Christmas Greetings

I am sitting in my pyjamas at my wee laptop and thinking I had better get going with a Christmas letter if I am to catch you before Christmas
The Springbok mealie meal porridge is humming away in the microwave and Terry is about to go out and open up the greenhouses and take our spanking new nursery sign down to the main road that passes through our town. Janet designed and painted this new sign which says 'Elaine's Garden Nursery' !!

We spend most of our days propagating, potting and selling plants. I cannot think of anything more enjoyable to do with my time. We meet lots of interesting people and there is an honesty box which thankfully works well. At New Year the children helped Terry finish building a new 'state of the art' greenhouse where the plants can grow. We had brought the propagation and big greenhouse tunnels with us from Nessie our farm in the Tsitsikama.
Terry at 77 is enjoying his retirement studying the wonders of nature and many evenings when the weather is fine he goes off for a run. A digital camera came with the new computer he bought.. He is having such fun studying the insect life in our dam. He puts the tiny insects under the microscope and then photographs them and puts the pictures on the computer and onto his Blog, and has added information to Wikipedia about the Azolla fern. A little black spot as big as a pin's head turned out to be a perfect snail. Then a speck darting about became a gruesome waterbug with fangs!! The tiny duckweed looks amazing when enlarged.

Terry raised the overflow of the pond wall and now we have a decent size dam which we will be able to use if there are water restrictions again this year, as a dry year is forecast. We planted three tree fern logs with fronds peeping out the top and Terry is faithfully watering the tops hoping they will take root. Two pleasant young Mormon Missionary men have given us help with the heavy work and as they could not accept pay I gave them hot meals and homebaking to take away. They arrived in their smart black suits and changed into shorts and T shirts and laughed as they worked. They were Ozzie sportsmen. The first two Missionaries who came were elderly ladies from Salt Lake City. They asked if they could help pot up plants for us. Really nice, never imposing any religion on us. They gave us a Family Tree programme and we were able to get Family information from their archives, and add what information we had to the archive records. Amazing!

In September Terry went to the Sea of Faith conference in Marton where there were international speakers including Don Cupitt

Ken and Janet are still leading the New Covenant Fellowship church they planted in Havelock North near Hastings... The church has grown and they are hoping to build a church building soon. Up to now the weekly services have been in the big St John's Hall. They have renovated a couple of houses and with the housing boom made enough to buy a really comfortable family home.

Daniel at 14 is a sportsman playing first team rugby and cricket and does amazing things on his fourstroke motorbike and skateboard that his grandmother cannot bear to watch!!!

Jonty at 11 is a mathematician and loves to sit at my laptop and search the world on Google Earth. Both charming handsome guys, says Grannylaine.

Bruce is in management at the Horticultual Research Institute, mostly involved with Computer Information Websites (Can't remember his title!) Still does the Iron man Triathlon every year

Rosie is a popular nurse in charge of the City Hospital's Rehabiliation Unit. Very active with the children and her social life.

Matthew finishes school this year and will be 18 soon. A first team soccer player. Hopes to study Business management at the University.

Kirsty our only granddaughter is 15 and a confident, lovely girl. A good Hip Hop and Jazz dancer, and teaches in the Sunday School.

The family will be coming to us for Christmas. Bruce and family are 2 hours away at Palmerston North on the west side of North Island and Janet and family are 40 mins away on the east side near Hastings.

We have a carport size gazebo down in the shady corner of the lawn which was put up for the Oldie's Church Outing and another party this Thursday. We hope to have our Christmas dinner out there with croquet and patonque on the lawn. Prayers go up for good weather each time!! When the weather is good it is really really good and when it is bad it is horrid!.........! The garden is a picture with all credit going to Keith our gardener who has come weekly for the past seven years.

Much love from us all and may you and the family have a happy and blessed Christmas and New year.

Terry and Elaine and the family