Funday Friday!

Friday 29 May

Josh has Fridays off so we decided to all go out for brunch in Rangiora then hit the op shops. Ella recommended Fresca Mediterranean and it turned out to be a great call. Great brunch menu and some fabulous cabinet food - and they serve Tea Total as their tea brand which is just delicious!

Had a lovely brunch - Bolognese on toast for Louis, phenomenal panettone French toast for Ella while Josh and I shared pizza puff bites and a loaded croissant - yum! 😋Then we set off dragging Louis around the op shops, with the assistance of the Rangiora Op Shop Map - Josh, Ella and I were fully engaged! SPCA, Red Cross, City Mission, Hato Hone & Sallies were all targeted and Hato Hone St John was our winner - 2 shirts and a 1955 Winnie the Pooh book for Josh, a tablecloth for Ella, a merino, a white top and a dress for Ella’s Renaissance Fair birthday party for me! Nice! What we didn't buy... a napkin holder lady, assorted souvenir spoons & vintage silver (perfect for concealing in friends' caravans & mohos!), a cheese sieve for Abby and a fridge magnet for my sister.

A quick visit to the grocery store that sells real fruit ice cream on the way home then we packed up our goodies and headed back to Sockburn to collect Banjo from Vanari Caravans NZ. Thanks Mike at Vanari - we bought Banjo off him in Ruakaka almost 18 months ago… love that he has followed us to the South Island and set up a new Vanari dealership & workshop down here! Mike had done a great job swapping out our older solar panels and we should now be able to stay off grid for longer (though maybe not in winter when the sun is so low that nothing charges much!)

Towed Banjo back to Treehouse Retreat, set up and then I hit Paknsave before we had dinner in Banjo (tortelloni while watching Sara Pascoe at Live at the Apollo) then I had to walk halfway to Kaiapoi itself to get my Fitbit steps for the day!