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Saturday, August 2, 2025

A busy Weekend

Saturday was quite a busy day.  The caravan club was spending the weekend at the Manawatu Caravan Club grounds, and I drove up to join them for morning tea, about a half hour drive away.  It was lovely to catch up with everyone, and as a bonus, one of the member's was celebrating a birthday so cake was provided.  The weather was fine and clear, cold overnight and frosty in the morning.



Joining the caravan club for morning tea

I left the camp ground after morning tea, and drove up to Sanson, another half hour drive away, to meet my daughter Nicky for lunch.  This time, we were trying a "new to us" cafe.  The Church Cafe, as the name suggests, was a former church, and has a lovely calm ambience.

The Church Cafe

With paneled walls, and wooden tables and chairs, it was a warm, cozy and peaceful place to enjoy our lunch.    I had some tasty leek and potatoe soup, and Nicky enjoyed a bowl of wedges.  And with coffee to follow, of course.


Inside The Church Cafe

We had plenty to chat about, what we had been up to, and our sewing projects.  Although Nicky doesn't do quilting, she is a keen dressmaker and creates one of a kind outfits for herself.  And we had things in the boot to swap over when we departed, Nicky had some fruit for me, and I gave her some fabric she had shown an interest in, plus a big bag of coathangers.

On my drive back home I stopped off at Fox's Cottage, my favourite local quilt shop.  I needed another lot of batting, it's interesting how much of this gets used when you are making donation quilts.  And I spoke to Jackie in the shop, who will be free hand quilting my secret birthday quilt for me.


Fox's Cottage

Last stop on the way home was to top up the fuel on my trusty Corolla, I don't like to let the fuel tank get too low.  It was a good day out.

On Sunday I took myself off to the local movies, I was keen to see Jurassic World.  There were only about 8 patrons in the theatre at lunch time, not that it mattered, as we were all engrossed in the unfolding story.  The storyline is "An exhibition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a ground breaking medical breakthrough".  A family group gets rescued by the exhibition when their boat is overturned by one of the prehistoric sea creatures, and they end up on the island too.  Surround sound in the theatre made the roars seemingly coming at me from all sides, as the dinosaurs wrecked havoc on the visitors to the island, tracking them, tossing them in the air, and chewing them up!  It was a lose yourself in the moment sort of movie, and yes, I did enjoy it.  



12 comments:

The Cozy Quilter said...

So nice to be able to see your caravan friends! That cafe looks like an interesting spot. The stop at the quilting store was the perfect way to round out your busy day. I buy batting by the 30 yard roll…that way, I always have what I need. Glad you enjoyed the movie too. Gail

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

It sounds like you had a very lovely time, Jenny. I am so glad that you are able to visit your friends with the caravan ever so often. Hugs and Blessings

Maria said...

That’s lovely to catch up with your caravan friends and also have lunch with Nicky.
I go to movies on my own when I have my Corolla serviced.( great little cars )

Julierose said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful outing weekend. Nic you could meet up with Nicki for lunch and chat...Hugs, Julierose

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I saw the first Jurassic Park movie but admit I have not seen any since then. I'm glad to hear you get out staying in touch with your old friends from your camping days and driving to see your daughter. If I went to see my daughter that lives further from me I would need an overnight bag or I would be five hours on the road between driving there and back. I really should stop in at the quilt shop not too far from me soon but I really do not need anything and know I would add to the fabric stash which needs using not bringing in more right now. That looks like a nice quite place for lunch when you want to chat and not have to listen to a lot of noise.

Jackie said...

I binge watched the Jurassic Park movies while at Kris's. It will be awhile before the new one reaches us. Glad to read that you are getting out and about. I think you are getting a bit more relaxed about driving.

God bless.

Janice said...

That was a very pleasant day out, and the weather even turned it on. It must have been lovely to catch up with your friends and the cafe was an excellent find. It sounds like you will return there.

Kim said...

How wonderful to catch up with your caravan friends, Jenny. Lovely too, that you and Nicky could enjoy a relaxed meal and chat together. Do you know I have never seen any of the Jurassic movies. I don't know why, just never seemed to have got around to it. It's always a treat to visit a quilt shop. I suppose you would use up a lot of batting with all the donation quilts you fashion.

FlourishingPalms said...

It's good to hear you're getting out and about, reconnecting with old friends, and having a good catch-up with your daughter. That cafe looks nice, but it always saddens me to see a church that has closed. Hopefully the congregation relocated to a larger building. I had to Google "wedges, in New Zealand" to understand that Nicky ate potato wedges. Ha, ha. I imagined fruit wedges when I read your post. I always learn something interesting when I read what you've been up to.

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Lovely outing of a day! Love the church cafe! And a quilt shop stop is a nice topper, too!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Lovely post Jenny, filled with wonderful things. How nice to see the caravan folks and what a wonderful outing with Nicky too. A great day out for sure and of course, visiting a quilt shop is the icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing it with us. I also have to keep the gas topped up- I don't know why but I am a little obsessed with that.

dianne said...

don't you love watching a movie that you can just suspend disbelief and let it wrap around you?!? escape into another World with totally different characters to call friends - or enemies - and know that it isn't Real; that you can care about them for a couple of hours and then let them go...