Happy Christmas 2014

Todd and Joey are playing with the guinea pigs in front of the poster of the Christmas issue of stamps available this Christmas.

Alana and Pat have arrived early to the Christmas Day service to be held at the site of the first Christmas service held in New Zealand.

Alana reads the poem out aloud to Pat.

Alana and Pat attended the Christmas service celebrating Rev Samuel Marsden arriving in New Zealand 200 years ago on Christmas Day 1814. He took the first Christian service held in New Zealand on the foreshore below Rangihoua Pa in the Bay of Islands. Ruatara, the Ngapuhi chief met him years earlier on a ship where he was unwell and Samuel Marsden nursed him back to health. He stayed with Samuel Marsden in Australia and invited him come and preach in New Zealand. A descendant of Samuel Marsden with the same name spoke at the 2014 service held at the same place.

Pat takes Alana’s photo standing by Marsden cross.

 

   

 

 

  

Todd meets the Boys

Steve Sunshine takes the parcel home that contains casting number 12. He carefully takes him out of the postal package and puts him together. Steve tells him he has arrived safely and his new life will begin in the morning.

 

Steve tells him his name is Todd and he will feel nice and warm after a bath and hopefully his colour will appear during the night while he is sleeping.

 

 

The next morning Steve goes into the bedroom where Todd is sleeping and sees that Todd has his colour and asks him how he is feels. Todd replies he feels weak and is pleased he can now see.

Steve has brought his clothes into the bedroom and helps Todd get dress. Todd’s shirt is a bit big.
Stephie made the shirt using Joey’s shirt pattern. The family are waiting to have breakfast with you.

Todd is introduced to the girls Sharon, Sweets and Hayley (the dog).  Stephie tells the children that they are going to visit Auntie Daisy, Uncle John and the boys this morning.

 

 

 

John Sunshine and family also live on Kowhai Corner Farm in their own house. So Steve and family walk over to their house. Todd meets Joey, Tom and William and they go to their bedroom. Tom shows Todd the painted balsam wood aeroplane he and Joey have put together and painted. Joey shows Todd the new Tomas the Tank engine he has. William is happy playing with the wooden train.

 

Daisy has brought her guitar with her so they all join in for singing before they have their lunch.

 

Editor's Note: The doll named William was brought the year Prince William was born.

 

 

 

Special Delivery of No 12

 

The Hitty girls are getting the hall ready for their meeting. Today a couple with their baby from South Africa are coming to speak to them about their way of life in South Africa.

 

Suddenly, a parcel drops from an aeroplane right in front of Kowhai Corner Hall! The aeroplane does not stop and continues flying away from the hall.

 

Alana quickly notifies Steve Sunshine and he arrives with Greylegs and the cart to collect the parcel. Steve tells the Hitty girls that a new boy has arrived known as number 12.  His now given name is Todd and he will rest at Steve and Stephie’s house until he has recovered and then he will be introduced to all the Hitty girls. Steve leaves the girls wondering what the new boy, Todd will look like.

 

Alana sees the South African family arriving and goes and to meet them. She welcomes them to the Hitty's Helping Hands meeting at Kowhai Corner Hall.

 

The Father  tells the Hitty girls that they live a nomadic life and  live in a tribe. They are very pleased to have been invited to speak at the meeting and are looking forward to be shown around Kowhai Tree Farm.

 After they have both spoken and Alana thanks them for speaking they have a milo or orange juice.

 

Hannah arrives with a plate of hokey pokey biscuits and a plate of meringues with whipped cream. The family are going to stay with Hannah and Luke.

Editor’s Note: The male doll has on his back in a circle, Made in South Africa, Johannesburg, Cat 22, Pml ----1321. I can’t see any identification on the female doll.

 

The Unwanted Lamb

Brian, the Vet was at the consulting rooms one morning when a farmer arrived with a lamb. The farmer tells Brian that the mother to the lamb has died and he does not have time to hand rear the lamb and asks Brian if he knows of anyone who could care for the lamb.

 

Brian replies that he will ring Selena Sunshine and ask if she would like to care for the lamb. Selena is delighted to receive Brian’s phone call inquiring whether she would like to care for the lamb and of course says she will care for the lamb.

 

Selena loves the lamb as soon as she sees it and thanks Brian for bringing it to Kowhai Tree Farm.  Selena works and stays in the city Monday to Thursday so she asks Ethel and Jill if they will bottle feed the lamb Monday to Thursday while she is working.

Ethel and Jill accept to feed the lamb and come to Kowhai Tree Farm where Selena shows them how to bottle feed the lamb and to make it comfortable in the barn. The lamb will enjoy the company of the hens.

Selena notices that one of the hens eggs have hatched. Selena rings Brenda and invites her and her five children to come and visit in the afternoon to see the new lamb and chickens. Spring is such a nice time of the year with the arrival of young animals.

The Cadbury Van

This Cadbury van is a special Edition die-cast metal model, one of three available (July 2014) when you buy three blocks of 220g chocolate you get the van free. Designed in England.  Hornby Hobbies Limited. Made in China.

 

 

 

 

Alana and Pat are admiring the Cadbury van.

Alana is playing with the van and Pat has her Tatty teddy with her.

 

 

 

 

Joey would like to play with this Cadbury van which was available more than ten years ago.  The van was make in England by Lledo (London) Ltd.

 

 

 

 

ANZAC 2014

This year Ethel and Jill attended the 6 am  dawn Anzac service. It was dark and they were standing in the middle of a big crowd and could not see anything... only hear the service. They have decided in the future years they will continue to go to the 10 am services like they have in the past.

A Search for a Black Swan

It is February of 2014 and the Hitty girls are having their first meeting for the year, although they have been together during the holidays doing activities amongst themselves.

Alana welcomes the girls to the meeting and suggests they need to be outside doing activities while the weather is so nice. Alana tells the girls that she and Annabelle biked to the river to look for the black swan that has been rumoured to be in this area. Annabelle has put her swan poster on the wall and talks about the habits of swans. Did you know black swans pair for life and both look after the ‘cygnets’? What is a group of cygnets called?  Answer a ‘clutch’.

Alana has brought an embroidered tray cloth of two black swans her grandmother made when she was a teenager to the meeting and it is passed around amongst the girls to look at.

 

Alana tells the girls it was a cool overcast day when she and Annabelle biked to the river to look for a black swan. It seemed an ideal day to see some birdlife.  Alana particularly wanted to see a black swan.  Annabelle likes swans and didn’t mind if she saw a black or white swans.

When we arrived at the river we left our bikes leaning against the hedge and walked down to the river edge. Two pukeko were scratching around by the hedge looking for food and they followed us to the river edge.

The river looked quiet and we started throwing some bread pieces into the river and ducks appeared from all directions.

 

 

We walked further along the river and stopped and threw some more bread pieces into the river and some swans came towards us.The swans were white but we saw a female swan on the river with cygnets on her back. “Aw,”the girls exclaim together, “How nice, wish we were with you.”

 

 

More white swans arrived.

 

  After we had been watching and admiring the swans for about fifteen minutes they heard a rustle amongst some shrubs and they saw a black swan come out and fly away. Well, they did see a black swan (right in photo) so it is not a rumour it is true that there is one in the area… maybe another black swan will come to the area in the future.Alana says she will go back to visit the area again in the future The other Hitty girls say they want to go to that area of the river to see the black swan.

Footnote: Alana and Annabelle went back to the river to the area they saw the black swan the following weekend without telling the other girls because they did not want to scare the swan away from the area. Annabelle took Alana’s photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday Activities 2014

Edna and Abigail are playing with the new Lego Friends No 41001, which includes Mia.

Joey is going to the river later today with Tom and Darren to float the toy boat.

It was autumn when Jill and Ethel walked along the Waimarino River to look at the native blue ducks (whio).  They only saw one blue duck that day.