are too early for autumn colour this time.

So that's us done for this year I feel.  Xanthe and her parents are here for a month and that takes us almost up to Christmas, we'll be doing a fake Christmas for them as in NZ its all going to the beach which of course is all mad.

So until the spring, I'll just say Au Revoir Reader.