Reclaiming our spot at Treehouse Retreat

Wednesday 15 July

After a call from CMG to say our new Ute was almost ready to collect, we had a chill morning, did some blogging, packed up slowly and left our lovely spot at Mountain Views POP.

We were still reeling from the news of Sam Neill's untimely death a couple of days ago so I decided to wear my treasured Two Paddocks T-shirt in his honour. I have loved him since Reilly Ace of Spies & My Beautiful Career back in the early 1980s. I met a kiwi in Australia in 1989 who asked what I thought of Kiwi men… I paused and he jumped in with “fair enough, we’re not a handsome lot, except Sam Neill, he got all the looks!” Sam got the whole package - looks, humour, kindness, compassion, talent, love for animals and the environment. He was MAJESTICAL ❤️💔

We swung by the Oxford branch of Sheffield Pies 🥧 for lunch - Louis went for the Sheffield Supreme and I opted for Chicken, Camembert & Apricot then we got lured in by the delicious looking date & orange scone which we took with us for afternoon tea.

Arrived at Treehouse Retreat POP, our home from home in CHC, to find three of our previous neighbours there still. Waves, smiles and catch ups then we settled in for siestas, before I took a walk to the Kaiapoi Lakes and Louis shot up to Rangiora for a swim… except the pool was closed though no notice of that on the council website 🙄

Popped over to Woodend Beach for a quick dinner of chicken & basil lasagne with Ella & Josh and the hoodlums, a lap round the block with Jessie & Shadow then back for a chill out evening in Banjo.

Watched the Downton movie with one eye and the other eye on updating the website (me) and video editing (him). Some days you just need a quiet one!